My first 2 weeks in KAZAKHSTAN!

Hello All! I'm blogging from Kazakhstan. We still don't have internet access at our flat, but I've been journaling in Word, so here's what I've written so far... Thanks for reading, and I welcome your comments, so long as you use "safe language" guidelines. Love to all!

Saturday, 29 August 2009, 9:40am in FRANKFURT:

Well, I’m 11 hours into this journey. I’m in Frankfurt, Germany, half way between a world I miss already and a world I can’t wait to be a part of (yes, I’m going to be an English teacher and yes, I do realize I ended that sentence with a preposition.). I’m an hour into my 6-hour layover here, and nobody around me is speaking English. And while that doesn’t surprise me, it has caught me off guard and given me a little glimpse of what I’m going to feel like when I arrive in KZ in about 12 hours.

Things I’ve done so far:

--Mailed 2 flatrate boxes from Grand Haven, MI, to Taraz, Kazakhstan.

--Wondered if they’d actually arrive.

--Said a tearful goodbye with family in the Detroit Airport.

--Got on plane, found my seat (40A), had meaningful conversation with my neighbor, Jessica (40B), who is headed to Amsterdam to nanny.

--Watched 2 movies: Bedtime stories and 17 Again.

--Landed in Frankfurt, took bus from plane to Airport.

--Wandered around Frankfurt Airport, bought a Fanta for $5, met Steve and Yvonne, an American couple from Jersey City who live in Saudi Arabia, had a wonderful conversation and felt very encouraged by them.

--Met Carolina (my roommate and teaching partner for this year) at the gate, went through security again, had my trumpet scanned for explosives again, and took a bus to our plane.

--Took off for Almaty!

Sunday, 30 August 2009, 9:30 am in TARAZ, KAZAKHSTAN:

After much dreaming about, imagining, and google-earthing this city, I’m finally in my flat in Taraz! After an uneventful flight from Frankfurt to Almaty, we landed in Kazakhstan! It’s so good to finally be here! We made it through customs without a problem , and waited for our luggage to arrive—all 6 pieces came through! We loaded up our luggage carts and headed out into the mob of people, each trying to sell a taxi ride to two tired and confused-looking Americans. We met the executive directors of the school we came to teach for, and headed out to our overnight-taxi to our city.

We awoke our driver, who was sound asleep (pillow and all!) in the passenger seat, only to have him furrow his brow and speak angrily at our large luggage carts. He begrudgingly loaded our heavy suitcases in the back, and ushered us into the back seat. The buckles for the seatbelts had been removed and the driver told us not to bother wearing it. Seriously?! Regardless, I looped the belt snugly around my ribs, hoping that in case of the wreck I feared was imminent, I would at least remain in the back seat instead of through the front windshield. Even though I hadn’t slept but 3 hours since waking up 36 hours earlier, I knew that I would not be sleeping on this ride for two reasons: 1. I was finally in Kazakhstan, and even though it’s 1am, there’s so much to see! 2. I didn’t trust my cab driver to stay awake. And off we went.

My roommate and administrator promptly fell asleep, and I found my eyes staring at the rearview mirror, glued on the droopy eyes of our sleepy driver. 20 minuets later, we were pulled over by the police… Our driver got out, there was much talking in Russian, then my door flew open and I looked up at the very tall, dark, and handsome Kazakh Police Officer who was wearing an extremely tall hat and I said “zdrasvootsya” (formal “hello” in Russian), and he slammed my door closed…My first correct use of a Russian word was a success! Despite the fact that the officer was rummaging through the luggage behind my head, I was ELATED! The back hatch slammed shut, there was more speaking in Russian, my driver handed something to the officer, got back in, and continued driving. And that was that!

Six hours and a pack and a half of cigarettes (for the driver, of course) later, after driving through the mountains, stopping countless times for herds of goats, cows, sheep, and horses, I watched the golden sun rise on my new life in Taraz, and knew it was setting on my family back in Michigan.

Finally at our flat, we hauled way to many 50lb bags up the three flights of stairs to our cozy little home. Things we will have to learn to live without? A washing machine and dryer, a microwave, hot water, a comfortable bed. But really, it just makes this adventure all the more adventurous. BRING IT ON. We said goodbye to our administrators and as they left they said, “We’ll pick you up tomorrow at 11am to show you around the city. Get some rest and DON’T open the door for ANYONE.” I fell asleep on my new bed, only to be awoken an hour later to someone pounding on our door. I didn’t answer, but couldn’t fall back asleep. So, I blog. I’m tired and nervous, but happy to be home, counting on my Father for strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

Monday, 31 August 2009, 10:30am in TARAZ:

My first cold shower was, well, much colder than I expected. It really wasn’t a great experience, and was actually much less tolerable that I’d imagined. I couldn’t stand to have my whole body beneath the little icy spout, so first I washed my hair, then my body, limb by limb, and then my face. It was cold and I even shivered a bit. All in all, not too bad. AND, at the end of my shower, the mirrors were still fog-free. Major plus.

Tuesday, 1 September 2009, 5:30am in TARAZ:

Good Morning! It’s sort of like we’ve adopted a third roommate and named him Jet Lag. He gets us up every morning around 3:10am, and wakes us up. He’s a little bit annoying, but he’s a reminder of home, so we’ll keep him around at least a few more days…

Yesterday, post-cold-shower, was a great day! We met a few of our teammates from Interlink (the rest of which we’ll meet today) and took a town tour with our new friends, Shoira and Laila. Shoira is the executive director of our school, and Laila is a teacher there. It was fun to get to know them a little bit. We walked to the school where we’ll be working, only a 10 minute walk, and looked around a bit. Then we went on a town tour. Apparently, if you want to cross the street where there is no light, you just confidently walk out, right into the speeding traffic, and without flinching, expect them to stop. We did this. I nearly wet myself. I will from this point forward and forever more ONLY cross at a light.

Our flat is already in the city center, so we just walked to the parks—we were told that one was for Children, one for swimmers, and one for lovers. Why? No idea. We are living in a beautiful city! From there we went to lunch, where we had 2 salads. Salads here don’t ever include lettuce, so they consisted of: Salad #1. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Onions, all raw, in oil and dill. Salad #2. Chicken, cucumbers, and pickles, in mayonnaise and dill. I really enjoyed both, aside from the single bite of those cursed onions, which caused me to look like a bit of a weird American as I chugged two glasses of water and secretly wished for more. Those onions were HOT! From there we went and purchased cell phones and 700 Tenge worth of units.

Next, we went back to our flat and rested a bit. Jet Lag was doing his thing again, and we just didn’t have the will to fight him.

At 5pm, with nothing but confidence and some Tenge, we headed out for the first time on our own to the supermarket. FRUSTERATING! I need to learn Russian. Immediately. We bought toilet paper, what we think and hope is hand soap, a 5 liter jug of water, and a lighter to ignite our gas stove. We returned to our flat exhausted, yet basking in our huge accomplishment. We rocked. Yesterday was good day.

Thursday, 3 September 2009, 4:30pm in TARAZ:

Today, on a whim, Carolina and I stopped ON OUR OWN for food! We ordered in Russian (!!!!!) and it worked! I probably looked a little funny with a ridiculous shut-UP-you-actually-understand-me?! grin, holding my little Russian phrase book in my hand. But, we got what we came for. And by saying we got what we came for, I’m saying that we’re not actually completely sure what we ordered, or if we got what we ordered. But, we at it, it was good, we were proud, and that was that!

Friday, 4 September 2009, 10pm in TARAZ:

One week ago, I said goodbye to my family at the airport. Katie is a week into being a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The little one is a week into College at Cornerstone University. Mom and Pops are a week into being empty nesters. I miss them all. And for the record, they all rock.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friends, Rebecca and Brandon. Sorry I couldn’t call, but I was thinking about you both. Missing you, much love, and enjoy 24!

Today, I slept until 6:45 am! Jet Lag is on his way out the door!

Today, Shoira took us to the Bazaar. We had a list of things we needed for our flat, and apparently, the bazaar was the place to find them. So, we took a bus, and it dropped us at the entrance. This place was not like your little western Michigan parking lot flee market. Ohhh no. We spent 2 ½ hours walking around this thing, and didn’t even see half! However, we found what we came for: hangers, a dish drying rack, a hot-pot for boiling water, a blow dryer, a small garbage can, a wisk, a potato masher, 2 bags of raw oats, a kilo of cucumbers, 2 kilos of potatos, a kilo of onions, 2 bunches of bananas, a kilo of both red and yellow peppers, and 2 little garlics. We had to take a taxi back to our flat, since we had bought so much stuff, but it only cost 250 Tenge (which is about $1.60 for 3 people and a trunk full of items.). Coming from Chicago, where just to hail a cab costs $2.20 before you even start toward your destination, this BLEW ME AWAY! We’re starting to feel like we have a place for everything, and our flat is starting to feel like home.

While we were out, our landlord’s son had come to fix a small leak in the water pipes under our bathtub. We had left keys with our sweet Russian Babushka neighbor, and when we went to retrieve them from her, she made it clear that she needed to tell us something important. We, speaking NO Russian, had no idea what she was trying to say. So, she signed for us to wait for a minute, and she ran back inside. She returned with a glass of water, and started dipping her hand in and throwing it down our stairs! She would throw a handful of water, shake her finger at us, and then fold her hands next to her face, signing sleep. Eventually, after our stairs had received more than their fair share of water, we figured out she was telling us that we can’t use the water in the bathroom until after we sleep! We laughed for a while about that encounter, but are thankful for the blessing our sweet neighbor is to us.

Sunday, 6 September 2009, 11:05pm in TARAZ:

Last Sunday, we arrived at our flat and basically slept the day away. So, today was my first in a long time not going to “club.” It was a little weird waking up and knowing I had no plans and nowhere to be. So, I planned my first few lessons, cleaned up things on my computer (we hope to be getting internet in our flat this week!), did my own devos, and that was about it. There are a total of 3 other Americans in this city, and Carolina and I got together with them for dinner, worship, and a discussion about the HS. It was uplifting and encouraging to be able to talk freely with like-minded people. Our Father IS at work in this country! These Sunday night meetings will be regular, as our schedules allow, PTL!

Monday, 7 September 2009, 6am in TARAZ:

Every night since I’ve arrived here, I’ve had nightmares and fitful sleep. I think it comes down to the fact that I’m afraid. I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, opening the door to the wrong person, being in the wrong place at the wrong time…Please lift up that, while there is much to be cautious of in this country, that I would not live a life of fear, but I would live a life of confidence, knowing WHO sent me here and WHAT I’m here to do.

...I welcome your comments, but please remember the "safe language" guidelines!