December?

     Well, I suppose it's time for an update. It doesn't seem too long ago that we were just arriving back from Uzbekistan and now, 4 weeks and 2 units later, we are only two weeks away from Winter Break (no one is complaining!). School keeps us very busy so days fly by and weeks seem to go even faster. It's not only planning and teaching and grading that keep us busy; committees, newsletters, meetings, and periodic obligations and parent communications make for full days. Both Nic and I are enjoying teaching and feel like we are beginning to find our stride in this new profession. 

     It's hard to believe that we haven't even hit our 4 month mark here in Kazakhstan...it seems longer. We encounter our difficulties still (as would happen for anyone learning a new culture), but we also find that we're building our routines. Food in supermarkets tends to be expensive, so we try to shop at local markets. However, now that the cold has set in, markets close earlier. The market near school that used to stay open until after 6 is now half way closed down at 5. Some vendors actually put their produce into glass cases with lights in them to keep them from freezing. Veggies are getting more scarce and more pricey (as should happen in a market closely linked to local agriculture), but we can still find the basic potatoes, carrots and cabbage cheaply. 

     Weekends are generally dedicated to cleaning the house, cooking a good meal, planning and grading (of course) and skyping with our folks. We usually have one social event in a weekend, and that's really about all we can handle at this point. We are fortunate to work with some great and laid back people who like to socialize. The Wilkinsons (from Texas) hosted a chili cook off a few weekends back. 

There were a number of competitors, and some very delicious chilis that night. 

But, a crowd knows when they've found something good. We got second place! 

The school Spirit Committee (of which I am a proud member) hosted a Thanksgiving Feast for all staff at the school. It was a big undertaking, but the committee is full of resourceful and organized teachers!

No turkeys at this Thanksgiving, but plenty of chicken! The men do the honors and carve 40 chickens for the meal. 

 The Decorating Committee did a great job turning a school cafeteria into a homey dining room to share a meal in. 

There were lots of fun decorations made by the elementary students. 

Every class in the elementary school has a Buddy Class. Our buddy class are the 4 year olds. About once a month my 8 year olds read to the little ones and help them with crafts. 

 Danial K. loves to read and gets excited about books. 

Daniel M. helps this little one make a Thanksgiving cornucopia. 

 Vanda has a captive audience and a big book. 

Ayanna helps this one cut out her fall leaves for her project. 

We continue to love our house. In the mornings, with no traffic we make it to school in around 20 minutes. In the afternoons, however, it can sometimes take up to an hour with traffic to get home. With insane drivers (it's almost comical how terrible they are...almost) on the roads it can make for a stressful commute, but we are always happy to step into our peaceful compound. 

Since we're so close to downtown, we can see and hear all the action. The other night there were huge fireworks we could see from our front windows. Notice how the window is open? Another thing I love about our house is how toasty warm it is!

 This was taken from our back balcony, looking east. It's been quite foggy here and today is the first clear day we've had in about a week. I wish I could say that the white line on the horizon was clouds, but I fear that it is smog. 

 This is also from our back balcony, looking north onto downtown. You can't see it clearly, but the streets are lined with blue-lit holiday decorations. The city is festive, with decorations all over. The big holiday here, however, is New Year. A local told me that when Communism came, there was a push away from Christianity, so they changed the focus from Christmas to New Year. Locals celebrate New Year the way Americans celebrate Christmas: with presents and a tree! They even have a Santa equivalent called Dit Moroz. This year is also Kazakhstan's 20 anniversary of independence, so there are lots of decorations for that as well. Whether for Christmas, New Year, or Independence, it's nice to have some holiday cheer in a city far from home.