I will be in the States from the end of January until the beginning of June. I am going to spend my first month traveling and then for the most part stay put in Muncie, IN for the months of March, April, and May (other than a trip to Oklahoma to see family). I would love to see as many of you as possible as I visit different States. Here is my basic schedule.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
And We're Off!
Today marked the start of New Years parties for us. New Years is the biggest holiday of the year, especially for children. It is celebrated in a similar manner to Christmas in the States. Santa Clause comes and gives gifts to children and they put up a tree. They have New Year's parties at schools as well as at the orphanages. As a result, it is a pretty busy time for us. I am also returning to the States in about 3 weeks (for about 4 months), so I have a lot to do to prepare to leave. I figured you might enjoy seeing a time-line of our activities for the next week or so.
This morning we started our orphanage New years parties with our youngest children's groups at Sarmoldaeva orphanage. Below are some pictures of our party.
This afternoon we celebrated November and December birthdays at Ulan orphanage. One of the staff at Ulan does such a great job preparing a beautiful birthday meal for the children. She teaches the older girls how to prepare food and set the table properly and while they are eating, she uses the time to instruct the children as to how they should behave at a party. It is fun to see how she uses every opportunity as a teaching experience.
On Monday morning we will have a staff Christmas/New Years party. We will play games and share a meal together.
On Monday afternoon we will leave for Savva orphanage (2 1/2 hour drive) for their New Year's masquerade party. We will spend the night and return on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning the staff at the office will help us deliver gifts to the children at Ulan. These are the gifts that they chose when we took them to a local store.
On Wednesday night I will celebrate New Years with my Kazakh family. I am looking forward to getting to spend some time with them.
I will likely get to rest on Thursday and Friday (unless something else comes up).
On Saturday we will return to Savva orphanage for our monthly birthday party visit. We will spend the night and return on Sunday evening.
On Wednesday morning we will have a New Years party for the children at Saramoldaeva that are in our older children's groups.
On Wednesday evening we will celebrate New Years and birthdays with the kids at Rakhym.
I was telling someone my schedule recently and he said "so you get paid to have fun." It should be a fun, although busy, couple weeks. Soon, I will write a blog detailing where I will be during my time in the States. I hope to see many of you.
This morning we started our orphanage New years parties with our youngest children's groups at Sarmoldaeva orphanage. Below are some pictures of our party.
This afternoon we celebrated November and December birthdays at Ulan orphanage. One of the staff at Ulan does such a great job preparing a beautiful birthday meal for the children. She teaches the older girls how to prepare food and set the table properly and while they are eating, she uses the time to instruct the children as to how they should behave at a party. It is fun to see how she uses every opportunity as a teaching experience.
On Monday morning we will have a staff Christmas/New Years party. We will play games and share a meal together.
On Monday afternoon we will leave for Savva orphanage (2 1/2 hour drive) for their New Year's masquerade party. We will spend the night and return on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning the staff at the office will help us deliver gifts to the children at Ulan. These are the gifts that they chose when we took them to a local store.
On Wednesday night I will celebrate New Years with my Kazakh family. I am looking forward to getting to spend some time with them.
I will likely get to rest on Thursday and Friday (unless something else comes up).
On Saturday we will return to Savva orphanage for our monthly birthday party visit. We will spend the night and return on Sunday evening.
On Wednesday morning we will have a New Years party for the children at Saramoldaeva that are in our older children's groups.
On Wednesday evening we will celebrate New Years and birthdays with the kids at Rakhym.
I was telling someone my schedule recently and he said "so you get paid to have fun." It should be a fun, although busy, couple weeks. Soon, I will write a blog detailing where I will be during my time in the States. I hope to see many of you.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Today we had a wonderful day as a team celebrating Christmas together. We all got together at Ken's house for brunch and continued on until about nine in the evening. I decided to put my pajamas on once we got there, since I don't think I have ever celebrated Christmas in anything other than pajamas. It was a relaxing time as we enjoyed the day together. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Playing Mailman
I posted this story on the Interlink blog, but it was a story that I wanted to share with those of you that don't read that blog. It shares my experience as children received letters from sponsors and friends last weekend at Savva orphanage.
Last Saturday evening I got to play mailman at Savva orphanage. This is a task that I dread and love at the same time. Every first Saturday of the month we go from group to group at Savva orphanage. As we walk in, the children eye the box that we carry our letters in. No matter what other announcements we have for them, their eyes often stay glued to the person opening the letter box. I liken their anticipation to the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. On Saturday, as I read off the names of the children receiving letters, you could see their faces light up. It was such a joy to see how important one small piece of paper or a picture of their sponsor is to them.
It is the moment after we finish handing out letters that I dread each month. You can visibly see the faces of those children that did not receive a letter cloud over. It is especially hard when they have never received a letter. Those that have received a letter before understand that it takes time for letters to get back and forth. Those that have never received a letter often have some of their deepest fears confirmed - I am not special, no one wants to be my sponsor, no one cares. It is hard to read these reactions on their faces and answer questions like "I have written 5 letters in the last six months to my sponsor, why haven't they written back?"
On Sunday I had one girl sit down with me and show me her photo albums. She showed me a picture of her sponsors and told me their names. They probably didn't realize it when sending the picture, but that picture is in an album that holds all of her precious memories. These children read the letters over and over, show them to their friends, memorize the details, and keep them to read again later.
Although answering questions about why a child hasn't received a letter is very difficult, the joy on a child's face when receiving a letter reminds me why we do it.
Last Saturday evening I got to play mailman at Savva orphanage. This is a task that I dread and love at the same time. Every first Saturday of the month we go from group to group at Savva orphanage. As we walk in, the children eye the box that we carry our letters in. No matter what other announcements we have for them, their eyes often stay glued to the person opening the letter box. I liken their anticipation to the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. On Saturday, as I read off the names of the children receiving letters, you could see their faces light up. It was such a joy to see how important one small piece of paper or a picture of their sponsor is to them.
It is the moment after we finish handing out letters that I dread each month. You can visibly see the faces of those children that did not receive a letter cloud over. It is especially hard when they have never received a letter. Those that have received a letter before understand that it takes time for letters to get back and forth. Those that have never received a letter often have some of their deepest fears confirmed - I am not special, no one wants to be my sponsor, no one cares. It is hard to read these reactions on their faces and answer questions like "I have written 5 letters in the last six months to my sponsor, why haven't they written back?"
On Sunday I had one girl sit down with me and show me her photo albums. She showed me a picture of her sponsors and told me their names. They probably didn't realize it when sending the picture, but that picture is in an album that holds all of her precious memories. These children read the letters over and over, show them to their friends, memorize the details, and keep them to read again later.
Although answering questions about why a child hasn't received a letter is very difficult, the joy on a child's face when receiving a letter reminds me why we do it.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Packaged Meat!!!!
Going to S'malls always brings a new experience (good or bad). Today it was GREAT! Usually shopping is not something I enjoy, but today's new treat brought me an amazing amount of joy, considering it is something that I always took for granted in the States. Continue reading for my meat buying adventures of the last five years and the surprise I am so excited about today.
5 years ago
There were two stores that had quality beef that I tended to go to. One was closer to town and had a butchering block right behind the counter (kind of fun for the biology major in me). The second was a bit out of town and the butchering was done in a back room. Since the beef was butchered on the spot it was sometimes difficult to find different cuts of beef in the afternoon. So, we would have to plan ahead and sometimes had to rework meals based on meat shortage. The stores with good meat didn't have the best selection of other items, so we would usually have to go to three or four places in order to buy all our groceries. Also, the meat was not trimmed - just cut up into chunks.
3 years ago
Gross was built! We definitely got a lot of entertainment out of the name of our first big grocery store. They had a meat counter and had most of the products that we needed, but were a bit more expensive. They also had a limited supply of meat, because it was brought in sometime in the morning. Also, there were one or two ladies that worked the meat counter and if they were on lunch or away, you could not buy meat. They still sold larger chunks of beef and you had to wait for them to weigh your purchase, but it was convenient because it was close to the office and you could get other items as well.
2 years ago
Skiff moved across town and opened up the biggest meat counter in town. They had fresh meat most of the time. The main disadvantage was that the lines were usually fairly long. Their prices were cheaper than Gross, but it was located further from the center of town and their customer service was lacking. Skiff recently changed it's name to S'malls.
TODAY!!!! (Yes, I know I used a lot of !'s)
Today, I walked up towards the meat counter in S'malls and saw a separate meat counter. The meat there (pictured above) was trimmed into nice, manageable pieces and was packaged and priced. All I had to do was pick up the meat and put it in my cart! I bought two - you never know how long it will be this way, so you might as well enjoy it while you can. To me the small added expense to buy the pre-packaged meat is well worth it for me not to have to stand in line, cut off the fat, and trim the meat into pieces that I can actually cook with.
I also picked up a personal pre-packaged portion of one of my favorite salads! This is a new thing that I saw for the first time today as well. It's the little things in life ... what a good day!
5 years ago
There were two stores that had quality beef that I tended to go to. One was closer to town and had a butchering block right behind the counter (kind of fun for the biology major in me). The second was a bit out of town and the butchering was done in a back room. Since the beef was butchered on the spot it was sometimes difficult to find different cuts of beef in the afternoon. So, we would have to plan ahead and sometimes had to rework meals based on meat shortage. The stores with good meat didn't have the best selection of other items, so we would usually have to go to three or four places in order to buy all our groceries. Also, the meat was not trimmed - just cut up into chunks.
3 years ago
Gross was built! We definitely got a lot of entertainment out of the name of our first big grocery store. They had a meat counter and had most of the products that we needed, but were a bit more expensive. They also had a limited supply of meat, because it was brought in sometime in the morning. Also, there were one or two ladies that worked the meat counter and if they were on lunch or away, you could not buy meat. They still sold larger chunks of beef and you had to wait for them to weigh your purchase, but it was convenient because it was close to the office and you could get other items as well.
2 years ago
Skiff moved across town and opened up the biggest meat counter in town. They had fresh meat most of the time. The main disadvantage was that the lines were usually fairly long. Their prices were cheaper than Gross, but it was located further from the center of town and their customer service was lacking. Skiff recently changed it's name to S'malls.
TODAY!!!! (Yes, I know I used a lot of !'s)
Today, I walked up towards the meat counter in S'malls and saw a separate meat counter. The meat there (pictured above) was trimmed into nice, manageable pieces and was packaged and priced. All I had to do was pick up the meat and put it in my cart! I bought two - you never know how long it will be this way, so you might as well enjoy it while you can. To me the small added expense to buy the pre-packaged meat is well worth it for me not to have to stand in line, cut off the fat, and trim the meat into pieces that I can actually cook with.
I also picked up a personal pre-packaged portion of one of my favorite salads! This is a new thing that I saw for the first time today as well. It's the little things in life ... what a good day!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
My Birthday
Last Friday I turned 31 and really enjoyed the day. One of the things I liked most was that all day I had the opportunity to hang out with people that I really enjoy and wasn't the center of attention the entire time.
In the morning, I had the traditional Birthday tea with office staff. I made a pinneapple dump cake. It wasn't nearly as yummy as the peach cobbler I was planning, but since there were no canned peaches to be found in Taraz (and only pinneaple) I had to be a little creative. Everyone seemed to like it.
At lunch, the entire office staff went to Ken's house to celebrate Thanksgiving (I made sure everyone knew this had nothing to do with my birthday). We had a great time enjoying each others company and just having fun together as we ate. We continued a tradition that my family had started in the States and our team here had continued, of writing what we were each thankful for on a tablecloth. We pull this tablecloth out each year. It was fun to look back at past years as well as share with each other what we were thankful for from this last year.
In the evening some friends came over to play games. We even enjoyed a VERY lively game of spoons, which included Jason and Ken diving to get the last spoon, me being hit (yes, hit on my birthday) in order to convince me to let go of the spoon in Jason's hand, and me being used as a human shield for the spoons. It was a very nice day, made special because I spent it with friends. On Sunday, I had my Kazakh family over for dinner to celebrate. It was nice to have them over and spend time with just them.
In the morning, I had the traditional Birthday tea with office staff. I made a pinneapple dump cake. It wasn't nearly as yummy as the peach cobbler I was planning, but since there were no canned peaches to be found in Taraz (and only pinneaple) I had to be a little creative. Everyone seemed to like it.
At lunch, the entire office staff went to Ken's house to celebrate Thanksgiving (I made sure everyone knew this had nothing to do with my birthday). We had a great time enjoying each others company and just having fun together as we ate. We continued a tradition that my family had started in the States and our team here had continued, of writing what we were each thankful for on a tablecloth. We pull this tablecloth out each year. It was fun to look back at past years as well as share with each other what we were thankful for from this last year.
milking my spoons "injury"
In the evening some friends came over to play games. We even enjoyed a VERY lively game of spoons, which included Jason and Ken diving to get the last spoon, me being hit (yes, hit on my birthday) in order to convince me to let go of the spoon in Jason's hand, and me being used as a human shield for the spoons. It was a very nice day, made special because I spent it with friends. On Sunday, I had my Kazakh family over for dinner to celebrate. It was nice to have them over and spend time with just them.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful for relationships, including both my Kazakh and American family, my friends here and back in the States, my team here, and all my children at the orphanages. My life is so rich because of all the people in my life.
Today was a fun (busy) Thanksgiving for our team. We spent all day cooking - minus a game of Canasta (which Jason and I won!). Today the four of us (Ember, Ken, Jason, and myself) prepared our own Thanksgiving meal, but also began preparations for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with the staff from our office tomorrow at lunch.
The decision on what to cook is always interesting. We try to cook the things that each person feels are a part of Thanksgiving. Today (for just the four of us) we cooked turkey (the biggest one I have ever had in Kazakhstan), mashed potatoes, sweet potato marshmallow casserole, green beans, rolls, mushrooms and garlic, gravy, stuffing, apple pie, pecan pie (with walnuts instead of pecans because we don't have pecans here), and pumpkin pie. Tomorrow we will be having the same except we won't be having green beans. Everything was yummy! It was fun to work together to accomplish such a feast. I got the fun job of trying to stuff turkeys and sew them up, which was a new experience for me. We did take pictures of all the festivities, so I'll have to post those another time.
Funny Story: Today we realized we had a lot of potatoes. We bought 10kg yesterday (20 pounds). Ember and I were thinking about all the office staff, but realized that we aren't going to have as many as we had imagined in our head. With our meal today and the meal tomorrow it comes out to about a pound of potato per person. Of course, this is before they are peeled and mashed, so maybe it comes out to 3/4 of a pound per person. Tomorrow we will test my philosophy: you can never have too many mashed potatoes.
Today was a fun (busy) Thanksgiving for our team. We spent all day cooking - minus a game of Canasta (which Jason and I won!). Today the four of us (Ember, Ken, Jason, and myself) prepared our own Thanksgiving meal, but also began preparations for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with the staff from our office tomorrow at lunch.
The decision on what to cook is always interesting. We try to cook the things that each person feels are a part of Thanksgiving. Today (for just the four of us) we cooked turkey (the biggest one I have ever had in Kazakhstan), mashed potatoes, sweet potato marshmallow casserole, green beans, rolls, mushrooms and garlic, gravy, stuffing, apple pie, pecan pie (with walnuts instead of pecans because we don't have pecans here), and pumpkin pie. Tomorrow we will be having the same except we won't be having green beans. Everything was yummy! It was fun to work together to accomplish such a feast. I got the fun job of trying to stuff turkeys and sew them up, which was a new experience for me. We did take pictures of all the festivities, so I'll have to post those another time.
Funny Story: Today we realized we had a lot of potatoes. We bought 10kg yesterday (20 pounds). Ember and I were thinking about all the office staff, but realized that we aren't going to have as many as we had imagined in our head. With our meal today and the meal tomorrow it comes out to about a pound of potato per person. Of course, this is before they are peeled and mashed, so maybe it comes out to 3/4 of a pound per person. Tomorrow we will test my philosophy: you can never have too many mashed potatoes.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A Gift that Changes Lives
Have you ever wondered how you can give a gift that changes the life of a child? This Christmas, you have the opportunity to make your gift go further with Interlink's Gift Program.
Imagine coming to the orphanage at age 10 with no prior education. When you begin school, you are placed in a grade with other kids your age, who all know how to read and write. You are passed from grade to grade until you graduate, but realize you don't even have the ability to read and understand the test that will allow you to study at a vo-tech school. As a result, you have no future, except that of cleaning up after other people. This Christmas, you can give a child with a similar story hope for a better future by following the three easy steps below.
Here is how the program works:
Imagine coming to the orphanage at age 10 with no prior education. When you begin school, you are placed in a grade with other kids your age, who all know how to read and write. You are passed from grade to grade until you graduate, but realize you don't even have the ability to read and understand the test that will allow you to study at a vo-tech school. As a result, you have no future, except that of cleaning up after other people. This Christmas, you can give a child with a similar story hope for a better future by following the three easy steps below.
Here is how the program works:
- Choose items from the Interlink Gift Catalog that you would like to give to your friends and family.
- Donate quickly and securely via Google Checkout.
- Print out gift cards from our gift card page. Each card explains the value of the gift that was given in the recipient's honor.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Am I Insane?
Well, after today, most people would likely have to answer "yes" to the question above. A while ago, I received an email from a group that wanted to help provide New Year's gifts for every child at an orphanae. They could guarantee us $2500, which allowed for the purchase of an $18 gift for each child at Ulan orphanage.
Here is where the insane part comes in (well, at least my most recent trip into insanity). I thought "wouldn't it be fun to let each child choose a gift for themselves?" The rest of the Kids Connection staff thought it was a great (although challenging) idea. Today was our first of many days of shopping at a local store with the children. Ulan Orphanage currently has 143 children. After a bit of convincing, we were given permission to take all but the youngest children shopping.
Our morning started out by talking to the staff at the store. We had talked to them the week before, dropped a letter off, and called to follow-up on the letter. Even so, it took us about 30 minutes to get things set up and figured out with the manager. This allowed us time to prepare our volunteers for the first onslaught of children.
During the morning, we were able to take about 35 children shopping in three groups. We did the same in the afternoon. It went extremely well. One thing that we were all impressed with was how patient and helpful the staff at the store were. Many of them seemed to enjoy helping the children pick out gifts. They quickly figured out that the children each had a certain amount to spend and I found that when a child came near, the staff members would often ask them how much they had left and then give them all the options for items within their price range.
We had a system where we put stickers with the names of each child on each gift that they chose and then stored them in shopping carts until the end of the day. After the children left, we got to check out and bag each item, trying to keep items from the same child in the same bag. This process took about an hour. It was a great day and the children and volunteers had a great time.
Kiikzhan described the scene at the orphanage when he went to pick up children. Before he had a chance to say anything, kids were piling into the car until it was full. He then had to pull children out of the car until only a safe and reasonable number were left. They were all excited to go to the store. The only ones that showed any sense of not really enjoying it, were some of the older boys. We will wait a couple weeks (after Thanksgiving) and then do this again with the remaining children.
Here is where the insane part comes in (well, at least my most recent trip into insanity). I thought "wouldn't it be fun to let each child choose a gift for themselves?" The rest of the Kids Connection staff thought it was a great (although challenging) idea. Today was our first of many days of shopping at a local store with the children. Ulan Orphanage currently has 143 children. After a bit of convincing, we were given permission to take all but the youngest children shopping.
Our morning started out by talking to the staff at the store. We had talked to them the week before, dropped a letter off, and called to follow-up on the letter. Even so, it took us about 30 minutes to get things set up and figured out with the manager. This allowed us time to prepare our volunteers for the first onslaught of children.
During the morning, we were able to take about 35 children shopping in three groups. We did the same in the afternoon. It went extremely well. One thing that we were all impressed with was how patient and helpful the staff at the store were. Many of them seemed to enjoy helping the children pick out gifts. They quickly figured out that the children each had a certain amount to spend and I found that when a child came near, the staff members would often ask them how much they had left and then give them all the options for items within their price range.
We had a system where we put stickers with the names of each child on each gift that they chose and then stored them in shopping carts until the end of the day. After the children left, we got to check out and bag each item, trying to keep items from the same child in the same bag. This process took about an hour. It was a great day and the children and volunteers had a great time.
Kiikzhan described the scene at the orphanage when he went to pick up children. Before he had a chance to say anything, kids were piling into the car until it was full. He then had to pull children out of the car until only a safe and reasonable number were left. They were all excited to go to the store. The only ones that showed any sense of not really enjoying it, were some of the older boys. We will wait a couple weeks (after Thanksgiving) and then do this again with the remaining children.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Hazards of Living in Kazakhstan!
Last week, I finally experienced the hazards of living here, although you could argue that this could happen no matter the country. On Thursday of last week, I was bit by both a child and a cat.
We were visiting our small kids group (children not yet in school) at one of the orphanages. This group has several children who have different levels of emtional disabilities. I had not been there for about a month, due to the delegation schedules and my being sick. We were greeted in our normal way. One of the boys hears the outer door open, runs to the inner door, screams loudly "The Americans", and usually runs around in circles around us while we remove our shoes. After this, we enter the living area to be greeted by many hugs and lots of excitement. This usually is followed by the caregivers instructing the kids not to scream. :)
Well, last week I got down on my knees and was giving out hugs. My little friend, that greeted us all so warmly, came over to me and didn't quite know how to express himself. As I gave him a hug, I felt a pain in my ear and realized that I had just been bit. I think he was glad to see me after my long absence. :) The last time I had been gone for a month or so, he came up (while my hands were full) and grabbed and pinched both of my cheeks and wouldn't let go. Until I was bit, I didn't realize how long it had been since I had been with their group. I quickly put a stop to the biting and then went on with greeting all the kids and starting our activity -which consisted of fun with playdough.
I had to laugh later in the evening when the cat decided to bite me too. She thought it would cause me to give her food more quickly - boy was she wrong. What a day!
We were visiting our small kids group (children not yet in school) at one of the orphanages. This group has several children who have different levels of emtional disabilities. I had not been there for about a month, due to the delegation schedules and my being sick. We were greeted in our normal way. One of the boys hears the outer door open, runs to the inner door, screams loudly "The Americans", and usually runs around in circles around us while we remove our shoes. After this, we enter the living area to be greeted by many hugs and lots of excitement. This usually is followed by the caregivers instructing the kids not to scream. :)
Well, last week I got down on my knees and was giving out hugs. My little friend, that greeted us all so warmly, came over to me and didn't quite know how to express himself. As I gave him a hug, I felt a pain in my ear and realized that I had just been bit. I think he was glad to see me after my long absence. :) The last time I had been gone for a month or so, he came up (while my hands were full) and grabbed and pinched both of my cheeks and wouldn't let go. Until I was bit, I didn't realize how long it had been since I had been with their group. I quickly put a stop to the biting and then went on with greeting all the kids and starting our activity -which consisted of fun with playdough.
I had to laugh later in the evening when the cat decided to bite me too. She thought it would cause me to give her food more quickly - boy was she wrong. What a day!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Who Knew A Ball Pit Could Be So Much Fun!
During our time with the Kids Connection Delegation (at the end of October) we took our little kids group at Saramoldaeva to an indoor play area. It was the first time I had been there and was pretty impressed with the different activities that they had. The highlights for the kids were the bumper cars and the ball pit.
The children had never been in a ball pit before. I also don’t think they had been down an enclosed slide. They were really tentative at first, but quickly started flying down the slide and trying to climb back up it while others came down (as most kids end up trying to do). It was hilarious to watch their faces the first time they went down the slide and landed in a pool of balls. They had a great time and so did we.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Fun with Rakhym!
Every month we try to do something fun with the kids from Rakhym. Last month, we went to a restaurant together and then took them to the square. It was a special time with them. Two of them are sponsored by one of the coaches, so they had the added pleasure of spending time with their sponsor. While at the square, the girls roller bladed, while the boys played air hockey. The highlight of the night for me was beating Jason in air hockey ... I’m not competitive at all. :) We had a great time with them and look forward to spending time with them again next week.
(Thanks Ember for Taking these Pictures)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Snow!!!!
I love snow! It is my philosophy that there is no reason for it to be cold without snow. As a result, I was really excited when we walked out of Ken's house on Saturday and found snow falling from the sky and enough snow accumulated to make small snowballs. Here are a couple pictures that I took from my balcony of our first snow.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
A Special Birthday Celebration
We celebrated September birthdays with Saramoldaeva kids during the coaching visit. It was so much fun to take several children out for lunch and to a car racing arcade afterwards. We had a great time. I think these pictures (taken by Ember) say it all.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Family Away from Home
As many of you know, I have been sick this week. I was basically lying down all of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with a frustrating cold. On Wednesday I was considering trying to make it into the office for part of the day, but I just wasn't sure it was worth the effort of getting ready. This is when my wonderful Kazakh family came to the rescue. My Kazakh mom called me and invited me over for lunch ... it actually sounded a bit overwhelming at first and I told her I didn't feel up to it. She then told me they were having Manty (one of my favorites), but told me if I wasn't up for coming over then she would bring it to me. She informed me that I needed to make sure I ate some hot food so that I would get my strength back. She left me with the command to drink tea and eat breakfast and then told me to call her and tell her what I decided about going over.
After her phone call (and several others from the office), I decided to go ahead and take a shower just to see how my energy held out. After my shower I determined that I had enough energy to go ahead and go over for lunch and then go to work for some of the afternoon.
I arrived at my family's home and sat and talked while Sholpan finished preparing the meal. Although she was exhausted and had had a really busy and tiring week, she kept talking to me and trying to cheer me up and pass on her energy to me. She told me that if you are sick and not with others, you tend to just be tired and not get well as quickly. She assured me that I had family and if I wasn't well enough to come over to eat, then it would be brought to me.
After lunch, as my energy faded some, they told me to go home. I told them I was going to go to the office for an hour or two just to see how I did, since I still had enough energy to sit at my desk and accomplish something. Aben (my host dad) came into my office at the end of the day (he works with me) and asked me what I was still doing there, just as my own father would have done.
As I look back on yesterday, I am reminded of how much my Kazakh family means to me. I feel that God has given them to me in order to care for me when my own family is so far from here. I have no doubt that I am a part of their family. The hot food (especially since it was one of my favorite dishes) gave me strength for the rest of the day. I am so blessed!
After her phone call (and several others from the office), I decided to go ahead and take a shower just to see how my energy held out. After my shower I determined that I had enough energy to go ahead and go over for lunch and then go to work for some of the afternoon.
I arrived at my family's home and sat and talked while Sholpan finished preparing the meal. Although she was exhausted and had had a really busy and tiring week, she kept talking to me and trying to cheer me up and pass on her energy to me. She told me that if you are sick and not with others, you tend to just be tired and not get well as quickly. She assured me that I had family and if I wasn't well enough to come over to eat, then it would be brought to me.
After lunch, as my energy faded some, they told me to go home. I told them I was going to go to the office for an hour or two just to see how I did, since I still had enough energy to sit at my desk and accomplish something. Aben (my host dad) came into my office at the end of the day (he works with me) and asked me what I was still doing there, just as my own father would have done.
As I look back on yesterday, I am reminded of how much my Kazakh family means to me. I feel that God has given them to me in order to care for me when my own family is so far from here. I have no doubt that I am a part of their family. The hot food (especially since it was one of my favorite dishes) gave me strength for the rest of the day. I am so blessed!
My family - New Year's 2004
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hidden Blessings
Last Thursday afternoon I left for Almaty with the delegation on a train. It was one of the nicest trains I have been on. At 5:30 am (yes, in the morning) we headed for the airport only to find out that the flight was postponed for 24 hours. The nice thing about this was that they provided the delegation (and their translator - me) with a free night at the 5 star Hyatt and free breakfast and dinner.
Despite being a bit tired from the lack of sleep, the day was wonderful. It started with an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. This included omelets, bacon, plain white toast, and fresh fruit. All of which were thrilling to me. We spent the morning shopping and then I went to the dentist. I was pleased to find that the dentist had technology that beats some of the dentists I have been to in the States. She proudly showed me that all of the products she used for filling my cavity came from the USA. She even took me on a tour when I told her I had worked in a dental office for a couple summers. After two hours at the dentist, I met up with the delegation at the hotel for the most exciting part of the day.
Dinner was a feast. We were able to order anything we wanted in a really fancy restaurant at the hotel. I was a bit under-dressed in my Oklahoma Sooner's sports suit, but I enjoyed it anyway. I don't know that I've ever had so many pieces of silverware on the table despite having been taught how to set a fancier table and knowing the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork. I mean, three knives and forks at one time is a bit much. At one point I made the mistake of keeping my fork at which point the waiter chastised me and I quickly placed it back on my plate. You just can't take me anywhere. We ordered appetizers to share (why not when there is no limit to what you can get). Then the chef had a complimentary appetizer and bread brought to our table. We were then given some sorbet to cleanse our palates. This was followed by our meal, which was extremely exciting! I had tenderloin steak, onion rings, and steak fries. What a treat! One of the delegates commented that she could imagine me on Christmas due to my excitement over the food I was able to eat during the day. If found this pretty amusing, but she had a good point - it felt kind of like Christmas to me. It was a really special treat and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of both breakfast and dinner (nope we didn't even consider eating lunch).
It's fun to see how even a delayed flight can be a blessing! I was glad the delegation decided to enjoy the day instead of give in to the disappointment of just waiting around to get back home.
Upon my return to Taraz, I decided to catch a cold. After three days of rest, I am starting to get my energy back and am feeling much better. During the next few blogs I will be playing catch up from last month. It was such a busy month that I didn't take the time to write about all the fun things going on.
Despite being a bit tired from the lack of sleep, the day was wonderful. It started with an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. This included omelets, bacon, plain white toast, and fresh fruit. All of which were thrilling to me. We spent the morning shopping and then I went to the dentist. I was pleased to find that the dentist had technology that beats some of the dentists I have been to in the States. She proudly showed me that all of the products she used for filling my cavity came from the USA. She even took me on a tour when I told her I had worked in a dental office for a couple summers. After two hours at the dentist, I met up with the delegation at the hotel for the most exciting part of the day.
Dinner was a feast. We were able to order anything we wanted in a really fancy restaurant at the hotel. I was a bit under-dressed in my Oklahoma Sooner's sports suit, but I enjoyed it anyway. I don't know that I've ever had so many pieces of silverware on the table despite having been taught how to set a fancier table and knowing the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork. I mean, three knives and forks at one time is a bit much. At one point I made the mistake of keeping my fork at which point the waiter chastised me and I quickly placed it back on my plate. You just can't take me anywhere. We ordered appetizers to share (why not when there is no limit to what you can get). Then the chef had a complimentary appetizer and bread brought to our table. We were then given some sorbet to cleanse our palates. This was followed by our meal, which was extremely exciting! I had tenderloin steak, onion rings, and steak fries. What a treat! One of the delegates commented that she could imagine me on Christmas due to my excitement over the food I was able to eat during the day. If found this pretty amusing, but she had a good point - it felt kind of like Christmas to me. It was a really special treat and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of both breakfast and dinner (nope we didn't even consider eating lunch).
It's fun to see how even a delayed flight can be a blessing! I was glad the delegation decided to enjoy the day instead of give in to the disappointment of just waiting around to get back home.
Upon my return to Taraz, I decided to catch a cold. After three days of rest, I am starting to get my energy back and am feeling much better. During the next few blogs I will be playing catch up from last month. It was such a busy month that I didn't take the time to write about all the fun things going on.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Halloween Costumes
Children in Kazakhstan love to dress up. For New Year's every young child dresses up for a party at school, similar to the way children dress up for Halloween in the States. Often, children from the orphanages do not have a costume to wear to school or for the special events that the orphanage puts on. With the abundance of costumes available in the States, I thought I'd share this need (well more of a desire), to see each child have a costume to wear.
Some Ways to Meet This Need
- Go through your children's dress-up clothes and see which ones they no longer want
- Find great deals at the after Halloween sales
- Send costumes that your children used this year but will no longer fit next year
- Ask friends and neighbors if they have any gently used costumes
If you would like to have your costume(s) available for a child to wear this New Year, it would be best to mail the costume directly to Kazakhstan since we don't have any groups coming over before then. It usually takes about three weeks for a package to arrive, so you would want to mail it by mid-November. Also, I ask that you make sure the costumes that you send over are in good condition and are not scary. Thanks for remembering the kids of Kazakhstan this Halloween!
Packages can be mailed to:
Interlink Resources
31A Aksha Batyr
Taraz 080012
Kazakhstan
Note: Shipping charges are more expensive than packages mailed within the USA. If you are able to collect costumes but are unable to ship them over, please let me know and we can look into other options.
The Fun of Guests
The last few weeks have been a lot of fun as we have had two different delegations here. The current delegation is made up of people that sponsor children through our Kids Connection program. It has been fun to watch them interact with their children and enjoy the beauty and culture of Kazakhstan.
Some Highlights of Having Guests Here
Some Highlights of Having Guests Here
- Seeing delegates fall in love with the people of Kazakhstan
- The excitement of the host homes
- Getting to see many of the children and mothers that I helped with at CP camp this summer
- Watching the sponsors and children meet for the first time (see IRI blog)
- Taking kids to a small amusement park (I even got to ride the roller coaster and drive bumper cars, so I may experience whiplash for the next few days).
- Getting to go to the Saramoldaeva Orphanage Director's house for dinner and being served the largest piece of meat I have ever been served in my life.
Monday, October 20, 2008
A Drive in a Windstorm
As I promised yesterday, I thought I would tell you a story of my drive in a wind storm to pick up the delegation last week. At the time it wasn't all that funny, but looking back there were several things I find pretty amusing.
Last Saturday morning the wind started picking up. I left Taraz at about 2pm to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Shymkent to pick up our coaches. The wind was howling and as I drove out of town I had to detour around a downed power line (only one minute after my departure). I left town, passing several gas stations - since the one I prefer is about 10 miles out of town. Along the road, I saw roofs that had been blown off houses, trees in the middle of the road, and other signs of the heavy wind that I was about to drive through.
When I got to my favorite gas station, they had no electricity. I was down to about 1/2 a tank, so although I was not excessively worried, I was a bit concerned. Thankfully, the next gas station had electricity. I got out of the car (having to use some force to pry my door open) and was thankful for my windbreaker as I waited for my turn to pay. Then I went around my car and started pumping my gas. I took shelter behind my car, thankful that it was a really big SUV. The entire gas pump was rattling and shaking - which made me a bit nervous as it seemed like it might just blow away and the idea of gas spurting out of the ground and being caught with the wind was not that comforting.
As I was standing behind my car (once again - my car is a BIG SUV) it started shaking in the wind. Although it probably wasn't the most logical thing to do, I decided to walk around my car and get in to wait until my gas finished pumping. As I passed the edge of my car, the wind hit me like a wall and I had to strain to get to my car door. Then, I had the fun of trying to open the door and wedge my body in before it was slammed shut by the wind. I got enough of me in to keep the door open while the rest of me had time to squeeze in. After the effort of getting into the car, it wasn't long before I had filled my tank and it was time to get back out and venture towards the pump. Opening the door was a bit easier, since my entire body weight was behind it. I made my way to the back of the car much to the amusement of the men waiting in the car behind me. I had to laugh as I then proceeded to return from the pump and wedge myself back into the car.
After that adventure, I figured I was up for anything. I was driving along enjoying my music when the dust started blowing so hard that my visibility was cut down to something like 30 feet in front of me. Thankfully, this only lasted for about 2 minutes, although fairly low visibility lasted for about 30 minutes. It was like driving in fog.
Later, as I was driving along I saw a glass beer bottle bouncing down the road about one foot off the ground. I don't think I have ever seen anything that heavy fly like that.
The funniest thing was that through all of the wind, every cow, horse, or donkey that I saw seemed completely unaffected by the storm. I saw cows slowly chewing their cud right next to a tree that had blown into the median. I could almost picture them saying "what's the big deal, it's lunch time."
Last Saturday morning the wind started picking up. I left Taraz at about 2pm to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Shymkent to pick up our coaches. The wind was howling and as I drove out of town I had to detour around a downed power line (only one minute after my departure). I left town, passing several gas stations - since the one I prefer is about 10 miles out of town. Along the road, I saw roofs that had been blown off houses, trees in the middle of the road, and other signs of the heavy wind that I was about to drive through.
When I got to my favorite gas station, they had no electricity. I was down to about 1/2 a tank, so although I was not excessively worried, I was a bit concerned. Thankfully, the next gas station had electricity. I got out of the car (having to use some force to pry my door open) and was thankful for my windbreaker as I waited for my turn to pay. Then I went around my car and started pumping my gas. I took shelter behind my car, thankful that it was a really big SUV. The entire gas pump was rattling and shaking - which made me a bit nervous as it seemed like it might just blow away and the idea of gas spurting out of the ground and being caught with the wind was not that comforting.
As I was standing behind my car (once again - my car is a BIG SUV) it started shaking in the wind. Although it probably wasn't the most logical thing to do, I decided to walk around my car and get in to wait until my gas finished pumping. As I passed the edge of my car, the wind hit me like a wall and I had to strain to get to my car door. Then, I had the fun of trying to open the door and wedge my body in before it was slammed shut by the wind. I got enough of me in to keep the door open while the rest of me had time to squeeze in. After the effort of getting into the car, it wasn't long before I had filled my tank and it was time to get back out and venture towards the pump. Opening the door was a bit easier, since my entire body weight was behind it. I made my way to the back of the car much to the amusement of the men waiting in the car behind me. I had to laugh as I then proceeded to return from the pump and wedge myself back into the car.
After that adventure, I figured I was up for anything. I was driving along enjoying my music when the dust started blowing so hard that my visibility was cut down to something like 30 feet in front of me. Thankfully, this only lasted for about 2 minutes, although fairly low visibility lasted for about 30 minutes. It was like driving in fog.
Later, as I was driving along I saw a glass beer bottle bouncing down the road about one foot off the ground. I don't think I have ever seen anything that heavy fly like that.
The funniest thing was that through all of the wind, every cow, horse, or donkey that I saw seemed completely unaffected by the storm. I saw cows slowly chewing their cud right next to a tree that had blown into the median. I could almost picture them saying "what's the big deal, it's lunch time."
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A Week of Coaching
Twice a year, Interlink sends two or three people from the States to spend time "coaching" us. Although it is busy, it is usually an encouraging time. This last week has been no exception. As we have met together, I have felt encouraged in the things I am doing well. I have also been challenged in areas where I can make improvements. I look forward to these times each year because I find it helpful to gain an outside perspective on the things I am doing on a daily basis.
One of the fun things about this specific trip is that one of our coaches (Barb) is here for the first time. It has been such a joy to watch her experience things for the first time. This week has included teas in the village, meetings, a drive in a windstorm (I will have to tell the funny parts of this story later), a birthday party, being a human jungle gym, computer car racing, shopping, meals with friends, and so much more.
I will be leaving Taraz for Shymkent on Tuesday afternoon in order to welcome our next (and final) delegation. It is a small group. Each one is a sponsor and will have a chance to spend time with their sponsored child. It will be fun to experience Kazakhstan with them!
One of the fun things about this specific trip is that one of our coaches (Barb) is here for the first time. It has been such a joy to watch her experience things for the first time. This week has included teas in the village, meetings, a drive in a windstorm (I will have to tell the funny parts of this story later), a birthday party, being a human jungle gym, computer car racing, shopping, meals with friends, and so much more.
I will be leaving Taraz for Shymkent on Tuesday afternoon in order to welcome our next (and final) delegation. It is a small group. Each one is a sponsor and will have a chance to spend time with their sponsored child. It will be fun to experience Kazakhstan with them!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Lately, we have been asking kids a series of questions that we can send back to their sponsors. The other day I was extremely encouraged, surprised, and touched by the answer that one 7 year-old girl gave to the question. She said that when she grew up she wanted to be "Sara Mama." For those of you that don't know, my name at Saramoldaeva orphanage is "Sara Mama." How humbling to be told that someone wants to be like you when they grow up.
I look at my job and I think to myself "why would anyone want a job other than the one I have?" I get to give gifts to children, cause them to smile, receive great big running and jumping hugs when I see them after having been gone a while, show my love to them (and receive even more), spend money that's not my own to improve their lives, share teaching techniques with the staff that build into their lifes, play soccer at work, praise the children for their abilities or choices, watch them grow up into successful adults, and so many other things. I look at my job right now and really can't imagine a job that would be more fulfilling.
I hope that one day this young girl (and the rest of the children I have grown to love) would have a job that they love and in which they are able to give back to others.
I look at my job and I think to myself "why would anyone want a job other than the one I have?" I get to give gifts to children, cause them to smile, receive great big running and jumping hugs when I see them after having been gone a while, show my love to them (and receive even more), spend money that's not my own to improve their lives, share teaching techniques with the staff that build into their lifes, play soccer at work, praise the children for their abilities or choices, watch them grow up into successful adults, and so many other things. I look at my job right now and really can't imagine a job that would be more fulfilling.
I hope that one day this young girl (and the rest of the children I have grown to love) would have a job that they love and in which they are able to give back to others.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
One Busy Week Down, Four to Go!
My busy week ended up going very smoothly for the most part. There were things that I didn't plan that I had to do and things that I was planning to do that ended up being canceled. I figured it might be nice for you to know how things turned out.
Monday was full of meetings as expected, but I was able to get a lot of things accomplished and started off the week pretty well, despite my dislike of Mondays.
Tuesday - The peach cobbler turned out great! People have already requested that I provide another one as my "cake" for my birthday in November. I think I will have to make one before then ... it is just too good to wait that long.
Wednesday - My Kazakh lesson was cancelled due to a holiday!!! This was a relief due to my busy schedule. We had a training at PTL for the teachers there. I felt like it went well. They seemed really excited about the possibilities and asked for us to come each month. They also suggested a longer training sometime at the beginning of January. I really enjoyed the opportunity to "teach" again. In the evening I went over to my Kazakh family's house to celebrate the holiday.
Thursday - Our time at Ulan was extremely smooth. It feels like a different place. We have gotten a great amount of cooperation from the staff during our recent visits. It was fun to be with the kids again.
Friday - I had a wonderful day off. I got to rest all day and even saw one of the students that had been in my English club several years ago. In the evening I went over to Olya's for a birthday party for her and Jason. It was a nice, relaxing time with friends. Oh yeah ... the best part of the day was getting to sleep in until 10:30.
Saturday - I got to sleep in until 10:30 again. At 4:00 pm we left for Savva orphanage. That evening we went from group to group getting surveys filled out for every child. It was a bit chaotic as was to be expected but primarily succesful.
Sunday - I got to play soccer!!! I enjoyed the relaxing morning of getting to play with children. I definitely enjoyed getting my fill of hugs in over the weekend. I hadn't seen most of the kids since August and it was fun to catch up with them.
This week we are working on tying up a bunch of loose ends (getting surveys ready to go back with the next delegation, printing pictures, preparing birthday gifts for the whole year, organizing supplies, preparing for the next two delegations, and several other things).
Although I am tired from the last week and feel like I might be coming down with a cold, it was a very encouraging week. It was a joy to be back with the children again. I have missed seeing their smiles.
Monday was full of meetings as expected, but I was able to get a lot of things accomplished and started off the week pretty well, despite my dislike of Mondays.
Tuesday - The peach cobbler turned out great! People have already requested that I provide another one as my "cake" for my birthday in November. I think I will have to make one before then ... it is just too good to wait that long.
Wednesday - My Kazakh lesson was cancelled due to a holiday!!! This was a relief due to my busy schedule. We had a training at PTL for the teachers there. I felt like it went well. They seemed really excited about the possibilities and asked for us to come each month. They also suggested a longer training sometime at the beginning of January. I really enjoyed the opportunity to "teach" again. In the evening I went over to my Kazakh family's house to celebrate the holiday.
Thursday - Our time at Ulan was extremely smooth. It feels like a different place. We have gotten a great amount of cooperation from the staff during our recent visits. It was fun to be with the kids again.
Friday - I had a wonderful day off. I got to rest all day and even saw one of the students that had been in my English club several years ago. In the evening I went over to Olya's for a birthday party for her and Jason. It was a nice, relaxing time with friends. Oh yeah ... the best part of the day was getting to sleep in until 10:30.
Saturday - I got to sleep in until 10:30 again. At 4:00 pm we left for Savva orphanage. That evening we went from group to group getting surveys filled out for every child. It was a bit chaotic as was to be expected but primarily succesful.
Sunday - I got to play soccer!!! I enjoyed the relaxing morning of getting to play with children. I definitely enjoyed getting my fill of hugs in over the weekend. I hadn't seen most of the kids since August and it was fun to catch up with them.
This week we are working on tying up a bunch of loose ends (getting surveys ready to go back with the next delegation, printing pictures, preparing birthday gifts for the whole year, organizing supplies, preparing for the next two delegations, and several other things).
Although I am tired from the last week and feel like I might be coming down with a cold, it was a very encouraging week. It was a joy to be back with the children again. I have missed seeing their smiles.
Monday, September 29, 2008
So Different!!!
One of the challenges of living in Kazakhstan is doing things differently for different team members. During the last week, we have had a chance to experience this uniqueness in a pretty entertaining way. Ember's birthday was last Friday. Ember likes BIG, exciting, lots of attention, and a new surprise every minute. Jason's birthday was today. Jason likes quiet, not a lot of attention, and is not really fond of big surprises that he doesn't know about. I think my preferences are closer to Jason's - thankfully, I got to take most of the pictures on Friday.
Jason at Ember's party (below)
Jason at Ember's party (below)
Ember's Party, complete with clowns (above)
Ember's Desk (below)
Jason's Birthday Desk
Blogs as Procrastination
So, I really should be studying Kazakh now, but I don't really feel like it. So ... instead I'm going to post some entertaining pictures.
Kazakhstan is a very dusty country and one of the dogs at Ken's house was filthy - to the point that I had stopped wanting to even think about petting him. Just as we were getting ready to arrange a time for a bath, it got cold. Thankfully, last Saturday it warmed up and we had just enough time to give Scooby a bath in between orphanage visits.
I don't think he appreciated it much, but I certainly prefer coming near him now. He rolled around in the dirt as soon as we let him loose, but at least it was new, first-layer dirt.
Thanks Ember for taking pictures!
I don't think he appreciated it much, but I certainly prefer coming near him now. He rolled around in the dirt as soon as we let him loose, but at least it was new, first-layer dirt.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A Busy Week Ahead
Well, this next week looks to be one of the busiest weeks in my year (not to mention the start of a REALLY busy month). I figured I'd let you all know what is coming up ... maybe if I write it all down I will be a little less overwhelmed by it. :)
Monday - Monday is just Monday. I don't like them ... I have never enjoyed going back to work after a weekend. I think my biggest complaint is how early the morning starts. I use my weekends to mess up my sleep schedule entirely (going to bed at 2am and waking up at 10:30 am and having a nap sometime during the day). As a result, Monday mornings are hard - but it is my own fault. The Redskins play the Cowboys starting at 2:15 am Monday morning - although I am really tempted, I think I will have to miss out on listening to the game. The day also includes a Kids Connection meeting, a meeting with Marina, getting a computer ready for our accountant that returns, and a techonology training.
Tuesday - Olya and Jason's birthday. I am in charge of making a peach cobbler. I have never done this before, so we'll see how it goes. There is a possibility that we will have an Ulan birthday party in the evening.
Wednesday - I have a Kazakh lesson at 12:30, which I haven't started to prepare for yet. I think this will be a week of procrastinating right up until my lesson. I am supposed to sing a song in Kazakh for my teacher ... we'll see how that goes. Olya and I are also supposed to do a teacher training at the Polytechnic College (PTL) sometime on Wednesday.
Thursday - We begin our weekly orphanage visits at Ulan orphanage. We will spend most of the day at Ulan playing with kids. It will be fun to see the kids and spend time with them again, but it will take a little while to get back into the routine. We will also try to make sure all of our information is completely updated for Kids Connection.
Friday - MY DAY OFF!!! I plan to sleep in and have no other plans until the evening (at least that is my hope).
Saturday - We will leave at four in the afternoon to go to Savva orphanage in order to celebrate birthday parties. We will return Sunday night. The advantage to all of this is that I get to go in late on Monday, which means another day of sleeping in!!!
Later in the Month - We have two delegations coming in October (they will overlap in Kazakhstan for a couple days). So, with all the Kids Connection visits starting and two delegations, this should be a crazy, but fun month.
Monday - Monday is just Monday. I don't like them ... I have never enjoyed going back to work after a weekend. I think my biggest complaint is how early the morning starts. I use my weekends to mess up my sleep schedule entirely (going to bed at 2am and waking up at 10:30 am and having a nap sometime during the day). As a result, Monday mornings are hard - but it is my own fault. The Redskins play the Cowboys starting at 2:15 am Monday morning - although I am really tempted, I think I will have to miss out on listening to the game. The day also includes a Kids Connection meeting, a meeting with Marina, getting a computer ready for our accountant that returns, and a techonology training.
Tuesday - Olya and Jason's birthday. I am in charge of making a peach cobbler. I have never done this before, so we'll see how it goes. There is a possibility that we will have an Ulan birthday party in the evening.
Wednesday - I have a Kazakh lesson at 12:30, which I haven't started to prepare for yet. I think this will be a week of procrastinating right up until my lesson. I am supposed to sing a song in Kazakh for my teacher ... we'll see how that goes. Olya and I are also supposed to do a teacher training at the Polytechnic College (PTL) sometime on Wednesday.
Thursday - We begin our weekly orphanage visits at Ulan orphanage. We will spend most of the day at Ulan playing with kids. It will be fun to see the kids and spend time with them again, but it will take a little while to get back into the routine. We will also try to make sure all of our information is completely updated for Kids Connection.
Friday - MY DAY OFF!!! I plan to sleep in and have no other plans until the evening (at least that is my hope).
Saturday - We will leave at four in the afternoon to go to Savva orphanage in order to celebrate birthday parties. We will return Sunday night. The advantage to all of this is that I get to go in late on Monday, which means another day of sleeping in!!!
Later in the Month - We have two delegations coming in October (they will overlap in Kazakhstan for a couple days). So, with all the Kids Connection visits starting and two delegations, this should be a crazy, but fun month.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
A Chance to Give Back
Due to the changes in plans this summer with the Ulan delegation not being able to do camp at Ulan Orphanage, we felt it would be nice to hold a carnival for the children. We had one slight problem with this idea ... staff size. It was fun to see how this problem was solved.
We then asked our Kazakh speaking Youth Impact participants if any of them would be interesting in volunteering to help us. I was shocked by the turnout. We had 11 volunteers show up to help. They did such a great job. There were several stations where the adults didn't even have to do much because the youth did such a great job managing the stations. They were such a blessing to us and we couldn't have pulled off the carnival without them. What a joy to see them giving back to the kids from their orphanage. When we were done, they asked us to let them know if they could help with anything else. We look forward to thinking of ways to have them get involved in our work in the future.
During the carnival, my job was to be the runner. I was able to walk around the carnival and make sure all was going as it should be. This included directing, correcting, and enjoying the kids. One thing that stands out to me as I look back on that time, are the relationships that I have built with these children. I have reached a point where they will listen to what I say and usually obey. It is nice to finally be at a place where they recognize my authority and are able to laugh and joke with me. Our carnival ended up being really organized and not very chaotic at all. This in itself was amazing considering there were probably about 100 children making their way between six stations.
Thanks Ember for taking this picture!
We have four people in Taraz that work with Kids Connection. We were able to convince two others from our staff in Taraz to join us (it actually didn't take much convincing). One of them brought her sister to help. There is also a woman in Taraz adopting from a different orphanage that volunteered to come help. This brought our total up to eight, not quite enough to run the six stations that we wanted and have a runner to anticipate problems.
We then asked our Kazakh speaking Youth Impact participants if any of them would be interesting in volunteering to help us. I was shocked by the turnout. We had 11 volunteers show up to help. They did such a great job. There were several stations where the adults didn't even have to do much because the youth did such a great job managing the stations. They were such a blessing to us and we couldn't have pulled off the carnival without them. What a joy to see them giving back to the kids from their orphanage. When we were done, they asked us to let them know if they could help with anything else. We look forward to thinking of ways to have them get involved in our work in the future.
During the carnival, my job was to be the runner. I was able to walk around the carnival and make sure all was going as it should be. This included directing, correcting, and enjoying the kids. One thing that stands out to me as I look back on that time, are the relationships that I have built with these children. I have reached a point where they will listen to what I say and usually obey. It is nice to finally be at a place where they recognize my authority and are able to laugh and joke with me. Our carnival ended up being really organized and not very chaotic at all. This in itself was amazing considering there were probably about 100 children making their way between six stations.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Smoother than Butter
Saturday was a day that surprised me. Thankfully, that surprise was a good one. We had what seemed like an impossible plan for two hours at Ulan. The plan was to go to the orphanage for one hour, both in the morning and the afternoon, hand out gifts to all the children and take pictures. IMPOSSIBLE!!!
In order to try to do the impossible, we had planned things very specifically. Two weeks ago, we started the process of preparation by asking the orphanage for a list of the children that are at the orphanage. We then compared this list with the list we had from last year. We noted any group changes, children that had graduated, and those that had come to the orphanage for the first time this fall. We also made a list of children who were on our list, but we couldn't account for. We had to go through the lists several times in order to make them match up.
On Saturday as we went from group to group we apologized for not having done a camp with them over the summer, took pictures, and gave gifts to each child. These gifts were shirts and bags that had been brought to them from the Ulan work group. Although the work group was unable to work with the children from Ulan, they had brought gifts for each child. The kids loved their new bags and shirts. When we visited in the afternoon, some of the children that had received shirts in the morning already had them on.
Note: Some children here go to school in the morning, while others go in the afternoon. As a result, it is difficult to find a time of day when all the children are at the orphanage (except in the middle of the night which is not a good time to give gifts). This only added to the impossibility of the task we were trying to accomplish.
In order to try to do the impossible, we had planned things very specifically. Two weeks ago, we started the process of preparation by asking the orphanage for a list of the children that are at the orphanage. We then compared this list with the list we had from last year. We noted any group changes, children that had graduated, and those that had come to the orphanage for the first time this fall. We also made a list of children who were on our list, but we couldn't account for. We had to go through the lists several times in order to make them match up.
On Saturday as we went from group to group we apologized for not having done a camp with them over the summer, took pictures, and gave gifts to each child. These gifts were shirts and bags that had been brought to them from the Ulan work group. Although the work group was unable to work with the children from Ulan, they had brought gifts for each child. The kids loved their new bags and shirts. When we visited in the afternoon, some of the children that had received shirts in the morning already had them on.
Thanks Ember for taking the picture!
The staff at the orphanage were extremely helpful. They made it easy for us to go from group to group. I think we were able to give out gifts to about 90% of the children. That's pretty impressive considering it ended up that we were visiting on both a school day and Taraz City day (many of the kids were at the park celebrating in the morning). It was such an encouraging day for me to see how smoothly things operated and it was so fun to be back in the orphanages again!Note: Some children here go to school in the morning, while others go in the afternoon. As a result, it is difficult to find a time of day when all the children are at the orphanage (except in the middle of the night which is not a good time to give gifts). This only added to the impossibility of the task we were trying to accomplish.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Boys Will Be Boys
The other day as I was walking home from the garage, I had to laugh. I heard a lot of voices coming from behind the trees above some small garages. When I looked up, this is what I saw.
These boys were leaping from garage to garage playing tag. I'm guessing that none of their mothers was watching at the moment. My mind naturally ran through all the potential dangers of playing tag 8 feet off the ground around sharp corners made of metal. My second thought was how fun that these boys are getting to be boys and live with a bit of adventure in their lives. I mean, really, how much will they hurt themselves if they fall off the garages. Likely the worst that would happen would be a broken bone or a couple stitches.
I also thought to myself how fun it would be. Had I been their age and out playing with them, my mother probably would have come out of the house to find me on top of a garage playing tag with the boys. That probably wouldn't have lasted very long ... but it would have been fun.
As I walked away after having taken my pictures, I heard someone screaming at the boys and a few minutes later they were no longer on the roof. We'll see if it happens again.
These boys were leaping from garage to garage playing tag. I'm guessing that none of their mothers was watching at the moment. My mind naturally ran through all the potential dangers of playing tag 8 feet off the ground around sharp corners made of metal. My second thought was how fun that these boys are getting to be boys and live with a bit of adventure in their lives. I mean, really, how much will they hurt themselves if they fall off the garages. Likely the worst that would happen would be a broken bone or a couple stitches.
I also thought to myself how fun it would be. Had I been their age and out playing with them, my mother probably would have come out of the house to find me on top of a garage playing tag with the boys. That probably wouldn't have lasted very long ... but it would have been fun.
As I walked away after having taken my pictures, I heard someone screaming at the boys and a few minutes later they were no longer on the roof. We'll see if it happens again.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Time to Prepare
Although I love the time we have with the children at the orphanage, I have really enjoyed this month of preparation. Over the last year, there have been many times that I have been so busy with orphanage visits, holidays, and other random things that I haven't had the time to be as prepared as I like to be. We have had about a month since delegations left to get some of our systems in order as we prepare to start orphanage visits the first week of October.
Each month we celebrate birthdays with children at each of our orpahnages. Last week we prepared birthday gifts for them. This year we decided to give them packs of supplies that they could use for school. This includes a notebook, pencils, pens, a pencil sharpener, colored pencils, and other things they need for school. Now, to some this might not sound exciting. Who would want school supplies for their birthday? One thing I appreciate about Kazakhstan is that children here often see school as a privilege as opposed to a requirement. These children that we work with have probably not had a special pack of school supplies just for them and we hope that they will treasure them.
As we focus on school supplies for birthday gifts, I hope we are able to encourage the children to dream big and start on the path to realizing those dreams.
Each month we celebrate birthdays with children at each of our orpahnages. Last week we prepared birthday gifts for them. This year we decided to give them packs of supplies that they could use for school. This includes a notebook, pencils, pens, a pencil sharpener, colored pencils, and other things they need for school. Now, to some this might not sound exciting. Who would want school supplies for their birthday? One thing I appreciate about Kazakhstan is that children here often see school as a privilege as opposed to a requirement. These children that we work with have probably not had a special pack of school supplies just for them and we hope that they will treasure them.
As we focus on school supplies for birthday gifts, I hope we are able to encourage the children to dream big and start on the path to realizing those dreams.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A Bit of a Break
It looks like I haven't posted in a long time. A lot of that probably comes down to the fact that this has been a slow month. In order to give the children a chance to get settled into school and in order to give us a break from the busy summer schedule, we start our orphanage visits at the beginning of October. Although I don't necessarily enjoy being in the office behind my desk each day, I have enjoyed the chance to catch up on a lot of things that I didn't have time to do over the last year.
I have reinstalled Windows on several of the computers at our office. In the last two weeks, I have also been working with Jason Walke to get DSL working on everyone's computer at the office. We are also using this time to try to get all of our records straight for Kids Connection (the child sponsorship program). We have to figure out who has left, who is new, and who has changed groups. This is a pretty big project and will take us most of next week to get things updated. Before we were able to start this, we had to get our online database working efficiently in order to be able to handle all of the changes. We are currently preparing activities and plans for our weekly orphanage visits as well as our monthly birthday parties.
I feel refreshed and ready for a new school year. I'm glad I've had this short break from the busy schedule in order to catch my breath a bit and get focused and energized for the next few months. I am sure the next four months (before I return to the States for a visit) will fly by.
I have reinstalled Windows on several of the computers at our office. In the last two weeks, I have also been working with Jason Walke to get DSL working on everyone's computer at the office. We are also using this time to try to get all of our records straight for Kids Connection (the child sponsorship program). We have to figure out who has left, who is new, and who has changed groups. This is a pretty big project and will take us most of next week to get things updated. Before we were able to start this, we had to get our online database working efficiently in order to be able to handle all of the changes. We are currently preparing activities and plans for our weekly orphanage visits as well as our monthly birthday parties.
I feel refreshed and ready for a new school year. I'm glad I've had this short break from the busy schedule in order to catch my breath a bit and get focused and energized for the next few months. I am sure the next four months (before I return to the States for a visit) will fly by.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Please Let me Pay the Phone Bill
"Please let me pay the phone bill" will probably be something that Beth will be shocked to hear me ask (I will probably be just as shocked to have the words come out of my mouth).
Previously, when I went to pay the phone bill I had to ask, as I entered, who was last in line. Then, I had to wait in a clump of people in order to "protect" my "place". Now the phone company has a new system and after my last visit I actually came out of the phone company smiling, happy, and looking forward to paying my next bill.
When I first entered, there was a machine on my left. I looked at the menu and pushed the button corresponding to "pay bill". The menu was in both Kazakh and Russian, which made it easy for me. I pushed the red button next to the Kazakh and it printed a receipt telling me my number and giving me instructions in Kazakh. I sat down in the chairs provided!!! Then, all I had to do was wait for my number to come up on the screen, with the number of the cashier I needed to visit. During my wait there was a security guard that was helping encourage people to use the new system. When my number came up, I was able to walk up to a window and tell them my phone number and pay. I had no one pushing me or asking the cashier something over my shoulder. I also noticed that the cashier (who I have paid in the past) was much more patient with me when I forgot my landlady's name. I'm sure it is nice for her not to have to deal with a loud group of people right outside her window making demands of her all at once.
So, from this point on, I will no longer dread the monthly payment of the phone bill. Instead I may even look forward to the chance to sit comfortably in a chair in the middle of my day and wait for my number to be called. I hadn't realized how much I like order until I was telling people about my experience with such joy!
Previously, when I went to pay the phone bill I had to ask, as I entered, who was last in line. Then, I had to wait in a clump of people in order to "protect" my "place". Now the phone company has a new system and after my last visit I actually came out of the phone company smiling, happy, and looking forward to paying my next bill.
When I first entered, there was a machine on my left. I looked at the menu and pushed the button corresponding to "pay bill". The menu was in both Kazakh and Russian, which made it easy for me. I pushed the red button next to the Kazakh and it printed a receipt telling me my number and giving me instructions in Kazakh. I sat down in the chairs provided!!! Then, all I had to do was wait for my number to come up on the screen, with the number of the cashier I needed to visit. During my wait there was a security guard that was helping encourage people to use the new system. When my number came up, I was able to walk up to a window and tell them my phone number and pay. I had no one pushing me or asking the cashier something over my shoulder. I also noticed that the cashier (who I have paid in the past) was much more patient with me when I forgot my landlady's name. I'm sure it is nice for her not to have to deal with a loud group of people right outside her window making demands of her all at once.
So, from this point on, I will no longer dread the monthly payment of the phone bill. Instead I may even look forward to the chance to sit comfortably in a chair in the middle of my day and wait for my number to be called. I hadn't realized how much I like order until I was telling people about my experience with such joy!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
A Thousand Thanks
I could easily share stories of the ways that each of the eleven children touched my life, but I figured it would be better for me to limit it to a few. As I wrap up my thoughts related to the CP camp, I want to share one last memory.
The morning we left camp, the mothers and their children gathered in a group and started to thank us for our time and our love. One thing that stood out to me was one mother that said that as a result of the time spent with us she realized that she did not have to be ashamed of her daughter and felt she could now start taking her into public. Each one pronounced blessing on us and thanked us for the love that we gave to their children and the break that we gave them. Another highlight was when my young friend that enjoys laughing said “thank you very much” in English and then proceeded to repeat this phrase louder and louder above the sound of the next mother that tried to speak.
As I look back on our time, I hope that each mother was encouraged. I hope that they know that they are not alone in caring for their children. I hope each child is able to look back on this time with special memories of “summer camp”. I also hope that those mothers that have been ashamed of their children, will learn to cherish and enjoy them for who they are. I hope that I will not forget their stories and will remember them as I go through my daily responsibilities and have a chance to spend time with them once again in the future.
The morning we left camp, the mothers and their children gathered in a group and started to thank us for our time and our love. One thing that stood out to me was one mother that said that as a result of the time spent with us she realized that she did not have to be ashamed of her daughter and felt she could now start taking her into public. Each one pronounced blessing on us and thanked us for the love that we gave to their children and the break that we gave them. Another highlight was when my young friend that enjoys laughing said “thank you very much” in English and then proceeded to repeat this phrase louder and louder above the sound of the next mother that tried to speak.
As I look back on our time, I hope that each mother was encouraged. I hope that they know that they are not alone in caring for their children. I hope each child is able to look back on this time with special memories of “summer camp”. I also hope that those mothers that have been ashamed of their children, will learn to cherish and enjoy them for who they are. I hope that I will not forget their stories and will remember them as I go through my daily responsibilities and have a chance to spend time with them once again in the future.
Friday, August 22, 2008
A Grandmother Joyfully Carrying the Weight of the World on Her Shoulders
I was also touched by one grandmother’s love for her grandson. Her son’s wife had died and her son was an alcoholic. This left their son to the care of his grandmother. This grandson will be turning seven in September and I have already been invited to his birthday, which I hope I will be able to attend. He weighs about 45 pounds and has a really hard time controlling his legs. He is unable to sit on his own and has to be carried everywhere. His grandmother had not had a rest in 7 years and was so appreciative of the small things we were able to do that gave her a chance to rest for a few minutes during camp.
On the first day, I took him swimming. He loved swimming along and splashing anyone that came near. He loved to smile and laugh and play. He kept looking for his grandmother and smiling and waving at her as he splashed around in the pool.
A wheelchair was brought for him to use at camp (normally he was pushed around in a stroller) and by the end of the two days he had figured out how to wheel himself around. He enjoyed wheeling himself in circles at first and as he got better he started being able to go in straight lines both forward and backward. I think he really enjoyed the idea of being able to accomplish something.
As I think back on him and his life, I continue to return to his grandmother’s love. She loves him so much that she has devoted all of her time to caring for him and making sure that he has all that he needs, despite her tiredness and her son’s lack of responsibility. I hope that in the future, she is able to continue to do things with Cornlius Project that allow her to have a short break and allow him to enjoy interacting with others.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Belly Laughs and Tears
I became friends with a young boy during our two days at camp. Our friendship started when I was wheeling him somewhere and decided to have fun and make car sounds and weave back and forth as if I was racing (this was as much for my entertainment as his). Later in the day, during some free time, I started racing him (slowly) down a hill to keep him from asking about his mother so that she could get a break. Each time we went down the hill, he exclaimed “again”. Soon we had two or three kids in a row having a slow-motioned race down the hill. He is an extremely intelligent boy, but has very little controlled movement in his lower extremities. At one point he was at the top of the hill with only English speakers and decided to start the race himself by saying “One, Two, Three” loudly in English, which his mother had been teaching him.
One thing that made him laugh, harder than I have seen most people laugh, was when he did something slightly mischievous. At one point I told him to say something to someone and he responded back “I’m won’t say it” and then started laughing hysterically. When we took a picture and told him to smile, he said “I won’t smile” and then he laughed once again. At one point he grabbed my finger and wouldn’t let go and I pretended that I couldn’t rip it from his grasp without a lot of hard work. When I finally got my finger free, he laughed and said “again”. His laughter grew louder and louder until the entire room was watching us play our game, which he never grew tired of. I hope that I will always remember to enjoy the small pleasures in life as he taught me to do.
On the last evening, we decided to do a craft with the children, that they could give to their mothers as a gift. I sat him down straddling a large brown roll and then sat behind him. He was doing a great job balancing and one of the other kids needed help, so I got up and after making sure he was still balanced well, went to help get the other child into her seat. I kept checking on him and he seemed to be doing a great job sitting without any need for help. A few minutes later, when my back was turned, I heard the sound of his head hitting the ground. It was one of those moments that you dread, as I felt like I had deserted him and left him to hurt himself. I quickly scooped all 60 pounds of him into my arms and carried him (as he silently screamed) towards his mother. About 1/2 way there he finally let out a horrible scream and I tried to explain that I was sorry that I hadn’t watched him better to his mother. She gave him a lollipop and comforted him and he settled down. Once he settled down, I apologized again and asked to take him back with promises of not leaving his side. Although there was originally some fear in his eyes, he was willing to trust me and leave his mother again. We did our craft together and he was later able to give it to his mother as a present.
I was thankful for both his and his mother’s forgiveness and the second chance to care for him.
His laughter still rings in my head as I think about the last several days. How amazing to be able to laugh and enjoy life, when you are so limited by what you are able to do and at many times can only watch life go on around you. How often due I grumble, when comparably I have nothing to grumble about.
One thing that made him laugh, harder than I have seen most people laugh, was when he did something slightly mischievous. At one point I told him to say something to someone and he responded back “I’m won’t say it” and then started laughing hysterically. When we took a picture and told him to smile, he said “I won’t smile” and then he laughed once again. At one point he grabbed my finger and wouldn’t let go and I pretended that I couldn’t rip it from his grasp without a lot of hard work. When I finally got my finger free, he laughed and said “again”. His laughter grew louder and louder until the entire room was watching us play our game, which he never grew tired of. I hope that I will always remember to enjoy the small pleasures in life as he taught me to do.
On the last evening, we decided to do a craft with the children, that they could give to their mothers as a gift. I sat him down straddling a large brown roll and then sat behind him. He was doing a great job balancing and one of the other kids needed help, so I got up and after making sure he was still balanced well, went to help get the other child into her seat. I kept checking on him and he seemed to be doing a great job sitting without any need for help. A few minutes later, when my back was turned, I heard the sound of his head hitting the ground. It was one of those moments that you dread, as I felt like I had deserted him and left him to hurt himself. I quickly scooped all 60 pounds of him into my arms and carried him (as he silently screamed) towards his mother. About 1/2 way there he finally let out a horrible scream and I tried to explain that I was sorry that I hadn’t watched him better to his mother. She gave him a lollipop and comforted him and he settled down. Once he settled down, I apologized again and asked to take him back with promises of not leaving his side. Although there was originally some fear in his eyes, he was willing to trust me and leave his mother again. We did our craft together and he was later able to give it to his mother as a present.
I was thankful for both his and his mother’s forgiveness and the second chance to care for him.
His laughter still rings in my head as I think about the last several days. How amazing to be able to laugh and enjoy life, when you are so limited by what you are able to do and at many times can only watch life go on around you. How often due I grumble, when comparably I have nothing to grumble about.
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