It was taken on October 1, 2004, at the Teacher's Day party for the teachers at the college where I taught English. The men were not being lewd; it must be the camera angle. Each time I see this picture I'm reminded how safe I always felt during my two years in Kazakhstan, how accomodating the people were to my husband and me. Never did they let us walk home alone. So many stereotypes of macho Muslim men were dashed during those two years.