19 Oct – The last two weeks has been a whirlwind of activity, as you may imagine from the plans I wrote about in my last entry. There is much to tell, but I’ll do my best to summarize.
After the week-long counterpart conference in Almaty, I headed toward Ust-Kamenogorsk on the train with two other trainees and our organizational counterparts. I was looking forward to this trip, having been on a train only one time for two hours many years ago, and knowing how much my dad likes riding on trains. I really enjoyed it—I found it to be relatively comfortable and relaxing. That night I woke up every time the train stopped, but still felt rested when I finally decided to get up late the next morning. By the time we ate brunch and gathered our things, we were nearly to our destination. The trip was 16 hours, followed by a two and one-half hour taxi ride to Ust, then another three hours to my city via bus. I was exhausted when we finally arrived, and it was past sundown so I was not able to see the city as we drove in.
I really like my town, and one volunteer who is leaving described it as a Colorado college town. (without the college) I felt at home there, unlike my training site, which is dirty and where I have never felt safe. My new town is surrounded by mountains and forests, and has a nice-sized park near the center of town. (I must say, though, that I’m not sure exactly how many mountains surround us; since it was cloudy every day I don’t know that I ever saw them all!) Compared to my training site it is a clean town—not nearly as much trash and filth. And one afternoon I was walking with the volunteer whom I am replacing and realized it was relatively quiet; there were no barking dogs! Stray dogs abound in our training town and many other cities in Kazakhstan, but not in my new home!!! (My host-mom was actually bitten by a dog while at the bazaar yesterday, shortly before I returned home.) Anyway, there is a small art museum, a historical museum, and a theater (which hosts the Astana Philharmonic about once per year and where the St. Petersburg opera will be performing in a few days). Available activities include a gym with an indoor swimming pool, art classes (including wood carving), karate classes, and barba (Kazakh wrestling) classes. A music school is located near downtown, and since I brought my flute I may be able to come up with a secondary project involving the students at this school.
We spent one day at the base camp in the mountains. The camp consists of two guest cabins (amongst other buildings), one of which is equipped with a good stove to keep toasty and warm in the winter. It snowed the day of our visit and a fair amount accumulated at the camp. It was only raining in town so I didn’t think about the change in elevation and the possible need to wear my snow boots. I needed them at the camp that day, but I’ll break them in soon enough. It was a great visit and I think I’ll be spending a good number of weekends there. It is quite comfortable and really beautiful. There are also numerous hiking/skiing trails nearby. And I might be getting a pair of skis from another volunteer! In the summer we host youth camps at the base camp. We even have inflatable rafts, although I don’t know yet which river we use them on. I also learned there are small cabins in the mountains available on a first-come, first-served basis at no charge. These are good places to hang out and use during multi-day treks.
It was cloudy all week and rained more than half of the time. At times it snowed in town, but the snow never stuck. It felt very cold to me, although I’m not sure it dropped below freezing. I was also struck by a cold/sinus problem the day after arriving, so I was probably extra sensitive to the cold even though I wore layers every day. And I still don’t have a coat. The volunteers from the north suggested I get one there because it would likely be cheaper than in Almaty. And I assumed that in the north I would be more likely to find a coat of suitable weight to battle the severe cold, rather than in Almaty. After all, it is difficult to purchase a coat in the southern United States that will suffice for the winters in the northern states or Alaska. However, my counterpart and a couple of others said the quality of the coat would likely be poorer if purchased in the north, and the price would be better in Almaty. (Conflicting information in Kazakhstan? Really, nothing new here!) We made a quick trip to the bazaar in town one afternoon and found only one place selling coats, none of which I was happy with. So this week I am going to try the bazaar here at the training site. And if need be I’ll go to Almaty next weekend. There is another volunteer who needs boots so we’ll go together and see if we can avoid paying exorbitant prices as Americans who don’t speak great Russian (or Kazakh) and are supposedly loaded ($). This is an adventure I am not looking forward to; at least I have an idea of what a coat should cost me, and know what two others paid for their coats in Pavlodar.
So, I suppose I should mention something about work, since that is what I am ultimately here for. My counterpart, Nina, is younger than I and recently graduated with an ecology degree. She does speak some English, as I previously mentioned. I believe she will be great to work with. She seems to have many of her own ideas and is open to new ones as well. My supervisor, Natalia, is full of energy and is determined to bring in more eco-tourists through effective marketing. With some research and time we should be able to accomplish this. This means a website will be in the works, but I don’t believe that a reservation system will be needed or wanted anytime soon. They may surprise me; time will tell.
One of the new projects my organization will be working on is an HIV/AIDS education program, which Nina initiated involvement in because our organization works with youth. (We work with youth more than I knew about initially.) HIV/AIDS education is one of the big projects Peace Corps wants volunteers to work on worldwide, so this is a great opportunity to work on such a project nearly from the beginning.
Three times a week we hold an English club in the evenings. It is geared toward youth, but anyone from the community is welcome to attend. I actually taught the class last Wednesday night. Supposedly teaching English becomes easier and more comfortable over time yet I am not completely convinced of this. I feel extremely awkward in this capacity of teaching, and I am wondering if it is because I have forgotten so many of the grammar details despite years and years of school. I never felt this awkward training people how to sell fishing and hunting licenses, which I can do in my sleep; perhaps I need a crash course in English grammar to refresh my memory raise and my comfort level a bit. Once again my tendency to be a perfectionist wreaks havoc and causes stress! I must admit, though, that I really do not want to teach English. That is not what I am here for nor what I am trained in. Nonetheless, I will keep this English club going and do my best not to be coerced into other clubs (which I believe I will have to fight against, based on some of the discussions that took place during my visit.)
I will be involved in a couple of other projects during my first few months. First, there is a global initiative to educate youths about the effects of cutting trees for Christmas (here, a New Year’s tradition). Then, my organization is considering starting a scout program. And to my surprise, there is a Boy Scout program in Kazakhstan! So in mid-November, a couple of other volunteers are visiting my organization to talk to us (and my two fellow trainees nearby) about how they started scout programs. And I get to invite two of my friends from the Pavlodar area who are also working with youth and may be interested in scout programs for their organizations!! Unfortunately, this will take place just a week or two after we return to site so I don’t know the feasibility of this. While this is a business trip, I don’t know if they will be allowed to travel so far (about 12 hours) so soon after arrival. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
And my biggest project for the first six months: learning Russian!! As designed by my organization, I purposely have limited projects during the first few months so I can focus on learning the language and communicate effectively. And I do need to work on it. I continue to struggle and fear how poorly I will do on our oral exam in about two weeks.
My one disappointment, which is small in the grand scheme of things, is that I will not have DSL Internet. There is dial-up at the office and my new host-mom does not mind if I have dial-up at the apartment. There are two Internet cafes in town, but one does not have reliable hours or computer speed. If I choose to rent my own apartment after the required six months of living with a host family, I will seriously consider getting DSL. It costs a bit more than what I paid in Oklahoma. Yet being able to talk to my parents, best friend, and other volunteers over Skype at no charge is a huge factor. This is still seven months away, so not something to be overly concerned with now.
All in all I had a great visit and like some other volunteers, did not want to return to training for the last three weeks. Now it is back to four hours of Russian each morning, followed by technical sessions in the afternoon. Yes, we all need the Russian. It will just be difficult to return to the classroom setting after two weeks of excitement and knowing what awaits us at our permanent sites!
