Dear Ones,
I love our school. We barely have 40 students and it is just perfect for that. Maybe I love it because it is painted my favorite color - turquoise. All QSI schools require security guards, so we have 3 guards doing rotating shifts. However, in the 3 years the school has been open there hasn't been anything happen. Art said that one day he was outside teaching PE using a parachute and suddenly he thought his class was larger. Sure enough, a whole bunch of neighborhood kids had climbed the fence to play with the parachute. He let them play for awhile and then shooed them back home. The grounds around the school are really pretty and peaceful with flowers, fruit trees, and a grape arbor full of fat grapes. The apartments surrounding our school are just the opposite. I see kids hanging over the balconies, playing in the dirt, or just sitting in their doorways. It must be really hard for them to see the colorful playground equipment at our school and know they can't use it.
Art is the director of the school. His wife, Julie, teaches 5 & 6 year olds (9 students) and come from Arizonia. Mike is a new teacher for the 7 & 8 year olds ( 12 students) and is a retired teacher from Arizonia. Then Nick teaches the 9 & 10 & 11 year olds (4 students). He is also a new teacher this year from PA. And Marc from Canada teaches the secondary students ( 2 students in his class). We have a computer guy, Ivan, who I haven't met yet and Svetlana teaches Russian classes. My class gets to go to her every Friday afternoon. I should go with them and learn the Russian ABC's. And I teach the 3 & 4 year olds (11 students) which are the most adorable kids in the school. I have Dinara for my aid who speaks Russian to help me with parent translations, etc. She has been wonderful helping me get my room set up. We don't use grade levels here - just ages!
Art had told us ahead of time over and over not to bring any teaching supplies. I decided I would pack a suitcase of my favorite stuff, so I took my suitcase to school the last days when I was cleaning my classroom. I realized that most of my stuff was my favorite stuff and I was trying hard to pack light with only stuff I needed until Christmas. The suitcase weighed 70 lbs. which would cost me $150 extra, so at Maleika's house I finally got it down to 50 lbs. I WAS SO GLAD THAT I BROUGHT IT! I walked into my preschool room and the walls were totally bare! They didn't even have a number line or the alphabet for me to put up. So the first week I worked my buns off just turning that room into something that screamed Preschool. I had to make everything from scratch except for some of the stuff I brought.
The parents of my students for the first time had a choice to bring their child a full day ( 8-2:30) or a half day (9 - 1:00) Only 4 choose the half day, but that means there is an hour every morning that I don't want to start all the lessons because part of the class will miss them. So I decided to do centers every morning until 9:00. I love it!! I have 6 centers set up around the room - library center with pillows and big books, block center, puzzles & games, cutting & pasting, writing, and mathematics. When the kids come in they have their name on a stick and they have to put it in the appropriate space on the bulletin board. I was blown away at how the 4 year olds have caught on.
Art had told me that he wouldn't teach my class for any kind of money. He told me I would have wailers all morning. There was not one child that cried. They came in and saw all the fun stuff set out and were on a mission. They didn't even want to bother to say goodbye to their parents. Art was amazed!
On the first day of school I have always made gingerbread boys and girls for all the kids. I read them the Gingerbread Boy, tell them that I made them some gingerbread cookies, go to my cupboard and they are gone!! Then we go on a search of the school looking for the cookies and I can introduce them to the new teachers! I've done it for so many years, making cookies for all the other grade level classes the night before school starts , that it is no big deal.
Well, making cookies in Kazakhstan, was a HUGE deal. There were roadblocks at every turn and I wanted to forget the whole thing, but I tackled it. Dianara went with me to the grocery store to get molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. The only ingredient that we found was ginger, so I used honey instead of the molasses. We couldn't find any raisins, so I ended up getting a sack of trail mix that had pictures of raisins on the cover. Then when I came home and started making them it took forever to find everything I needed to mix them up. There were no measuring cups, so I just guessed at everything. I had to roll them out with a glass because there was no rolling pin. I had brought the gingerbread man cookie cutter with me thank goodness. Then I couldn't get my oven to work! That was about the last straw, but I called Nick who knows some Russian and he came over. The oven doesn't work unless you turn on the timer.
So I headed to school the next day with 30 of the cutest little gingerbread boys I think I have ever made. My kid's eyes were big as saucers when I looked in my backpack and the cookies were gone. I had taped a little tiny paper gingerbread boy on every door that we were going to and the kids giggled with glee whenever they saw one. We found them just in time for snack and had fun sharing all the rest with the school. They were a big hit!
Got to go. Love, Me
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Camels Anyone?
Dear Ones,
I forgot to tell you that on the first day in the taxi coming from the airport I saw a camel walking along the road. I loved it. I've never been to a country with camels walking around. The director told me that on the way to the airport they had to stop to let a herd of goats and camels cross the road with men on horses herding them along. I would have loved to see that.
I am so comfortable in my apartment that I am just so happy to hang out here. The landlord has fixed almost everything that was "broken" except for one TV and getting hot water in my shower. It is really strange to have a cleaning lady come every Monday. She was still here when I came home from school. She was finishing my laundry and mopping all the floors. She showed me how I had to go buy more laundry soap and cleaner. Then on Tuesday when I came home I noticed that she had been there again and had put all my laundry away and even ironed my clothes! I went into my bedroom and the dresser counter was bare. All of Maleika's jewelry was gone. I just stood there feeling really sick and trying not to cry. I thought it had all been stolen and it would have been too sad! Then I opened my underwear drawer and all the underwear was gone, but the jewelry was in it's place. In the second drawer she had folded all my underwear and bras into neat tidy piles. ( I guess my neat piles weren't neat enough for her.)
Then on Wednesday when I came home she had done more of my laundry and hung it up plus her laundry too! I also had put some flour in a kitchen cupboard and she had put a plastic sack around it and lined the shelf under it.
Marc (staff at school) said the landlord thing was very strange. They store their stuff in our apartment and then come over and get stuff whenever they need it. He said his friend was sitting around about 11 one night and the landlord came in. I have the feeling that the cleaning lady is his wife. He was there that day she was cleaning and they both opened my closet where all the blankets were stored. I thought they were blankets for me, so I had dumped them all out one night and re-arranged them. They acted some distraught and she pointed to the drawer where she had showed me my towel and sheet. I showed her my sheet on my bed and the towel in the cupboard, but they both just shook their heads no. There was some beautiful sheets up there that I couldn't wait to use, but now I am confused. I even found a black Russian fur hat in the closet that I was thinking of wearing.
I also discovered that the long narrow deck around my apartment is built for storage and they have piles of storage out there that I even straightened out the best I could. The deck is also used for hanging laundry and smoking. Right now the windows are all covered with plastic, so it is a sauna in the hot afternoons. I could start a greenhouse and grow my own vegetables!
Another thing is that when I went to explore the kitchen I found that every cupboard and shelf was full of stuff - mostly fancy goblets and tea sets that I will never use. I had to rearrange things just to find room to put my groceries. One cupboard is full of Russian books, videos, and junk. I was planning on boxing up all that stuff and setting it out on the deck, but I better figure out what is going on before I do anything to offend them. The cleaning lady has been so sweet. She refused to take extra money when I tried to give her a tip. Nobody expects a tip here in Kazakhstan I was told later.
So I have all this fancy stuff, but not many of the basics that you would think they would supply us. I have no butter knives - only forks and spoons. I have no utensils like wooden spoons, spatulas, etc. There is no dish drainer, hand towels, toaster, or waste basket. I'm not complaining about it - it's just interesting what they think is important in a kitchen.
I hope everyone is having a good end to their summer. Love, me
I forgot to tell you that on the first day in the taxi coming from the airport I saw a camel walking along the road. I loved it. I've never been to a country with camels walking around. The director told me that on the way to the airport they had to stop to let a herd of goats and camels cross the road with men on horses herding them along. I would have loved to see that.
I am so comfortable in my apartment that I am just so happy to hang out here. The landlord has fixed almost everything that was "broken" except for one TV and getting hot water in my shower. It is really strange to have a cleaning lady come every Monday. She was still here when I came home from school. She was finishing my laundry and mopping all the floors. She showed me how I had to go buy more laundry soap and cleaner. Then on Tuesday when I came home I noticed that she had been there again and had put all my laundry away and even ironed my clothes! I went into my bedroom and the dresser counter was bare. All of Maleika's jewelry was gone. I just stood there feeling really sick and trying not to cry. I thought it had all been stolen and it would have been too sad! Then I opened my underwear drawer and all the underwear was gone, but the jewelry was in it's place. In the second drawer she had folded all my underwear and bras into neat tidy piles. ( I guess my neat piles weren't neat enough for her.)
Then on Wednesday when I came home she had done more of my laundry and hung it up plus her laundry too! I also had put some flour in a kitchen cupboard and she had put a plastic sack around it and lined the shelf under it.
Marc (staff at school) said the landlord thing was very strange. They store their stuff in our apartment and then come over and get stuff whenever they need it. He said his friend was sitting around about 11 one night and the landlord came in. I have the feeling that the cleaning lady is his wife. He was there that day she was cleaning and they both opened my closet where all the blankets were stored. I thought they were blankets for me, so I had dumped them all out one night and re-arranged them. They acted some distraught and she pointed to the drawer where she had showed me my towel and sheet. I showed her my sheet on my bed and the towel in the cupboard, but they both just shook their heads no. There was some beautiful sheets up there that I couldn't wait to use, but now I am confused. I even found a black Russian fur hat in the closet that I was thinking of wearing.
I also discovered that the long narrow deck around my apartment is built for storage and they have piles of storage out there that I even straightened out the best I could. The deck is also used for hanging laundry and smoking. Right now the windows are all covered with plastic, so it is a sauna in the hot afternoons. I could start a greenhouse and grow my own vegetables!
Another thing is that when I went to explore the kitchen I found that every cupboard and shelf was full of stuff - mostly fancy goblets and tea sets that I will never use. I had to rearrange things just to find room to put my groceries. One cupboard is full of Russian books, videos, and junk. I was planning on boxing up all that stuff and setting it out on the deck, but I better figure out what is going on before I do anything to offend them. The cleaning lady has been so sweet. She refused to take extra money when I tried to give her a tip. Nobody expects a tip here in Kazakhstan I was told later.
So I have all this fancy stuff, but not many of the basics that you would think they would supply us. I have no butter knives - only forks and spoons. I have no utensils like wooden spoons, spatulas, etc. There is no dish drainer, hand towels, toaster, or waste basket. I'm not complaining about it - it's just interesting what they think is important in a kitchen.
I hope everyone is having a good end to their summer. Love, me
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Swimming in the Caspian Sea
Today I walked to the Caspian Sea and jumped in or more like waded in. The water was so cold that I was going to chicken out, but I stuck it out and did some swimming. The northern part of the sea where I live doesn't have any salt, but the southern part is salty. So the joke around here is that if I'm floating in the Sea and start to taste salty water, I need to turn back before the Iranians arrest me.
The very first thing that I ever heard back in the states when someone found out that I was going to Kazakhstan was that if a man found a woman that he wanted to have as his wife, he would pull her home by her hair. Well, I am starting to grow my hair out so that he can get a good hold of it.
I know that many of you will never get to Kazakhstan, so I really want to represent it fairly. I love being over here, but things are so different. People here have no concept of how to line up and take their turn. I noticed that some in Korea, but it is really apparent here. You will get no where if you stand back and try to be polite. The traffic is the same way - oh, my gosh, I would never try to drive in this city. At intersections, even though they do have lights, cars are pulled out in all directions blocking traffic and the honking is crazy! I'm not sure anyone has taken driver's education and the solution to everything is honking as loud and long as you can. I can't leave my window open at night because of all the honking and I live on the 14th floor.
There are no designated taxis in this town. Anyone can be a taxi driver. That is the way local people make money. So when you want a ride you flag down the first person that stops. It is very cheap transportation though. It cost about $1.50 to go anywhere in town. Everything else is so expensive though. I took my first bus ride here the other day and it was only 25 cents, but you better hold on and pray for your life.
There is a big grocery store pretty close to us. Art told us that the people that work there have a completely different attitude about customers. They are not there to serve customers and make our life easier. I didn't pay much attention to all that, because I don't usually have trouble getting along in those situations. However, my first trip to the grocery store was a huge eye opener. I love walking down all the aisles trying to figure out what things are. I was standing at the yoghurt counter trying to figure out what was what. A clerk was there unpacking all these boxes. I hardly had any room to get close to the yoghurt. The clerk at one point tripped over my shoe. I looked up to say sorry (although I was just standing there) and I was faced with the meanest glare. I have encountered these glares a few times and will have to shrug them off.
I was looking for some margarine to put on my fresh baked bread that I bought and when I got home it looked like chocolate pudding. I took a big bite and had to spit it out. It was chocolate butter. It's good on my bread and made a great toasted cheese sandwich!
I went to a big bazaar yesterday with my teacher pals. It was like the markets in Korea, but they call it the bazaar. I am going to go back when I can explore more on my own. It's hard to stay together when there was four of us. Part of it was in a covered building, but the rest was outside with tarps keeping out the rain. More later, Love Rachel
The very first thing that I ever heard back in the states when someone found out that I was going to Kazakhstan was that if a man found a woman that he wanted to have as his wife, he would pull her home by her hair. Well, I am starting to grow my hair out so that he can get a good hold of it.
I know that many of you will never get to Kazakhstan, so I really want to represent it fairly. I love being over here, but things are so different. People here have no concept of how to line up and take their turn. I noticed that some in Korea, but it is really apparent here. You will get no where if you stand back and try to be polite. The traffic is the same way - oh, my gosh, I would never try to drive in this city. At intersections, even though they do have lights, cars are pulled out in all directions blocking traffic and the honking is crazy! I'm not sure anyone has taken driver's education and the solution to everything is honking as loud and long as you can. I can't leave my window open at night because of all the honking and I live on the 14th floor.
There are no designated taxis in this town. Anyone can be a taxi driver. That is the way local people make money. So when you want a ride you flag down the first person that stops. It is very cheap transportation though. It cost about $1.50 to go anywhere in town. Everything else is so expensive though. I took my first bus ride here the other day and it was only 25 cents, but you better hold on and pray for your life.
There is a big grocery store pretty close to us. Art told us that the people that work there have a completely different attitude about customers. They are not there to serve customers and make our life easier. I didn't pay much attention to all that, because I don't usually have trouble getting along in those situations. However, my first trip to the grocery store was a huge eye opener. I love walking down all the aisles trying to figure out what things are. I was standing at the yoghurt counter trying to figure out what was what. A clerk was there unpacking all these boxes. I hardly had any room to get close to the yoghurt. The clerk at one point tripped over my shoe. I looked up to say sorry (although I was just standing there) and I was faced with the meanest glare. I have encountered these glares a few times and will have to shrug them off.
I was looking for some margarine to put on my fresh baked bread that I bought and when I got home it looked like chocolate pudding. I took a big bite and had to spit it out. It was chocolate butter. It's good on my bread and made a great toasted cheese sandwich!
I went to a big bazaar yesterday with my teacher pals. It was like the markets in Korea, but they call it the bazaar. I am going to go back when I can explore more on my own. It's hard to stay together when there was four of us. Part of it was in a covered building, but the rest was outside with tarps keeping out the rain. More later, Love Rachel
Waking Up Every Morning In Kazakhstan
Dear Everyone,
I have so much to write that I don't know where to start. Jamara, please help me figure out how I write more on my blog. I am using a computer in my apartment that is in English, but all the pop up boxes, headings, etc. are in Russian. I didn't know how to make another entry.The trip here seemed to last forever, especially since I had almost 5 hours wait at each airport I landed at. There aren't any great stories to tell about my flights. The only trouble I had was on the last leg of my journey when I discovered an older Russian lady was sitting in my seat and her little dog was in a carrier on the seat she was supposed to be sitting in. I showed her my ticket and she just ignored it and wouldn't budge. It was a very crowded plane and I sure was holding up traffic, so I ended up getting help from the airline stewardess. However, the lady still wouldn't move. So I ended up sitting in the middle while she held her dog on her lap. She was very big and took up part of my seat and then my backpack wouldn't go under my seat because the guy in front of me had his big bag there, so I had a very miserable crowded ride. I heard later that the Russian woman have been known to go sit in first class and refuse to move, so I guess they were glad that she at least stayed in the economy class.Actually, people out on the street don't seem really friendly here. I remember thinking the same the first few weeks I was in Koreabut they all warmed up to me and were very friendly. On that last plane ride I walked back to the bathroom and smiled at lots of people sitting in their seats. I didn't get one smile back, not even from an elderly lady with a face full of wrinkles. I thought sure that she would smile back. I smile at people out on the street and I very seldom get any smiles back. I guess it will be my mission to make this country smile.My director, Art, was there at the airport with three taxis to pick up me and 2 other new staff. The airport in Aktau was the most primitive airport I have even flown to. We were shuttled to some kind of shed to pick up our luggage and there weren't even any bathrooms there.We were then taken to our apartments. Art had told me that they were new and Westernized, which could have meant running water and bathrooms. My apartment is on the 14th floor of a huge building. I don't know where to begin to describe my apartment. It is the most beautiful and luxurious place that I have ever lived. I would have been delighted with much less and just walked around with my mouth open. It has three huge rooms. When you first walk in there is a new leather couch (I've always wanted one of those leather couches.), 2 matching leather chairs, a beautiful rug, a big TV, a computer table with a computer and printer, and a bathroom with a half round shower with jets. My bedroom is fantastic!! It is the hugest bedroom I have ever had. There is another bathroom in my bedroom. Can you believe that? And then there is another room with a washing machine that doubles for a dryer. I haven't figured how it works yet. Also, in that room is a huge jacuzzi with a radio and the jet streams. I have 3 huge wardrobe closets across one wall. I don't even fill up one of them. There is another huge TV in my room, a big dresser, 2 big stuffed chairs, another beautiful rug, 2 end tables, and a huge bed with pink sheets that don't fit the bed and a blue down comforter. The bed is delicious! The lights in my bedroom are amazing in themselves. There is a shelf thing going all around the ceiling and there is a green glowing light that is so cool when all the other lights are off. There is also a beautiful blue chandelier that has a remote for different shades of light and then there are regular lights. When I open my drapes I get a view of these buildings with huge pictures of the founders of Kazakhstan with the glorious Caspian Sea surrounding the whole city. It is breathtaking!And then moving into the kitchen and living room is another dream! What blows me away is the size of the room. There are 2 more beautiful Persian rugs, a brand new treadmill, couches, and a fax machine (as if I ever knew how to use one of those!) I have the biggest CD player that I have ever seen (and I usually can't even figure out to use the small one I own.) There is an ironing board and iron set up in the living room. The kitchen has a counter with 2 fancy stools, a dining room table, a fancy looking microwave, cupboards full of glass, goblets, tea sets, etc. There is a door out to a very narrow wrap around closed in deck. The windows are all covered with plastic out there so you really can't see anything. It is so narrow that you couldn't really even put a chair out there. It is kind of a mystery what that space is meant for. It is also like a sunhouse during the day. I have a brand new refrigerator. I must admit that I was disappointed that it didn't have an icemaker like I've always dreamed of, but who am I to complain. I forgot to mention that there is another TV in the kitchen for watching movies. That makes 3 TV's and 2 bathrooms in my apartment! Oh, all the windows have beautiful curved wood and such fancy drapes.There isn't a dishwasher, but I was told that every Monday I would have a maid who would clean, do my laundry, and do the dishes. I've never ever had a maid. It feels so weird to leave dirty dishes in the sink and I wanted to wash my clothes on my own, but sure don't know how to run the fancy thing.What is so funny about the whole thing is that after everyone left I couldn't get a thing to work! I couldn't get any of the TV's to work, the treadmill wouldn't start for me, the computer kept blinking "no signal", the huge jacuzzi wouldn't even hold water, there was no hot water in the shower - in fact the water was coming out pitch black the first day. The air conditioners in 2 of the rooms didn't work. The only thing I could figure out was the CD player and that was a miracle! But that didn't stop my joy of living in my apartment. I walked around the first night and counted how many people could camp out on the floor and I know that 30 or more people would have a very big space to lay a sleeping blanket, so everybody better come visit me. Just bring your sleeping bag!My landlord came over tonight with Yerkin who works at my school and can speak Russian. The shower is broken and will be fixed soon. The whole building is out of hot water and it will be fixed in a few days. I am a lucky one because I have a hot water tank in the other bathroom, so hopefully I might not run out of hot water. One TV was broken and will get fixed, but the other ones I just didn't know how to use. There are only a few news channels in English anyway. He did get my internet up and running and showed me how to use the printer. And he started the treadmill for me. I feel so fortunate. These apartments are costing my school $2.000 a month. The only thing is that when I walk down the street, especially around my school, I see the conditions other people are living in and it makes me feel sad. They are run down, dirty, beer bottles thrown out of windows, no curtains covering the windows, clothes hanging over the rails, crowded, crowded. I'll probably have 30 homeless people living with me before I leave!!! I just wanted you all to know that I am well and happy! I will tell you all about school the next time I write. I also have wireless in this apartment, so when I get the password I will be able to use my computer. Perhaps then I can figure out how to get all of this on my blog. Be safe and happy. Love, Me
I have so much to write that I don't know where to start. Jamara, please help me figure out how I write more on my blog. I am using a computer in my apartment that is in English, but all the pop up boxes, headings, etc. are in Russian. I didn't know how to make another entry.The trip here seemed to last forever, especially since I had almost 5 hours wait at each airport I landed at. There aren't any great stories to tell about my flights. The only trouble I had was on the last leg of my journey when I discovered an older Russian lady was sitting in my seat and her little dog was in a carrier on the seat she was supposed to be sitting in. I showed her my ticket and she just ignored it and wouldn't budge. It was a very crowded plane and I sure was holding up traffic, so I ended up getting help from the airline stewardess. However, the lady still wouldn't move. So I ended up sitting in the middle while she held her dog on her lap. She was very big and took up part of my seat and then my backpack wouldn't go under my seat because the guy in front of me had his big bag there, so I had a very miserable crowded ride. I heard later that the Russian woman have been known to go sit in first class and refuse to move, so I guess they were glad that she at least stayed in the economy class.Actually, people out on the street don't seem really friendly here. I remember thinking the same the first few weeks I was in Koreabut they all warmed up to me and were very friendly. On that last plane ride I walked back to the bathroom and smiled at lots of people sitting in their seats. I didn't get one smile back, not even from an elderly lady with a face full of wrinkles. I thought sure that she would smile back. I smile at people out on the street and I very seldom get any smiles back. I guess it will be my mission to make this country smile.My director, Art, was there at the airport with three taxis to pick up me and 2 other new staff. The airport in Aktau was the most primitive airport I have even flown to. We were shuttled to some kind of shed to pick up our luggage and there weren't even any bathrooms there.We were then taken to our apartments. Art had told me that they were new and Westernized, which could have meant running water and bathrooms. My apartment is on the 14th floor of a huge building. I don't know where to begin to describe my apartment. It is the most beautiful and luxurious place that I have ever lived. I would have been delighted with much less and just walked around with my mouth open. It has three huge rooms. When you first walk in there is a new leather couch (I've always wanted one of those leather couches.), 2 matching leather chairs, a beautiful rug, a big TV, a computer table with a computer and printer, and a bathroom with a half round shower with jets. My bedroom is fantastic!! It is the hugest bedroom I have ever had. There is another bathroom in my bedroom. Can you believe that? And then there is another room with a washing machine that doubles for a dryer. I haven't figured how it works yet. Also, in that room is a huge jacuzzi with a radio and the jet streams. I have 3 huge wardrobe closets across one wall. I don't even fill up one of them. There is another huge TV in my room, a big dresser, 2 big stuffed chairs, another beautiful rug, 2 end tables, and a huge bed with pink sheets that don't fit the bed and a blue down comforter. The bed is delicious! The lights in my bedroom are amazing in themselves. There is a shelf thing going all around the ceiling and there is a green glowing light that is so cool when all the other lights are off. There is also a beautiful blue chandelier that has a remote for different shades of light and then there are regular lights. When I open my drapes I get a view of these buildings with huge pictures of the founders of Kazakhstan with the glorious Caspian Sea surrounding the whole city. It is breathtaking!And then moving into the kitchen and living room is another dream! What blows me away is the size of the room. There are 2 more beautiful Persian rugs, a brand new treadmill, couches, and a fax machine (as if I ever knew how to use one of those!) I have the biggest CD player that I have ever seen (and I usually can't even figure out to use the small one I own.) There is an ironing board and iron set up in the living room. The kitchen has a counter with 2 fancy stools, a dining room table, a fancy looking microwave, cupboards full of glass, goblets, tea sets, etc. There is a door out to a very narrow wrap around closed in deck. The windows are all covered with plastic out there so you really can't see anything. It is so narrow that you couldn't really even put a chair out there. It is kind of a mystery what that space is meant for. It is also like a sunhouse during the day. I have a brand new refrigerator. I must admit that I was disappointed that it didn't have an icemaker like I've always dreamed of, but who am I to complain. I forgot to mention that there is another TV in the kitchen for watching movies. That makes 3 TV's and 2 bathrooms in my apartment! Oh, all the windows have beautiful curved wood and such fancy drapes.There isn't a dishwasher, but I was told that every Monday I would have a maid who would clean, do my laundry, and do the dishes. I've never ever had a maid. It feels so weird to leave dirty dishes in the sink and I wanted to wash my clothes on my own, but sure don't know how to run the fancy thing.What is so funny about the whole thing is that after everyone left I couldn't get a thing to work! I couldn't get any of the TV's to work, the treadmill wouldn't start for me, the computer kept blinking "no signal", the huge jacuzzi wouldn't even hold water, there was no hot water in the shower - in fact the water was coming out pitch black the first day. The air conditioners in 2 of the rooms didn't work. The only thing I could figure out was the CD player and that was a miracle! But that didn't stop my joy of living in my apartment. I walked around the first night and counted how many people could camp out on the floor and I know that 30 or more people would have a very big space to lay a sleeping blanket, so everybody better come visit me. Just bring your sleeping bag!My landlord came over tonight with Yerkin who works at my school and can speak Russian. The shower is broken and will be fixed soon. The whole building is out of hot water and it will be fixed in a few days. I am a lucky one because I have a hot water tank in the other bathroom, so hopefully I might not run out of hot water. One TV was broken and will get fixed, but the other ones I just didn't know how to use. There are only a few news channels in English anyway. He did get my internet up and running and showed me how to use the printer. And he started the treadmill for me. I feel so fortunate. These apartments are costing my school $2.000 a month. The only thing is that when I walk down the street, especially around my school, I see the conditions other people are living in and it makes me feel sad. They are run down, dirty, beer bottles thrown out of windows, no curtains covering the windows, clothes hanging over the rails, crowded, crowded. I'll probably have 30 homeless people living with me before I leave!!! I just wanted you all to know that I am well and happy! I will tell you all about school the next time I write. I also have wireless in this apartment, so when I get the password I will be able to use my computer. Perhaps then I can figure out how to get all of this on my blog. Be safe and happy. Love, Me
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