Sunday May 10th…
Didn’t get to write yesterday…I think a little travel fatigue did set in. We also had a fair dose of traveler’s stomach. Well, we should know better…but there we went. We are still kind of jet-laging…slept all night, but up again at 5:30 AM…the birds were chirping pretty loudly outside the window. Sunday is the day off here so most everyone should still be in bed. Our bedroom window is facing the main street here in town and we can hear one or two cars go by even early in the morning. We heard the mosque call this morning and the Town Crier walking the streets with the latest news. Could be announcing someone’s wedding, funeral or something like that. Better that the morning paper I guess. This is a fairly good size village-town, and still it feels like time has stood still and the world is out there somewhere….
Yesterday was Victory Day. Everyone was off from work and school and it was a public holiday. This holiday is a left-over from when the Russians were here and it is to commenmorate the victory that the Russians had over the Germans in World War II. Anyay, it is a fair like day and everyone is out in their best…walking back and forth and up and down…the festivities started down by the small lake by the river….and there were hundreds and hundreds of people there…milling about waiting for the official program to start…complete with flags and all…the only bad part in it all was that it was raining…so we crammed in with everyone else under this huge roof where the program was happening. Quite fascinating with a sea of locals infront of us….and then it all started with the national anthem blurting out and everyone singing….that was mighty….a cultural experience cannot get any better than that. Wow….
We went down to the lake….took some pictures and were able to video some of the happenings back up on the stage….and the smoke billowing from the many barbeques everywhere….E. met a friend and ended up talking with him for the longest….the kids had fun running around and all in all it was a grand experience which we will treasure for a long time.
Walking back gave opportunities for conversations with several folks who of course thought it strange that foreigners should be out and about in the middle of all of this. Pat stood out as he is so much taller than everyone else here…. J. and I were covered in true local fashion…with our long dresses on under the coats and scarves on our heads. Walking back we also had to straddle tons of puddles that had built up and it was close fellowship with many coming and going...because who would want to walk in a puddle with your fancy shoes on??
We came home and had some hot tea and then rested for very much of the rest of the day…talked and talked ….and Pat wasn’t feeling very good. In the evening I went with the family up to the Old city where there are ruins who are over 1500 years old…amazing!! Up there on the hill you also have a great view of the town and the valley….and we stood there for a while talking and E prayed for the city. The kids had a blast running up and down the hills and in and out of the most fascinating part of the ruins…and it was beautiful. The sun was setting and the whole area was super green with purple and yellow flowers intermingled with red poopies…all with the mighty mountains surrounding us on all sides… a breath taking sight!
Yesterday was also the day when we were supposed to go over to the neighbor lady’s birthday party…well, we waited for a while….but no-one ever came to knock on the door with the official invite. So we thought….it won’t happen. Well, right around supper time….closer to 8, it did. So J. had to drop everything, put on a scarf and off she went. I could not go. That time of the evening it is just a matter of staying awake. Besides we were trying to figure out what to do with Pat and his bad tummy. We ended up calling a friend of the family for some medical advice….they live across the country in another town, in another valley. So this morning E. found the medicine we needed and now both Pat and I are taking tummy meds for our travel stomachs... :)..yes we have both been afflicted!!
The rest of the day today was a little different..we took it real easy in the morning and after a while another family that our friends work with came over and together we sang, read, and had fellowship. A really neat time. After lunch a few other friends came over and we celebrated Lydia's birthday a few weeks early since some of these friends are leaving the area soon to go back home to where they come from. A fun afternoon of fellowship and true community..... enjoyable time...and a super prayer time.
We are so thankful to be here with these precious friends. Tomorrow we trek back over the mountains back to the capitol and then for two days we will retreat with our friends and some other friends to the mountains for some special time together. So, if you don't hear from us for a while....that is where we will be. By Thursday we should be back on line again for sure. Thanks for remembering us!!! We deeply appreciate that.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Jet-lag has taken it’s toll. We were awake at 4 something this morning when the local mosque sounded their call to prayer. Yes here we are …..in a small town in what feels in the middle of nowhere…. where our friends E and J live with their four beautiful children.. It seems like all of Thursday was like an big “out-of body experience”…getting to see people we have not seen for a long time and experience places we never dreamt existed. This is a truly a very beautiful place…. extremely mountainous and therefore also very difficult to get from one place to the other…..
Anyway, let’s back up….we left Istanbul at 8 something on Wednesday evening, and arrived at the tiny little airport in the capitol city here around 3 in the morning….after customs forms and passport control, we found our suitcases…went through another x-ray for the luggage….and there were our buddied Z and E. It was so much fun to see them. We could hardly believe that it was real…..we are here…in Central Asia…We first went over to the V’s place and after coffee, snacks and some breakfast, the girls woke up. It was fun to watch them unpack some of the goodies we had brought. We had a short but lovely time of fellowship while E. did some errands in town. When he got back we packed ourselves and our luggage into his car…. together with another friend of his and off we went for the long trek over the mountains to the town where they live.
As we started into the mountains, it was beautiful…and it got more and more beautiful….and we went higher and higher….the road was pretty decent …but after the Presidents mountain villa, the road got smaller….windier and after a while longer, there was no longer any pavement….and it was really rough. There were Chinese road-workers everywhere… contracted by the Government to improve the roads here. They are also constructing tunnels here and there…to make it possible for these mountain roads to stay open during the winter and avalanche season. Because avalanches are the biggest threat in this mountain country…and we saw signs of them EVERYWHERE.
As as we got up closer to the pass…there was this 6,5 kilomer long tunnel…..and driving through that was an experience in itself. Imagine being in a dark basement….full of potholes, water puddles and ice-mountains for six and a half kilometers, well, that was the tunnel. After the tunnel and for the next 2-3 hours the road was very rough….it was super bumpy. In one village we encountered tons of trucks…a sign that the other pass going north was closed….and there is no tunnel going north…
Well, after hundreds of pictures out the car window (will try to upload some later)….and almost six hours of endless driving we finally arrived in the town where our friends live. Right now they live in an apartment right in the middle of town ..on the fourth floor…in a typical Russian built apartment building where everything and nothing works….they have a 4 room apartment that serves them well at this time. It was raining when we arrived and it is still raining. Even heard some thunder in a distance. This is home to our friends. This morning the boys went to school all dressed up in their nice black suits, white shirts and ties.
After that we got ourselves ready and went to attend a delightful piano recital by Miss Lydia at some friends house… then we stopped at the market and I got myself a local dress. J and I got to attend a really cool wedding party for women this afternoon…. all dressed up like the women around there. We sat on mats, eating and eating and eating….and watching in amazement the bride along with the other women in the extended family who had been brides that year….all dressed up in their bridal customs.
An amazing first two days here in the heart of Central Asia….so good to be with our friends…and walk life with them right where they are. Tomorrow we get to go to the neighbors here in the house….they are having a Birthday party. More sitting, more food…more people. This is sure GREAT!! And if the rains stop we will join all the locals for the Victory Day celebrations at a local park tomorrow morning...
We are 12 hours ahead of everyone back home!!
Jet-lag has taken it’s toll. We were awake at 4 something this morning when the local mosque sounded their call to prayer. Yes here we are …..in a small town in what feels in the middle of nowhere…. where our friends E and J live with their four beautiful children.. It seems like all of Thursday was like an big “out-of body experience”…getting to see people we have not seen for a long time and experience places we never dreamt existed. This is a truly a very beautiful place…. extremely mountainous and therefore also very difficult to get from one place to the other…..
Anyway, let’s back up….we left Istanbul at 8 something on Wednesday evening, and arrived at the tiny little airport in the capitol city here around 3 in the morning….after customs forms and passport control, we found our suitcases…went through another x-ray for the luggage….and there were our buddied Z and E. It was so much fun to see them. We could hardly believe that it was real…..we are here…in Central Asia…We first went over to the V’s place and after coffee, snacks and some breakfast, the girls woke up. It was fun to watch them unpack some of the goodies we had brought. We had a short but lovely time of fellowship while E. did some errands in town. When he got back we packed ourselves and our luggage into his car…. together with another friend of his and off we went for the long trek over the mountains to the town where they live.
As we started into the mountains, it was beautiful…and it got more and more beautiful….and we went higher and higher….the road was pretty decent …but after the Presidents mountain villa, the road got smaller….windier and after a while longer, there was no longer any pavement….and it was really rough. There were Chinese road-workers everywhere… contracted by the Government to improve the roads here. They are also constructing tunnels here and there…to make it possible for these mountain roads to stay open during the winter and avalanche season. Because avalanches are the biggest threat in this mountain country…and we saw signs of them EVERYWHERE.
As as we got up closer to the pass…there was this 6,5 kilomer long tunnel…..and driving through that was an experience in itself. Imagine being in a dark basement….full of potholes, water puddles and ice-mountains for six and a half kilometers, well, that was the tunnel. After the tunnel and for the next 2-3 hours the road was very rough….it was super bumpy. In one village we encountered tons of trucks…a sign that the other pass going north was closed….and there is no tunnel going north…
Well, after hundreds of pictures out the car window (will try to upload some later)….and almost six hours of endless driving we finally arrived in the town where our friends live. Right now they live in an apartment right in the middle of town ..on the fourth floor…in a typical Russian built apartment building where everything and nothing works….they have a 4 room apartment that serves them well at this time. It was raining when we arrived and it is still raining. Even heard some thunder in a distance. This is home to our friends. This morning the boys went to school all dressed up in their nice black suits, white shirts and ties.
After that we got ourselves ready and went to attend a delightful piano recital by Miss Lydia at some friends house… then we stopped at the market and I got myself a local dress. J and I got to attend a really cool wedding party for women this afternoon…. all dressed up like the women around there. We sat on mats, eating and eating and eating….and watching in amazement the bride along with the other women in the extended family who had been brides that year….all dressed up in their bridal customs.
An amazing first two days here in the heart of Central Asia….so good to be with our friends…and walk life with them right where they are. Tomorrow we get to go to the neighbors here in the house….they are having a Birthday party. More sitting, more food…more people. This is sure GREAT!! And if the rains stop we will join all the locals for the Victory Day celebrations at a local park tomorrow morning...
We are 12 hours ahead of everyone back home!!
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
A Turkish Stop over
Wednesday, May 6th
After a delicious breakfast here in the heart of Istanbul....I will try to update you all on the first part of our journey east....but let's take it from the beginning.....
Monday morning.....Getting up was no problem. I am not sure if it was excitement or the pizza the night before that got us up around 3 in the morning. So, by 9:30 AM we were more than ready when Jonathan drove up and collected us and our luggage. We said goodbye to some of our house-guests who were still there…and off we went.
Check in was a breeze…both suitcases were under the allotted weight….at least for this leg of the journey. As we prayed before security we were joined but another friend who had just arrived and when at the gate we saw another friend for a quick chat. The ride over to Europe was long, very long…and in spite of trying real hard, sleep did not come easy. So, with just a few cat naps here and there…..we arrived in Amsterdam….
And by this time it was already another day. Found our new gate and soon we were on another shorter flight down to Istanbul. At this point sleep was no problem….the only mishap was that a lady with really strong perfume or something which threw my hubbie into a coughing spasm….not a good idea considering what we were to encounter upon arrival in Istanbul. Well, it started before landing…..”please fill out a health-card”…. everyone had to declare their health status before entering Turkey. We had visions of interrogations about little coughs etc….but not to worry. Right outside the door as we embarked the aircraft, there was a health officer just calmly collecting all the health-forms. I wonder if anyone willingly would tell anyone if they were sick? Most folks working at the airport were wearing masks…. taking the risk of flu very seriously. We never saw a hint of any of that in Europe. I wonder why one place was super cautious…. and in the other one life was going on as usual?? Interesting.
After lining up to get a visa….yes, you need a visa if only for a night here in this lovely country….well, we kind of knew we were back in the East…and it was kind of fun to be there in the middle of an immense sea of people from all corners of the globe…most of them ignoring the whole queuing idea. Facinating.
Hubbie got his visa….and myself, well, no visa needed…remember, I still have my European passport….which is good here also. So, it was on to the next line….no on to joining the next throng of people….waiting to enter the passport area….to do this you had to pass by the health inspector….and in front of an infra red camera. Not really sure how they can determine who is sick and who is not….but they took a few folks aside here and there….all because they wanted to be careful not to allowing any flu stuff into their country. The best affect of all of that was that a lot of folks became more aware…. because in the next line….a massive 8 lane line….it was easy to spot those who found the whole experience un-nerving…they had their mouths covered with some piece of their clothing….a good idea considering that at this point we had really close fellowship with quite a number of people from all parts of the world. This was the line for “other nationalities” to get their passports stamped. Well,…after a long while we did get our passports stamped and then it was time to go and find the luggage….which we did. Customs was a breeze. We never did find our hotel shuttle, but found a nice taxi driver who took us to our hotel…. the WOW hotel, not far from the airport…where we then desperately tried to make heads and tails out of what was night and what was day….but it sure was nice to be able to have a warm shower….a nice sit down supper and sleep in a bed…. and slept we did....almost 12 hours....in a little bit we are off to the airport again for the third and last leg of our journey east....
After a delicious breakfast here in the heart of Istanbul....I will try to update you all on the first part of our journey east....but let's take it from the beginning.....
Monday morning.....Getting up was no problem. I am not sure if it was excitement or the pizza the night before that got us up around 3 in the morning. So, by 9:30 AM we were more than ready when Jonathan drove up and collected us and our luggage. We said goodbye to some of our house-guests who were still there…and off we went.
Check in was a breeze…both suitcases were under the allotted weight….at least for this leg of the journey. As we prayed before security we were joined but another friend who had just arrived and when at the gate we saw another friend for a quick chat. The ride over to Europe was long, very long…and in spite of trying real hard, sleep did not come easy. So, with just a few cat naps here and there…..we arrived in Amsterdam….
And by this time it was already another day. Found our new gate and soon we were on another shorter flight down to Istanbul. At this point sleep was no problem….the only mishap was that a lady with really strong perfume or something which threw my hubbie into a coughing spasm….not a good idea considering what we were to encounter upon arrival in Istanbul. Well, it started before landing…..”please fill out a health-card”…. everyone had to declare their health status before entering Turkey. We had visions of interrogations about little coughs etc….but not to worry. Right outside the door as we embarked the aircraft, there was a health officer just calmly collecting all the health-forms. I wonder if anyone willingly would tell anyone if they were sick? Most folks working at the airport were wearing masks…. taking the risk of flu very seriously. We never saw a hint of any of that in Europe. I wonder why one place was super cautious…. and in the other one life was going on as usual?? Interesting.
After lining up to get a visa….yes, you need a visa if only for a night here in this lovely country….well, we kind of knew we were back in the East…and it was kind of fun to be there in the middle of an immense sea of people from all corners of the globe…most of them ignoring the whole queuing idea. Facinating.
Hubbie got his visa….and myself, well, no visa needed…remember, I still have my European passport….which is good here also. So, it was on to the next line….no on to joining the next throng of people….waiting to enter the passport area….to do this you had to pass by the health inspector….and in front of an infra red camera. Not really sure how they can determine who is sick and who is not….but they took a few folks aside here and there….all because they wanted to be careful not to allowing any flu stuff into their country. The best affect of all of that was that a lot of folks became more aware…. because in the next line….a massive 8 lane line….it was easy to spot those who found the whole experience un-nerving…they had their mouths covered with some piece of their clothing….a good idea considering that at this point we had really close fellowship with quite a number of people from all parts of the world. This was the line for “other nationalities” to get their passports stamped. Well,…after a long while we did get our passports stamped and then it was time to go and find the luggage….which we did. Customs was a breeze. We never did find our hotel shuttle, but found a nice taxi driver who took us to our hotel…. the WOW hotel, not far from the airport…where we then desperately tried to make heads and tails out of what was night and what was day….but it sure was nice to be able to have a warm shower….a nice sit down supper and sleep in a bed…. and slept we did....almost 12 hours....in a little bit we are off to the airport again for the third and last leg of our journey east....
Monday, May 04, 2009
Monday - On our way
Thanks to free wireless at the aiport...we will just write a short note. We are all checked in....and having something to eat....and at Noon we will fly. No time to write in Amsterdam as our stop-over there is too short. Maybe you will hear from us in Istanbul...who knows. We are so thankful to everyone who is praying for us on this trip. Take care.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
More Packing
The suitcases are packed....and thankfully they are within limit or just about....and we just got our over night hotel booked that we need half way. We are getting ready....thanks for praying for us. Hopefully we will be able to update you as we go along....
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Packing
It is really raining out there....Pat is washing the car....with lot's of help from the mighty showers from above. I was just thinking that the rain and all kind felt a little bit like a Swedish rain storm in the summer....except we were missing the thunder....and can you believe it....there it was!!
We just came back from a beautiful wedding out at church. Our friend Loren married his beloved Virginia. The fun part is that his family from Alaska has stayed with us for almost a week. Mom and Dad, GrandMa, sisters, brother in laws and a baby. To pack in the middle of all of that seemed a little crazy....so we are planning packing big time tomorrow.....!! And then off we go. We will keep you posted. We hope to get a little bit of a newsletter out before we leave.
We just came back from a beautiful wedding out at church. Our friend Loren married his beloved Virginia. The fun part is that his family from Alaska has stayed with us for almost a week. Mom and Dad, GrandMa, sisters, brother in laws and a baby. To pack in the middle of all of that seemed a little crazy....so we are planning packing big time tomorrow.....!! And then off we go. We will keep you posted. We hope to get a little bit of a newsletter out before we leave.
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