Welcome to Texas!

After months of wintery cold with snow and rain and snow and ice and snow and rain...I walked out this morning to Texas. The air was so dry that my hands felt rough less than a block from my house. The wind had already whipped my hair into a frenzy of knots and on block two I encountered my first Kazakh dust twister! Now, I knew Kazakhstan was dry and dust, but that was in June and July! This is March! I am completely amazed at this country and how quickly it has gone from feet of damp snow and ice to dust and wind so fierce you can watch the sediment fall from the ceilings in buildings. When I got to work 40 mins later, my white socks were a dull gray, I licked a layer dirt off my lips (to build immunity), and I had to take a damp cloth to my neck and ears to get the dirt off! Welcome to the Texas of Kazkahstan!