Humor in Heating

This saga begins when I moved into my apartment in April.  I was told that one of the radiators had a leak in it.  Also, Aben (my Kazakh dad and the man in charge of maintenance for our properties) was told by one of our neighbors that the heating doesn't work very well because we need to remove the air from the radiator lines.  So, these items needed to be fixed before October 15th.


You may wonder why October 15th is important.  Well, October 15th is the approximate day on which city-wide heating is turned on.  Yes, in Taraz we have city-wide heating.  Water is heated in a facility and then pumped throughout the city (starting in the center and moving out).  Each apartment has radiators that carry the heated water.  Houses have to provide their own heat.  There are large, insulated pipes running throughout the city that carry the water between apartment buildings.

The preparation at my apartment began during the Savva delegation in June.  Josh, Adam and Aben came to the apartment and worked to repair the leak as well as attach faucets, yes faucets, to my radiators.  Apparently, it is easier to bleed the air from the radiator if you have a faucet.  One of the radiators was especially troublesome, but after some WD-40 and a small dent in my wall, a new fitting and faucet were attached in my living room.  Now I have shiny faucets on each of my ancient looking radiators.

Usually the week before the heat comes on, it is freezing cold and everyone is complaining about not having heat.  However, it never fails that the week the heat actually comes on, we have 70 degree days and no need for heat. 

In September, several of our roads in the city were being torn up.  Apparently, it was time to repair the hot water pipes.  This resulted in different roads being torn up without warning.  I would be driving down a road when suddenly I would realize I could not drive any farther.  This just so happened to be at the same time as the city was repairing roads.  This means for a while three major streets that all run parallel to each other in the city were closed at the same time causing major traffic issues.  At one point, it took me 15 minutes to drive one block.  Thankfully, this only lasted for about a month and now most of the roads are at least open, if not repaired.  

Around October 17th they turned the heat on in my building.  Aben came over and turned off my water heater (needed when I don't have heat), fixed a new leak, and removed the air from the radiators.  A couple days later I got a call from the downstairs neighbor telling me they had shut the water off to fix pipes and the air needed to be removed again.  He suggested I call Aben and have him come over.  I told him instead that I would take care of it.  He was very concerned and asked me to be careful several times.  He was clearly not comfortable with me doing this.  Later, Aben said this was probably because if I had opened the faucet too much the faucet could have broken and there would be no way to stop the water.  Still, I found it funny that I was not trusted to turn a faucet while holding a bucket under it.  

All that to say, today it was 70 degrees out and the heat was on.  I think I am probably one of the only people in the city who will have a window open tonight in order to sleep comfortably (as most people here prefer to have their houses around 80 degrees). Next time you adjust your thermostat enjoy a moment of laughter as you think about me sleeping with an open window in the middle of winter.  

Two Worlds

Sometimes I feel like even being here in Taraz I am living in two different worlds.  The world of what I did when I was here in the past collides with what I am doing now.  I love both of them, but am reminded of the need to live in the present.  It is often easy to look back longingly or to look forward with anticipation.  My hope is to live just for the moments I have today.

I have had a chance to visit the orphanages several times recently.  I have been teaching English at Saramoldaeva Orphanage while Zarina is on her honeymoon.  One of the best parts of the classes is getting to teach many of the kids that I worked with when they were just four or five years old and had just come to Saramoldaeva.  I have watched many of these children grow up.  Now they are in 3rd grade and I am working with them in a different capacity.  Although teaching English is not my favorite thing in the world, I am really having fun.  I love getting to build into their lives once again.  It's interesting to see them respond differently than those in the classes who I didn't work with in the past.

While at Sarmoldaeva the other day, I saw one of our graduates.  He graduated while I was in the States and was back for a visit.  He was just back for a short visit.  What a blessing to see him.  I remember how hard it was when he and his brother first came to the orphanage.  I remember the pain in their eyes.  When I looked into his eyes the other day, I didn't see that same pain.  I saw clear eyes that shone with the joy of seeing an old friend.  I always focus on the eyes when speaking with a graduate as the eyes tell all (lying, drugs, drinking, lack of sleep, etc).  What a joy to look into his eyes and be able to believe him when he said he was doing well and enjoyed his work.

Last week I also got to visit Savva Orphanage.  I loved getting to see staff and kids.  One of the staff who we worked closely with had her son's wedding the night before.  It was fun to hear about her children and catch up on life.  I also had the privilege of getting to see one of our board members meet his sponsored child for the first time.  I never tire of seeing the connection made between a sponsor and a child.   While at Savva, I snuck up to the little kids room.  One of the girls did my hair (picture below).  They introduced me to the new children who had come and even made sure to tell me which ones spoke Kazakh.

I am so thankful for the friendships I have developed over the years.  I am thankful that I get to visit every once-in-a-while and see my friends.  I am thankful that we have such a great youth department to work with them on a regular basis.  

A Little of Everything

Hi everyone !  I am feeling much better and realized yesterday I hadn't written an update for a while (other then the post in which I complained about being sick).  Life has been busy.  I continue to love being here in Kazakhstan.  So much has happened in the last couple weeks, that I thought I'd just mention some of the highlights.

• English classes at Saramoldaeva - this week I started teaching the English classes that we have agreed to teach at Saramoldaeva orphanage.  I have four groups of children each Monday and Wednesday.  Many of these kids are kids I worked with when they were 4-5.  It is fun to be able to spend time with them again.  
• A child who hasn't been speaking to me, since my return, initiated conversation with me the other day.  I'm not sure the hurt that was behind this, but I am glad that it has decreased enough for him to talk to me again.  He even joined an English class today.  
• David Knauss (our former president) came to visit.  He was here in Taraz for a very busy 26 hours.  It was fun to spend time with him and help him shop for gifts.
• Marina and I got to spend time with a man who received one of our wheelchairs (and his wife who is also wheelchair bound).  We later realized that her children had been placed in Ulan orphanage when she had the accident.  As a result, I know her children.  They also live in Bauerzhan (where Interlink first started).  I have been invited to spend the weekend with them sometime so they can show me the house they are building. 
• I started running earlier this week and was able to run for 20 minutes straight on the first time.  My lungs used to never let me do this.  I am so thankful for finding out that gluten and dairy have such a negative effect on me. It's nice that my legs give out before my lungs.  
• I have been working to catch up with my classes.  This included buying a printer, turning in three assignments, taking a test, reading several chapters in my textbook, and preparing for another test next week.  I have been taking a day off every week or two to do this, since I have a lot of compensation days built up from the summer.  
• I have been working to update our website.  Hopefully by the end of the year Interlink will have a new website.  
• I found out that the color for signing official documents here in Kazakhstan is blue.  You can not sign using black ink.  
• One of my electrical sockets started sparking.  Thankfully, I was in the kitchen, next to the socket, when it started and was unable to unplug my appliances.  It looks like nothing was hurt.  Aben came and fixed it for me, so everything is working again. 
• I have been enjoying watching football games in the evenings while I eat dinner and exercise.  The only disadvantage is that due to social media, I generally know the scores ahead of time.  
• I am only speaking Kazakh in the office on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I had to do this because everyone in the office likes to practice English and I don't get much opportunity to actually use Kazakh when I am in the office.  I have to pay 10 tenge to a fund to make the office a cake every time I speak English on those days.  So far I have collected 400 tenge.  

Well, I think that's enough for this update.  Hope you all have a great week!

Always Learning

I figured it was time for a more humorous post.  I've been sick with cold this week and have learned some things through this time.  I am feeling better, but am definitely not yet back to full strength.  I have a wedding to attend tomorrow, so hoping my energy continues to increase.  Hope you enjoy these random things I have learned.  Maybe they can help you one day.  

• Ben-gay can substitute for Vicks VapoRub
• One box of tissues is never enough
• Neosporin helps if your tissues do not have lotion in them
• Four flights of stairs suddenly seem like the Alps
• A cold does not prevent you from burning your tongue on hot tea, in other words lack of taste does not equal tongue sensitivity
• There is an oil you can put in your nose to prevent you from catching your co-workers cold
• Although my cold comes from sleeping under an airconditioner, the rest of the office has a bug going around
• Pride and Prejudice and While you were Sleeping never get old
• It's hard to remember what a fever is on a centigrade thermometer when your mind is half asleep (thankfully never had a temp)
• Orbit dental candies make good cough drops (I should send some to my hygienist)
• Watching football always makes a day brighter
• It's important to remember to plug your phone back in when you wake up

Wheelchair Delivery Begins

I have had a chance to build some new relationships this week as a result of the wheelchairs we are distributing in Taraz.  On Monday, I met with the head of a local organization that works with 50 people here in Taraz who are wheelchair bound.  This was an initial conversation in which I got to know the challenges associated with their organization.  

One of the biggest challenges I became aware of is the lack of transportation available for a person in a wheelchair.  In Taraz we have something called a social taxi.  This allows people with disabilities to receive transportation around town for things such as doctor's visits.  However, due to the minimal number of vehicles, each person is only allowed four rides a month.  They shared that this is especially difficult for students who are trying to attend University.  Some youth have received full scholarships to University, but are unable to attend due to lack of transportation.  Being an educator at heart, this challenges me.  

We have been able to donate three wheelchairs so far.  One to the Youth Invalid Society, the organization in Taraz that operates the social taxis.  This wheelchair is a lighter transport chair that should help them as they transport people from one location to the next.  This organization gave us the names of two other individuals who were in need of a wheelchair.  The first of these wheelchairs went to a man who works for the organization I mentioned in the first paragraph.  His wheelchair was in pretty bad shape, so he was a good candidate for one of ours.  The second of these wheelchairs was given to a man whose wife is also wheelchair bound.  They have two grown daughters.  He was sick the day we delivered the wheelchair, so we were only able to meet his wife.  I look forward to meeting again with them sometime soon to get to know them better.  

It has been fun to begin the process of finding good candidates for our wheelchairs.  I am looking forward to touching base with some groups that work with kids so that we can start delivering some wheelchairs to children as well.  I'm hoping we will be able to build relationships that will open doors to our work in the future.  It will be fun to see where all of this leads.