29 Oct – Today was my last day at work and I have much good news to report. At long last, my organization’s strategic plan is more or less finished. All that remains is to complete the budget and compile the various pieces into a single document.
The best news is that my colleagues are already implementing parts of the strategic plan. They are designing an informational brochure about the organization, developing a newsletter to be published electronically on a monthly basis, and preparing to give 1-2 educational seminars each month. I am so happy that my persistence is proving to have been worthwhile!
More good news
To add to my success in pushing through the strategic plan, my organization now has a new website! I had been struggling with Dreamweaver (and also avoiding it) for many months. Working with an unfamiliar program using a foreign language interface is quite a challenge. Thank you to my best friend Jenny, I decided to utilize WordPress.com to create the site. It was much faster to build and will be very easy for my colleagues to update in my absence.
The real challenge with the site came in addressing the language issue. It needed to be available in both Russian and English. This proved to be tricky but Sean found a WordPress theme that allowed me to accomplish this goal. The final product is not as clean as I would prefer, yet I had to compromise because the dual-language functionality was critical. If you would like to learn more about my organization and the work they have done during the last eleven years, please visit our new site: “Status” Women’s Federation.
Goodbyes
This afternoon we had tea together one last time. My colleagues presented me with a photo book of the city, Ust-Kamenogorsk. I have been eying this book for some time. I was so happy to receive it as a gift! My counterpart Valentina gave me a beautiful silver necklace. I also had gifts for everyone, so many that they called me “Ded Moroz”, which translates directly as Father Frost. Two of my colleagues thanked me for being here so they could learn about the U.S. first-hand, a nice change from movies.
Of course it was a sad parting. They all use email now though, so we can still communicate easily. I will certainly miss them as they will miss me.
It has not yet hit me that I am leaving. I have been so busy preparing to leave that I have had no time to think about such things. I expect that might change when I board the train for a 25-hour ride to Almaty.
