Now for the Summer Action

Winding down the school year demands patience and flexibility. The school year ended on May 25th. After all the testing and grades, I can still honestly say I still love teaching after four years of it. So, the first year of Peace Corps teaching has ended. What am I going to do during those long summer days when the sun only sets around 11pm? I’ll be busy at summer camps and traveling. As of now, I’ll be leading a summer camp in Lesnoye, assisting at a camp in the southern city of Taldykalgan , and then helping out a fellow volunteer with his museum project afterwards in the north. Finally, I’ll probably tour Kazakhstan with my parents after savoring spicy curry and drinking some cooling coconut juice with them in South India .

Almost everyone in Lesnoye grows their own vegetables and potatoes. Cabbage, onion, radish, beets, and carrots grow well in Kazakh soil. My host family has substantial property. Their vegetable garden is huge and demands lots of work. On top of growing vegetables, they also grow strawberries, boysenberries, and blackberries. After getting home around 4, I till the earth and shovel soil till about 9pm with Aliona and Anatoli. Getting to see the results of your hard work and feeling your back muscles strengthen is a reward in itself. Plus, you sleep like a sack of potatoes after working. This rigorous farm hand work is a first for me in my life. I wouldn’t make a profession out of it but it’s great for the time being. After all this work, the family and I went to the nearby forest for some R & R.