Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeennnnn.....OooooooOOOoo

Well, I have to admit that normally I chose not to celebrate "Halloween" per say. I have for years preferred autumn festivals. BUT when you're an American with a unique holiday, you celebrate.

So here I am with my host family. We carved a pumpkin together. We began with a scary face and then flipped it over to add a smiling face (complete with a tongue sticking out per my brother's request) on the other side! Then we feasted on pumpkin sauteed a'la Ember and roasted pumpkin seeds. It was a really great time to be together!

Today (Halloween) I will be helping at the Youth Impact carnival. Then us staff with get together for a scary (suspense) movie (with more pumpkin seeds) to round out the day!

Rockin' rollik with Rakhym

Rockin' you know.
Rollik is from a previous blog.
But what is Rakhym you wonder?

Well Rakhym is the name of an orphanage. It's different than most in that it only has 4 children. They live in a home with a Kazakh family. In past years we've helped remodel their kitchen, clean out their yard of wild bushes and debris, as well as help purchase clothing, book, etcetera. This year we are sponsoring them to take English lessons. The oldest girl likes to practice with us!

With the delegation we took them out for a special evening including dinner at a very trendy restaurant (the girls were excited to tell their friends)! Then we headed out to the square for roller blading (rollick), air hockey, and some good old fashioned tag. Jason (the American) proved to be the fastest, but Kiikzhan kept him running by zig zagging all over the square.

Saramoldaeva goes driving, Part ONE

For birthdays this year we decided against a movie. We wanted more interaction with the children. So this year we will go to a cafe together & then head for the Racing Club! Yup, we're taking the kids clubbing! Here are a few of my favorite snapshots of them tearing up the roads!








































Here's also a couple from the square that I think are great.

Happy Birthday to you never get's old...or does it?!

So we are very excited this year to start birthdays with Ulan orphanage. Last year Kids Connection was only able to attend a couple of months of birthdays, but now we are back on a regular schedule. At Ulan, things are a little different. For example at Savva we bring cake, prizes, gifts and run the show with games and music. For Saramoldeava orphanage we take the kids and either had dinner at Ken's house or (this year) take them to a cafe and fun activity. At Ulan the teachers run the show and cook amazing foods then bring them in to celebrate with the kids. There are children who prepare dances and songs and we give toasts and gifts. (I need to practice my Kazakh toasts more!)

The sweetest little interview you ever did see!

We encourage US sponsors to write letters to their children, but we also try to encourage the kids to write their sponsors. And once a year we do a general update of the entire sponsorship program. To update information with younger children, we have to verbally ask them questions (about their summer or what they want to be when they grow up). Some can be really touching (see Sara's blog). However, the thing that got my heart all mushy was watching Moldir and Kiikzhan "interview" the children in loving, tender, and quiet ways. Often children here aren't expected to express their own preferences, especially at young ages so it took some skill to help the children relax, understand the question, and to answer them. It was so heartwarming to watch!

From the kitchen...

So I've been shopping (and cooking) lately. Here are some rules for shopping:

1. If you don't know what it is but everyone is eating it, buy it, it's probably good! So all over I see people purchasing and eating these little round things and I've been wondering. I didn't know how to ask and couldn't get a taste, so I finally bought about 2 cups of these...tiny apples. And they taste just like you'd expect. Perfect mini apples! My host brother devoured about 75 in 15 minutes. They're just that good.

2. You may not recognize it... Here are mushrooms. Fresh picked. Yum! The Turkish ladies who sell these at the bazaar know we Americans are suckers for mushrooms. They also never fail to point out how fat all Americans are! Anyone for smiling insults with your shopping? Can you imagine the fresh produce sales-girl saying that to you in the US.
3. Round=tasty. Bread....... (said with a Homer Simpson type donut moan).

4. The more color, the better. Veggies!!! Seriously...not a lick of meat and about 17 kilos of flavor!

5. Prices are negotiable! Here's my shopping list for one week totally about $15.
Mini apples 60 cents
Bread (two rounds) 41 cents
Tomatoes (a dozen romas) 16 cents
Raspberries (1 pound) $2.90
Mushrooms (1 pound) $1.60
Eggplant (2 pounds) 75 cents
Garlic (2 heads) 33 cents
Small cabbage 20 cents
Carrots (1 pound) 20 cents
Potatoes (2 pounds) 55 cents
Colgate toothpaste $1.60
Deodorant $2.90
Bath loufa 60 cents

6. Make friends. No one would sell me less than a bucket of raspberries which would have cost me around $14. So I sat back and looked for Kazakhs! I found a couple and approached them. They were so delighted that I as an American spoke Kazakh (and no Russian) that they were happy to sell me a half a kilo!

Bumpity bumpity THUD THUD SLAM!

That's the sound of me falling....read on!

We were at Savva again the first weekend of October. We switched from a Sunday to Monday trip to a Saturday to Sunday trip. Sunday evening the kids were prepping for school and our evening visits to their rooms made sleeping difficult. So now we had a fun late Saturday night with them and the whole day on Sunday to play games and have our birthday party!

So the falling part, yeah, you probably are interested in that. Saturday night the kids and I made up a fun game. They kept wanting to run, but if I ran I was supposed to chase after them...and chasing after 10 kids all yelling your name who are WAY faster than you is only so much fun. So instead, I made them chase me....and, well, can you see where this is going? I fell. But it wasn't an ordinary fall...it was an extraordinarily, GLORIOUS, and complete WIPE-OUT! And I reveled in it! Really... I proudly showed my bloody palms all weekend. And when I got home...I showed my host brother. Poor guy is always falling and is covered in wounds and scars (no joke) so my family had a good laugh when I came home and had my own to show!!

There were some really good moments though. One young teen girl who I've grown close with through letters over the months was having a really bad day (at the birthday party no less)! I was able to spend some time comforting her and then got to watch her slowly engage all the way to ending the party with a smile. Another kid, a teen boy, is generally a misfit, but after he gave me a hard time I decided to add him to "my group" and began writing letters to him. Well, he didn't want to have anything to do with our time in his group. Later I saw him and we asked if he wanted a letter and picture...he didn't. Well, he didn't till I pretended to be wretchedly offended he didn't want the letter I had written! His frown flipped over into a smile and he hung around long enough to get a letter and to do the sponsor update we needed from him! It's so humbling to know that our love and care for the kids can fill up a sad heart or get a rebel to soften. I can't wait to be back in a couple of weeks!



Here are pix of me and the team!

Rah Rah Shishboomba!

The title is meant to indicate the coaches are here! David Knauss, Interlink President, Barb Bullard, US Director of Ops, and Larry Hargis, Chairman of the board are in Taraz for one week for business (and the pleasure of seeing us). We've had loads of meetings and have many more to go! This visit is a little more fun for some though as it's Barb's first time in KZ and it's always such a delight to share the "firsts" of Kazakhstan with people. Here we are at dinner!

And Thursday (tomorrow) I will meet with the coaches to discuss my future...drum roll please!

Gone with the wind

So this weekend brought a GREAT WIND to Taraz. And when I mean great...I mean winds that can do THIS! (See below) The first picture is at my apartment building and the tree is still there. What do you do where there isn't a "city service" to remove the tree branches sticking through your balcony?




During the afternoon, I did take a walk home to see the clouds after the storm. I thought a lull was the end...I was wrong. I felt bad for my choice to walk until I saw the BIRDS. Hundreds (literally) were being blown by the wind. The poor things were fighting so hard, but they didn't have a choice to hide inside, away from the wind.

Note: GREAT WINDS are a controversy here at the office. Some nationals believe the winds tend to follow a rocket being shot. Remember Kazakhstan was long the home of Soviet rocket and nuclear testing. However, others feel strongly that rockets and winds aren't related. It makes for lively discussions!

Yellow = Happiness

I was sad to think I would miss the turning of the leaves in beautiful Virginia. Often I've wished I could drive up into the familiar Blue Ridge Mountains for peace and prayer. But happily...there is a beautiful fall in Kazakhstan too!

Each walk home I watch the colors get richer and richer. We've been blessed with mild weather and so each day with the blue sky, perfect white fluffy clouds, and gorgeous trees, I'm as happy as a lark! I tell you though, it has let to a lot of nostalgia. Kazakhstan has become home, I love my life and friends here and each day that passes takes me closer to departure. But I am doing my very best to cherish each day and hold it in my heart.

Here are some pictures from my walking route...

Where did all the chocolate go…ooo…oooo….

In my mind, the title of this blog goes to some song about cowboys…

In any case, on this day (really September 30th although I’m likely to post this much later) we know where the chocolate went. To OLYA!!!

For her birthday, Sara and I pulled out the chocolate stops. Sara made her super easy fudge and I pulled my chocolate chips out of hiding and used the rest of my stash for authentic American chocolate chip cookies. I think she was happy! Here are some pictures from her birthday (one she shared with Jason). I think the crowns are a nice touch, don’t you? Those were also a Sara, Kiikzhan, and I special! Birthdays really are so much fun…though I’m ready for a break at this point!

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Literally! A fault line juts into the southern corner of Kazakhstan. In fact, some say the earthquakes are a reason (one of the many) the capital was moved from Almaty in the south to Astana in the north. Supposedly I've already felt TWO earthquakes while living here. My host family told me to sit down for one (it was so minor you couldn't feel it standing) but I missed it. The other I woke up in the night and wondered why I felt "shaky" but was ill at the time and thought it was me!

So Sunday night I was laying down not yet asleep and RUMBLE! Earthquake! It felt as if I was lying on top of a old running dryer, the kind that rattles and bumps, but not enough to go anywhere! I looked over to see the water sloshing in my water-bottle on the dresser. The whole thing lasted maybe 8 minutes...just enough for me to go from thinking "COOL! My first earthquake!" to thinking "Ummm...what if it gets worse?!" I realized I had no idea what to do if the earthquake got worse! Till now that is. I've done the smart thing and found some tips (all logical) on earthquake behavior recommended by the Red Cross...

Yet another thing I never thought about in Delaware or Virginia!

Lesson from my mother: “A little paint and fabric goes a long way”

So this year the Polytechnic Institute gave two rooms to the Youth Impact Program. So Olya asked me to team up with her and Moldir to bring empty rooms to life on a low budget. We found some pictures we liked, they came up with a few slogans and we picked out fabric at the bazaar. Ideally we could throw in a few couches as well, but the thrift-shop-second-hand-couch concept hasn’t reached KZ yet. So we did our best and I think the rooms look pretty good! Here’s a shot from Moldir’s room.

Kazakh Teacher

I’ve been spoiled lately. My Kazakh teacher is now coming to our office since there are four of us enrolled in classes that occur one after the other. Here is a picture of my teacher (on the left), her assistant Anya, and her grandson. On a recent exam I did really well with grammar which is shocking, but not so well in vocabulary…. Here’s the problem.

Right now I have about 50 words to learn. I truly learn about five a week meaning they become a part of my regular vocabulary. But every week my teacher gives me about 20 new words…can you see the backlog? So generally I pick words that are relevant to me, words like “pick up” “cheap” “remember.” I tend not to memorize words like “ski” “to conquer” as I’m not likely to use those. Yea, guess which ones were on my exam?! I think I’m progressing, slowly but surely, like molasses…or a sloth...or an iceberg...get the drift?

Mr. Postman bring to me...

So Thursday I was at Ulan and we were handing out some gifts from sponsors and pictures from the carnival. We asked the children if they wanted to write their sponsors, but the truth is, many still don't have sponsors.

Sponsoring a child is about $200 per year ($50 each quarter). It allows us to do big projects, like the purchasing of mattresses, redoing old floors, installing new doors or windows. But the other half of sponsorship is letting a child know that they matter. On our end we have birthday parties for the children each month, and from the U.S. come letters (in the form of emails or physical mail) and gifts. I can't describe to you how excited the children are when they get these little things that let them know they are special to someone, somewhere. If you want to be a sponsor, see our website.

Unlocking the chamber of secrets

So the doors were opened (metaphorically speaking) and I got my “surprise” from the rooms with the signs. No, it wasn’t a pony. No, they didn’t keep the clowns in the conference room for 3 days like I guessed. What I DID get was a huge poster with pictures of my close office friends writing me sweet or funny messages. With a tiny apartment it was difficult to know where to put it, but now it sits next to me on the bed (topping my guitar) and I smile every morning at my friends’ birthday surprise for me!

Ramadan and the sheep on my porch

Living in Kazakhstan, I’m learning a lot about Islam this year. For example, did you know that Ramadan has occurred in the month of September? Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. During Ramadan, Muslims fast and pray. One night during Ramadan, translated, the “Night of Power,” is a night many will stay awake to pray all night. It coincided with my birthday this year.

Ramadan ends with Eid, which is the breaking of fast. For Eid at my house this week a lot of food was cooked and we had guests for two days! We also, in our tiny kitchen, chopped up a whole sheep from the village. I watched only out of morbid curiosity as my Mom dug through the innards and salted it down. The whole caboodle is now on our porch…who knows what the future holds for it now!