Thoughts While Holding an Eagle

Last week I had the fun opportunity to spend an afternoon in the mountains near Almaty.  Katie Moffett and I went up to the mountains for several hours they day before she left for the US while others spent the day shopping.  We had a great time exploring and hiking up to the point we could actually find some snow to play in.

Each time I have been to Shymbolak, I have seen a trainer holding a beautiful eagle and have wanted to hold him, but have not wanted to pay the exorbitant rate or wait in a line (not to mention I was slightly terrified of the whole idea).  However, the day we went to Shymbolak was a quieter day and the eagle was just sitting on his pedestal waiting to be held.  The trainer asked if we would like to hold him.  My response in Kazakh surprised him, because I look like I should only speak Russian.  After talking for a little while, he gave us a really good deal ($3.50 each), so I chose to overcome my fear and hold this eagle with a very sharp beak.  The trainer was especially excited because of my Kazakh and so when I was holding the eagle, he was giving instructions to turn my wrist quickly, which would cause the eagle to spread his wings.  He was snapping pictures while I did this and wanted me to keep on going.  Here are some thoughts that ran through my head during this fun experience. 

• Wow, that beak is really sharp and big!
• Eagles are really heavy ... not sure how long I can hold him up while turning my wrist back and forth. 
• I'm glad they kept the hood on him as the trainer says he gets angry without it.
• Boy, he likes to move closer to me ... that beak is practically connecting with my face and every time I move further away he just gets closer.  
• The trainer doesn't seem to be concerned at all, so I must be safe.  I am counting on the fact that he knows what he is doing.   
• I bet this eagle could knock me out with one hard whack to the head with those wings.  

Overall, we enjoyed a beautiful, relaxing day on the mountain.  It was one of the clearest days I have ever seen (no smog or cloud cover).  After a busy couple weeks, it was just what I needed.  Katie and I had a great time enjoying the nature around us and getting to meet some new people along the way.  

Rednecks

There is a term in Kazakh that is equivalent to our English term "redneck."  While we were in Bishkek this week, we used this word to refer to ourselves several times.  

• We asked our van driver where we should get off to get to a specific street.  Apparently the street we wanted ran parallel to the one we were driving on and was very long.  We didn't know the intersection we needed off hand, so the van driver could not suggest the best stop. 
• We asked a taxi to take us to the center of the town.  When he asked where in the center, we responded back "the center."  He then proceeded to tell us, as if he was talking to a small child, that the center is very large and it would be better if we were specific.  The only place we recognized in his description of the center was Tsoom (a shopping area that is found in the center of every former Soviet Union city).  So, we went to Tsoom.  
• When we took a van to the bazaar, the driver told us that if we wanted to go to the bazaar, it would be an extra 2 Som per person.  He was smiling when he said this, so we thought he was joking and never paid extra.  He must have felt sorry for us because he didn't bring it up again. 
• Our vans in Taraz are now small busses.  So, there are more seats and they don't get nearly as crowded.  As a result, I stepped on the same woman twice and tried to knock the hat off her head as well.  I kept on saying "sorry" in Kazakh.  She was very kind, however she finally got smart and moved away from me.  
• I tried to pour a cup of tea for myself and ended up having the lid, the filter, and the tea bag fall out into my cup of tea.  Thankfully, no one except Saltanat noticed.  
• On our last van ride, after visiting the city center, we couldn't get the door to the van open to get out.  We tried to roll down the window instead.  The van driver told us to pull the red handle, which we couldn't find.  The entire van laughed at us as we got off.  We are still laughing at ourselves an hour later.  

We have spent a lot more time in Bishkek than we were planning to.  My Kazakh visa was expiring this week and we had all the documentation submitted to the ministry of foreign affairs in Astana over a month ago.  The goal was to submit my documents on Tuesday morning and leave on Wednesday evening.  However, the ministry of foreign affairs had sent a document with my passport number copied incorrectly to the embassy here in Bishkek.  As a result, we had to call them and ask them to re-submit the document.  The embassy is closed on Wednesdays, so I was unable to submit my application until Thursday morning.  Once the man at the embassy checked my documents, he then had me go to a bank to pay the fee for receiving a visa.  Upon paying, I then had to return to the embassy to file the paperwork.  Thankfully, the embassy is a seven minute walk from our apartment, which we didn't know ahead of time.  He received my paperwork and now we are just waiting until this evening to receive my visa.  He has promised we will receive it tonight, which I'm hoping actually happens.  We will travel back to Taraz tomorrow (Saturday) and then I will leave on Sunday night by train to go to Almaty to pick up our next delegation.  Below are some highlights and funny stories from our time here.  

• The Kyrgyz people are extremely hospitable.  They have been very helpful along the way. 
• On the van ride from Taraz to Bishkek and woman was trying to feed her young child an apple.  She reminded me of a mother bird as she bit the apple, chewed it up, then spit it into her daughter's mouth.  This was probably the most sanitary option due to traveling, but I still found it funny.  
• This same woman rode in the van through the border crossing with the driver instead of getting out when the rest of us got out.  When they were closer, she gave her baby to the driver and then got out of the van to go through customs herself.  Later we realized that she and the driver must have been related.  Until then we were shocked she left her baby with the driver.  
• At the border, everyone was pushing to get through customs first.  Since I am an American, it took me longer on the Kazakhstan side as they check my passport thoroughly, which I'm sure frustrated everyone who had chosen our line.  Then, we almost missed the little window within an old shipping container that was the entrance to Kyrgyzstan.  When we finally got back to our van, we were the last people and the driver asked us "what took you so long?" 
• You pay the van driver when you get on the van and not when you get off.  It is the opposite in Taraz. 
• We have had a great apartment to stay in during our time here.  Our host was very helpful and ended up giving us one free night as reimbursement for the internet not working during the first few days of our trip.  It was actually a blessing not to have internet, because we got a break from work and just got to enjoy some rest.  

Overall, we have had a nice time in Bishkek, although we are ready to return to Taraz.  It has been fun getting to know Saltanat better and getting some down time.  We spent a lot of time laughing at ourselves, which is always good.  

A New Voice

Today, I had the joy of seeing one young boy realize he has a voice.  Baghdat is about eleven years old and has cerebral palsy.  He is unable to walk and unable to speak.  He communicates by pointing and making some a few sounds that his caregiver can differentiate.  Otherwise, he has had little way of communicating, especially with strangers.

The last two times I have visited, I have tried to teach Baghdat to point to picture symbols with words below to make a choice.  However, both times we were in a room with so many distractions and so much excitement that it was impossible for me, let alone him, to focus.

Today, Gulnar and I took another group of four graduated orphans to help.  The difference today was that we divided into two groups.  I took Nushan, one of the graduates, and Baghdat with me to another room.  There, I set out four different things we could play with and allowed him to chose something to play with.

At first, I was afraid he wasn't going to be able to understand what to do.  He was so excited he wasn't looking at the pictures and was just trying to physically scoot to the toy he wanted.  We played with a couple different toys, but he still didn't seem to understand that he could chose.  It wasn't until I started getting ready to play UNO with the others, which would cause him to be left out, that he scooted towards the communication strip and pointed to a ball.  I quickly got the ball out (while playing UNO) and we kicked it back and forth.  He got so excited at one point he lost his balance and fell over backwards, laughing the whole time.  I could tell he was getting tired, but I wasn't going to stop unless he asked.  He looked at his card and indicated that he wanted to color.  When I handed him the coloring things he rewarded me with the biggest smile!

I had been trying to do this activity now for three separate days, in different ways.  However, each time I came away feeling like he might never be able to communicate in this way.  Today, when I had almost given up, he was the one that drew me back to the pictures.  It wasn't until he realized he wouldn't be playing unless he selected something that he realized he had a voice.  I look forward to next week when we can build on the fact that he knows what to do with the pictures and begin building his vocabulary.  Now that I know he can use this system, I need to think through how to set it up so that he has access to it at all times and does not get frustrated using it.  Today definitely reminded me that I need to be more patient and that everyone deserves a voice.

A Full Room

I have been spending time each week with children in a foster family where each of the eleven children have some type of disability.  Although it has been really enjoyable, it has also been overwhelming because each child wants individual attention and I can only give that to one child at a time.

A couple weeks ago, Gulnar, who works for Interlink with graduated orphans wanted to come and see what I was doing.  She had recently been teaching a section of life skills to her graduates related to volunteering and wanted to see if this would be an area they might be able to help.  

 Two days ago, I was planning my weekly trip.  The children enjoy doing puzzles, but they are bored with the easy puzzles I have been taking them.  However, when I give them a harder puzzle, it usually results in crying and tantrums as they need help to complete the puzzle.  Even so, I had decided to pack the harder puzzles, but wondered how I was going to manage all of it on my own.  However, I found out that a birthday party Gulnar had planned was canceled and she and some of her graduates wanted to join me.  

I was really impressed with the four graduates who went with us.  Gulnar had done a good job preparing them and they did a great job.  They hugged, held, loved, and played with the children despite it being hard to see what the children struggled with.  Oftentimes it is hard for all of us to focus on what we have.  This was a good reminder to each of the graduates, that despite a hard life, they still have a lot to be thankful for.  Gulnar mentioned to them that whenever any of us girls look in the mirror we tend to critique ourselves and she wanted them to look in the mirror after this time and see all they have.  

Many of the girls asked when they could come back.  We will be taking different girls with us next Monday and Wednesday and hopefully some of the girls will want to return.  It would be great to have people go with me each time I visit as they children needs so much individual love.  

Yesterday morning, I was looking at the task ahead of me completely overwhelmed.  I didn't know how I would interact with all of the children at once.  What a blessing to have these girls, many of whom I knew when they were younger, come with me to love the children.  I look forward to seeing how this might impact their future lives as they see that they can make a difference in the lives of others.  There is always someone who we can help and someone who can be that help to us.  I am thankful for these graduates who helped me and Gulnar for having the idea to include them.  

A Valentine's Day to Remember

Before I go any further, you don't need to worry about having been left out of my personal life.  I did not have an exciting date for Valentine's Day.  Instead, I got to go roller skating with some of our graduated orphans.  Gulnar works with them on a weekly basis.  For the last month she has been trying to encourage them to have better manners and be more polite, especially with their caregivers.  The reward for those who did the best job during the last month was to go to the new roller rink that has opened in Taraz.  I drive a car with plenty of room for passengers, so I got to go along.

Many of them had never roller skated before, including Gulnar.  It was fun to help them learn.  We also played tag and had races, for those who were a little more comfortable on skates.  My skating lessons at the local rink in elementary school came back to me.  I was very thankful for this as the floor was cement instead of wood.  It was so much fun to catch up with some of the kids I had spent a lot of time with when they were younger.  The girls are primarily studying sewing, while the boys are studying to be auto mechanics.  However, very few of them actually enjoy what they are studying.  They don't get to chose what they study in the technical school.  Several will be graduating this year and want to go to college next year.  In order to do this, they need to do well on exams after graduation.  Hopefully, they will be able to realize their dreams.  

While we were out, they were really polite.  At no time were we embarrassed by their actions.  Gulnar is hoping that positive habits were formed as a result of practicing good manners for a month.  The coming weeks will tell whether their behavior has formed habits or was just temporary.  

One of the hard parts of the day for me was seeing many of the boys who used to be in our orphanages, making very poor decisions.  These were the ones hanging out behind the school smoking instead of coming with us.  Many of them have started drinking considerably.  They don't take their studies seriously and hang around with others who are making unwise decisions.  It is especially hard to see this in some of the boys who were extremely responsible while living at the orphanages.  We are trying to figure out ways to better encourage them before they leave the orphanages.  However, it is so hard to prepare them for the reality of the pressures they will face.  Gulnar does a great job talking with them and encouraging them to make better choices, but sometimes it feels like everything is stacked against them.