Only in America!

We met a girl on the bus a few weeks ago. She speaks english very well and teaches english here. She invited us to her house for tea and dinner tonight. It was incredible food. The tea was actually good too. :) There were 3 ladies there. We had so much fun. They asked us about the things we missed from America and how things were different. Two of the ladies studied at universities and got their masters in the states, so knew about the culture differences. We brought brownies that we made without a box, and they commented on the fact that we are learning to do things different than in the states, like cooking from scratch. We some how started talking about the things they thought were unusual in America. They started saying "Only in America..." We talked about silly things like drive thru banks, cup holders in cars, rushing water in your bath tub so you can swim against a current (seen on commercials, rats in houses, and buying homemade items at the store. They made some of the things I know to be normal in America seem weird. It was humorous to me, because all of us foreigners here talk about things that happen and say "Only in Turkey." It was so easy to talk to these ladies. I am very thankful at how comfortable and how real I was able to be with them. Hopefully we will be able to have a good friendship with these ladies.

We used to live with a lady from Scotland. It was so good to live with her and a blessing that she took care of us. She was an amazing lady. She moved back home last month. Anyway, she would talk about how they dont know what cooking from scratch is because everything is that way. One day she saw the apple slicer we have. They do sell them here, but not many people use them. She was just amazed by this and we taught her how it worked. She always thought it was crazy that we have something to make anything we want, like an omelet maker, or a grilled cheese maker, or a s'more maker. It was so funny. It is amazing how lazy people are in America and how living in another country makes you realize how ridiculous some things are that you once thought to be normal.

The Office

Well, the past few weeks have been busy. Work at the office is also crazy busy. It seems like the work is always piling up and you never really accomplish anything. I am starting to enjoy the guys in the office though. They are starting to be a lot more fun. We play darts most days at work for 30 minutes or so. At first I thought it was a waste of time, but now that I have started working full time, I realize that it is kind of a necessity because the work can be stressful and crazy. I was horrible at first, but now I can actually aim and hit what I am aiming at. I havent won a game, but I have come close many times. I think we are all waiting for that day.

We started watching The Office. There is an amazing website that you can watch just about any tv show. ABC and all ot the US sites dont allow you to watch anything outside of the country. It is great that we can watch it here. It just gives us a little taste of the States.

We started cooking a little here. I baked a cake without a cake mix for the first time. It turned out really good. The frosting was a little waterey, but still really good. The powdered sugar here is really grainy, so that changes it a little too.

Language learning is going good. I can have a short conversation in my new language, but I went to the pazar, or market, and tried to use the language. I bought what I wanted fine, but then they would ask me something and I had no idea what they were saying. After the fifth time, I just left with my purchases kind of overwhelmed. I'm learning slowly but surely.

Tourist for the day

I started going to an English club last week. It is a place for locals to come and practice and learn conversational english and a place for us to go to help and make some friends. Usually there is a short lesson and then simple conversations and hanging out with them. Mostly college aged people come. It was really cool last week and I really enjoyed going. Im excited for tomorrow to get to go again. I heard a lot of cool things are happening in the group. I also went to a friends house on Sunday. It was good to be in community with a few families. They were all quite a bit older than me, but I could learn a lot from them. Their children were so fun though. One of the families who works in the office was there. They have three girls (7, 4, and 2 years old) and a boy on the way. These girls were so much fun. They reminded me of some girls at home.

Saturday we went around with a group that is here for a week for a history class. A guy that we know loves the history here, so we went with them to hear the explainations of what things are. It was cool to get around and see tourist sites in the city, even though we were exhausted. I hadnt really realized how crowded the area was until Saturday. I think that part of the city is especially crowded. We got on the tram and were cramed in there like sardines. There were times when my feet werent even touching the ground because the people around me were so close they were holding me up. You wouldnt believe how many people can fit in a tram.

Busy busy busy

Well we didnt have too many adventures this weekend. We spent most of Saturday at Ikea and a grocery store. A lady we know took us and showed us what things were once again so we would have a better idea of what we were buying. Sunday we went to the other side of the city and walked one of the tourist streets. We went to a bazaar or market that is only once a week. One of my dear brothers who just got here as well went to a bazaar near his house and told us this story. He wanted oranges and asked for 10. They thought he wanted 10 kilo because people usually buy at the bazaars in bulk for huge families. So they gave him 10 kilos of oranges. If you didnt know, 10 kilos is about 22 pounds. That is a lot of oranges to carry home. (: Things like this happen all the time living in a new place. I went to the stands where you bagged your own fruit, but they still thought I was crazy for getting a kilo. I have a few pictures of our time in the city.

Here is part of the city and the boats you use to cross to the other side of the city.


This is near our apartment. These are mostly apartments crowded together.


This is another view of the busy city. There are so many taxis.


Work is going to get busy soon. I feel like there will be a lot to do before we move. We are thinking maybe May or June I should be moving to England. For now I am enjoying being here and learning how to live here for the next 4 or 5 months.

Language learning

I started language learning yesterday. It was actually kind of fun to learn the language. I think it helped that my teacher has a crazy personality and has so much energy. She is very fun. She taught me a lot in just a few hours. I am mostly learning the basics of how to survive here. Since I still don't know how long I will be here, it will be hard to learn very much. I have learned letters and a few numbers. I think Julianna and I are going to go out on our own and wander around the city on Saturday. It should be an adventure. Julianna is my roommate who moved here with me. She will soon be teaching 3rd grade at an international school in the area.
Work is also good. Today was just my second day, but it is fun. I have done simple things so far that no one else really wants to do, but I still enjoyed it. It will hopefully get much better when I actually know what is going on. I learn more each day of how I was made to do these type of things. I dont really know many others who would like to do what I did today. It feels good to know I am where I need to be.

I have a few pictures that I will be posting soon. Im sure I will have plenty after our adventures this weekend.

I made it!!

Wow, I finally made it to my new city. On the way here I had and interesting trip. When we got to Germany, one of our layovers, we went to our gate they called for us to board the plane. We went through the doors and then boarded a bus which 30 min. later it seemed brought us to our plane out in the middle of no where. Its a wonder that all of our luggage made it, 11 bags total for the 3 of us. He indeed provides!! Apparently they dont really have customs here. We had no problems getting our visa or anything. They didn't ask a single question.

As we traveled through Germany and as I watched us fly over out the window, my heart broke. I loved flying with the German airline and getting to hear the language and eat brotchen on the plane. However I really wanted to stay. I was excited to get here too, but I was also sad to leave. I thought that I had already become burdended for the people here, but I need to fall in love with the culture and the people of Central Asia. I began to ask Father to grow my heart for my new country and then London as I move so that it will become my passion like Germany has. Please do the same.

Yesterday and today we have been exploring with a lady who has been here for 3 years or so. Her husband works in the office with me. We have gone to a few stores and malls. I have learned a few words so far, but not really much. I have learned the word for sale though. Finding the sale aisle in a store is an important thing to know. I somehow managed to order food in the language. It was pretty simple words though. I had some Doner today for those of you who know what that is. Yum. It is kind of like gyros in the states, but a lot better.