SNEG!!
So, here I am. No longer a trainee.. but a volunteer. Ooo. Our Swear-In Ceremony was Friday, held at a University in Almaty. It wasn’t that eventful, but there is a new U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, so it was interesting to hear him speak. After taking our oath, it was time for our goodbyes But not before the feast. This was the best part of the day by far, as the Peace Corps organized a bunch of tables set up as buffets. So funny note, us Americans take our plates of food and go stand in the back of the room. Kazakhs, on the other hand, have a different idea of how this buffet system works. After elbowing their way in, they stake out a spot and don’t move until they have tasted everything in their arms reach. And, they don’t stop after that. Let’s not forget the most important part, the magic plastic bags they all have in their purses to take a doggy bag or two home.
So, then it really was time to say goodbye. Our train left Friday night, and by the time we arrived on Sunday morning, we’d been seeing more and more snow out the window since we passed Karaganda.
At 6am on Sunday, it was dark and freezing. We still got a really warm welcome to Pavlodar, however, with all our counterparts waiting for us with big smiles on their face. The director of my school even came to pick me up! (Her husband, who had to carry all of my luggage, I don’t think was so happy.) After napping at Sandy’s (my amazing, adorable counterpart) house, it was time to move in with my new host family.
So far, everything is great at their house. It’s huge, first of all. I’m sure it’s one of the biggest houses in the village. I’m not going to complain about that. I have internet, indoor plumbing (yes, showers!), and my host parents even put my own water cooler/refrigerator in my room. (I’m going to be so spoiled-so Jennifer Speyer-ha!)
My host mom, Gaziza, is a zavuch at our school. My dad is Valdamir, he’s Chinese with a Russian name. I’m going to try to figure out his background soon. I also have a 16-year-old sister, Era, who is in her first year of college in Pavlodar. Plus, my 90 year-old-babushka, who is adorable. They have two other daughters, one who moved to Germany last week (??) and another who is married and lives in Astana. Gulnara, who is in Germany, was the only one who spoke English… so I’m left here with my (intermediate low, yes!) Russian. Our favorite game is to say words in Kazakh, Russian, English, and Chinese. (Ris, Ris, Rice, Mi-fan!) How international.
The mom and babushka make me delicious Chinese food. Hello, flavor! They do try to stuff me like a turkey at every meal. :( Still, it only took them about a day to figure out my strange eating habits. Sandy had to interfere and explain, gently, that I like to do this weird thing called being healthy. Everyone had a good laugh when I was told to put butter on my bread (ugh, I hate butter.) I took a tiny sliver and spread it out. Valdamir goes, here; let me show you how to butter your bread. Imagine, if you will, two big hunks of cheese sitting on top of a small piece of bread. That’s how much butter he tried to feed me before eating it himself. He goes, oh, I know! Maybe they don’t have butter in America. In China, there’s no butter or cheese. Jane, do they have butter in America? Yes, Americans love butter. (Ryan, are you grossed out yet?)
They are learning, though. This morning instead of pushing oily potatoes onto my plate, they just let me eat my peanut butter toast in peace. Mom, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve even started using my garlic salt and lemon pepper.
We got more snow this morning. I forgot how challenging it is to run on snow. A friend told me once that it was good for your abs, so I’ll try and suck it up. I’m supposed to be joining a gym this weekend so I won’t have to freeze outside. Oh yes, and the second semester of school starts tomorrow. I’m excited to see my students and start coaching my own soccer/xc ski teams!
Today, I’m going to buy my first fur coat! I’ll need it.. Miss everyone! More updates soon.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
SNEG!!
So, here I am. No longer a trainee.. but a volunteer. Ooo. Our Swear-In Ceremony was Friday, held at a University in Almaty. It wasn’t that eventful, but there is a new U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, so it was interesting to hear him speak. After taking our oath, it was time for our goodbyes But not before the feast. This was the best part of the day by far, as the Peace Corps organized a bunch of tables set up as buffets. So funny note, us Americans take our plates of food and go stand in the back of the room. Kazakhs, on the other hand, have a different idea of how this buffet system works. After elbowing their way in, they stake out a spot and don’t move until they have tasted everything in their arms reach. And, they don’t stop after that. Let’s not forget the most important part, the magic plastic bags they all have in their purses to take a doggy bag or two home.
So, then it really was time to say goodbye. Our train left Friday night, and by the time we arrived on Sunday morning, we’d been seeing more and more snow out the window since we passed Karaganda.
At 6am on Sunday, it was dark and freezing. We still got a really warm welcome to Pavlodar, however, with all our counterparts waiting for us with big smiles on their face. The director of my school even came to pick me up! (Her husband, who had to carry all of my luggage, I don’t think was so happy.) After napping at Sandy’s (my amazing, adorable counterpart) house, it was time to move in with my new host family.
So far, everything is great at their house. It’s huge, first of all. I’m sure it’s one of the biggest houses in the village. I’m not going to complain about that. I have internet, indoor plumbing (yes, showers!), and my host parents even put my own water cooler/refrigerator in my room. (I’m going to be so spoiled-so Jennifer Speyer-ha!)
My host mom, Gaziza, is a zavuch at our school. My dad is Valdamir, he’s Chinese with a Russian name. I’m going to try to figure out his background soon. I also have a 16-year-old sister, Era, who is in her first year of college in Pavlodar. Plus, my 90 year-old-babushka, who is adorable. They have two other daughters, one who moved to Germany last week (??) and another who is married and lives in Astana. Gulnara, who is in Germany, was the only one who spoke English… so I’m left here with my (intermediate low, yes!) Russian. Our favorite game is to say words in Kazakh, Russian, English, and Chinese. (Ris, Ris, Rice, Mi-fan!) How international.
The mom and babushka make me delicious Chinese food. Hello, flavor! They do try to stuff me like a turkey at every meal. :( Still, it only took them about a day to figure out my strange eating habits. Sandy had to interfere and explain, gently, that I like to do this weird thing called being healthy. Everyone had a good laugh when I was told to put butter on my bread (ugh, I hate butter.) I took a tiny sliver and spread it out. Valdamir goes, here; let me show you how to butter your bread. Imagine, if you will, two big hunks of cheese sitting on top of a small piece of bread. That’s how much butter he tried to feed me before eating it himself. He goes, oh, I know! Maybe they don’t have butter in America. In China, there’s no butter or cheese. Jane, do they have butter in America? Yes, Americans love butter. (Ryan, are you grossed out yet?)
They are learning, though. This morning instead of pushing oily potatoes onto my plate, they just let me eat my peanut butter toast in peace. Mom, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve even started using my garlic salt and lemon pepper.
We got more snow this morning. I forgot how challenging it is to run on snow. A friend told me once that it was good for your abs, so I’ll try and suck it up. I’m supposed to be joining a gym this weekend so I won’t have to freeze outside. Oh yes, and the second semester of school starts tomorrow. I’m excited to see my students and start coaching my own soccer/xc ski teams!
Today, I’m going to buy my first fur coat! I’ll need it.. Miss everyone! More updates soon.
So, here I am. No longer a trainee.. but a volunteer. Ooo. Our Swear-In Ceremony was Friday, held at a University in Almaty. It wasn’t that eventful, but there is a new U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, so it was interesting to hear him speak. After taking our oath, it was time for our goodbyes But not before the feast. This was the best part of the day by far, as the Peace Corps organized a bunch of tables set up as buffets. So funny note, us Americans take our plates of food and go stand in the back of the room. Kazakhs, on the other hand, have a different idea of how this buffet system works. After elbowing their way in, they stake out a spot and don’t move until they have tasted everything in their arms reach. And, they don’t stop after that. Let’s not forget the most important part, the magic plastic bags they all have in their purses to take a doggy bag or two home.
So, then it really was time to say goodbye. Our train left Friday night, and by the time we arrived on Sunday morning, we’d been seeing more and more snow out the window since we passed Karaganda.
At 6am on Sunday, it was dark and freezing. We still got a really warm welcome to Pavlodar, however, with all our counterparts waiting for us with big smiles on their face. The director of my school even came to pick me up! (Her husband, who had to carry all of my luggage, I don’t think was so happy.) After napping at Sandy’s (my amazing, adorable counterpart) house, it was time to move in with my new host family.
So far, everything is great at their house. It’s huge, first of all. I’m sure it’s one of the biggest houses in the village. I’m not going to complain about that. I have internet, indoor plumbing (yes, showers!), and my host parents even put my own water cooler/refrigerator in my room. (I’m going to be so spoiled-so Jennifer Speyer-ha!)
My host mom, Gaziza, is a zavuch at our school. My dad is Valdamir, he’s Chinese with a Russian name. I’m going to try to figure out his background soon. I also have a 16-year-old sister, Era, who is in her first year of college in Pavlodar. Plus, my 90 year-old-babushka, who is adorable. They have two other daughters, one who moved to Germany last week (??) and another who is married and lives in Astana. Gulnara, who is in Germany, was the only one who spoke English… so I’m left here with my (intermediate low, yes!) Russian. Our favorite game is to say words in Kazakh, Russian, English, and Chinese. (Ris, Ris, Rice, Mi-fan!) How international.
The mom and babushka make me delicious Chinese food. Hello, flavor! They do try to stuff me like a turkey at every meal. :( Still, it only took them about a day to figure out my strange eating habits. Sandy had to interfere and explain, gently, that I like to do this weird thing called being healthy. Everyone had a good laugh when I was told to put butter on my bread (ugh, I hate butter.) I took a tiny sliver and spread it out. Valdamir goes, here; let me show you how to butter your bread. Imagine, if you will, two big hunks of cheese sitting on top of a small piece of bread. That’s how much butter he tried to feed me before eating it himself. He goes, oh, I know! Maybe they don’t have butter in America. In China, there’s no butter or cheese. Jane, do they have butter in America? Yes, Americans love butter. (Ryan, are you grossed out yet?)
They are learning, though. This morning instead of pushing oily potatoes onto my plate, they just let me eat my peanut butter toast in peace. Mom, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve even started using my garlic salt and lemon pepper.
We got more snow this morning. I forgot how challenging it is to run on snow. A friend told me once that it was good for your abs, so I’ll try and suck it up. I’m supposed to be joining a gym this weekend so I won’t have to freeze outside. Oh yes, and the second semester of school starts tomorrow. I’m excited to see my students and start coaching my own soccer/xc ski teams!
Today, I’m going to buy my first fur coat! I’ll need it.. Miss everyone! More updates soon.
SNEG!!
So, here I am. No longer a trainee.. but a volunteer. Ooo. Our Swear-In Ceremony was Friday, held at a University in Almaty. It wasn’t that eventful, but there is a new U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, so it was interesting to hear him speak. After taking our oath, it was time for our goodbyes But not before the feast. This was the best part of the day by far, as the Peace Corps organized a bunch of tables set up as buffets. So funny note, us Americans take our plates of food and go stand in the back of the room. Kazakhs, on the other hand, have a different idea of how this buffet system works. After elbowing their way in, they stake out a spot and don’t move until they have tasted everything in their arms reach. And, they don’t stop after that. Let’s not forget the most important part, the magic plastic bags they all have in their purses to take a doggy bag or two home.
So, then it really was time to say goodbye. Our train left Friday night, and by the time we arrived on Sunday morning, we’d been seeing more and more snow out the window since we passed Karaganda.
At 6am on Sunday, it was dark and freezing. We still got a really warm welcome to Pavlodar, however, with all our counterparts waiting for us with big smiles on their face. The director of my school even came to pick me up! (Her husband, who had to carry all of my luggage, I don’t think was so happy.) After napping at Sandy’s (my amazing, adorable counterpart) house, it was time to move in with my new host family.
So far, everything is great at their house. It’s huge, first of all. I’m sure it’s one of the biggest houses in the village. I’m not going to complain about that. I have internet, indoor plumbing (yes, showers!), and my host parents even put my own water cooler/refrigerator in my room. (I’m going to be so spoiled-so Jennifer Speyer-ha!)
My host mom, Gaziza, is a zavuch at our school. My dad is Valdamir, he’s Chinese with a Russian name. I’m going to try to figure out his background soon. I also have a 16-year-old sister, Era, who is in her first year of college in Pavlodar. Plus, my 90 year-old-babushka, who is adorable. They have two other daughters, one who moved to Germany last week (??) and another who is married and lives in Astana. Gulnara, who is in Germany, was the only one who spoke English… so I’m left here with my (intermediate low, yes!) Russian. Our favorite game is to say words in Kazakh, Russian, English, and Chinese. (Ris, Ris, Rice, Mi-fan!) How international.
The mom and babushka make me delicious Chinese food. Hello, flavor! They do try to stuff me like a turkey at every meal. :( Still, it only took them about a day to figure out my strange eating habits. Sandy had to interfere and explain, gently, that I like to do this weird thing called being healthy. Everyone had a good laugh when I was told to put butter on my bread (ugh, I hate butter.) I took a tiny sliver and spread it out. Valdamir goes, here; let me show you how to butter your bread. Imagine, if you will, two big hunks of cheese sitting on top of a small piece of bread. That’s how much butter he tried to feed me before eating it himself. He goes, oh, I know! Maybe they don’t have butter in America. In China, there’s no butter or cheese. Jane, do they have butter in America? Yes, Americans love butter. (Ryan, are you grossed out yet?)
They are learning, though. This morning instead of pushing oily potatoes onto my plate, they just let me eat my peanut butter toast in peace. Mom, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve even started using my garlic salt and lemon pepper.
We got more snow this morning. I forgot how challenging it is to run on snow. A friend told me once that it was good for your abs, so I’ll try and suck it up. I’m supposed to be joining a gym this weekend so I won’t have to freeze outside. Oh yes, and the second semester of school starts tomorrow. I’m excited to see my students and start coaching my own soccer/xc ski teams!
Today, I’m going to buy my first fur coat! I’ll need it.. Miss everyone! More updates soon.
So, here I am. No longer a trainee.. but a volunteer. Ooo. Our Swear-In Ceremony was Friday, held at a University in Almaty. It wasn’t that eventful, but there is a new U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, so it was interesting to hear him speak. After taking our oath, it was time for our goodbyes But not before the feast. This was the best part of the day by far, as the Peace Corps organized a bunch of tables set up as buffets. So funny note, us Americans take our plates of food and go stand in the back of the room. Kazakhs, on the other hand, have a different idea of how this buffet system works. After elbowing their way in, they stake out a spot and don’t move until they have tasted everything in their arms reach. And, they don’t stop after that. Let’s not forget the most important part, the magic plastic bags they all have in their purses to take a doggy bag or two home.
So, then it really was time to say goodbye. Our train left Friday night, and by the time we arrived on Sunday morning, we’d been seeing more and more snow out the window since we passed Karaganda.
At 6am on Sunday, it was dark and freezing. We still got a really warm welcome to Pavlodar, however, with all our counterparts waiting for us with big smiles on their face. The director of my school even came to pick me up! (Her husband, who had to carry all of my luggage, I don’t think was so happy.) After napping at Sandy’s (my amazing, adorable counterpart) house, it was time to move in with my new host family.
So far, everything is great at their house. It’s huge, first of all. I’m sure it’s one of the biggest houses in the village. I’m not going to complain about that. I have internet, indoor plumbing (yes, showers!), and my host parents even put my own water cooler/refrigerator in my room. (I’m going to be so spoiled-so Jennifer Speyer-ha!)
My host mom, Gaziza, is a zavuch at our school. My dad is Valdamir, he’s Chinese with a Russian name. I’m going to try to figure out his background soon. I also have a 16-year-old sister, Era, who is in her first year of college in Pavlodar. Plus, my 90 year-old-babushka, who is adorable. They have two other daughters, one who moved to Germany last week (??) and another who is married and lives in Astana. Gulnara, who is in Germany, was the only one who spoke English… so I’m left here with my (intermediate low, yes!) Russian. Our favorite game is to say words in Kazakh, Russian, English, and Chinese. (Ris, Ris, Rice, Mi-fan!) How international.
The mom and babushka make me delicious Chinese food. Hello, flavor! They do try to stuff me like a turkey at every meal. :( Still, it only took them about a day to figure out my strange eating habits. Sandy had to interfere and explain, gently, that I like to do this weird thing called being healthy. Everyone had a good laugh when I was told to put butter on my bread (ugh, I hate butter.) I took a tiny sliver and spread it out. Valdamir goes, here; let me show you how to butter your bread. Imagine, if you will, two big hunks of cheese sitting on top of a small piece of bread. That’s how much butter he tried to feed me before eating it himself. He goes, oh, I know! Maybe they don’t have butter in America. In China, there’s no butter or cheese. Jane, do they have butter in America? Yes, Americans love butter. (Ryan, are you grossed out yet?)
They are learning, though. This morning instead of pushing oily potatoes onto my plate, they just let me eat my peanut butter toast in peace. Mom, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve even started using my garlic salt and lemon pepper.
We got more snow this morning. I forgot how challenging it is to run on snow. A friend told me once that it was good for your abs, so I’ll try and suck it up. I’m supposed to be joining a gym this weekend so I won’t have to freeze outside. Oh yes, and the second semester of school starts tomorrow. I’m excited to see my students and start coaching my own soccer/xc ski teams!
Today, I’m going to buy my first fur coat! I’ll need it.. Miss everyone! More updates soon.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Just wanted to write and keep everyone updated! It's been awhile. I now know where I'm going to be living for the next two years! Drum roll..
It's a village of 5,500 people outside of the city of Pavlodar in the north east of Kazakhstan. which means...cold! I will be the first Peace Corps volunteer in this village. I'm pretty pumped and honored about that. Basically, it means that I did a good job in our Practicum and the pc trusts me to do a decent job of developing the site for future volunteers. I'll also be the first American most of the people there meet.. plenty of pressure all around. THere are a bunch of PCVs in the city..about 20 minutes away, so I will be getting to know them and we'll spend a lot of time together. Tomorrow.. we go to a conference in Almaty and meet our counterparts (who I will teach with in my village). Friday at midnight.. we will get on the train for Pavlodar. It arrives Sunday morning at 7am, so about 30 hours total.
Next week I'll be busy meeting new host families, teaching a few classes, and introducing myself. Yes, in Russian. Shall be a good time.
I'll let everyone know how it goes. You can read about Pavlodar here... aboutkazakhstan.com/ Pavlodar_oblast.shtml б
It's a village of 5,500 people outside of the city of Pavlodar in the north east of Kazakhstan. which means...cold! I will be the first Peace Corps volunteer in this village. I'm pretty pumped and honored about that. Basically, it means that I did a good job in our Practicum and the pc trusts me to do a decent job of developing the site for future volunteers. I'll also be the first American most of the people there meet.. plenty of pressure all around. THere are a bunch of PCVs in the city..about 20 minutes away, so I will be getting to know them and we'll spend a lot of time together. Tomorrow.. we go to a conference in Almaty and meet our counterparts (who I will teach with in my village). Friday at midnight.. we will get on the train for Pavlodar. It arrives Sunday morning at 7am, so about 30 hours total.
Next week I'll be busy meeting new host families, teaching a few classes, and introducing myself. Yes, in Russian. Shall be a good time.
I'll let everyone know how it goes. You can read about Pavlodar here... aboutkazakhstan.com/ Pavlodar_oblast.shtml б
Saturday, September 20, 2008
What's new...
I haven't updated in a few weeks...everything is starting to settle down as we get into our routines of teaching, Russian classes, Peace corps meetings, and clubs. I guess I have a few interesting stories to report, but for the most part everything is going smoothly. I'm teaching 5th grade and 8th grade for the next month of training. The kids are great, very enthusiastic and are making my job pretty enjoyable. The 5th graders just started learning english so we're working on basics like numbers, addresses, phone numbers, age, etc. The 8th grade is a bit more advanced, last week we learned about personality traits and how to describe your friends. My favorite part is that they use British textbooks so everything is super proper and there is a ton about London and England in there. (We love teaching expressions like "sit up late".) I'm really excited about my visual aide making (we all know how much I love pictures and cutting up magazines!) so that's a lot of fun having "projects" every night. I mean, work...right. ANyway, my friend Jenny and I are also working on a 3rd grade english club a few days a week. It's adorable...this week we taught them the Peguin song and played a game about Rainbows. They love it. Brendan and I had round two of sports club (or football club) today...more kids than last week and a great time by all.
The best story I have is that I fainted into my friends arms at the bazzar last weekend. Yes, I'm really stupid some days. Brendan, Jenny and I were left in Almalybak last weekend after sports club when the other volunteers were enjoying a concert in Almaty. Poor us. We felt so sorry for ourselves that the vodka drinking started early. The night ended well, but the next day I felt like crap. I guess the dehydrated and 85 degree weather didn't help. Anyway, as I said before my host families house is a mad scene on the weekends, last saturday I think we had about 25 people sleeping all over the place. I had to get away from the screaming babies, so I asked Jenny if I could come along to the bazzar. Her host brother got married today and she got to see a Russian wedding! I'm jealous. But anyway, we were picking out the dress amongst the craziness, and I started to feel really dizzy. The bazzar is hard to describe, but it's basically a giant maze of stalls and so many people you just get pushed along. I ended up fainting and Jenny had to carry me along before some lady gave me water. I don't remember any of this. Exciting stuff...I actually was fairly sick the rest of the week but hey, it made for a good story. I think Jenny and I are now bonded for the next few years since she did , sort of , save my life --so she says. Anyway, she's now off taking vodka shots in her beautiful dress that luckily she bought right before the so called incident.
It's freezing this weekend...winter is coming! Wish me luck..and
In two weeks, October 4th..I'll find out where I'm getting posted for my site. I'm getting excited! Until then...das vidanya. Missing you all !
I haven't updated in a few weeks...everything is starting to settle down as we get into our routines of teaching, Russian classes, Peace corps meetings, and clubs. I guess I have a few interesting stories to report, but for the most part everything is going smoothly. I'm teaching 5th grade and 8th grade for the next month of training. The kids are great, very enthusiastic and are making my job pretty enjoyable. The 5th graders just started learning english so we're working on basics like numbers, addresses, phone numbers, age, etc. The 8th grade is a bit more advanced, last week we learned about personality traits and how to describe your friends. My favorite part is that they use British textbooks so everything is super proper and there is a ton about London and England in there. (We love teaching expressions like "sit up late".) I'm really excited about my visual aide making (we all know how much I love pictures and cutting up magazines!) so that's a lot of fun having "projects" every night. I mean, work...right. ANyway, my friend Jenny and I are also working on a 3rd grade english club a few days a week. It's adorable...this week we taught them the Peguin song and played a game about Rainbows. They love it. Brendan and I had round two of sports club (or football club) today...more kids than last week and a great time by all.
The best story I have is that I fainted into my friends arms at the bazzar last weekend. Yes, I'm really stupid some days. Brendan, Jenny and I were left in Almalybak last weekend after sports club when the other volunteers were enjoying a concert in Almaty. Poor us. We felt so sorry for ourselves that the vodka drinking started early. The night ended well, but the next day I felt like crap. I guess the dehydrated and 85 degree weather didn't help. Anyway, as I said before my host families house is a mad scene on the weekends, last saturday I think we had about 25 people sleeping all over the place. I had to get away from the screaming babies, so I asked Jenny if I could come along to the bazzar. Her host brother got married today and she got to see a Russian wedding! I'm jealous. But anyway, we were picking out the dress amongst the craziness, and I started to feel really dizzy. The bazzar is hard to describe, but it's basically a giant maze of stalls and so many people you just get pushed along. I ended up fainting and Jenny had to carry me along before some lady gave me water. I don't remember any of this. Exciting stuff...I actually was fairly sick the rest of the week but hey, it made for a good story. I think Jenny and I are now bonded for the next few years since she did , sort of , save my life --so she says. Anyway, she's now off taking vodka shots in her beautiful dress that luckily she bought right before the so called incident.
It's freezing this weekend...winter is coming! Wish me luck..and
In two weeks, October 4th..I'll find out where I'm getting posted for my site. I'm getting excited! Until then...das vidanya. Missing you all !
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Why I Love Sundays
Sundays in Kazakhstan are sweet... I guess I should say Sundays in Amalybak are. I get to sleep in, first of all. For me, sleeping in until 9 is awesome. Most days here we get up at 6. I must mention that I've found some great running trails, they have the most beautiful tree lined dirt path with this perfect mountain view-(it's pretty spectacular after running on the west side highway for the past two years...I just have to watch out for wild dogs, heards of sheep, and cattle crossings!) So I go on my long run on Sunday morning, and when I come back, my family is busy preparing beshbarmak because they always have a bunch of guests over for the weekend. The idea of eating boiled sheep is growing on me..and my host mom was so proud that I didn't just eat the noodles today. It's actually really tasty so I can't complain. We drink chai and hang around..and then I get to use this really slow internet! yahoo. Later, I'll have piva at the cafe with some of the other volunteers. Our schedule is getting pretty packed-we have to start doing community projects, start an english club, and i have to plan for the sports club we are starting this week. Hopefully everyone will go for the idea of English film and food night and we won't have to spend our time teaching adults business english or something along those lines. Yesterday, we had Almaty entry day. That's a big deal because now we are allowed to tackle the journey to the city on our own. I'm pretty excited about this. I also found avacados at one of the bazzars so I get to make guacamole for my host family today. do you think they will like it? I'll keep everyone updated!
Sundays in Kazakhstan are sweet... I guess I should say Sundays in Amalybak are. I get to sleep in, first of all. For me, sleeping in until 9 is awesome. Most days here we get up at 6. I must mention that I've found some great running trails, they have the most beautiful tree lined dirt path with this perfect mountain view-(it's pretty spectacular after running on the west side highway for the past two years...I just have to watch out for wild dogs, heards of sheep, and cattle crossings!) So I go on my long run on Sunday morning, and when I come back, my family is busy preparing beshbarmak because they always have a bunch of guests over for the weekend. The idea of eating boiled sheep is growing on me..and my host mom was so proud that I didn't just eat the noodles today. It's actually really tasty so I can't complain. We drink chai and hang around..and then I get to use this really slow internet! yahoo. Later, I'll have piva at the cafe with some of the other volunteers. Our schedule is getting pretty packed-we have to start doing community projects, start an english club, and i have to plan for the sports club we are starting this week. Hopefully everyone will go for the idea of English film and food night and we won't have to spend our time teaching adults business english or something along those lines. Yesterday, we had Almaty entry day. That's a big deal because now we are allowed to tackle the journey to the city on our own. I'm pretty excited about this. I also found avacados at one of the bazzars so I get to make guacamole for my host family today. do you think they will like it? I'll keep everyone updated!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Banyas, Sheep, a Jehova's witness, and "Big Family!"
I had an interesting evening last night... I guess the first night here was a trick in a way, because my house was quiet and calm. Yesterday, everything exploded when about 10 other family members came home. In Kazakhstan, it's very common for all the extended family members to live in the same home. First, the cousins came back...There are 3 teenage girls. I was wrong about Raoka, she is in grade 8 but is actually 15 years old. Which is funny to me, because she looks like she could be about 9...she's so tiny. The other girls are 21 and 18. We made yablaka jam out of the apple tree in our yard, and we canned tomatoes to store inside. Then, the parents came back from the funeral, bringing their brothers and sisters along. We drank chai and watched olympic boxing on tv. That's when one of the uncles came up and tried to thrust a Jehova's witness book he got on the street in Almaty in my hands. One page was in English and he insisted that I read it to him...at PC training we got an extensive lecture about not associating ourselves with any religious groups that try to convert people..so I was thinking umm no? I don't want to read this? But Damir (the brother) came to my rescue and yelled at the uncle for me about trying to take jesus into my heart. As it turns out, he just wanted to listen to me read something in english, so later I got another book from my room and everyone was happy. I went upstairs to see what the girls were doing behind the door and they were having a makeup party, it was really cute..they gave me a manicure. I got out my makeup and they liked reading all the brands and listening to me say "blush", "mascara", etc. over and over. I took them into my room so they could play with all my stuff..which they tought was halarious. We took pictures of them in my sunglasses and holding my stuffed animals...lots of giggles. There was a lot of translating from the dictionary about why I wasn't married, blah blah blah giggle giggle. "this is Ryan photo, you lovvee him, giggle giggle" haha. Anyway, it was around 9:30 by then so I tried to ask the cousins if their family was planning to eat dinner that night (anytime soon??) The girls took that to mean I must be the starving American, so they grab me by the hand and insist on feeding me soup, salad, sweets, cookies, bon bons, tea...I kept insisting that I could wait to eat with the rest of the family but I don't think they were planning on eating until 11:30 for some reason. Damir told me they are used to the men coming home from work late so it's normal if I eat with the girls early..I guess this was allright because after that I fell asleep in front of the TV. Also, the one year old cousin Amir came to sleep over. I'm still trying to figure out who lives in the house and who is just staying. He's adorable, but he's a little scared of me and my "skin" apparently. (This morning he also threw up all over himself..cute) Anyway, I was sneaking off to my bed but my host mother grabbed me and told me "banya banya banya now now" so the girls again grabbed my hand and although I was pretty skeptical, I figured I had to get the first banya out of the way at some point. So how it works, you walk into the first room and change. I went in my swim suit...not sure if you are supposed to do that because the girls were in their underware. I'll figure that out later. Then you go into the sauna room. This is not like your typical american sauna, it must have been over 120 degrees in there. But sweating makes you clean, so I guess it was allright until you want to pass out. Then you run into the other room and throw water on yourself. They kept laughing because I used the cold water, but that's some sort of cultural taboo in kazakstan. Ok, so that's the banya and I got to use it again this morning after my run because they were not going to let me have my chai until I was clean. Today, after I was running I found Jamie, a girl in my language group walking around the streets of Amalybak because her family left her home alone, tear tear. I invited her over for chai, since there are so many people in my house now I figured one more wouldn't hurt. So after my banya we were presented with "breakfast" aka a massive feast of different foods spread across the table. My host sister Asil got back from Turkey this morning at 6am and brought us figs, hazelnuts, and halava, yum. That was the highlight of the meal....the rest of it consisted of bowls of stew and I finally got to eat bersmebak, the national dish of kazakhstan. Sheeps head and noodles, anyone? It's funny because Nora and Eulena told my family yesterday that I don't like to eat a lot of meat, so my bermebak plate had to tiny pieces of sheep floating around, and Jamie's was all meat and a few noodles. We were about to go into a food coma at this point, so we sprawled on the couch to watch Russian cartoons. This afternoon, Damir will take us on a tour of Almaty in his car...yay, cross your fingers for a cell phone!
Hope all is well at home, heard about Obama and Biden via Nora's text messages yesterday...guess I'm not so out of touch. Missing everyone. Das vidanya!
PS: Addie, how do I change it so my titles don't come out in what I think is Arabic?
I had an interesting evening last night... I guess the first night here was a trick in a way, because my house was quiet and calm. Yesterday, everything exploded when about 10 other family members came home. In Kazakhstan, it's very common for all the extended family members to live in the same home. First, the cousins came back...There are 3 teenage girls. I was wrong about Raoka, she is in grade 8 but is actually 15 years old. Which is funny to me, because she looks like she could be about 9...she's so tiny. The other girls are 21 and 18. We made yablaka jam out of the apple tree in our yard, and we canned tomatoes to store inside. Then, the parents came back from the funeral, bringing their brothers and sisters along. We drank chai and watched olympic boxing on tv. That's when one of the uncles came up and tried to thrust a Jehova's witness book he got on the street in Almaty in my hands. One page was in English and he insisted that I read it to him...at PC training we got an extensive lecture about not associating ourselves with any religious groups that try to convert people..so I was thinking umm no? I don't want to read this? But Damir (the brother) came to my rescue and yelled at the uncle for me about trying to take jesus into my heart. As it turns out, he just wanted to listen to me read something in english, so later I got another book from my room and everyone was happy. I went upstairs to see what the girls were doing behind the door and they were having a makeup party, it was really cute..they gave me a manicure. I got out my makeup and they liked reading all the brands and listening to me say "blush", "mascara", etc. over and over. I took them into my room so they could play with all my stuff..which they tought was halarious. We took pictures of them in my sunglasses and holding my stuffed animals...lots of giggles. There was a lot of translating from the dictionary about why I wasn't married, blah blah blah giggle giggle. "this is Ryan photo, you lovvee him, giggle giggle" haha. Anyway, it was around 9:30 by then so I tried to ask the cousins if their family was planning to eat dinner that night (anytime soon??) The girls took that to mean I must be the starving American, so they grab me by the hand and insist on feeding me soup, salad, sweets, cookies, bon bons, tea...I kept insisting that I could wait to eat with the rest of the family but I don't think they were planning on eating until 11:30 for some reason. Damir told me they are used to the men coming home from work late so it's normal if I eat with the girls early..I guess this was allright because after that I fell asleep in front of the TV. Also, the one year old cousin Amir came to sleep over. I'm still trying to figure out who lives in the house and who is just staying. He's adorable, but he's a little scared of me and my "skin" apparently. (This morning he also threw up all over himself..cute) Anyway, I was sneaking off to my bed but my host mother grabbed me and told me "banya banya banya now now" so the girls again grabbed my hand and although I was pretty skeptical, I figured I had to get the first banya out of the way at some point. So how it works, you walk into the first room and change. I went in my swim suit...not sure if you are supposed to do that because the girls were in their underware. I'll figure that out later. Then you go into the sauna room. This is not like your typical american sauna, it must have been over 120 degrees in there. But sweating makes you clean, so I guess it was allright until you want to pass out. Then you run into the other room and throw water on yourself. They kept laughing because I used the cold water, but that's some sort of cultural taboo in kazakstan. Ok, so that's the banya and I got to use it again this morning after my run because they were not going to let me have my chai until I was clean. Today, after I was running I found Jamie, a girl in my language group walking around the streets of Amalybak because her family left her home alone, tear tear. I invited her over for chai, since there are so many people in my house now I figured one more wouldn't hurt. So after my banya we were presented with "breakfast" aka a massive feast of different foods spread across the table. My host sister Asil got back from Turkey this morning at 6am and brought us figs, hazelnuts, and halava, yum. That was the highlight of the meal....the rest of it consisted of bowls of stew and I finally got to eat bersmebak, the national dish of kazakhstan. Sheeps head and noodles, anyone? It's funny because Nora and Eulena told my family yesterday that I don't like to eat a lot of meat, so my bermebak plate had to tiny pieces of sheep floating around, and Jamie's was all meat and a few noodles. We were about to go into a food coma at this point, so we sprawled on the couch to watch Russian cartoons. This afternoon, Damir will take us on a tour of Almaty in his car...yay, cross your fingers for a cell phone!
Hope all is well at home, heard about Obama and Biden via Nora's text messages yesterday...guess I'm not so out of touch. Missing everyone. Das vidanya!
PS: Addie, how do I change it so my titles don't come out in what I think is Arabic?
इन्टरनेट फ्रॉम अमल्य्बक
Sorry I haven't been able to write or call yet. There is so much to tell! I arrived in Almaty thursday morning after an 8 hour delay at the Frankfurt airport. We were taken right away to the Sanitorium in Almaty for our orientation. That was basically a russian retreat/hotel from a long time ago, it was pretty rusty-but it had really hot showers! The orientation was great, we learned a lot about what to do with our host families and took an introduction to Russian lesson. The US ambassador to Kazakhstan also came to speak/have lunch with us. I found out I was going to be learning to speak Russian, and that I would be living in a village called Amalybak for the next three months. Amalybak is a suburb of Almaty about 20 km away ( but it took an hour to drive here in all the traffic.) I also got to walk around Almaty with Nora, who has been a volunteer here for two years. She's from Minneapolis and is now in Amalybak with my group in a house across the street, teaching us about the culture before she goes home in November. My language teacher, Eulena, also lives across the street from me. Everyone else lives a little further away from the school. I'll be training/ taking language lessons in the Russian school. there is also a Kazakh school down the street. My host family is amazing, and so is the house they live in. I'm feeling very spoiled at the moment..they have a two story house with a washing machine, indoor toilet, big TV and a computer (the internet doesn't work, though). Our Banya is also massive, three rooms-one for changing, one for showering, and one for the sauna. I'll be taking a long sauna later since we just went on a massive treck around Amalybak to see where everyone lives-this is not that small of a village! It's hot here, too! We also have a large garden at my house, so I've been eating a lot of vegetables that they grow. Last night I had stuffed peppers and soup. This morning I had one of the freshest omelettes I've ev er eaten. So, basically I'm very happy and you don't have to worry about me. I feel like I'm on vacation, everything is very relaxing. We even have a big covered porch where we sit outside and eat and listen to Madonna. Oh, Kazakhstan.
Also, I guess I should mention that I haven't met my host parents yet because they were at a funeral yesterday in another city. They will be home after six tonight, but Raoka (she's 8) and the Aunt and Damir (the 27 year old brother who speaks really good english) have been taking care of me. My host mom is a russian teacher at the Kazakh school. We have a dog and cat, too-Rex is the puppy and the cat is Malshanks? I have trouble with so many names to remember. My host sister, Asil is on vacation in Turkey but will be back sunday. they love to travel and yesterday showed me massive stacks of pictures from trips to China, India, and Malysia. They loved my pictures! They wanted to hear all about New York and my family and especially about Ryan...which was difficult with limited language skills. Damir didn't come home from work until late, so I was on my own for awhile. Nora and Eulena came to lunch at my house today and my aunt told them all about everything I did last night, s o I guess I'm doing allright so far! They were amazed that I helped with the dishes and made my bed. I'm such a nice guest, so I hear. Nora just went to get her haircut, there are three salons in Amalybak and this internet cafe.
Anyway, don't worry-everything is great..I'm meeting a lot of great people and really enjoying the country so far. Tomorrow is our day off so my family will (hopefully!) take me to buy a cell phone and I will call you when it isn't 3AM at home.
I miss everyone! hope to talk to you on the phone very soon.
Also, I guess I should mention that I haven't met my host parents yet because they were at a funeral yesterday in another city. They will be home after six tonight, but Raoka (she's 8) and the Aunt and Damir (the 27 year old brother who speaks really good english) have been taking care of me. My host mom is a russian teacher at the Kazakh school. We have a dog and cat, too-Rex is the puppy and the cat is Malshanks? I have trouble with so many names to remember. My host sister, Asil is on vacation in Turkey but will be back sunday. they love to travel and yesterday showed me massive stacks of pictures from trips to China, India, and Malysia. They loved my pictures! They wanted to hear all about New York and my family and especially about Ryan...which was difficult with limited language skills. Damir didn't come home from work until late, so I was on my own for awhile. Nora and Eulena came to lunch at my house today and my aunt told them all about everything I did last night, s o I guess I'm doing allright so far! They were amazed that I helped with the dishes and made my bed. I'm such a nice guest, so I hear. Nora just went to get her haircut, there are three salons in Amalybak and this internet cafe.
Anyway, don't worry-everything is great..I'm meeting a lot of great people and really enjoying the country so far. Tomorrow is our day off so my family will (hopefully!) take me to buy a cell phone and I will call you when it isn't 3AM at home.
I miss everyone! hope to talk to you on the phone very soon.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
KAZAKHSTAN
I leave bright and early in the AM for this adventure. I will miss everyone and hope you will send me letters (care packages, too!) I will not have internet for awhile, but when I do-I will update this blog as often as possible. Wish me good luck! (already got a pep talk from Camerlooneytoons, ie Brianna)
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