Aug 24 2009
A quick break from Anna’s photos, here we have a picture taken of Balzhan and Dr Natalya on Balzhan’s xxth birthday. We had a few drinks, ordered in a few pizzas, and their children (Ilda and Sveta) played on the Xbox. I wasn’t too drunk, full or over protective 🙂
Dr Natalya And Balzhan The Birthday Girl
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Dec 02 2008
Happy Birthday, hopefully Sasha and Sveta have been giving you a peaceful and relaxing day 🙂
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Dec 03 2007
To celebrate Dr Natalya’s birthday, we went to the ‘barrel’ restaurant yesterday. I have forgotten the official name of the place, but due to the use of huge barrels outside as dining areas (at least in the summer months), that barrel place is easier to remember 🙂
As well as Dr Natalya, her husband Sasha (when in doubt, if a guy is Russian, Sasha is normally a safe bet 😉 ), their daughter Sveta and Masha, we also had Balzhan and her son Ildar. We finally had a chance to pass on a couple of little presents for the kids (some toys and a British comic each) who seemed to enjoy them. Anyway, we had some salad (OK, I admit I just munched on the bread), a few plates of pork sashliq and I ordered some chips. Topped off with some ice cream, and a good time was had by all. Sadly Balzhan and Ildar can not make it this Christmas to Mum’s wedding, so it was good to see them again before New Year, which is a much bigger holiday/celebration over here, than Xmas.
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Sep 13 2007
Last Sunday we went over to Balzhan’s, to celebrate Ildar’s birthday, along with Dr Natalya, Sasha and Sveta. We bought him a board game that appeared to have a lot of instructions, as it had several different boards and rules as you progressed through the game. It will hopefully provide an alternative when his Gameboy’s batteries run out 🙂
Anyway, the adults had a nice meal, with a little vodka for some, and wine for others. I think. I remember having some nice vodka at least. Sasha is still on the offensive in terms of getting me to go fishing, though he didn’t seem to believe I really didn’t eat any fish. Combine that with my hatred of mushrooms and nuts, and I do occasionally get strange looks from fellow diners. I just hope my enthusiasm and capacity for vodka goes some way to balance it out 🙂
We have in the photos below Balzhan, Dr Natalya, her husband Sasha with Ildar and Sveta, and finally Ira.
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Sep 02 2007
Yesterday we went to meet up with Ildar and Mum (Balzhan) to attend his first day at school. Dr Natalya and her daughter Sveta also came. Sveta is still a few years away from going to school, but it looks like she was interested in everything going on at least.
One of the things that really stood out (apart from the fact that Kazakh children appear to start school a year or two later than in Britain) is just how seriously they take the first day at school. There were boys in suits and girls in their Sunday best. (As Kazakhstan is, at least nominally, a Muslim state, perhaps that should be Friday best??). The ceremony lasted a little over an hour, with flags, music blasted out of speakers, the national anthem, lots of kids with flowers, speeches by those about to leave the same school, and plenty of proud relations milling about.
Anyway, on to the photos (I hope to finish editting the videos later and if I get time will post them on here this evening)…
First we have mother and son
This is the better quality of the two group photos…
However, I could not miss this one out, primarily because it has Ildar showing off his milk teeth missing – truly growing up now 🙂
Here we have the children ready lined up to be bored to sleep by the speeches. (I was really impressed how well they all behaved – I got fidgetty enough to sneak off for a cigarette half way through.)
Perhaps their good behaviour was attributable to the formidable presence of the headmistress?
The school flag was wheeled out…
Finally a quick shot of the school building itself. In times past, it would probably have at least received a quick lick of paint before a ceremony like this, but the sculptures were still pretty impressive.
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