Thursday, June 14, 2012

Today is the first day of the rest of my life!

I am opening a new chapter in my life.  Today I leave a job I have had for nine years to go off  to another country!  I don't think that this has really all sunk in yet.  Not only will I be teaching with new colleagues, and teaching new students, but the language they speak, and the country and continent will be entirely different- Holy Crap, I am moving across the world-how crazy is this shit!  LOL
I purchased my plane ticket today, so I guess it is official (even though I don't have a visa yet!-OMG).  It's going to take me 45 hours to get to Kazakhstan (just south of Russia).  My flight Itinerary is as follows:

I leave Logan airport in Boston on the 16th of August @ 7:55 pm- I head to NY.

I get held in NY for 20 Hours!!!   Camp in New York with the homeless.

leave NY and head to Istanbul at 6:25pm the following day.

arrive in Istanbul @ 11:15 am.

leave @ Istanbul @ 6:40.

Arrive in Astana Kazakhstan 2:45pm.

Die of exhaustion!!!!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Shopping for the trip!

I am excitedly preparing for this trip! Of course, if I intend on living in a cold environment, I decided I had best get myself some cold weather gear! My sister-in-law, and great friend, turned me onto two great stores- Columbiawww.columbia.com/, and REIwww.rei.com/. I am sooo hooked on these places now! When I shopped at Columbia, I got the best deals, I left the store with a fleece, a soft shell(with omni-heat!), and a great outer coat of down (also with omni-heat). Of course before this shopping spree I had NO idea what omni-tech was, so I was excited to learn about its magical warming abilities. Omni-heat is a reflective technology placed inside the jacket to help reflect the heat back into the body. The technology works by using your own heat to reflect back into your body. Columbia was a great shopping day! I also hit up REI , and was awe struck by the great stuff they have. I needed boots still, and boy did I get some boots! I got the deal of the century, and my friend dubbed me the "bargain fairy"! I loved that one! Anyway, I found a pair of sorels for 45$- yup, that's right, only 45$! The boots are awesome, rated for -25 degrees. I won't describe them much because I decided to take pictures of my haul.
My smartwool long johns!
and smartwool socks! :)

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I am about to begin a fantastic adventure!  I am a high school teacher, and I'm taking off for Kazakhstan(Kazakhstan Consulate) this August!  I must admit that I am extremely nervous.  I mean the, extent of my travels outside of the U.S have been, hhmmm, let me see-oh yes-Canada!  I do believe that Kazakhstan is slightly further away than Canada.  I suppose if I'm going to travel for the first time, I may as well go pretty far.  Kazakhstan is pretty far.  My flight will take anywhere from 24-36 hours depending on which airline I take- either way, that is a looong time in a small space!  All part of the fun, right?

I researched the country, and discovered some really wonderful things-the one thing I'm preparing for the most, besides the classroom, is the weather.  Kazakhstan has some very intense weather.  On the steppes, the summers can be arid and hot, in contrast the winters can be as cold as -30 to-50 below.  Ironically, I don't like the cold (seriously-I'm cold in August! What The Hell was I thinking signing up to go to a place that is technically a part of Siberia!!).   The thrill I'm getting with this trip, is the travel, and the teaching.

 I'm going to Kazakhstan to teach English, and help write curriculum.  I'm overwhelmed with joy to be able to teach in a different country, to help create a new curriculum, and to learn new methods as well as share what methods I find successful.

Kazakhstan Flag
This adventure will be life altering.