Sick day.

Currently listening to: Incubus, "Dig"

Sick, sick, sick, all day. Have done pretty much nothing except sleep, feel sick, and watch Alias and Russian MTV.

Slow Day

From Monday July 30, 2007

My brother, who I’ve taken to calling “William Beckett” since he has developed a taste for “girl pants,” interviewed for a job today. I really hope he gets it. I’ll keep ya’ll posted.

Haven’t been feeling so well today.

I was watching TV with “Beckett” and Jenna today, and we were just flipping the channels and watching mostly music videos (which is all Becket ever wants to watch) when we came to this one channel that was showing this French music video for the TV show Heroes. It was the funniest thing I’ve seen. I love being here in Kazakhstan.

Of Churches and Nightclubs

From Sunday July 29, 2007

Currently listening to: Fergie, “Clumsy”

This weekend has been great. Friday night, I went to a prayer meeting and got to see Grace’s boyfriend, Vitya (Victor), and his friends lead worship. They were awesome.

Afterwards we went to Mega to hang out and have some good coffee, (I think I’ve been to Mega everyday this week since I got here. Crazy!).

Saturday, my dad and I went to visit a friend of his who was leaving to go back to America. While we were there we discovered a couple golf clubs and decided to “play.” Basically, all we did was try to see if we could drive the balls past the pool and into the field below the house. Once we went home, Dad and I decided to play what Dad christened “Apple Golf.” Our backyard is filled with apple trees, and so our yard is littered with rotting apples almost all the time, so Dad and I had some fun. Silly, but fun.

Today, however, has been long and eventful.

Grace, Colin, me, and then two sisters named Susanna and Hayan led worship at ICF. ICF meets in this nightclub, which is perhaps the most random place I have ever heard of for a church to meet. So I can now say that I’ve been to a club before. Anyways, we practiced before church started and I was a nervous wreck because there were two songs that I wasn’t sure about, (I swear I have never sang one of them before, no matter what Grace says). According to my parents, (J), we did pretty well.

After church, some of the church members went on a prayer walk, myself included. I enjoyed that, mostly because I walked around places that I used to go a lot when I live here. Good memories.

After all of that, a few of us went to meet Grace, Colin, Ayanda, Vitya, Yura, and Nurlan at Mega (again) for lunch. It was so much fun. One of my classmates, Rachel, is here and she came with us. It was so great to see her. It’s been about 3 years since we’ve seen each other, and we spent pretty much the whole day together.

After lunch we came back home and watched Little Miss Sunshine, which is awesome. Why did it take so long for me to see this?

Its now sometime after 9 and everyone has gone home. Rachel leaves for America on Friday, but we’re going to try and do something before she goes. It was so great to be with her and to hang out. We reminisced about high school and I am now completely nostalgic. I’m also exhausted.

G’night.

Transformers

So, I just finally managed to get on the internet today, but I had already written my blogs for here. Hope this isn't too confusing!

From Thursday July 26, 2007

Currently watching: Transformers

Transformers is an okay movie, but it was about 45 minutes too long. Maybe it would have been better if I had seen it in English instead of Russian.

It was good to hang out with Colin, Ayanda, and the Dimas, though.

I thought I had conquered my jet lag, but I was mistaken. Grr.

2nd Day

From Wednesday July 25, 2007

I think I have kicked jet lag’s butt. I managed to stay up most of the day yesterday and went to bed sometime after midnight. I had the deepest, dreamless sleep in the longest time, never once waking up until 8:30 this morning.

Grace had to go to school for worship practice. She and 2 other girls will be leading worship at the International Christian Fellowship (ICF) this Sunday. I think I have somehow been recruited as well, so I apologize in advance to everyone that has to hear me sing.

While Grace practiced, Mom and I went shopping and then had lagman which was amazing! I mean, I hate pasta but I love lagman, and I’ve been craving it for a long time. It was so good. Here is a pic of the deliciousness:

Had mostly a lazy day today. Just hanging out downtown, and then watching a couple episodes of Alias: Season 4. Around 7, we went to Mega for coffee and to hang out with Jenna, Brandy, and Grace’s boyfriend, Vitya, who is just awesome.

I still can’t believe I am here. It’s crazy. I just wish more of my friends were as well. It would have been nice to see them.

Sorry this isn’t so interesting. Dad’s already started to put me to work, but there isn’t much to tell there. Yet.

Going to see Transformers tomorrow. In Russian. How cool is that?

The Stale Taste of Recycled Air

( From Tuesday, July 24)

Currently listening to: The Postal Service, "Recycled Air"

I’ve been in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for about 15 hours. The trip was uneventful; just long flights, layovers, and bad food. Here are a few thoughts I had over the 36 hours of traveling:

• Even if you get lucky and have an empty seat next to you, there is no way you can sleep comfortably on a plane in economy class.
• In the Land of Women tries much too hard to be like Garden State. Having said that, it was an okay movie, thanks mostly to Meg Ryan and Adam Brody (the only actor that ever made The O.C worth watching).
• When the flight attendant asks you, “chicken or vegetarian?” realize that “vegetarian” is really just another term for “Indian,” something you really don’t want to put in your body at the beginning of a trip around the world.
• Death Cab for Cutie/The Postal Service can help sing you to semi-sleep.
• If you are a Rocky virgin, you probably shouldn’t enter into the relationship with Rocky Balboa.
• Don’t drink too much tomato juice. Also, go to the bathroom at the beginning of the flight when the bathrooms are still clean.
• Remember to eat the Fig Newtons you packed in your carry-on before they make their way to the bottom of your bag and are crushed.
• Bring more than one book.
• It’s okay to cry in the airport over Harry Potter. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
• Bring toothpaste and/or mouthwash. It helps both you and the people around you.
• If your hair is long, bring something to tie it up. Otherwise, you’re going to look like the lovechild of Professor Snape and D.J. Tanner.
• I don’t know why but it’s so easy to recognize people from the former Soviet Union. I think it has something to do with their clothes and with the way they carry themselves. You arrive at the gate, ready to get on the flight to Kaz, and everyone waiting with you looks completely different from those walking past your gate. It’s like when you compare matte printed pictures to glossy ones: When you look at one picture, it looks fine, but when you compare it to the other there is a difference. Its slight, but its there. Has anyone else noticed this?
• When you finally arrive in Kazakhstan, keep your mouth shut so you don’t embarrass yourself in front of your sister’s boyfriend by constant chattering stemming from sleep deprivation.

I made it through customs, met my sister’s boyfriend and his friend, drove home, unpacked my suitcases so that my sister could have her presents, ate breakfast, took a shower, and then promptly fell asleep on the couch for five hours. I woke up to Channel V and Fall Out Boy’s music video of "This Ain’t a Scene,” and my mother musing over just how ugly Patrick Stump is. I’ve also already had one fight with my sister! Ah, it’s good to be home.

My dad and brother are away at soccer camp until tomorrow afternoon (apparently, my dad’s the new coach), so it’s just us girls and Alias. My brother did come home for about 4 hours to see me (and get his presents; that’s just how much he loves me).

Well that’s enough for this update.

Limbo

Today I realized that when I leave next Sunday, I will be stuck in that strange limbo of planes and airports for approximately 28 hours and 37 minutes. And that's only if we leave on time and arrive on time. No delays, which is just wishful thinking.

Now, think of this: that's just my time spent on 3 different airplanes and 2 layovers in 2 different countries. Factor in that it will take me about 2 hours to get to Richmond from home, and I will need to arrive at the Richmond airport at least an hour beforehand. This means I have an additional 3 hours of "travel time." Next, take into account that once I arrive in Richmond I will be having lunch with my grandparents (and hopefully some friends) before leaving for the airport. That's, what? at least another hour and a half?

I'll probably be getting up around 8:00 AM that morning, so by the time I arrive in Kazakhstan I will have been somewhat conscious, (I don't sleep well on planes at all), for about 36 hours.

36 hours. And the sad thing is, I'll be arriving in Kazakhstan around sunrise. Rule of thumb: Don't sleep your first day away when traveling. It will take forever to get your body on local time if you do. I mean, I'm sure I'll go to bed when I get there, but not for long.

As much as I am looking forward to this trip, getting there is going to suck.

1 week until I leave.

Trial Run

Currently listening to: Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

8 Days, 9 hours, and 57 minutes.

This morning I did a "trial run" and tried to pack my suitcase:

See all those things in bags and packaging? Yeah, that's all the stuff I'm taking over for my family and friends. I took these pictures before I even packed my own personal belongings! I think I'll be okay, though.

Good News!

My passport arrived today complete with my brand new Kazakhstan VISA. I am officially going!

A Good Day

Currently listening to: Hillsong United, "United We Stand"

18 days, 3 hours, and 45 minutes

Today has been a good day. A great day. I've been communicating with my family via email about what I can do in Kz., and I am so excited about the possibilities.

I am so thankful that I will get to see my family, but I'm even more grateful for the opportunities that will be heading my way.

Still waiting on my VISA. According to the TDS, the VISA process takes approx. 5 business days. I'll start worrying next Friday if it's still not here.

Ciao.

Monday, July 02, 2007

In 19 days, 3 hours, and 10 minutes I will be leaving the United States and spending a month in the country of Kazakhstan.

I hope to use this blog as a way to keep track of my travels and adventures.

One of the things I hope to do while there is work with an English club. This idea both thrills and terrifies me. I am a very shy person, and the idea of trying to find ways to teach and entertain a group of people that could be from anywhere between the ages of 10 and 40 overwhelms me.

If not that, well I hope I can do something. I won't be getting paid for any of this, but that's okay. I'll pay for school somehow.

So now I'm just waiting for my passport to return from Washington, DC, with my brand-spankin' new VISA.

More to come soon.