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.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
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.
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