How I spend my spare time

I was going to sit down and write a post about the recent opening of the American Cultural Center in Almaty (located between the Chinese and Iranian Centers--someone has a sense of humor!), or write something about speaking at one of the local schools. But neither of those would give an accurate portrayal of how I spend time when not working on my research (Believe it or not, there is actually quite a bit of research that goes on. It just doesn't make for many (any?) interesting stories).

This weekend was the official taste test of Domino' D0nuts. Six different flavors of doughnuts, along with some pseudo-American instant coffee. Yum!!! The doughnuts were pretty disgusting, though, as was the coffee. But at least they are "made fresh twice daily"! Yes, when we're not eating chicken and drinking vodka in the mountains, this is how my friends and I spend our free time. How can we learn about the country and region if we don't try these things, after all??