A Detailed View of One Day

I figured it might be fun to give you a more detailed view of one of the days from the week I mentioned in the last blog.  It was definitely not your normal day, but normal days aren't much fun.  We received donations to allow us to pay for braces for a young boy, Nishan, who was born with a cleft palate.  He has had several surgeries in order to correct the palate, but his teeth have never been corrected.  I have a friend who is a dentist in Shymkent and she agreed to help.  Since we were going to Shymkent anyway, we decided to make it a 2-for-1 trip.  The clinic in Shymkent has an apparatus to do hearing tests, so we took another young boy, Ayan, with us to determine if he has any hearing problems.

The trip to Shymkent was uneventful.  Although we got started a little later than we had hoped, we made good time.  There are new roads halfway there, so it makes at least half the trip really pleasant.  I sat in the back and played games with Nishan while holding Ayan (who was asleep for most of the trip).  We had lunch at a small cafe in Shymkent before going to the clinic.

The time at the clinic was when everything started getting exciting.  Nishan and Ayan were being seen at the same time.  While the Dr. was getting information about Ayan, I went to check on Nishan.  We came to find out he had actually been given a retainer after his last surgery (in January).  However, he had never worn it.  He needs to wear it for 3-4 months before we can look at getting him started with braces.

Once I found out what we need to do in Taraz, I went back into the room with Ayan.  His caregiver was trying unsuccessfully to hold him still while checking his ears.  He clearly did not like his ears being touched.  I volunteered to hold him instead, and ended up having to wrap my legs around his legs and one arm around his arms, while holding his head still.  For a five-year-old who doesn't walk, he was super strong.  I used pretty much all my strength just to allow them to get a good look at his ears.  After a short while, they determined that he needed to have some wax cleaned out of his ears.  He has such narrow ear canals and the wax had built up really badly.  We held him still again while they cleaned out his ears.  I have never seen so much wax build up.  We were still unable to actually test his hearing due to the water in his ears and an infection that had built up behind the wax.  We will treat him for an ear infection and then have him tested again.  Although in some ways the trip wasn't successful (we didn't accomplish anything we set out to accomplish), we were able to identify Ayan's ear infection and have found someone to adjust Nishan's retainer here in Taraz.

The trip home was a little more eventful.  It included a diaper explosion while Ayan was on my lap.  I was thankful to return home and get cleaned up just in time for a Skype call.

A Week in the Life

I figured it was time for me to share what a "normal" week looks like for me.  The reality is, no week is the same, so I don't really have a normal which is how I like it for the most part.  I thought I'd just list some of the things that took place during my last work week before vacation.  Hope you enjoy!

• Called a woman from a local organization to offer free hearing screenings in Shymkent
• Sorted through the Savva Delegation pictures
• Took a boy to Shymkent to look into getting braces.  He was born with a cleft palate and has recently undergone surgery, but needs braces for his teeth. 
• Used all my strength to physically restrain a child in order to perform a hearing test.  We came to find out that he had ear infections and major ear wax ... which was causing him not to appreciate us sticking things in his ears.  I got to help restrain him while his ears were cleaned out as well. 
• Spoke with our Stateside director
• Cleaned up my apartment to prepare for my Kazakh lesson and English club
• My Kazakh teacher didn't show up, so I went to the office
• Set up three new computers for our office  
• Had someone drop in at the office to introduce me to someone who wanted to come to English club
• Bought meds for the boy with the ear infections
• Baked a cake for English club
• Had English club
• Made a video for the service celebrating Liz's life
• Spent the morning playing with a group of children with disabilities.  We painted with water (those cool books that have the paint already in the book), applied tattoo stickers, and watched dinosaur sponges grow from capsules.  
• Explained the meds to the caregiver of the little boy with the ear infections 
• Tried to buy my return train ticket at an electronic kiosk ... waited for 10 minutes for a grandmother who didn't know which train she wanted to take ... realized they don't accept foreign passports at the electronic kiosk ... didn't want to wait in line to speak to a person
• Met my Kazakh family at the train station right before lunch in order to see off my Kazakh mom and sister.  They were going to Astana for my sister to apply to college.  
• Tried to go check prices for a wheelchair, but ended up at a building maintenance company instead.  
• Purchased my train ticket at a small travel agency without a line
• Signed a bunch of random documents since Marina was on vacation this week
• Updated our company blog so that it would continue posting while I am on vacation
• Updated my personal blog
• Posted pictures from the Savva Orphanage camp on our Facebook page
• Updated our website and planned future updates
• Talked to our receptionist about working on blogs so that people get to know our staff
• Asked our English speaking staff to work on translating our website into Russian and Kazakh during any down time they have
• Chatted on Facebook with some of our past delegates
• Got caught up on all my emails
• Set up debriefing during the first part of my vacation
• Spoke with Sharyll Martin in our Muncie office about the fall delegation
• Sorted and organized the supplies left over after the Savva delegation
• Gave some grass cutting advice
• Went with some of the staff to check out a possible picnic site for our all staff picnic
• Bought picnic supplies (saw cranberry juice for the first time in Kaz)
• Cleaned up my office, which looked like a disaster area after a busy month.
• Found the organization that sells wheelchairs and got an estimate for a specialized dance wheelchair.  
• Brainstormed with our staff about some ideas for next year
• Listened to part of an online conference 
• Brainstormed about turning English club into a Volunteer Club for the fall
• Had tea with our accountant and discussed the cultural expectations and customs surrounding a death in the family
• Found a translator to help me in Almaty so that I can hang out with some of the Russian speaking orphans that graduated and now live in Almaty
• Tracked down contact info for the orphans I hope to visit

As you can see, I had a pretty productive week.  Time for vacation!  

Why I Love Delegations

Each year we have several delegations come to Kazakhstan from the USA.  Each delegation usually has between 10-15 people who stay here for 10-14 days.  To be honest, there is a lot of extra work that goes into hosting a delegation.  Delegations tend to cause much of our other work to be put on hold. However, despite the extra work and change in routine, I absolutely love having delegations here.

Although I enjoy having other people from the USA here, especially this year, this is not the primary reason I love delegations.  I have grown to love Kazakhstan and claim it as my own.  Although I am still grateful to be a US citizen, I am just as thankful for the time I have spent in Kazakhstan.  I consider this country "my country" and the people here "my people."  As a result, the thing I enjoy most about delegations is watching new people fall in love with my people and my country.  I love watching someone come over for the first time who is a little apprehensive and then leave a few days later leaving part of their heart behind.

It's the people of Kazakhstan we fall in love with.  It's the relationships that can carry across borders that draw people back to Kazakhstan over and over again.  Delegates come to Kazakhstan hoping to make a difference in the lives of the children we work with and usually leave finding that they have grown and changed for the good as a result of the relationships they have built.  I love being here to  watch this transformation take place.

Here are some pictures of my time with the Savva Delegation.