Family visits (and a paragraph on PURPOSE)

Wow, what an early start to the day. Igor and I caught a train this morning to his hometown, Talitsa. The train ride is only about 2.5 hours, but it's really interesting. The elektrichka as it's called, doesn't sell specific seats on the train, so the possibility of it being overbooked, is very possible. In fact, it was so overbooked today that we were standing - in between cars. That's right. At first I couldn't believe it as the rain was dripping in through the connecting parts of the train, but within 45 minutes we found a place to sit down together.

It's so fun and interesting to work with young people. Getting to talk with them about their futures, their choices, their lives. Everything is ahead for them and it's really such a wonderful time in life. I especially like this time because it's when we're figuring out our reason for being. Purpose is really this thing for me. I just love the word. I like thinking about what it means. I like thinking about what it means to know that I have a purpose. I just like knowing that we're all created for a reason, a specific reason for each and every one of us. I think that it's critical for us to seek this purpose and figure out the specific meaning behind our individual lives and that so many of us don't find it. It's one of the reasons that I really love being a facilitator with the LeaderShape program. It's all about finding purpose.

So the purpose of our visit to Talitsa, was that I'm starting the process of saying my Russian good-byes. I've been here for almost a year and it's back to the States for my wedding with Amy!!! Igor's family, the Kurmangashinov's, have been my surrogate family here in Russia for years already. I've known them since 2002.

When I arrived at the house (they live in a small 2 room house in the village, with an outhouse, small garden, and banya (a Russian sauna) - I was immediately overcome with that feeling of being home. You know the one? Where you could just fall asleep laying on the floor? Or the couch? It smells like food is cooking and it's warm. Yeah, that's the one. It was a great feeling.