Dom Dva
This is our apartment building as seen from the courtyard below

Our Courtyard Area
It won't be long now 'til we're out here having picnics!

Lunar Landscape?
Though reminiscent of scenes from the movie Armageddon, this snow formation is the result of melting and refreezing (and the black color is coal dust).

Our Bus Stop
From the astanovka (bus stop) our apartment is only about a two-minute walk away.

Anatoly's Birthday Party
Ira, Vitaly, and Anatoly. In Russian culture it's tradition to throw your own birthday party and invite others to join you. (Apart from the chocolates, Ira made everything you see here.)

Who are those Guys?
Chris and I at Anatoly's.

Vitaly and I
Vitaly is one of Anatoly's good friends. I've had a lot of fun exercising my rather limited Russian skills with him.

Anatoly and His Birthday Presents
You won't find a wackier guy this side of the Ural Mountains!

The Miners' Palace
Karaganda is the city of miners, and this is the cultural palace (theater) named for them.

Old Orthodox Church
Anatoly recently took me to an older Orthodox church located in an outlying district called Prishakhtinsk.

Church's Interior
This church is much smaller than the one I had visited before, but the amount of artwork and icons inside is, nevertheless, amazing.

Nurkan Abdirov and I
This statue, in the city center, commemorates a Kazakh pilot who sacrificed himself in WWII to destroy an enemy convoy.

The Vegas Casino
This lovely establishment recently opened on the main boulevard in town. A little taste of home, right here in Kazakhstan.