Lightbulb!

The countdown is at 29 days! (But I leave for training on Saturday the 18th, so technically for me, it's 28! days.) Meaning it's crunch time. Lots to do to prepare, like finding teaching materials, medical tests to complete, figuring out my wardrobe,... packing everything I need for a summer in one 50lb suitcase. I'm heading out to a state park for a weekend camping trip the first weekend of June for some reflective space. Oh, InterVarsity, thank you for instilling in me the desire for disciplines like ROS's! It's been too long since I've had some serious outdoor face time. I'm looking forward to it. I even bought a tent this week! A tent of my own! My dad should be so proud. :)

But enough stalling. The reason I'm writing is because I finally know where I'm going! For everyone who has asked me, So, where in Russia will you be? I finally have an answer for you! I will be teaching at a youth camp in Cherepovets. Now where in the heck in Cherepovets, you might be asking. Good question! It's here


It looks to be midway between St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Novgorod.

It's so nice to have a location to pin my brain on. I even have the school's website! To be able to visualize where I'll be spending 5 weeks of my life is such a relief. People have asked me or otherwise commented on how brave I am for hopping off to a foreign country without knowing exactly where I'll be. And it honestly wasn't a huge deal to me. Now, when my letter was for the Commonwealth of Independent States, that was a little more of a big deal. But once I talked to my director and he said, Russia or Northern Kazakhstan, that was good enough for me. But now I realize how glad I am to know where I'm going. I can look at the world map in the lobby at work now and be able to stare at where I'm going instead of the massive expanse that is Russia. It's good to be able to focus on something.

So I guess my blog title can't be Russia/Northern Kazakhstan anymore, now can it? I'll think of something witty later...

And as far as the title of this post is concerned, it really had nothing to do with this post, except that it's from the movie Despicable Me and the main character has a Russian accent. :)