Site placements....SHYMKENT!

Blogging has been more difficult than I imagined because I live in a village with no internet. When I do get a chance to get online it is usually for a very short time. PST, pre-service training is a busy time. We are busy all day, 6 days a week. Not just learning Russian, but teaching English, holding extracurricular activities and planning community projects. After PST we swear in on October 31st and become volunteers.

As part of our training we went to a city called Karaganda last week. It was quote a trip especially since it started and ended with an eighten hour train ride. In the city, we got to meet with different organizations, orphanages, and schools. It was a great practical experience in working in Kazakhstan. We also got to meet current volunteers and hear great stories from them. The last night there we went to an amazing Georgian restaurant. I got lobio (spiced kidney beans) and kachapury (flatbread with cheese). It was the best meal I've had in Kazakhstan. The field trip was a much needed break from the day to day schedule of training, even though we worked in Karaganda.

Since the field trip we have been eagerly looking forward to site announcements. This is the day when all 65 trainees gather together and find out where we will be living for the next two years and which organization we will work with. I don't know if I can stress the level of anticipation that day. In Peace Corps style the announcements were made at the very end of the day. Each regional manager gave a brief description of the site then announced who would be going there. Of course I was talking while my description was given, my technical trainer is hushing me and then all of a sudden I hear my name. It was funny because alot of people were sad or really excited about their placements but I didn't even know where I was going. After announcements we met in oblast (state) groups and got more detailed information about our sites. I will be spending two years living in the southern city of Shymkent. It is a mix of traditional Kazakh culture and the modernity of a big city. I am excited to get the best of both worlds. Another nice thing is that I will still be able to speak Russian there and maybe learn some Kazakh. The city has many universities so there is a youthful vibe. Volunteers there enjoying going to jazz clubs on Wednesday nights and swimming in the heated outdoor pool. Once a week the hold events at the American corner of the libraray and a movie night. I will primarily be working with an organization called Intellect. The are working on many things: civil and economic development, healthy lifestyles, debate clubs, summer camps and prevention of youth delinquency. Needless to say I am very excited about my new city and organization!!!

First two weeks

I only have half an hour at the internet cafe so I'm going to try to edit a letter to my parents into a quick blog entry.



In D.C. we had one day of training. August 19th we left for Almaty via Frankfurt. We had one day of training together in Almaty and left for our host families on Saturday morning. Everything happened very quickly but Peace Corps preps us for it.


My host family consists of a mother, a father and a helper. My host mom, Yurkiz is on of the top 50 important Uighers (ethnic group). She is the leader of an NGO called International Ecological Association of Women of the Orient. My host father is/was an electrical engineer. But he is often working around the house. One day a pile of coal will show up and the next day there are stacks of bricks. I usually don’t have enough Russian skills to ask what he does or what is going on.

Arai, is living with the family and does all the household chores. She cooks and cleans. She is 30 years old and has a 6 year old son who was staying with her sister until recently. Now he is living with us but I cannot fully understand why. My host parents have two daughters, one lives in Almaty and other lives in St. Petersburg and plays violin professionally. The one from St. Petersburg had her son staying here till his school started. He was here with his grandparents and left on August 2nd. He is 5 or 6 years old. One day I brought out my markers and let him use them. He drew and drew on maybe 10 or more sheets of paper and taped all of his art in a row on the wall.


Their house is pretty nice for Enbek standards. They have an outdoor squat toilet and an indoor one. If the water is not running we have to use the toilet outside so I’m not too sure how that works in the winter. There is a shower outside. The water is heated by sunlight. There is also and indoor bathtub which I think has only been used once since I’ve been here. People here in Kazakhstan use the banya or suana as a shower once a week. My family doesn’t have one but I used they banya at Elena’s host family’s house. The banya consists of two rooms - one that is "room temperature" where you take off and put on your clothes and the then the actual sauna room. You go in there and sweat it out. Then you can soap up and take a bucket bath to get it all off. I’ve only used it once and I had to hurry but it could be a nice experience if I took my time.


The village we live in is called Enbek. It is about 20-25 minutes away from Issyk, the next largest town. It is a very small village and most of the volunteers in my training group of 10 live here. Two or three trainees live in the neighboring village, Octagai. Enbeck is bordered by a major road and has 6 parallel streets and one or two cross streets through the village. No one has been able to give us the actual population but there are about 300 families that live here. It is a farming village so daily I see cows, horses, donkeys, sheep, and chicken. And of course dogs. There are street dogs but often families will have a guard dog. Nothing like the american concept of pets. Some roads are paved, some are cobblestone and some are dirt but they all have poop on them. Most of the village people have some small garden and others have full fields.


There are 10 trainees in my training class. Cindy, Tes, Jessica, Brandon, and Becky are in one Russian class. In my class is Ford, Hannah, and Jonny. They are from all over the U.S. and go from age 22 to maybe 32. Everyone in the group has had some experience working with youth and development so they have something to offer. Everyone is really nice and we all get along well.


That's all I have time for now but there is so much more to say! Next time I will prepare a post in advance so I'm not rushing in the internet cafe to get something online. Miss you all very much. I will write more soon!

Hello Family and Friends,

Sipra has reached Kazakhstan safely. She and 9 other volunteers have moved in with their host families. Once Sipra has her internet set-up she will write more in detail.

Sipra's Mom

The Journey Begins!

Written 8/19 in Washington, D.C. It's short because I'm posting this from expensive German internet that a fellow volunteer purchased.

Yesterday I said my goodbyes to my family and left Jacksonville for D.C. where orientation was held. We spent our time filling out paper work, meeting each other and getting tons of information from the Peace Corps. We discussed our fears, aspirations, safety, and Peace Corps policy. It was nice to meet the 65 other trainees who are thinking, feeling and going through the same thing I am.

Today we are heading out for the international leg of our journey. We fly to Almaty, Kazakhstan via Frankfurt. I can't say I'm too excited about the long flights, but I do feel prepared from my previous travels to India. For the first day or so we will be staying together but soon we will meet our host families and move in with them for the 3 month training period. Let's see how it goes!