Foreign Objects

Zdrastvuyte! (Hello!)

Jet lag. We don't need no stinking jet lag!!

Whirlwind past couple days.

Friday
-from the airport went straight to my 'temporary housing'
-living with a babushka/grandmother who is very sweet. she is all of 5 feet tall, mouth full of gold teeth, and wants me to eat. she has already bought me some pimp-riffic slippers to wear in the flat.
-the apartment is small. everything is smaller here. i have 3 suitcases full of things and one available drawer. you should see sasquatch joey in the shower. but there's hot water and the toilet flushes so I am happy
-went to my school around 11AM. thrown into the fire. lots of procrastination in this country. concerned about getting paid, my teaching schedule, and getting into better housing (the apartment I am in took about an hour commute Friday night after work).
-in the dark about teaching material and such, wish me luck on Monday (I teach from 10AM to 8PM on Monday)
-sight for sore eyes. got to see Amanda Friday night, met her at her school. I think she's happy I am here, by the look of the empty candy wrappers I brought her, I think she is!
-restless night, panic attacks, dreamt I was eating a gigantic marshmallow, woke up and my pillow was gone...

Saturday
-breakfast at Amandas apartment - I think she has a great set up - very spacious, private, new floors/paint, and in a good part of town - close to a lot. we had grilled cheese ala Amanda. and I also butchered some scrambled eggs.
-off to Medeo, a mountain and meadow, for a trip with Amanda's English Club
-about 30 kids, student, teachers all very warm and welcoming
-i started in on knock knock jokes with one kid and had him ROLLING!
-cows and sheep roaming the meadow
-good hour hike up the mountain, many of which are snow covered
-group picnic with some interesting food, all very edible and people are very generous
-pasta and a veggie sauce for dinner
-missing home but glad to be here for all the new experiences

Sunday
-weather is pleasant, a little chilly in the evenings
-walked around a bit - food vendors and a Kazakh mall
-made Rice Krispie treats for a dinner we were graciously invited too tonight!
-currently at Amanda's school on her internet

I promise to write more once things chillax a bit. Photos to come. I miss everyone dearly, even Mr. Z.

TAKE CARE DELAWARE...

JoJo

Here!

Me and my American-made Dockers touched down at 530AM KZ time this morning. I will write more as I get settled into next week. But know that I am safe and sound!

Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane....

Leaving tonight.

Thanks to everyone for supporting me!

Portions of this trip sponsored by: delawarejoe.com, Red Clay Maintenance & Nutrition, Mark's Barber Shop, Kohl's Department Stores, Oil of Olay, New Balanace Sneakers, Academy Printing, ShopRite, and RHCP Stadium Arcadium....

Got my wings....

Business Visa is in check.....

Jinkies!

While packing up my clothes for the upcoming trip, I stumbled upon everything from my trusty Cypress Hill tee to some old school SJU warm-ups. Than I found this beauty and had to take a snap with my new digi-cam.....

My pops likes to remind of the time in 1st grade when the class was discussing meals/times of the day. My classmates had some variation on breakfast - 7:00AM, 8:30AM, etc., and there was pretty much a consensus on lunch - 12:00PM.

Logically, the teacher asked us 1st graders when is the best time to have dinner? I looked at her point blank and said, "....after Scooby-Doo!"

Not sure what function would be appropriate to wear ol' Shag tossing Scoob a pizza from one pocket to the other, but I stored the shirt in a tote in case I am lucky enough to get invited to it.....

“Colors fade, temples crumble, empires fall, but wise words endure."

What if there was no such thing as a hypothetical question? Genius!

I am a big fan of fun conversations comprised of imaginary situations that incorporate facts about the case. Who doesn't love a casual game of "what/who/where would ya rather?"

So I was glad to scoop this book to bring with me to Asia. "Does your dog have a personality?", "How do you win at the game of life?" "Will you love your partner with wrinkles?" Should be a fun exercise for my students or maybe during my 2 days of flight...

Go ahead and add some of your own to this post - dare ya...

MIC CHECK. One. Two. We on?

Welcome to the big show. Not sure how much I will frequent this page, but the countdown is on. Going to Almaty was a big decision. I spent the past 3 nights (a total of 6 hours) in Cabelas trying to pick out a warm jacket. That's right, something as simple as choosing a jacket sent my mind into a mental-chess game ...So you can imagine the decision-making that's been going on in my head going abroad. I'm excited though. And by the way, I went with chute green...

One.

Biggie and Pac do NOT need to worry about this guy...