GREEN TEA & OLIVES: Out and About: Peace Corps + Santa Monica

Hello Friends!

Finally the long awaited Santa Monica post! But it isn't really. Say what?!

I've been meaning to post this for a few months now. I'm not sure what has held me back, other than regular work/life sh-stuff. Perhaps it's a feeling of not adequately expressing the love and respect I have for these incredibly lovely individuals. Perhaps it's because I am selfish and want to keep these images to myself though I did share some of these on Instagram? Yeah, see, it doesn't make much sense.

So let's get to this post, shall we!

Ten years ago I lived in Kazakhstan for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. Perhaps I'll write about this in a later post but this is not that post. It was tin Kazakhstan that I was befriended by one of the most beautiful and incredibly kind-hearted people I have ever been honored to meet. After living on my own for a year I moved in with them. My host mom Gulnar and her family took me in literally and figuratively and I was changed forever. Before I left for Kazakhstan I had experienced some very life altering events and as a result I was in a bit of a dark place. I found light in Kazakhstan with my host family. My host mom has always stayed in contact with me though I have been horrible in maintaining that level of communication (a flaw I fully acknowledge and actively work on on a daily basis).

A couple of months ago my host mom's sister Saulet and her daughter Zhanna came to visit with me for a couple of weeks. My only regret is that I wasn't able to travel with them to every destination! ;-) We did, however, make it to Disneyland, Santa Monica, Hollywood, and did several day trips to San Francisco.

I loved having them with me! It is because of them that I am in regular contact with my host mom through WhatsApp and Instagram. Gosh how I love this medium for sharing information! I'll be honest, my Russian language skills were never that awesome and my skills haven't improved over the years so writing (thanks Google Translate!) and sharing photos and videos is easier than trying to schedule a call when I am not exhausted or groggy to a loved one who is 14 hours ahead of me.

But I digress! :-} Here are some photos I took while they were here. They are not in any particular order. Just a few of my favorite images during our visit together.

Disneyland