Wow, these pictures are big. Woops.

However, my sickness was overshadowed by the abundance of calls and text messages and emails I received. Not only did I hear from my parents and Gram from home, I heard from so many old and new friends here in KZ! I heard from my friend from last year, Zhandos, who’s in Atyrau, from my very close friend here in Almaty from last year, Gala, and from several of my cast members which was very sweet. Jessie was also taking care of me while I was sick and showered me with various gifts. I even heard from teachers at the international school I’m teaching at, which was nice.

Then, the next day, at the KIMEP Anniversary (in which Jessie so fabulously led the KELT presentation), members of my cast led everyone in singing Happy Birthday to me. Then , the following Monday, at rehearsal (I was still sick!) a bunch of my cast decorated the Fun Club with posters and  presented me with a cake, flowers, and this huge home-made card with all their pictures in it! It was the sweetest thing. I loved it.

To cap it all off, Gala, Arad, and Assel chipped in to buy me a Russian language cd set and book! I love it, and am so excited to use it. I really want to learn Russian (at least some) while I’m here.

So even though I was so sick and almost drowned myself in tissues and toilet paper filled with yellow junk (gross!), I still had a really nice birthday.

And I felt better in time to move to my new apartment a few days later!

 This week is probably going to be the busiest for me since I have been here. KELT has been asked to perform a scene for a theater class (who knew there were theater classes at KIMEP!?!) on two days, and we are also participating in the KIMEP Anniversary next weekend. I need to get all the details worked out for those things, I need to start blocking the show this week, begin doing some major thinking about the budget, and I  need to decide what I am going to do for the Christmas drama programs at KIS. I am saying “I” because this stuff is my responsibility, but I am definitely getting help from many people and I am so grateful for that.

I have decided to change the performance space for the play from the Great Hall (seating app. 400 pp) to the Fun Club (seating at the most, 80). This decision was made at the suggestion of Jessie and I completely was for it. Even though the Great Hall seats more, the play is going to be more effective and moving in the smaller space. I was sitting in the Fun Club today (while the babushka lady was mopping the floor with a blackened cloth wrapped around a stick and singing Russian songs) just looking at the space imagining where and how to stage things and I was getting really excited at the possibilities that we can do in the space. There are so many more creative things that we can do in the Fun Club– using the balcony, the staircase, all the diff. entrances and exits and even the strobe light effect when David gets hit by the car (it would make it look like it was happening in slow motion- I think it would be cool!).  We also won’t have to worry as much about actors not being heard or spending hundreds on lights and sound for the Great Hall.

This week I was also told that my soon-to-be roommates and I cannot move into our new apartment on Oct. 3. Now it’s Oct. 15th. Ugh. Poor Jessie! She has been SO generous with allowing me to live with her this long. I hate inconveniencing her like this, but she took the news really well.  I have been really enjoying living with Jessie- she’s got a great place, we’ve been having really nice conversations, and she’s nice and close to KIMEP, but I am anxious to feel settled here and to not have to live out of my suitcase-s anymore.

My best friend is getting married next Saturday. Her wedding is one that I have been sure I would never miss. And here I am, missing her wedding.  With this wedding, it is more than just being there to celebrate. It goes much deeper than that.  Thankfully, I am still able to give her the toast (hopefully I’ll be able to send in a video).  I will call her the morning of…I will be praying for her. 

Despite the fact that I can’t attend my best friend’s wedding and that I haven’t had any access to my bank account in weeks and had some little “friends” i don’t wish to talk more about…………… I am not discouraged, I am still completely at peace and happy that I am here. I still have no doubt that I am in the exact place where HE wants me.  Therefore, I am staying “up”!

Rehearsals have been going well. Everyone’s been showing up so far! Obtaining a rehearsal space is a PAIN IN THE BUTT! Ugh Nathan, how did you put up with the insanity for 5 years?!? Actually I think we’re managing quite well compared to what I’ve heard from other years. We haven’t had to rehearse at someone’s home….yet.  Tonight I spent a good amount of time in Sholpan’s office with 2 other organization Presidents. We were to negotiate the sharing of the Great Hall together….except they were speaking Russian the whole time.  But, we’ve got it Mondays and Fridays for 2 hours. Once Miss KIMEP is over, well have it more often. 

Assel is retiring from Stage Manager and Sholpan is taking over. Assel, however, is not separated from the play- she’s doing all the “pain-in-the-butt-but-necessary” tasks like the budget, getting the lights, reserving the Great Hall, etc, etc, etc,!!!! I am really happy that Sholpan is taking over stage manager though, so that someone else can learn Assel’s job:)

And I am so happy Tammy Murden is helping out! She’s doing odds and ends- whatever is needed.  And soon Jessie will start getting things together for the pre-performance before David’s Heart, so that the night is a FULL night of theater and festivities. It is going to come so fast!

I am going to enjoy every moment of this process and will try to help the cast do the same. They seem like great people. I’m really looking forward to getting to know every one of them.

It didn’t take much time back in the States before I began to understand the effect my trip to Kazakhstan had on my life. Only two people responded to Nathan’s advertisement for actors to come to Kazakhstan for a theater tour. That can be seen as nothing. But to me, that advertisement changed my life.  I am indebted to Nathan for following the call to bring American’s over to work with KELT. 

I can say with complete authority that this is where I am supposed to be. The journey of getting here has proven that. Logistics took months to confirm–finally I had secured a job here, and then in mere days, it all fell through. Then two weeks later, a new job came through! Everything down to the last detail and dollar has been provided for me. I came here without permanent housing, trusting that that would be provided for too. And it has! It’s a good story, so here it is:

              I found a One-Bedroom apartment I really liked for $500 a month, which I could afford, but things would be pretty tight. Plus I wanted another roommate for safety reasons (so did my parents and so did Nathan!) I kept holding off on taking it, waiting on other options.  Because it seemed like other options weren’t really coming through, I finally decided to call the woman and take it. However, it was too late. She said she gave it to two other people. I was really disappointed.  The same day, I heard of another apartment- a 2BR for $750.  I was later told of two American girls (teaching at another international school) might be interested.  The girls told me they had seen another apartment they really liked, but the landlord had been keeping them hanging and finally told them they could take it if they wanted. The apartment was kind of far away from their school, so they wanted to look at the 2BR apartment with me. After meeting and talking some more about our apartment searching, we realized that they had just been told they could take the apartment I was just told I could not have anymore!!!! They were the one’s who were told they could have “my” apartment! But the amazing thing is, we all three loved the 2BR apartment- we all liked it more than the other one! And now the girls who were going to take the apartment I liked are now going to be my roommates!!!!!!!! This apartment is so much better than the one I was disappointed over. This is just another situation that affirms and reminds me I am supposed to be here and will be taken care of.

I am inexpressably grateful to Nathan for working out details in my coming and for preparing the KELT community for my arrival, to Jessie England who worked so hard for months to get me a job at her school (even though that isn’t what ulimately was where I was supposed to be) and for letting me take up her whole living room for over a month!!! I am so blessed to have good friends like Arad Davar and Galina Kiryan here who have driven me all over Almaty and carried my obese pieces of luggage up 6 flights of stairs. And I am soo thankful to the many people who contributed financially to get me here. I could not have done it without your generosity. I am so excited to be here and am completely committed to the project KELT is about to take on. Thank you Friends of KELT. 

Okay, so I guess I shall begin with Arad…

Arad:

Personal sidenote… 

I am soooo sorry I left out my PERSIAN friend. It was a slip…or maybe subconsciously I was still hurt over you saying my IQ was -10 and I wanted to get you back!

                _______________

I said this on my first blog and I’ll say it again, because it remained true….he is one of the most sensitive guys (in a good way) I’ve ever met. He is constantly being offended and putting himself down and feeling as if nobody loves him….it’s because he feels everything– and deeply. He never hides how he is feeling. If he is sad or angry or wonderfully happy, he expresses it fully. I admire that in a guy. (Although…sometimes that sensitivity becomes a bit feminine late at night! As man turns warewolf at dark and grows hair, Arad turns gay and wears women’s underwear:)

 I can say what I said above, because Arad also has a thriving sense of humor. He made fun of me alot and took it well back….except when I called him a Mosquito:) It was always annoying, yet fun, when he would purposely walk right in front of me. I would try to walk by his side, but he kept blocking me by staying right in front of me whether i moved to the left or right.

 Arad is also extremely caring- always calling to make sure you are okay and making sure you will be safe. He looks out for his friends. Arad is going to make a wonderful husband one day.

p.s. I JUST remembered that Arad is not only feminine at nighttime- he once put on a dress in the middle of the day!!! Yikes.

p.s.s. He needs to cut his nails.

p.s.s.s. How is Yana??

p.s.s.s.s. Talking romantically to a cake seemed to come too natural to him!!

p.s.s.s.s. I read in a newspaper that there is a warrant out for Arad’s deportation. The gov’t in Azurbaijan found out what happened and has sent officials on a search for him.

Dias:

Nathan was so right when he said that Dias will do whatever is asked of him. Dias is always so willing to help. If you ask Dias to assist you with something, he’ll never complain, he will just pitch right in. He would never let the girls carry their stuff- it was very sweet.

 I can tell that Dias is a VERY loyal friend. When Arad was almost deported, he was a mess. You could tell how worried he was. For those two, long hours, ALL that was on Dias’ mind, was the safety of his friend. Same when Arad was sick–Dias was very concerned the whole time. Dias made fun of me alot- made faces that supposedly I made all the time (although I think HE made some of the same faces himself)…but he always made sure that I was okay and knew he was joking. He is always thinking about others.

 Another admirable thing about Dias is the fact that he did this tour. He was probably the least fluent in English, and here he was acting in a language that is not his own. There were several times we had to correct his grammar or whatnot, and it had to be frustrating for him.  Just the fact that he was participated in a production that wasn’t in a language he was completely fluent in was an    amazing accomplishment. So I just want to give cheers to Dias for doing the play with us. He did an awesome job.

p.s. He never has to say “THE” Prince again!

p.s.s. I have never seen someone who likes water as much as him. He will swim in any body of water, in any sort of condition.

p.s.s.s. He really cuts loose on the dance floor!

p.s.s.s. Don’t play cards with him. He is fierce. He either keeps track of every card played or he cheats!

Zhandos:

I had so much fun with Zhandos this summer! I gotta give him major props for the Russian joke he played on me.

He may think I’m weird, but I know he also thinks I’m funny… he also makes himself laugh… whenever he’d say something he thought was funny, his face would scrunch up, then immediately he’d get real wide-eyed. It was cute. But his sweating is NOT cute- whew I have never seen a boy sweat like Zhandos! Even the wig he wore would be WET:0

I was also incredibly impressed with his Capitano. His walk was….so ugly…it was GREAT!  The audiences loved him, I hope he continues to act.

I am really glad I got to meet and work with him this summer.

p.s. He’s not far off from Arad in the feminine department– he loves wearing scary makeup and he shakes his shoulders as though he had a large chest!

p.s.s. He does have a large badonka-donk.

p.s.s.s. I have NEVER seen a person sleep like he does–at any point in time, in any place! And it was so funny when he used the cape as a blanket.

p.s.s.s.s. He has major trouble getting out of character.

p.s.s.s.s.s. There were some nights he did really good at blitz. He played like a big boy. (that’s a comment from Tabitha)

Galina:

It has been undisputed that this tour would not be accomplished without her. Gala was always going to meetings, making phone calls, making reservations, dealing with money, etc, etc, etc… What is so cool about her is that she possesses a high proficiency in business aspects, but also enormous talent in the arts. She’s a girl who can do it all. She’s alot of things I wish I was…responsible, sensible….she just has it altogether. Even when I’m sure she felt she didn’t, she looked and acted as though she did. Gala NEVER once complained about anyone or anything!!!!! She is honestly THE nicest, most genuine and good-hearted girl I’ve ever met. EX: One night we played a card game called bulls*%$ and in the rules of the game, you were supposed to lie if you didn’t have a certain card. Gala could not even lie when the rules called for it. She refused! She was just always so encouraging and positive and forever had a smile on her face. She’s incredibly selfless and serving of others. She was the one who did most of the cleaning up after the rest of us. When we’d go eat at the grill, she would always wait till last to get her food; instead she’d sit and save the table for us while we went up to get our food. She has mastered the art of sacrificing. THANK YOU Gala, you are an amazingly talented, intelligent, and virtuous woman. I am so happy she was on this trip with us.

p.s.Thank you for being the only person who joined me with calling the cat Keisha!

p.s.s. Thank you for taking us to Ed’s awesome house. It was a fun night.

p.s.s.s. I wish she was there for our super-hero model night!

p.s.s.s.s. Her voice is better than Mariah Carey’s.

Tabitha:

I was so happy Tabitha was on this trip. It was nice to have someone to live with at the dorms, to go to the Three Oranges with, to have as a car-mate on the trains. It was comforting to have another foreigner on this trip with me. Because of Tabitha, I never felt alone. We had a lot of good conversations together about our faith and the Lord, and she proved to be a very good listener. 

 I want to thank Tabitha for keeping “taking care” of me this summer. She kept me from losing more things than I did (which was only two things- practically a record for me). She protected me from bugs and threatening cats. She put up with all my annoyances. So Thank you Tabitha.

p.s. I think Zhandos secretly likes her butt since he could never stop talking about it!

p.s.s. She won’t lie. (“I’m not gonna lie…”)

p.s.s.s. I’m still mad she beat me at Blitz that one time (it was just once, right??)

p.s.s.s.s. It turned out to be a good thing I brought those pepto-bismal tablets huh?……I’m sorry I gave my virus to her.

Nathan:

 Well, if it weren’t for Nathan, I wouldn’t have even had this opportunity this summer. So I thank him for being faithful to the Lord and listening to Him and advertising this trip. Nathan really provided alot for me this trip– he loyally asked how our sleep was, was generous enough to let us stay at his house the whole time (even when we had the dorms), fed us alot, shared his water and food, was always making sure we were okay. I appreciate that alot.

I admire Nathan for what he has done. He may not have some theater off-broadway or even one that is able to supply any incomes, but what he has done is truly revolutionary in the country of Kazakhstan. He has the only existing English theater company in the country. And yes, it’s small and the actors range from varying levels of experiences and it’s not included in Kazak lists of theatres and they have to call up to Sergei to put the lights on and there’s always people intruding on the stage in the middle of rehearsals and there’s always some sort of red tape to cut through just to do a production……………..BUT it is still a real theater company and productions are still happening and people are still coming to see them. It is a success in my eyes, and it was exciting to see how diverse his current and past actors have been. People seem to really enjoy watching each of his plays, and I think God is going to continue to bless and help KELT to flourish.

p.s. He’s got some real cute kids.

p.s.s. Soon he’ll need to attend MCA (Maxi-Chi’s Anonymous)

p.s.s.s. My friends and family were asking who the hitman in my pictures was.

p.s.s.s.s. Thank God I don’t have to kiss his foot anymore:)

p.s.s.s.s.s. I definitely approve of his chili.

Kate:

I only spent a few days with Kate, being that she filled in for only one show with us. But I just wanted to comment that from what I saw from her, she seemed like a great girl.

 She jumped into the part IMMEDIATELY. I was so impressed. We worked with her ONE day and when we all rehearsed together, she remembered everything. The girl is obviously very bright! She just also seemed to open up so easily to the group (I think Zhandos and Nathan were the only two she knew from before), but I felt completely comfortable around her, b/c she seemed very comfortable with all of us. When in Astana, she took us around town the whole evening and even spent the night with us. She was alot of fun and seems like a genuine nice and cool girl. I wish her God’s blessings as she goes to the UK!

Note to all the team members… 

I praise Jesus for meeting all of you. I am so grateful for my time with each of you this summer. I will never forget any of it. You all will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers frequently. You guys better keep in touch!

  HA- I gave the boys one last laugh just before I left. I was in the customs line with all my luggage- I was kinda wondering why no one else had as much stuff as I. After a few minutes, I decided to try to see if the guys were still there. And indeed they were- waving and yelling. At first I thought, “Wow, they must really not want to leave me.” Then as I interpreted their words and hand signals, I realized I was in the wrong line. I never checked in my luggage! Ahh, Jess.

 I want to thank the boys for all coming to take me to the airport. It was so…..nice. Really- I appreciated it SO much. It made my departure special– and sad. I’m really going to miss you all. It was cool spending so much concentrated time with a small group of people. I was very happy and content when I was there. I was so sad and depressed over leaving Iowa, and one thing God used this trip for, I believe, was to show me that I could be happy around other people and in other places (even across the world).

 I already got several pictures developed–almost 200- augh! And, even in America, things are a pain to accomplish sometimes. First, it took me quite awhile to go through selecting the pictures, then the machine broke while they were printing. Then when the lady was trying to ring me up, something went wrong, and she couldn’t fix it–neither could the manager. We ended up just leaving and coming back later to pick up the pictures.  I showed them to my Gram, brother, and sister-in-law. I also told them the Zhandos-alphabet story:)

 I’m not sure how it feels being home. Feels good, but just weird thinking how last time I was here I was getting ready to leave for KZ and had no idea what to expect. I’m gonna miss you guys. I am so happy that each one of you were put into two months of my life. I’ll never forget the experiences I shared with you all. It was a good summer. Dos Vidanya my Kazak, Russian, and American friends:) 

(I’m gonna write another blog in a few days too, soo keep checking this:)

 Today we did a run-through with our new cast member, Kate. I am quite impressed by her- she picked everything up in 2 days! after 4 weeks, i was still forgetting cues (ie. the meow- finally got it though:)

 Before rehearsal, i got a chance to get my revenge on Zhandos. I don’t think I told the story of what he did to me on here……………………one late summer’s eve, in the humid city of Aktau, I was eager to learn the Russian alphabet. Zhandos so willingly sat with me and taught me like a teacher does a student. I was learning pretty quickly, until the end, when the sounds became increasingly difficult and strange. They were so weird that my semester of IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) did not help with the transcription, so I resorted to writing small phrases that would help me remember the sound. One was “throw up”….. another was “hock a loogee”.  I went to bed with a great feeling of accomplishment and success in the Russian language.

 The next day i was excited to show my other Russian friends of what i had learned. When I got toward the end of the alphabet they started giving me strange looks and smirks. It turns out, Zhandos got a little bored teaching, and decided to have fun lying to me and teaching me the wrong things! Moral of the story: When Zhandos is bored, he LIES.

 So…..today was the day of revenge (although there may be more to come). We told everyone before rehearsal that we were going to blindfold everyone and do an exercise and when I tapped them, they were free to take off the blindfold and watch the fun. Everyone was tapped except for Zhandos. I tried to be as corny and melodramatic as possible with the imagination exercise. So, as i gave the instructions, everyone watched Zhandos make a fool of himself. He was definitely holding back though, but it was still funny. First I had “everyone” imagine they were helium balloons floating into the vastness of the clouds. Their heads full of air, and the rest of the body dangling as the string. Then a bird came and popped them, they started to deflate and whirl about in the atmosphere. Then they became part of the clouds themselves, and to imagine that the clouds were getting heavier and heavier and that a darkness was coming upon their souls. They tried to reach up, but the heaviness was too much. I think it was the funniest when i said let the weight go into your butt, but continue to reach up. Zhandos was squatting with his arms in the air. At the end I had “everyone” (just Zhandos) drop as a raindrop to the ground then evaporate into thin air, and as they come up “they” should not even feel their bodies. when i said to remove the blindfolds, we were all staring as Zhandos lifted his. We had a good laugh. Zhandos said it was actually relaxing….i should’ve gone further with getting him to do strange things, but it was still funny to us. But if he’s not satisfied with the revenge, I’m sure I could think of something on the train:)……………………………….

 Just now, we (Tabitha, Dias, Zhandos, & I) had our last meal at the THREE ORANGES. so sad. it became Tabitha and I’s “spot” here. We gave NY hats to the two waiters and got our pictures taken with them. People were staring.

 So, that’s about it for now. We leave tomorrow. Yeah! We have three more shows left. 2 in Astana, and one in Almaty where Gala will be back.

 I cannot believe this trip is practically over. Whew….time flies….when your…….sweating in Kazakhstan.

 The plane ride was a fun time…..We finally boarded the plane at 1:45am (the original flight time was 9:40pm). I sat by Zhondos  (I am sorry Arad….after pleading w/ Arad to ask his plane neighbor to switch places with me, for i was originally assigned a separate seat….I ended up asking the guy sitting next to Zhandos to switch. It seemed like a very easy switch for the guy to sit in my seat, so I just asked right away…….so PLEASE forgive me Arad). We had a cute little, old man sitting in the window seat next to us.  He asked the steward to refill his juice like three times! Well, no not asked, just gave it to Zhandos, who was forced to ask. Then Zhandos was being the guy’s personal steward by helping him several times with getting his headphones to work. The guy started talking to Zhandos, asking if I was his fiance. With the combination of feeling a little bored and not feeling like explaining the tour, etc… Zhandos answered w/ a simple “yes”. The guy didn’t stop there- wanted to know more about our engagement- my parent’s age, the wealth of my parent’s, whether or not my parent’s were going to give him a gift, where the wedding was being held, etc, etc, etc…. I think after the 2nd question was when Zhandos started feeling bad that he was lying to this cute little old man. Then we started playing cards with him. He was so adorable! In the meantime, around 2:20 am we were served a full meal. I was like, “Yes!”.  Not too bad…rice was good. So Zhandos and I were kept entertained throughout the flight.

 I have to say I have really liked all the traveling. I could tour for very long periods of time, I feel. I like the actual travel itself- riding in trains, planes, and automoblies (no pun intended). Especially trains. We took a 20 hour train ride from Aktau to Atyrau, and I LOVED it. So cozy. I felt like I was in “Little House on the Prairie”….except in the desert. I think i could live on a train actually. Except I’d probably die of constipation (provided the bathrooms were as nasty as they were on this train). It was also quite hot. But all in all, I was so content. Especially at night. Gala and I had a really nice talk in our little bunks. So dark, but we each had little night- lights. I loved it!!!

 We stayed at Nathan’s sister-in-law’s apt. in Atyrau. The girl’s got to sleep in the AC’ed room! There was the cutest little kitten we found in the house. I named her Keisha. One day Gala said she was “kisa”- russian word meaning cute, small, something like that, and I heard Keisha and started calling her that. No one except Gala and I would call her that. Guess it wasn’t completely appropriate since the cat’s name was  Simba and was a he, not a she. But in my reality, SHE was KEISHA and was soo cute and CRAZY. She was like a miniature horse- leaping all over the place.

  Our performances went very well in Atyaru. At the 1st one, I saw my first real, live tarantuala. It was fascinatingly terrifying. I wanted to get as close as I could before I started to cry. After the show, everyone was coming up to us wanting our autographs. It was cute. Our 2nd performance in Atyrau was unanimously the best. We performed for a large froup of oil workers. 90% men. Watching Cinderella. In masks. But they LOVED it. I honestly don’t think I have performed for a better audience. They bellowed, clapped, and shouted throughout the whole thing. They absolutely loved Zhandos. Tabitha even got whistled at. They completely bought our fight scene- probably because Tabitha actually clocked me across my jaw. They broke out into a rhythmic clapping at the end. It was great fun. I think what was also great about it- and great about this whole tour so far, is that we are performing for people who have most likely never been to a play. They just don’t have the opportunties- there’s nothing like it (what we are doing) being done. They are so grateful and thankful that we have come to perform for them. One woman was just repeating “Thank you, thank you. It was perfect.”  And the show is definitely not perfect. But it is perfect to them. It’s taught me not to sweat the little stuff and get all anxious over things that aren’t perfect. Sometimes it’s better for the group and for your individual sanity to be content with where things are at- to let go of achieving perfection.

  I also had another nice talk with Gala and a good conversation with Arad. Dias continues to add to his repetoire of faces that are supposed to be mimicries of me. I cannot believe this summer is almost over. As I say with the passing of every summer, “It has gone so fast.”

 We’ve been doing alot of two things here: 1) going to the beach. problem though is you cannot swim. Apparently the water is very warm in June and very warm in August, but freezing in July, and none of the natives have ever been able to figure it out. The beach is also covered with shards of glass and other trash. so not the most pleasant beach, but it’s still a beach! 2) Playing cards– mostly spades and blitz. We’ve taught everyone blitz now, and some strange things come out of people during this game. Arad plays the drums as he flips over his cards. You cannot concentrate because he slaps EVERY card down with life or death force! Dias just cheats…shuffles his deck in the middle of the game, takes out a card and puts it to the side till he can use it, and secretly organizes his deck so that all the aces come up! hahaha, it was quite funny.

 Yesterday we also had fun singing Amazing Grace and some other gospel songs at the kitchen table. Gala, Tabitha, and Nathan harmonize pretty well together. Zhandos isn’t bad either. We won’t talk about me.

  We leave for Attarau (sp?) tonight- a 20-hour trip! Woo hoo. never been on a train that long. Come to think of it, I’ve never even been on a train at all. Should be….an experience.

 I hope I see some camels on the way out of here too!