Today marks the start of my theory that Peace Corps members must be more sympathetic to animals that the average American. One can't help but have sympathy for something you have shared or near experiences with, and the past 24 hours myself and all the rest of PC Kazakhstan have lived the life of a family dog, in my case Maya. Before you go off and say that's some sort of insensitive nonesense, hear me out. It is obvious I am loved here, just Maya is at home, but I am also getting talked to all day long with words I have no ability to understand. Similarly, Maya doesn't comprehend about 99% of the words that are uttered at her throughout the day, today I was probably somewhere around 85%. Maya happily prances around the house with her toy of choice hoping someone with either grab it or utter the word "drop." While I do less prancing, my experience is pretty similar. I am constantly attempting to sift through any fluff and catch nouns like shower, dinner, soap etc. Verbs and I don't really get along yet; I hope to fix that tomorrow at our first day of classes. The tone differences that dogs also recognize are pretty much my method of communication. High and light tones mean my imaginary tail is wagging and ears are perked. Low and dark means I must have screwed up somehow, but good luck trying to figure that out. I'll admit it is sometimes frustrating in the sense that when they ask why I chose to help here in Kazakhstan I could literally burst from all the things that are left inside me as a result of a language barrier. I just have to realize that the time will come for that sort of communication. I am so thankful they have allowed a complete stranger they have no ability to communicate with into their home. I am still a bit in awe I volunteered to be that stranger.
Somehow they did discover it was my birthday, a pleasant surprise, not much happened with that though. With the one year old baby around, I doubt celebration with any Russian beverages will be much of an issue. (They are also native Kazakh and Islamic which means less drinking and my host mom is observing Ramadan.) Instead of cake, I went for a long walk and toured my new town (Issyk) with my host family's nephew and his friend who spoke a little bit of English. I also had my first Kazakh bazaar(market) experience. It was exactly like any other foreign market I have been to. They had everything from watermelons to washing machines to wrenches and everything in-between. Imagine a more colorful Meijer's unfolded out it a parking lot, divided up into little huts, seperated by hundreds of Kazakhs in aisles only three people wide. It is so simple, so common and so much fun to observe. We continued out of the bazaar, out further to the outskirts of the town and into the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountain range. They are spectacular. I am in awe every time I get a glimpse. I hope I never get used to them as they deserve every second glance they get. I found that the beauty could only be interrupted by my host cousin reminding me that somewhere in the that very mountain range Osama Bin Laden continues to hide. A sobering and almost amusing moment all in one. I would not have come up with that though all on my own. When he uttered those words it became one of those moments whem I more accurately understood what the heck I had gotten myself into. Bin Laden is just a few peaks and valleys away, huh.
Pictures will be coming shortly, sorry about the delay. It is taking a bit more effort as my flash drive is not working. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3517978174_5606d04d9c.jpg Try this link to a picture of Issyk Lake to hold you over.
Love you all.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
A smile's worth
Written August 22, 2009.
My first night here in Kazakstan I find myself with just enough Russian knowledge to make real conversation virtually impossible. Fortunately, with the help of a smile, with both are able to speak the international language of human emotion. I am amazed everytime I am forced to grasp the global nature of a smile. A smile transcends all cultures. And a smile's expressive capability becomes infginte in the presence of someone who does not speak your language. It allows me to articulate my feelings and interpret my "mai mama's." I could fill a book with all the things I wish I could say to her. I have my smile to suggest whaty words I might use to fill that book with. Her smile, laughter and subsequent head shaking at the awkward, complicated, yet fantastic situation we find ourselves in tells me she has a lot to share as well. I return her smile as her newly expressed sentiment of reception means appraciation is added to my endless list of emotions. Four hours ago, before I walked into her house, I had reached my peak of nervousness. In the ensuing four hours, I met her son(16) and her baby who is the cutest one-year-old in the entire country. I ate a Traditional Kazakh meal, a carrot and rice mixture topped with some mystery meat's spinal cord. Yes, Kazaks suck the meat off their spinal cord drumsticks instead of our conventional leg drumstick. The meat was quite tender; so while I was a bit shocked I give them credit for their creativity. Next, I went on a walk with my host brother and his friend. I experience my first win in Kazakh basketball and walked by the soccer stadium that I will likely experience my first loss in Kazakh soccer. I walked through a zoo with caged eagles and falcons. And I beat my host brother in a pull up contest. On the way home we say a Russian tank turned monument that the two boys explained was a "war hero." (I happen to disagree with that description and must admit there are times those term words seem a bit oxymoronic to me, but I'll have more on that later.) All of this took place with the highest peak in the Tian Shan MOuntains as a picturesque backdrop. It was stunning in just about every way imaginable. It's safe to say my nervousness has subsided and my gratitude, motivation, excitement, and joy have all been amplified.
The travel was as expected: long and arduous, but so far worth it. Being with the other colunteers certainly helped the time go by. It is fascinating to observe our similarities and differences. Everyone her has different backgrounds, different abilities, different curiostities, but the same hopes and desires. The jet lag has started to wear off and fortunately I never really felt it too bad. I haven't felt sick or anything close to it, I have just noticed an ability to fall asleep instantly at any time of the day, sleep for as long as I wish and still fall asleep at bedtime. That's new and I suspect the 36 hours of traveling across 10 time zones has something to do with it.
Finally, the time in D.C. was somewhat brutal. We had an informative and helpful meeting that lasted eight long hours. I may have enjoted it had I not been functioning on a total of 1.5 airplane obtained hours of sleep. It was a formality and we got through it. It should be noted that the Peace Corps staff did a great job regardless of my mental state. The next morning prior to the flight, I got a run in which took me through Georgetown, along the Potomac and around the Kennedy Center. That alone made the pit-stop to our Nation's capital worht it.
My first night here in Kazakstan I find myself with just enough Russian knowledge to make real conversation virtually impossible. Fortunately, with the help of a smile, with both are able to speak the international language of human emotion. I am amazed everytime I am forced to grasp the global nature of a smile. A smile transcends all cultures. And a smile's expressive capability becomes infginte in the presence of someone who does not speak your language. It allows me to articulate my feelings and interpret my "mai mama's." I could fill a book with all the things I wish I could say to her. I have my smile to suggest whaty words I might use to fill that book with. Her smile, laughter and subsequent head shaking at the awkward, complicated, yet fantastic situation we find ourselves in tells me she has a lot to share as well. I return her smile as her newly expressed sentiment of reception means appraciation is added to my endless list of emotions. Four hours ago, before I walked into her house, I had reached my peak of nervousness. In the ensuing four hours, I met her son(16) and her baby who is the cutest one-year-old in the entire country. I ate a Traditional Kazakh meal, a carrot and rice mixture topped with some mystery meat's spinal cord. Yes, Kazaks suck the meat off their spinal cord drumsticks instead of our conventional leg drumstick. The meat was quite tender; so while I was a bit shocked I give them credit for their creativity. Next, I went on a walk with my host brother and his friend. I experience my first win in Kazakh basketball and walked by the soccer stadium that I will likely experience my first loss in Kazakh soccer. I walked through a zoo with caged eagles and falcons. And I beat my host brother in a pull up contest. On the way home we say a Russian tank turned monument that the two boys explained was a "war hero." (I happen to disagree with that description and must admit there are times those term words seem a bit oxymoronic to me, but I'll have more on that later.) All of this took place with the highest peak in the Tian Shan MOuntains as a picturesque backdrop. It was stunning in just about every way imaginable. It's safe to say my nervousness has subsided and my gratitude, motivation, excitement, and joy have all been amplified.
The travel was as expected: long and arduous, but so far worth it. Being with the other colunteers certainly helped the time go by. It is fascinating to observe our similarities and differences. Everyone her has different backgrounds, different abilities, different curiostities, but the same hopes and desires. The jet lag has started to wear off and fortunately I never really felt it too bad. I haven't felt sick or anything close to it, I have just noticed an ability to fall asleep instantly at any time of the day, sleep for as long as I wish and still fall asleep at bedtime. That's new and I suspect the 36 hours of traveling across 10 time zones has something to do with it.
Finally, the time in D.C. was somewhat brutal. We had an informative and helpful meeting that lasted eight long hours. I may have enjoted it had I not been functioning on a total of 1.5 airplane obtained hours of sleep. It was a formality and we got through it. It should be noted that the Peace Corps staff did a great job regardless of my mental state. The next morning prior to the flight, I got a run in which took me through Georgetown, along the Potomac and around the Kennedy Center. That alone made the pit-stop to our Nation's capital worht it.
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