Happy Holidays!

Fireworks and view of Shymkent from my balcony (photo by James Adams)

Happy new year!!! Best wishes for 2011!

As far as I know, in Shymkent, there are no city fireworks. Who needs that when the residents of the city put on their own show. At midnight people all around the city shoot of fireworks from their balconies and rooftops and this goes on for about 20 minutes. The result is a beautiful and magical sky filled with all different shapes, colors and sizes of fireworks. The view from my apartment (on the 12th floor) was amazing!

Outlook: Life in Kazakhstan

If you have about half an hour listen to this podcast about life, culture and history in Kazakhstan brought to you by the BBC. Rayhan Demytrie, a Central Asia Correspondent, has lived in Kazakhstan for 2 years. In this clip she shares interviews with three citizens.

My Dad's visit: A walk with the rocks

This past Thanksgiving I was an exceptional thankful because I had my dad here visiting me for five days. Recently, I've wrote about time flying and it definitely did when he was here. Our five days together in Kazakhstan were filled with a busy schedule of people to visit and places to see. Here's a quick recap:

Most of the first day was spent at home so my dad could get over his jet lag. After resting up, showering and giving me a suitcase full of stuff from America we head off to get some food and internet at Address Cafe. In the evening, we went to gosti (be guests) at my host family's house. As usual my host mom had a table spread with a variety foods for us so my dad became familiar with the words I know too well, "eat, eat!". It's not a request it's a command. I’m glad my dad got to meet my host family and vice versa. My dad thanked my host mom for taking such good care of me while I was so far away from home. My host mom replied that I am like a daughter to her. Awww!

The next day my host sister, Ira joined me and my dad on a trip out of town to Turkestan, where the main attraction is Yasaui Mausoleum. This UNESCO world heritage site and pilgrimage site is the final resting place of Yasaui, a holy man in the 12th century. Check out the link to my pictures at the bottom of this blog because it's a really beautiful place. The mausoleum is partially covered with pretty blue tiles but construction was never finished. The front of the building is not decorated with the same tiles and the original scaffolding poles still stick out of the main arch. People in Kazakhstan say that three trips to the mausoleum are like one trip to Mecca. I don't think the rest of the Muslim world has even heard of this idea. It being my second time here I wanted to check out something new so I pulled out my handy dandy Lonely Planet book. About an hour away from Turkestan is Sauran, or the ruins of Sauran. It was once a Silk Road city that was inhabited until the 18th century. There really isn't much there but the remains of they city walls but the cool thing is that there is no one else there. You can walk along the ancient walls without being yelled at by a guard and imagine and old fortified city. We also found pieces of old glazed pottery.

After the full day trip away from Shymkent, I decided to make plans closer to home. My roommate Dina, Ira, my dad and I went to Sayram, a village about half an hour from Shymkent that used to be a Silk Road city. We went straight to a local school and met kids there who were eager to show us around their town. We started off in the backyard of the school to see a tower called Kydyra Minaret. The funny thing is I have been to Sayram for sight seeing before, this past summer actually when a German tourist was visiting Shymkent, and I visited this tower which we had to search for. I had no idea it was just behind the school. The students also took us to see a few mausoleums and then the Friday Mosque, where girls were actually allowed in as long as they weren’t on their periods. I could tell that this was news to the girls because most of them seemed as if they had never been in the mosque. Most still didn’t want to go. We capped off our visit with a trip to the local museum which showcased Kazakhstani history as well as Sayram’s. Our guide was very eager to explain everything to us and one of the students did an excellent job translating so my dad and I could keep up with him.

On the way home we stopped at one of my best discoveries of the year. In fact it deserves its own paragraph! When riding the train from Shymkent to Almaty in the spring I spotted a bright green sign in Cyrillic that says Shymkent. However, from the train I could not figure out where it was. The street signs were too small and infrequent to read. This sign consumed me. I wanted to see it in real life. I wanted to take a picture with it, a full out photo shoot. I asked around but no one in Shymkent seemed to know where it actually is, if they had even heard of it at all. Major disappointment. Then during the summer when I went to Sayram with the German tourist, I saw it on our way back to Shymkent. I saw the sign! Since we had our own taxi on this most recent visit to Sayram and I was with some lovely company we stopped to take pictures with the coveted sign!

Wednesday was spent showing my dad some of my favorite and most frequented places in Shymkent: Kritirinik Bazaar, English club at my school and Movie club. Recently, I learned from my Russian tutor that Kritirinik means covered bazaar. This bazaar was the first and only covered marketplace for some time. But, now there are many covered bazaars and Kritirinik is half uncovered. Still the name sticks. The reason I loved this bazaar is because that uncovered half is a flea market. People sell there knick-knacks, junk, things that looks like they fell off the side of a truck, etc. It is a great place to find Soviet souvenirs. Awesome finds in past visits include bills, coins, envelopes, stamps and medals from the Soviet era. We browsed for awhile but ended up just getting some fresh produce. After a rushed lunch I showed my dad my school. He met with the director of my organization and watched my English club. My students were really interested to talk to him and ask many questions. Maybe passing out Reeses Peanut Butter Cups helped. In the evening we stopped by at Movie club which I’ve been helping run for the past year. My dad was pretty beat though, and not really interested in watching Sherlock Holmes so we took advantage of the good weather and walked home.

The last full day was as busy if not busier than the previous days. The day before at my organization, one of our trainers, Adil, was there and he offered to take me and my dad to some place in the mountains. Sure, why not we replied, but we only have tomorrow left. In the morning we went back to my school so my dad could meet and speak to two of the English classes. I was really surprised that the first class didn’t really have many questions to ask. Usually kids here are so curious when they meet a foreigner. The second class was a year older and they were a different story. I was really impressed by some of the questions. I wish I had taken notes.

After touring the school, we loaded up in Adil's jeep and went off towards Kazygurt Mountains. Once we got there a guide showed us some interesting rock formations. In most places people probably wouldn't care about rocks in the middle of nowhere, but Kazakhstan is mostly steppe (dry flat land) so these rock formations are not only a big deal but mystical. Two of the big formations (Adam and Eve rocks) have a crevice in between them. If you pass through it you will be cleansed of your sins. I am now very pure! Another big rock was called "Dastarkhan". Dastarkhan is the feast spread on a long low table or just simply on a table cloth. One rock that had a very fitting name was the Elephant Rock.

Once we got back to Shymkent one of my co-workers at the school took my dad and I to a very nice Kazakh restaurant to try fermented horse's milk (Kumys) and fermented camel's milk (Shubat). I don't want to ruin it for you so I really recommend you try it yourself! After downing as much fermented milk as is humanly possible we head to El Doro Pizzeria. My dad took all the Shymkent volunteers out for Thanksgiving dinner. Yum!

The next day we just got up, got ready and head off to the airport, but the funny thing about Kazakhstan is that it has a special way of welcoming you and it doesn’t let you leave. When my dad thought he was leaving Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan said no wait there’s more. We get to the airport an hour before his flight and no one is in line to check in. Strange. A short while later there is an announcement over the intercom. If it was in English the speaker system is so bad that I thought it was a foreign language. The flight would be delayed until 11 am because the plane hadn’t come in from Almaty. Okay not too long of a wait. Ten rolls around and all of a sudden another announcement stating the flight has been pushed back to 2 pm because the plane still hasn’t arrived. No big deal, it’s not like it’s the day before the Shymkent volunteers are hosting 20 people for a Thanksgiving dinner. At some point two representatives from Air Astana come around giving passengers a 500 tenge ($3.33) voucher to eat at the café in the airport. I didn’t even know the tiny airport had a dining establishment. The voucher somehow reaffirms that you’re in for the long haul. Some more time passes and finally my dad tells me I should get going because I had mentioned I had thanksgiving dinner grocery shopping to help out with. I kept insisting I stay because there was nothing to do in this airport. NOTHING! No arguing with my dad though, eventually I left after we hadn’t heard any flight changes in awhile. I head off to help with grocery shopping an emotional mess. It was really sad to leave my dad, but so nice to have someone from back home here visiting...me…in Kazakhstan. I get on with my day and get an unexpected call at 6 or 7 pm from my dad. His flight still hadn’t left! On top of that Air Astana wanted to put him on a bus to Almaty and have him find his own way to the airport. So many things are ridiculous about that suggestion! He hasn’t eaten dinner, he doesn’t speak Russian, the roads are so scary!!! Long story short he made it to Almaty fine but still couldn’t get a flight to India, where he was going to visit family. I think he ended up leaving over 36 hours after his original flight. What a mess! In the end though my dad said it was an interesting experience. I think that’s crazy. Is that interesting like actually interesting or ohhhh that’s ….mmm…interesting as in I can’t find words that describe how absurd the situation was. When he got to India my cousin sent me a picture of my dad from his Blackberry with a caption that read, “India accepts refugee from Kazakhstan”. Thanks for the laugh. And dad, thanks for visiting.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! Happy holidays, folks!

If you want to see pictures of his visit or of my second year here in Kazakhstan check out this Picasa Album!

The 2nd Year in Kaz

Sitemates, Halloween, Workshop and Special Guest

October and half of November have flown by! I've been amazed at how there is not enough time each day.

New Apartment

In the beginning of October I moved out of my host family's apartment and into an apartment with a local friend and her sister. I was living with my host family since November of last year and will really miss living with them but like the change as well. I still visit them. My new apartment is on the top floor of a building in the dead center of Shymkent and it was recently renovated. It took me awhile to get settled in but since then I've already hosted a few guests.

Britt's Departure

At the end of the month Britt left Shymkent after volunteering here for the past two years, She has been an amazing friend and support and I can't imagine my past year without her. When I first got to Shymkent she hosted me for a week, helped me visit my host family options and introduced me to Musli cereal. More importantly, she got me into Battlestar Galactica over the last few months. Leading up to Britt's departure she, Phillip and I marathoned the last season.

Halloween Party

So this holiday isn't completely unknown here it's just not celebrated at all. My friends in Shymkent, however, got a taste of it at my Halloween party. The first guests that arrived received American chocolates (Butterfingers) and all were greeted by decorations that I had been preparing for a few days. During the evening we ate pumpkin pie and pizza that was delivered (a novelty), danced, had a costume contest and watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Sharing cultural moments like this are a fun part of the Peace Corps experience.

Newbies

Last week at 6:15 in the morning we (kz-21s) went to pick up the new volunteers who will live in Shymkent for the next two years. We welcomed Bethany, Cynthia, James, and Katie with a pancake brunch. Delicious! Over the past week and a half they have been busy getting adjusted to their new lives, finding host families and understanding the intricacies of Kazakhstani work culture.

College Application Workshop
Last week was Fall break for public schools in Shymkent. Since my older students are normally super busy taking extra courses I had a 3 day training for them during the break. It was a workshop to teach them how to apply to universities and colleges in America. We covered topics such as choosing universities to apply to, writing application essays, scholarships, admissions tests, resumes, and American college culture. I had a lot of help from other Peace Corps volunteers and two Fulbrights that live in Shymkent. Part of the workshop required students to prepare a draft of their personal statements so they could get one-on-one editing help from the volunteers and Fulbrights. Over the 3 days about 20 students showed up, maybe 7-9 showed up everyday and they found it really helpful.

Guest of Honor
In just a few days my dad will be visiting me for about 5 days! Not only am excited to see him after a year and a few months, but many of my local friends are interested in meeting him. I'm going to take him to work, to meet my host family and see some cultural sites. More on the visit later!

Peace Corps Trainings

Right after Thanksgiving a few of us will get on a train and head to Almaty for two trainings. The first is about PEPFAR and HIV/AIDS and the second is our Mid-Service Training. I'm not really sure what the second one will be about but it will be great to see friends that are spread all over this huge country.

Whew! That's alot and to be honest I just breezed through it without much detail but I'm glad to be busy!

KZ 22 Swearing In Ceremony in the News

Here's a clip from the news about the Swearing-In ceremony that was on November 6th for the most recent group of Peace Corps volunteers in Kazakhstan, the KZ-22s. Don't ask me what the anchor is saying! I don't speak Kazakh, but check out the end of the clip to see my beautiful friend Laura Hilbert speaking Kazakh amazingly!

http://kaztrk.kz/news/newsdetial.php?ELEMENT_ID=44678

Kazakhstan on NASA

I love checking out NASA's Image of the Day. Yesterday's post was of the Syr Darya River floodplain in Kazakhstan.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=46668&src=imgrss

Happy New Year!

Okay so it isn't January 1st but it is a new year for me in Shymkent. This day last year I had just arrived to my site to start work as a Peace Corps volunteer. So to my training group, KZ-21s, Happy 1 year as PCVs in Kazakhstan! Alright, I gotta go celebrate with my sitemates! Oh yea I forgot to mention, the new volunteers will get to their sites this weekend!

Hi my dear friends...

One of my volunteers, an 11th grade student named Ayagoz, has been working on a social science project that I've been helping out with by getting responses from other Peace Corps volunteers. She wrote out thirteen questions in order to find out more about language learning, living with a host family and cultural adjustment. Below is the questionnaire she sent out (in bold) followed by the answers written in by various volunteers around the country (bulleted). Shout out to Ayagoz for a job well done and thanks to the volunteers that replied!

Hi my dear friends,
I am Ayagoz Ali from gymnasium #8, in Shymkent. I am an excellent 11th grade student. I am also a volunteer like you, but in school. I love the United States very much, and I am interested in learning more about your culture. I know that there are many beautiful places in the US, and if I will have the chance to visit any country it will be America.
We have been meeting with Sipra almost every day. In a short period of time I will defend my scientific project about adjustment of foreign volunteers’ in Kazakhstan, and Sipra helps me with this project. I decided to choose this theme because I am interested in this. It’s very important for me to get more information about you. Here some questions that will help me with my project.

1. Do you like Kazakhstan?

• I like Kazakhstan very much, although it is very different from America.

• Yes, I have come to enjoy living in Kazakhstan. It was difficult at first but as I learn more about how to live, the people and culture it becomes easier.

• I like Kazakhstan very much- I am having a very big adventure in your country!
• Yes, I love Kazakstan. I think that it is a vast, beautiful country that more people should know about.

2. Do you like the people from Kazakhstan?

• I like the people I work with and the young people I meet at English clubs and trainings. I randomly meet some people out at the bazaar or on the street who are very nice. On the other hand I have met some very rude people.
• “People” is a very broad term; there are 15 million of them in Kazakshtan. There have been many people I have liked and many people I have not liked. There have been many traditions I have liked, and many traditions I have not liked. Generally, I find that the people here are not intentionally rude, and they are generally friendly. Some rudeness is because of cultural misunderstanding.
• Yes. They are very hospitable.
• For the most part yes. There are good people and bad people just like everywhere. People are people, and people in Kazakhstan are no different.

3. What relations do you have with Kazakh people?

• I work with local people every day. I work at an office with locals, teach English clubs with local students, have local friends, etc. All of these people are important to me, and I have loved being their friend, colleague, and teacher over the past two years.
• I am friends with them. I have a Kazakh girlfriend.
• I have friends, coworkers, students, roommates, and a landlord.
• I have lots of Kazakhstani friends and I love all my students and co-workers. I have been here for one year and I know many people already!

4. Is it hard to learn our national languages?

• Learning a new language is always hard.
• Very difficult. Especially in the south. I learned Russian, but many people here do not speak Russian or maybe speak with a mix of Kazakh. This is very difficult for someone trying to learn a language. It would be like if you went to America and lived in south Texas where many people’s second language is English and they speak predominately in Spanish and mix in English words.
• Since I live in the north, I am only learning Russian. It is a difficult language, but I love studying and learning it.

5. Where are you living? (in what city)

• Shymkent
• Ecik
• Taraz
• Aksukent
• Zhanatas
• Kostanay

6. Do you like this city?

• I do like Ecik. It is pretty, has mountains, and lots of Kazakh history (Golden Man)
• I do! It has become my home.
• I love this city. It is my favorite in Kazakhstan. It has become my home.

7. How is your relationship with members of your host family?

• Great, they are Kazakh and I haven’t lived with them for over a year. But I still go visit them. I am especially close to my younger host sister who is 11 years old now. When I go over there, we usually play cards and sing karaoke.
• I live by myself now but I try to keep in touch with my host family through SMS.
• I don't live with them anymore but I go back often to visit. They are really important to me.
• My relationship with my host family is great. I just moved out but I know I will still see them often. I had a host mom and a host sister. My host sister calls me her sister. We have a lot of fun talking together.

8. Is it hard living in Kazakhstan? (in your city)

• There are some difficulties. I live in a village so we only have water a few hours away. I am also very far from other volunteers.
• No, it is not hard. It was difficult adjusting at first due to language difficulties. Things, however, are much better now. Also, I definitely miss my family and friends from America. But, through the internet, I am able to communicate with them so that helps too.
• Sometimes it's really hard, when I miss home, but usually it's not hard, just interesting! I love living in Kazakhstan because I am always learning something new.

9. What did you think about when you first came here?

• This place is an interesting mix of Central Asia and Soviet cultures.
• Learning the language
• I thought about my family and friends.
• I didn’t really know what to think because I didn’t know much about Kazakhstan. I do remember getting off the plane at the airport in Almaty and thinking, “Those policeman hats are huge!” This is my first tangible memory of a thought I had about Kazakhstan.

10. Do you miss your Motherland?

• Yes, of course. I miss my family, friends, and American way of life.
• Every day.
• I miss many people from America, and I miss many things about American culture, but I'm happy to be here right now!
• Yes, I do. Everyday. I love Kazakhstan, but I miss my home.
• Of course!

11. What new hobby did you get here?

• I love singing Kazakh music!
• I’m taking dombra lessons.
• I enjoy baking more.
• It’s not a new hobby, but I did start to read a lot more once I got here. I think I was just hungry for English!
• I have been learning Uzbek and Kazakh dances!

12. In which language do you speak with the people around you?

• Russian or English
• Mostly Uzbek and some Kazakh.
• We all speak Kazakh.

13. Why do you think it is difficult to learn our national languages to fluency?

• It’s always difficult to become fluent in a language that isn’t your own. For foreigners, I think its hard to learn Kazakh fluently because many people also speak Russian, and mix the two languages together so its easy to get confused.
• All languages are very difficult to learn to be fluent. It is of course easy to have conversational speech.
• Because Kazakh and Russian have different alphabets, sounds, and grammar than English.
• Turkic languages are very difficult, but it is also difficult to find resources for learning these languages. On the internet there are millions of resources for learning English, but not for learning Kazakh or Uzbek.

14. Can give your photo with people from your city or students.

Thank you very much for your answers, I sure it will help me to win the competition.

Malus sieversii is from Kazakhstan

The book "Apples Are From Kazakhstan" is pretty much standard reading for volunteers preparing to start their service in Kazakhstan. It's an interesting book, that is well read among volunteers because there is not much else available on this country.

The claim made by the title is now backed up with new scientific research that apples did originate from south Kazakhstan. Did you know that "alma" is the Kazakh word for apple? The city Almaty was formerly called "Alma Ata" which translates to "Father of Apples".

If you are really bored you can read the whole scientific article on nature.com. Send me a summary when you're done!

Summer

All right, so I'm experimenting with this whole posting blogs by email thing. Hope it works! If it does, I no longer have an excuse to go so long without posting! Alot of my posts have been loaded with pictures but I'm getting requests for more substance, "TELL us what it's like"! Plus, when I post through email I can't add pictures (if someone knows how, please tell me). With all the info and links this post should keep you busy for awhile when you get back to work from Labor Day weekend! Enjoy!

EUROPE
At the end of June I went to Munich, Amsterdam and London with my brother. It was amazing. The first few days felt strange and everything was extra-amazing! We spent 3 days in Munich and met up with a couch surfer there. She showed us around every evening when she was done with work. It was so helpful to have a local resident with us. In Amsterdam, we stayed for 5 days on a houseboat and met some really cool people there. On the first day my brother and I went to an excellent photography exhibit (click the link for the winner's gallery) held in an old church. Over the next few days we did a city walking tour and a countryside bike tour. The city is very beautiful and historical. And it doesn't hurt that the food was delicious! In London we stayed a week with my cousin, her husband and their kids. We were lucky to catch my uncle and aunt there. The flew back to India the day after we got in. Being in London was relaxing. Just hanging out with the family, playing with the kids, grocery shopping, and watching the world cup! It was really hard to take the flight back to Kazakhstan. Quickly you are so far from everything.

SUMMER CAMPS
A week or so after getting back from Europe I was back on the road! First I went to Asa, a small village near the southern city of Taraz, where my friend Jessica works. She put together a week-long baseball camp. We spent half the day in the hot, hot, heat teaching kids how to play baseball. To be honest I still don't know how to play. I spent my time with the little kids playing pre-T-ball! While baseball camp was fun, it was the time outside of camp hours that I enjoyed the most. Cool experience #1: we stayed in a yurt. Cool experience #2: we watched half of the World Cup Final there...okay not even, most of us fell asleep. Alright, I'll stop counting the cool experiences and just tell you about it already! The days were spent downing pounds of watermelon and the nights were spent Milky Way gazing and playing word games in the dark. Jess introduced us to her local friend Raushan, who was an excellent host in Asa. She invited us over to her house to gosti (be guests). We helped make vereniki and then had a picnic in her family's garden. They grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables there. We picked fresh raspberies! My favorite day was when Raushan and her family planned a riverside picnic for all of us volunteering at the baseball camp. To start things off right some of us rode over to the river on a donkey cart and the other half walked from the house. By the time they got to the river everyone was ready for a swim! The water was sooo cold, but refreshing! Then we picnicked with a never-ending amount of food. Since in Kazakhstan no good time is over without a dance party we did exactly that. We walked back to Raushan's house during sunset and her family prepared the banya for us when we got back. On the last day of camp Mark's (a volunteer) parents and sister who were visiting from the States handed out baseball caps that were donated by the Atlanta Braves to all the campers. Pretty cool!

The second camp was in Zhanatas, a city a few hours away from both Shymkent and Taraz. Zhanatas used to be a huge city but there was a mass exodus of Russians and now many buildings are left abandoned. Nevertheless it is the site of my friends, Laura and Chris.Together they put together a day camp full of summer campy activities. There were 14 volunteers in town to help out with it and it was nice to see them and spend time with them because for the rest of the year we are all really far apart and so it's hard to get to know other. A pair of volunteers was matched up with a local teacher and a group of 8-10 kids. Each team had to come up with a group name, chant, and flag. My team came up with the name Big, Fast, Fire! I love it! For the next six day we did so many activities: human knot, create a group monster, Amazing Race, water balloon games, kickball, egg drop, Frisbee, relays and friendship bracelets. What a blast for the kids and volunteers. In the evenings a few people would cook up a delicious meal and 14 or so volunteers would eat together in a one room apartment. Add to that the fact there was running water for about only two hours a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Doing dishes was no easy task! We had a fun time together going for walks, eating ice cream nightly, swimming in a lake and banyaing, but after a month away from site (two weeks in Europe and two weeks at camps) I was ready to get back to Shymkent.


ONE YEAR
The big one year mark! A year ago on August 21st sixty-some new trainees stepped off a plane at Almaty airport at an odd hour in the morning after traveling for over 24 hours. We made it to Kazakhstan, now what? So much has changed since then. This was "the land that disappeared" or the land of Borat, a joke made to play on the fact that most Westerners know nothing about Kazakhstan. It's almost weird how much I've learned since then. Meeting the new group of trainees (KZ-22) helped me realize this. I didn't know a word of Russian that wasn't on the first few lessons of Rosetta stone. I didn't know ANYTHING about ANYTHING!!! I think that's why going to a new country is so nerve-wracking for both volunteers and their loved ones back home. Note to my parents: I've learned alot: I can get by with my Russian, I have a general sense of how to live life here and yes, I'm eating well.

Time has gone by so strangely in the last year. Sometimes it s-l-o-w-s down and at other times it's so fast. It hasn't always been easy but on the other hand Kazakhstan has a way of surprising you. A few months ago, KZ-20 volunteer (one year ahead of me) told me that Kazakhstan is magical. Now that I've spent one year in Kazakhstan I can finally see why. It's hard to believe I'm almost half way there! November will be one year at site. It's almost scary because volunteers say the second year goes by faster. Not that I want to prolong my stay, but I feel like there is so much more I have left to accomplish.


CONSTITUTION DAY
On August 30th, Kazakhstan celebrated Constitution Day [День Конституции], but this was not any ordinary Constitution Day. It was a special anniversary. Fifteen years ago the constitution was adopted as the highest law in Kazakhstan. This day served as a reminder of how young this country really is. Even though I could have celebrated by attending a parade, I chose to enjoy the day off relaxing at home before local schools are back in session.

FIRST BELL CEREMONY
Here schools always start on September 1st, a holiday called the Day of Knowledge [День Знаний]. The day is celebrated with a First Bell [Первый Звонок] ceremony in the courtyard of each school. Students are dressed up even though they wear "uniforms". At the school where my office is students can wear basically anything as long as it's black and white. For First Bell many young girls wear big, white, pom-pom looking bows in their hair. Students often bring with them big bouquets of flowers to give to teachers or the director (principal) of the school. The ceremony begins when the director makes a speech welcoming the students and teachers back to school and wishing them a successful year. Then some students are acknowledged for awards they have won, guests of honor are recognized (I was one!) and students perform dances and sing for their classmates and teachers. Now the most important part, the ceremony ends by ringing a bell, the first bell, which means school is now in session. The school where I work has grades 1-11. This day is very important for the students of 1st grade who are beginning school and the students of 11th grade who are starting their last year. After the first bell is rung the students of the 1st and 11th grades get to parade around the courtyard before going to class.

COMING UP...FALL
So even though temperatures in Shymkent are still hitting 100 these days I think the start of school marks the end of summer. People here keep telling me it will cool down in a magical 2 weeks. I hope they are right.Soon, like right NOW, I leave for Almaty, the land of higher elevation and cooler temperatures, to attend a four day Youth Development (YD) conference organized by Peace Corps for YD volunteers and their local counterparts. After the conference I'll stay through the weekend to do Hike 4 A Kaz, a charity hike created by a Peace Corps volunteer.

See you on the blog when I get back from Almaty!

Ohhhh and by the way if you haven't seen my summer album, take a look! I updated it recently...

back on the blogosphere

My new fave Russian song...no video!

More pictures!

Since I caught up with uploading 6 months worth of pictures a few posts ago I figured it would be easier to keep up with new pictures as I go. Here is an album that shows summer in Kazakhstan. It is a work in progress. Keep checking back for additions. Later this summer I will be traveling around to help out with summer camps so I hope my album will show a variety of locations, not just Shymkent and Almaty. I know I've been posting alot of pictures lately and have neglected writing. I hope to change that. Look out for a new entry soon!

Here Comes the Sun

Homemade

Proof

So if you saw the last post in my blog you read about what I've been up to for the first six months in Shymkent, now here are the pictures to prove it!

First 6 months in Shymkent

Six Months At Site

I could write so much to catch up on the past two months but I don’t know where to start. One recent event was IST (in-service training) with Peace Corps in Almaty. On the first day we did an activity where we had to write down the new things we have done, experienced, learned or seen since getting to site in November. It was a great exercise to show how far we’ve come in that time.

Yesterday marked six months of being at site. So in celebration I added a few things for April to complete the list. In six months I…

November

• Met my awesome sitemates
• Moved in with a great host family
• Was interviewed for the local news
• Started journaling
• Observed HIV/AIDS trainings held by my organization
• Had a delicious Thanksgiving with my fellow S.K.O (South Kazakhstan Oblast) volunteers
• Bedazzled my cell phone

December

• Tried cooksi (Korean noodle soup) for the first time
• Started a women’s club with another volunteer
• Hiked around the Burgulook mountains
• Gave and received presents in a white elephant gift exchange
• Celebrated Christmas with the S.K.O. KZ-21s
• Set new year’s goals with friends over pizza

January

• Embarked on an adventure to the Aral Sea
• Joined a gym for a 1000 tenge a month
• Made my own Kazakhstan greeting cards
• Got a site visit from my Regional Manager, Alma, and had a meeting with her and my director
• Introduced my English club to Glee

February

• Was visited by Marissa and Kostya
• Spent a few weeks with Erin (adopting in Shymkent) and her friend Elizabeth (RPCV Bangladesh)
• Started weekly trainings with the student volunteers of Intellect
• Went to a rock party (aka concert) and saw a band cover the Ting Tings
• Had a small role in a play for English week at school
• Got awesome packages and letters
• Made brownies from scratch
• Celebrated my birthday with sitemates and local friends
• Visited a Shymkent orphanage with my organization

March

• Made a summer mix cd for a volunteer freezing in the north
• Helped host 50+ volunteers/guests in Shymkent for Naruz, the Kazakh New Years
• Visited Turkestan
• Conducted a peer-training for my student volunteers with the help of other youth development (Y.D.) volunteers
• Went to an orphanage with volunteers from P.C. and my organization to hold trainings and mini-Olympics.
• Moved up a language level in Russian since the end of P.S.T. (October)
• Presented on Volunteerism Development at I.S.T.
• Ate Indian food for the first time since August

April

• Got to Skype with a few people for the first time since getting here
• Rode a horse at the Hippodrome
• Spent a beautiful day in the Akmechet mountains
• Attended PDM (Project Design Management, a P.C. training) with my director
• Met Erin’s baby, Hannah
• Booked tickets for a summer vacation with my brother
• Started Kazakh lessons

Man and Cat Nap

Week in Pictures

A week in Kazakhstan, but not this week.

More from January

I know it's well into February but as I mentioned in my last post I'm still playing catch up.

An Accident

Unfortunately one of our KZ-20 volunteers, Jaime, got into a serious car accident on her way back home from Shymkent, where she was visiting my sitemate for the weekend. The roads here can be very dangerous when iced over during winter. When we first heard about the accident from Peace Corps she was unconcscious but in stable condition. Peace Corps took good care of her to make sure she got the medical attention needed. She was moved from Kazakhstan to a U.S. base in Bishkek, Kyrgystan, then Germany where her parents met her and finally back to the States. We have been following her journey to recovery thanks to blog updates from her sister-in-law that our country director has been emailing us (because blogs are blocked on and off). Now she is at a rehabilitation center and shows signs of improvement each day. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We hope for her full recovery.

Blogger Blocked

Since mid-January there have been problems with accessing Blogger. Volunteers here discovered that we could not get on our blogs to write new posts update or read anyone else's blogspot. Many of us rely on our blogs to keep family and friends updated so it was a big dissapointment. I still don't understand why but the local internet provider, KazTeleCom, has blocked 13 other websites aside from blogger. If you take a look at the list, you've got to wonder why some of the sites were blocked. These days I can access my blog sometimes and from some computers. I will keep posting as I get access so keep reading! I've got some great ideas for future blog posts such as picture only posts and an entry of frequently asked questions. If you have any questions about Kazakhstan or my service leave them in a comment so I can answer them in my FAQ blog!

Packages From Home

I got four amazing packages since my last blog. In fact, three came in on one snowy day and it felt like Christmas. Thank you sooooo much!

From my parents



From Juhi

From Faith

From David

I've been waiting...

to post this picture since a few days after I wrote my last blog post. Blogger/blogspot has been blocked in Kazakhstan for over half of January. I have a lot to say about this but I'm going to keep it to myself for now, plus I have to go and start my English club!

The shrinking Aral Sea

Does anyone read this thing anyways? Looking at the comments it seems like only my mom reads it!

(photo source: www.columbia.edu/~tmt2120/introduction.htm)

Tale of Two Cities: Uralsk or Aralsk

New years continues the long stretch of the Kazakhstani holiday season. I can't complain because a few days off work is a great reason to head out of town. A few of us decided to check out Aralsk, the site of the Aral sea environmental disaster. The city was actually once a thriving fishing port on the shores of the Aral sea. Today a large part of the Aral Sea is gone, due to Soviet irrigation that took water from the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya rivers that fed the sea. The water was needed in the southern regions of Kazakhstan because Moscow decided to increase the production of a water hungry crop, cotton. As a result of this irrigation the sea largely dried up, retreated from Aralsk and other ports, and over-salinated water left fishing communities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ruined. I've read a variety of estimates of how far the sea is from Aralsk. Some accounts say between 60 to 100 km before a damn was built in 2005 to improve the situation. Nowadays the estimate is 12 to 35 km. What is for sure is the former 4th largest lake in the world is now much smaller and split into the Big Aral sea and the Small Aral sea.

The following is a recap of our adventures/misadventures.

Tale of Two Cities: Uralsk or Aralsk

A step-by-step guide

1. Spontaneously decide to meet friends in Karaganda for New Years break.

2. Look up train times online and realize the train leaves in two hours. This is definitely still possible.

3. RUN to the travel agency.

4. Ask many questions to a mean travel agent.

5. Find out there are no tickets that reach Karaganda until two hours after new years eve.

6. Decide it’s still worth it.

7. Find out there are no return tickets.

8. Go back dejected to start women’s club.

9. Brainstorm new travel destination with women’s club attendees. Come up with the genius idea to go to the Aral sea.

10. Test women’s club attendees geography by asking where the Aral sea is – get various answers.

11. Lonely planet book tells you this is possible- Let’s go!

12. Go back to travel agency and find a nicer agent.

13. Go over every possible combination of busses/trains/dates/stopovers and Discuss plans with two fellow volunteers in Kyzlorda.

14. Celebrate new years with host family and stay up all night in order to get to the train station by 4 in the morning.

15. Show up to a train station under construction and try to find a way in.

16. Successfully take the train to Kyzlorda and try to catch up on sleep.

17. Meet fellow volunteers at train station and begin 1 hour tour of Kyzlorda (ie. Delicious lunch at cairo),

18. Eat at Cairo Café!

19. Find out from a host dad that all roads to the Aral sea are iced and closed. Decide to take trains instead.

20. Go to train station IMMEDIATELY!

21. Drop freshly crocheted scarf in Kyzlorda, that means it’s now covered in an inch of mud.

22. Go to ticket counter and wait in mob.

23. Look at departure sign and see a train from Almaty to Uralsk- perfect.

24. Ask for ticket to URALSK but find out there are no trains going there tonight (how are we gonna get to the sea????).

25. Freak out and try to find out about busses despite warnings.

26. Find out roads are ACTUALLY iced over and no busses are leaving until mayyyybe tomorrow.

27. Call crazy bus ladies for more information on tomorrow’s busses and discover that Uralsk and Aralsk are 2 DIFFERENT CITIES!!??!?!

28. Go back to train station and realize we probably asked for tickets to the wrong city. Train to right city leaves in half an hour.

29. Rejoin the mob and ponder bribing others to get to the front of the “line”.

30. Have a local friend save the day.

31. Board the two wagon train. Wait doesn’t that remind you of the short bus?

32. Be told there are no more spaces on train and wonder if this really is the right one.

33. Show tickets to conductor and other passengers to no avail so just stand around in the aisle with drunk people pushing by.

34. Search for 5 seats together- quite a mission to undertake.

35. Questions:

1. Q: Why do they sell more tickets than seats?

A: What would you have them do? Leave people at the train station?

2. Q: Why is that lady laying there taking up three spaces?

A: Maybe she’s sick….or tired (btw, we are very tired!)

36. Take picture of crazy train situation as proof only to be told by old man, “you can’t take pictures of Muslims”. Overhear: Let them take your picture they’ll probably send it to Obama.

37. Watch as fellow passengers take pictures of the same old man as he poses for them

38. Remain steadfast as rude man tries to take bed already occupied by a volunteer, hovering over excessively and trying to read volunteer’s Economist.

39. Step out of suffocating train for fresh air, only to be physically pushed back by conductor in preparation for the fresh hoard of fur-wearing, heat-exuding passengers to board but wonder if this man is actually the conductor due to his track suit attire.

40. Sweat like it’s a banya. Try to figure out ways to strip with so many people around.

41. Realize the toilet is actually the best place on the train

42. Trudge through snow to get to the only hotel in A-ralsk

43. Pass out for an hour.

44. Successfully hire a jeep to take you across the frozen tundra.

45. See bactrian camels!

46. STAND on the frozen ARAL sea!

47. Take pictures with stranded boats!

48. Go to train station to get tickets back home. Get shoved to end of line mob by crazy ticket lady.

49.Eat Korean dinner accompanied by loud music.

50. Return to hotel only to find the hall has been rented out and is BLARING music. You will not sleep.

51. Board 5 am train and get out of A-ralsk, enjoy a nice and uneventful train ride, and be grateful to be going home.