Northern New Year...

New Year’s in a little Kazakhstani village can be exciting.  They take New Year’s seriously here and a lot lead up to 2010.  First, there was the Yolka on December 29^th.  This is where students dress up and put on plays.  It began at 10 in the morning and ended with dancing at 10 in the night.  The Yolka is an informal, traditional, and colorful event where the audience gets involved with dancing and singing (led by the students) to traditional Russian holiday songs.  I tried my best with the dancing. 

Next, there was New Year’s Eve.  My host mother, Aliona, was in the kitchen all day preparing over 10 dishes which included a goose, smoked fish, and a variety of complex salads.  We began dinner at 10 and celebrated the beginning of 2010 in the home.  Afterwards, there was dancing till 4am in the community center and we made our way over.  Many people showed up.  Fireworks and lots of energy. 

New Year’s Day is just as energetic as New Year’s Eve.  Friends and family started coming over at 10 in the morning for food and drink.  The socializing only ended at 5 in the morning.  So, lots of dancing and laughter like the night before.  I have had enough meat the night before so I gobbled down almost a whole pineapple.  Tropical fruits are hard to come by here.  The warmth inside the homes is a great compromise for that bitter cold outside. 

Working Christmas Day...

The holiday season is in full swing here in Northern Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s Independence Day (December 16^th), New Year’s, and Russian Christmas (January 7^th) energize the solemn winter with numerous social activities.  I’ve been enjoying social occasions with the locals.  Conversations are becoming longer as my Russian gets better.  Just the other day, I had about an hour long conversation with Vladimir, the school's night watchman, about his present views on Kazakhstan and his outlook on its future.  Many breaks and pauses in the conversation but we were able to communicate 'seriously' for some time.  This social solidarity goes far in cheering one up in the sometimes depressing climate.        

 Here, December 25^th is a work day and I indeed worked.  Teaching Christmas themed lessons cheered me up and put smiles on the student’s faces.  Students giggled their ‘Merry Christmas’ s and I even got some gifts :).  Overall, it’s been memorable. It was great for after teaching, I watched and helped some fellow teachers and students build snow figures.  It is a New Year’s tradition to construct snow figures outside the school.  I had to stop after forty minutes for my hands were painfully cold and the locals laughed.  Here in Lesnoye, New Year’s Day is when you give and receive presents and is taken much more festively than the Orthodox Christmas.  Yes, I feel nostalgia thinking about the lighted palms in downtown San Jose or when I imagine swimming in my brother’s and sister-in-law’s heated swimming pool in San Diego.  Nonetheless, loving life over here! Merry Christmas! 

December in Kazakhstan...

Many simple pleasant goods in America cannot be found in a Kazakhstani village store. So when four packages arrived from my parents in California, I was enthused. Now, there are numerous spices, strong coffee for daily espressos, Oreos, and Bvlari cologne sitting in my room. Oh, how I cherish these things so much :) Thanks Ma and Pa.

December 16th is Kazakhstan's Independence Day so there were a few celebrations in the village. It also marked the first mini snowstorm I 'endured.' I walked about 1.5 miles in this ministorm to the gym. Angry weather! Kids have been staying home lately because the school issued a new mandate: if it's -32C outside, you stay home. Teachers still have to make their appearances at school despite the cold. Only a serious storm will keep this tropical spirit indoors. Lucky for me, I purchased a shapka (that Big Russian fur cap you always see) and wool insulated dress shoes in Kokshetau. They cost a bundle but boy, if you wear these apparels indoors, you are sweating within two minutes.

White Christmas...

Winter has begun and it feels like it.  It’s so cold that when you spit, the spit almost immediately turns to ice when it hits the snow.  Still, it is bearable.  There are days when it is all cloudy out and it’s a warm -15C.  Then, there are days when it is sunny out and it’s an awakening -25C.      

 A month in Lesnoye and lots of worthwhile memories within this short time.  Teaching English to high schoolers and middle schoolers is energizing and adjusting to the village life is a present pleasant challenge.  Blessed to have a great host family whose completely different lifestyle continues to fascinate and teach me.  Arlitoli (the dad) is a hunter and Aliona (the mom) keeps the pigs and chickens in the back shed well fed.  Shoveling snow keeps one in shape.  The only meat I’ve dined on thus far in the home is freshly hunted deer.  In a few days, there will be boar meat for that was the recent prey.  Slowly, integration takes place.  I now go to the village clubhouse and exercise at the gym or play some ping pong in the evenings with the locals.  More and more conversation takes place as familiarity grows and my Russian improves.  Many of the locals know me by name and I try my best to remember the numerous Sashas, Natalias, Nadias, Sergeis, and Vladimirs.  Nevertheless, I know I am the foreigner and will have to strive in all sorts of directions to successfully integrate.           

A Village

With the end of fall approaching, dawn comes around 8:30 and dusk sets in around 6pm. With not a single traffic light and only three streetlights by the school, Lesnoye is pitch black once the day ends. It is a village with three main roads: one that leads to the village center, one that crawls up a foothill and leads to more vast forests and a river, and the final one onward to the steppes and two other local villages. Snow arrived on November 10th and it has not left. The village is more beautiful in the snow and the air is so fresh. A 15 minute morning walk is a quality cup of coffee. Being my first experience living in the snow, I love it even though it takes me about ten minutes to put on and re-check the new armored wardrobe.

As for the volunteer assignment, I taught my first English class to 10th graders recently. I will be working alongside three English teachers and teaching 5th to 10th grades. Being a village, each grade only has about 15 or so students. School begins at 9 and ends at 2:50 with no lunch break. Students from three smaller neighboring villages bus to school every morning. Lesnoye (with its 850 denizens) is the biggest village within its county. It’s been about two weeks and I am beginning to remember the lengthy Russian/Kazakh names of students and fellow teachers.

Moving on...

Halloween passed by and we have been officially sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers. That means all of us have travelled to our sites by bus or train. Bidding farewell to Ecik was not easy. I loved the town and will miss many locals and some fellow volunteers. Many sweet memories from Ecik will accompany me to Northern Kazakhstan. The late evenings at Café Bilora with its lively Turkish dance music, salty shashleek with local beers, and just plain conversations with locals shall bring on a smile.

The twenty seven hour train ride went by smoothly and comfortably. As the train chugs alongside the uniformly brown and gray Kazakhstani steppe, we rested in our cozy cabins. Once the train halted in Kokshetau, I knew I had left the familiar South. Russian faces outnumber Kazakh faces, Birch and Pine forests with gentle rolling hills, and the straight cutting cold. Though only a few days in the North, I can already tell that people spend more time indoors here than in the South.

Lesnoye is a clean village set against a river, Birch forests, and amidst small hills. Being relatively isolated, cell phone reception is very hard to come by. I have to go to the local town of Balkashan (12 km away) to enjoy the luxuries of the cell phone, internet, and cafe. The school has no running water now but will have it next summer when it is remodeled by Japanese aid. Rounds have been made within the school and I am eager to get aboard as an English teacher. Being the first American almost all Lesnoye citizens have met, I am greeted either solemnly but more often enthusiastically. The host family I chose to live with is Russian, made up of 4 people, and most importantly warm and helpful. It is November and locals say the snow is right around the corner and that it shall stay till April. O, this wondrous experience.

To the Future...

Seven weeks in Ecik have passed and now all us volunteers know, in name, where we’ll spend our next two years of service. We swear in as official Peace Corps volunteers on Halloween and then we board our trains to commence our bold journeys.

Where am I going? The destination caught me by surprise to say the least. Having never lived in snow before for more than a couple resort days, I requested the South in hopes of enduring a less severe winter. I didn’t get the South.

Lesnoye will be my home after a 26 hour train ride on Halloween. It is a pioneer site which means I will be the first Peace Corps volunteer to serve there! Invigorating! Lesnoye is a village of 2,000 people in North Central Kazakhstan. It’s one of the most northern sites where Peace Corps serves. Lesnoye is situated in a very scenic area of Kazakhstan where many tourists visit during the summer. Rolling hills and numerous lakes sprinkle the area. The village has one school and is ethnically made up 50/50 of Russians and Kazakhs. By bus, the nearest town is twenty minutes away and the central city of Kokshetau is 90 minutes away. There are eight other volunteers within hours so isolation isn’t a blatant concern. The more I ponder the placement, the more I embrace the idea of such significant change. Initially, I was stunned. How is a tropical California young man going to fare in the legendary Russian winter? As I reflected more on the placement, I became encouraged by all the possible ways to grow and give back. Very cold winters await me (-5 to -30 C) and so do very beautiful summers. Going to keep my head up and my body warm.