Beautiful day for walking

Today was Victory Day here in Kazakhstan, so we had off work. I took full advantage of the day. After I got up and fed Snickers at 6:15 (she's like clockwork in waking me up), I went back to bed until nearly 10! That hasn't happened in aged. Of course, I had Nyquil to thank for that nice bit of extra sleep. I did a few loads of laundry, cooked some meals for the rest of the week, and then, enjoyed the outdoors.

It was about 60 today, and not too windy, so very nice. I walked about 2 hours around town, taking pictures, people watching, and just enjoying the quite time. I ran into a group of children, around 11, who were also enjoying their day off. Now, the difference between back home and here is that these children had NO parent in sight. They were all together having fun, and being given the responsibility of being appropriately behaved and returning when done. It still shocks me when I see young children taking the bus without a parent. And by young, I mean around 7.  Anyway....these youngsters said hello in English and when I responded, they all ran over to me. They LOVE getting to speak English with native speakers whenever able. They are so enthusiastic about it. So, they were taking pictures and I had one of them take a picture for me. It seems they were celebrating one of their classmate's birthday. I love when children are smiling. It makes for a good day. I continued with some grocery shopping on the way home. These local kids reminded me that my own students have just about depleted my goldfish supply for snack, so I stopped to buy more. They all come prepared with snacks, but they always want what Ms. Johanna has. Of course, I don't mind sharing. :)