Full-service or Self-service?
I’ve been on the road these past few weeks and I have a few musings on that. Mostly they’re about pumping gas. But we’ll get to that in a bit. My mode of transportation for all of … Read More
DST: Yay or Nay?
With the nearly nationwide return this past weekend to Standard Time (I say nearly because not all states or territories observe Daylight Saving Time) I got curious once again about this scourge of school children everywhere. I’ll start … Read More
The Application Process, Part III: At the Sanitorium
Some thirty Kazakhstanis and four Americans were in charge of our training in a village near Almaty, home of Kazakhstan’s international airport. But first, we had to get there. The Peace Corps brought us to Washington DC … Read More
The Application Process, Part I
“Flexibility, patience, and a sense of humor characterize the successful Peace Corps volunteer,” or PCV, as the recruiter actually said, using the acronym that would soon became part of our everyday vocabulary. He may have been referring to … Read More
Recipe: Mother-in-law tongue
My friend Abby once suggested that I add recipes from my time in Kazakhstan to my blog. “Everyone loves recipes,” she told me. A popular potluck dish has been on my mind lately, perhaps because the omnipresent eggplant has … Read More
“Ya hachoo Pasha”
Embarrassing moments. How they make us laugh — eventually. Such was the following scene that happened during my first few months in Kazakhstan, long before the language took root. This story — written for my memoir, At Home On the … Read More
Disappointment
“Wherever we go,” I’d declared to Woody at the start of our Peace Corps application process, “I want a nice beach, friendly bugs, and a good mattress.” I figured I could make friends for America without having to suffer. … Read More
My Gutsy Story Guest Post
Just a quick note to let you know I’ve got a guest blog out on Sonia Marsh’s Gutsy Living website http://soniamarsh.com/home/blog Called, Leaving A Life I Loved: When the Peace Corps Beckoned, it gives a bit more … Read More
My Bubble Bath
Survey results are in and most respondents want more deleted scenes from my book, At Home On the Kazakh Steppe. Many also want more substantive information on Kazakhstan. A few mentioned photos, and one suggested I post more regularly. Thanks … Read More