Tajikistan

In September, we had the opportunity to visit Tajikistan. The next few posts will hopefully give you an idea what it was like.

We went in order to visit Matthew's brother and his family. Aaron, Jen, Ella and Silas have lived in Tajikistan for 4 years. It had been a while since we had seen each other. In fact, this was our first introduction to Silas.

Here are the cousins looking smart.

Here we are picnicking at a reserviour near Khujand.

The cousins got on smashingly! Here's Ella leading BG through her town.

Miriam and Silas had a stormy relationship. One minute they would be competing (with tears) for the same toy, the next minute they would be laughing together. But that's a two year old for ya!

Ella and Oliver rode together on this ride at the amusement park.

Miriam has never sat so still.

We met a few interesting people that made our time in Tajikistan special, like the family that Aaron and Jen lived with when they first arrived and the man who helped Aaron learn Tajik, but noone was more endearing than this young lady. She babysits for Ella and Silas sometimes, but she is far more that a babysitter. She has a place in our hearts and prayers.
Here we are all together. Oh, yeah, did we tell you that the American football made the whole journey? Crazy boys, they couldn't put it down!

Tajikistan - The hike

One of the greatest things about visiting Tajikistan was beholding the beauty of God's creation. Our hosts took us up into the mountains, to a place called Iskanderkul, for three days. Getting there was exciting. Notice the over-packed, over-peopled car. And if you could see out the windows, you would notice a lack of road. For hours, we bumped along treacherous mountain roads to get to our destination.

But it was worth it. Our bungalow was located in among the trees in the picture above. The water really was that color. Breathtaking.

One day we hiked from the lake, down this canyon . . .

. . . to this 38 meter (114 ft.) waterfall. Unfortunately there was no way to take a picture of it. Notice the look-out deck is held in place and balanced by a boulder. The kids loved collecting rocks and dropping them through the cracks.

And there was no lack of rocks.

The second full day in Iskanderkul, we climbed up the mountain named after Alexander the Great's hat. It's the domed mountain in the last picture of this post. No, we didn't climb the whole way. We drove most of the way up. But it still left us with a pretty gruelling hour up to the top. On the way, we saw eagles soring above our heads. Maybe they were expecting one of the little ones to not make it!

But they did make it!

Aaron and I

Ella, Benjamin and Oliver posing on the top of the mountain.
Incredible, no?

Tajikistan - The culture

I'll try not to write much about the culture, especially since we are no experts. But it didn't take long for us to realize that the cultural traditions in Tajikistan are old and unchanging. For example, this is Osh. It is the national food of Tajikistan. It consists of rice, carrots, chickpeas, raisins and meat. If you have a guest, this is what you cook, period.

And this is how you eat it, off of the floor or low table, sitting on colorful cushions. Usually the table is full of nuts, fruit and chocolate, which you are free to eat before the meat comes. Our kids liked that part!

Speaking of food, here is a bread seller at the market.

The dried fruits and nuts where plentiful.

Here's some local vendors showing off their hats for sale. Just notice all the colors!

Melinda wore one of Jen's Tajik dresses. With her black hair, she fit right in. Here Jen is teaching her how to use the short, standard issue broom.

Seller at the bazaar.

We felt right at home in Khujand when we saw this big bird statue. Tatabánya's is bigger!

And finally . . . That's 25 pounds of apples on her head and a cell phone in her hand and she seems to be walking down a road in the middle of nowhere.

Well, all in all it was a trip of a lifetime that we will not soon forget. Thanks Aaron, Jen, Ella and Silas for giving up your beds and being our hosts. Stop by next time you find yourselves in Europe and we'll return the favor!

Utazunk!!! - We are on our way!!!

Kedves mindenki!

Bocsánat, hogy mostanában nem nagyon jutott időnk blogírásra! Izgalmas napok vannak mögöttünk (iskolakezdés, a fiúk szülinapja és hasonlók) és még izgalmasabbak állnak előttünk: vasárnap ugyanis indulunk Matt tesójáékhoz Tadzsikisztánba! Nagy izgalommal várjuk az utazást! :)

De azért hogy ne legyen olyan uncsi ez a bejegyzés, csatolok a gyerkőcökről két friss képet.

Dear all,

Sorry that we haven't really been diligent bloggers recently! We have had some exciting days behind us (starting school, the boys' birthdays and such) and we are heading into even more exciting days: on Sunday we are leaving to visit Matthew's brother and family in Tajikistan! We are so excited about our trip! :)

So as not to leave this entry so boring, I am enclosing two recent pictures of the kids.

New bed - Új ágy

Miriam has reached a milestone in her life: she has moved out of her crib into a "big girl", that is, an adult bed! Everybody was excited about this event, especially Benjamin, who was a bit worried that little sis' will fall out of bed at night! To avoid this, we placed a mattress in front of the bed. I was actually more worried about her waking up at 5 and wandering out of the room thinking it's time to wake up! Thankfully, that didn't happen and she is still the one who gets up the latest among the kids!
Miriam életének új szakaszába érkezett: kiköltözött a babaágyból egy "nagylányos", azaz felnőtt ágyba! Nagy izgalom előzte meg az eseményt és főleg Benjámin aggódott kicsit amiatt, hogy a kishugi ki fog esni az ágyból éjszaka! Ezt elkerülendő leraktunk az ágy mellé egy matracot. Én amiatt aggódtam inkább, hogy felébred ötkor és kitámolyog a szobából, gondolván, hogy itt az idő, hogy reggel legyen! Szerencsére ez nem történt meg és még mindig ő kel fel legkésőbb a gyerekek közül!
Today we had her nap in the big bed as well. There were seemingly no problems, but then this is how I found her:

Ma a délutáni alvásra is felavattuk a nagy ágyat. Úgy tűnt, hogy nem is volt semmi gond, de aztán így találtam rá:
But she didn't seem to mind that somehow, during her sleep, she got a little lower...

De úgy tűnik, hogy nem nagyon zavarta az, hogy alvás közben valahogy kissé alacsonyabbra került...

Those boys... - Azok a fiúk...

What happens when you have two older brothers you love and learn everything from?
Mi történik, ha van két bátyád akiket szeretsz és mindent eltanulsz tőlük?

Well, you may end up standing against a wall announcing: "I need to pee!" Oh my, dear Miriam, unfortunately things won't go that easy in your case! :)
Nos, lehet, hogy egy fal felé fordulsz és kijelented: "Pisilek!" Ó, drága Miriam, sajnos nálad nem fog ilyen egyszerűen menni a dolog! :)
Do you think she will have permanent psychological damage because of this later on?? :))
Szerintetek maradandó pszichológiai károsodása lesz emiatt később?? :))

She looks cute, doesn't she? The dress is a birthday gift from Grandma and the hat I picked up from a donation room at a conference. I figured she needs to wear these pretty things more before she grows out of them! However, the dress didn't stay clean that long...

Nagyon cuki, nem? A ruhát az amerikai nagymami küldte a szülinapjára, a kalapot pedig egy konferencia adományszobájában találtam. Rájöttem, hogy többször kell ráadnom ezeket a csini dolgokat mielőtt kinövi őket! Nos persze a ruha nem maradt tiszta sokáig...
Meanwhile, the boys had fun playing cards in the grass.
Mindeközben a fiúk egy jót kártyáztak a fűben.
All in all, a pleasant Sunday afternoon was had by all!
Egyszóval kellemesen telt a vasárnap délutánunk!

Vacation - Nyaralás

From Monday to Saturday we will be gone on vacation with my parents and my brother's family. We are going to a nice area in Hungary so I hope to be back with pictures! As for the weather, it has been more fall here than summer, so we may either be sunbathing or sledding this week! :) See ya!

Hétfőtől szombatig nyaralni megyünk a szüleimmel és tesómékkal az Őrségbe. Igyekszem majd képekkel szolgálni! Ami az időjárást illeti, ha Mo-on élsz tudod, hogy lehet, hogy napozni fogunk ezen a héten de lehet, hogy szánkózni! :) Na pá!

Testvéri szeretet - Brotherly love

Olivér mostanában nagyon lelkes nagy tesó. Túl van pár pelenkacserélésen és ma reggel ő öltöztette a hugát gyüli előtt. Igaz, hogy a ruha fordítva került a kisnőcire, de amúgy tényleg nagy segítsége Anyának a nagyfiú! :)

Oliver has been a really enthusiastic big brother recently. He now has a few diaper-changes under his belt and this morning he got his sister ready for church. True that the dress got on backwards on the little lady, but he IS a big help for Mama! :)

Dupla öröm - Double fun

Miriam sosem szokott rá a cumira (a fiúk sem), de ő a bátyjaival ellentétben az ujját sem szopja kedvenc plüssállata kíséretében. Azonban van egy vele egyidős cumi-tulajdonos kis barátnője, akinek hatására ő is néha rákap a cummogásra!

Miriam has never taken to a pacifier (nor did the boys), but unlike her brothers, she doesn't suck her thumb accompanied by her favorite stuffed animal either. However, she has a little friend her age, who is a pacifier-user, so Miriam sometimes enjoys this pastime now!

És ha így tesz, akkor nem kispályázik! :)
And when she does, she takes all she can!

Tajikistan

We are planning to visit Matthew's brother and his family in Tajikistan in September. We have never been there and are very excited to see them and experience their life "way over there"! (This is our little joke that for Americans, we live "over there", but Aaron and Jen are "way over there"! :) Anyway, we are in the midst of trying to get tickets and visas. Not everything is settled yet, so we are still holding our breath about getting everything done in time.

Nagyon szeretnénk Matt tesójáékat meglátogatni Tadzsikisztánban szeptemberben. Még sosem jártunk arrafelé és izgalommal várjuk, hogy megnézhessük, hol is élnek ők ott a nagy messzeségben! Most épp a repülőjegyeket és a vízumokat próbáljuk elintézni. Még nincs minden sínen, úgyhogy csak reménykedünk, hogy a helyére kerülnek a dolgok az indulásig.

Meanwhile, we had to get pictures taken for the visas, so I thought I would share them with you.
Addig is fotókat kellett készítenünk a vízumokhoz és gondoltam, bemutatom ezeket nektek is.

The boys' turned out to be a pretty easy task.
A fiúknál viszonylag hamar sikerült célba érni.
Not the case with our two-year-old! The first attempts were "rejects" (as Grandpa the Quality Controller would say) albeit kind of cute. :)
Nem így történt a kétévesünk esetében! Az első pár próbálkozás nem ment át a minőségellenőrzés szigorú szűrőjén (bár elég cukik voltak). :)
Believe it or not, this was the most acceptable version:
Ha hiszitek, ha nem, ez volt a legelfogadhatóbb példány: