we will try to get better about posting photos and videos. but here are some to start...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
photos of olive
jen has been amazing at taking photos of olive lately. so much is going on in her development. she has started to sit up. she responds when we call her name. she picks up things. she strains to grab things that are outside of her reach. she can sort of roll over. she is becoming very vocal. and best of all she reaches up and grabs our faces when we bend down to kiss her.
we will try to get better about posting photos and videos. but here are some to start...
we will try to get better about posting photos and videos. but here are some to start...
Saturday, January 30, 2010
ak-bars vs mobilnye seti
today was our game against mobilnye seti. a very young but good team that we barely beat earlier in the season (before i was coach). there only losses have come against us and tulpar. they rolled through everyone else.
i typical fashion, we came out slow and flat but survived the first quarter all tied up. we really fell apart in the second half (making bad passes, not running our offense) and we went into the break down by 5.
i could feel the stares of my mafia boss sitting behind my and could just imagine him sending one of his henchmen out to get a burlap bag with which to stuff me into. so i decided to try a different approach with my team (maybe go throw mud on their cars?).
i am a pretty laid back friendly kind of coach. i think getting the input of my players is important as they are "professionals". it is an approach that they are not use to in the least. the are all very former soviet unionish (including my three american players who were raised in the ukraine). i am learning that they need to be told exactly what to do. not asked. but told. oh... and that they respond to yelling (as one of my players told me as we headed into the locker room).
that is exactly what i did at half time. i went berserk. i yelled and screamed. spittle was flying out of my mouth. i threw my clipboard not once but twice (a player sheepishly picking it up and handing it to me each time). paul, the american missionary who is the preacher of the local russian language christian church had to translate for me. i felt a little bad as i used a choice selection of curse words during my tirade.
but it worked. we started the third quarter with a 14 - 0 run and never looked back... cruising to a 10 point win that wasn't nearly as close as i let my subs play the entire fourth quarter.
you would have thought i was elected president after the game. strangers shaking my hands. people asking for my photo (i am not joking). i was pretty cool. i was feeling so good that i went back into the locker room and yelled at my team again. if that is what they need in order to play well - that is what i am going to give them!
as i came into the locker room i caught the tale end of a fight between my a guy on my team and the really good point guard from mobilnye seti (who had taken objection against a hard foul towards the end of the game). i walked up to see what was going on and was promptly pushed against the wall. sigh.
we now have two weeks off before the playoffs begin. our first opponent? mobilnye seti.
i typical fashion, we came out slow and flat but survived the first quarter all tied up. we really fell apart in the second half (making bad passes, not running our offense) and we went into the break down by 5.
i could feel the stares of my mafia boss sitting behind my and could just imagine him sending one of his henchmen out to get a burlap bag with which to stuff me into. so i decided to try a different approach with my team (maybe go throw mud on their cars?).
i am a pretty laid back friendly kind of coach. i think getting the input of my players is important as they are "professionals". it is an approach that they are not use to in the least. the are all very former soviet unionish (including my three american players who were raised in the ukraine). i am learning that they need to be told exactly what to do. not asked. but told. oh... and that they respond to yelling (as one of my players told me as we headed into the locker room).
that is exactly what i did at half time. i went berserk. i yelled and screamed. spittle was flying out of my mouth. i threw my clipboard not once but twice (a player sheepishly picking it up and handing it to me each time). paul, the american missionary who is the preacher of the local russian language christian church had to translate for me. i felt a little bad as i used a choice selection of curse words during my tirade.
but it worked. we started the third quarter with a 14 - 0 run and never looked back... cruising to a 10 point win that wasn't nearly as close as i let my subs play the entire fourth quarter.
you would have thought i was elected president after the game. strangers shaking my hands. people asking for my photo (i am not joking). i was pretty cool. i was feeling so good that i went back into the locker room and yelled at my team again. if that is what they need in order to play well - that is what i am going to give them!
as i came into the locker room i caught the tale end of a fight between my a guy on my team and the really good point guard from mobilnye seti (who had taken objection against a hard foul towards the end of the game). i walked up to see what was going on and was promptly pushed against the wall. sigh.
we now have two weeks off before the playoffs begin. our first opponent? mobilnye seti.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
olive is sitting pretty - from jen's blog
Olivia is officially a "supported sitter". She topples over after about 30 seconds or if she sneezes but she sits on her own most of the time. Even when we hold her she wants to be sitting on her own. None of this lounging stuff for this baby. And, when she is able to feel any sort of flat ground under her feet, she is eager to stand. Say it ain't so...I hope she always likes to cuddle! She is growing and changing and we are loving and celebrating every moment of it!
something i don't normally do
i did something today i don't normally do - i lost my cool.
i am constantly disturbed by the lack of civility shown by the kyrygz people. the ethnic russians living in bishkek are a little better. they will at least acknowledge you before they run you off the street. but the ethnic kyrygz are horrible. they are rude although they don't think they are. they lack in any sort of manners. no sort of kindness and politeness. i am not writing this to rage against the local culture but to acknowledge that it is just so much different than what westerners find acceptable. and people have cultural difference. i am ok with that. in fact i am better than ok with that... that is why we are living overseas. but one and a half years into the bishkek adventure and i still find myself struggling to smile sometimes.
there is a little alley way that we have to drive down in order to get to our apartment. one one side of the alley way is a big government building (which houses the lawyers and lawmakers who work in the supreme court building that is across the street. on the other side of the alley way is a construction site where they are building a 5 story building. not sure if it is office space or apartments - not important to the story. the construction site is surrounded by this tall, aluminum fence. at the end of the alley (right after we turn into our apartment) is another parking area. the area is always busy. cars coming and going and parked everywhere. very slow and empty at night and on the weekends - but crazy during the work day.
on the government building side of the alley way are a couple of assigned parking spaces. cars are always parked there and they drivers are always next to the cars cleaning them (people here are obsessed with clean cars). if they are not washing the cars they are chain smoking and drinking vodka. i pass these guys everyday on my way home from work. typical locals. they always stare as i go by. i gave up smiling or waving a long time ago although i will break out with the curt head nod every so often if i am feeling frisky.
today as i turn off our street into the alley - i find that multiple cars have illegally parked on the construction side of the alley effectively blocking all traffic from driving down it. a women in an suv was trying to pull out of the alley (coming from the parking lot in the back) and was stuck. she was laying on her horn (and had been for a while as about 20 people where standing around watching in frustration. non of the drivers of the illegally parked cars were to be found. but the driver of one of the cars in the assigned spaces was standing there, ignoring the honking horn, washing his car.
i realize it was not his fault that the alley was blocked. i understand that. but he very easily could have alleviated the situation by jumping in his car and moving it so the lady and myself could pass. i rolled down my window and asked him "nicely" do do this. he ignored me. i asked again. keep in mind i was trying to be heard over the blaring of the car horn about five feet away from us. he pointed to the reserved parking sign indicating that he wasn't going to move. i asked again nicely. he promptly decided to ignore me... gave the car one more rub down... and then proceeded to walk away.
both the honking lady and myself jumped out of our cars to follow him. he quickly ducked into the building and up the stairs. the lady followed. i stood next to his car completely frustrated. why? why? why couldn't he just show a little bit of kindness and politeness?
at this point i could do one of three things. 1. follow the guy into the building and cause a even bigger scene even though i know it will be to no avail. 2. sit in my car and wait it out... the other drivers have to come out at some point. 3. park around the street close to the apartment and don't worry about it.
i went for option 4 which is losing my cool.
must to the wide eyed astonishment of the 15 or so people still standing around - i reached down and grabbed a huge handful of sloppy mud (the snow has all melted and mud is everywhere) and hurdled at the car. everyone was quiet and shocked including myself. too late to turn back - i did it a second time. now the driver's side door and front window are covered in it.
you have to understand people take HUGE pride in keeping their cars clean here - to the point of washing them everyday. it is rare to see anyone with a really dirty car. if you do they are either farm folks from the villages coming into town or american's like myself. you would have thought i killed somebody by the way that the bystanders reacted.
i decided to scram. i jumped in my car and let. driving around the block and sneaking into the apartment to tell jennifer what had just happened. we both laughed. a nervous laugh. not so much at what i did as that i did something so out of character.
i am a bit stressed about what his response will be as i see the driver almost everyday. here is hoping that he isn't mafia... or related to the president. although it felt good to strike out against the lack of civility with some non-civility of my own... in hindsight it was a bad, bad idea.
i am constantly disturbed by the lack of civility shown by the kyrygz people. the ethnic russians living in bishkek are a little better. they will at least acknowledge you before they run you off the street. but the ethnic kyrygz are horrible. they are rude although they don't think they are. they lack in any sort of manners. no sort of kindness and politeness. i am not writing this to rage against the local culture but to acknowledge that it is just so much different than what westerners find acceptable. and people have cultural difference. i am ok with that. in fact i am better than ok with that... that is why we are living overseas. but one and a half years into the bishkek adventure and i still find myself struggling to smile sometimes.
there is a little alley way that we have to drive down in order to get to our apartment. one one side of the alley way is a big government building (which houses the lawyers and lawmakers who work in the supreme court building that is across the street. on the other side of the alley way is a construction site where they are building a 5 story building. not sure if it is office space or apartments - not important to the story. the construction site is surrounded by this tall, aluminum fence. at the end of the alley (right after we turn into our apartment) is another parking area. the area is always busy. cars coming and going and parked everywhere. very slow and empty at night and on the weekends - but crazy during the work day.
on the government building side of the alley way are a couple of assigned parking spaces. cars are always parked there and they drivers are always next to the cars cleaning them (people here are obsessed with clean cars). if they are not washing the cars they are chain smoking and drinking vodka. i pass these guys everyday on my way home from work. typical locals. they always stare as i go by. i gave up smiling or waving a long time ago although i will break out with the curt head nod every so often if i am feeling frisky.
today as i turn off our street into the alley - i find that multiple cars have illegally parked on the construction side of the alley effectively blocking all traffic from driving down it. a women in an suv was trying to pull out of the alley (coming from the parking lot in the back) and was stuck. she was laying on her horn (and had been for a while as about 20 people where standing around watching in frustration. non of the drivers of the illegally parked cars were to be found. but the driver of one of the cars in the assigned spaces was standing there, ignoring the honking horn, washing his car.
i realize it was not his fault that the alley was blocked. i understand that. but he very easily could have alleviated the situation by jumping in his car and moving it so the lady and myself could pass. i rolled down my window and asked him "nicely" do do this. he ignored me. i asked again. keep in mind i was trying to be heard over the blaring of the car horn about five feet away from us. he pointed to the reserved parking sign indicating that he wasn't going to move. i asked again nicely. he promptly decided to ignore me... gave the car one more rub down... and then proceeded to walk away.
both the honking lady and myself jumped out of our cars to follow him. he quickly ducked into the building and up the stairs. the lady followed. i stood next to his car completely frustrated. why? why? why couldn't he just show a little bit of kindness and politeness?
at this point i could do one of three things. 1. follow the guy into the building and cause a even bigger scene even though i know it will be to no avail. 2. sit in my car and wait it out... the other drivers have to come out at some point. 3. park around the street close to the apartment and don't worry about it.
i went for option 4 which is losing my cool.
must to the wide eyed astonishment of the 15 or so people still standing around - i reached down and grabbed a huge handful of sloppy mud (the snow has all melted and mud is everywhere) and hurdled at the car. everyone was quiet and shocked including myself. too late to turn back - i did it a second time. now the driver's side door and front window are covered in it.
you have to understand people take HUGE pride in keeping their cars clean here - to the point of washing them everyday. it is rare to see anyone with a really dirty car. if you do they are either farm folks from the villages coming into town or american's like myself. you would have thought i killed somebody by the way that the bystanders reacted.
i decided to scram. i jumped in my car and let. driving around the block and sneaking into the apartment to tell jennifer what had just happened. we both laughed. a nervous laugh. not so much at what i did as that i did something so out of character.
i am a bit stressed about what his response will be as i see the driver almost everyday. here is hoping that he isn't mafia... or related to the president. although it felt good to strike out against the lack of civility with some non-civility of my own... in hindsight it was a bad, bad idea.
under the weather - a post from jen's blog
Under the Weather
It's been freezing outside recently, and usually I would be stoked about breaking out the sweaters, scarves, and my favorite peacoat...but lately, we have been sick. Some say it's bronchitis, but I am thinking that it is just a lingering cold. A very sinus-y cold. Post-nasal drip central. It's ugly. Eyes are puffy. Throats are itchy. We are officially all open mouthed breathers.Olive has given us some scares at around four in the morning. She wakes up coughing and choking. It doesn't help that she is trying to break some teeth through. I'm not complaining but we are officially tired.
Work has been just fine. I think I am still winging it. I don't know the materials yet. I know the content, but getting used to another classroom (that someone else has set up) is hard to do. Especially when I don't really care. Let's face it, all I can do is think about Olivia all day. At snack time (at 10am), I come home via taxi to feed her. I thought that I would start her on cereal one of these days but I didn't want to start something new when she is already having a hard time because she is sick. Anyway, the parents of the students love me. They show it with American food and kindess. Works out, that's my love language.
Big news here, Olive is now 5 months old. She rolled over. I got it on video. She hasn't done it since. She has started to cup our faces when we hold her. It's adorable. She is such a sweet little baby. She laughs and smiles all the time, especially at Boone and Dave. Olive is now sitting with the support of her chubby little hands. She weighed 7.6 kilos at the last doctor's visit.
David's team lost (boohoo) to the team that they hired him to beat. It was a good go but the AkBars didn't meet their potential in the first quarter freethrows and gave up about 12 points and didn't recover after that. The team's players said that he needs to yell at them more and they would do better. It's not David's style but he said that at the next practice he would have a 'constructive criticism discussion' with each ot the players. Several Americans came to show support to the team (and the coach).
The highlight of the week was the arrival of the mystery packages that Jenna sent about 8 weeks ago. We both partially gave up hope. And, as it happens, that is when the packages showed up...in black, unmarked, Glad garbage bags. One was partially opened. One had a paper in it from the embassy saying that something was removed...it was fun. After appropriate excitement (we waited until we were on the phone together), we opened the packages full o' goodness. I miss American food so much. But, I miss my friends more.
Good things are happening. Jill is having a baby--little Stella Sandler. I can't wait to see her this summer! Jilly, I am waaaaaaaay excited for you and Morgan! Being a mom is the best feeling ever and it is so amazing to love a little person so much. I guess our parents really do love us! : )
My Bff, Jenna, got accepted into a PhD program. I might not be smart, but I've got a smart friend! : ) Family is healthy and happy and leading lives that they are proud of...and I am proud of them.
___________________________________________________________________
Addendum 1:
David got mad at a car parked in his way (the driver was there cleaning his car and refused to move). He did what any mature man would do. The driver walked away and that is when David picked up two big handfuls of mud and threw them at the car. No comment. (But you can comment on that!)
Monday, January 25, 2010
olive's feet and the bumbo
this is the week that olive discovered here feet. it started when we put he in the bumbo - this foam chair that our friend lauren gave us. olive loves sitting up in it and watching us as cook dinner or are sitting down to eat. it is pretty fun as she is so attentive. you can be out of her line of vision and call out to her and she will turn her head to find you. she has been pretty aware of her hands for about a month now - but just since the bumbo she has noticed her toes. she will stare at them... look at her hands... and then try to reach down and grab her feet. it is so cute and so much fun to watch.
even being sick - she is such a happy, smiley baby.
even being sick - she is such a happy, smiley baby.
olive is sick
olive has gotten very sick over the weekend. she has the horrible coughing fits where it looks like she is unable to breathe. the first time it happened i (the certified first aid and cpr instructor) was in complete panic mode while jen was the cool, calm and in control mom (i love you jen).
jen took her to doctor arena today (we are becoming regulars) who said that olivia now has bronchitis as well. she prescribed a whole slew of meds and antibiotics to give to her. we are a bit wary of giving her the antibiotics as she is so young. plus - you never know the origin of the medicine from here.
i am on the couch each night struggling to sleep. olive is having crazy coughing and crying fits in bedroom. jen is getting run ragged trying to take care of both of us.
we are both pretty worried and scared about olive. this is her first time being sick and is really hard to see.
not a good time at the conover household.
jen took her to doctor arena today (we are becoming regulars) who said that olivia now has bronchitis as well. she prescribed a whole slew of meds and antibiotics to give to her. we are a bit wary of giving her the antibiotics as she is so young. plus - you never know the origin of the medicine from here.
i am on the couch each night struggling to sleep. olive is having crazy coughing and crying fits in bedroom. jen is getting run ragged trying to take care of both of us.
we are both pretty worried and scared about olive. this is her first time being sick and is really hard to see.
not a good time at the conover household.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
stari gorad
about 12 of our friends went out to dinner after the game last night to on of jen and my favorite places in bishkek - stari gorad. it is one of the restaurants that is better served for a special occasion than an any night meal. dinner there is more of a production than a meal. there are always belly dancers, karaoke singers, and in the summer gypsy acts outside.
the night was suppose to be a victory dinner - but as we got spanked i almost felt like i should be buying for making everyone sit through the two hour game.
it was still a good time and nice that (almost) everyone was into hanging out. we sat at a tea table (where you take your shoes off and lounge on pillows and cushions around a low sitting table). jen opted to stay home as olive was feeling sick (still) and went into full breakdown mode right after the game.
in typical fashion with so many places here - the restaurant was out of most of the items on the menu (funny how they never run out of vodka). but the food they did have was good.
afterwards people headed out dancing and i headed home to check on my family.
the night was suppose to be a victory dinner - but as we got spanked i almost felt like i should be buying for making everyone sit through the two hour game.
it was still a good time and nice that (almost) everyone was into hanging out. we sat at a tea table (where you take your shoes off and lounge on pillows and cushions around a low sitting table). jen opted to stay home as olive was feeling sick (still) and went into full breakdown mode right after the game.
in typical fashion with so many places here - the restaurant was out of most of the items on the menu (funny how they never run out of vodka). but the food they did have was good.
afterwards people headed out dancing and i headed home to check on my family.
ak-bars vs tulpar
today my basketball team played our arch rivals tulpar in a much anticipated rematch from a game early in the where we were destroyed by 20 points. it was the game that caused the former coach of the team to get fired. i was hired the next week.
we went into the game fairly confident having won my previous two games as coach. i had some concerns about our defense and our rebounding (both ongoing problems) but the team "seemed" ready. i was probably a little over confident as i invited a big group of our friends to come and watch and go out for a victory dinner afterward. bad idea on my part.
the national sports palace where we play our games was packed with about 500 people. ok... admittedly most people where there to watch the interpretative dance competition taking place on the next court! but we had a pretty good crowd ourselves with about 150 people. the two courts are divided by a hanging screen and we were forced to listen to a combination of classical music and russian love ballads being blared for the dancers during the entire game.
i would like to blame the music for the way we played the first half of the game. we started very strong - attacking the basket and getting some good looks. we opened up with a press that rattled tulpar. everything was going our way. except for the fact that we missed 5 out of our first 7 shots (most of them layups) and 8 (yes 8) free throws in a row. the crowd moaned each time we missed an open shot or clanked a free throw - to the extent that it really started getting into the minds of my team and snowballing. we should have been up by 10 in the opening minutes but instead we were down 10.
by half we were down by 30.
the team owner and former coach were irate and they both came into the locker room to yell at my team. that isn't really my style - so instead i brought jennifer and olive into the locker room and introduced them to the team for the first time. "see my beautiful family?" i said. "that is what is important. remember that and remember that this is just a game. go have fun.".
my touchy feely speech must have worked as we opened the half on an amazing 20 - 5 run. we started to do the little things that i had been emphasizing in practice. we were well on our way to making an incredible comeback. but we didn't.
things leveled out in the third quarter and we ended up losing by 19. a one point improvement from the first time ak-bars played tulpar. i am not sure that is exactly what the mafia financed team owner had in mind when he hired me. but i didn't end up gagged and in the back of his trunk so guess i will survive to coach another game.
we have another big game against the number 3 team in the league next week so we have lots of work to do.
we went into the game fairly confident having won my previous two games as coach. i had some concerns about our defense and our rebounding (both ongoing problems) but the team "seemed" ready. i was probably a little over confident as i invited a big group of our friends to come and watch and go out for a victory dinner afterward. bad idea on my part.
the national sports palace where we play our games was packed with about 500 people. ok... admittedly most people where there to watch the interpretative dance competition taking place on the next court! but we had a pretty good crowd ourselves with about 150 people. the two courts are divided by a hanging screen and we were forced to listen to a combination of classical music and russian love ballads being blared for the dancers during the entire game.
i would like to blame the music for the way we played the first half of the game. we started very strong - attacking the basket and getting some good looks. we opened up with a press that rattled tulpar. everything was going our way. except for the fact that we missed 5 out of our first 7 shots (most of them layups) and 8 (yes 8) free throws in a row. the crowd moaned each time we missed an open shot or clanked a free throw - to the extent that it really started getting into the minds of my team and snowballing. we should have been up by 10 in the opening minutes but instead we were down 10.
by half we were down by 30.
the team owner and former coach were irate and they both came into the locker room to yell at my team. that isn't really my style - so instead i brought jennifer and olive into the locker room and introduced them to the team for the first time. "see my beautiful family?" i said. "that is what is important. remember that and remember that this is just a game. go have fun.".
my touchy feely speech must have worked as we opened the half on an amazing 20 - 5 run. we started to do the little things that i had been emphasizing in practice. we were well on our way to making an incredible comeback. but we didn't.
things leveled out in the third quarter and we ended up losing by 19. a one point improvement from the first time ak-bars played tulpar. i am not sure that is exactly what the mafia financed team owner had in mind when he hired me. but i didn't end up gagged and in the back of his trunk so guess i will survive to coach another game.
we have another big game against the number 3 team in the league next week so we have lots of work to do.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
the camel flu
i missed work on thursday and today. just feeling too, too sick. the whole family went to the doctor on wednesday. doctor arena diagnosed me with bronchitis and laryngitis. olive has a mild upper respiratory infection. jen is the only healthy one.
dr. arena said i should stay home from school as i am contagious (which makes me worry about olive) and she wrote me a note to give to my director.
she also gave me a list of about 10 different medicines to take. we will see how that goes.
i am feeling horrible and have been sleeping on the couch for the past week as every time i lay down i cough up an intestine. better to only keep boone up (who is sharing the couch with me) than to keep jen and olive up.
as bad as i feel (enough to miss work) somehow i imagine that i am going to feel well enough today to make both the morning and evening basketball practice in preparation for our big game tomorrow.
dr. arena said i should stay home from school as i am contagious (which makes me worry about olive) and she wrote me a note to give to my director.
she also gave me a list of about 10 different medicines to take. we will see how that goes.
i am feeling horrible and have been sleeping on the couch for the past week as every time i lay down i cough up an intestine. better to only keep boone up (who is sharing the couch with me) than to keep jen and olive up.
as bad as i feel (enough to miss work) somehow i imagine that i am going to feel well enough today to make both the morning and evening basketball practice in preparation for our big game tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
on the job front
we still haven't heard anything from qsi regarding what options we have for next year. we know we can be back here in bishkek if we want (which a very good option). marykay has also lead us to believe that qsi is going to give us something good... we will see.
the job in jordan is on the back burner. doesn't look like the tentative positions are going to open. we have heard so many good things about amman but i wouldn't be really excited to be a full time math teacher.
no news on the job in tanzania which in many ways would be our first choice outside of staying with qsi. they said we would hear from the before the end of the month.
we also have received some good feedback and interest from the international school in mali (west africa). from what i have researched it is fairly third world there and has some security concerns we would have to reconcile before considering the job - but the job itself is great. i would be the athletic director and take teams to tournaments all over africa.
international job fairs (which we are not attending) are going on during the next month so we won't know anything until after they happen i imagine.
the job in jordan is on the back burner. doesn't look like the tentative positions are going to open. we have heard so many good things about amman but i wouldn't be really excited to be a full time math teacher.
no news on the job in tanzania which in many ways would be our first choice outside of staying with qsi. they said we would hear from the before the end of the month.
we also have received some good feedback and interest from the international school in mali (west africa). from what i have researched it is fairly third world there and has some security concerns we would have to reconcile before considering the job - but the job itself is great. i would be the athletic director and take teams to tournaments all over africa.
international job fairs (which we are not attending) are going on during the next month so we won't know anything until after they happen i imagine.
Monday, January 18, 2010
a foot of snow
we woke to at least of foot of snow this morning with more coming down. our backyard/driveway looked like something out of a christmas postcard. the trees draped in white. the ground soft and quiet like a feather bed. it was so peaceful and tranquil walking outside first thing in the morning with not a disrupting footprint to be found or sound to be heard.
and then i let boone out.
all i can say is that crazy dog loves, loves, loves snow. he was leaping and bounding his way around the yard kicking up a storm of snow everywhere he went. it was so much fun watching him frolic. especially when he would build up some speed while running and then try to stop and change direction as he ended up sliding into fences, trees, bushes and our car.
and then i let boone out.
all i can say is that crazy dog loves, loves, loves snow. he was leaping and bounding his way around the yard kicking up a storm of snow everywhere he went. it was so much fun watching him frolic. especially when he would build up some speed while running and then try to stop and change direction as he ended up sliding into fences, trees, bushes and our car.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
dinner at nancy's
last night we went to dinner at my friend nancy's house. nancy is a 50 something year old woman who has lived pretty much all over the world. she works for the united states justice department based out of the embassy here in bishkek. her main job is to work with local lawyers and judges to help them emulate the good processes of the democratic justice system we practice back in the states. on some level pretty basic stuff - miranda rights, due process, innocent until proven guilty (all the stuff we don't practice at guantanamo bay). but here those things are pretty cutting edge as they are not rights which were afforded people here under soviet rule. so she pretty much has one of those under the radar very important jobs that does bring about positive change.
as she has lived all around the world her apartment is not like the typical bland embassy housing. it is full of art work and rugs from every bazaar between africa and southeast asia. pretty inspiring to think about living in all those places.
i know nancy from charlie (who is now in dhaka) and she played tennis with us quite often last year. tonight was the first time that she had met jennifer and of course olive. we also met for the first time a new justice department couple new to bishkek - dan and irene. really good, funny people. we are excited to add them to our community here.
the food was amazing, the wine was flowing and the conversation was really good. but as the case pretty much everywhere we go these days - all that took a back seat to olive who joyously ruled the evening!
as she has lived all around the world her apartment is not like the typical bland embassy housing. it is full of art work and rugs from every bazaar between africa and southeast asia. pretty inspiring to think about living in all those places.
i know nancy from charlie (who is now in dhaka) and she played tennis with us quite often last year. tonight was the first time that she had met jennifer and of course olive. we also met for the first time a new justice department couple new to bishkek - dan and irene. really good, funny people. we are excited to add them to our community here.
the food was amazing, the wine was flowing and the conversation was really good. but as the case pretty much everywhere we go these days - all that took a back seat to olive who joyously ruled the evening!
ak bars
my 'professional' basketball team had it's second game with coach conover at the helm this afternoon. we played one of the lower level teams in our league and came out with a fairly easy 102-62 victory. the team has really taken to the new offense that i have taught them and they are really playing well. moving without the ball... setting screens... taking the best, open shot. things aren't going so well on the other side of the ball. our defense is porous at best. my guys don't help out. they don't rebound well (and we are a pretty tall team). and they don't put forth much effort. i tried the old "chuck hayes" inspiration speech but it didn't translate too well into russian i think.
either way. next saturday we play our rivals (and the number one team in the league) tulpar. the coach i replaced mid-season was fired after having lost to tulpar. so there is no pressure there!
on a side note - friday night i met with the team's owner and the league's vice president to talk about my contract. they offered to pay me $1000 a month to coach the team. but they are deducting money for the three day time practices and two weight lifting sessions that i miss when i am working at the school. so that knocks the amount down to $300 a month. doesn't sound like much but when you think about that the average monthly salary of a local here is around $350 a month - i can't complain. the owner of my team is self proclaimed russian mafia and i thought for that i was going to be offered girls, drugs and cigarettes in lieu of cash payment. maybe i will hold out for that on my next contract. i am suppose to receive the official contract and my first pay (for the past two months) at the end of next week. at which point i will be an official member of the russian basketball federation and a professional basketball coach.
i love central asia!
either way. next saturday we play our rivals (and the number one team in the league) tulpar. the coach i replaced mid-season was fired after having lost to tulpar. so there is no pressure there!
on a side note - friday night i met with the team's owner and the league's vice president to talk about my contract. they offered to pay me $1000 a month to coach the team. but they are deducting money for the three day time practices and two weight lifting sessions that i miss when i am working at the school. so that knocks the amount down to $300 a month. doesn't sound like much but when you think about that the average monthly salary of a local here is around $350 a month - i can't complain. the owner of my team is self proclaimed russian mafia and i thought for that i was going to be offered girls, drugs and cigarettes in lieu of cash payment. maybe i will hold out for that on my next contract. i am suppose to receive the official contract and my first pay (for the past two months) at the end of next week. at which point i will be an official member of the russian basketball federation and a professional basketball coach.
i love central asia!
Monday, January 11, 2010
back to work - a note from jen's blog
Back to Work
I went back to work today. Going back to work itself was not a stress at all. I just couldn't bear the thought of leaving Olivia. Nina brought Olivia to the school right when Olivia woke up. It was perfect. She arrived happy. She visited me and we had lunch together. She napped. Dave drove Nina, Olivia, and I home and Olivia napped again after our walk to the store.While I was at work, my director gave me the best news ever (it might have helped that she is pregnant)...she told me that Olivia could be at school with me the whole day. I can't believe it.
I don't want to miss a thing because it seems like every day Olivia is doing something miraculous!
Olivia is intentionally grabbing for things and when we go to kiss her face she puts her
arms out in front like she is trying to stop us. It's so cute because she is smiling the whole time. She's been such a ham lately! She turns her head away while she's smiling like she's shy.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
culture shock
we've arrived back home in bishkek. nothing like rolling into central asia at 500am in the morning. being herded into a dark room with a jet full of other weary passengers. being forced to walk by a "swine flu detection camera/device" not once but twice. and then having to fight crowds of people (who have no regard for the fact we are toting a four month old baby with us) through customs. oh... and the computers were not working so the customs officials were having to enter everything manually.
needless to say returning to kyrgyzstan was a culture shock after two weeks in central europe.
we are all safe and sound although olive already misses the road. boone nearly had a heart attack upon seeing us and still hasn't calmed down nearly 24 hours later. nina was at the house when we arrive (around 700am) and immediately tried to make jen a heap of blinneys.
obviously i am quite a few days behind on the blog and will try to get caught up before the end of the week. we have to return to work on monday and jen is already fretting it. basketball practice starts up again this week. my masters program has started up again.
good bye vacation hello real world.
no complaints though. we are pretty blessed.
needless to say returning to kyrgyzstan was a culture shock after two weeks in central europe.
we are all safe and sound although olive already misses the road. boone nearly had a heart attack upon seeing us and still hasn't calmed down nearly 24 hours later. nina was at the house when we arrive (around 700am) and immediately tried to make jen a heap of blinneys.
obviously i am quite a few days behind on the blog and will try to get caught up before the end of the week. we have to return to work on monday and jen is already fretting it. basketball practice starts up again this week. my masters program has started up again.
good bye vacation hello real world.
no complaints though. we are pretty blessed.
last days
the last days of our trip were a blur. kerstin drove us to munich. the drive was only suppose to be two and a half hours yet somehow ended up lasting almost six when all was said and done. might have had something to do with the 'shortcut' through the countryside to avoid the autobahn we took. or perhaps it was our one hour stop at a burger king. or maybe the three times we stopped because olive was protesting car travel. or maybe it was the two hour layover in ikea. by the time that kerstin dumped us off at some random tram station - it was almost dark. we said our goodbyes (we hope to see you again soon kerstin!) and took the tram into central munich where we met up with katja and thomas our local couch surfing hosts.
katja and thomas were a super nice couple. she is five months pregnant with their first child. they both have the travel bug like jennifer and i do and were curious to know what it was like to travel with a new born as they hope to do it as well.
after we got settled in we headed into old town munich where they showed us the sights and then we went to one of the famous bavarian beer halls for dinner (and the world's least attentive and most rude waitresses).
we had hoped to stay in munich for two days but decided it was better to head back to vienna early the next afternoon. another long train ride. more wandering around in the dark looking for our night's lodging (this time in youth hostel). we ate dinner from the hostel's bar and squatted in the room for the night instead of getting out to explore on our last evening in europe. we were all three exhausted by this point.
tomorrow morning we have to get up early to hitch a ride to the airport for our 1100am flight. along the way we need to buy some diapers for our daughter who has run out.
katja and thomas were a super nice couple. she is five months pregnant with their first child. they both have the travel bug like jennifer and i do and were curious to know what it was like to travel with a new born as they hope to do it as well.
after we got settled in we headed into old town munich where they showed us the sights and then we went to one of the famous bavarian beer halls for dinner (and the world's least attentive and most rude waitresses).
we had hoped to stay in munich for two days but decided it was better to head back to vienna early the next afternoon. another long train ride. more wandering around in the dark looking for our night's lodging (this time in youth hostel). we ate dinner from the hostel's bar and squatted in the room for the night instead of getting out to explore on our last evening in europe. we were all three exhausted by this point.
tomorrow morning we have to get up early to hitch a ride to the airport for our 1100am flight. along the way we need to buy some diapers for our daughter who has run out.
Friday, January 1, 2010
new years day
happy new years everyone.
we had a nice quite (with the exception of the crazy amount of fireworks being shot off by every german) new years eve. we cooked dinner together on a __________ (i have no idea what you call the thing - it has a grill on top and little trays underneath were everyone can bake their own veggies, etc) which was great. we would love to have on of the ___________ at home because they are perfect for entertaining friends. the girls were asleep by this point and the three of us (kerstin, jen and myself) found ourselves reading and lounging on the couch looking at the clock wondering if we could stay away until midnight!
as the new year got closer, we each shared our highs and lows of the past year (i am pretty sure you can guess ours - olive being born and my dad dying) as well as our resolutions for the coming year.
it was a good way to bring in the new year. sharing good conversation with my best friend (that would be you jenny) and someone who we know who will be our friend for years to come.
on the first we spent another full day with kerstin. went to lunch up in the albs (the local mountain range... it isn't a misspelling. the name is 'albs' not alps) with kerstin's family. ate so much wiener schnitzel that it is dripping out of my pours. but i am happy. afterward we went on about an hour walk (i think we were actually lost for a little bit) along some trekking paths outside of the restaurant. i carried olive most of the way and loved feeling her sleep up against my chest and neck as she slept.
we are slowly making our way back to vienna tomorrow. kerstin is going to drive us to munich (about 2.5 hours away) where we will spend one night before heading into austria. the trip is coming to quick close...
we had a nice quite (with the exception of the crazy amount of fireworks being shot off by every german) new years eve. we cooked dinner together on a __________ (i have no idea what you call the thing - it has a grill on top and little trays underneath were everyone can bake their own veggies, etc) which was great. we would love to have on of the ___________ at home because they are perfect for entertaining friends. the girls were asleep by this point and the three of us (kerstin, jen and myself) found ourselves reading and lounging on the couch looking at the clock wondering if we could stay away until midnight!
as the new year got closer, we each shared our highs and lows of the past year (i am pretty sure you can guess ours - olive being born and my dad dying) as well as our resolutions for the coming year.
it was a good way to bring in the new year. sharing good conversation with my best friend (that would be you jenny) and someone who we know who will be our friend for years to come.
on the first we spent another full day with kerstin. went to lunch up in the albs (the local mountain range... it isn't a misspelling. the name is 'albs' not alps) with kerstin's family. ate so much wiener schnitzel that it is dripping out of my pours. but i am happy. afterward we went on about an hour walk (i think we were actually lost for a little bit) along some trekking paths outside of the restaurant. i carried olive most of the way and loved feeling her sleep up against my chest and neck as she slept.
we are slowly making our way back to vienna tomorrow. kerstin is going to drive us to munich (about 2.5 hours away) where we will spend one night before heading into austria. the trip is coming to quick close...
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