...to be continued

Exodus

Today I had an interesting talk with my host father about the plight of a lot of Russians in Kazakhstan. During Soviet times they were dominant here while Kazakhs were the disenfranchised group (the ratio was roughly 60:40). After over ten years of independence many of the Russians and Kazakhs who lived here have emigrated which resulted in a flip of this ratio in the Kazakhs' favor and depending on who you're talking to a massive brain drain as the people who knew how to run certain businesses and factories left the country. Many Russians (including my host mother, who is a former school teacher) were replaced by Kazakhs in government jobs and work can be hard for them to come by these days. My family is going to Belarus from June-August for this reason and based on what my host father told me they'll be leaving for Belarus for good once Marina graduates from high school since university tuition here is much more expensive. For the reasons I mentioned above many Russians don't see much of a future in Kazakhstan and decide to emigrate instead. This whole situation sounds a lot like the issue of affirmative action in the US and it remains to be seen if the government here will allow this emigration to continue or whether they will introduce incentives for the Russians to stay. Since I'm living with a Russian family I usually get their perspective on things but I'd be interested to hear more about how Kazakhs see things as well; sometimes you have to work at getting a balanced view on an issue instead of expecting it to be handed to you.

Taxi Driver

Riding a taxi in Kazakhstan is an experience very different from riding one in the States. A few weeks ago I wrote that any vehicle on the road here is a potential taxi but that's not exactly true. More often than not the Ladas and Volgas will stop for you instead of the Audis and Mercedes because the people who drive the former cars do so for a living and the people who drive the latter generally don't. So you tend to get used to the Soviet makes of vehicles that don't have any seatbelts and that have most likely been on the road before Kazakhstan existed as a country. So while the ride can be an adventure in itself it's the people who are driving these cars that make the trip most interesting. A lot of times I'll be the last one left in the car at night after other Peace Corps trainees are dropped off at their homes and at that point I'm asked where I'm from, etc. My Russian isn't the greatest and my Kazakh is even worse but I still always manage to maintain a conversation with the driver. Every once in a while something totally unexpected will happen as well; last night for example I was going to a cafe and once we got there the driver insisted on inviting me inside for a few drinks. I mentioned that I had to be at my cafe at 9 and that I didn't know exactly where it was but once he pulled me into a nearby cafe I decided to go along for what could turn out to be another cross-cultural exchange. So he started to order shots of Schnaps as I desperately tried to understand what he was saying while trying to add whatever I could to the conversation. Some things I got from it were that his name was Aziz, his normal job was an architect in Ecik and that people living in Ecik generally understand Russian, Kazakh, Turkish and even some Chinese and Japanese but that it's not easy to find people who can speak English. About 15 minutes later he left with a handshake and when I went outside to try to find the cafe I was supposed to go to a few Peace Corps trainees were heading into the very cafe that I was walking out of - it turned out that I had been brought to the right place to begin with! So all in all I've found taxi drivers here to be friendly and curious and I'm looking forward to getting to know more of them during my stay in Ecik.

Karaganda

In one week I'll be going on an 18 hour train trip to Karaganda for my one week practicum assignment. This basically means that I'll be monitoring and taking notes about a non-governmental (i.e. not-for-profit) organization while I'm there and that I'll hopefully pick up some things by doing so that I can use once I'm sent to my real site assignment in mid-May. Karaganda (or Qaraghandy in Kazakh) is the second largest city in Kazakhstan with a population of just under 500,000 and was originally formed around a gulag that was operating here in the 1950's. According to Lonely Planet there's a town just to the north of the city that has 80% of the HIV/AIDS cases in Kazakhstan so that's a little strange; there are cities in Kazakhstan that are dealing with the results of ecological disasters etc. but I don't know why so many AIDS cases would be centered around one area. In any case the NGO that I'll be monitoring is called "Ecomuseum" and in a nutshell tries to raise awareness of ecological issues and problems in Kazakhstan. Some of the problems that they mentioned were the fallout from decades of nuclear explosions in Semipalatinsk and the environmental impact of the space launches at the Balkonur Cosmodrome. I don't know what my final site placement will be and our trainers insist that what we do for our practicum has no bearing on that but based on what happens during my week in Karaganda I might be working at an ecological NGO. Ideally I'd like to do something business-oriented like marketing research and project development at the place where I end up but realistically I'll probably spend more time teaching English and writing grants. Nothing's set in stone though so I'll try to find out more about the workings of the Ecomuseum at practicum and will move on from there.

NGOs

And now for a little technical talk - ever since I was accepted into the Peace Corps' Kazakhstan program I wanted to know what my specific job would be and while the answers came slowly I think I have enough now to have a basic understanding of what I'll be doing. In a nutshell I'll be working for a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Kazakhstan and will be providing them with any help that they might need. A NGO is an entity that is centered around a specific cause be it the environment, youth services, women's rights, etc. A volunteer would help by writing grants, teaching English, assisting the NGO with internal projects and so forth. Of course there are plenty of obstacles to prevent this from being an easy process; some of the bigger ones are the language barrier, cultural differences and the potential lack of structure and unclearly defined/overambitious goals within the NGO. From what I've gathered Peace Corps volunteers aren't expected to change the world when they begin work at their NGO but they should keep an open mind towards their new environment and shouldn't be opposed to changing themselves so that they can adapt to it. As an example everything I've heard points towards a more slowly paced working environment than in the U.S. so going into a job with a "go get 'em" attitude would probably be counterproductive. This doesn't mean that you should slack off for the next two years but rather that you should accomplish your goals in ways different than you had originally planned. Many volunteers take on secondary projects which sometimes prove to be more fulfilling than their main ones; some of these projects might consist of teaching a sport or hobby or creating a summer camp where English is taught - there are all kinds of possibilities. Once I get to my site in mid-May I'm going to assess the whole situation before I make a decision as to what I'll be doing. Until then I'm sure there'll be plenty more to learn!

Address

Here's my address for the next two months in case anyone would like to send snail mail, care packages, etc.:

Peace Corps
P.O. Box 376
480001 Almaty
Kazakhstan
Attn: Tom Dalcher

Keep in mind that I will be moving to my permanent site in mid-May and that my mailing address will probably also change at that time. This address should still be ok to use though - it'll just take a little longer for me to get anything sent there.

Center of Attention

One thing that we were told almost immediately as Peace Corps prospects was that we'd have to get used to people staring at us once we go abroad. I thought that that was an exaggeration until I spent some time here in Issyk. Americans stick out like a sore thumb here no matter what they wear or how they act. Whenever I walk down a street it's pretty much a given that someone will stare at me but people react differently beyond that. Sometimes children will say hello and I'll respond with a hello back which can lead to more conversation if they're up to it. I've actually had good talks with older kids in mixed English/Russian and I'm looking forward to be able to have "real" conversations in the future. Yesterday a group of teens behind the school invited me for a chat and some vodka but since the latter wouldn't have mixed too well with my afternoon classes I had to turn it down. Some merchants in the bazaar already know me by name and I'm always amazed at how friendly people are here. Even though I'm staying with a Russian family I'm trying to pick up a little of the Kazakh language so that I can pleasantly surprise some of the Kazakhs that I talk to. It's rumored that we'll find out next week where we'll be placed which would affect whether I'd have to concentrate on learning more Russian or Kazakh. Either way I'm looking forward to beginning work at a non-governmental organization in two months and becoming a little more independent, so to speak.

Connectivity Issues

Just as a FYI: my weblog was locked when my free trial expired and the credit card address on file didn't match the one on file at my credit card company. When I attempted to change the address online I was prompted for a security code which I couldn't access because I had handed in my credit card for safekeeping at the main Peace Corps office in Almaty. If you're reading this then it means that I navigated my way there safely (Peace Corps just moved to a new office this past week) and that things should be all set. Internet access in Issyk has been very sketchy as of late so weblog entries and email replies might take longer than usual, but I'll take care of them and will take some pictures of Issyk and my host family soon.

Medeo

This past Saturday I went on a cultural trip to Medeo; Medeo's main claim to fame is its skating rink which was built for the 1972 Winter Olympics and which is still used for training purposes today. On weekends it's open to the public and while I didn't try skating myself it was still an interesting trip. Shashlik (various meat kebabs) and vodka is served at the skating site for the less athletically inclined and our group decided to climb the thousands of stairs to the top of the mountain. The stairs climb a series of inclines which were built to stem any potential avalanches that might come down from the top of the mountain and I realized just how out of shape I was when I reached the top after almost everyone else had already made it. Clouds moved in quickly once we reached the top and we left before it started raining but all in all it seems to be a nice getaway for people who live in Almaty. Medeo will also comprise my first set of pictures which will hopefully be uploaded by the time you read this.

Learning Russian

Russian isn't turning out to be quite as daunting as I expected but I probably owe a lot of that to the Peace Corps training techniques. Most of the teachers aren't expert English speakers which really isn't necessary anyways since our classes are conducted completely in Russian. Although there are still a few letters that give me trouble I can read the Cyrillic alphabet for the most part and am able to have basic conversations with people on the street. My classes are held in my teacher's apartment in Microregion 3, a Soviet style apartment block about 15 minutes from where I live. I have classes with three other trainees and while there's no consistent time or length to the classes they're mostly four hours long. Since we'll probably be interacting with people with little or no English skills once we get sent to our job sites the instruction is intense; we're already studying grammar and while that has never been my strong point, even in English it's necessary so that we can recognize the different forms of verbs when people use them. A Clockwork Orange also makes a lot more sense to me ever since I've begun studying Russian; for those who have only seen the movie "real horrorshow" really means "real kharasho" which means great/very good in Russian. It's frustrating to keep running into language difficulties but I know that I'll be doing much better in a month or even a week or two. Considering that I didn't know any Russian a few weeks ago I think I'm doing pretty well.

My new family

I'm sure that a lot of you are wondering what it's like to move in with a brand new family for 10 weeks so let me try to enlighten you! I first arrived here about 10 days ago and was picked up at one of the local schools my my host mother and host sister. As I mentioned earlier my family consists of the parents, two older brothers, a younger sister and the family dog - a boxer named Christi (or Chrissy as I like to call her). I have my own room in the house which consists of a bed, table and closet and which can be locked if necessary. The first few days were a little awkward but after working on a few family projects like making dumplings for dinner and chopping wood I started to become more of a part of the family. Even though nobody in the family speaks English I'm able to communicate with my fledgling Russian and lots of hand gestures. My host mother takes good care of me, cooking all meals and giving me a packed lunch if I won't be at home as well as bundling me up if it's cold outside. When I had stomach problems last week she even called my language teacher to make sure that I was ok - having lived a very independent life in the States this is an unusual situation for me but not one that bothers me in the least. The host father gladly gives me his opinions about all the places in Kazakhstan that I ask about, even if his opinions aren't always flattering. I do keep an open mind though and actually hope that I get placed with a Kazakh family when I'm sent out to my assignment in May so that I can get a balanced look on things. Last week I also received instruction last week as to how one properly uses the banya by my host father; getting scrubbed down by another man while you're both in the buff is a very weird feeling at first but it's really not so bad once you've done it. Besides, there's no better way to get clean than to sweat and to chat about the benefits of Lasik surgery in Almaty for 30 minutes before beginning the washing process. I've met several of the family's relatives and friends as well and while communicating with them isn't easy we still manage to have a good time. My host father performs all repairs around the house himself and yesterday my host mother bought a fish at the bazaar, cleaned it and had it all ready for dinner a few hours later. People here may not have much money but they still remember how to do most things around the house while most Americans are caught up with the temptation to buy something ready-made or new instead of taking the time to fix something that's broken. I was guilty of the same thing but living here has made me realized how wasteful American society can be in this respect. Anyways, I'm happy to be living here and am looking forward to learning new things as part of the family over the next 9 weeks.