Toilet Sweet Toilet

Okay, just a quick update for all you folks dying to know what happens next in this exciting saga:

I have found a family, I am moving in on Saturday. All contracts have been signed, my room has been picked out and the indoor toilet has been tested (not really, sorry Randy). The family are three women, three generations. The youngest was a student at my school, but she didn't study English, she chose that silly Germanic language...German. She just graduated and is heading off to some medical university, not sure where though. Her mother is single and works and Grandma is visiting for the summer but then will go back to Pavlodar where she has an apartment. So, after the summer, it will be me and mom. I've been warned that there may very well be gossip, but I shouldn't let it worry me. Plus, Nora has found me a Kazakh wife, so that should shut up all the Nosy Nancies.

It seems like a good quiet house, in a good neighborhood much more central than before. There are shops nearby, my commute to Nora's is cut in half and I'm not all that far from school. This neighborhood is apparently where all the old Communist bosses used to live, and now it's filled with various directors and hospital managers and the like, so basically the same people.

That's all the real big news as of late. The countdown has begun for when I'm coming back, we're under a month now. I'm extremely excited about it, but I also decided it's not something I need as much as I felt I did before. This last month or so I've been in a really good mood and feel much more comfortable with this village. Peace Corps has their charts with all the ups and downs PCV's go through during service, mentally, and at first I laughed at it, but now I realize it's pretty accurate. I've had months that I'm down in the dumps, depressed, missing home (and it's shown in my posts I"m sure), and now I've hit a peak again. Everybody says that after 9 months in the country, things are generally all pretty good. Language is really good, you're making friends, and it's not winter anymore. Don't feel that I don't need you folks anymore, cause I still do, but I'm pretty sure I can survive two years here.

Alright, well that's that for now. My next post will include some pictures of my new family, the house and all that good stuff. Look forward to seeing all of you, it's gonna be quite the wild time I'm pretty sure. Until then, take care.