Still Around

I haven't updated this in awhile (or been on the internet) because…*surprise!* I've been very busy. The first part of March was boring, but somewhere in the middle of March into April everything started to seemingly happen at once. Most of it was good such as:

• Attending a conference in Almaty where I saw a lot of the Kaz 20's OCAP's. I learned some new stuff, and it was a bit startling to me to see how much some of them had changed since November. It was awesome to see how some of them have grown; the difference in some is like night and day. The other good thing about the conference is that now my organization has a better idea of how I can assist them better, so I expect to be busy in the months ahead.
  

  
   

• Fulfilling a promise to my first host family. Before I left my first host family in Issyk, I promised them that I would come back to visit. I had lunch with them, and we talked about beshbarmak, shooting dogs (Issyk had a rabies outbreak a couple of years ago…maybe?), and life in general. However, the important thing was that we talked. For over an hour and a half. They are great people; I'll never forget them.
  

  
   

• Finding the best (and cheapest) Chinese food restaurant in Almaty. This happened quite by accident; I was hanging out with 6 educational volunteers, and we came across this restaurant called "Princess". We shared 6 dishes for about 600 tenge each. Can't beat that!
  

  
   

• Beginning to plan my summer. I plan on going to a couple of camps and take a short trip to Kyrgyzstan. I've found some cool people to go with. It looks like I will have the chance to throw a snowball in summer!
  

At the same time, some of it wasn't that good such as:

• Attending that conference in Almaty (the same one). While I learned a lot and saw people I had not seen since November, the days were long and busy, I suffered from information overload, became burnt out and discouraged, and the food wasn't that good.
  

  
   

• Falling into the trap of comparing my work to other volunteers. This is a tough one to admit. Especially with OCAP volunteers, the work that we do is so varied and different that comparing work is impossible and only leads to negative feelings. It wasn't jealousy that I felt (on the contrary, I'm so happy of the efforts and accomplishments of my friends and colleagues here), but it made me very discouraged because my impact on my NGO and in Karabulak so far has been minimal. On paper, I've done practically nothing for Karabulak and for my NGO. I have raised no money for my NGO, haven't started any new programs, haven't won any grants (yet!), and haven't made an impact on Karabulak. However this doesn't mean that what I have done is not important. It's all about the little things. I have plenty of little accomplishments, but somewhere between March and April I forgot that, and thankfully a conversation with a Kaz 19 put things back into perspective for me.
  

  
   

• A frightening trip in Taldy Korgan. It is my favorite city in Kazakhstan and it is on my personal top ten of coolest cities that I've visited. However, it is a city, and just like with every city and place in the world, from Rome to Memphis to Budapest to Kingston, there are people who are shady and places to stay away from. Somewhere in March I forgot that, and while everything is fine, it was a warning shot across my bow that I will never forget.
  

  
   

• Experiencing burn out/exhaustion. I have basically been working 6 days a week since November. There were a lot of holidays in December/January, but while these don't count officially, they sort of do because I was speaking Russian, learning about the community, and participating in cultural events. During the conference I got weary. It was a feeling worse than being tired. I'm still trying to work through that.
  

  
   

And some of it was very weird such as:

• An encounter with the Karabulak Dog Fleet: a mass of about 30 dogs that rampage through Karabulak at dusk eating chickens and other dogs. I didn't think I was in any danger as these dogs closed down the main road, but I had my rock out and ready. I don't expect anyone to believe this, but I know what I saw.
  

  
   

• Inheriting an English class. There was a young woman who I helped way back in December by teaching her interview skills and doing a mock interview. She ended up getting accepted to British exchange program to learn about volunteering and assisting NGO's. I took over her class in her absence. There are only 4 students all applying to university to become translators. However, they are all teenagers; so once again, I'm learning how to present information in a manner that will keep them from falling asleep.
  

  
   

• Going to a fish store with my director. It was weird and very disconcerting. I do not like fish. I can kill rabbits and wring a chicken's neck without blinking, but seeing a person clean a fish makes me ill. Very ill.
  

  
   

• My host sister burning down the outhouse. Don't ask me how it happened. I was reading a book when it happened. All I know is that is wasn't intentional. When I think about it, I actually start laughing, until I realize that now I don't know where to go when the time comes to..er…go.
  

However, the main point is that through the good, bad, and weird stuff, I'm alive, doing ok, and still in one piece.