Pressure.

It has been almost 3 full weeks now since my arrival in Kazakhstan.  One thing that I have noticed is that this has been the hardest week for me so far.  I think that the amount of information that we have to absorb combined with the language training is so extensive.  Today is actually the first day where I feel that my language skills are sort of locking in.  We have been introduced to a lot of things at this point but now we have numbers and days and time.  This allows me to make actual sentences which is really helpful!  My host family is really really nice and they seem to genuinely care about how I am adjusting. 

I accidentally overslept today.  It seemed that I turned off my alarm in my sleep....which happens to me every once in a while.  But it made the whole day feel off.  Now I am done with school for the day and have the house to myself.  I presume that we will eat dinner and drink tea... then work on Russian.....shower....clean my room.  I am feeling a lot of pressure from all of this information and learning.  It is manageable but difficult. 

Tomorrow is a presidential election in Kazakhstan.  I have officially been instructed to avoid any polling areas and political demonstrations. 

Kazakhstani Fun Fact:  The Russian / Kazakhstani calendar begins on Monday.  The US calendar begins on Sunday.