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so i am now at my site. settling in. the first week was rough. I had to adjust to a new environment, new family, new culture even. The North is way different than the South. Much like the States. they speak a different russian, pronounciation.My departure with my Turkish family for 3 months, was anything but sad. My mom and I in the last month or so, had harsh disagreements about the local folk I chose to spend time with. My Uygur friend was not popular or welcome at my home, which didnt stop me from spending my free time with her. I came to being adopted by this Uygur family, I really miss them. I learned to make Uygur bread(which is rolling, smashing, using goose feather ends to smashin the middle and then its stuck to the inside of a big oven and cooked) Lagman noodles by hand, Uygur mante, learn to love Uygur chai (which is tea, butter, salt, and bread all mixed up and eatten like a soup) Cheese...and maybe thats it. I would make a fine Uygur wife.
My new family is Kazak. I have 2 sisters, and a brother. Both girls are married with kids, 4 months old and a 4 year old. the girls are 19 and 24. One of the girls lives in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Last week I took a train with her to spend the weekend there. Astana is pretty far (8hours) so basically i went down to buy some winter clothes (im really cold and the clothes in my village are cheap and expensive ...on a peace corp budget) Bazaar are totally fun. they can be tireing though. I got a cheap fall coat (it says prada but a button fell off today)and pair of nice heals...this leads me to FASHION in Kazakhstan...
Fashion is o so important. The women here all wear pumps...and im not talking granny big fat thick pumps, im talking stiletto. And these women arent walking around in the city...i mean ALL villages. Dirt roads filled with cow landmines. My new village doesnt have NEAR the cow remenence as Koktobe 1 but Tainsha has TONS of geese. i got chased down by a turkey today...anyway, i got a pair of nice heals, about 4000t (about 37 bucks) And its one thing to walk in heals but a whole different thing to be walking around in muddy roads, which EVERYONE does here. anyway, everyone dresses really nice...but there is this weird divide. most of the clothes are imports from China, so its all these knockoff items. and apparently China fashion is into the 'lady of the evening' look, the alternative is wearing a scarf around your head, a skirt down to the ground and big rubber boots. I never thought i would be in the peace corp having to get heals so i FIT IN at my job.
I love my school, the director is really nice, my counterpart is very sweet, the head of the language dept is down to earth...of course i am guessing since i really cant talk russian too well. its fairly loney not being able to talk but i try as much as i can. i am alone here, i opened up a site and the closest volunteers are 30km away...which doesnt seem far, but no busses go there and taxis dont go because its a 30min drive...so basically im alone. i got a tutor i meet with a couple times a week. I WILL SPEAK RUSSIAN FLUENTLY. russian is really hard.
Tainsha is a cute village, 60,000. there are 64 ethnicities here...it was 63 til i got here representing USA! I am the first american, i know what neil armstrong must have felt like...um sorta. Oh and i know what it feels like to be a rock star. there are 5 schools and i am wanted to teach at all of them. students will just stare at me. People here love america . So strange.
the food. My family owns 4 cafes, which is cool because if i ever need food(which i dont) i can just stop in. plus i can practice my russian with the girls that work there. Everyone is always happy to talk...only really fast russian that i cant keep up with. I had a big dinner the first week with my family and about 10 of their closest friends (kazakh people have frequent guests...EVERYDAY...i always find someone sleeping on the floor in the morning) there where about 20 toasts...all of which had my name in it...these were all vodka toasts (shots) or cognac and some wine. after a while i would be talking russian to the baby and realize i was interupting yet another toast in my honour (hey i said 20 toasts...how could i focus on all the russian and all that vodka). they take toasts to a whole new level here...as well as vodka. Oh and ive eatten (i just found out today) RAM and HORSE and some intestines...i think horse. i told my sister that many 11 year old girls would be very upset about the eatting of horse. she laughed.
My family is great, they are very good to me and are eager to help when i need it.I cant wait when im able to have a conversation where im not struggling to find the right words.
i start teaching next week. anyone that would like to send me anything, send me VHS movies...i would like to use them to teach english...(nothing with sex scenes nudity or drugs) or find some used ones and send them...i have NOTHING on my walls in my classroom. we dont even have enough books for the kids. i have 3 books and i am teaching grades 5-11 (and maybe more younger ones) my school doesnt have a copier either, and there is one computer connected to dial up. if i want to get online to get material i have to find someone to ask the computer teacher. Teachers come in, teach there class and go home after. the day starts at 8:30-2:30 and 2:40-7....monday - saturday. yeah the same teachers teach the morning and the evening. LONG DAY...and only one day off. teachers have to supply everything themselves, chalk, rag (to erase) EVERYTHING. no posterpaper, nothing.
well im really poor so i need to get off line.
