My Going Away Party...
Last night, my professor Katherine threw me a going away party. Katherine is my mentor and without all of her help and guidance I probably wouldn't be moving to Russia for this experience. Her and her husband Joe decided that they would throw me a going away party at our favorite local pub The Cock and Bull (yes, we see the humor in the name). I was very happy to see so many people show up for this party and we all had a great time. I snapped some photos of the party and thought that I would share them with you all. All of these people mean the world to me, and I'm going to miss all of them greatly while I'm gone.
Not counting today, I have three more days in Pueblo before my flight leaves first thing Wednesday morning. I don't really know how I feel yet; my emotions are a little messed up. I've been planning this for so long that it doesn't seem that its actually happening. However, for the most part I just want to get over there and see what it is like. Time is becoming very tight for me and I don't know if I'll be able to post anything between now and when I arrive in Rostov. I hopefully will be able to post a quick message the day or day after I arrive but I can't promise anything because I'll have traveled for about 20 hours, so I might be tired. Yet, I just wanted to state how much I'll miss everyone back here in the states, but I also want to thank you all for all of the support you've given me...I wouldn't be doing this without many of you and I mean it! See you in about seven months.
P.s. For those of you I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to, I'll miss you and I hope you all take care. Keep in touch!
My mentor Katherine and I.
Lindsey, Rhiannon, Kelley, Julie and I -these are some of my best friends.
My friend Rhiannon and I vouging.
My friend Julie and I.
Some of my undergradute professors; they know everything.
Everyone enjoying themselves.
More Friends at Going away party.
Me and my friends.
Katherine and Merry at my party.
My Friends Jennie and Ivor.
Friends at my going away party.
In One Week...
In one week, I'll be on a plane to Russia. I cannot really believe it. I mean I do, but it just seems so surreal that this is actually going to happen.
So I haven't updated this for several days, but not much has happened. My family threw a going away party for me on Sunday, which was nice. It was just my family and some of my closest friends. Although it wasn't a grand bash, it was still nice. Other than that I've been really board not working or going to school. Last week was my first week without having to work, so it was nice -a sort of vacation. Yet this week, I've been driving myself crazy because I'm not used to just sitting around not having to do anything. Granted I have a lot of running around to do, so that I can get ready for next week, but other than that I've had a lot of free time. To distract myself during this extra free time, I've been driving around and pretty much staring at the television, which by the way day-time television sucks. So that is it for now, I must go and try to do a little more packing. Right now, I have almost all that I planned to take with me packed but I have a lot of extra room, so I'm going to think about what I could use to fill up the cases. I hope I don't forget something that I really need, but take a bunch of stuff I could live with out. Until next time...
Take a walk to the edge of town...
Yesterday, I went on a hike with several of my cousins. It was quite fun and we hiked pretty far. It was nice weather, with a soft wind blowing through the leaves keeping the heat of the sun at a low. I really enjoyed seeing the mountains one last time before I left. For those of you who don't know, Pueblo lies about 30 minutes away from the Colorado Rockies. Pueblo is sort of a desert like/planes area place; however, it is surrounded by mountains to the west. I took quite a lot of pictures and they are the ones that follow...
Got lost here, but thought it was really beautiful.
A view of the creek from within deep woods.
Trees that have fallen to make a bridge over the creek.
How beautiful is this?
Purple flower.
View of the creek that runs through the mountains in Wetmore, Colorado.
Yellow flower...
Tree stump.
Rock ridge in Wetmore.
Rock forming in Wetmore, Colorado
Photos taken from Wetmore, Colorado.
13 Days... Um yeah, its that soon!
Not only will this blog be used as a way for those in Pueblo to keep up to date with my stay in Russia, but it will also be used to show my students in Russia what life in Pueblo is like. So I will be posting pictures from both Russia and Pueblo to help show the difference between the two cultures, which means that while I'm gone if anyone would like to send me pictures of Pueblo (or anywhere in the States for that matter) I would be more than happy to share them on the blog.
Today is going to be a rather relaxing day for me. I'm going to go on a hike in the mountains with a couple of my cousins. Its been hard trying to spend time with everyone that I really love before I go, but I feel that those that mean the most to me are the ones I'll spend time with. So my cousin, who is pretty much like a sister to me, and I are going to go around and look at all the trees turning colors (yep, its already time for autumn to be changing the landscape around here). I'll post some of the pictures I take when I get back. However, autumn was always my favorite time of the year. Not only did I always love the changing color of the tress, but also the fact that it would rain more in autumn than any other time of the year -if you know me, you know why I love rain so much. I just enjoy the smell of rain and the sound that it makes as it lightly or violently, it doesn't really matter to me, hits walls, windows, or best of all against cars as you drive down the street. Whenever it rains I just feel that the earth is peaceful; now I know that doesn't make a lot of sense because rain can, if it gets bad enough, cause death but for me its just a peaceful phenomenon that happens in this world.
That's about it for right now...I'll post more when I get back from the mountains!
A note about Comments...
Hey everyone,
I've put a block on the comments, which will ask you to type in a verification code (it will be provided to you by the site). I ask that you all do this, so that we avoid annoying spam comments, which do happen. I want everyone to post comments, but I want to make sure that they are also not spam. I appoligize for this, but this is the age of spam so we must avoid it at all cost.
thanks!
15 Days and counting...
Well in 15 days, I'll be on my way to Rostov. It doesn't seem real yet; even though, I've been cleaning my house and packing stuff for storage. It seems lonely right now, because I've packed a lot of my prized possessions (and I'm being American right now with this little rant, so forgive me) into boxes. I never thought the day would come when I would put all my CDs (which is now 200+) into boxes, not to be used for seven months. It sort of scares me. However, I don't really have a lot of time to think about such things because I still have a lot to do. Oh well, I guess I'll think about all this the night before I leave and can't sleep.
I received word today from a friend of my from Norway that I meet on the internet, who is attending Rostov State University. She has only been in Rostov a day and she reported back with a pretty nice description of the town. She says its not like Moscow or St. Petersburg, where she has been before, but she did say that it seemed rather nice. I was excited to hear her report and I hope that I have the same view of Rostov as she does. A few things she told me concerned me, but I'm sure that I'll be able to work those details out when I get there. One thing that did surprise me was that she said it was extremely hot there. Now she's from Norway, so I don't know what she considers "hot" but this throws me into some sort of a dilemma. Do I pack for cold weather or hot weather? I'm not taking a lot so I guess I'll have to carry a few items for both and then when I arrive decide if I need to buy some new cloths while there.
For today that's about it...
Here I go...
For those of you who do not know, I will be moving from Pueblo, Colorado to Rostov-Na-Don, Russia. This blog will feature stories and photos of my life while in Russia, and how this adventure changes my life. For seven months, I will be teaching at Rostov State University in the English language department. My classes will primarly be those associated with developing and maintaing the skills neccesary to converse in the English language. My students, althought I'm not a hunder percent sure on this one, will be students studying English as their major and who are interested in broading their English conversation skills in hopes of one day using them for a career. This oppurtunity arose to me through a sistership program that is being started between Colorado State University -Pueblo, where I just recently graduated with a BA in English studies, and Rostov State University. Although I am more than thrilled by this oppurtunity, it would be foolish of me not to mention that I am frighten beyond all belief at what will take place in my life. I was born and raised in Pueblo and being from a family as close as mine is, I am a little apprehensive about being away from them and all life has to offer in America. I have only traveled outside the country once and that was only to England and Scotland, so I've never been surrounded by a foregin language... The task of learning a new language well enough to get by in is scary in itself, and I am more than worried that I will have no way to communicate with the Russians' who will now be my neighbors. However, all though I know life will be hard adjusting too, I feel that overall this experience will change my life forever. So hold on, because this is going to be one hell of a ride...and you'll be there to experience it with me.
