I'm sorry to be missing for so long. I have discovered that this website is now blocked in the country of Kazakhstan. They must have had too many international people following foreigners and their local court cases. Oh well, I try to stay out of all of that. It is just unfortunate stuff gets blocked.
Well, obviously I am writing this and so I have found a roundabout method. Having a personal VPN server is certainly recommended for international travelers. I am doing something else but a VPN would have been my first choice.
Now, I imagine this post or series of posts will take some time to get out there. Here are the highlights. I now work for a good company teaching English in Almaty. We have moved to a house that is a real blessing. The price was within our budget but that also means there is a lot to fix and deal with. Right now the biggest issues are the overflowing septic tank, clothes washer that doesn't do a final high-speed spin (my guess is that the high power transistor on the variable frequency drive module is fried), and the rodents that keep eating through the floor in the kitchen where there is a small crack. We haven't caught any of them and they are staring to do some real damage. We were also forced to take a one week vacation in Thailand for visa reasons. That was rough ;-).
With no further delay here are a few pictures. Then I need to get back to lesson plans.
With love to everyone (especially Moms, Dads, Grandparents, and Grandma),
David
