OK, so we've finally gotten our car here. It came last week. Well, it got all its paperwork last week.

Now, it's time for us to get behind the wheel and experience for ourselves the chaos that is Tashkent driving.

This is what my driver, Emran always says to me when I note in my fractured Russian some of the more heinous Uzbek driving habits. Emran is a great guy, and he handles the craziness pretty well. 

Most of the crazy stuff has gotten run of the mill, but a few things still get my attention. Like the drivers who decide that they can get further down the road at a traffic light by driving--I kid you not--in the oncoming traffic lanes. That is one that still gets me.

Well, we're a month in. Alex has started school, and the report (with 3 days in the books) is that it is pretty good. He has liked the class thus far. He has been learning Russian at home, and will add more Russian at school. And I am sure that as the routine gets more established, he will get even more comfortable. It is a lot of change for him to process.

Well, this will be brief. It is darned hot here, and we are working on adjusting. Alex has a week off before school starts on the 16th of August, and we are taking the time to go to a couple of outdoor swimming pools. The one we went to on Monday was nice; it had a couple of different pools, and slides as well. We had a good time. While we were there, a guy came up to me, introduced himself as "Sly" (no kidding) and asked if he could practice his English with us. I agreed, and we chatted for about fifteen minutes.

As it turns out, Tashkent is a pretty spread out city, and driving is a major necessity for getting around.