Lately, the weather has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It's been WARM. I mean, I'm talkin 30's and 40's the past couple of days!! I've had to turn down the radiators in my room! Spring has never been more welcome.
There is this family of dogs that live just down the street. The owner of the mother dog lets her roam free in the neighborhood and therefore, she has many umm... friends. With many friends come many puppies. Mean puppies. I don't know why they're mean. They're vicious, really. I'll turn the corner on my way to Michael's house praying that one isn't in the street. If one is there, it'll start barking and then they all appear. I'm not just talking about three or four dogs, I'm talking about seven or eight. They come sprinting straight at you and follow you for a while, barking at your heels. The last time it happened to me, I almost maced em. I've never been more terrified of dogs! I hate those dogs, I hate them.
Yesterday, M took Mike and I to this famous park in Almaty called Panfilov Park. There's a huge statue in memory of the soldiers in WWII as well as this huge Orthodox Church. It's yellow! I guess it was made without a single nail, only wooden pegs. When a huge earthquake hit Almaty, it was one of the only structures to remain unharmed because the pegs gave enough flex so that the church absorbed the shock. Amazing, no? We were able to go inside as well and it was absolutely stunning, I've never been inside a church so beautiful. M also took us to the Green Market. The Green Market is one of the largest markets in Almaty and you can find ANYTHING there. I wish it weren't so far away from our neighborhood, I would go there all the time. (Mike and I live in a neighborhood called Kamenka, fyi).
I started teaching at the Youth Home tonight and will be teaching Monday-Thursday from here on out. Mike is also starting to teach more and we're finding that we are exhausted by the end of the week! It's crazy to think it's almost March!
Is it too soon to say that I really want some strawberry shortcake?
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday the 14th
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
In honor of the day, my English class will be having a celebration later this evening! I'm making Michael tag along :)
We chaperoned the school dance on Saturday! It was a barn theme and so they brought in 40 bales of hay. 40. My respiratory system wasn't doing so great by the end of the night, the dust was incredible.
The kids at Tien Shan wouldn't know what to do if they saw a typical high school dance in the States! The night was filled with square dancing, Scottish dancing and games. It was actually quite sweet, all of the kids are friends and so everyone danced with everyone.
Mike and I went out for lunch on Saturday all by ourselves! I am so proud of us. We weren't quite sure what we ordered because we just pointed at a few things and said, "Adin, spasiba (One, thank you)." The food was delicious!
We have both been keeping busy. I'll start teaching English at the Youth Home next week I think so I'll be teaching four nights out of the week. Hopefully that will go well, we'll see! Mike has started to teach the 10th and 11th grade English/History classes, so he has a lot of work ahead of him too. We love the weekends!
Enjoy your Valentine's day!
In honor of the day, my English class will be having a celebration later this evening! I'm making Michael tag along :)
We chaperoned the school dance on Saturday! It was a barn theme and so they brought in 40 bales of hay. 40. My respiratory system wasn't doing so great by the end of the night, the dust was incredible.
The kids at Tien Shan wouldn't know what to do if they saw a typical high school dance in the States! The night was filled with square dancing, Scottish dancing and games. It was actually quite sweet, all of the kids are friends and so everyone danced with everyone.
Mike and I went out for lunch on Saturday all by ourselves! I am so proud of us. We weren't quite sure what we ordered because we just pointed at a few things and said, "Adin, spasiba (One, thank you)." The food was delicious!
We have both been keeping busy. I'll start teaching English at the Youth Home next week I think so I'll be teaching four nights out of the week. Hopefully that will go well, we'll see! Mike has started to teach the 10th and 11th grade English/History classes, so he has a lot of work ahead of him too. We love the weekends!
Enjoy your Valentine's day!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thursday the 9th
I washed my coat yesterday because it was starting to look like I work in a coal mine and it came out of the dryer a shade lighter, I'm quite sure of it. I feel like a brand new woman wearing that coat! It's just so clean now.
During the week I typically wake up at 7 or 7:30. If the sky is overcast I tend to fall back asleep. If when I wake up the sky is clear, there is so much more incentive to get out of bed, shower and get ready. Only because you can watch the sun rise over the mountains. It's absolutely beautiful. As of late, the sun comes over the tip of the mountains around 9am. I like to grab breakfast and coffee and sit in front of the window in my bedroom, where you'll have the best view of the mountains, and take the early morning slow. It is such a good start to the day.
Bread is an important food for Kazakh people. Bread is served at every meal and like tea, a meal isn't a meal without bread. It's also looked down upon if you waste or throw bread away so many people feed their stale bread to their dogs. Or if you're walking along a street and are finished with your bread, rather than throwing it away you must put it on a ledge or a branch of a tree so that birds or animals can eat it. I saw a window ledge and a dumpster in the city that were both just piled with bits of bread. It's a strange sight.... but I guess it makes a little more sense after you learn the importance of bread in this culture.
During the week I typically wake up at 7 or 7:30. If the sky is overcast I tend to fall back asleep. If when I wake up the sky is clear, there is so much more incentive to get out of bed, shower and get ready. Only because you can watch the sun rise over the mountains. It's absolutely beautiful. As of late, the sun comes over the tip of the mountains around 9am. I like to grab breakfast and coffee and sit in front of the window in my bedroom, where you'll have the best view of the mountains, and take the early morning slow. It is such a good start to the day.
Bread is an important food for Kazakh people. Bread is served at every meal and like tea, a meal isn't a meal without bread. It's also looked down upon if you waste or throw bread away so many people feed their stale bread to their dogs. Or if you're walking along a street and are finished with your bread, rather than throwing it away you must put it on a ledge or a branch of a tree so that birds or animals can eat it. I saw a window ledge and a dumpster in the city that were both just piled with bits of bread. It's a strange sight.... but I guess it makes a little more sense after you learn the importance of bread in this culture.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Sunday the 5th
All week I have been trying to post a new blog and the Internet wouldn't let me. Gads.
If you can't see out your car window due to frost, always remember the possibility that the ice may be on the inside of your window rather than the outside. The things you learn here, I tell ya!
Update: I began teaching English this week and Mike began teaching his 7th grade history class. On Friday, Mike and I joined some teachers and their families for shashlik (kebabs) which are DELICIOUS. Best meat I've had and no, it wasn't dog or horse.... they said it was chicken, beef, pork, and lamb. Then today we went out for breakfast at the 'American Bar & Grill' where the walls were decked out with old western decorations. There were however things like fake fish wall mounts where it sings when you push the red button or a little shelf that held bottles of Tabasco and Soy sauce... it's the little things that remind you of American, right?
Afterwards, we went to a bazaar called Tsum to browse the souvenirs. Mike got this whistle thing shaped like an owl and it sounds like one too. I got these little painted babushka ornaments and I love them.
We'll definitely be going back to purchase gifts and what not.
We have been here for 4, count 'em, FOUR weeks! Time has just flown.
One thing that Mike and I both love about Kazakhstan is that there is always time for tea. A meal isn't a meal without tea afterwards. It's just great. In Russian, the word for tea is 'chai' and M held up a bag of chai spice tea and asked me what kind it was because she hadn't tried it and I replied, 'Oh, it's chai.' She didn't understand.
If you can't see out your car window due to frost, always remember the possibility that the ice may be on the inside of your window rather than the outside. The things you learn here, I tell ya!
Update: I began teaching English this week and Mike began teaching his 7th grade history class. On Friday, Mike and I joined some teachers and their families for shashlik (kebabs) which are DELICIOUS. Best meat I've had and no, it wasn't dog or horse.... they said it was chicken, beef, pork, and lamb. Then today we went out for breakfast at the 'American Bar & Grill' where the walls were decked out with old western decorations. There were however things like fake fish wall mounts where it sings when you push the red button or a little shelf that held bottles of Tabasco and Soy sauce... it's the little things that remind you of American, right?
Afterwards, we went to a bazaar called Tsum to browse the souvenirs. Mike got this whistle thing shaped like an owl and it sounds like one too. I got these little painted babushka ornaments and I love them.
We'll definitely be going back to purchase gifts and what not.
We have been here for 4, count 'em, FOUR weeks! Time has just flown.
One thing that Mike and I both love about Kazakhstan is that there is always time for tea. A meal isn't a meal without tea afterwards. It's just great. In Russian, the word for tea is 'chai' and M held up a bag of chai spice tea and asked me what kind it was because she hadn't tried it and I replied, 'Oh, it's chai.' She didn't understand.
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