Update

A little update on what we have been up to. We finally finished collecting all necessary papers for amir's residence permit and submitted the package to the respective authorities. Now we are just praying for it be successful. Amir is helping my uncle with his business and is happy to work after a long break:):):) in the meantime I found a temporary job of teaching little kids English in the kinder garden. Both Russian and kazakh speaking kids. I find it so much fun! Especially kazakh speaking kids, they speak only kazakh, in which I am weak and I am noticing myself beginning to speak kazakh as well, I love it! They teach me and I teach them:):):) kids' memory is amazing! They remember everything I tell them and do with them. I find it hard sometimes because all they want to do is to play, they cannot sit a while on their chairs. Thank God I am currently tutoring ruhi3 with local bahais and reviewing the methods of disciplining kids. Today I tried the method of having rules in the class and "punishing" kids for not following the rules, it worked so well! They saw that my words were not just lipservice and were trying to behave not to be deprived of taking part in a game. And they all feel the love I have for them. One boy was always sitting next to me, and others were teasing him as if he fell in love with me, so cute! I am beginning to love them more and more, and trying to find different ways of teaching them the language. May be one day I could take a picture and post it here so you see yourself how many gems are surrounding me twice a week! I'll certanly do that!

went to the village to see our relatives and found these pictures in their albums. This was taken at the wedding of our cousin. Left to right: my sis maryam, my cousin Gulya, myself and my cousin Dina 10 years ago. Me and my sis were not yet Baha'is:):)
same year, same location, same event. My little sis Ruzanna, my dad and our niece Ilmira
29 and a half years ago. Left to right: wife of my uncle, my uncle, their son, myself (with white hat), my dad, my cousin and my mom:)

How it was

happy crowd
cake time
parents
rings
winter bride

loving atmosphere of the wedding had its effect on us...hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!
Baha'i certificates
happy bride
sisters... missing our third one who stayed home because of sickness
first dance as husband and wife
we were so happy for them that coudn't stop hugging each other!
There is something special about winter snowy weddings! The air is crispy fresh, so is the couple:):):):) The sun is bright but far, the mountains are inviting...
In folklor they compair bride with birch tree - white, graceful, pure, beautiful...

leaving tonight

going to attend exciting event for our family - my sister Maryam's wedding at the former capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty. it's +5 there, so we're gonna get some suntan:):) will be back next week with lots of pictures! on this picture Maryam is in the middle.

Re-connecting

I am gradually re-connecting with my friends here. Running into them on the street, different places, they recognize me, I recognize them, warm embraces, learning of what has happened to them while I was not here, exchange cell phone numbers, arranging for a meeting. Such an amazingly pleasant experience! I suddenly realized that I know quite a few people although a lot of my friends from earlier years are gone into different places and I don't know how to find them to ask how they are doing. Last night the girl on this picture called me, we stayed in the same flat for few years, and went on few trips together. When I left she was studying in university and now she is working in a good company in a good position and thinking of developing her career. We talked for longest time and I felt how much I've missed her and other friends in that remote city of Kazakhstan and how much of memories connect me to that place where I pioneered and worked for 3 and a half years. There is a lot of love for these people in my heart.

We are through crazy times here. My sister and her fiance, my another sister and our friend Dj came to celebrate New Year with my parents and us. We are total 9 in our flat which always seemed big enough and which now seems so small!:):) we are having a lot of fun together, going places, taking pictures, playing games. Tomorrow night Dj, my sister and her fiance are leaving for the capital where there wedding will take place in 2 weeks time, and Amir, myself and my other sister will stay home and will join them in a week and a half time in the capital. Our CD-rom got damaged therefore no pictures for now. We are still working on Amir's documents that need to be submitted to the authorities in order to start the process of his residence permit. There are a lot of papers that need to be collected, lots of copies and legalization of them which is very costly. Our shipment is in kazakhstan now, yey! Hopefully next week it'll arrive to our small town, we will finally get our books, DVD's and cloths which we miss so much:) Hopefully next time I can post pictures of our crazy times!

Holidays

Thank to the 4 days off my parents got on the occasion of the independence anniversary, we went to a natural resort called "Burabay". It is a big territory filled with forests, lakes and beautiful mountains.
My dad and Amir
getting ready for the evening walk in the village where we stayed overnight. My dad and Amir decided to swap the hats
mom and dad
next day we visited museum of natural wealth of this region - birds, animals, insects, minerals, everything was represented in big variety.
walking in the forest
this deer is living in a zoo
unique rock in the middle of the lake reminding of a girl's profile. Legend says the girl threw herself from the cliff into the waters of the lake and turned into this rock. We were able to walk towards it this time, as the lake is solid frozen.

Kazakhstan - 15 years old

On 16 December Kazakhstan celebrated its 15th anniversary. So young! All over the country celebrations and concerts took place, the president addressed the people of Kazakhstan underlining the achievements and sharing new goals. The ambitios goal that impressed me was to become a first world country, in a number of years time. We are now a second world country, well, good luck, and we'll try to help as much as we can to achieve this.


flag of Kazakhstan

Update

Dearest friends, we had a little problem with internet, therefore couldn't post anything for a few days. We are back online from today and are happy to update our blog. We are doing very well, enjoying our life, looking around, meeting people, celebrating birthdays, tahmina is re-connecting with her relatives whom she hasn't seen and talked to for some time, amir is adjusting to a new place. we miss haifa, that's why i am posting few pictures from our last day in haifa, and from the last holy day we attended there. melonna sent us this pictures today. thank you, Melonna!

Happy 19 Day Feast, Masa'il - Questions

It is not permissible to ask questions from Him Whom God will make manifest, except that which well beseemeth Him. For His station is that of the Essence of divine Revelation... Whatever evidence of bounty is witnessed in the world, is but an image of His bounty; and every thing owes its existence to His Being... The Bayan is, from beginning to end, the repository of all of His attributes, and the treasury of both His fire and His light. Should anyone desire to ask questions, he is allowed to do so only in writing, that he may derive ample understanding from His written reply and that it may serve as a sign from his Beloved. However, let no one ask aught that may prove unworthy of His lofty station. -- The Bab

Day out with mom

Today is Sunday, a day off in Kazakhstan! hahah! So unusual after living in Israel for 3 and a half years to witness quiet Sundays again. People chill with their families and friends inside if it is cold; if it is warm outside, like today, they go for a walk or shopping; if there is a lot of snow they go skiing and skating. My mom was so excited to spend whole day with us. My sister asked us to look around for wedding dresses which we did with pleasure today. It was +3 today, soooooo warm and no wind at all, the weather as if we ordered for our smooth adjustment. The snow is melting everywhere, dark roads and walkways are showing again and it feels like spring. Since we don't have a car, we took a bus to the center of our town and walked from shop to shop. It was a very pleasant walk, good workout, and it gave us a chance to explore the town more. Here are few pictures we took:

I must say peaple living in our area which is quite cold during winter are concerned about being warm and looking beautiful at the same time. They come up with the most exclusive models of hats and coats and boots that are warm and suitable for winter. I was so impressed by the choice of fur hats in this store that couldn't help but to take a picture of the one I liked the most.
Old wooden mosque
Amir and mom on the background of the monument to those killed during Second World War
we love hanging out together!

our beautiful mom:)

8 months

last night we watched our wedding again, showed it to our friend who came to visit.

life indoors

The cat I was hearing about from my family all the time is now a big part of my life. Every morning he comes and myaws at our door asking to let him in. He hates being alone and often looks for company. His name is Persik which means Peach in Russian but it doesn't have anything to do with peach:) The name is given to him because he is half Persian and half Syamiac cat
My mom gave us bed sheet with this cute pattern on it. I love it:)
Our first guest was little Ali with his parents - my Bahai friends. Last year when we saw him he wasn't talking and walking yet. He brought some candies to have with tea.
Ali with his parents Asel and Tanatar
part of the room my parents gave us for this month while we are staying with them
Persik and Amir are posing for the camera
Persik liked the empty cabinets in our room:)

where we are

Finally some pictures from where we are. my parents live at the north of Kazakhstan, very close to Russian Siberia. Therefore we have all four seasons, the winters are cold, the springs are beautiful, the summers are short and pleasant, the falls are warm and colourful. The town is rather small, only 150000 population. Almost every third person you meet on the street you know or saw before. for me who hasn't been here for a while, it's may be every 15th person...:):) These pictures were taken on the second day after our arrival, it was around -18C
For Amir it was a first time to see this kind of winter. He was very excited. the snow here is dry becouse the climat is dry, which makes it easierto bear . But the snow doesn't turn into a snowball, unless you pour some water on it...
Amir was also excited to see how much steam comes out of our moouths! but one's gotta be careful not to breathe with ones' mouth all the time, sore throat is very common for this reason.
happy to be home...

Sacred Experience

floor tiles in Ridvan garden
sea shore in Akka
flowers at one of the Monuments
Bahji...
Olive park in Bahji
Reading before going to Akka

Pilgrimage has been really a Sacred Experience. One of the purposes is to re-fresh or for some people to establish special connection with God and the central figures of the Faith by visiting the Holy Shrines and the Holy Places associated with their lifes. It is a very thoughtful experiece, one re-considers his whole life during pilgrimage, finds answers to his questions and goes home full of determination to serve his Lord. Since everyone has this chance in life at one point, i thought i won't post pictures we made in the Holy Places, but rather try to convey the spirit of love and fellowship that united us with other pilgrims. And may be to post pictures of some cute moments and small elements that made our journey special apart from the main impression.