the first days in kaz

warning: this post is long. =)

i stepped off the plane in almaty, kazakhstan at 12:35 am, after two long seven hour flights and a total of nine hours hanging out in airports. i was exhausted, uncomfortable, and nervous. peace corps staff were waiting for us at the end of the walkway with nametags and instructions. the second i approached customs i felt tears welling up in my eyes and the familiar feeling of an onset of sobbing to begin at any moment. i’m still not quite sure why this happened or what it meant, but i know for a fact my exhaustion played into it. we got all our bags loaded up & boarded the bus to our sanatorium (basically a Kazakh hotel). it was too dark to really see almaty, but i stared out the window intently anyways. the sanatorium we were staying at was used at a retreat for steel workers during the soviet era. the wallpaper in my building was pink with sparkly swirls, love it! the beds were tiny. my roommate & i hit the hay asap.

we got up at 7:30 am the next morning for breakfast (porridge, chai, and hamburger helper) & then started our first day of trainings. we were greeted with a performance that was amazing. i was super thankful for this. that morning has been my lowest point so far. i spent the entire breakfast trying to figure out who to talk to so i could go home. walking in to see a stage full of Kazakh teens with dombras and other traditional instruments and their beautiful clothes & hats was so uplifting. it reminded me of one of the major reasons i am here, to experience a culture outside my own for longer than just a vacation. they also had skits, songs, and powerpoints to teach us a bit about kaz and to calm our fears.

the hardest part of kaz so far for me has been the food. it is certainly taking me out of my comfort zone, and my friends and fam at home would be so impressed. so far i have eaten porridge, hamburger helper (noodles, butter –lots!, cheese, and beef – i think), shredded carrot, garlic, parsley & vinaigrette salad, borsch (beet soup with potatoes & cabbage i think), mashed potatoes & something like meatloaf (def. not beef, but i’m going to pretend it was, more porridge, lots of bread (tastes like it came out of the bread maker), pickled beet, potato, carrot, cabbage, and onion salad (totally expected beets to be yuckier, but i didn’t mind them), stew with potatoes, carrots, parsley, broth, and onions, more meatloaf-ish stuff with bread that looks like a fried pita –delicious, but totally unhealthy. all this was at the sanatorium. i also had lots of chai. which i love. i thought i would & i was totally right. it feels like i have been drinking it all my life. it tastes just like unsweetened iced tea except hot. yum. i don’t even want sugar in it (which my host family thinks is totally strange. they keep asking if i am on a diete).

yesterday i left the sanatorium in alamaty & drove to my new village in ecik (issyk). there are a total of 55 kaz 23 (the twenty-third group in kazakhstan) trainees. we were divided into five villages for the rest of our training and will get back together on hub days about once a week for technical training as a group. my village is ecik. it is the largest town out of all of the sites so i am very lucky. there are thirteen volunteers in my group. ecik has hosted volunteers for training many times so they are very used to seeing Americans. ecik has about 30-40,000 people (i got mixed answers on this). in my group half of us will be learning the Kazakh language and half will be learning Russian. i am in the college group & we found out at training that we would be learning Kazakh without any choice. i was planning on learning Russian to put all that rosetta stone to good use, but alas it will not be in the cards for me. the Kazakh people love that we are learning Kazakh though and today at the bazaar an older man was super excited when i said thank you in Kazakh (one of the very few things i can say right now).

after arriving in ecik yesterday, our new host families met us at the college to take us home. some students at the college were waiting for us with welcome signs and balloons, so cute! the girls pulled me aside to take a picture with me. totally felt like a celebrity. my family is fabulous. my host mom is 36 and my host sister is 14. they both speak Russian and Kazakh, though i am sensing that Russian is their usual language and they are speaking Kazakh on my behalf. my host sister also knows a bit of English which is so helpful. she is still learning so she can’t translate everything, but so far there haven’t been any big mishaps. i tried to use Russian since i know more, but my host mom won’t let me. she teaches me the Kazakh word and that is all i’m allowed to say from then on. i find it cute that she is so interested in my language learning. she is a history teacher though, so i shouldn’t be surprised. (apparently she doesn’t work. i’m not really sure who the history teacher my sis was talking about is…)she walked around the living room last night showing me objects and telling me how to say it in Kazakh. she then gives me a pop quiz about every hour. she also makes me practice saying hello, how are you, what is your name, my name is, and i am from…every time a guest comes over. everyone laughs at me as i struggle through it. i am like a five-year-old right now and they love it. all i can do is smile and nod.

being at my host families reminds me of home. i am so lucky to have a comfy, warm, bed, an armoire, a desk, and an iron, all in my room. it is pretty light blue with sparkly wallpaper (totally catching on to the trend), a blue and white light, and lace flower blue curtains. i also have a shower with hot water and an American style toilet. though i haven’t gotten to take a shower yet…not sure if that will happen or what. the only difference in the toilet is that they don’t flush paper here, you just throw it in the waster basket by the toilet. it certainly takes getting used to. and it is byop (bring your own paper). no internet though, i mean this is peace corps. ☺ my family laughed at me when they carried my bags up the 8 flights of stairs. they asked if i had packed goats. haha. i totally wished i had packed less, and brought more of the right things. i am totally missing black dress boots right now, and skinny jeans. that’s all women wear here. no wide leg dress pants or flares. oops.

since i have been at my host house i have eaten spaghetti and meatballs (again with the meatloaf-ish thing), scrambled eggs, and hamburger helper (am i really in Kazakhstan?). the hamburger helper we ate family style. marzhan (host mama), aidana (host sister), and my host mama’s brother all ate off one big plate. i’m not sure why we don’t do this at home. it would def. save dishes. i am lucky to have a host family that is awesome, but i went to the bazaar with my host mama and her friends today and she bought two whole chickens?, so i am sure we will be eating those soon. hopefully not off the bone, but i reckon i can just pretend it is buffalo wild wings. i gave them American chocolates and they were all about it, though i did see my host mama slip three reeeses to the shop downstairs to sell. she tried to be discreet, but i totally caught her. not really sure how to feel about that one. flattered? offended? i don’t think it matters i reckon.

tomorrow i start at 8am with language lessons at the college. my host mama is walking me to school. =) hopefully with six hours of Kazakh everyday i will be able to say something at dinner by the end of the week. maybe even sooner. i have a feeling my host mama won’t let me get away very long without practice. i woke up this morning to learn the Kazakh national anthem. i’m taking it with me to class tomorrow to my language instructor, roman, to get some help with it. maybe that will impress my host mama.

i miss you all & i think about you often.
my mom & dad have information for getting in touch with me, so shoot them an email or facebook em.
naptime,

staging!

i was dropped off yesterday for staging in georgetown. i walked in last minute (of course!) & had time to drop my luggage off in the holding room and head to registration. after handing in all my forms i had a litte break and then went to our staging orientation thing. it was long, i'm not gonna lie, but it was neat to meet everyone and it definitely provided so solid information. it is always nice to know that everyone else is in the same boat as far as fears and expectations go. they also addressed some major concerns which was comforting. overall it was a great pep meeting and i left feeling energized and excited. (& hungry).

we went out last night for pizza and drinks and then called it a night. i will be meeting downstairs in an hour to take the bus to dulles airport. this will begin a long journey that is sure to be exhausting. i will finally land in almaty, kaz at 12:25 am their time on 3/11/11. (good luck right?) we will then go through the customs jazz and then a peace corps processing. they said we'll probs finally get to our sleeping area at around 3. then they will get us up at 7am to eat breakfast and get ready & our training will start at 9 am. nothing like jumping right in!

i am so so so excited to see what's next & to finally make it kazakhstan. this has been a long awaited moment.

by the way, totally didn't bring the most luggage. i'm probably towards the bottom in who brought the most. there are peeps here with single bags close to 80 or 90 pounds. i can't imagine carrying that!

anyways, i love you all! i'm not sure when i'll be able to post again, but i will when i can.

wish me luck!

wow. tomorrow.

i cannot believe i am headed to staging tomorrow. it seems so unreal still. i thought that at this point i would be terrified or nervous beyond belief, but i feel peaceful. i am excited about getting started with my work in kazakhstan. surprisingly the only thing i am actually nervous about is russian. i'm feeling slightly inept at foreign languages. sign language was just soooo much easier!

i spent last night repacking my bags (thanks to lindsay, andrew, and pops for performing miracles and getting it to all fit) for the third time. my dad and i got it right the first time, but when i went to put the backpack duffle on i couldn't lift it. like at all. & then once i got it on i had to practically bend over and touch my toes to keep from falling over. (it was also 54 pounds. oops). so pops and i went back to the samsonite store, i'm pretty sure they know me by name there now, and i got another rolling duffle. it was heavier than what i wanted, but a sacrifice i was willing to make to roll my junk. this bag weighed 7 pounds more than the other.

i brought it home and repacked with andrew. it was actually pretty painless, and i am glad that i did because my febreeze had exploded in its freezer bag and started to leak. i got it all packed and underweight so i was even able to add my uggs in. yay!this was all one week ago before i went to jersey to greet my new niece. i was so proud of myself (a famous procrastinator) for packing so far in advance.

thennn...i got an email from peace corps with packing suggestions. thanks PC, but a lil late. anywho they said to pack three days worth of stuff in my carry-on, which i did (go me!) and then to fill one bag with the things i will need during training and the other with stuff i won't need until i get to my permanent site. oops again. i totally didn't do that, i just squished wherever things fit. i'm pretty sure even my shoes were separated from their mates. soo my sister and andrew and i spent a loooong time last night unpacking and reorganizing. and then my dad had to come over and get my smaller duffle to fit everything and zip. it was a mess, but i totally think not having to get into the second bag and try to repack again before going to my permanent site will be soooo much easier.

so tips for future pcvs out there struggling to pack, pack one bag for training and the other with things you can live without. so much easier. & i have a packing list that i can email anyone packing in the future if they want it. i was gonna post it, but i don't really have room. =)

tomorrow i will be meeting in georgetown to register and then go through a day of orientation. i will stay the night at the hotel there and then take a bus to dulles airport with my fellow kazakhstan trainees. we will fly out to frankfurt at 5:50ish. then a six or seven hour layover and then flying to almaty. we should get in around 12:30 am. i will then go to sleep and wake-up bright and early for my first day of trainings. whew!

i'm not sure how my internet situation will be, but i'll keep everyone posted & my awesome sister will update periodically for me to let you all know what i'm up to.

&&& i've been meaning to post this forever. i am going to be part of an awesome project. 50 volunteers from 50 different countries will be filling two journals up with snapshots of their service. look at the blog for the details! i will be helping keep track of the second journal and updating the blog to let everyone know where the journal is in the world.

for those of you reading this on Peace Corps Journals, i will be switching over from Applicants to Kazakhstan so find me there!

Sorry for the lengthy post.
27 months til disney world,

i have awesome friends and family.

this past weekend was by far one of the best weekends everrr. my mom has apparently been scheming a surprise party for quite sometime. since she is not a good liar at all, i knew something was going on, but i never in a million years thought it would be this.

on friday night i was woken up at two in the morning. i had taken my contacts out and i am blind without them, no exaggeration. i was surrounded by a crowd of blobs. my initial reaction was that i was about to be robbed and tortured by gang members, but when the camera started flashing i was able to make out the figures. my friends from college were in my room in virginia! four of my best friends from college drove from tennessee to come see me before i left. i moved back home after graduating from school in tennessee so my opportunities to see my friends are few and far between. luckily my sister was available to play paparazzi and this was my reaction (excuse the 2am fashion and hair):


after getting all my friends settled in i assumed that this had been the surprise my mom had been trying so hard to keep from me. we all went to lunch the next day with my mom and dad and then the girls and i went shopping. after shopping my friends said we should stop at my mom's house to pick up the playstation so we could play american idol karaoke. never one to turn down an opportunity to belt it out, i wholeheartedly agreed. when i got to my mom's place i could not find parking anywhere, but since i am not the brightest bulb in the box, i didn't realize something else was going on until i saw the giant kazakhstan flag hanging from my parent's front porch. i could see my mom inside the window flashing pictures. (can't you just see her sneakiness). i walked inside to find a house full of friends and family:


unbelievable. once i got in the door i realized that my two best friends from home were sitting in the living room. one had flown all the way from colorado for 24 hours to see me (i still choke up at this) & the other drove down from philly. this was my lovely and most attractive reaction to seeing them:


we have been best friends since i was 2! it was at this point that i made a beeline for the kitchen to try and hold back the tears. (see what i mean? awesome friends and family). luckily my bf's dad was in the kitchen to help me pull it together. thank you mr. mazzella! (those of you who know me well know that i am no crier. my sister got mad at me for not even crying in my sister's keeper) i was then able to take in the awesome decorations, sunflowers and kazakhstan! (shout out to pops for finding kazakhstan flags galore, including pins for everyone to wear! & to mrs. hill for lending her beautiful russian dolls!) they really outdid themselves:



there was tons of delicious food. my parents printed out maps of kazakhstan and hung them around the room. they also printed my training address onto hot pink envelopes for everyone to take, along with a packet of sunflower seeds that encouraged prayers and love for me on my adventure! to top it off my mom had all my friends print out pictures of us together and put them together in a journal. everyone wrote me a little inspirational note inside the journal to cheer me up if i am feeling blue. simply fabulous. i also got loaded up with tons of goodies for kazakhstan. i am lucky to have so many great teachers in my life because i wouldn't even know where to being with school supplies. i now have a full collection complete with tips!


honestly one of the most emotional and enjoyable moments of my life.


these are my best friends from home. 21 years of friendship makes for incredible stories and beautiful memories. i am truly blessed.


these are my girlfriends from college. i am always stunned with how lucky i am to have the most amazing friends in the world. we had a great time catching up this weekend. from listening to brandis sing one karaoke song after another at a volume that no human should reach to taking "my last picture in america" in front of the staute of liberty at red robin it was a moment of relief and love that i needed amongst the stress of packing and goodbyes. we even took the opportunity to put up a stunt before we get too old. (holly watched and laughed saying no to being tossed in the air, much like college. =)


back to the harder stuff,

some things i will miss

obviously i am going to miss my friends and family most of all, but there are many other things that i am going to hate missing for 27 months. this post is dedicated to them. in no particular order:



taco bell. this will be a struggle.






my shows. <3 gossip girl, true blood, and grey's anatomy.





the final movies. no midnight showings for me this time.




my unhealthy addiction: dr. pepper.




cruising with the top down in my lovely car. mine is actually white, but you know.




i have a problem. i love to shop. & i will miss it. but taking a break will be good for me...and my pocketbook.




english. i will miss speaking english on a regular basis. i am excited about learning russian, but i know i will miss english.


enjoying the things i will miss while i can,

moving along

first of all, i got dental clearance. again! i generally dislike the dentist and this appointment was no better than any other. my dental hygienist told me i had a cavity to be filled before i could leave, and i was completely bummed. i thought this would put me way too far behind. turns out she just wasn't using the cavity finder thing correctly and the dentist cleared me for take-off. i mailed it in that day and had clearance two days later. my dental hygienist was awesome enough to give me enough toothbrushes and toothpaste to last me two years. so sweet.

i have been working hard to stay on top of the long list of to-dos i need to get done before i leave. i bought all my luggage (two samsonite duffles, one rolling 24"& one w/ backpack straps that looks identical), a north face solaris 35 to take as my carry on, and a purse that holds a laptop from target as my personal item. i made my packing list, and i am pretty close to having everything on it. i have all of my new goodies piling up on a chair in the corner of my room. i'll post the final list here when i finally finish updating it so anyone who wants to look at it in the future can.

i have also been working on my russian. i try to do an hour of rosetta stone a day. i have to be honest, not that sure rosetta stone is that awesome of an investment. i just don't think it really fits with my learning style. i figure some familiarity with the language is better than none though. & i have finally begun the process of packing up my room. i tried to go through my clothes and pack up anything i know i won't take to kazakhstan or won't wear before i leave. i clearly have an issue with shopping. it is safe to say that i am probably going to bring way more clothes than anything else. but they say bring what makes you happy or keeps you sane so...pish posh. weird to think that in 7 weeks i will be heading out.

let the countdown begin,

ridin the waves.

i have completely neglected this blog. now that the semester is winding down i figure i owe everyone an update.

first of all, getting an application status update after being invited=scary. that excited feeling no longer accompanies those 5 a.m. emails. my application status update let me know that i have a dental hold. apparently my dental clearance is only good until march 5th & i'm supposed to leave march 9th (actually the OMS letter said march 8th, but i'm trying not to get too hung up on the discrepancy). so now i am just waiting on obama's health reform to put me back on mommy and daddy's insurance. blue cross blue shield says that will be jan. 1. cutting it close? maybe, but i def. can't afford those dental x-rays on my part-time retail paycheck =)

in other news, i filled out & sent my visa application along with my passport. i never heard whether they got that or not. i probs should put that on my list of things to check on. i read everything included in that blue invitation kit & i also started learning russian. i'm pretty sure that's how the nightmares started. in the latest nightmare i landed in almaty alone with just my sister's kitten. i couldn't find my bags & i was wandering around in the freezing cold. there were people inside stores, but i couldn't go in & ask for directions because i had the cat. i was worried the whole time about mr. bingley (that's our cat) freezing his little white tail off. i finally found my bag, but it was almost completely empty. i went to tell the baggage claim people, but i didn't know how to say anything but cat in russian. [that is actually true. for some reason cat is the only word that is sticking with me. & apples. which is good because i am allergic to apples and kazakhstan is the birthplace of apples.]

so i think all the nightmares attributed to the fact that last week i woke up & couldn't help but think "what the heck are you doing?" i spent the entire week trying to put my finger on what it was that had originally drawn me to PC. i applied for PC when i was in my last semester of college. the plan had been to go after graduation, get back by the time i was 23 & then start doing more grown-up things. i am now 23. my application was put on hold, and then i withdrew it for the master's international program, & now i am 23 and leaving for PC. & when i get back i will be 26 and doing all sorts of 21-23 year old things. one of the major changes for me was coming home and falling in love all over again with my ex-bf. and now i am leaving him for 27 months when i know that if i stayed i would be getting married in the next 27 months instead. that's a big thing that i have admitted to very few people.

so i was feeling very blue about the whole PC thing. i know for a fact that celebrating thanksgiving and realizing it would be last with family for a while played a direct role in my second-guessing. i read & re-read my favorite PC blogs. normally they get me excited, but for some reason it wasn't working. so i decided to go shopping. shopping is my cure-all. i was rummagging through the jewelry at the thrift store while my sister was checking out when i saw this keychain:



anyone who knows me knows that i love all things pink, artsy, & with a hippy flare. i immediately grabbed it & hurried to give it to my sister before she finished checking out. you will never believe what was on the back:



that's right. that there is the kazakhstan flag with kazakhstan written above it. almost instantly i felt like sobbing and laughing. & i have been back on the PC bandwagon since. for those of you that are now questioning my sanity or desire to actually go overseas: 27 months is a loooong time. kazakhstan is coooooold. and the insane thing would be not to think seriously about this decision before i leave my loved ones behind.

on that note... enjoying the high,