Life with Staci

Boarding the plane...

2009-01-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I always end up saying this, but the time has passed so quickly and I "believe" I'm going to be boarding a plane tomorrow! It's a love-hate thing, if you're tracking with me. I have had an amazing time being home, with family, friends, dr. pepper, mexican food, movies, driving, church, and warm weather! I am so thankful God has provided me with a family who shows so much kindness and grace as I seem to be here and there and everywhere! I love yall so much for taking care of me and loving me even when I do have to pick up and leave again. I HATE goodbyes!. But, the reality is time always rolls back around when I get to rejoin all those amazing things. AND.... I really miss Tajikistan! I have missed all my friends, english groups, osh dinners, walking down rudaky, wearing a korta (ok, maybe not that much:) drinking indian milk tea, riding in marshrutkas (also not too much), speaking Tajik, and dancing Tajik style! It's always an adventure boarding a plane and walking through airports... we'll see how this trip unfolds. I am excited about this evening... we're toping off these last two months with a night at the Fr. Worth Stockyard Rodeo! I am Excited, to say the least! Till I return to Texas... Keep in touch!

Since being Home...

2008-12-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

I've had so much fun hanging out with family, friends, and enjoyin' Texas! I have been so blessed and taken care of, my heart is truly grateful- you know who you are. After being here a month now, I feel I have come through the "repatriation" or readjusting process and definitely feel more comfortable with American culture and ways...I've also enjoyed spreading the Tajik love to everyone I can! I'm sorry to those I have had the privilege of visiting with and didn't take a photo... I have taken my camera with me, but I am horrible at remembering to use it! Other than the time I've gotten to spend with people, I've enjoyed:
-Starbucks
-Target, the Mall, and even, Walmart:)
-Chick-fil-A
-Driving
-taking walks with the dogs
-catching a few episodes of TLC and discovery health
-green beans
-Dr.pepper and sweet tea
-football games
- Christmas parties and festivities
-country music
-reading, (I know, not real!)

I have missed all my friends in Tajikistan and think about them often

Birthday Bash!

2008-10-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, I turned 24 this weekend, and thanks to all my AMAZING friends I had a really fun time! The day started off with a nice run at 5:45, then I got to hang out with the oldies for a bit at the elderly home... I ordered a bunch of cupcakes from a cafe to take to my friends and co-workers, since you're supposed to bring your own birthday cake here:) I relaxed and was pampered for 3 hours at a salon getting a manicure and pedicure, had a lovely language lesson, and then went to this amazing, quaint French restaurant for dinner with some other foreign friends! Although I wasn't able to be with everyone that I would have liked to (back in the States), It was a really nice birthday... Then Saturday evening I threw a party for all my local friends:) Also a tajik tradition, the birthday guests are "treated" by the birthday person, so I chose a "south of the border" theme, and had tacos, spanish rice, chips and salsa along with the cup cakes and brownies! It was a lot of fun:) They were all sweet, and gave a really nice toast to this next year. I have come to realize I would not survive without friends:)

October 1st was the End of Ramazon Holiday, so Tuesday night I was invited to go out with one of my language teachers, her family, and several other friends to their hometown to spend the "ede" there... We spent the night, and then went visiting and eating all day Wednesday, after the 3 hour drive home we stopped to eat some more at another home, and then had a nice dance party to conclude the evening... what fun:)! Although I was not fasting, I am so happy the fast is over, and feel I have freedom again to eat and drink in public:) Life is so fun! O and I am on the countdown until I return home... I leave here on the 10th of November and can't wait to hug everyone!

Another Day, Another friend made, Another memory put on the shelf...

2008-09-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I am in love with old people. And, yes, I get to go hang out with them now twice a week! I love my job! So, here are a few pics from this past Friday... I had made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for them for their "tea time", and they went nuts! I didn't think they turned out that good, but O how the small things make life brighter. Well with the 6 Russian words I know, they seemed to enjoy them:) Anyhow... I have found my long lost love!

Hello, Did Summer just pass us by??

2008-09-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Friends!
I have officially let you down. I beg for your kindness even though I have not been faithful with my blogging through the summer... so I'm sure half of the people who cared to read this have given up hope of anything new showing up. But, I honestly feel like Summer came and went, and where was I? Well... I made it back to Turkey in June for 2 weeks, 1 week for a company conference, and another week for vacation. Let me just say that I love Peppermint Mocha Fraps from Starbucks, and had my share while enjoying the other perks of Istanbul. I made it to pretty much every shopping mall and center that is there and loved every minute of it:) Side note, I was kinda overwhelmed with how "stylish" everyone was there. I felt quite out of place and out of touch with the new "in". However, it didn't stop me from enjoying the European Cup and cheering for Turkey in their match against Germany. I would have to say that was probably the closest I've come to a "world cup" experience.

In July I was out at a 2 week kids camp that Convoy put on for 40 kids! It was a lot of fun, God's grace that I didn't go stir crazy having to stay on the camp grounds for the entire 2 weeks, and only a few run ends with some snakes:) What fun we had, what few showers we took, and many sleepless nights with boys invading our room with toothpaste...

I returned home for 2 days, then loaded up with the rest of the Convoy team for a 2 day drive out to the Pamirs! We drove along the Afghan border the majority of the way there, really amazing to see. I got to stay with 2 american friends who work out there, and catch up on life and the sort. We also went to a wedding where we had to dance for a good 5 hours! Amazing to say the least. I LOVE that about Tajik culture. They know how to enjoy life and every big (or small) occasion that takes place. O ya, I had a bit of a fall at one of our "lunch break" stops on the drive out to the Pamirs... Gosh!

We got stuck after a few hours of driving on our way back to Dushanbe because of landslides and the road being full of huge boulders. They had to dynamite the mountain several times, so we were there for a good 9 hours:)

3 Days after arriving from the Pamir's, I packed up again and headed for a good family friends hometown/village with them. Being the only "sister" there with their fam for 4 days, I got to experience life as a Tajik GIRL. Lets see... they work, work some more, and well, work some more:) It was a bit frightening having to cut and help cook the food for meals, but their mom is a really sweet lady and taught me lots:)! When I found myself given just a knife and bowl and asked to make a tomato, cucumber, onion salad, and all the women relatives had gathered around me to inspect my knivery skills, I was a bit nervous, but they were kind and helped me learn how to be quicker about the kitchen duties:) hehe. O and I had brought several instant coffee packets to give the fam, and the first night there, they mixed it up in a baby bottle and fed it to their 5 day old goat! haha. apparently it wasn't feeling so well and the coffee gave it's intestine's a shove. Within minutes the goat had recovered and the whole family was thanking me for helping "heal" the poor thing:) We also got to go out to one of the big really pretty lakes that wasn't too far of a drive from their house. When it came time to come back to Dushanbe the grandma begged me to return after my trip to the States to marry one of the grandsons! She said, "they would love to throw a TUI (wedding) and have me join the fam". Unfortunately I had to refuse the getting married part. Although, a nice tajik girl is going to be very lucky to have them as her family someday. What a fun Summer it has been!

Waiting for the road to be opened, we decided to bust out a game of UNO on the hood of the truck. It was kinda funny, the tajiks had different rules for UNO that none of us had ever heard of:)

So...

2008-05-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

well. Just about a week and a half ago our home was invaded. No, not by something that might be life threatening, but by disgusting, gross, intruding mice! I know they can't do anything to really hurt me, but let's just be honest and say they are completely unpleasant. Two days after having spotted the things I made it to the bazaar to find a trap. I had to laugh when I realized that, there I stood surrounded by the bazaar men 1. trying to describe to them what I needed, 2 .trying to figure out if and how the darn thing worked, and 3. trying to ignore the random bystander man who kept "translating" into English what the shopkeeper man was saying "of course I am going to help find whatever the pretty girl needs!" -even if that was a mouse trap! ha. Needless to say, the trap doesn't work too good and hasn't caught any mice. Our landlady does have a cat, so we brought her in to do the dirty work, but to no avail. Friday night 2 girlfriends came over to bake and watch a movie, and who but the mice decided to come out and play! My friends heard the things scurrying around our pantry/cabinet so I went and got the cat knowing that the mouse was trapped inside the cabinet. Well the cat just went into the back of the cabinet and laid down! A bit irritated, I pushed her out and proceeded to clean out the rat-poop filled cabinet, since it was OBVIOUS there were no mice in the cabinet if the cat just decided to sit down. Well as I got to the top shelf and moved some things out I spotted the mouse wedged into the corner, frozen! Ah. so I ran to get the landlady hoping she would trap it for us.
She didn't seem too disturbed by the news and made her way over to our place- in her time. Well she walks in with a little pitch fork and a gardening glove on the other hand! Yes, she just picked the thing up with her gloved hand, and then was kinda waving it around wondering why we were so scared of this "little thing"! haha. Unfortunately as she was holding the mouse in one hand and trying to find the hole where they have been coming from, my friend spotted another mouse (which freaked her out more so she screamed) and our landlady dropped the mouse that was in her hand! AH. so there went both mice back into their hole, to return at a later time. Needless to say we stayed on the couch trying not to have to cross paths with them. At about midnight/ one am the cat came wandering back into our living/kitchen/dining room and then spots and catches a mouse that was over by the refrigerator! We heard some racket and then this high pitch squeel, the death, and then she brought it back into where we were and played with it for a good 15 minutes before she ate it, there in front of us! About 10 minutes after that she caught another one underneath the stove/oven, however this one was still very much alive. She played with it for like 20 minutes, and she kept letting it out of her mouth and it was dash away, and then she'd catch it again! Ah. finally she killed and ate it. It was a bit traumatizing having to witness this event, and it's a bit disturbing that we keep finding fresh rat poop inside our cabinet. The cat comes in and out, but I don't think she's caught any more! The moral of the story. I've decided to not be bothered by the things. They will lose eventually, but for now I guess there's going to be some type of cohabitation! I have heeded the advice of my mom and washed all of my cooking utensils and eatery, wouldn't want to get the black plague!- thanks mom!:)

Other than that life has been fun! I got to go play baseball with the PE class at Silk Road Academy the other day. I'm pretty sure I threw out my shoulder in my crazy intense -one chance to swing at the ball:)! ha. It had been too long since I'd put on a glove or swung the bat, but I felt a lot of pressure to hit a far one for the kids:) o well. I took it for the team. O, another exciting discovery, 5 somon 30 minute massage! Monday morning my language teacher and I went up to the polyclinic and got 30 minute massages for $1.50! It was an experience but it felt great! I am going back on Thursday for some more therapy.

One of the girls in the Convoy office had her first baby in March. Here you have to wait 40 days until you can go visit the new mom and baby, so after that time all the other women in the office went to her house for lunch... it was fun, we ate, chatted, even danced, and ate some more. It doesn't matter what the occasion, there's going to be food and dancing!

March...

2008-03-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hey there!
I am sorry that it has been so long since I've updated this thing... I admit I have avoided it:)
Anyhow. March has been a crazy, event filled month! It started out with 2 guests from the states coming for a quick 3 day trip to check things out... It was a lot of fun getting to host the gal, and to also get some good "culture shock/stress" chats in... Convoy was able to do distributions of flour and oil to several different villages... here are some pics from one stop...

Yes, there was a line for the mule to haul their sack of flour up the mountain to their homes:)

A teammate and I were also able to put gift bags together for the 50 women who work out at the invalid orphanage for women's day... despite the cultural "serious" pics, they were excited to get their gifts, and to be appreciated for their hard work:)

One week I was also able to go with my friend Shoira out to a village to visit one of her old friends/classmates...

Easter Weekend was also the big "Nav Ruz" Holiday here, the celebration of a new year and the coming of spring.... we went to the park one day, and I was so excited when we found cotton candy:)

Yes, I got a new korta made with the national "adras" pattern, since that is what a lot of women wear around this time of year..

Below is "Similac", which means "30 angels" and is considered to be "pure" food...it's made from ground up wheat and cooked from 12-24 hours... usually the women in the family or neighbors will get together and rotate around because it has to be stirred constantly.... really interesting process and background

Isn't it Ironic

2008-02-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

Isn't it Ironic that some things make sense that don't really make any sense at all?? If you're with me, then here goes...
So the other day I was on the bus with my roommate and another friend headed for a coffee shop, when about halfway there I noticed this guy staring at me about 6 inches from my face! So of course the entire ride I am looking out the window, on the ground, behind and around me, but NEVER at him. Well when we arrived at our stop, I went to get out and he held his arm on the bar in front of me so that I couldn't get by him, so I said "excuse me" (in tajik of course) and he put his arm down for me to get off. Well immediately after all 3 of us had gathered after getting off, I turned to them and said, "o my goodness, did you notice how close that guy was staring at my face!", kinda loud but in English, and they were like, "ya", but were doing the "hidden" point with their hands to the left, so I turned and there the guy was just looking at me walking with us. haha. he didn't speak english, but he had this really serious look on his face, which threw me off a bit. Anyhow, this little encounter ended when I asked him what he wanted and after a few not understandable mumblings that he made and then him saying, "I want you to be my wife!" I was taken aback, and of course said "I'm married!" (to Jesus:) Well, he eventually left, but I just couldn't understand why he said that. He hadn't said a word when I was standing next to him on the bus for a good 15 minutes, and then all of a sudden he wants me to marry him! Now stay with me, obviously I was not "considering" marrying this guy, but I was rather confused that the whole incident took place. So, I went to some friends who gave me this wonderfully ironic/uncomprehensible yet fully sensible answer to the whole thing. Women here are under much pressure to get married by age 20 b/c the mentality is, "who will ever want to marry you when you are "so" old?" So, they are willing to give anyone a chance just to get married. And the guys know this, so the way to assure a random woman that they don't know that they aren't out to use or abuse them is to start the relationship with, "will you be my wife", and then she has more of a guarantee that the relationship is going somewhere and that he is a "good" guy:) Then they can exchange numbers and "date" if you will. It's a bit complicated but makes complete sense here. Anyhow. I am obviously not here to date or find a husband, but I have found it interesting that I've had to face this issue way more than in the States. The Lord knows all:) and there is no "confusion" within Him! good day.

No Power, No Shower, No Problem...

2008-01-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking, it's not quite Kenny Chesney, but it sounds good!... Actually it just came to me here as I was just pondering over the past week or so and our current situation here in Tajikistan. There's one word that goes with the title - Reality! Yes, there is this amazing Tajik proverb that has been quoted often over the past few weeks... "The eyes of winter are blind" which basically means that you can look or smell as awful as you want or have to and no one will be annoyed or think badly about you, because, yes, they too are without power, gas, or water and they too look and smell as bad as you! I have definitely enjoyed busting out the "praise dance" before the Lord every time the power is turned back on, for whatever length of time it may be here:) So, I offer my slogan to you, use it, share it. I feel as if it promotes the stress-free lifestyle:) Here's a picture of our fun "dress up dinner" party with our director's kids:) Stay Warm

time with the rents...

2008-01-10T02:34:00.000-08:00

As you can see, my time with my parents in Thailand was just Fabulous! My mom provided for many laughs and good times:)

Holidays in Turkey and Thailand

2007-12-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Hello Hello!
Well, I made it back Thursday morning from my 2 weeks in Thailand via Turkey, and it was a lot of fun! I flew from Dushanbe to Istanbul, where I had about a 13 hour layover, so I was able to take the metro downtown to Sultahnament square with a friend who was in transit back to the states. It was rather cold in Istanbul, colder than Dushanbe, and was a bit rainy. It actually started snowing a bit when I was waiting to catch the metro back to the airport. My friend got off a stop before me to go to her hotel, and so I headed off to see the sites on my own. The neat thing about Sultahnament square is that there are several really cool sites to see all within walking distance from each other. So, I walked over to the Haggia Sofia (the oldest church in Christendome) first... here are a few of the inside and out.. The Hagia is closed on Mondays (which was the day that I was passing through headed for Thailand, but I was able to make it down there on my way back through:)

Right as I was about to walk over toward the Blue Mosque, the call to prayer went out, which meant that the mosque would be closed for an hour, so I just started walking towards it to take some photos when this random guy decided to be my tour guide... long story short, he showed me around, taught me how to play batgammon while trying turkish apple tea, then there were several refusals on my part to hold his arm for me to get rid of him... but I was sure thankful the Lord made him depart from me! Here are the pics from the blue mosque and other things I saw on my day in Istanbul...

Waiting at the bus stop...

2007-12-13T03:22:00.002-08:00

So, the other day I was waiting at the bus stop to catch the bus to go to my language lesson and I had quite the encounter with this interesting man in the picture above:) I had been standing there for a few minutes when I looked up and saw these cute russian women walking up the street, so I pulled out my camera to take a photo of them, when cigarette man tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to take his picture. My thought's were, "ok, that's harmless, 1,2,3.. snap!"

Well, after I took his picture and got the one of the old ladies, he motioned to me to take a picture of both of us together, so my thoughts again were, "harmless, I'll just snap it fast and then he'll leave me alone." As you can see I snapped it quite fast, hence I am halfway out of the photo:) haha...

Just a few short minutes after that, the bus arrived and he insisted on paying the 10 cents for me to get on, which I tried to refuse but with no success... The whole time while being smushed in with everyone else riding the bus he kept saying random things to me, some in russian and a few random english words, but rather loud, which made everyone around us stare at us even more. I just wanted the whole scene to end, but that just didn't happen. I got off after 2 stops to walk to the office where my language classes are, and didn't look back, hoping he didn't get off or wasn't following me. However, he appeared walking right next to me as I turned the corner for the office, and he proceeded to speak russian, which I kept telling him I didn't speak russian, but he managed to get out that he was from Armenia and his work was just up the street. Well I just kept veering away from him as much as I could, but he didn't notice when I turned to go into the office, and the driver, guard and several other men were standing out in front and were just staring at the whole scene of this random man talking really loudly to me, not noticing I was departing from him:) I'm sure they thought it was rather odd that this random man was walking and talking to me:) Anyhow... it's never boring getting out-and-about here for sure. I will be in Thailand for 2 weeks spending the Holidays with my parents... which I am rather excited about:) will keep you posted...

December 1st Snow!

2007-12-02T22:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the first snow of the season here in Taj:) It was amazing! It was definately colder, but not cold enough to keep the snow from melting, so in the rain of snow, there was sludge everywhere:) Unfortunately, I lost my head in my pre-departure packing and forgot to get a pair of warm/FLAT/waterproof boots:) So, I had to brave wearing the short high hilled boots that I did bring with me to go pay our internet bill and the various errands we had to run... thankfully I didn't have any major falls, just a few ankle breakers:) haha... my roommate kept saying, " Staci, lets just slow down, you are really going to hurt yourself!" haha.. which just made me laugh because it reminded me of my dad when I had fallen on the ice in Mongolia:) Anyhow, the boots killed my feet, so I had to put on my non-waterproof flats after a few hours of trudging around town for some hope of comfort...
However, in the midst of such weather we found the amazing French cafe, we were able to soak in the beauty of the snow falling from the warm cozy scenery of the cafe. We sipped hot lemon tea for 2 and a half hours while also enjoying pumpkin soup, a roast beef sandwhich, and really good apple pie:) It was a huge splurge, but we felt we owed it to ourself:) Besides, we do walk everywhere! Ok, so that was our fun weekend outing... language today was the best it has been yet! I am enjoying understanding more for sure. Our apartment is lacking in the Holiday decor, but I can tune into the 24 hour christmas radio station via itunes, so that always brightens the mood (when the internet is being friendly) and we have managed to watch the grinch and recess christmas several times already since those are the only christmas movies I have:)... ok I must get some work done. I will leave you with a little christmas movie trivia...
quote the movie: "She falls in a well, her eyes goes crossed, she gets kicked by a mule and they go back to normal. I dunno!"

2007-11-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

I got my first haircut in Taj!! I think it turned out quite fantastic:) We found this amazing salon that is rather inexpensive and has loads of spa treatments as well... what fun:) Language class is going good... there's always an interesting aspect of Tajik culture to discuss.... today was the "get married=get pregnant" scenario... I was rather intrigued, my teacher said that you are pretty much expected/required from family and peer pressure to get pregnant within the first few months of being married... if you are not pregnant by the 6th month there is something wrong and your family will figure out what is happening and what the problem is.... interesting I thought.... well...the temp. has finally cooled down a bit, today got to 8 degrees C
I'm not quite sure what that is in F:) alrighty, talk to you later

Rhahmati Kalon (Many Thanks)

2007-11-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

well.. I do love this time of year... ALthough Thanksgiving always brings me back to traditions from my origins of food and family time, this is not my first Thanksgiving away from family, however this year, more than ever, I realize and would like to express thanks from the bottom of my heart for all of my friends and family who have been a HUGE support to me this year! For without them I would not be getting to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Tajikistan. I am also thankful for the new fun that God has brought me here in the midst of hardships and having to say goodbye to so many people and things. It has been in this season of transition and adjustment that I have realized the extent of sacrifice that love requires.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving, enjoy the people you are with and the food you get to eat!
Although we can't get sweet potatoes or green beans, we will have Turkey:)
I hope you all know that you are appreciated dearly and loved much... Just thought I would include a picture of me in a korta dancing at a tuee ( a big party for a son's circumcision)... and Ruth and I... I love this part of Tajik life:)
Love

3 weeks in Dushanbe

2007-11-10T05:34:00.000-08:00

So...
It's been just over 3 weeks being here in Dushanbe, and it seems like so much longer. Let me begin where I left off... It was Tuesday, October 16th that Ken and Chase loaded up my 4 bags and took me to DFW airport.... from Dallas I flew to Frankfurt, and I don't wish to remember much about Frankfurt besides the 2 gals from Georgia ( in the US) that I met and chatted with, who were going to Yeman to study Arabic, and that was rather refreshing... from Frankfurt I flew to Istanbul, Turkey, and there I had about 3 hours from the time we landed till the time my next flight departed, and somehow I managed to get to the gate right as it was boarding to leave... After waiting through the customs line twice, talking to several people who didn't speak English, realizing that I did have to buy a Turkish visa just to get out to the baggage claim to in turn take my bags upstairs to get checked back in, and paying entirely too much money for having too many bags I made it to the gate and met Ruth (who is from Iowa, will also be in Taj for a year, and is my roommate :)).... We boarded the plane at about 8:45pm in Turkey, ended up sitting on the tarmac for about an hour and a half because someone got sick and had to get escorted off, and then arrived at the Dushanbe airport at about 4:30AM... which the (international) airport was quite interesting, just 1 room, divided into sections with glass.. one side was the customs line with 2 customs booths, and the other was the baggage claim with 1 baggage carrosel... the funny thing was that we waited at the baggage claim for a good hour because Tajikistan only has 1 luggage cart to transport luggage from the plane to the baggage carrosel, so it takes a lot of trips to get everything out:) Anyhow... the director's wife of COH picked us up and informed us on things and got us to our apartment at about 6:30.... the rest of the day consisted of unpacking, taking a hot shower, and getting a nap...
That week that we arrived, there was a medical team here doing eye exams and health training seminars out in a village about 30 minutes outside of Dushanbe... that Saturday was the first community outreach that COH Taj. has conducted, and it was a huge success! There were free hair cuts, eye exams, training on HIV/AIDS, woman's issues, arthritus, along with agricultural training on soil and composting, games and fun with the kids, food and school supply kits were distributed, along with cool COH tatoos! There are plans to continue relationship with the people that were impacted by this outreach.

The second week in Dushanbe Ruth and I were taken care of by the team members here, who took us around to get the various things we needed for our house, internet and cell phones, Azors and Kortas (the national dress), food, ect... I am so excited about working with the team here, they are awesome! They have been so helpful and welcoming...we are blessed. That Friday night we took the bus down to the other side of town to eat at a fried chicken place (which was really good:), and ran into the "Bear Man", who is an old guy who has a bear under his captive, it's muzzled and on a leash, and he makes it do tricks and take pictures with people:) Well, I just wanted to take a picture of the bear and man and a helper guy who were all sitting on a bench in front of the opera house; however they had different thoughts in mind... within seconds they were insisting that I take a picture sitting on top of the bear, but they woudn't take the bear off of the bench, so here are the pics that proceeded...

That weekend followed with the Taj team fall retreat up to the mountains in Sarob, about 30 minutes north of Dushanbe.. it was a pretty place high in the mountains, and actually the big building was a sanitorium built in the 50's during the soviet times... you could and still can go there for ANY health remedy:).. that weekend was filled with planning and visionizing along with a few visits to the hot sulfer spring hot tub...the weekend ended with a sickness breakout amongst the team... I was thankful to not be apart of that:) The sheep were taking over the road heading up the mountain:)

The third week was the beginning of language classes and work with COH... what a good week it has been...my language lessons are on Monday and Thursday, Tuesday and Wednesday I will work with the COH social worker with the projects that are currently taking place... I will get to build wheelchairs in homes while the SW talks with the family- what fun!... Fridays I will be helping out at a small international school teaching jr.high math and science (just until Christmas break), and then also helping with gym class... Today we got to babysit several of the international kids while their parents were in a marriage seminar:) here are a few pics of what we did... and our apartment... and that is the package of fun I have had so far... stay
tuned...

Departure Week

2007-10-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hello to All!
wow! Well, with ALL of the help, support and encouragement from you I have finally made it to the big week of departing for Tajikistan!... Exciting, kind of scary, unknown, yet it is with great anticipation that I approach this week and the year ahead. I am so thankful for the love and friendship that has been given to me... I know I would not be packed and ready to go without amazing friends and family who have been a huge support! Thanks for being apart of my life and for making this new big adventure possible... more pictures and updates are to follow shortly.. With all the love my heart can hold...
Staci