3-11-2010
I used to be very adamant about blogging regularly, but the past couple weeks I have been getting out of my groove. Today is Thursday and I have concluded another full four-day week of teaching. It is always hard getting back into the swing of things after exam week. Monday and Tuesday I was going over tests, telling people they needed to do better if they wanted to move up with the rest of the class, and eluding the normal curriculum because not everyone had new books; including me. Wednesday and today, however, I felt like a real teacher, hitting the subject matter with full force and pushing my students. Yesterday I had to interview like 5 people when I had a class to attend to. It was a bit annoying, but it wasn’t too big of a deal. All of them tested very high, but I felt bad because I placed all of them very low. There is a big difference between someone’s knowledge of the language and their speaking ability. You can listen to many Americans speak well enough to communicate, but if you see them write anything you will know they do not have very good knowledge of their mother tongue. The opposite is also true. I have seen people teach English, and teach it well, while not being able to have a full conversation with me. Language is a very mysterious thing that drives all of life. I love it.
Out of all the people I interviewed, there was only one man that I put in my class. I told him he could try out Level 2, so he joined us later that night. My level 2 is a very good group that I trust to work hard and so I push them hard. After sitting through my class, and listening to my assignments the man had a troubled look in his eyes. I took him aside after class and asked him what he thought. “I think this will be too difficult for me,” he said politely. I reassured him that it was ok and that there is no shame in going to Level 1 before Level 2. I realized that this week I had been pushing my students very hard. I have no problem telling them things like they are. I tell each of my students that I am their teacher and that means by the end of my classes they should be communicating like a native speaker. I tell them that they paid for these classes and it is my job to teach them English—therefore they will learn English. I have high expectations, but I am by no means unmerciful. I was thinking about this today and where this aspect of my personality comes from, but it didn’t take long to realize I am so much like my father.
It’s scary really. You hear all the young people saying that they are nothing like their parents as they try to shape their own identities and you hear all the middle-aged people talking about how much they are like their parents while they wrestle with life’s real demands. Personally, I think it would be an honor to be like my parents. I can’t think of two better role models. I got lucky. In my last blog I wrote about women and I told you how much I love my Mom, but in this blog I want to tell you about how much I love my Dad, because it was his birthday on Tuesday. My Dad is a funny man. He has a mysterious aspect of his personality that will always keep you guessing, but a kind heart that glows through any circumstance. He’s a bit compulsive, chaotically organized, but driven and a true intellectual. Although he would like to blame the chaotic part of his organization on his children and his wife (which may be partially true) I know his style better than he thinks. I know this because while coming to Kazakhstan I have taken another slice of my independence and I have gotten to see a bigger chunk of who I really am, or rather who I am becoming. I am a guy who thrives on organization, but it is a type of organization that may not look entirely orderly to other people. I am a guy who likes to wake up to a clean kitchen; something I used to think was so odd about my father. I am a guy who likes to complain. Basically, I am a guy who has taken after my father, but not to worry; it hasn’t turned out to be such a bad thing after all. I recently read a Narnia book about a sailing adventure at sea. I have been thinking of my life as a fanciful ship gliding across ever-changing waters of a vast ocean. My Parents have played a big part on this ship. I see my Mother as my anchor, firmly supporting me and always holding me where I need to be; my comfort, my peace. My Father is the mast—supporting my sails and guiding me to different routes. He has always been my inspiration to steer into the dangerous and uncharted parts of the sea; my inspiration to meet adventure head on. Of course, both my parents play both of these roles quite well and they both play the fountain of love that nourishes my soul and enriches my journey. So the point is—I’m lucky and extremely thankful to have the wonderful parents I have. Happy Birthday, Dad!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
God's Greatest Gift to Humanity
3-8-2010
I weaved in and out of the crowded streets, looking at my naked wrist out of habit, but only being reminded of the fact that I forgot my watch. Large bundles of heart-shaped balloons floated in the air making everyone feel a sense of sappiness. Today I came within 5 feet of a camel, a horse-drawn carriage, and a Kazakh bride. What is the cause of all this excitement? There can only be one answer—Women’s Day! Most of the country gets the day off to spend time admiring the special women in their life. I, however, am not most of the country. Our English center is more persistent than the U.S. Postal Service. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, sleeting, snowing, a national holiday—our classes meet! I was hoping (and praying) that nobody would show up and that I would get to go home early, but to my surprise almost every student that was supposed to be there was there. It was a hard day because my former level 4 is now level 5 and I didn’t have a level 5 book so instead of going through the exercises I had to turn it into discussion. The same happened with my former level 1 who has just become a level 2. We ended up talking about American and Kazakhstan economy, cars, and college education. I like my students and regardless of the fact that I never look forward to going to work, and even sometimes want to jump out the window while I am there, I somehow like being a teacher. Go figure? I don’t get it either.
In discussion today the logical thing to talk about was women so that’s precisely what I talked about. I had two ladies and one man and I posed the question, “What would the world be like without women?” Once Captain Obvious cleared up the fact that no births would be take place, and the absence of birth would mean the absence of life, then Captain Imagination was allowed to put in his two cents. Unfortunately my students don’t seem to have a great imagination, but I was able to pry a few answers out of them. They came up with answers like, “There would be more war and fighting” and “Dirty.” My question got me thinking and I arrived at the simple answer of “Ugly.” Women add beauty to this world, and I don’t just mean in their physical appearance. Women brighten up everything. They put flowers in vases and curtains on windows. They add spices to food, paint walls, take the time to wear nice clothes, and smell good. I am completely in awe of women. Without them I think we’d have some cool houses, but inside the living room would be dull, probably solid white or beige walls, with maybe some blankets nailed to the windows and a TV sitting on a moving box. Most likely, it would be a mess—not only because most men are lazy—but because we don’t pay as close attention to detail. I can’t imagine what Adam went through for that period of time when he was naming the animals and had no female companionship. I love how God made him wait—how God pretty much made Adam feel loneliness before sin ever existed. I think God did that because he wanted Adam to realize his great need for a woman. Not only need, but I think God wanted Adam to get all these pent up boyish feelings so that when Eve finally arrived he would be enthralled and entangled in his wild feelings for her. So that when this bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh took her first steps in front of him he would realize what he had. He would realize what he had and do everything in his power to protect her and love her and shower her with the kind of selfless passion that his Creator showered on him. It’s sad that today, in every part of the world, women are unappreciated, unprotected, unfulfilled, and unloved. I myself have taken women for granted one too many times. But, today I realized how much I appreciate, rely on, and utterly love women. (Please, don’t take that the wrong way!)
I have always hung around a lot of women. In high school many of my friends were girls and ever since birth I have unashamedly been nothing short of a "Mama’s Boy". I am convinced that I have the greatest mother to ever exist. I am so lucky that God put me in the hands of a woman who understands love and dispenses it so freely. I am thankful for her love, her friendship, her guidance, and wisdom. Her care and support is what has fueled my passions for life, God, and love. Along with her is an entire team of women set up by God to contribute to the beauty of my life. I could go on about my precious grandmothers, my fun-loving aunts, my compassionate cousins, and my best friends. While some good guy love and man talks are necessary, I am convinced that women are God’s greatest gift to humanity. Their complexity, horrid mood fluctuation, unreachable expectations, untamable emotions and perplexing communication tactics are high prices to pay, but like anything in life—high quality demands a high cost. However, it is the bewildering things about women that make them special; that make them women, and like I said—this is God’s greatest gift to humanity--aside from Jesus, of course!
I weaved in and out of the crowded streets, looking at my naked wrist out of habit, but only being reminded of the fact that I forgot my watch. Large bundles of heart-shaped balloons floated in the air making everyone feel a sense of sappiness. Today I came within 5 feet of a camel, a horse-drawn carriage, and a Kazakh bride. What is the cause of all this excitement? There can only be one answer—Women’s Day! Most of the country gets the day off to spend time admiring the special women in their life. I, however, am not most of the country. Our English center is more persistent than the U.S. Postal Service. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, sleeting, snowing, a national holiday—our classes meet! I was hoping (and praying) that nobody would show up and that I would get to go home early, but to my surprise almost every student that was supposed to be there was there. It was a hard day because my former level 4 is now level 5 and I didn’t have a level 5 book so instead of going through the exercises I had to turn it into discussion. The same happened with my former level 1 who has just become a level 2. We ended up talking about American and Kazakhstan economy, cars, and college education. I like my students and regardless of the fact that I never look forward to going to work, and even sometimes want to jump out the window while I am there, I somehow like being a teacher. Go figure? I don’t get it either.
In discussion today the logical thing to talk about was women so that’s precisely what I talked about. I had two ladies and one man and I posed the question, “What would the world be like without women?” Once Captain Obvious cleared up the fact that no births would be take place, and the absence of birth would mean the absence of life, then Captain Imagination was allowed to put in his two cents. Unfortunately my students don’t seem to have a great imagination, but I was able to pry a few answers out of them. They came up with answers like, “There would be more war and fighting” and “Dirty.” My question got me thinking and I arrived at the simple answer of “Ugly.” Women add beauty to this world, and I don’t just mean in their physical appearance. Women brighten up everything. They put flowers in vases and curtains on windows. They add spices to food, paint walls, take the time to wear nice clothes, and smell good. I am completely in awe of women. Without them I think we’d have some cool houses, but inside the living room would be dull, probably solid white or beige walls, with maybe some blankets nailed to the windows and a TV sitting on a moving box. Most likely, it would be a mess—not only because most men are lazy—but because we don’t pay as close attention to detail. I can’t imagine what Adam went through for that period of time when he was naming the animals and had no female companionship. I love how God made him wait—how God pretty much made Adam feel loneliness before sin ever existed. I think God did that because he wanted Adam to realize his great need for a woman. Not only need, but I think God wanted Adam to get all these pent up boyish feelings so that when Eve finally arrived he would be enthralled and entangled in his wild feelings for her. So that when this bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh took her first steps in front of him he would realize what he had. He would realize what he had and do everything in his power to protect her and love her and shower her with the kind of selfless passion that his Creator showered on him. It’s sad that today, in every part of the world, women are unappreciated, unprotected, unfulfilled, and unloved. I myself have taken women for granted one too many times. But, today I realized how much I appreciate, rely on, and utterly love women. (Please, don’t take that the wrong way!)
I have always hung around a lot of women. In high school many of my friends were girls and ever since birth I have unashamedly been nothing short of a "Mama’s Boy". I am convinced that I have the greatest mother to ever exist. I am so lucky that God put me in the hands of a woman who understands love and dispenses it so freely. I am thankful for her love, her friendship, her guidance, and wisdom. Her care and support is what has fueled my passions for life, God, and love. Along with her is an entire team of women set up by God to contribute to the beauty of my life. I could go on about my precious grandmothers, my fun-loving aunts, my compassionate cousins, and my best friends. While some good guy love and man talks are necessary, I am convinced that women are God’s greatest gift to humanity. Their complexity, horrid mood fluctuation, unreachable expectations, untamable emotions and perplexing communication tactics are high prices to pay, but like anything in life—high quality demands a high cost. However, it is the bewildering things about women that make them special; that make them women, and like I said—this is God’s greatest gift to humanity--aside from Jesus, of course!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Confused Precipitation
3-05-2010
These cornflakes that lie on my spoon as I type this are delicious. I just came to the realization that all I’ve eaten today is an amazing green salad, some bread, a heavenly cappuccino, and these cornflakes. I was planning on waking up at 9:30am this morning. I finally rolled out of bed at 10:30am. We agreed to meet the girls for lunch at 11 and then go meet some of my students at 1 to go to an art museum. Waking up at 10:30am was a problem, because it would take at least 30 minutes to walk to the café. So the story goes something like this: The girls were going to be late and so we decided to meet at 11:30am. I left the apartment at about 11:20. Problem. Steven doesn’t like cafés so he decided to stay back and do some shopping at the bazaar. I told him that he could have the cell phone, but he insisted that I take it because he obviously has the gift of foresight. I walked to this café before and navigated through the city with mastery after staring at Google maps for about 5 minutes. Today however, my mastery slumped. I was walking and enjoying my walk quite a bit. There is something about walking through a foreign city by yourself. It makes you feel as though you are in a real story, on a real adventure. I guess as I was off in my own daydreams plodding along the sidewalks I walked past the street I was looking for. After awhile of not seeing this street I started going up a random street thinking that I would find the other street I was looking for and get a grip of where I was. So I walked, and walked, and nothing looked familiar until I came to a giant building and this nightclub. One of the previous SMs who has since stuck around, lives in that nice building and I recognized the nightclub. I also recognized the fact that I was nowhere close to where I had wanted to be. So I called Emily, admitting my failure and looking for help. Of course, Murphy ’s Law set in and my phone ran out of money. Luckily, Emily called me back and took to the streets trying to find me. I finally asked one of the local women which direction Furminova (the street I was looking for) was, but she just “hrmphed” and me and said “niet” (no). I was annoyed with her and kept walking. Emily couldn’t find me. I was lost. I asked another local—a younger jollier looking girl—and she kindly explained where I was and pointed in a direction with a look of uncertainty on her face. I figured her uncertainty was better than my oblivion and I trekked the direction she said. Anyways, after walking a ways back I realized that I was still lost and I started to get angry at the girl for pointing me in the wrong direction until I realized that I was on Furminova. Then, Emily called and I was still lost. She said I was supposed to be on certain crossroads and on these crossroads I was—but the café and familiarity were both out of sight. I finally realized that the café was a block below me, Emily found me (thanks Emily!), and after a long day on the streets, I arrived at the café. The only problem now was that it was 1:00pm and I knew my students and Steven would be waiting for me. Another problem was that I didn’t have anyone’s number so there was no way to explain what just happened. I sat in the café feeling helpless—like there was nothing I could do. After sitting for about 20 minutes groaning from my helplessness and from the tiredness of exploring what seemed to be the entire city—I finally got a call. They of course wondered where I was at and I had to explain. To shorten the story I will say that I ended up getting frustrated, feeling tired and hungry, and just told them to go without me. I went back in the café, ordered my salad and my cappuccino and my world started to look a little brighter.
I had to hop on a bus, go back to my apartment to grab some stuff and meet Yelena (she forgot we were meeting), and then run back to NewBridge for Friday club. It started snowing on me as I walked hurriedly to NewBridge. The snow, however, was wet and I couldn’t tell if it was rain or snow. It was what I deemed—confused precipitation. I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that the weather couldn’t make up its mind. It was like looking in a mirror. I’m at a point in my life where I am constantly changing my mind—I’m confused. Sometimes I am determined to snow while other times I feel like raining, what results is slush—and nobody likes slush.
I’m not going to lie; I sort of enjoyed getting lost. I cherished the adventure and now I know my way around the city much better and have all sorts of new sights logged in the memory chambers of my brain. The only problem was that it wasted so much time that I did not have to spare. I wonder why it is that man is programmed for adventure. I wonder why God put in us the desires to crawl into deep, dark holes and dive to the deepest parts of the ocean and fly to the highest heights of the sky. I don’t exactly know why God made me this way, but I sure do like it. I like adventure. I like reading about adventures and I like living adventures. I think heaven will be full of adventures, much cooler than walking the polluted sidewalks of some foreign city. I think that I might get lost a couple times in the New Earth, but I’ll always have someone to call and come looking for me. And I bet after getting lost I’ll be able to sit down and have a cappuccino as I write about my adventures. It’ll be a blast!
These cornflakes that lie on my spoon as I type this are delicious. I just came to the realization that all I’ve eaten today is an amazing green salad, some bread, a heavenly cappuccino, and these cornflakes. I was planning on waking up at 9:30am this morning. I finally rolled out of bed at 10:30am. We agreed to meet the girls for lunch at 11 and then go meet some of my students at 1 to go to an art museum. Waking up at 10:30am was a problem, because it would take at least 30 minutes to walk to the café. So the story goes something like this: The girls were going to be late and so we decided to meet at 11:30am. I left the apartment at about 11:20. Problem. Steven doesn’t like cafés so he decided to stay back and do some shopping at the bazaar. I told him that he could have the cell phone, but he insisted that I take it because he obviously has the gift of foresight. I walked to this café before and navigated through the city with mastery after staring at Google maps for about 5 minutes. Today however, my mastery slumped. I was walking and enjoying my walk quite a bit. There is something about walking through a foreign city by yourself. It makes you feel as though you are in a real story, on a real adventure. I guess as I was off in my own daydreams plodding along the sidewalks I walked past the street I was looking for. After awhile of not seeing this street I started going up a random street thinking that I would find the other street I was looking for and get a grip of where I was. So I walked, and walked, and nothing looked familiar until I came to a giant building and this nightclub. One of the previous SMs who has since stuck around, lives in that nice building and I recognized the nightclub. I also recognized the fact that I was nowhere close to where I had wanted to be. So I called Emily, admitting my failure and looking for help. Of course, Murphy ’s Law set in and my phone ran out of money. Luckily, Emily called me back and took to the streets trying to find me. I finally asked one of the local women which direction Furminova (the street I was looking for) was, but she just “hrmphed” and me and said “niet” (no). I was annoyed with her and kept walking. Emily couldn’t find me. I was lost. I asked another local—a younger jollier looking girl—and she kindly explained where I was and pointed in a direction with a look of uncertainty on her face. I figured her uncertainty was better than my oblivion and I trekked the direction she said. Anyways, after walking a ways back I realized that I was still lost and I started to get angry at the girl for pointing me in the wrong direction until I realized that I was on Furminova. Then, Emily called and I was still lost. She said I was supposed to be on certain crossroads and on these crossroads I was—but the café and familiarity were both out of sight. I finally realized that the café was a block below me, Emily found me (thanks Emily!), and after a long day on the streets, I arrived at the café. The only problem now was that it was 1:00pm and I knew my students and Steven would be waiting for me. Another problem was that I didn’t have anyone’s number so there was no way to explain what just happened. I sat in the café feeling helpless—like there was nothing I could do. After sitting for about 20 minutes groaning from my helplessness and from the tiredness of exploring what seemed to be the entire city—I finally got a call. They of course wondered where I was at and I had to explain. To shorten the story I will say that I ended up getting frustrated, feeling tired and hungry, and just told them to go without me. I went back in the café, ordered my salad and my cappuccino and my world started to look a little brighter.
I had to hop on a bus, go back to my apartment to grab some stuff and meet Yelena (she forgot we were meeting), and then run back to NewBridge for Friday club. It started snowing on me as I walked hurriedly to NewBridge. The snow, however, was wet and I couldn’t tell if it was rain or snow. It was what I deemed—confused precipitation. I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that the weather couldn’t make up its mind. It was like looking in a mirror. I’m at a point in my life where I am constantly changing my mind—I’m confused. Sometimes I am determined to snow while other times I feel like raining, what results is slush—and nobody likes slush.
I’m not going to lie; I sort of enjoyed getting lost. I cherished the adventure and now I know my way around the city much better and have all sorts of new sights logged in the memory chambers of my brain. The only problem was that it wasted so much time that I did not have to spare. I wonder why it is that man is programmed for adventure. I wonder why God put in us the desires to crawl into deep, dark holes and dive to the deepest parts of the ocean and fly to the highest heights of the sky. I don’t exactly know why God made me this way, but I sure do like it. I like adventure. I like reading about adventures and I like living adventures. I think heaven will be full of adventures, much cooler than walking the polluted sidewalks of some foreign city. I think that I might get lost a couple times in the New Earth, but I’ll always have someone to call and come looking for me. And I bet after getting lost I’ll be able to sit down and have a cappuccino as I write about my adventures. It’ll be a blast!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
So Many Shoes, So Little Time
3-3-2010
Wednesday. I actually had to work today. Rather hard, but it all seems like it went by so fast. I got up early and cooked and cleaned like the good wife I am. We had the girls over so that was the reason for my early awakening. I made some stir-fry again. It turned out pretty good. Once they left, I started making my exams. Granted I had prepared a review sheet for my students so I knew exactly what I was going to put on the test, but making the test took time. Too much time in fact. I miscalculated and had to stay behind while Steven went for discussion. He had to do that yesterday too. I finally finished around 5 and had to run to the center to make my 5:30 class. Of course, the printer wasn’t working well so I ended up being like 10 minutes late to my class. I told them it was a good thing because they had extra time to study for their exams. Aren’t I such a nice guy?
I realized while I was making these tests that I don’t think about the fact that my students are students. I realize that sounds dumb, but let me explain. I’m student—at least technically. I am taking a semester off to serve here—we all know this by now. But, you know when you are in college and you get angry at your professors. You have thoughts like, “Doesn’t he realize I have a life outside of his class!” or “Doesn’t she remember when she was a student!” I remember having thoughts like this because these thoughts were in my head less than3 months ago. So I realized that even though I am only a few months out of being a student, I have stopped thinking like a student and have taken on the teacher role. I assign homework without putting myself in my students shoes and I give them 6 page final exams like it’s no big deal. After all, the English test is easy for me—a native speaker. So I realize that I need to not be so tough on my professors back at school. Of course they’ve forgotten what it means to be a student! I’ve forgotten after 3 months, those thoughts must be long gone in their minds!
Of course, I realize that I don’t just fail at this in my classroom, but also in the great classroom of life. If we all took the time to put ourselves in other people’s shoes, to feel other people’s feelings, to take a few steps in their life, this world would be a much better place. If we put down our own agendas, stopped worrying about our own reputations, and started to really empathize with those around us could you imagine the impact that it would have on this world? I’m pretty sure the earth would just go ahead and start spinning the other direction. There would be a lot less pain and a lot more smiles. Like I said, I’m terrible at this, but like everyone else, I want to see everyone else do something. This concept reminds me of the Golden Rule and somebody’s life. I think His name was Jesus.
Wednesday. I actually had to work today. Rather hard, but it all seems like it went by so fast. I got up early and cooked and cleaned like the good wife I am. We had the girls over so that was the reason for my early awakening. I made some stir-fry again. It turned out pretty good. Once they left, I started making my exams. Granted I had prepared a review sheet for my students so I knew exactly what I was going to put on the test, but making the test took time. Too much time in fact. I miscalculated and had to stay behind while Steven went for discussion. He had to do that yesterday too. I finally finished around 5 and had to run to the center to make my 5:30 class. Of course, the printer wasn’t working well so I ended up being like 10 minutes late to my class. I told them it was a good thing because they had extra time to study for their exams. Aren’t I such a nice guy?
I realized while I was making these tests that I don’t think about the fact that my students are students. I realize that sounds dumb, but let me explain. I’m student—at least technically. I am taking a semester off to serve here—we all know this by now. But, you know when you are in college and you get angry at your professors. You have thoughts like, “Doesn’t he realize I have a life outside of his class!” or “Doesn’t she remember when she was a student!” I remember having thoughts like this because these thoughts were in my head less than3 months ago. So I realized that even though I am only a few months out of being a student, I have stopped thinking like a student and have taken on the teacher role. I assign homework without putting myself in my students shoes and I give them 6 page final exams like it’s no big deal. After all, the English test is easy for me—a native speaker. So I realize that I need to not be so tough on my professors back at school. Of course they’ve forgotten what it means to be a student! I’ve forgotten after 3 months, those thoughts must be long gone in their minds!
Of course, I realize that I don’t just fail at this in my classroom, but also in the great classroom of life. If we all took the time to put ourselves in other people’s shoes, to feel other people’s feelings, to take a few steps in their life, this world would be a much better place. If we put down our own agendas, stopped worrying about our own reputations, and started to really empathize with those around us could you imagine the impact that it would have on this world? I’m pretty sure the earth would just go ahead and start spinning the other direction. There would be a lot less pain and a lot more smiles. Like I said, I’m terrible at this, but like everyone else, I want to see everyone else do something. This concept reminds me of the Golden Rule and somebody’s life. I think His name was Jesus.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Gasping from Inversions
3-01-2010
The last bits of snow couldn’t hold on to their frost any longer—Almaty has become a giant mud puddle. Today is the first of March; according to the Kazakhs, it is the first day of spring. That means that winter has come to a close and the weather is all higher temperatures from here. Higher temperatures are both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense that we will see the sun more often, there won’t be as much pollution in the air, and we won’t have to spend time bundling every part of our body before exiting buildings. Bad in the sense that the streets are uncovered, the trash is everywhere, the mud is on the bottom of my shoes, and everyone on the bus is beginning to sweat—including the babushkas! So time passes and I trade some grievances for some different grievances and life moves on.
Today I watched some episodes of House, did some reading and personal study, as well as prepared review sheets for upcoming examinations that will be happening later this week. I have to keep my babies heads’ above water and make sure that all of them move on to the next level. There are a couple of them that I’m worried about, but we’ll see how this week plays out. I’m starting to bond with my students—it’s nice. I made some plans to hang out with them over the weekend. It should be fun.
I mentioned earlier that the warm weather will mean less pollution in the city. This is because of a little weather anomaly called “Inversion.” Inversion is some crazy thing that my Atmospheric-Scientist-cousin told me was happening. After a bit of research I realized that what he said was very true. You see—Almaty is in a little basin surrounded by giant mountain peaks. It is also an incredibly large, overcrowded city that believes in using SUVs and factories that pour thick, dark grey smoke from their stacks—not to mention all the coal burning that happens in certain parts of the city to keep people warm. All of this pollution goes up into the air and is trapped by a blanket of warmer air that acts as a lid. The cold air—the air mixed with all the junk—is trapped in the little basin that we call a city. (For more about inversions check this out: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/climate/TemperatureInversions.php) As I was pondering this thought I couldn’t help but make a spiritual parallel. I thought about my life and how I long to let pure love live within me. I long for righteousness and godly character, but I’m living with inversion. Jesus wants us to breathe fresh air—physically and spiritually. When man decided to invite sin here, the world got cold and we became surrounded by jagged mountain peaks, our nature became sinful. We don’t usually mean to invite sin into our lives, we just do. We think we need to stay warm so we start burning coal in one area of our lives. We need to travel in style so we start driving big SUVs and the exhaust rises from another part of our lives. Pretty soon we are erecting entire factories with thick, black smoke pouring from their chimneys—not because we want the smoke, not because we want evil to lurk, but because we want the profit, the convenience, whatever it is that this factory will give us. Pretty soon we have invited so much garbage into our lives that our air quality sucks and we are living in a pool of pollution. We are suffocating in our own filthiness. This sounds pretty grim and I take pleasure in telling you that Jesus is a great air purifier and will forgive you from your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. But, I also take displeasure in telling you that this smoke is not easy to escape, in fact I’m not sure it’s possible to escape. You can’t run from it, for the cold breeze follows you, even all the way across the globe (believe me I’ve tested it). You can’t fight it for the mountains are much bigger than you. The only thing we can do is to try to stop all this smoke from pouring out of our lives and ignore the chilling cold that sweeps in the absence of fire.
Now I’m not legalistic—far from it. And I certainly don’t advocate licentiousness—far from it. What I do advocate is love and I don’t know about you, but I want to know and taste love in all its glory. The problem us humans have with love is that we get a taste and our selfish desire takes over and perverts love so that it can no longer be recognized as the raw material we began with. The main reason I want to be “good” is so that I stop perverting the miraculous love Jesus keeps pouring on me. I know Jesus forgives, I know He is bigger than my actions of ignorance, I know His grace is strong enough to cover and His love is powerful enough to cleanse, but the smoke continues to pour out of my life and out of everyone I see. I’m not advocating that we give up, for that would be foolish, but I think I’m advocating that we start being collectively radical. I have this theory that if I get too busy loving my neighbor that I will forget to throw coal on the fire and the smoke will stop suffocating me. The beauty of this theory is that I won’t even get cold because the love inside of me will be warming every inch of my soul. Maybe I should give it a try, but it’s only a theory. Putting it into practice would be far too difficult. Any takers?
The last bits of snow couldn’t hold on to their frost any longer—Almaty has become a giant mud puddle. Today is the first of March; according to the Kazakhs, it is the first day of spring. That means that winter has come to a close and the weather is all higher temperatures from here. Higher temperatures are both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense that we will see the sun more often, there won’t be as much pollution in the air, and we won’t have to spend time bundling every part of our body before exiting buildings. Bad in the sense that the streets are uncovered, the trash is everywhere, the mud is on the bottom of my shoes, and everyone on the bus is beginning to sweat—including the babushkas! So time passes and I trade some grievances for some different grievances and life moves on.
Today I watched some episodes of House, did some reading and personal study, as well as prepared review sheets for upcoming examinations that will be happening later this week. I have to keep my babies heads’ above water and make sure that all of them move on to the next level. There are a couple of them that I’m worried about, but we’ll see how this week plays out. I’m starting to bond with my students—it’s nice. I made some plans to hang out with them over the weekend. It should be fun.
I mentioned earlier that the warm weather will mean less pollution in the city. This is because of a little weather anomaly called “Inversion.” Inversion is some crazy thing that my Atmospheric-Scientist-cousin told me was happening. After a bit of research I realized that what he said was very true. You see—Almaty is in a little basin surrounded by giant mountain peaks. It is also an incredibly large, overcrowded city that believes in using SUVs and factories that pour thick, dark grey smoke from their stacks—not to mention all the coal burning that happens in certain parts of the city to keep people warm. All of this pollution goes up into the air and is trapped by a blanket of warmer air that acts as a lid. The cold air—the air mixed with all the junk—is trapped in the little basin that we call a city. (For more about inversions check this out: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/climate/TemperatureInversions.php) As I was pondering this thought I couldn’t help but make a spiritual parallel. I thought about my life and how I long to let pure love live within me. I long for righteousness and godly character, but I’m living with inversion. Jesus wants us to breathe fresh air—physically and spiritually. When man decided to invite sin here, the world got cold and we became surrounded by jagged mountain peaks, our nature became sinful. We don’t usually mean to invite sin into our lives, we just do. We think we need to stay warm so we start burning coal in one area of our lives. We need to travel in style so we start driving big SUVs and the exhaust rises from another part of our lives. Pretty soon we are erecting entire factories with thick, black smoke pouring from their chimneys—not because we want the smoke, not because we want evil to lurk, but because we want the profit, the convenience, whatever it is that this factory will give us. Pretty soon we have invited so much garbage into our lives that our air quality sucks and we are living in a pool of pollution. We are suffocating in our own filthiness. This sounds pretty grim and I take pleasure in telling you that Jesus is a great air purifier and will forgive you from your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. But, I also take displeasure in telling you that this smoke is not easy to escape, in fact I’m not sure it’s possible to escape. You can’t run from it, for the cold breeze follows you, even all the way across the globe (believe me I’ve tested it). You can’t fight it for the mountains are much bigger than you. The only thing we can do is to try to stop all this smoke from pouring out of our lives and ignore the chilling cold that sweeps in the absence of fire.
Now I’m not legalistic—far from it. And I certainly don’t advocate licentiousness—far from it. What I do advocate is love and I don’t know about you, but I want to know and taste love in all its glory. The problem us humans have with love is that we get a taste and our selfish desire takes over and perverts love so that it can no longer be recognized as the raw material we began with. The main reason I want to be “good” is so that I stop perverting the miraculous love Jesus keeps pouring on me. I know Jesus forgives, I know He is bigger than my actions of ignorance, I know His grace is strong enough to cover and His love is powerful enough to cleanse, but the smoke continues to pour out of my life and out of everyone I see. I’m not advocating that we give up, for that would be foolish, but I think I’m advocating that we start being collectively radical. I have this theory that if I get too busy loving my neighbor that I will forget to throw coal on the fire and the smoke will stop suffocating me. The beauty of this theory is that I won’t even get cold because the love inside of me will be warming every inch of my soul. Maybe I should give it a try, but it’s only a theory. Putting it into practice would be far too difficult. Any takers?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Typical Weekend Update
2-27-2010
It is Sunday night and it has come to my attention that my blogs have fallen behind. After my caffeine overload I spent Friday night tossing and turning in bed and completely unable to sleep. I woke up early on Saturday morning for church and spent the whole day being groggy from not getting enough sleep. One cup of coffee at a time—lesson learned. In spite of the grogginess, Saturday turned out to be a very fun day. After going to the main Russian-speaking church, I realized that Kazakhstan actually has a real Adventist community, with a big central church. It was a good experience even though I had to try to listen to one of our friends translate through a whisper in the midst of the crowd. Because I couldn’t hear very well, I did not take much from the service, but I loved the good music, and the bright familiar faces. Even though I didn’t really know anyone, you always feel that sort of familiarity when you are surrounded by people who have similar beliefs—at least I do. After church Emily and I headed up to the mountains with a few local friends. We didn’t do any strenuous hiking, just climbed a gigantic flight of stairs, had a picnic on a little bridge, and messed around in this snowy valley and listened to the river. I love the mountains. I was in desperate need of some fresh air and some time away from the city. After getting all wet from playing in the snow we journeyed back into the sea of pollution. We split up near this big hotel and I knew exactly where I was at. Since Steven didn’t come along I was all by myself and was thrilled at the adventure of trekking through the city alone. I made it to a bus stop but I didn’t really feel like waiting for a bus and I wanted to walk. I’ve gotten a very good idea of how this city is laid out and have come to be able to navigate pretty well. I walked all the way down this main road and absorbed all the new surroundings, or things that I hadn’t paid attention to while riding on the crowded bus. I kept quiet and felt like I blended in as a Russian pretty well. I started to get close to Panfilov Park (the park that Steven and I walk through everyday on our way to work—the park that is crawling with police) and it became less of an adventure and more like an everyday walk. Luckily, as I was worrying about the police-saturated park, a 25 bus rolled by and I ran to the bus stop to catch it. I hopped on and after a couple stops I popped out at the far side of the bazaar. So new adventure struck as I meandered through the big and overcrowded market, taking the time to see things that I never paid attention to before. I had fun resisting any sort of rush and just took in my surroundings. As soon as I got home I changed into some dry clothes, washed up, and made pizza! Since we could finally afford cheese we decided to take some Laposhka, and some of our left-over tomato sauce and create a good ol’ taste of America. Once the pizza was ready Steven and I sat down to the final part of our Lord of the Rings trilogy! It was a great night. Afterwards, I was extremely tired and ended up reading and getting to bed until long after I wanted to. It turned out to be a great day.
Today wasn’t filled with grandness like yesterday, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I woke up really late today—around one in the afternoon—which was great in the sense that I caught up on all my lost sleep, but not so great in the sense that I was robbed of a large chunk of my day. I wasn’t too upset though. I woke up and did some reading in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and some corn flakes. After this I felt like cooking so I made some fresh, homemade tortillas, and couldn’t stop there so I went on to make little brown sugar crepes. I love to cook I just wish I knew how to do it a little better. From there I watched an episode of House on the internet, fooled around a bit more, made some soup for dinner, and watched another episode of house. It turned out to be a perfect lazy day. Now, before I go to bed, I will prepare for exam week like I should have done earlier today.
I am going to go ahead and stop here and post this before my internet cuts out again.
It is Sunday night and it has come to my attention that my blogs have fallen behind. After my caffeine overload I spent Friday night tossing and turning in bed and completely unable to sleep. I woke up early on Saturday morning for church and spent the whole day being groggy from not getting enough sleep. One cup of coffee at a time—lesson learned. In spite of the grogginess, Saturday turned out to be a very fun day. After going to the main Russian-speaking church, I realized that Kazakhstan actually has a real Adventist community, with a big central church. It was a good experience even though I had to try to listen to one of our friends translate through a whisper in the midst of the crowd. Because I couldn’t hear very well, I did not take much from the service, but I loved the good music, and the bright familiar faces. Even though I didn’t really know anyone, you always feel that sort of familiarity when you are surrounded by people who have similar beliefs—at least I do. After church Emily and I headed up to the mountains with a few local friends. We didn’t do any strenuous hiking, just climbed a gigantic flight of stairs, had a picnic on a little bridge, and messed around in this snowy valley and listened to the river. I love the mountains. I was in desperate need of some fresh air and some time away from the city. After getting all wet from playing in the snow we journeyed back into the sea of pollution. We split up near this big hotel and I knew exactly where I was at. Since Steven didn’t come along I was all by myself and was thrilled at the adventure of trekking through the city alone. I made it to a bus stop but I didn’t really feel like waiting for a bus and I wanted to walk. I’ve gotten a very good idea of how this city is laid out and have come to be able to navigate pretty well. I walked all the way down this main road and absorbed all the new surroundings, or things that I hadn’t paid attention to while riding on the crowded bus. I kept quiet and felt like I blended in as a Russian pretty well. I started to get close to Panfilov Park (the park that Steven and I walk through everyday on our way to work—the park that is crawling with police) and it became less of an adventure and more like an everyday walk. Luckily, as I was worrying about the police-saturated park, a 25 bus rolled by and I ran to the bus stop to catch it. I hopped on and after a couple stops I popped out at the far side of the bazaar. So new adventure struck as I meandered through the big and overcrowded market, taking the time to see things that I never paid attention to before. I had fun resisting any sort of rush and just took in my surroundings. As soon as I got home I changed into some dry clothes, washed up, and made pizza! Since we could finally afford cheese we decided to take some Laposhka, and some of our left-over tomato sauce and create a good ol’ taste of America. Once the pizza was ready Steven and I sat down to the final part of our Lord of the Rings trilogy! It was a great night. Afterwards, I was extremely tired and ended up reading and getting to bed until long after I wanted to. It turned out to be a great day.
Today wasn’t filled with grandness like yesterday, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I woke up really late today—around one in the afternoon—which was great in the sense that I caught up on all my lost sleep, but not so great in the sense that I was robbed of a large chunk of my day. I wasn’t too upset though. I woke up and did some reading in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and some corn flakes. After this I felt like cooking so I made some fresh, homemade tortillas, and couldn’t stop there so I went on to make little brown sugar crepes. I love to cook I just wish I knew how to do it a little better. From there I watched an episode of House on the internet, fooled around a bit more, made some soup for dinner, and watched another episode of house. It turned out to be a perfect lazy day. Now, before I go to bed, I will prepare for exam week like I should have done earlier today.
I am going to go ahead and stop here and post this before my internet cuts out again.
Friendship and the Rules of Moderation
2-26-2010
(Sorry for the late posting, the internet has not been working right)
The month of February is coming to a close. I can’t believe it. The moments are flying out from beneath me too quick for me to grab hold of them. A friend is someone who you can trust, rely on, be open with, and make memorable moments with. We talked about friendship in Friday club tonight and I was reminded of all the wonderful friends I have scattered across the globe. What would we do without friends? Life would be lacking, that is for sure. Jesus said that He calls me a friend. That’s pretty cool. The God of the universe considers me a friend. That’s what I love about Christianity—Christ.
Today Steven and I bought groceries, lots of them! We were finally able to stock up on some of the essentials. After the supermarket we went to Coffeedelia which is a really nice local café. A comfortable lounge, delicious coffee (which I drank too much of) and good food; it was a lovely experience. I really miss cafés. Just being able to sit, relax, sip coffee and enjoy the tranquility of the ambience. I love cafés. It was a fun day. After the café we walked over to our English center. I forgot the Narnia DVD so I had to walk all the way back to my apartment (Steven tagged along like a good sport) and then all the way back to the center only to have to walk all the way back home again. I definitely got my exercise accomplished for the day.
I mentioned before that I drank too much coffee today. This was the truth. I broke the simple rule of ‘everything in moderation’. The walking paid off—for I had much energy to burn, except it made it difficult to pay attention and facilitate in Friday club. Then when I got home I felt like I had just got hit with a ton of bricks. My mind was like an ocean tempest splashing back and forth. After some frosted flakes and buttered cheese bread (which we made in the dark with my head lamp—the power went out) I put on some calm music, tried to do a little reading, but fell fast asleep on my Bible. It was a nice sleep, one where you feel as though you’ve received some enlightenment—although, it could have been the caffeine talking. Now, I feel as if I’m ready to crash again. There is no English church in the afternoon tomorrow so I will attend the big Russian church and we have planned a picnic in the mountains for the afternoon. Should be a wonderful day, but this means I must wake up early.
(Sorry for the late posting, the internet has not been working right)
The month of February is coming to a close. I can’t believe it. The moments are flying out from beneath me too quick for me to grab hold of them. A friend is someone who you can trust, rely on, be open with, and make memorable moments with. We talked about friendship in Friday club tonight and I was reminded of all the wonderful friends I have scattered across the globe. What would we do without friends? Life would be lacking, that is for sure. Jesus said that He calls me a friend. That’s pretty cool. The God of the universe considers me a friend. That’s what I love about Christianity—Christ.
Today Steven and I bought groceries, lots of them! We were finally able to stock up on some of the essentials. After the supermarket we went to Coffeedelia which is a really nice local café. A comfortable lounge, delicious coffee (which I drank too much of) and good food; it was a lovely experience. I really miss cafés. Just being able to sit, relax, sip coffee and enjoy the tranquility of the ambience. I love cafés. It was a fun day. After the café we walked over to our English center. I forgot the Narnia DVD so I had to walk all the way back to my apartment (Steven tagged along like a good sport) and then all the way back to the center only to have to walk all the way back home again. I definitely got my exercise accomplished for the day.
I mentioned before that I drank too much coffee today. This was the truth. I broke the simple rule of ‘everything in moderation’. The walking paid off—for I had much energy to burn, except it made it difficult to pay attention and facilitate in Friday club. Then when I got home I felt like I had just got hit with a ton of bricks. My mind was like an ocean tempest splashing back and forth. After some frosted flakes and buttered cheese bread (which we made in the dark with my head lamp—the power went out) I put on some calm music, tried to do a little reading, but fell fast asleep on my Bible. It was a nice sleep, one where you feel as though you’ve received some enlightenment—although, it could have been the caffeine talking. Now, I feel as if I’m ready to crash again. There is no English church in the afternoon tomorrow so I will attend the big Russian church and we have planned a picnic in the mountains for the afternoon. Should be a wonderful day, but this means I must wake up early.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
