Zharkent

Since November, I have traveled more than 30 km from Karabulak only once: to Almaty for a Peace Corps seminar in March. Granted, the cities of Taldykorgan and Tekeli are less than 15 km from my town, and I have spent several weekends in both places both for work and to hang out. However I was shocked when I came to the realization that I am 1/3 done with my service but still haven’t taken any personal days and could count the cities in Kazakhstan that I had visited on one hand. That’s pretty sad.

Part of my reluctance to travel was out of fear. After the car accident I was scared to go anywhere. Train travel also didn’t appeal to me. I’ve heard weird and awkward train stories; experiences that I wasn't in a hurry to have myself until I became more confident with speaking Russian.

I also felt like I really didn’t need to go very far: I enjoy Taldykorgan and the volunteers there and Tekeli is very beautiful. I like my host family, and there is enough work in the area to keep me busy (at least for half the day).

Most importantly to me, I did not want my organization or community to think that I am gallivanting around the country and neglecting them or my work. My NGO hasn't done as much as I wanted (or as much as I think they are capable of doing), but the point is that I’m there and willing to work every day. However, after 9 months of constantly being at site I’ve found myself burning out (not because of the work) which does my NGO, my town, and me no good.

The moral of the story is that I’ve got to get out more, I need to take some personal time off and have some fun.

With all of this in mind, I traveled to a city called Zharkent to help 3 other education volunteers with an English camp at a local school. It wasn't a vacation, but it did get me out of Karabulak and I did have fun. I’m not a teacher, but I was put to work assisting the PCV’s and the school by helping them organize and create a work plan for the camp. I also taught the song “Head shoulders knees and toes” and acted as a soccer ref.


After my week at the camp I have a newfound respect for the education volunteers in Kazakhstan. I knew they worked hard, but I had no clue exactly how much until now. They endure a lot of stuff that I am lucky not to experience (this is probably better for everyone). However, they do have the ultimate advantage (or curse for some) in dealing with kids on a daily basis. In Zharkent, I enjoyed the kids. They love to have fun, love to learn, and are always curious. I liked talking to them, playing games with them, and answering their 10,000 questions. I wish that my work in Karabulak would put me in more contact with kids outside of English clubs and the occasional pickup soccer game.

As for Zharkent itself, it is about 40 kilometers from China. The city is very dusty and sandy. Although it is only a 4 hour taxi ride (2000 tenge) from Taldykorgan, I am amazed at how much the climate is different from Karabulak. It is hot and dry and there is a perpetual wind that whips sand and dirt everywhere. This created a new problem for me. I found sand and dirt under the collar of my shirt, in my hair, and in my ears every day. I wore my contacts for one painful day before switching to glasses. It rained once the whole time I was there, and it was only a 10 min downpour that didn't even soak through the ground. I was also surprised at the language breakdown: Kazakh (a lot more than Russian) is both spoken here and I even heard some Chinese in the bazaar.

The notable things I saw in Zharkent and the surrounding area were a beautiful mosque and a holy tree. The mosque, pretty but not currently in use, was made without nails to withstand the earthquakes that are prevalent in the region. I experienced the earthquake situation first hand. On my first night in Zharkent we had a magnitude 5 quake. I have never been in an earthquake before, and it was a situation that I didn’t particularly care for. Later I found out that the epicenter was less than 25km from Tekeli and, which meant that Karabulak got rattled pretty badly. When I arrived back in Karabulak, my host family was thankful; there was only minimal damage to their house. The holy tree was located slightly outside of town. The tree didn’t reach my expectations mainly because I was imagining a tree like from the Secret of Mana. The tree did have a holy vibe as people were praying around it. It is said that if you tie a piece of ribbon to a branch and walk around the tree 7 times, your wish will come true. I was in a bad mood (I was coming down with a cold/sinus infection), so I didn’t wish for anything. It is also said that if you drink the water that collects in the crevasses of the tree that it will give you good health.
All in all, Zharkent isn’t a bad place and while it wasn’t a vacation, I enjoyed my time there.