103 Days

Can you believe it? We have been here just over three months now. (And the Autumn here is just BEAUTIFUL with all the trees in the city!!! 😍) This is the longest Andrew and I have ever spent at one time in any one country in the past (not together, but separately). How do we feel? Is there some “milestone” we have crossed now that we are here longer? Honestly, we feel the same as we have always felt visiting in the past. We feel normal. Life is normal. We go day to day, learning Russian, building and deepening friendships and relationships, raising our daughter in the best way we know how, experiencing and gleaning from this new culture and people. Since we are here for the long haul, we know and understand that things will take time (such as our paperwork for long term work visas, finding and attaining our desired vehicle, and finding the right apartment) and some of these things will not be in one day’s time or even a couple of week’s time, but a couple or few month’s time. So yes, we get frustrated that things are not moving along on our timeline, but since we are here for a long time, it doesn’t seem so bad in the grand scheme of things. Patience is a daily practice HAH! (in addition to dealing with Avinelle). Also, I guess I thought I would like have some major emotional traumatic breakdown after moving here. And that has not happened (yet??). Will I be depressed and crying days on end missing Colorado, friends, family? I can’t answer that. Maybe that hasn’t happened yet or won’t ever happen because we look forward to and see the hope for our future here. We are still in excitement. Honeymoon phase??? Who knows? I know it is normal to grieve different phases and major changes in your life. But we will see if that time will come soon or if it will ever come. We really talk through and process a lot together everything going on and how we are feeling so maybe this helps. Well, we like it here. And we are staying (just in case you were wondering) To those of you back home- WE MISS YOU!!! Please don’t think we have just “left everyone behind”, that is not it at ALL!!! However, to those of you here in Kazakhstan… it is still hard for me to call this home. (Andrew already has been) I think that will take time. Just time. Nothing magical about it, but it will slowly creep into my vocabulary I know, and when that day comes, maybe THEN I will be turning the page in this chapter…