The mother of one of my good friends from high school recently took a job in Semey, a medium-sized town in eastern Kazakhstan. Her winter break coincided with mine, and she decided that she wanted to visit Astana, and we planned it so that she arrived a day after Sophia and I returned.
She took the bus from Semey, a 12-hour overnight ride, an incredibly bumpy ride, with stops along the way to use incredibly stinky outhouses. We met her at the bus station at 6:30 in the morning.
"So," she said, "let me treat you to breakfast!"
I racked my brain for places that are open for breakfast in Astana. Since I usually am only up at the time when I have to go to work, I really don't know about what is open in Astana at this time. I know that the mini-marts don't open until 8 am, and that the malls are pretty deserted until after noon.
So first we went back to my apartment, and I googled two places that I'd heard did brunch. The Lonely Planet web site listed one place, Samovar on Kennesary Street, as being open 24 hours, and I'd heard from others that this restaurant serves a yummy brunch.
So at 8 am, we went to take a cab to go to Samovar.
The driver stopped in front of the restaurant, obviously confused. It's still dark in Astana at 8 am, and the street was nearly pitch-black--and so was the restaurant. Obviously not open!!
In my broken Russian, I managed to convey that we wanted to eat breakfast, did he know of any places that were open?
Remember that although there are official taxis in Astana, most people just take "gypsy" cabs, which is pretty similar to hitch-hiking in the US, except that it's incredibly common here, and that you pay the driver. So this poor guy was now stuck with 3 Americans in his car with nowhere to go! He called a friend and drove us to another restaurant--the lights were on, cars were parked outside of it, there were even a few people around. We thanked him profusely, tipped him generously, and got out.
The restaurant was closed.
Now we were stuck, still in the dark, still wanting breakfast, and thankfully the weather was kind. It was only about -10º Celsius (14º F), which is pretty mild for Astana in January before sunrise.
My friend then asked about hotels, and I realized that that's where we should have looked in the first place. Fancy hotels catering to foreigners should offer breakfast! We were near the King Hotel, a fancy hotel (rooms around $200 a night), so we walked there. Inside we asked if they had breakfast, and they did! Yay!
Breakfast was somewhat similar to a continental breakfast in an American hotel--dried fruits, nuts, cereal, bread and a toaster, rolls, tea and coffee. As well as some meat and vegetables. My friend asked for eggs--no one spoke enough English to understand, and I must have slaughtered the pronunciation of the Russian word for eggs, because no one understood me either. Finally, someone translated and we got sunny-side-up eggs, with the yolk practically uncooked. We also got 3 raw eggs, which we mistook for hard-boiled until my friend cracked one.
The bill came to 7200 Tenge--$48. Pretty steep for not such a great breakfast.
Oh well. Next time I want breakfast in Astana, I'll either cook it myself or wait until 10 am. I'm sure the brunch places open by then.
**Update: Today my Kazakh friend and I, along with our daughters, went to eat lunch at an Italian café that we discovered last year. The sign on the door said that it opens at 8 am; the menu included lunch--pancakes, omelettes, danishes, and everything under 1000 Tenge, so not too pricey (not too cheap, either). So now I know where to go next time I want breakfast at 8 in the morning!
The place is called Rafé; it has 2 locations in Astana; we were at the location near Congress Hall on Kenessary Street. 16 Bukeykhana Street.
(I also highly recommend Rafé for its desserts!)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Ordering Pizza
One of Sophia's and my favorite restaurants is called Il Platio; it's an Italian-Japanese restaurant, with reasonable prices and decent food. Sophia likes the pizza and pasta; I like the pizza and pasta, as well as the salads and meat options. There are two Il Platio's in Astana; one is located in the Sariarka mall near our house, so we sometimes go there after school for dinner. We can sit by one of the large windows and watch the sun set over the steppe. It's nice.
The other is located on Respublika Street, next to where the TJI Friday's used to be. TJI Friday's is now the American Bar and Grill. The same company owns these two restaurants.
Once while eating at Il Platio, I noticed a brochure that seemed to imply that we could order delivery over the Internet. I would love to have my dinner delivered, but although I can order fine in Russian, my skills on the telephone are practically non-existent.
So I went on the web site, http://dostavka.rosinter.kz, and found that they had a page in English, and that, yes, you can order delivery on-line! Hurrah!
Delivery is free, but the delivery prices are a bit higher than in-store, which is fine. 999 Tenge (under $7) for a cheese pizza, so not bad. You have to order at least 3000 Tenge ($20) in order to get delivery.
One evening, we tried it. I submitted my order on-line, I got a confirmation email--and then I went back and read the delivery info. on the site and found out that I'd get a phone call confirming my order. So I wasn't bypassing a telephone conversation altogether.
But the phone call was much easier than placing an order via phone. A lady called, confirmed my name and address, and all I had to do was so, "Da" (Russian for "yes"). I can do that.
Two hours went by and no pizza!
So I called a Kazakh friend, who called the restaurant. She was told that since it was the eve of a big holiday (Kazakh Independence Day) and they only had one driver, they were backed up quite a bit. Not long after, the pizza arrived, a bit cold.
Well, a few days ago I decided to give them one more chance. They had a good excuse last time, didn't that? I placed my order on a Monday, the eve of no holiday that I knew of.
The confirmation call didn't come for about an hour. I'm suspecting that they just didn't check their computer. The pizza came about an hour later, hot this time, but after bedtime!
Which, sadly, means that this place really isn't worth it for on-line ordering. Maybe if I called an order it'd be quicker? Definitely if we went there and ate it'd be quicker! It'd be worth it on a Saturday, if we had nowhere to go and no need to go to bed early. But not during the week, which is when I'd really like it.
Oh well!
UPDATE:
I tried ordering on-line one more time, and this time the pizza never came! Then I realized that if I can order food in Russian, then I can order delivery over the telephone in Russian. So I called the Il Platio delivery number and ordered delivery. I had to spell out my address & give my phone number (in Russian), but it worked. They delivered within in hour! I've done it several times since then, and my pizza has always arrived within the hour. Sophia & I are quite pleased.
The other is located on Respublika Street, next to where the TJI Friday's used to be. TJI Friday's is now the American Bar and Grill. The same company owns these two restaurants.
Once while eating at Il Platio, I noticed a brochure that seemed to imply that we could order delivery over the Internet. I would love to have my dinner delivered, but although I can order fine in Russian, my skills on the telephone are practically non-existent.
So I went on the web site, http://dostavka.rosinter.kz, and found that they had a page in English, and that, yes, you can order delivery on-line! Hurrah!
Delivery is free, but the delivery prices are a bit higher than in-store, which is fine. 999 Tenge (under $7) for a cheese pizza, so not bad. You have to order at least 3000 Tenge ($20) in order to get delivery.
One evening, we tried it. I submitted my order on-line, I got a confirmation email--and then I went back and read the delivery info. on the site and found out that I'd get a phone call confirming my order. So I wasn't bypassing a telephone conversation altogether.
But the phone call was much easier than placing an order via phone. A lady called, confirmed my name and address, and all I had to do was so, "Da" (Russian for "yes"). I can do that.
Two hours went by and no pizza!
So I called a Kazakh friend, who called the restaurant. She was told that since it was the eve of a big holiday (Kazakh Independence Day) and they only had one driver, they were backed up quite a bit. Not long after, the pizza arrived, a bit cold.
Well, a few days ago I decided to give them one more chance. They had a good excuse last time, didn't that? I placed my order on a Monday, the eve of no holiday that I knew of.
The confirmation call didn't come for about an hour. I'm suspecting that they just didn't check their computer. The pizza came about an hour later, hot this time, but after bedtime!
Which, sadly, means that this place really isn't worth it for on-line ordering. Maybe if I called an order it'd be quicker? Definitely if we went there and ate it'd be quicker! It'd be worth it on a Saturday, if we had nowhere to go and no need to go to bed early. But not during the week, which is when I'd really like it.
Oh well!
UPDATE:
I tried ordering on-line one more time, and this time the pizza never came! Then I realized that if I can order food in Russian, then I can order delivery over the telephone in Russian. So I called the Il Platio delivery number and ordered delivery. I had to spell out my address & give my phone number (in Russian), but it worked. They delivered within in hour! I've done it several times since then, and my pizza has always arrived within the hour. Sophia & I are quite pleased.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Freezing Cold
December 2012
Last year, when we left Astana for South Carolina, USA, there was almost no snow on the ground. I don't remember how cold it was, but I don't remember being freezing.
This year, temperatures dropped to -30 Celsius. I didn't wear my ski goggles--not that cold yet--but I did carry them with me to school a couple times, just in case.
Even Sophia admitted to being cold and willingly put in gloves (usually after we'd been outside for a while). I learned how great snow pants are, using a pair I'd bought from a co-worker last year.
Also, there's been a lot of snow. This part has been good. The kids at school have already been digging snow tunnels, and it's so much fun to watch them. There's the usual troubles of some kids stomping and ruining other kids' tunnels, but overall it's good fun. They work so hard at these things and really enjoy them.
Two groups of boys continue to play soccer, despite the ice and snow. It's cute to watch the bundled-up 5-year olds kicking the ball around and sliding on the ice.
In front of our apartment, the snow was shoveled quickly, just like last year. But this year someone took the time to make an ice slide out of the small mountain of packed snow that was shoveled to one side. They made steps going up one side and a slick slide going down the other. Sophia and her friend discovered this one day, and had quite a bit of fun going up and down that thing.
--UPDATE--
Last year, when we returned to Astana shortly after the New Year, it was freezing cold. I started wearing my ski goggles to school. Sophia didn't have any and was cold. This year so far, there has been no need for snow goggles. The temperature has ranged from -10 to -20 Celsius, with very little wind and clear skies. It was been very nice!
Last year, when we left Astana for South Carolina, USA, there was almost no snow on the ground. I don't remember how cold it was, but I don't remember being freezing.
This year, temperatures dropped to -30 Celsius. I didn't wear my ski goggles--not that cold yet--but I did carry them with me to school a couple times, just in case.
Even Sophia admitted to being cold and willingly put in gloves (usually after we'd been outside for a while). I learned how great snow pants are, using a pair I'd bought from a co-worker last year.
Also, there's been a lot of snow. This part has been good. The kids at school have already been digging snow tunnels, and it's so much fun to watch them. There's the usual troubles of some kids stomping and ruining other kids' tunnels, but overall it's good fun. They work so hard at these things and really enjoy them.
Two groups of boys continue to play soccer, despite the ice and snow. It's cute to watch the bundled-up 5-year olds kicking the ball around and sliding on the ice.
In front of our apartment, the snow was shoveled quickly, just like last year. But this year someone took the time to make an ice slide out of the small mountain of packed snow that was shoveled to one side. They made steps going up one side and a slick slide going down the other. Sophia and her friend discovered this one day, and had quite a bit of fun going up and down that thing.
--UPDATE--
Last year, when we returned to Astana shortly after the New Year, it was freezing cold. I started wearing my ski goggles to school. Sophia didn't have any and was cold. This year so far, there has been no need for snow goggles. The temperature has ranged from -10 to -20 Celsius, with very little wind and clear skies. It was been very nice!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Marine Ball
Saturday, 12 November 2011
(Photos: Not us, just a bunch of people posing for a photo. And the Staff Sergeant Marine serving a piece of cake to the oldest Marine.)
The annual Marine Ball, I have learned, is a big event, and happens in nearly every city where there are Marines. It is a celebration of the birthday of the Marines, which is around 10 November.
Tickets were $100, and the ball fell on Sophia's birthday, but I have never been to a ball before, and I had a dress, so I was determined to go.
I found another single co-worker who was willing to go with me, and last minute the principal and her husband as well as the vice-principal and his wife decided to come too. They were all busy, so they each gave me a $100 bill, and Sophia and I went across town to purchase the tickets. On the bus with $600 in cash. Such is life in Kazakhstan.
As soon as Sophia's party ended, I hurried to clean the house and waited for A., one of my teaching assistants, to come over. She's very artistic and had asked me earlier if she could do my hair and make-up. Of course! I answered since I am pretty clueless in those areas.
She Skyped with her friend in Japan, who knows a lot about these matters, and after a few hours I was beautiful.
I don't have curlers, and my hair resists any attempt to change it from its usual straightness, so A. used a curling iron to curl small pieces of my hair, spray them, and then pin them in tight circles. She burned my ear a couple of times in the process.
As she was doing my make-up, Sophia complained that she had a headache, and soon she was throwing up and begging me not to go. A mom's dilemma -- I spent $100 on these tickets! I've been waiting a year for this event! How sick is my child?
My friend R. had volunteered to watch Sophia and her child, Sophia's best friend. She assured me that Sophia would be okay, and I gave Sophia her phone so she could call me anytime.
With the hair and make-up taking so long, and the long stop to calm Sophia, I was over an hour late to the ball. I missed the cocktail hour and came in during a speech.
There were several speeches by Marines and a retired Navy officer. Then the cake was ceremoniously brought in, and a slice offered to the ambassador, the oldest Marine, and the youngest Marine. Then, finally, dinner was served. My appetizer was a cold salmon salad; my dinner was a rack of lack with dijon-mustard sauce on tomato-zucchini gratin and semolina filo. (Yes, I still have the booklet which listed the menu, there's no way I would have remembered all that.)
We had wine and the kind of waiters who are intent on making sure that the amount of liquid in your glass never changes, so they were constantly refilling.
Then the music played and I realized what a ball in the 21st century is like--just like a dance club, except everybody is dressed super-formally and most people are relatively important people. The music was not very good, and ranged from Elvis to Lady Gaga.
Sadly, it was not very interesting, and it was too loud to do much conversing, but we got some good pictures with the Marines. There are only 5 stationed in Astana, since all they have to do is protect the embassy. The youngest Marine was 23 years old; the second oldest was 30; and the oldest was 43. So a small, young crowd.
We left at midnight; Sophia had just fallen asleep when I walked in the door.
An okay evening, in the end, a good event for photos and talking about later, but nothing too extremely special.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sophia's 9th Birthday
Saturday, 12 November 2011
We invited 12 kids to her birthday party--all the girls in the 3rd & 4th grade, plus 3 boys, plus her friend that goes to a local school. All but two RSVP'ed, and all but one showed up, so that was a pretty good turnout.
First, we met at the entrance to the movie theater at the Mega Mall, and went to watch the movie The Adventures of Tin-tin. You can look up movie times on-line, for the current day as well as the next two days, but when I looked up the times for most of the week, only the current day's would show. On the other pages, it would say something like, Wait for the administration to put the schedule up.
So I was nervous--for one week, Tin-tin had shown at 11:30, but what if today they changed the schedule?
Luckily, Tin-tin was showing, and at 11:30. I'd asked everyone to show up at 11, which was good, since, as usual, several people were late.
I bought the tickets--12 children's tickets plus 1 adult ticket--for about 5600 Tenge. That's about $38. Really nice price :) (And Sophia was free because it was her birthday.)
The movie was in Russian, but only a few of the children don't understand Russian, and of them, only one was bored. There's enough action in Tin-tin to follow the basic plot and be entertained. Kids' movies in general are easier to understand than adult movies.
After the movie, we walked back to my house, where I had them do a small scavenger hunt and then open presents while I made macaroni & cheese (imported from the US!) and chicken nuggets. Sophia's local friend was a bit shy, so I had her help me. She'd never seen macaroni and cheese before and appeared disgusted by the mixture when I poured in a huge slab of butter, some milk, and the powdery mixture.
Several of the Kazakhs hadn't had mac and cheese before, but they all liked it. The chicken nuggets were popular too (the frozen kind! now readily available in stores here).
Then I decorated the cake and brought it out and we sang "Happy Birthday." My apartment isn't tiny, but 13 kids is a lot. (The 11 who came, plus Sophia, plus the cousin of one of the girls.) And even though I'd bought some paper plates and had some plastic silverware, we were running out of those! Especially by the time cake and ice cream came along.
At this point they were pretty rowdy, getting in pillow fights, and so I was grateful that it was a rather warm day for mid-November in Astana. It was just 1 degree below 0 Celsius, and it was sunny and not windy. So I sent them outside to play Capture the Flag.
They were still happily playing when their parents came so I judge this party a success :) My house was messy, but we'd still managed to have a good party and for not too much money. And Sophia now had over 11 presents (because some kids gave her more than one thing).
The party ended at 4 pm; the last parent picked up at 4:30 pm; I spent half an hour cleaning the house, and then it was time to get ready for the Marine Corps Ball.
We invited 12 kids to her birthday party--all the girls in the 3rd & 4th grade, plus 3 boys, plus her friend that goes to a local school. All but two RSVP'ed, and all but one showed up, so that was a pretty good turnout.
First, we met at the entrance to the movie theater at the Mega Mall, and went to watch the movie The Adventures of Tin-tin. You can look up movie times on-line, for the current day as well as the next two days, but when I looked up the times for most of the week, only the current day's would show. On the other pages, it would say something like, Wait for the administration to put the schedule up.
So I was nervous--for one week, Tin-tin had shown at 11:30, but what if today they changed the schedule?
Luckily, Tin-tin was showing, and at 11:30. I'd asked everyone to show up at 11, which was good, since, as usual, several people were late.
I bought the tickets--12 children's tickets plus 1 adult ticket--for about 5600 Tenge. That's about $38. Really nice price :) (And Sophia was free because it was her birthday.)
The movie was in Russian, but only a few of the children don't understand Russian, and of them, only one was bored. There's enough action in Tin-tin to follow the basic plot and be entertained. Kids' movies in general are easier to understand than adult movies.
After the movie, we walked back to my house, where I had them do a small scavenger hunt and then open presents while I made macaroni & cheese (imported from the US!) and chicken nuggets. Sophia's local friend was a bit shy, so I had her help me. She'd never seen macaroni and cheese before and appeared disgusted by the mixture when I poured in a huge slab of butter, some milk, and the powdery mixture.
Several of the Kazakhs hadn't had mac and cheese before, but they all liked it. The chicken nuggets were popular too (the frozen kind! now readily available in stores here).
Then I decorated the cake and brought it out and we sang "Happy Birthday." My apartment isn't tiny, but 13 kids is a lot. (The 11 who came, plus Sophia, plus the cousin of one of the girls.) And even though I'd bought some paper plates and had some plastic silverware, we were running out of those! Especially by the time cake and ice cream came along.
At this point they were pretty rowdy, getting in pillow fights, and so I was grateful that it was a rather warm day for mid-November in Astana. It was just 1 degree below 0 Celsius, and it was sunny and not windy. So I sent them outside to play Capture the Flag.
They were still happily playing when their parents came so I judge this party a success :) My house was messy, but we'd still managed to have a good party and for not too much money. And Sophia now had over 11 presents (because some kids gave her more than one thing).
The party ended at 4 pm; the last parent picked up at 4:30 pm; I spent half an hour cleaning the house, and then it was time to get ready for the Marine Corps Ball.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
An English-speaking tailor
November 2011
For the most part, you don't need to speak the same language as a tailor. You can walk in, show them the tear in your coat (or whatever) and they can fix it. It helps to know times and numbers (for prices) but a large knowledge of English on their part or Russian or Kazakh on yours is not necessary.
There are a lot of tailors here; every mall seems to have one. The top floor of Artyom is full of cheap ones, and I learned my first year that taking something in to a tailor is cheaper and more convenient than pretending that I'd get around to sewing it myself. (Although I have sewn some things myself!) Like shoe-repair people, they're pretty cheap--a couple hundred Tenge (a few dollars) for the jobs I've used them for (fixing tears).
But this time I had a ballgown I wanted fitted, and so when a friend recommended an English-speaking tailor, I was more than glad to listen.
I took the dress in on Saturday, and by Tuesday evening it was ready. It cost me 2300 Tenge (about $15.50) and the tailor did a better job than the tailor in America who'd first fixed it.
So... in the rare chance that somebody reading this blog wants to find an English-speaking tailor, here goes my directions:
Start at the Mega shopping center. Walk past the circus and cross Kabanbai Batyr Street (the first big street you'll meet). The Kaskad buildings should be in front of you (the tallest of these buildings has a sign for "Turkish Airlines" on top of it.) Walk straight down the small street, so that Kaskad is on your right. The supermarket Alma is part of the Kaskad buildings, also on your right. A hotel will be on your left.
You'll walk about a block more after passing Kaskad, and probably start to wonder where I'm taking you, since it seems like just a neighborhood. But after about a block, a small, two-story shopping center will appear on your right. Enter by the first door. There will be stairs on your right; go up.
Upstairs are several small shops, walk straight down the hall until you get to a small set of steps; go up them. Directly on your right at the top of the stairs is a tailor--that's her!
For the most part, you don't need to speak the same language as a tailor. You can walk in, show them the tear in your coat (or whatever) and they can fix it. It helps to know times and numbers (for prices) but a large knowledge of English on their part or Russian or Kazakh on yours is not necessary.
There are a lot of tailors here; every mall seems to have one. The top floor of Artyom is full of cheap ones, and I learned my first year that taking something in to a tailor is cheaper and more convenient than pretending that I'd get around to sewing it myself. (Although I have sewn some things myself!) Like shoe-repair people, they're pretty cheap--a couple hundred Tenge (a few dollars) for the jobs I've used them for (fixing tears).
But this time I had a ballgown I wanted fitted, and so when a friend recommended an English-speaking tailor, I was more than glad to listen.
I took the dress in on Saturday, and by Tuesday evening it was ready. It cost me 2300 Tenge (about $15.50) and the tailor did a better job than the tailor in America who'd first fixed it.
So... in the rare chance that somebody reading this blog wants to find an English-speaking tailor, here goes my directions:
Start at the Mega shopping center. Walk past the circus and cross Kabanbai Batyr Street (the first big street you'll meet). The Kaskad buildings should be in front of you (the tallest of these buildings has a sign for "Turkish Airlines" on top of it.) Walk straight down the small street, so that Kaskad is on your right. The supermarket Alma is part of the Kaskad buildings, also on your right. A hotel will be on your left.
You'll walk about a block more after passing Kaskad, and probably start to wonder where I'm taking you, since it seems like just a neighborhood. But after about a block, a small, two-story shopping center will appear on your right. Enter by the first door. There will be stairs on your right; go up.
Upstairs are several small shops, walk straight down the hall until you get to a small set of steps; go up them. Directly on your right at the top of the stairs is a tailor--that's her!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Witnessing a kitten drown
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Behind our apartment building is another apartment building and a public school (School 17), with some shacks behind the other apartment building. Next to the shacks is the imposing Triumph building, an apartment complex and hotel with a swimming pool inside.
In order to get to Kabanbai Batyr Street, with buses to Artyom and other places, we cut through a large vacant lot behind the school.
Sunday as we were walking there, we heard a loud meowing. We stopped and saw a kitten on top of a sewer/manhole covering. There are lots of these in Astana, and, unlike those in the US, many of them are not secure. Oftentimes the covering is not there, and when winter comes you have to be careful! And even when the covering is on, it might not be securely on. Although, on this side of town, we've had few problems; two years ago, there were more uncovered and poorly-covered manholes.
There are lots of stray cats and dogs in Astana, looking rather pathetic, and we worry about them when winter comes. I used to carry a small bag of cat food around with me, just in case. (We are BIG cat lovers.)
So we went towards this kitten, and it got scared and ran off the manhole covering and started looking into a hole in the ground. Then it started to fall in. For whatever reason I told Sophia not to touch it, I would get it, but by the time I came up to it, it had fallen in.
The hole led to the sewer below, and the kitten was in the water. It had stopped meowing, at the time I thought this meant was okay; looking back, I realize that it was either too terrified to meow, or too busy trying not to drown to bother with trying to meow.
I opened the manhole covering (it was heavy) and we looked inside. The kitten had grabbed onto a stick and was paddling around. A ladder led to the water below.
We debated what to do. It was too far down to reach in and grab it. And it didn't think to grab onto the ladder that led to safety.
I debated climbing down. How safe was the ladder? How safe was the water? What was that strange valve-like thing that I'd most likely bump into while climbing down? Could the kitten find safety without us?
Then, we didn't see it, but we heard it -- a few loud, plaintive, gurgling meows. (We could hear the bubbles of water....) The most awful, horrifying, and pitiful sound I have ever heard.
Silence.
We looked in, we couldn't see it, we put the covering back, we started to walk to the bus stop, Sophia burst into tears, we returned home.
We'd witnessed a kitten drown.
And probably could have done something about it.
Behind our apartment building is another apartment building and a public school (School 17), with some shacks behind the other apartment building. Next to the shacks is the imposing Triumph building, an apartment complex and hotel with a swimming pool inside.
In order to get to Kabanbai Batyr Street, with buses to Artyom and other places, we cut through a large vacant lot behind the school.
Sunday as we were walking there, we heard a loud meowing. We stopped and saw a kitten on top of a sewer/manhole covering. There are lots of these in Astana, and, unlike those in the US, many of them are not secure. Oftentimes the covering is not there, and when winter comes you have to be careful! And even when the covering is on, it might not be securely on. Although, on this side of town, we've had few problems; two years ago, there were more uncovered and poorly-covered manholes.
There are lots of stray cats and dogs in Astana, looking rather pathetic, and we worry about them when winter comes. I used to carry a small bag of cat food around with me, just in case. (We are BIG cat lovers.)
So we went towards this kitten, and it got scared and ran off the manhole covering and started looking into a hole in the ground. Then it started to fall in. For whatever reason I told Sophia not to touch it, I would get it, but by the time I came up to it, it had fallen in.
The hole led to the sewer below, and the kitten was in the water. It had stopped meowing, at the time I thought this meant was okay; looking back, I realize that it was either too terrified to meow, or too busy trying not to drown to bother with trying to meow.
I opened the manhole covering (it was heavy) and we looked inside. The kitten had grabbed onto a stick and was paddling around. A ladder led to the water below.
We debated what to do. It was too far down to reach in and grab it. And it didn't think to grab onto the ladder that led to safety.
I debated climbing down. How safe was the ladder? How safe was the water? What was that strange valve-like thing that I'd most likely bump into while climbing down? Could the kitten find safety without us?
Then, we didn't see it, but we heard it -- a few loud, plaintive, gurgling meows. (We could hear the bubbles of water....) The most awful, horrifying, and pitiful sound I have ever heard.
Silence.
We looked in, we couldn't see it, we put the covering back, we started to walk to the bus stop, Sophia burst into tears, we returned home.
We'd witnessed a kitten drown.
And probably could have done something about it.
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