A job offer where???

I very clearly remember the phone call from Matt, "What do you think of Kazakhstan?" The first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Where is that?" I had never even heard of this country, had no idea where it was on the globe, no idea what language was spoken there. After a brief description of the country (e.g. winters of -40), I told him that it wasn't high on my list of where to live, but I'd be open to it if the opportunity was good for him. I can survive anything for two years, right? The last thing I expected was to be sent there in a matter of three months!

The weeks to follow are a blur of chaos. We had to get medical clearance for all four of us. My poor boys didn't know what was going on with all the appointments and vaccinations. More than once I asked myself if this opportunity was worth the torture I was putting my boys through, getting "pokes" as Mattox put it. Was it worth leaving our network of friends. Mostly, was it worth leaving our support network of family? We were used to seeing my parents every other month. In the end, I knew that the opportunity was worth it. This was an opportunity that might only present itself once. An expat position is a great career move for Matt, the travel opportunities are hands-down amazing, and I've always wanted to be immersed another language and culture. So, the paperwork continued, the pre-assignment visit was set, and meetings with realtors were scheduled.

This picture is on the plane going on our pre-assignment visit. It was mandatory and no kids allowed...the first time to be without my boys for a week and be more than a 3 hour drive away! The worst part is that we got stuck in Kazakhstan because of a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Our flight to Amsterdam was cancelled...so we eventually found our own way home going through Beijing. We literally had a trip around the world! I was so happy to get home and hold my boys!This picture is us on the foot bridge crossing the Ural River in Atyrau. The town is both in Europe and Asia since the river runs right in through the middle of it.

I will post again soon, since I haven't even gotten to our actual move to Kazakhstan yet! Hopefully, I will figure out all the layouts to make this blog flow better :). I'm learning.