Holidays in Kazakhstan!

It was a strange Christmas. People here do not celebrate Christmas so it was different for everything to be open on Christmas day and everyone going about their normal business. We celebrated with good friends here and still had a great time though! We had a lot of fun but the best part of it all was enjoying the true meaning behind Christmas together!

Christmas Eve with Tara, Salta, Tammy, Carrie and Tiffany...

Our beautiful dinner table and friends :)

A group picture in front of the tree (before I fell running to get into the picture)
Tiffany, Tara, Vic, Tammy, Salta and Carrie
Roommate Shot!

Precious Friends...
Tiff and I
Tammy reading Carrie the Cajun night before Christmas...
Tara made gravy - it will was prett good - just a little thick. This is Carrie trying to pour it!
Tara serving the delicious food!
Vic and Carrie :)
TONS of AMAZING food!

Tammy's Christmas outfit...get it!

Christmas Day! Christmas is not celebrated here so Salta had never had a Christmas before. We really wanted to give her the full experience and she loved it! Ok - we ALL loved it!! We left Santa cookies and milk, couldn't sleep all night, and woke up at the crack of dawn! Salta had to work at 8 so we all woke up at 5:45 (I went to bed around 3 or 330) and Santa had come!! He filled our stockings, our pillowcases (a tradition in my family), and left us gifts under the tree! Fun huh?? haha.

Salta leaving cookies and milk...

Santa ate them!!! (Or I dumped the milk down the drain and put the cookies back in the tin) I felt like a mom with her little children!

Santa came!!

Roomates at 6 in the morning on Christmas day!

Tara, Salta and I look rough this early - but we have our pillow cases! We kind of look like theives I guess...haha!We went over to the Horsley's to celebrate Christmas with our teammates and other friends!

Dauren and I - the guy that was in the bad accident a while ago. He is improving and is currently living with Matt and Jonna.

Finally...this is my WHOLE team -minus Sarah (one of the Horlsey's daughters). Jessica will also be arriving soon but for now - this is my team :)

This is my winter coat - I feel like an eskimo but it is warm!! I never thought I'd be wearing one of these...but here I am! It is COLD here!

Picture update :)

I am so sorry I have not updated my blog recently! It has been kind of a hectic month or two!!!

I have been working with an organization called KELT (Kazakhstan English Language Theater). I will be living with the director of KELT - Jessica. She gets here on January 9th. KELT usually puts on big performances but due to the director not being in country - they did a lot of small things this semester. At the end of the semester, we had a small party for some of the KELT members.

Ainura and Abzal...

Our fun picture :)

Ainura, Selbi and I...

For Thanksgiving - the Horsleys always have a BIG group over to celebrate. We had 5 turkeys and TONS of food. It was a great time!! This is most of the group that was there! We played games, sang songs, talked, made new friends and ate A LOT!

My friend, Zulya and I :)

This was the first snow - we played in it!

Dad is a great provider! I have made some great friends in the past few months - Carrie and Tiffany. I met them where I learn Russian and we hit it off. We LAUGH a lot, watch a lot of movies and have great conversation!! They have been such a blessing and encouragement!

Vic, Carrie, Tiffany, Oksana

We made Christmas cookies on one of our Christmas movie marathon evenings :)

I made mexican one night!!! Tiffany, Alma, Feruza, Salta, Vic and Alua!

My friend Raushan and I - we played at an arcade all day :)

Alua and Feruza! These two girls have become great friends of mine - especially Alua. We hang out at least once a week and she is great. We have been able to have sp. conversation once or twice but there is not a whole lot of interest there. We have a lot of fun together and each time we get together - I feel like we get closer!

Tara and I had one of our studnets, Fatima, from Bishkek come to visit us!

We went to Medeo - where we climbed close to 900 stairs and then climbed back down!

The view at the top was way worth the climbing :)

Vic, Fatima and Tara at the top!

Fatima, Vic and Tara

Feruza, Tiffany, Carrie, Vic, Alua and Alma

Tammy and I did a book club this semester and at the end of the semester they came over and made some traditioal Kazakh food for us!

Alua and her best friend Dinara! We always goof off and have fun together!

Please lift up my friend Alua - she is so special to me and I want her to know Him more than anything!

Join me on the bus...

This is a FUNNY blog entry that I hope will give you a glimpse of Kazakhstan and adjusting to life here. This is funny now, a few days later but it wasn't so funny then :)

Last Thursday I had to meet my roommate for a lunch meeting at 1:00 on the campus I am working on. I had only been to the campus a few times and really didn't know my way around the city very well. Usually, I just ride with people to campus but Thursday, I had to take a bus. I left at 11:45 to give myself enough time to get to campus and explore the area and campus a bit. I asked what bus to take, walked to the bus stop and got on bus 70. After about 20 minutes, I realized that it was not going where it was supposed to go. I remained hopeful until we got on the highway (it is DEFINITELY not supposed to go there). My next thought was, well...at least I'll end up back where I started...right? We turned down a dirt road and I got a little nervous. I had no idea where I was, don't speak enough Russian to understand where we were headed and was on a bus in the middle of who knows where Kazakhstan. It was now about 12:45.

All of a sudden the bus stopped and the driver told everyone to get off. I got off and stood there looking like a lost puppy. I called my roommate but she was driving and couldn't talk (big no no to talk while driving and VERY dangerous), so I was on my own. People started to get back on the bus, so I followed. Then everyone got off the bus and got on a different bus, so I followed again. At this point, I'm pretty frustrated. The bus starts to go again and we finally get back into the city. I didn't recognize anything but knew I was closer than I was fifteen minutes before. I finally got off at some random place. I started to walk and look for street signs. Picture it: I'm bundled up because its cold, I'm stopping at every corner trying to read (in Russian) the street signs. I have to stop because I have to sound out each letter :0). Finally, I find Abai but didn't know which direction to go. It is now about 1:25. Side note: I was also sick and probably should have been in bed anyway. I knew that if I went one direction - I would get to campus and if I went the other I would get home - but I didn't know which was which. I got on a bus and figured I would end up at home or at campus and I told Dad that it was up to Him :) Around 1:50 (10 minutes before a book club with some students) I arrived at campus. I was thankful I arrived in one piece but man, I did not want to get on another bus that day! My 25/30 minute bus ride turned into about 2 hours!! I thought this would be a great taste of culture for you!

To add to my cultural day, I had a meeting at 7 that night. I waited until 7:30 and one person showed up then. We call this Kazakhstan time (always late). The others couldn't come apparently so the meeting was cancelled. This is something that is very normal here. You plan something, people can't come but they don't let you know! MANY other small cultural things happened that day and lets just say - I was ready to go to bed and end that day! Dad's mercies are renewed every morning and I am thankful for that :)

**I found my way to campus just fine the next day**

Back in Almaty...

After a refreshing and restoring time in Bishkek, I am back in Almaty and ready to re-adjust to life here!

We had a big fall harvest festival on Saturday. We had students from three different Universities, orphans, football players and young business professionals. We played games and sports, carved pumpkins, dressed up, painted faces, and ate great food! I am the newest member of our team and have only spent a month in Almaty so I do not have many relationships and am really still adjusting to life here. The party was great for me because I was able to meet people and make new friends. We had a great time and were very grateful at the turnout of students! I met one girl in particular who I am hanging out with again on Friday - please ask the Father to bless our time together.

I have begun to get involved at a local University. It is probably one of the best in the country. Right now, I am trying to form relationships in many different areas. One place in particular is a group called KELT. It is a theater group. It really is fun and the people involved are great! Please ask the Father that I would be able to form relationships and that He would lead me to who and what He wants me to be involved with.

I am excited to be back and looking forward to seeing what Dad has in store for this place!

Tammy, Tara and I at the harvest festival! HA!

Bishkek

***I'm sorry I have not been able to post anything the last couple of months, while I was in Bishkek - I didn't have internet where I lived. Now that I am back - I will be posting more frequently***

In Bishkek, we took marshutkas (about the size of VW buses) and they cram like 30-40 people in them. There are about 10 seats but the older people and people with babies get those so the rest of us stand with armpits and elbows in our faces – it’s like surfing! Once I got on one that was packed! I was crushed up against the window. The traffic was awful and the driver decided he didn’t want to wait in it, so he drove up on the sidewalk and drove there, honking his horn so people (walking on the sidewalk) would get out of the way. It was hilarious! I thought I would give you a taste of public transportation here.

A Marshutka...

As you know, I was there to learn to teach English as a second language. I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed it! As my practicum, I taught at a local University. I taught a “Reading Fiction” course for intermediate (language level) students. The class was MWF for an hour. There were only four people in the class which was kind of nice because it is a lot of discussion. Out of those four students – TWO of them are believers! One of the other girls seemed to really like us – she always walked home with us and talked after class. The other class I teach was in a small village called Jonga Jer. It is about a 45 minute drive to get out there. We taught there Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2 hours each day. The students were divided into two classes – they were all around 15 years old and all beginners. I had a lot of fun when I taught there. I really enjoyed teaching in both of these places – they were both a great experience! There are a few students who Dad has really laid on my heart to lift up. Please lift of these student’s with me especially Fatima, Naida, Zulbiya, Elona and Mrzat (just to give you some names).

This is my class at the University... I have been able to keep in touch with all of these students through email which has been such a blessing!

These are some of my students in Jonga Jer - Naida, Elona, Aigurim and Zulbiya

This is a picture of the two classes we taught in Jonga Jer

This is my class with our two teachers

MWF, after I taught in the morning, I would go to my class where I learned how to teach grammar, pronunciation, segmental, phonemes and all that fun stuff J I am learning a lot – I felt like I was back in 8^th grade English but we had a lot of fun in the process of learning it over again! My teacher was a very gifted teacher. He has been teaching English for 16 years, wrote the book for the class and is very knowledgable in teaching. I am very thankful for him. He and his family are on my extended team so it was nice to be there and get to know them.

There is this restaurant that Tara and I went to all the time with a couple of friends there. We were talking to the owner one day and happened to find out there was a boxing match on my birthday. We were like – wow this could be really funny – going to a boxing match in the back of a restaurant in Bishkek, Kygyzstan. Anyway, we talked to the owner and he said it was legit and that we should go. Five of us went and it was awesome!! We got there and the owner said, “ I reserved a table for you, whenever you’re ready”. We were like woah – he RESERVED us a table! Haha. Anyway, we got to watch 5 different fights and it was a blast – it made my bday special. I had never been to a boxing match – especially in the back of a shady restaurant in Kyrgyzstan hahahhaha!

The boxing match...

One night, Tara and I went to a lady in our class’ house. Her name is Koorminjan. She invited us over for a local meal with her family. It was great! We ate plove (rice, carrots, meat, onions and some spices J cooked in a special way). It was interesting because we were treated like honored guests. We sat in a special place, on the most comfortable corpashe’s (floor pillows) they had. We were served first and had the biggest glasses. It was my first local meal with a local family, in their home so it was a great experience.

Plove Dinner :)

These are pictures of a gathering at the end of Ramadan (frist 2) and pictures at the bizaare.

The last two weeks of our time in Bishkek, we stayed with a family on our extended team. It was incredible! They have been there for 13 years and invited us into their home as family. It was more than a blessing to be with them. This picture is Tara and I with the girls of the family (minus their two daughters who go to school in Germany!) (Jay, the Father/husband was one of our teachers).

Overall, Bishkek was much needed for my life! I hadn't realized how much the last year of life has taken out of me! I had great time with Dad in Bishkek - I was studying James and had a lot of journaling time which I love! Dad knew I needed those two months in Bishkek and now I'm back in Almaty feeling like a new person - refreshed, restored and ready to go :)

Bishkek Bound!

First of all: CONGRATULATIONS to me :) Last week, I finished my first 100 hours of Russian! I know around 600 words - by "know" I mean, I can probably recognize that many!

This past week has been good. I feel like I am beginning to call KZ "home". I have been taking taxi's by myself and beginning to take buses as well! I am forced to use my Russian when I am alone (without people that speak Russian) so that has been fun. Although, I'm pretty sure that I told my taxi driver today that I had a daughter - haha. Oh well! I feel like I am beginning to connect with people here - which is a nice feeling. Anyway, I am finally feeling "settled"! I can find my way from place to place fairly well - though, I "misplaced" myself today on the way home from dinner, but I made it :)

Isn't it just like Dad that as soon as I am beginning to feel "settled" He up and moves me to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for 7 weeks? Yup, I leave Saturday morning at 11 for Bishkek! Tara and I will be getting our certification in Teaching English as a Second Language there. The program is 7 weeks long. We will be living in an apartment that is already arranged for us. I am excited to see another part of Central Asia! Everyone tells me that it is like the city I am in now - but 10 years ago. I don't know what internet will look like there - but hopefully I will be able to update my blog at some point! Please be thinking for Tara and I as we go!

Today, some of my teammates and I visited an orphanage - a different one than last time. We went and did some crafts with the kids. I will post some pictures as soon as I get them from Tara. It was awesome. I just LOVED it. There were 3 kids that I just fell in love with and pretty much spent the whole time with. We made picture frames. This one kid couldn't figure out why his glue stick wasn't working so I showed him and we put the glue on and I showed him where the picture goes and he got this huge smile on his face and was just so excited that he had made this paper picture frame...it brought such joy to my heart. Depending on the age groups, the kids played sports, made airplanes out of popsicle sticks, made picture frames or made window decorations. It is incredible how much I love things like this - please ask Dad that I would have more opportunities to go and please lift up the children in the orphanages here. Again - as soon as I have some - I will post pictures of this.

Hopefully, you will hear from me in Bishkek - as soon as I can find internet! "Paka" (Bye) for now :)