What a week.

Looking back on my first blog, the sentence, “However, if you offered me a washing machine in exchange for my indoor toilet, I’d be happy to squat,” is painfully ironic. I now live in a home with a washing machine, but I squat outside. I just never guessed the trade would come at the expense of being robbed. Yeah, it’s been quite the week.

Romans 8:28
“All things work towards good for those who love the Lord.” Friday morning (September 25) marked the first time in KZ that I wore my bracelet with that inscription. It made for good reading as I waited for police and investigators that evening. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

When I arrived home from a long day at school, I found the door to my apartment closed but unlocked. I entered, called out a friendly hello, and received no response. I took a few steps to my bedroom door and saw a key sticking in the doorknob. My heart sank. Inside my room, my suitcase had obviously been disturbed. I took enough of a peek to see they had taken all the tenge from my hiding spot. Then it dawned on me – what a bad place to be. I hurriedly left the apartment and embarked on quite the evening, complete with an inside look of the Kazakh police force. But I much prefer looking at the silver lining, rather than the ominous cloud. I’ve been left with enough eerie feelings and images; no need to dwell on those.

Silver linings. They took my money and computer bag (with all included accessories) – everything else is intact. I wasn’t home when the robbery took place. Most of that hard drive is also on a laptop back home. I am surrounded by wonderful, supportive people. And… drumroll please… I have a NEW FAMILY!!!

A New Home
Friday night, I slept in a different apartment (belonging to the parents of my host sister/mother). When I returned to my old apartment Saturday afternoon, I got to pack up everything and head off for a new home. Good grief it’s great to see God work. (Saturday afternoon I was told I may not be able to move until Monday. A few hours later, I had the go-ahead to pack up.)

At 6:30pm, I stepped out of the apartment building and gazed at my first Kazakh rainbow as I waited for my new host brother to drive up. I like to think God was smiling on me. We piled in my bags and piled in the car. Having four people (my host brother, my LCF, myself, and Pat – another PCT) plus my bags made for a tight squeeze. After a short drive, we passed through the gates of my new and very beautiful home.

Inside, a spread of food awaited as we took my bags up to my room. In the words of Pat, watching me take it all in was like watching someone on Christmas. One could say I was pretty pumped. Pat and I drank tea with my mom and sister before he finally went home. A little later, Leah, my PCVTA, stopped by. With her superior Russian skills, I discovered that my family had been told about my ordeal. Apparently they also said, “God is with this girl. We would have loved to have her from the beginning.” They’re really sweet people. Before I brag more about them, I’ve got to brag about other people surrounding me.

The trainees in this village are top-notch. Pat went with me on Saturday to pack. That means he stayed with me from about 4 until 7 or 8, just to help me out. What a saint. And so many people have offered their support in other ways. Phone calls, prayers, hugs… And then there’s Laura. I’m able to type this out at home, only because she’s given me a netbook to use! Simply amazing.

Back to my new host family. I’ve got an 11-year old host sister, a 22-year old host brother, and a stay-at-home mother. Due to the father’s work, he apparently is not home often. We’ll see if I get to meet him one of these days. My host sister is adorable. She’s an excellent student and wants to improve her English. Her mother’s plan: I and her daughter will talk a lot. I’ll speak Russian; she’ll speak English. Let’s hope it works. My host mother was a Kazakh language teacher for 30 years. Maybe my Kazakh will improve, too? And I’m not too clear on my host brother’s job. Maybe an advocate of some sort? What was very clear, though, was my host mother’s message one day into my stay. The conversation went something like this:
Pat. Boyfriend?
–No, not my boyfriend.
Ah. Do you have a boyfriend?
-Nope. I don’t need a boyfriend.
Mmm. *points to her son* Boyfriend?
*Lots of laughter*
-Nope, I don’t need a boyfriend.
*More laughter*
I suppose I can be thankful it took a full 24 hours for the question to surface. And I’m more thankful I made it through without offending them right off the bat. So, they’re great. We laugh often and have already spent some quality time together.

On Sunday we went to a house in the village to participate in a memorial. Apparently it was held to commemorate the one year mark after the passing of a grandmother. It consisted of absurd amounts of food. Six or seven tables were set up outside, completely covered in food. Dozens of people stood around, not eating any of it. That was puzzling to me until we walked inside the house. One room was filled with an equal amount of food. So, people were going inside in shifts. They would eat “appetizers” – fruit, cabbage salad, candy – before the plof topped with meat came out. The meat: definitely horse. I’ve decided horse tastes like it smells. Don’t take that as a complaint, necessarily. The smell of a clean horse’s nose is great. It’s just weird to taste that smell in its meat. After people had eaten their fill, the hosts passed out plastic baggies. Each person filled the baggie with food to take home with them. Interesting event, and I’m sure there’s all sorts of meaning packed into it.

The rest of the week has gone by a bit more smoothly. I taught two lessons on Monday, and I feel like they went well. Monday afternoon, though, I went home early, as my body was saying – hey, you’ve been through too much. Sleep! So sleep I did. Tuesday I felt better and in the evening got to help my little sister hang my first load of clean laundry out on the line. Oh how I’d love to take down all my underwear and dry them behind closed doors… Also on Tuesday, I unpacked enough to feel a bit more settled here. With half of PST left, I think I’ll be alright…