My class on Saturday was interesting because I was totally derailed from the "schedule" which is an expected factor of Kazakhstan schools. I was scheduled to teach at 4:00 and then when I was on my way to the school at 1:50 I got a text that said my class has been moved to 2:15. So I had no time to make my visuals or finish my lesson plan. The reason it was moved was because the woman who is in charge of the Educational Program or some high up position came to observe me (from the Peace Corps). Originally my class was at the same time as one of my fellow volunteers. Anyway, so I sort of had to wing it and I grabbed a bunch of visuals from the pile and made it through the class. It went well but I was kind of surprised that that class was a lot better than the very first class I taught. Good sign I think.
So....I am now pretty familiar with what it is like to live with chickens and roosters because there are about 25 of them outside of my bedroom window. Common misconception: Roosters do not just crow in the morning when the sun rises. In fact, they crow about every 20 - 30 seconds between the 5 roosters that live across from me. There is constant crowing. Do roosters crow? Anyway, there is also constant mateing. I don't know how to spell that for sure....or if that is the right term. But the point is that they are very aggressive. Like the males will jump on top of the females (while the females are eating) and kind of pin down their wings with their claws? Sometimes the other roosters get mad and then claw at the male while he is trying to mate with a female??? The whole process is very unsettling for me. So I have learned something at least. We had to walk from one village to another by foot on the highway because of the bus system on Sundays (not worth explaining in further detail). But on the way back we saw a guy passed out in the grass. For those of you who know about my "naked guy" story this is a parallel experience. Except...this guy had clothes on and I am in a different part of the planet. Anyway, the internal struggle was that my instinct told me that I should of course go see if he is okay and call the police....much like my reaction with the naked guy we found that one time. But this is TOTALLY different. It is more dangerous for me to try and help someone like that than to just walk away. The guy could hurt me or something like that.....someone could see me near him and associate me with him which means my reputation could be tainted (and that is really important around here...reputation) ... or if I called the police I would have to fill out paperwork and be questioned and speak to them IN RUSSIAN. In conclusion, I was not able to be a good citizen and try to help this guy because it could have been a bad situation. Strange things happen every day. Also, today was one of those days where I craved a lot of sweets. I hate when that happens because there is sooooo much candy Megan Kazakhstan Fun Fact: There seems to be a lot more security here than in the US in terms of what a person is allowed to take pictures of. We were told to not take pictures of basically any government building, major store / shopping area, airport, bridges, train station, banks, schools, the big outdoor market thing......
6 Comments
Hi Megan,
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Aunt Judy
4/21/2011 09:48:57 am
Dear Megan: I love your blog. I wanted you to know that we are meeting with grantees next week - the ones you helped with. We ended up with 73 applicants and I'm very excited to meet them and learn more about their work. After next week, I'll have time to do some shopping and collect some things for you. If you want a shipment of Kleenex or tissue paper, please let me know. Love you, love what you're doing and I hope despite all the challenges of living in such a different environment you're enjoying yourself and proud of what you're doing. Your Aunt Judy
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Brenda Haines
4/26/2011 07:24:04 am
Dear Megan,
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shannon
5/7/2011 11:37:35 am
ha ha..poor naked guy...i miss you bad...im waiting for permanent address to mail you stuffs....
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Peace Corps Blog.click above to play a traditional Kazakh song that I really like called the Karajorga. It is very popular and there is a traditional dance that is performed with it as well.
KazakhstanMarch 8, 2011 - click here to look at photos of tripArchives
October 2011
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