Parrott Monkeys

ALMATY, KZ - June 18, 2005 - Special Bulletin - A new, heretofore undiscovered breed of primate has surfaced in a most unlikely location. Kazakhstan, not normally known for its primate population, now boasts a small population of the breed most commonly known as "Parrott Monkeys" (Latin: spasticus repetis). There are two overwhelmingly common characteristics of this rare breed. First, they repeat virtually everything that is said in their presence, no matter the language in which the words are spoken. These words are then permanently memorized in the primate's brains for later use in childlike babbling, simple songs, and dreadfully tired screams before sleep. Second, these animals never, ever stop moving, even during their slumber period. It's constant motion 24/7.

End press release.

Now, Almaty. We're here. That's about as excited as I can get. Saturday was long. Sittig here trying to remember what we did, and drawing a blank. Bazaar (WITH monkeys), haircut for Kevin, said bye to Hotel staff, finished Season 3 of "24" (OUCH!). Saying goodbye to Mit and Vera was tough. They have played such a major role in this most amazing adventure of our lives and our kids' lives. There is no way to show them the gratitude that will forever be carried with all four of us.

We thought it best to get the monkeys to bed at the regular time, then get them up to go to the train. Bad idea. We got on the train at 130am, and the kids absolutely freaked out. Dub, as it turns out, is very scared of the dark. Without some light on, he screamed uncontrollably at the top of his lungs. Lena was just wide awake. We tried both of them on the top bunk. Didn't work. They kept peering over the side to see mama and papa, and that could have easily meant a header over the side. We tried lots of blankets on the floor, and mama and papa in the bunks. Didn't work. They were so excited about being able to see and touch everything that they just sat up and babbled (see above press release). We ended up with Kevin and Lena in the top bunk and Angel and Dub (screaming) in the bottom. Sleep is estimated at 2-3 hours, but no confirmation of that. oy. Note to self: EvERYTHING is brand new for Monkeys, so they will get excited anytime they are somewhere new, especially when we want them to calm down and sleep!

Now in Almaty, we're staying in an old Soviet apartment. From the outside, and in the stairwell, it's hideous. Most Americans wouldn't go within 2 miles of this building. Inside, it's quite nice, in a 1972 disco-deco sort of way. But, it is much larger than the Gazovic room, has a second bedroom for the Monkeys, a full kitchen, and, best of all, it has great A/C. Yes, we're spoiled. The apartment is right downtown, walking distance to lots of great stuff, as we just found out. All the exotic foods we tried in Taraz are available in one place just 2 blocks away. Once we have our wits about us again (ever??) we'll head out and get some good local grub. It's raining here, which is a welcome site, sound, smell, and coolant. It's about 10 degrees cooler here than in Taraz, so it's not that big a deal.

We also got some good news: we CAN leave on the 29th. We've emailed the greatest agent ever at Delta (Thank you Marlene!!) to see if we can get the SVO-ATL flight on Wed or Thurs. We'll see. Not getting our hopes up, and we're fine if we have to stay till Sunday.

Coupla notes on L&D: they are really bonding to one another. As I write, Angel is cooking dinner, and the two monkeys are in their room babbling, playing, and otherwise having a great time together. It is a wonderful thing to see. Dub has not stopped babbling (again, see press release above). They are starting to include "mama" and "papa" in their Kazakh sentences, e.g., "Mama, minee!" Which means, "mama, look!" And, of course and as mentioned also above, if we say ANYTHING in their presence, we get their version of it shortly therafter.

I guess all this is to say that our kids are quite normal as toddlers, and that in itself is one great gift from God.

Sorry no pictures. Can't find the flash card reader. We do have some great pics from the final day in Taraz, and I'll try to post those tomorrow. We're starting to see a daily schedule through all the fog. Perhaps we can maintain that for 2 weeks, because it's really going to go down the drain after crossing the Atlantic.

Thanks again to you all for the uplifting comments and emails. And, as a side note, it is not necessary to sign up for a blogger account to leave us a post. Just choose "Other" from the 3 choices on the comments page, and that will let you type in your name, or any other alias you'd like us to figure out (Thank you, Snow White...I almost deleted that one as spam!).

Blessings upon blessings,

Kevin, Angel, Lena and Dub