18 Sept – Last week one of the volunteers who has been in country for one year spoke with us on several different topics. He works for an NGO not too terribly far from Almaty. He warned us that the director of our NGO at our permanent site would likely parade us around, showing off the American to all of her friends and business contacts. While we thought this was funny at the time, we also knew it really might happen.


For three weeks now we have been working (in groups) with local NGOs to gain some practical experience before they turn us loose in November. My group has been teaching English and computer skills to local students, along with helping our NGO director organize a job fair. Today was a bit different, though. She took us to the school where most of our English students come from. She told us this would be the first time that most of the students would see an American. We were “paraded” into a classroom that was neatly arranged so we sat at the front with 40 or so students watching us intently. We fielded their questions for close to an hour, then several students performed traditional Kazakh dances for us. When it was time for the students to go to their next class, several of them wanted our autographs!! The volunteer warning us of these events said this might happen, but I really didn’t expect this to be true. I signed 6-8 books for various students, wishing each of them well.


While it feels very strange to be somewhat of a celebrity, these sorts of events will happen at our permanent sites. However, these are excellent opportunities to begin meeting various community members, building our networks, and learning about resources available in the community. I prefer not to be in the limelight, but if this assists integrating into the community and making friends and business contacts, then by all means let’s do it!


As for our permanent sites, they will be announced on October 4. I think all 60 of us are excited about and looking forward to this day. We have been kept in suspense for so long that it’s a great feeling (and somewhat of a relief) to know that our final destination will be revealed in about two weeks. I was able to find out a bit of information today about my site. Most people have been placed, but they are still working out a few details. I expressed a desire to be able to speak Russian fluently (or nearly so) by the end of my service in two years. Our training director said this should not be a problem. She also made some comment that leads me to believe I will not be in the south. Additionally, she said I will be very happy in my site. There have been others volunteers in this site and all of them have absolutely loved it. She would not tell me if it was an urban or rural site. I requested an urban site mostly for communication reasons, but don’t really have a strong preference either way.


I also received clarification on what type of work I will be doing. There are only three or four of us designated as “business development” volunteers. The others in my program, Organizational and Community Assistance Program (OCAP), are either “NGO development” or “special education” volunteers. Consequently we have all been a bit perplexed about the emphasis on NGOs. While there are a couple of sites in the country that are along the lines of business incubators, there are a few NGOs that have specifically requested volunteers with business experience. This is where I come in!! The volunteers previously at my organization (the mysterious one yet to be announced) have not had business experience, but now that is exactly what the organization is requesting.


All of these details really don’t amount to much. But considering how long I have been in suspense as to the my specific job assignment and location for my two years of service, I savor any information I can get. Now I hope you are now in as much suspense as I am!


In addition to a relatively exciting day today between the “parading” and few site details, our Country Director invited 10 of the OCAPs for dinner at his house last night. (The other 10 OCAPs were invited the previous night.)(And just to clarify for those people who think differently, dinner in my world is in the evening not in the middle of the day!) We spent the day at the Peace Corps office in Almaty along with about half of the education volunteers, having more sessions on security, health, peer support, and finalizing banking paperwork. John and his wife are so gracious as to invite all trainees over for dinner at some point during training. This is a great way to get to know them better, since we really don’t get that much face time. As an appetizer, we had chips, salsa, and guacamole. Dinner consisted of grilled hamburgers and salad. Dessert was brownies with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream. And there was plenty of pop and juice to drink. It was so wonderful! I don’t know that I have every enjoyed these simple things so much. This was a great treat after being in-country for a month. I believe we all ate too much, but this opportunity will not arise again for two years. John said this event occurs during training and at our close of service conference, which takes place a couple of months before our assignments end. At least now I know where to get most all of the ingredients to prepare such treats in the future. I’m not sure about the brownies, but I will figure it out even if I have to ask my parents to ship a few ingredients.


We have now had a two-day break from Russian lessons, which is actually a relief. I believe I will be excited in the morning to return to language class at 8 a.m. Progress is still slow in my opinion, but a couple of days ago I discussed my concerns with our language training coordinator. She is familiar with people such as myself who have “perfectionist” tendencies. Her advice is to a) not try so hard and b) stop worrying that progress is slow because there is no way to know everything at once, even though that’s what I would like. I also found out that she has put short stories and other things on our computers to supplement our language classes. I hope to be able to download some of these this weekend. One way or another, I am determined to learn Russian so I will take all of the materials I can get my hands on. If I can’t use them immediately I will use them at my permanent site when I will probably have a bit more time on my hands. (especially during the winter)