Partying in Kazakhstan

Well, it seems like I've already started living a life full of festivities here in Kazakhstan.  I have participated in one goodbye tea, a remembrance dinner, and two birthdays since being here.  Last night one of my neighbors sounded like they were having a wedding party ... maybe I should have invited myself over in order to round out my party experiences during the 14 days I have been here.  

At work I have enjoyed meeting with members of the staff here in order to begin planning delegations.  They are excited about the delegations we have coming and will do a great job facilitating them.  None of them have ever facilitated a delegation before, so I get the joy of training them and walking them through the process.  They are so capable that my job will be very easy.  

At home I have been working with my roommate to do some spring cleaning and preparation for delegations as well as basic yard work.  It has been good to get outside and do some manual labor.  I have also spent come time cleaning the car and working to get it repaired and back in running order since it has had some problems recently.  

The temps have risen to 90 degrees in the shade on some days.  This is definitely not the spring I was anticipating.  Thankfully, we have not had any snow since my arrival!  I am not looking forward to the summer temps of 100-110 degrees, but am thankful for the lack of humidity.  Today is a cooler, breezy day.  I am enjoying typing this sitting at my desk with my window open.  

Funny Story:  I learned the trick of trimming grape vines.  Apparently there are parts of the vine that are men (longer, bigger, stronger) and those that are women (shorter, thinner, weaker).  Well, the trick to trimming grape vines is to cut off the women and leave the men.  The men enjoyed my comparing this to life and the fact that women weren't important.  We enjoyed a good laugh together about this since the men I was with don't really think this way, but enjoy joking about it, especially when initiated by me.  

A Week Since My Departure

I left the States a week ago today.  It has been great being back in Taraz and seeing friends.  I had a chance to spend some quality time with my Kazakh family over the weekend, which was very special.  In some ways, it feels like I never left.  I thought I'd share some random things from all areas of life that have taken place this week as I've been getting settled.  

• I used an ancient push mower (the kind with a rotating blade powered by pushing the mower) to mow the lawn, which consisted of some grass and shin-high weeds.  One part was covered in duct tape, which made me laugh. However, it certainly beat the previous method of burning the yard (minus the fun of a fire), since it left some grass behind to enjoy.  
• I watched out my window (from my desk at work) as my Kazakh father replaced the radiator in my car and was periodically called out to help hold something.   
• I went to a lunch remembering the one-year anniversary of the death of the wife of one of our security guards with the rest of the staff at the office.  
• I watched as my Kazakh family enjoyed playing the EA Active 2 game I brought for them to use on their wii.  The strength band was a bit too strong for the kids, but they enjoyed it anyway.    
• I have had the fun surprise of seeing several graduates from the orphanages around town and catching up with them.  
• I was finally able to sleep in until 7am - beating my previous nights of 5:30 and 6:30.  For those of you that know me, you know that morning is not my favorite time.  I also went to bed at 9pm last night, which is unheard of.  So, I got almost 11 hours of sleep.  
• The cracked front screen on the cell phone that I use here was replaced for $7.  
• I am starting to learn where the new potholes are in the city as I drive around town.  
• I am enjoying Korean salad again.  
• My grandmother passed away.  The memorial service is today.  Although there are times when I feel sadness, I am mostly filled with joy knowing that she is much happier now.  
• I've been playing Rummikub with the staff at lunch time.  
• I purchased an adapter in order to set up the wii that is at the house. 
• I had a two hour conversation with my new housemate sharing about life.  This was definitely a bit of a challenge for my Kazakh (especially while jet-lagging and after two years of speaking English) but it was really good.   

Thank you all for your encouragement and support.  I am looking forward to getting down to making plans for the delegations later this week.  That will likely include some visits to the orphanages, which I am excited about!  

Back Home

I arrived back "home" today.  My flight arrived at 3am - only an hour after its scheduled arrival time.  Each of my three planes had some sort of mechanical issue causing them all to be delayed by approximately an hour.  Thankfully, I had just enough time to make it to my second flight right before the doors closed.  Overall, my trip was pretty uneventful.  The food was good.  I got to watch 1 1/2 movies that I hadn't seen yet, but had wanted to see.  I slept most of the second flight and on the car ride to Taraz.  My taxi driver brought a pillow and a blanket for me and I had the entire back seat to stretch out.  It's funny how luxurious that felt after cramped plane rides.  The car ride was exceptionally quick (which meant a lot of quick avoidance of potholes and other vehicles) which made me thankful for the Dramamine that I had brought along.  

I even got to participate in my first party of my time here.  Katya, our receptionist, had a goodbye tea just as I arrived.  It was fun to spend time with people in the office.  I spent the afternoon at home settling in and meeting the person I will be living with the entire time I am here.  I will probably head to be pretty soon, as I am exhausted, but wanted to let everyone know I arrived safely.  I have the weekend ahead of me without any definite plans and then will begin work on Monday.  

A Time of Reflection

I sit here in the midst of an extremely busy week with a deep sense of having a life in which I have been blessed in so many ways.  The sense is so strong that I feel the need to express my gratitude for this blessing.

So far, this week has been filled with a lot of "lasts."  My time has been filled with special times with friends who have impacted my life in ways that I probably won't even begin to truly realize until years down the road.

It seems that my life continues to move in cycles, which I currently think of related to moving away.  This week takes me back to the many times in my life that I have left a core group of friends behind for the next adventure in my life.  In 1996 I left Maryland to move to Indiana and attend Taylor.  In 2000 I left my friends at Taylor.  In 2002 I left my community in Denver.  In 2003 I left behind my family and friends to move to Kazakhstan.  In 2009 I left behind my new family and close friends to return to Muncie.  Now, I leave behind my community here to return to Kazakhstan.

Every time I leave the most recent community, I have this sense of leaving something special behind.  It is easy to look back at the last community and wonder if I will ever have such a sense of belonging and blessing as I did "back there."  Often, it isn't until I am called to leave the new community that I fully realize that I have experienced community in a stronger way than ever before.

That is how I feel now.  Not that my past experiences of community are any less influential ... but more that those experiences allowed me to delve into community at a deeper level here ... which has prepared me for the community that He has for me next.

Sometimes I get tired of this perpetual cycle of leaving those that I love behind and then I am reminded of the way my life is blessed with friends from each community that I have been a part of. I am saddened about leaving my community here in Muncie and at the same time I am reminded of the blessing that is waiting for me around the next corner.  Thank you to all of you for allowing yourselves to be used to bless me and teach me what it is to live in community.