The Cat Woman in Aktau

When I first arrived I started feeding one cat that always ran over to me and seemed so hungry. As the weeks went by I started feeding more cats and now my number is 8-9 every day. They are basically the same cats every day, but then I get a new one even cuter than ever that comes and joins the bunch. I have favorites that I would love to adopt and bring home with me, but I remember my experience in Korea with cats that destroyed my apartment and how I was heart broken when I had to leave them. The landlord who lived in my apartment had cats before I moved in and they were scratching up the brand new couches. I guess around here you don't have to have permission to move in pets. You just do it!!! I am so tempted, but I am also getting a big joy out of feeding my cats every day and evening. Now I am buying the big bags of cat food. The little gray striped cat that isn't eating in the back is one of my favorites.

There is only one cat that will let me pet it. It's the black one in the middle. The rest will come get my food, but will run away if I try to pet them. So in the afternoons when it is nice I hang out with them trying to get them used to listening to English. One great thing about feeding the cats is that I have gotten so many people that stop and talk to me - in Russian of course- but they seem very happy about seeing all the cats. Moms with their kids will stop, but it is mostly old ladies and a gentleman here and there. I don't think they hate cats like they did in Korea. I see elderly people carrying around sacks of bread crumbs that they leave for the cats. In fact one day I saw another woman back against the building feeding the cats. I'm happy that the cats don't have to just depend on me for their food, but to be truthful I felt like going up to her, hitting her with my bag of cat food and telling her to leave my cats alone. I hope you know that I am kidding.

Here's another spot that I find 3-5 cats every night. The gray one on the left finally let me pet her this morning. It was so much fun to see how she has learned to trust me. So I have had the best conversations with people because of the cats. I have a feeling that Iam considered a crazy woman by the looks I get when I first start calling, "Here kitty kitty."

This isn't about cats, but tonight in the grocery store I picked up 4 shallow boxes that are perfect for transporting pies, so I was carrying them home. I stopped at a small fruit market to buy a pumpkin to make pumpkin pies since there is no such thing as canned pumpkin in the store. (I read on the Internet that pumpkin was scare this year and people will be disappointed not having pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.) Well, I hope this pumpkin or whatever it is will make a delicious pie. Anyway as soon as I took those boxes in with me, the lady working there took them and threw them in a pile of her boxes. I tried to explain that I wanted those boxes, but she didn't understand. So I got some huge, sandy, muddy carrots and the pumpkin and then got the boxes and put them on the counter with me. The lady came over and took them away and threw them over in her boxes again. She was saying all this stuff in Russian that I didn't understand and then a few customers got involved and were saying things to her in Russian. So I paid for my veggies, went over and picked up the boxes and tried to go out the door. She was very friendly by now and was wanting to know my name and was telling me her name. I wasn't sure she was going to let me get out of the store, but she finally opened the door for me and let me go ( with my boxes). It was just a funny encounter. I wish I knew what she had been saying to me.

Our staff at school are going to have a big Thanksgiving meal on Saturday night. I plan to take mom's traditional carrot ring with creamed peas, and some pumpkin pies. And maybe some cheesecake if I get ambitious. There are no turkeys in Aktau, so we will be eating chicken. Yum! Yum! Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Love, Rachel