I am currently sitting in the airport in Chicago typing away on hi-speed internet (that is actually hi-speed). I have walked past McDonalds, Starbucks, Cinnabon, and many other really familiar names that I have missed. It's funny, I never used to eat at McDonalds when I was in the States, but walking by I have this urge to buy french fries. So far, my only purchase has been a Sports Illustrated magazine for my last flight and some gum.
Well, I just wanted to let you know I am back in the States. My trip was uneventful. I was a bit concerned when I came down with a cold the day before traveling, but thankfully the first day was the worst and traveling hasn't been bad at all. On the last flight I even got to sit at the bulkhead and had plenty of room for my long legs. :) There were also only three of us sitting in five seats, so we had plenty of room to stretch out without having to worry about invading each other's space. I feel pretty rested considering the long trip and a cold.
Tonight I will be watching playoff football with my folks and will just enjoy being "home" with them. Well, I have to get going since my gate has changed and I have to move to a different terminal.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Ulan New Years
This year we had the privilege of taking most of the children at Ulan Orphanage shopping to choose their own New Year's gifts. On the morning of December 31st our entire office staff went to Ulan Orphanage and delivered gifts. It was really fun to see the children unwrap their gifts. For me it was also exciting to have our entire office involved in the gift giving process. Often, so many of our staff play behind-the-scenes support roles and never get to see what their jobs make possible at the orphanages. We got some great pictures and even video as we went from group to group delivering gifts.
Due to some confusion, as children move regularly between groups at Ulan, some of the children did not receive their gifts when we went to their group. One thing that was fun for me was that when I promises to bring their gift when we found it, the children were willing to believe the promise. So often these children have issues with trust because they have had so many people let them down. It was encouraging for me to see that due to our longstanding relationship with them, they trusted us when we said that we would return and bring their gift. In the end, all the children received gifts and were extremely grateful to those that had donated the funds to allow them to shop for their own gifts. You can go to the Interlink Blog for more details.
Due to some confusion, as children move regularly between groups at Ulan, some of the children did not receive their gifts when we went to their group. One thing that was fun for me was that when I promises to bring their gift when we found it, the children were willing to believe the promise. So often these children have issues with trust because they have had so many people let them down. It was encouraging for me to see that due to our longstanding relationship with them, they trusted us when we said that we would return and bring their gift. In the end, all the children received gifts and were extremely grateful to those that had donated the funds to allow them to shop for their own gifts. You can go to the Interlink Blog for more details.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Savva New Year
We had a chance to celebrate New Year's with Savva Orphanage by attending their New Year's Ball Masquerade. The children and caregivers prepared a 2 1/2 hour presentation, complete with dancing, skits, and singing. It was wonderful.
During the concert I was thinking about the idea of a parent going to their child's concert or recital. I was thinking of how boring the parts have to be when a parent's children are not involved. For example, I don't know how many violin recital's my parents had to sit through. They might have really enjoyed watching me perform, but I don't know that they enjoyed the whole thing.
As I thought about this I realized how thankful I am. During everyone performance one of "my children" was performing. I was so proud of them. They put so much work into it and their work paid off. The morning after the Ball Masquerade, we went from group to group giving out gifts to each child. What a great way to spend two days!
During the concert I was thinking about the idea of a parent going to their child's concert or recital. I was thinking of how boring the parts have to be when a parent's children are not involved. For example, I don't know how many violin recital's my parents had to sit through. They might have really enjoyed watching me perform, but I don't know that they enjoyed the whole thing.
As I thought about this I realized how thankful I am. During everyone performance one of "my children" was performing. I was so proud of them. They put so much work into it and their work paid off. The morning after the Ball Masquerade, we went from group to group giving out gifts to each child. What a great way to spend two days!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The End of the New Year!
On Thursday we hosted our last New Year's party at the orphanage. As a result, Kids Connection is finally finished with 2008, only about 8 days late. :) I will try to catch up with some stories and pictures from each party over the next week. I hope you enjoy them.
The big news for me currently is that I will be leaving Taraz in five days. The last month has flown by! I packed a lot of my things today. I have a busy week this week, but it should be fun as I make my last trips to the orphanages and spend time with children.
I will spend two days in Almaty, and then fly out of Almaty on Sunday. Sunday will be something like a 35 hour day. I will leave Almaty at 3 am and arrive in Cleveland at 4pm on the same day.
A few posts earlier, I shared a more specific calendar, but here is a brief summary of my time in the States. I will spend my first couple weeks with my family (in Ohio and Montana) and then go to Denver for a week. From there I will be in VA for a week and a half and MD/PA for a week and a half. I will spend about 3 months in Muncie, IN - with a short trip to Oklahoma for Easter thrown in the middle. At the end of May I will spend a week with my folks in Ohio and then travel back to Kazakhstan the first week of June. I am looking forward to seeing so many of you during my time in the States.
The big news for me currently is that I will be leaving Taraz in five days. The last month has flown by! I packed a lot of my things today. I have a busy week this week, but it should be fun as I make my last trips to the orphanages and spend time with children.
I will spend two days in Almaty, and then fly out of Almaty on Sunday. Sunday will be something like a 35 hour day. I will leave Almaty at 3 am and arrive in Cleveland at 4pm on the same day.
A few posts earlier, I shared a more specific calendar, but here is a brief summary of my time in the States. I will spend my first couple weeks with my family (in Ohio and Montana) and then go to Denver for a week. From there I will be in VA for a week and a half and MD/PA for a week and a half. I will spend about 3 months in Muncie, IN - with a short trip to Oklahoma for Easter thrown in the middle. At the end of May I will spend a week with my folks in Ohio and then travel back to Kazakhstan the first week of June. I am looking forward to seeing so many of you during my time in the States.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
I wish you all the best in this coming year! Last night I got to spend the night with my Kazakh family bringing in the New Year. We celebrate the New Year a bit differently here than we do in the States.
First of all, it is a chance for families to eat food (lots of it) together. We sat down for our first meal as 7pm and continued to have more courses (including dessert) until about 1am. Basically, once we finished cleaning up from one round we would sit down to another. We ate Pilov (a rice dish), baked chicken, pizza, four salads, bread, two cakes, and candy.
At 11:50 the President of Kazakhstan comes on TV and gives a speech followed by a toast (at exactly midnight). Everyone toasts with family and then runs out the door to set off fireworks. This can be a little scary because everyone (children, adults, and even those that have had a bit too much to drink) have all sorts of different fireworks. There are no fire department regulations that hold us back here. Some people have fireworks that can compete with some of the fireworks in 4th of July displays in the States.
The first year I was here, we went out on the balcony with our sparklers. Since then, I had not been brave enough (which is saying a lot) to venture outside shortly after midnight. This year I came to realize that I much prefer being on the ground than being on a balcony for the festivities. It is better to have rockets shooting over your head rather than whizzing past your year. We went outside with my two youngest host siblings and shot off some rockets and watched others as well. There was only one time that I was a bit concerned for my safety and that was when a very short grandmother was holding a firework tube that shot into the air. The flame seemed to go out, so she brought it down to eye level and it was somewhat pointing in our direction as it shot off. Thankfully, it remained over our heads (just barely) although the sparks rained down on us.
It was freezing outside, so we only lasted for about 15 minutes. Then we came inside, had tea (which means all the food and dessert came out again), and started calling everyone we knew to congratulate them on the New Year. I don't think I was allowed to go to bed until about 2:30 am. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my family. We brought all the food (including the cake) out for breakfast this morning at 12pm.
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