Busted Stuff

To prepare for leaving Kazakhstan next week, yesterday I began to pack away up all of my things. I don't have a lot of material things, because I've moved 4 times over the past two years in Kazakhstan. Every time I move, I throw out anything that is not essential, because I hate hauling heavy bags for long distances. I already gave most of my souvenirs from Kazakhstan to my friends and family when I came back to America in February. So all in all, I'm traveling light, lighter than when I arrived two years ago. All of my current possessions will fit into a hiking backpack and a large duffle bag. My dombra has its own case.

My luggage that I'm hauling all of my stuff in is drastically different that what I brought when I first arrived. In 2008 I arrived with a rolling backpack, rolling duffle bag, and a small and medium sized backpack. All of my rolling backpacks broke within my first 3 months in country. It wasn't that the luggage was cheap; it got beaten to death on uneven sidewalks and rocky and uneven roads. I was forced to purchase new luggage and bought a hiker's pack which is so much easier to transport around Kazakhstan. I would recommend for anyone who is coming to Kazakhstan and is not living in a major city to bring one, because it's easier and the roads and sidewalks outside of the cities will destroy rolling luggage. Hiking packs allow you to have your hands free, has greater mobility (you can run with them), and are easier to place on busses or on your lap when traveling by marshurka (a big van).

My clothing has been decimated. Everything article of clothing that I own has at least one hole in it, some in embarrassing places so I don't wear them in public. Colors have faded, buttons have fallen off, and zippers have malfunctioned, usually at the most inconvenient times such as in Kostanai in January when it was -40 outside. My mom taught me a lot of useful things, but sewing wasn't one of them. She tried, but I was terrified of needles as a child, and that fear is still with me today. Even if I knew how to sew, I don't think it would have helped.

Clothes that I'm bringing back:

• 1 pair of jeans (heavily frayed)
  
• 1 pair of dress slacks
  
• 1 suit (Worn only 3 times!!)
  
• 1 pair of tennis shoes (holes in the heels)
  
• 5 pairs of socks and underwear (all of the socks were bought in Kazakhstan, the original ones are destroyed)
  
• 4 t-shirts (all with holes)
  
• 1 long sleeved shirt (has my fraternity letters on it, it has tons of holes but I can't bear to part with it)
  
• 1 sweater (taken from another volunteer)
  
• 1 hoodie
  
• 1 heavy coat (bought in Kostanai)
  
• 1 dress shirt
  
• 1 tie
  

This is a sad list, considering the original clothes I bought with me. Although I'm not looking forward to it, I'm going to have to go shopping when I get stateside. I hate shopping.

As far as electronics, I have been very fortunate. My computer has held up very well, and never broke while I was in Kazakhstan. I know of many volunteers that were forced to purchase a new computer, or go without because theirs got fried, dropped, or were so heavily laden with viruses that they became unusable. My power cord burnt out because of a power surge, the "I" key has fallen off, and it takes a good 5 minutes for my computer to load, but considering all that I put it through, I'm very impressed.

I am taking no books back home with me. Books are important to the sanity of volunteers, as they can be read by candlelight and on the long bus and train rides in Kazakhstan. My site mate read over 100 books in her village over her two years. I don't know the exact number of books that I read here, but I have 32 books scattered over my apartment, and I know I've read them all. Peace Corps has a small library in their Almaty office, and I'm donating all of my books to it. There are several books I'll always associate with my Peace Corps service such as "The Road," "The Once and Future King," "The Art of War", "Where There is no Doctor", "Ivanhoe", Dante's "Inferno", "World War Z" and the "Unfinished Tales" by Tolkien. Each of them carries a special memory, both good and bad, of my time here.

What I will take back are the certificates I received. In Kazakhstan, certificates are a big deal, and are used as proof of completing seminars and as official thank-you for work that is completed. I have about 10 certificates from different NGO's, schools, and even one from a local mayor for the projects I did while I was here. I'm not sure what I'll do with them when I get back, maybe put them in a scrapbook, frame a couple that are especially colorful or important. I do know what I'm going to do with my official certificate of completion of service from Peace Corps: that's going on my wall.

 

8 more days. I think I can do it.