Burgers N' Borscht

Sorry it has been awhile since my last entry. If you had guessed that my workload has increased considerably since last I talked to you, you would be correct. The good news, however, is that the end to PST is in sight. Though I won’t get sworn in until early November, the next few weeks are full of activities that will bounce me across the country and buoy my spirits. First things first, I got my site announcement! I am going to be teaching college or secondary school at a school in the middle of the country. When I say middle of the country, I mean you can actually find a map of Kazakhstan and put your finger on what you would consider the most central location, and I will be there. It is a city called Zhezkazgan and has about 100,000 people. I am currently living in a city of about 50,000 and it seems relatively large, so I am excited about being placed in an even bigger city (read: fast internet connection). I am also excited about the idea of possibly teaching college. If there is one thing I have learned from my brief stint teaching here, it is that I am most comfortable teaching older students. Unfortunately, all of my close friends that I have made here are mostly on the borders of the country and I am a very long train ride from all of them. From where I am now, it will take about 34 hours to reach Zhez by train (You read correctly, thirty-four hours). Luckily I will have some site mates, including a guy from OCRAP that I like talking to.
Speaking of which, I am currently finishing my last week of teaching in my PST town and I couldn’t be happier with my class of eight graders that I am now teaching exclusively. I teach every day this week, and these kids are so bright and attentive… plus they actually seem to like/respect me. I now know what teachers mean when they talk about classes that are a joy to teach. I am excited to go to class each day and I actually feel like a teacher now. Plus this Saturday we will be done with this godforsaken community project that has been hanging over all of our heads for about a month now. For all intents and purposes, teacher training in my town is done this week and the real fun begins.
Next week I meet my counterpart that I will be teaching with for the next two years. After we have a conference in the city for 3 days I will be going to Zhez for a week to interview some host families and introduce myself to the classes I will be teaching. So next week will be exciting and tumultuous and by the time I get back it will practically be time to go back to my permanent site. Also, we are having elections for what is basically the PC equivalent of student council on Monday, and I am thinking about running. Basically they pick 2 people from the EDU group to be recipients of all the complaints and suggestions from volunteers and we meet a few times a year in Almaty to present these concerns to the higher ups in the Corps. I think I am at least friendly enough/ loud enough so that most of the trainees know me pretty well so, we will see. My platform shall be “I am great at complaining… let me complain for you.” It will be less of a campaign and more of a complain.
Let’s see if I can give a brief recap of the past couple of weeks to satisfy anyone unnerved by my lack of blogging. Two weeks ago for the weekend I went to Almaty on both Sat and Sun. Saturday I went with some friends to get a burger at this American bar and grill that looked way to much like an Applebee’s and found out the burgers were about 14 dollars. Since this would have been more than a tenth of my monthly budget, we decided against it and went back to town feeling defeated. Sunday we went to Almaty to catch a bus to this place called Medeo, which is the amazing mountain range that has a huge ice-skating rink nestled in a valley. It is evidently where the Soviets went to train for the Olympics back in the day. There is also a staircase up one of the mountains where you can get a tremendous view… if you can climb the 816 stairs to get to the top. Interestingly enough, we went there on the day of a big festival and there were competitions to see who could race to the top of the mountain. I went with about 10 people and we all got numbers to compete, but after waiting an hour most of us just went up on our own to get to the top without the wait. If someone presents you with a mountain with a staircase to the top, it is ridiculously hard not to just go up. It was actually too bad we didn’t wait, because the three people who waited got to be interviewed for the Kaz news and meet this guy who holds 14 Guinness world records for distance traveled in a human sized hamster wheel (no joke). It is so strange sometimes how just being an American here makes you the center of attention and thus turns you into a celebrity. In short, 816 stairs doesn’t sound nearly as horrible as it turned out to be. By the time I got down my legs were shaking from exhaustion. The view was amazing though. One day there will be pictures, I promise. After Medeo we got back into the city and found a stand that sold hamburgers for 2 dollars, so we ate our fill and felt accomplished.
Thursday we found out our site in a big ceremony and then celebrated at a café. Saturday I went to Almaty to an apartment some OCRAP’s had rented for the night and we hung out in the city and slept there. We met these Brits that were really nice and are basically doing the same job we are doing, and they invited us to this bar called Guns n’ Roses that was way too expensive, but they bought us a beer and there was dancing and a band playing Maroon 5 covers. The best part was that there was buffet with… are you ready? A MOUNTAIN OF HAMBURGERS!!!! I made out with 3 hamburgers and a beer having spent absolutely no money. Plus the Brits were really cool and invited us to hang out at their house the next time we are in town. Sunday I relaxed and read the most amazing graphic novel I have ever read in my life. Jeff if you are reading you must get a copy of Watchmen immediately, if you haven’t already read it. Anyone who is interested really has to check it out before the movie comes out and bastardizes the whole thing. It is one of the top 10 best things I have ever read… and it is a comic book. Also, reading it in a former soviet republic really adds to the excitement… all I have to say is Burgers n’ Borscht.
Oh also on Sunday I had my first banya. This is the steam room where it gets really hot and you beat other naked guys with branches in case you forgot. I didn’t know I could sweat that much, but it is amazing how clean I felt afterwards. It’s kind of like taking a shower in your own sweat. I went with my friend from PC , and his family invited me back this Sunday… I am excited, it’s pretty awesome.
That’s about all I’ve got for tonight. Hope it is satisfactory. I miss you all… please keep me posted on the debates and prez stats. I hear latest polls give Obama the nod. From what I hear through the grapevine you guys need some change you can believe in. Be well.
Yours Drewly.