3/17/2010 My procrastination continues...
So how to follow up my entry about Kreshenya? Not exactly sure! Haven't done anything quite as exciting as that, which is why it's taken me so long to follow up. Don't want to disappoint my fans ! Well, that and the fact that not much has been going on. Winter continues to be interesting, although now we have entered the “spring” months. While it is warmer now, at or above freezing most days, it has been snowing a lot more lately. But at least it's not uncomfortably cold anymore!
So I'll give you a summary of my last few weeks. The first week in February I was fortunate enough to meet an American couple that were adopting two children from our orphanage. The kids kept telling me that their adoptive parents were visiting and that I should meet them, but unfortunately we were not able to meet until their last day here, before they left with the girls. Despite that, it was nice to speak with some Americans and hear tales of home. They were from Colorado and had adopted 3 other children from Kazakhstan. Now they have the 2 girls, they said their family was complete.
It's funny in a situation like that what kinship you feel with strangers, when the only connection you have is that you are from the U.S. We sat together for about an hour, spoke English and talked about life here in Kazakhstan and life at home in the U.S. They were really warm people and we felt a certain comraderie right away. We hugged good bye, and they took my email address, so I hope to hear from them soon about how the girls are adjusting to life in the U.S. Just nice to meet some fellow Americans and share a cool moment together.
The second week in February was the “week of the English Language” at the orphanage. Every subject has a week in which they are supposed to plan special events and get the kids involved in learning more about their subjects. A lot of preparation and extra hours went into our week. My counterpart and I worked very hard and we were both exhausted by the end of the week. We organized competitions in English for our students of different levels, we made valentines, we held an extra English club, and on Valentine's Day, we had a big celebration.
We had prepared some students to recite English poems. I also prepared a power point presentation on Valentine's Day, that one of the students translated. They also had a competition, read some poems in Russian, and my site mate Sidd came and sang some songs. It was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.
Following the celebration I got on the bus to go home. I was the only one on the bus and since I am obviously foreign, the bus driver asked the familiar “Otkooda vee?” or “Where are you from?”. I told him I was American and answered all of the usual questions that get asked when people want to know why you are here. He also asked if I was married or had children (also very common questions). Of course I answered no, and that was followed with a “me neither” and a followed it up by saying, "We should get married!" What?! He was joking, I think....
This weekend I head down to Shymkent (via 32 hour train ride) to gather with my fellow volunteers for some rest and relaxation. Next week is also a big Kazakh national holiday called Naryuz. In Shymkent there is a big celebration of this holiday. I will be able to tell you all about it in the coming weeks. The week after Naryuz we go to Almaty for training. I can't wait to see my group mates again as it has been almost 5 months since we've all been together. Also it will be nice to be in the warm south! I hear it is between 60 and 70 degrees most days. No long underwear needed, I can't tell you how exciting that is for me.
So that's all for now. Will report in soon about my trip down south. Can't wait to have some pictures with green grass and flowers in them to show you.
