Kazakhstan vs. England

Sometimes no news is good news. After my organization’s success with the Peace Corp Partnership (see last post), the rest of May passed very quietly. This is a "long" list of things that I helped out with during May:

• Planted potatoes with my host family
• Taught whiffleball to kids
• Learned how to cook монты
• Played soccer

Even though it is Peace Corps…some days (or stretches of days) are more boring than others.

However, June has already been more exciting than all of May. Last Saturday the Kazakhstan national soccer team played England in a World Cup qualifier. The game was in Almaty and the tickets were rumored to be around 10,000 tenge (way out of my budget). So my friends and I did what any fan of any major sport would do: we went to a local restaurant and watched the game on a projection tv.

I am happy that I am in a place where soccer is a popular sport. Volleyball is also popular in Kazakhstan, but now that the weather is warmer there is is always a pickup soccer game going on in the afternoons in my town. I don’t speak Kazakh, and my Russian is horrible, but everyone can appreciate a good save, or a pretty header off of a 30 foot crossing pass. I met most of my local friends just by approaching them and asking if I could join a game.

As for the game between Kazakhstan and England, the first half was great. The Kazakhstan squad, while young, inexperienced, and visibly smaller in comparison to the English footballers, played with a lot of heart. They held off the English for about 40 minutes. They even had two good scoring opportunities, with one ball that bounced off of the post and another that missed just wide. However, the size of the English players were too much, and it showed on a goal off of a corner kick where the English player didn’t have to jump to head the ball into the net.

The second half was boring. It reminded me of a high school JV- varsity scrimmage. The Kazakhstan team seemed flat on their feet as the English squad put in three more goals, including a beautiful Rooney full volley/bicycle kick combination which surely must have been an “ESPN’s top ten plays of the day” candidate.

Kazakhstan’s soccer team is very young, and lacking in experience on the world stage. However, I believe that these things can be solved with a little bit of time, money, and talent. Kazakhstan has the money to find, train, and attract top talent and coaching (Through a sponsorship maybe?). They already have a pool of talent to develop and train in its national soccer league, and small youth leagues and school teams are springing up everywhere, ensuring the future of the sport and the development of very young talent. Most importantly, soccer is already a part of the culture. Soccer is everywhere; perhaps not as intense as Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico, and the traditional soccer superpowers. However, it is there: the will to play, the love of the game. Those things can’t be taught nor bought.

Kazakhstan won’t have a cakewalk in any international competition. Since it is actually a member of the European soccer association , they will be consistently playing against the best squads in the world. This means they will be always get a mouthful of the traditional soccer superpowers: Germany, Italy, England, France, Holland and the (re)emerging national squads such as Ukraine and Russia.
Whatever the case, Kazakhstan soccer surely has the time. After seeing the squad against England, I don’t think they will fare any better against the other teams in their group, which includes England, Belarus, Croatia, Ukraine, and Andorra. Kazakhstan has played all of them, and the only squad that Kazakhstan has beaten is Andorra. Hope for this World Cup cycle seems bleak if not impossible at this point. However, their future can be bright. Perhaps one day, Kazakhstan will be able to secure a World Cup berth, if not by 2018, surely by 2030.

Karabulak’s Peace Corps Partnership Project (my answer to “Why don’t you speak Kazakh?”)

It’s been a month since I’ve updated my blog. The reason why is because my NGO applied for and “won” a Peace Corp Partnership Project (PCPP) to start a Kazakh language class in Karabulak. While it has an application process, the PCPP is not a true grant because it allows for interested individuals in America and around the world to donate to projects that they are interested in. I really like the idea of this program.

Here is the link to our project if you would like to take a look or donate:

The good news is that the project is online for everyone to see. The bad news is that to fully explain why Karabulak needs a Kazakh language course requires a lot more than the 200 words than the PCPP website gave us. So, I’m using this post to explain our situation in more detail.

The idea to start a Kazakh language course in Karabulak stems from a larger issue. Kazakhstan is still a country that is still transitioning itself away from its communist past. Under the Former Soviet Union everyone was required to learn Russian. This caused the amount of people who knew the original language of Kazakhstan, Kazakh, to decline. While sitting down for tea with various people who were in Kazakhstan during this period, they tell some eyebrow-raising stories about how they learned Russian in school and what happened to people who openly spoke Kazakh. Once Kazakhstan finally broke away in 1991, people began to speak Kazakh openly and with pride once again.

One question that I (and a majority of Kazakhstan volunteers) get all of the time from interested people is “Do you know Kazakh?” I know just the bare bones of Kazakh: enough to barter for food at the bazaar, my name, where I am from, and how old I am. For me, this is good enough. It is not critical for me to learn Kazakh. My director speaks Russian. My two host families spoke Russian. Everyone else speaks Russian.
However, when I ask Karabulak citizens if they need to learn Kazakh, I get a varied response. Some people (mainly Russian speakers) say that they will never need to learn Kazakh because everyone knows Russian. Many Kazakh speakers say that it is not important now, but it will be in another decade. However, in Karabulak in particular, many people whom I’ve asked do not know Kazakh really want to get the chance to learn. Many of these people want to learn Kazakh because knowing Kazakh leads to greater variety of job opportunities. The Kazakhstan government has designated Russian as “the language of inter-ethnic communication”. However Kazakh is spoken predominantly in government and private organizations in Kazakhstan.

As of now, about 45% of people in Karabulak do not know Kazakh. Karabulak has 5 schools, and the students get their fair share of Kazakh lessons. However, Karabulak doesn’t have a public library, university, college, or any place for adults to learn (Karabulak only has about 16,000 people). There are many talented accountants, architects and college students in Karabulak who want to learn Kazakh or want more intensive study in the language. Kazakhstan is finishing its economic and social transition away from communism and solidifying its identity. Without a doubt Kazakh will play an important role in this. Personally, I may not have to learn Kazakh, but I do believe that Kazakh has the potential to become the dominate language in Kazakhstan, as it was in the past. Kazakh is not a critical language…yet.

I took all of this information to my director, who simply said, “We know,” and proceeded to show me a business plan for creating Kazakh courses in Karabulak that was made 2 years ago. It fell apart due to funding problems. We decided to resurrect the project. However, instead of my NGO attempting to find the funding by themselves (which was why it failed the first time), we were going to get the community to help. It is a community project, after all!

My director and I first went to the local (government) Akimat and asked them for help. They were happy to assist because they are also familiar with the situation. They want to employ the accountants in town, but they need some level of Kazakh. They promised us that if we could raise the rest of the resources, they would pay for a teacher for as long as these promised Kazakh courses ran in Karabulak.

We then visited the other NGO in Karabulak. This was a surprise to me, because I didn’t know that Karablak had another NGO. Anyway, they told us who to get in touch with to get a space to get the courses. We took our plan to them, and not only did they say that we could use the room, they would allow us to use it for one year rent free.

Last, we went back to many of the individuals who I talked with who wanted the classes. When we told them that we were close to our goal, they were very happy and started suggesting all sorts of improvements and new ideas. Through them, our advertising is at a reduced cost, we found an appropriate text book, and they were a good sounding board for the project.

Although the room, teacher, and advertising are either free or at a reduced price, there were still some things that we need to finish the project. The room is bare, and we need to buy chairs and tables for people to sit. The Kazakh workbook problems are on a cd, and we require a printer to print out the exercises. Any American college student can tell you about the crazy costs of textbooks. Unfortunately, this problem also exists (to a lesser extent) in Kazakhstan.

These are the major things that we are asking for and what the donations will go toward.
Anyway, that’s our project! Thanks a million if you donate!

The battle for my independence

In college, my friends wanted to make a rush t-shirt that said "Sigma Pi: Resisting the rule of King George III since 1776." The back would have a 'roid-raging George Washington punching a Redcoat. Although the shirt is a joke, from the first day I've arrived in Kazakhstan, I've felt like I have been waging my own personal battle for my independence and sanity. This week I feel like I have finally won that battle. For the first time since last August, I can say that I am comfortable with my level of independence.

Then my host family asked me to stay for another 6 months, and I agreed.

Yes, I willingly decided to double my time with my host family. I realize this may not make any sense. Usually at the first opportunity many volunteers move out. It's understandable. Many of the Peace Corps volunteers I have met here are mentally tough, independent people who can take care of themselves and chafe at anyone attempting to take care of them. For many pcvs, well, many Americans, (and myself included), independence is measured by being able to do whatever one wants, whenever one wants to, in the manner of their choosing. With a host family, that sort of independence can be hard to find. Usually, this sort of independence can only be achieved by moving out.

Perhaps I've lucked out, but I have achieved that sort of independence with my host family. I cook what I want. I leave and arrive when I want. I load my own laundry and hang it out to dry (but my host sister pushes the buttons. I don't understand the washing machine).

Together, we have set boundaries. This has come from trial and error, a little bit of screaming from everyone, some cultural exchanges, but most importantly a lot of communicating and listening. Together we have learned that both Russian and American cultures highly value respect, kindness, family, and doing what is right. We have different ways of expressing those things, but the basic ideals are there. Once I and my host family realized that we have this commonality, living got a lot easier.

They know that although I am young, I've lived on my own (defined by not sleeping in my parents house) since I was 18. They know that I've done my own laundry since I was 12 (and I know how to hand wash!), and I can cook a variety of dishes that are good. My mom taught me well. They also know that they do not have to watch me; that they are not my babysitters, and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

I now know that the reason why they ask the "10,000 questions" such as: if I've eaten (at least 4 times every day), if I'm cold, where I'm going, what I'm doing, how long I'll be there, who I'll be going with, how I'm getting there, how I'm getting back, picking at my shoes and hair, putting the extra monti on my plate when I am full, and my personal favorite "oh god it's cold outside wear a coat" when it is sunny and 60. They ask not because they think that I can't take care of myself. It is simply because they care about me.

I decided to stay for 6 more months not because Peace Corps said I must, but because I genuinely like them. I have learned that the feeling is mutual. So for now, my host family and I are happy co-existing and will be doing so hopefully for another 6 months.

Burning outhouses

My woes with fire continue. However, this time it wasn't my fault.

 

…The reason why I couldn't talk on Sunday was because we were putting out a fire. My host sister burned down the outhouse. She didn't do it on purpose. Luckily, everyone thought it was hilarious, except my host sister, who was very embarrassed. Nobody was hurt, everyone was fine, although we got soaked carrying buckets of water.

 

My host family has a plot of land that I didn't even know existed where they grow lots of vegetables. It's hidden behind the back yard by a grove of trees, and the gate is impossible to find unless you know what you are looking for. I didn't know that it existed until we cleared it out for planting.

 

Anyway, we were clearing the land by lighting fires to burn off the brush. Smokie the Bear would not approve and neither did I because it was so windy. Nevertheless we piled brush and sticks, and burned them. We raked and burned leaves. We burned the trash from the winter. This is a normal thing here, because there is no trash service in Karabulak.

 

We burned the old toilet paper last. (in Kazakhstan, never throw toilet paper down the toilet or in an outhouse! It can clog the drain and doesn't decompose well...and that can lead to really awkward situations.) My host sister lit the paper in a tin can next to the outhouse, and then left. She probably should have stayed and watched it. Nobody else was outside: I was in the house reading a book, my host brother was watching a movie, and my host mom was lighting the petchka. Because it was so windy, the flames jumped to the wooden outhouse and it went up like a Christmas tree. It hasn't rained in days, so it burned pretty fast.

 

I think our neighbors said that we could use their outhouse until we build a new one, but I'm not sure. That will be a funny conversation I will have with them later...but such is life here…

 

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.