rants, odes, and ramblings: Here I am

25 November 2008

Here I am

I made it to Aktobe and I'm here all settled in. The university is awesome and I could not have asked for more motivated students or more qualified, interesting faculty to work with. Aktobe is already getting cold...there will be snow soon. But so far I really like it. Highlights are 1. Abundance of tree and bench lined boulevards for strolling, 2. interesting cafes, and 3. Awesome other 2 volunteers here in the city, and 5 others in the outlying villages (visited one this weekend...there were a lot of cows). Lowlight: 1. It's about to get pretty damn cold, and 2. computer crashed a bit, thus the sparse internet activity. I'm working on it. That's all for now. Just wanted to prove I'm alive.

New address:

Кристина Балдарэлли (my name!)
г Актобе
главпочтамт
а\я 15 030000
казахстан

I hope all of you out there have a really nice thanksgiving...it's kind of my favorite, so have a big turkey sandwich for me on friday :) xoxo

2 comments:

Unknown said...: Yay Styna - The Christmas Cocktail won't be the same without you! Glad you're well - stay warm!

LOVE&MISS YOU!
j.; November 25, 2008 at 4:02 PM
Nicole said...: so glad you finally posted something...i was getting worried! love you & miss you..and btw, how the hell am I supposed to write all those funky looking letters to send you something.....?? HmmMMmMMm xoxooxox; November 26, 2008 at 11:40 AM

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Frequently Asked Questions

Weren't you going to move to Singapore?

Excellent question. Steffen and I were all set to move to modern, beautiful Singapore when two things happened. The job I was up for fell through, and Steffen's company's project in Nepal started to heat up. So, when faced with a decision between paying two to three times our Monterey, CA rent in Singapore, versus about a fifth of that in Nepal, we decided it was time to do some trekking in the Himalayas :)

What happened to your awesome cat when you moved?

Obviously, he came with us as carry-on luggage. No seriously. He was a little angel the whole way, he is treated like a prince by locals here, and he's loving the abundance of pigeons outside all the windows of the apartment. I know that dogs are cooler, but as long as we're travelling, the Sgaz-man is just about the best pet anyone could ask for.

Where is Nepal?

It's a little country in South Asia, south of China and north of India...I think Bhutan is somewhere nearby.

What's the food like?

Nepal's geographic location makes it a culinary paradise for Steffen and I. Most menus in town are a mix of Chinese and Indian food, with the frequent Continental dish like pizza, pasta, or fish & chips. For about seven bucks, we can both feast on various curries with veggies, chicken, tofu, mutton, or "buff" (water buffalo) and rice, garlic naan, and tandoori chicken, and wash it down with a sweet, yogurty "lassi" drink or an icy cold bottle of Everest beer. There have been Western expats in Kathmandu for so long that you can get pretty much any dish you want.

What about your favorite breakfast?

Oddly enough, most cafes in town offer my favorite breakfast: Two eggs any style, home-fried potatoes, bacon, toast and coffee for about USD $2.50. Like I said, it's pretty much food paradise.

Are you guys working over there, or...what?!?

I'm working on an education project with the Embassy, and still looking for a full time gig in International Ed or language teacher training. Stef's doing the same job he was doing in Monterey - the only difference is that now he doesn't have to take trips over here all the time, because we live here now. We're taking Nepali language lessons, and trying to make friends by signing up for every random event that comes up on the Kathmandu expat forum, including a pilates class, a cat play date, and volunteering to play Santa and Mrs. Clause at the annual American expat club holiday party, to name a few recent ones.

What's the time difference there?

Kathmandu is 13 hours and 45 minutes ahead of California, making it pretty much the most annoying time difference possible. As I write this, my day is just warming up and you're all going to bed.

How are you going to keep in touch?

Although Nepal is, I think, less developed than Kazakhstan (or at least, Aktobe), it's a lot easier to keep in touch from here. We have internet in the apartment, 3G modems in case the wifi is too weak for Skype, and smart phones with What'sApp, Facebook, and all that other jazz. I know what you're thinking: "But will you use them, Christina?" And it's a good question, because my track record with keeping in touch has not been stellar in past sojourns. It's my greatest personal goal to stay more connected, and I hope that all you dear friends and relatives will help me by nagging me about it.

rants, odes, and ramblings

25 November 2008

Here I am

2 comments:

Other great travel blogs!

Babushka!