Zachary:
April and Aida went to the public bathhouse today for a sauna and some gossip. I'll let her tell you about that. I stayed at the apartment and watched over Kai for a few hours. I'm glad to report he is still in one piece. As a matter of fact he was easy as pie.. we went for a walk, I fed and changed him and he took a nap while I read and worked on my court speech.
This afternoon I found yet another way to entertain Kai. I sit him on my lap and make a papapa-sputtering sound as I bounce him up and down, round and round. The pace gets more and more furious as the sputtering intensifies into a shake your cheeks rubadubabubbub sound. He loves it. He laughs and squeals. I call it 'the lawnmower'.
He's still eating like a horse. He's a growing boy though and gets lots of exercise. I can't believe how far he has come in just one week. So much stronger and more able. I dare say he kind of likes us..
Hope all's well back home. We miss you.
Z
April:
Well, as Zach said, Aida and I took ourselves off to the public baths for for some serious sweating and girl-time. We left the boys to themselves to drink beer, play poker and cruise for chicks, at least I assume that's what they did. It was awesome! There are private baths that are fancier and more expensive but, apparently, that's where men go with their mistresses to have sex. So that was out, although I find that hard to believe, so, of course, now I'm curious. Anyhoo, the public baths are segregated by sex which was definitely better for us. The building is pretty run down and funky, but it is so much fun. If you are headed to Kaz, you really have to try it. There were lots of families of women there of all generations. We went into the dry sauna first and sat there with some REALLY old ladies and a nice family. Everybody was totally surprised to see me but really nice. I was asked on three different occasions if I was Chechen. Maybe it was the cloth I had wrapped around my head, but apparently I am the poster girl for Chechnya. They have no opinion on Chechens here, it is just another nationality that someone could possibly be. There was a young woman there eager to practice her English, which was quite good. She was one of the prettiest people I have ever seen in my life. The people here really are gorgeous. We did the dry sauna a couple of times, then we went into the "Russian" sauna, which is the one you throw water on the rocks to make it steamy. Its also the one where you take turns whacking each other with a cluster of oak leaves. Quite invigorating! Then I had a bit of a massage where the masseuse attacked my knots like they had personally offended her. We drank water, everybody else drank water and beer (we kept forgetting to order it and then when we remembered, the lady who brought the drinks was gone). It was something else to see these very old ladies with wool caps on their heads (heads had to be covered) come into the sauna with big steins full of beer. Aida and I talked about everything under the sun from boys to stomach fat. A great time was had by all. Total cost for 3 1/2 hours relaxation -$2.50.
Apparently, I could have been getting daily massages from Zhenya (Kai's masseuse) at home, but Aida was too shy to ask me about it. It wasn't until today that she brought it up. So starting tomorrow, Zhenya will be coming here to give what is, by all accounts, a great massage. Gulnara, our coordinator, never comes to Taldy without getting a massage from Zhenya. To the next families that come the cost is $5/massage or 10 for $50. Can't beat that with a stick!
Kai was in the BEST mood all day long today. He was laughing and squealing and being his adorable self. My heart absolutely overflowed when we came back from the sauna and he saw me and started squealing and pumping his little arms and legs! I love him so, so much! He took great naps and is currently sawing logs in the next room after a lovely evening walk in the park. The temperature here is absolutely perfect right now. Tomorrow we are headed out for a drive in the country.
Love to you all!
