Buying Bread in Aktau

Dear Loved Ones,
It is truly an experience buying bread in this town. Every little grocery store has a bread section, but also there are small stands on the street and in the bazaars that sell bread. The bread is never wrapped. I walked into the grocery store and was just standing in awe in the bread section. Bread was just thrown on the shelves without any wrapping. There was also a grocery cart of loaves of bread just thrown in all piled up. I've never seen anything like it. I couldn't even imagine where to start. Then 2 young boys came over and I watched them take a plastic sack, turn it upside down over their hand, and then they started to feel all the bread. So I got a plastic sack and started feeling all the bread - hard, hard, hard! Then I went to the grocery cart and felt that bread. It was warm - right out of the oven. The boys didn't know any English, so I motioned them over very excitedly to the warm bread. So they were buying the warm bread, I was putting the warm bread in my sack, and then a man came over and started to buy the bread. I told the boys, " See, this must be the best bread here!" It was cute how they laughed and then got out of there as soon as they could.
It is just hard to find simple things here that we just take for granted back home. If I need something back home, I just make a list and go get it. Job is done! Here I have to look and look trying to figure out what is in the packages. Then I look in another store. Then I head to the bazaars. Finally, I have gotten a list of Russian names for the most common items, but still it is hard to find things. Sugar is never near the flour. It is sold in a plastic bag. It is a fun challenge trying to find things, but it also can be exhausting.
I decided to make lasagna and invite the school crew over. I also am going to make some pies. I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to find the ingredients. I've gone all over town to get different items. It is unbelieveable, but I even found my favorite ingredient - pesto for $6. I paid $18 just to buy a pan to bake the lasagna. There is no ricotta cheese and their cottage cheese doesn't look anything like the cottage cheese I am used to. It will be fun to see how it all turns out.
I met Marcy from Texas who has lived here for 14 months. She shipped all her stuff over here and is so willing to share. She gave me some baking powder which is a huge gift. She also gave me some Italian spices from Costco and other spices. I wish I had known her when I was making the gingerbread cookies.
I was trying to put on more pictures, following my directions exactly. It is not working and I am in such a sweat that I gave up. It was so easy last time.
There was a huge excitment here last week. The president of Russia and the 3 countries that surround the Caspian Sea made a stop in Aktau to talk about expanding the oil business. Workers worked all night trying to finish up the sidewalks. I thought the President was going to be walking down the sidewalk or something. I know all the streets were going to be closed down. We didn't think many of the kids would be in school because of the traffic problems, but it turned out to be just an ordinary day. The only thing I saw different were the amount of policemen on the streets when I walked home that day! I must have missed it!
Remember when I had a back ache the first few days of school? Dinara blamed it on the air conditioner. Since then I have been told that they blame all colds on airconditioners, fans, leaving the window open at night, or drinking ice water. I came down with a cold last week and Dinara told me it was from my ice water. Thank goodness I had brought some Airborne with me. I think I kicked it this weekend. Every weekend so far I have gone swimming in the Caspian Sea, but I just stayed home the whole weekend trying to get better. I would have loved to go swimming, but I know how cold the water is.
Be good everybody. Love, Rachel