On Friday night Nick told Nia and I that he had a surprise outing planned for us on Saturday. All we were told was that we needed to be ready to leave at 10:30 and wear pants, a t-shirt and tennis shoes (no hiking gear needed). I was intrigued and excited, and assumed we’d be going to...
On Wednesday I told you about Nia’s new school schedule, so today I’ll focus on the new routines Nick and I have been developing. Nick has been going into work for two weeks now. Thankfully, work is just a 10-15 minute walk from our home, so it’s relatively painless to...
Nia started school on the 21st of August (just days after our arrival), and has been busy adapting to her new school for the last week and a half. There were three great schools in town, but we chose the Kazakhstan International School (KIS) because they offered the International...
We just wrapped up our second weekend in Almaty. It was equal parts socializing and unpacking. The kitchen was our main focus and I’m pleased with how it turned out. There’s still a lot of house left to organize and decorate, but having the kitchen functional makes a huge...
If you’ve been around me for any amount of extended time, you know that when I’m in a good mood, I generally do one of three things: sing, hum or whistle. Half the time, I don’t even realize I’m doing it, it’s just a happiness by-product. So, yesterday I was...
Today I want to tell you a bit about the complex process involved in getting our things from here to there. As many of you may remember, each post we’re given a certain amount of poundage that we can bring with us. The poundage falls into three categories–hand carry...
Our hike on Saturday was so enjoyable that we opted to venture out again on Sunday. We’ve noticed that Kazakhs are late risers, which makes mornings the perfect time to go out exploring. This time, our destination was Kok Tobe (literally, blue hill), a 3500 ft mountain at the edge of town...
New houses (especially ones in countries other than your own), require an adjustment period whereby one must acclimate to the nuances of that specific house. Much like a teenager goes through growing pains, we always go through a period I like to call “moving pains”. Common...
It feels quite fitting to be sitting in the kitchen at 4 AM writing to you. In fact, this middle-of-the-night blog post appears to have become a rite of passage for each new home we inhabit. Remember when I wrote to you in Malawi? And India? Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Well...
The time when: I spend more hours at the dentist and doctor’s office than my house, in a futile attempt to get every last thing addressed in the U.S.’s unmatchable but spendy healthcare system. I start kicking myself over how much crap we amassed in the last X year(s) and panicking over...
Today is Nia’s 5th grade “graduation” ceremony, which has me reflecting on how much she’s changed this year and the fact that we’re about to have a bona fide middle schooler on our hands. When we started the year, she was still solidly in the “little...
For Memorial Day weekend we decided to do a short road trip to the nearby Shenandoah Valley, a place knowing for its peacefulness and stunning vistas. We had the good fortune of getting a unique Airbnb place to stay in. The property was built in the 18th century and was formerly a grist...
Almaty at Night, Photo Credit: Edgarpo01 Yesterday was a big day for the Novaks–we learned where we’ll be living in Almaty! Receiving your housing assignment is one of the foreign-service-life milestones that happens with each posting. It’s important though, because it...
As we all know, D.C. has an abundance of things to do, see, and eat. It’s definitely the thing I love most about the city. It’s an epicenter of culture with museums, festivals, and international cuisine offerings. If you can’t find something to do here, you’re...
Nick isn’t allowed to take any vacation days during his year of language training, so when Nia’s week-long spring break rolled around, we came up with the next best thing–we had her Grandparents come here! This is no small thing, as Nick’s Parents, Robert &...
Happy Easter All! Today I wanted to share a bit about a unique experience Nia and I got to take part in last weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, Nia’s public school is the equivalent of a mini United Nations–a diverse mix of kiddos from different religious, cultural and...
Hey Readers- How goes it? We’ve been having the most glorious non-wintery weather here in DC (recent high of 78!) and I am absolutely L-O-V-I-N-G it. Turns out that the winter weather I was longing for in Mumbai is much nicer in theory than reality (as I learned the hard way on my...
My name spelled in Russian Cyrillic cursive I am back, as promised, to fill you in on my first month of Russian Language class at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). For starters, the language is beautiful but complex. For example, Russian uses cases to show what function the noun plays...
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Continuing our story… If you didn’t catch Part 1, read that first. I didn’t have much time to mentally process the news because Nia and I were headed to Minnesota the next day for our week-long Christmas visit. You can read about that here if...
Photo by Miguel Alcântara on Unsplash Last November my mental health was suffering greatly after being trapped inside for the entire month with a nasty cough and sinus infection. I was feeling very down and lonely and knew something needed to change. I was spending too much time alone...
I can’t tell you how many years I pined for a snowy, Minnesota Christmas–especially during our first two tours overseas. In my head, the best Christmases happened in Minnesota and came complete with laughter, cuddles under blankets, fresh coats of white snow, warm winter...
Hello Everyone – Happy Holidays! I realize I have a lot to catch you up on since I haven’t written in so long. I guess I just haven’t felt like I have much to report lately. Our big news is that Nia and I came to Minnesota for Christmas. Yes, you read that right. Nick...
October is Nia’s birthday month, so to celebrate her 11th bday, we invited her cousin Armin and grandparents to come stay with us for five days. It was such a fun couple days. We had the most glorious fall weather and took full advantage by being outside as much as we could. We...
Some of you will be pleased to know that today’s update has no heavy emotional stuff in it (or at least I’m not planning on it but I guess one never knows where writing will take you…). Anyhooo. Mostly I just wanted to touch base and keep my promise to blog once a week...
It’s fall, my absolute favorite time of the year. You may assume it’s my favorite season because of the beautiful colors or the cooling temps or the delicious crispness of the air (cross my heart, I will never take clean air for granted again after living in Mumbai). And while...
Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash I was incredibly touched by how many of you read (and commented on) yesterday’s post. I did feel your love and support, so first and foremost, thank you for that. I wrote the post on a whim, and if I’m being honest, my ego was likely...
Good day all – Several of you noticed that my recent blogs have primarily been about Nick & Nia and asked that I give an update on what’s been happening with me. I’m touched to know you care about my goings-on and have decided to oblige your request with an entire...
Nick was originally scheduled to start language classes on Tuesday, September 6th–the day after labor day. That would have been fine and dandy if we didn’t have the kid with us, but we did, and school just so happened to start on Monday, August 29th. Given how nervous she was...
Well, look at that. I’m back already. How’s that for keeping my word?! In Tuesday’s post I filled you in about how we spent our summer, so today I’ll tell you what brought us to DC and how Nick will be spending his working hours this next year. But first, we need...
Happy Fall y’all! Sincere apologies for my neglect of Novakistan these last three months . . . guess I needed a little break from blogging. The good news is I’m back, (mostly) refreshed and fully intending to post at least once a week going forward. Since I’ve been...
The relative normalcy of the last few months deluded me into believing I had control of my life again, that I could make intricate plans requiring everything to go ‘just so’ with no contingencies whatsoever. Silly Sarah, you never learn! The crazy part is, I get that control...
Well, it happened. Monsoon is officially upon us, which means Mumbai will now be getting rain every day until the end of October. I was really hoping it’d hold out until after our packout, but no such luck. On the plus side though, rain clears out all the particulate in the air...
Hey Y’all – It’s June! Crazy, huh? I’m still trying to figure out what happened to May! Definitely bittersweet, although I am VERY over the 90 to 100 degree Fahrenheit temps we’ve had for the last few months. I’m praying for some mid-70s in Minnesota. Heck, I’d even take the...
May 2nd marked Nick’s and my 13th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we planned a five-night, adults-only trip.  But where to go? A tropical getaway to the Maldives? A hidden spot in the Himalayas? Europe? Well… after thinking things through for a bit, we decided to do something...
Our time in India is winding down (less than 4 months to go, can you believe it??) and one of the few remaining places on our ‘must see’ bucket list for India was the city of Amritsar in the State of Punjab. You may be familiar with the state of Punjab for its food (Northern Indian...
Hi Everyone – If you haven’t read PART 1, you should definitely start there, as it provides some great historical context for this post about our time in Amritsar...
Mention the word “Pakistan†and danger and/or violence are pretty much the only things that come up for me. I couldn’t tell you any good things about Pakistan, likely because I’ve never taken the time to challenge my initial perception of the country; an impression formed over the...
I reached down to grab my first handful of gulal but stopped short as a blast of yellow hit me square in the chest, the excess disappearing between my cleavage, tickling my torso as it tumbled its way down my tank top. I spun around to see who had hit me and was ambushed once again, a...
Hey All – Sarah here for our semi-regular touch-base! Has it really been three weeks since we last talked?? Ughhh. I blame February. It just seemed to evaporate! It’s crunch time here with less than five months left in India. I’ve still got a few places to check off my...
I am delinquent in my blog writing, I know. Let’s get caught up, shall we? The weeks between our trips to Udaipur (right before Christmas) and Pench (mid-January) were rough ones. If you’ll remember, our house had been torn up since early December due to the Sprinkler Debacle...
As the morning progressed, I couldn’t help but compare this safari experience to the ones we’d experienced in Africa. The first big difference was that there were far more cars around this time—it was very rare that you’d be the only one viewing an animal. The park guide who rode...
It’s 6:30 AM and dark as night. I cinch my blanket tighter around my arms and neck, a largely futile effort considering that the searingly cold air is smacking me at 30 mph and clearly has the upper hand. The cold permeates every pore in my body and I hastily nuzzle into Nia, hoping to...
Day 2 in Udaipur The plan for our second day in Udaipur was a daytrip to two sites that I’d heard were worth the effort—the great Mewar Fortress of Kumbhalgarh and the splendid Jain temple Ranakpur. They were completed in 1458 and 1496, respectively, and both initiated by Rana Kumbha...
Last Thursday marked the end of our first ‘adults-only’ trip in four years, to none other than romantic, stunning Udaipur— the Venice of India—complete with tours of the Maharana’s City Palace and a 600-year-old fort, candlelit dinners high above the glowing Water Palace and a...
It started out as a nice, normal Friday afternoon. Nick and I were preparing drinks for Happy Hour, debating what to do for dinner. We’d been told the “sprinkler guys†would be coming between 4 and 5 to test the fire sprinklers. We didn’t really know what that entailed, other than...
Photo by Jeremy Dorrough on Unsplash Hello dear readers – Thank you for stopping by. No, I really mean that—THANK YOU! I know that there are a bazillion and one things demanding your time and attention but you faithfully return to Novakistan time and time again to read about my life...
Hi Everyone – We spent the morning hiking amongst the beautiful ruins of Hampi, an ancient civilization from the 14th century. I am trying out a more detail-oriented style writing for my book and thought I’d practice by sharing a unique experience we had this morning. I hope...
Virupaksha Temple by Priyanka Visaria-Nayak We arrived in India 38 months ago. It was August 2018 and our first time having a three-year tour (which we later extended for a fourth year). It felt like I had all the time in the world as I busily went about setting up our house and getting...
Photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash With our next assignment now confirmed, we’ve entered what I like to refer to as the “Senior Slide†portion of the tour. This is the beginning of the end at post. Much like how getting accepted to a college made it feel “real†that you were...
Almaty, Kazakhstan! “Almaty North view” by blavandmaster is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard of Kazakhstan but would have trouble picking it out on a map. Kazakhstan is actually just North of India and the Middle East...