Donna Sends Gifts...

OF PICTURES!!!
After much nagging and whining on my part, Donna finally sent me something to update the blog with!  She sent me some pictures she has taken around her new home and sent captions so I don't have to guess what the pictures are showing!  I will now let you enjoy the pictures with her captions!
Merry Christmas!!

Pictures!

No major news from Donna.  She is still in the process of settling in with her new host family.  They seem to be a fun family so far, they are expecting a baby boy in about a month! YAY! Kinda neat that Donna got to experience and "older" family and now she gets to be with a "younger" family that is really just starting out.  Donna is in more training, I wonder if she will ever do volunteer work! ;)  Just kidding sister! 

As you can expect by the title, I do have some additional pictures of Donna, this is from before the swearing in.  If you have not seen those pictures, Donna has added them on Facebook, but if anyone wants, I can re-post them here.

Enjoy!

Say What?!

I am SO close to being a volunteer!  I only have a couple more days of training then out into Azeri-world.  The posts by my sister are definitely more amusing but I thought I'd drop in and say "hello"!  My language skills are weak but my motivation and enthusiasm totally makes up for that.

Picture!

Donna sent me this picture and I think she just looks adorable!  So I felt obligated to post it for everyone to see.

*Donna News*

Note from Tati:  So, I must beg your forgiveness in the current lack of updates on Donna.  This time it has nothing to do with her not being online with us, it is me getting wrapped up in my work's busy season and life in general.  I hope you will forgive me with this post!

Welcome to the sixth edition of Donna News!!

Last time Donna was ill and trying to get healthy and study  for a test.  She beat that illness, passed the test, learned where she was going to, and met her counterpart.

*Donna News Mini-Update*

Well another week has come and gone with no internet access from Donna.  She has been under the weather some, so she wasn't feeling up to heading to an internet cafe to check email.  My mom and I called her today to check on her and she seems to be doing well, or better than she was, but she was taking a weekend to have some R&R.

Pictures

So Donna added a lot of photos on Facebook, but I wanted to upload the better ones of her in other PCT's albums here for all to see and a place to keep it!

Please Enjoy!

*Donna News*

Welcome to the fifth edition of Donna News!!

We finally have some Donna stories to share with you.  Now, some of these are in Donna's own words and some are stories she shared this morning on our video chat.  I was "pleasantly" woken by Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend In Me" letting me know that someone had started a gchat conversation with me.  It was DONNA!  She had her Mac book with her so I could actually start a VIDEO chat and SEE HER!!! WHOOP!!

Mail Update!!

Hello all!!

Just wanted to let you know that Donna has received more mail!!!  She got my infamous letter that didn't want to leave Texas and she has received another letter from her Aunt Rhonda.  She told me she has more mail, but hasn't had a chance to sort through it all yet.  Hopefully once she does, I can let everyone know whose mail she has received and see whose mail is still in transit!!

Have a great day!

*Donna News-Mini Update*

Welcome to a Donna News Mini Update special.

Hello all, long time no blog!  We haven't received any emails from Donna since the last time I posted.  We have been in contact with her via chats, phone calls and texts.  She is doing fabulous still, its just crunch time in learning the language and she is very overwhelmed.  But we all know Donna and have no doubts that she is going to pull through this with flying colors.

*Donna News*

Welcome to the fourth edition on Donna News!

I did a mini post earlier this week where I made a countdown to a rough estimate of when Donna will be on Texas soil. If any of you watch the news, its also the day the world is supposed to end. Lets hope we get to see her first! :-P

Donna Countdown

I created this Donna Countdown to keep track of how soon she will be home. The date is 12/21/2012 for now, but if we get any updated information I will change it.

*Donna News*

Welcome to the third edition of Donna News!

Aren't you all just the luckiest, two updates in less than a week!! Well I hear my gchat ringtone go off this morning at like 4am. I considered going back to sleep and ignoring it. Well I decided to go ahead and look, as you guessed it was DONNA! I stumbled through my apartment trying to locate my computer, which was very difficult in my half REM sleep state. :-P She had a half day today and was able to get on at 2pm her time. She managed to locate an internet cafe that had a section for women so she could surf safely and this cafe was closer to her host family than the other. So a win-win in my book!

*Donna News*

Welcome to the latest edition of Donna News!

Here it is, some more exciting news from Donna. Mom and I were able to talk with Donna on Sunday night, October 3, at around midnight our time. It was a very brief conversation, only about 15-30 minutes long. She is in process of figuring out the culture and had limited time to be online. We found out that if a woman is on the internet for too long, the men and other women assume that she is looking at...um...certain sites, shall we say, so it is very frowned upon to be online too long if you are of the fairer sex. Our chat was way to brief and definitely tear filled. I'm not going to lie, though I was beyond ecstatic to talk to her, it made me realize how much I depended on constant contact with her before she left. I mean I was texting that girl constantly day in and day out. But I digress, you guys want to know how she is doing, and not my sob "I miss my sister" story.

*Donna News*

Welcome to the first edition of Donna News!

Since Donna left home, she hasn't had a chance to update her blog, so I figured I would give a well deserved update with some Donna News.

She has been keeping pretty good contact with us via chats and emails and I think that has been helping to keep the melancholy away. She has since moved to her host family and her consistent (daily) internet access has ended, but she will still have access occasionally and is always able to get and respond to letters and care packages!

Empire State of Mind

Let's play a little game I like to call "Can Donna Fit That Into Her Luggage?"


Photo 1. This is some of the accessory stuff.

Photo 2. Some of my clothing and more accessories.

My eye obviously did not measure my junk correctly. I had to cut about half of my stuff to fit it into what is now called the "tiny luggage". As of right now, the luggage is under weight and packed.


Yesterday, my family and friends threw me a surprise going away party and it was amazing. I will miss everyone dearly. I also was able to meet up with some fellow RPCV in College Station, which gave me confidence and a sense of peace.


I'd like to post more but at the moment I'm taking in every moment I can with my family. (I type as my mother stares at me)




"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can't do,
Now you're in New York!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
Big lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York"
Empire State of Mind Part 2 Broken Down - Alicia Keys

Wide Open Spaces

An amazing friend of mine sent me a birthday package with 6 books, 3 mix cd's, and one of the sweetest cards I've ever received. These are all gifts that will help me with my travels and remember the good times back in Tejas.

Wide Open Spaces was one of the songs that I found to perfectly describe me today and my adventures in life. This song I find parallels with another Dixie Chicks song, The Long Way Around. I often am asked why I have such a odd lifestyle and I always respond that I stay open to opportunities and snatch them up when they appear; regardless on how crazy they may be or sound. There are days when I wish my opportunities weren't best friends with my failures though. Today feels like one of those days...only 2 weeks away from my departure it looks as if a hiccup has occurred. As with all adventures in life it wouldn't be the same if it worked out smoothly. What happens will happen and I will learn from it all.




"She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes


She traveled this road as a child
Wide eyed and grinning, she never tired
But now she won't be coming back with the rest
If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test"
Wide Open Space - Dixie Chicks

Play My Song Mr. Tambourine!

Everyone loves a photo journal so here is mine. I have found myself taking in every detail of my life and trying to remember how it feels, smells, and tastes (does not apply to all situations). Here are some photos I'd like to look back on and associate with good times and giggles.
On the left is possible stuff to get into the bags and on the right are my bags. This includes a carry-on backpack, carry-on rollie bag, rollie luggage bag, and a hiking bag (with a yoga mat strapped on). I'm missing little stuff at this point but hopefully I will get everything reorganized and added in as time progresses.



Stuff I'll miss: Cupcakes from Frost and Sprinkles. They are both delicious and cute.
Pani puri.. Thanks to some friends I love this stuff as well as some other nummy Indian food.

Oh they look beautiful don't they?! Sadly, I sold off the orange ones (Omaha show). Ah such is life. I'm excited about these last concerts. Let Mr. Dave Matthews sing #41 for me (pass that along).

"Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me

I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you"
- Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

American Girl

OH the lists begin and the paperwork never ends.


The 3-Day Events

09/22/10
6:09am
-Fly out of Houston (3hr 21min)


10:30am
-Arrive at Philadelphia


12:00pm
-Registration


2:00pm - 4:25pm
-Who We Are
-What's Expected of You


4:45pm - 7:00pm
-What You Expect
-What's Next
-Closing


7:00pm-?
-Philly Shenanigans


09/23/10
11:00am
-Check Out


1:15pm
-Leave for JFK Airport


9:40pm
-Flight Leaves for Germany (7hr 50min)


09/24/10
11:30am
-Arrive in Frankfurt (2hr layover)


1:30pm
-Leave for Baku (4hr 25min)


8:55pm
-Arrive in Baku




"She couldn't help thinkin'
That there was a little more life somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to"
American Girl - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

American Baby

"He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which" -Douglas Adams

13 weeks to go!

I don't want to come off as not excited but I don't think I'm going to start preparing for everything until August. When I saw that other people were getting invites and that they were working on their packing list I acquired this odd panic. It started with me staring in lab at the wall and now in class I seem to lose my train of thought and blank out. Then on top of that simple English seems to be slipping. In my humorous state these behaviors seem to amuse most of the people around me but I've found the remedy and their jokes will now CEASE! HAHA! My walking boot comes off tomorrow and I smell freedom in the form of running. I desperately need a good run and maybe some ABBA.

I've had some time (aka Lab/Class Lectures) to rank my concerns/goals for the time before I leave.

Level of Importance Hierarchy:

1. Family

2. Friends

3. Fun (Travel, Concerts, Hiking, Running, etc..)

4. Language Training

5. Packing Conundrum

6. Class

7. Lab

This order was devised during our weekly Journal Club/Lab Meeting where I was not prepared for the paper or showing any sign of attentiveness. NOW my amazing news for the lab can't be discussed until a paper is published BUT it's mind-blowing and I hope that I get fancy copies of it when it is eventually published.

I made the title of this blog "American Baby" because my little sister will sing me the chorus of that song at random times, letting me know that she wants me to "STTTAYYYYY American Baby". She also reminds me regularly that I haven't posted anything on this blog and I apologize to the people who get through my muddled words and actively come back to read more...you are incredible.