Shine Bright: Roll Call

On the third week of my internship with Shine Bright in Kazakhstan,  I mentioned my intention to write a "Roll Call" post going over all the incredible people that were part of this internship. In preparation for it, I prepared flags, pictures, and even asked every intern what their favorite part of the internship was.

However, weeks went by and I never got around to it. Now, one week after having left Kazakhstan, I finally set myself on completing the post.  Now, over a month since I originally asked them what their favorite part of the internship was, I doubt their original thoughts still stand. To substitute that, I decided to add instead what my favorite moment with each of them was.

Bretislav Ptacek

  

Bretislav and I at the end of my first week, posing at the First President's Park

Bretislav was the very first intern to arrive in Kazakhstan, and had an additional week of experience beyond every other intern (Aside from Eduardo, having been in Kazakhstan for the better part of a year). He is from the Czech Republic and, thanks to many similarities between Czech and Russian, was helpful from the start in discerning the language in cases of emergency. With a far better sense of direction than the rest of us, he often guided MJ, Marko, and myself in the early days of our internship at the summer school. After the summer school, Bretislav stayed in Almaty with me for about a week after Marko and MJ left for Ornek summer camp before being assigned to Ak-Bulak summer camp.

Bretislav in Astana

My favorite memory with Bretislav is probably going through Astana together on the one day on which we were there at the same time. Showing him the routes I took through the city was a blast, and it was hilarious being the only people visible for much of our time. From commenting on exhibits in the National Museum to struggling against the wind while walking from monument to monument, the time was one I certainly won't forget.

Marko Poldroos

Arriving from Tallinn, Estonia, Marko was the second of our Shine Bright group to begin his internship. During our time in the summer school, he was certainly the most beloved teacher of all, likely due to how hyperactive he is. Along with Bretislav, he helped us with Russian in some emergency situations as he studied it for a few years in school. After our time in the summer school, he ,along with six other interns, moved to the Ornek summer camp to teach English.

MJ and Marko at the second "Financial Games" of our summer camp

My favorite part of my time with Marko is probably the unceasing jokes we made against each other's countries (mainly him towards America, but I got a few ones for Estonia from time to time). It takes a considerably great friend for me to tolerate being called Canadian so much. In seriousness though, our constant discussions on world topics mixed with sarcasm and mockery were a wonderful part of the trip, and I look forward to future opportunities to continue.

Liew Ming Jia (MJ)

MJ was the first girl to arrive for Shine Bright, arriving one day before the arrival of Grace. Coming from the city-state of Singapore, she was also the first native speaker of English to join the program. Along with Marko, MJ was also incredibly loved by the students at the summer camp. This had an added effect of having the kids insist on a relationship between her and him. The result was constant drawings of “Marko <3 MJ” on posters in the school, and even a rather forcefully arranged “wedding.” She was part of the group that left for Ornek summer camp shortly after the conclusion of our summer school.

Waiting for bus #99 on our usual commute to the summer school

I've always loved MJ's extremely extroverted personality and quick humor. However, to pick one moment with her that was my favorite, I would probably choose our trip together on the first week of the internship to the Opera. Thanks to MJ's insistence, we were able to see an opera in Kazakhstan right before the opera season ended, filled with beautiful ballet, traditional dances, and of course opera singing. The performance, in addition to my first opportunity to get to know MJ better, was one of the brightest moments of my entire time in Kazakhstan.



Charles Michael Santiago

Yes, I'm including myself in my own roll call. I'm from The United States of America:, more specifically Washington DC when at university and North Carolina when with family. I was the 4^th intern to arrive, and the final intern to be assigned to the summer school project. Unfortunately, I was the only monolingual in the entire project, though I study Russian and was able to make use of it on several occasions. After the summer school ended, I remained teaching at the orphanages in Almaty for the entire remainder of my internship.

Marko, Bretislav, MJ, and I just before we started dividing into separate assignments.

With myself as the last of four interns who would work together separately from everyone else over an entire month, there was a fantastic bond between us four (Which somehow came across for us to refer to as the “Musketeers.”) While this bond was stretched out some as Marko and MJ left for one summer camp and Bretislav for another while I stayed in Almaty, I'm glad that the close ties and association still stay and hopefully will continue long after we've all returned home.

MJ, Bretislav, Marko and I at the end of the internship

My favorite part of the internship in general would definitely be the community we had among the interns (hence why I wanted to finish this posting despite the internship being over). Having such a diverse group and hearing so many viewpoints was something incredible I had never experienced before, but certainly hope to experience again. I think it's safe to say that I had great moments with every person who participated in the project, and will always remember them not only as the group who helped me through this entire project, but as the individuals that were so incredible along the way

NgaMan Lee (Grace)

Jin, Kay, Grace, and Eva, trying "Five Fingers" for the first time

Grace arrived from Hong Kong later on the same day as I arrived. While she worked with us the next day at the summer camp, after that she was the first intern to work at the orphanages. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to work with her after that one day, however we still talked often during Shine Bright's after-work activities. Grace was one of the six interns who moved to the summer camp about one month into the internship.

Grace along with MJ and various students at the summer school

One of my favorite memories with Grace was the picnic we had first and only day working together, on the second day of the internship.However, I also really enjoyed the times we discussed the political system of Hong Kong and various controversies regarding it (and by discussed, I mean she explained it to me and I nodded my head to show I was understanding).



Martinka Veverkova

Martina at the First President's Park

Martina arrived only a few days after Grace and I arrived. Like Bretislav, Martina is also from the Czech Republic, though from a different part of the country. This made the Czech Republic the only country with more than one intern (Unless you put together Hong Kong, China, and Macau). Martina was the intern who spent the most time in Almaty's orphanages as, whereas Bretislav, Marko, MJ, and I worked at summer camp for about a month and Grace eventually left for a summer camp, she continued at the orphanages of Almaty from the beginning of her internship to its end.

MJ, Eva, and Martina at Некафе

If I were to chose my favorite moment with Martina it would be split between two events. The first was one of the earliest events in the internship, in which we all visited the First President's Park. The second would be her birthday. In celebration, we went to a game lounge called Некафе (Nyeh – cafe, meaning “not coffee”). There we relaxed with tea, cookies, and candy while trying our best to play a Russian-language board game.

Huang Eva

Eva trying to explain a concept for our board game in Некафе

Eva was the next intern to join us in Shine Bright. She's from Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the PRC (like Hong Kong). Eva not only never left for a summer camp or other non-orphanage work, if I'm not mistaken she worked with the same orphanage for her entire time in Almaty.

Our first time trying Shashlyk

If I were to chose my favorite moment with Eva, it would be between our first experience and our last one. The reason why I must say the first one is because it was my first time trying Shashlyk (Have I mentioned on this blog I like Shashlyk? Hahaha). Seriously, it was interesting talking, as I admittedly had little to no idea on anything about Macau.

The remaining team in Almaty in our farewell to Eva

Our last experience was her farewell celebration in the First President's Park, about one month later. There, we had a picnic, talked about our favorite moments of the internship, attempted rather difficultly to form words with ourselves in the sunset, and so on.

Gao Zhi (Saber)

Saber was our first intern from what one would fully refer to as China, not being from a Special Administrative Region like Hong Kong or Macau but rather the city of Hangzhou. Saber worked at the orphanages for the first part of her internship, but later was part of the group of six interns that were assigned the summer camp. She is of the opinion that a photograph will steal her soul, and thus I have no pictures of her to present for this roll call. It's fine though, as I certainly won't need photographs to remember our times.

Picture courtesy of Saber

My favorite moment with Saber was more of a consistent theme of trying to get her into photographs at first. One must admit she is quite vigilant. After a while it came to light that, being so vigilant at not being in front of a camera, she is quite excellent at being behind one. Thanks to this, I had many opportunities to be in my own pictures, and for that I thank her.

Tom Naberink

Tom, prepared to go out for a World Cup game

Tom joined us from the Netherlands around the same time as Saber's arrival. From there, he worked in the children home with older students for about half of the internship before joining the group of six for Ornek summer camp.

In the center, MJ, Tom, and I at the viewing point near Medeu

My favorite memories of Tom were definitely those relating to the World Cup. Seeing his excitement for the games (and his attire for going out to watch them) was great, and something one doesn't really see in the United States. He was very helpful in explaining some things to me when I didn't fully understand how the advancement worked while the USA was playing.

Hong Jin

Jin at Global Village

Jin arrived about two weeks after my arrival, on the 28^th of June. Arriving from Malaysia, she was the most recent of the six interns that left for Ornek summer camp. Still, we had plenty of opportunities to talk, and one of the impressions I had of her was just how incredibly sociable and friendly she was from the beginning.

Jin and Grace trying fajitas for the first time

My favorite memory with Jin was definitely Shine Bright's dinner at the “American Grill.” Here, I had the pleasure of introducing Jin to the fajita, a personal favorite meal of mine. Explaining the steps and describing the different parts was pretty wonderful for me, and it was great seeing that she enjoyed some of our Tex-Mex cuisine. A close second would be our farewell celebration at the cottage, in which somehow Jin and I entered a long discussion on religion in our two countries. Thanks to Jin, I know a great deal more about Malaysia, and hopefully I was able to teach a thing or two about the United States that wasn't common knowledge.



Lucija Peklar

The next intern to arrive in Almaty was Lucija, from Slovenia. From the start, Lucija was of incredible assistance to us all as she was fluent in Russian and perfectly willing to ask locals for assistance whenever we needed direction or information. Lucija worked at Regional Orphanage #1 for the entirety of her time with Shine Bright (though, like the other six girls who never went to a summer camp, she also lived and taught at Orphanage #2 late in the internship).

Iris, Kay, and Lucija at the Almaty Reservoir 

I had the pleasure of working with Lucija for the entirety of my time teaching at the Regional Orphanage #1. She guided me through lessons and translations as we as a pair taught the younger students for weeks. I would count this entire experience as my favorite memory of her, with a specific focus on the chaos that was break time with them.

Buse Kiray

Buse after carving up an orange for us at the picnic

Buse arrived at about the same time as Lucija. She is from Turkey, and thus was the first (and only) intern of Shine Bright to come from another Turkic country (Kazakhstan and Turkey share the same ethno-linguistic background, however the languages are significantly different to my understanding). Aside from at the end of the internship in Orphanage #2, I never had an opportunity to work with Buse, but we still talked often in the various after-work events.

Posing for a group picture after our picnic

My favorite memory with Buse was definitely the picnic our group had shortly before I left for Kyrgyzstan. As we talked there, I learned many things about Turkey I didn't know before, particularly about regions such as that of Adana, the city from which she is from. Additionally, I must add that one of the most amusing parts of the picnic was seeing how expertly she can peel an orange (Citrus is a specialty of the region of Turkey where she is from).



Yuchuan Liu (Kay)

Kay arrived in Almaty a day or two after Buse and Lucija. She's from the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is quite patriotic and proud of her country. Kay is actually part of AIESEC in her country, which will be hosting the global conference of AIESEC this year, and thus knew a great deal about how AIESEC functions (something very helpful for me as I knew little to nothing about the organization prior to arriving).

Kay and Iris at their tables for Global Village

It's very difficult for me to chose a favorite moment with Kay, as we spent a great deal of time talking about politics in Taiwan and other really interesting topics.
However, I must include one of the most memorable moments: our introduction. When she first arrived at our dorm, I quickly ran down the dorm to meet her and, when she asked where I was from, I asked her to guess. Much to my surprise, as I thought she would immediately recognize my accent, she never thought of the USA and even guessed CANADA before I answered (something I will never forgive her for. Marko however thought this was amazing).  

Iris Wolfisberg

Iris was the last of the interns to join us who would work at the orphanages, arriving from Switzerland shortly after Kay's arrival. Having arrived to Kazakhstan much later than many of us, Iris and Kay have since continued after the internship to travel Kazakhstan beyond Almaty, and are still there now.

Iris and I fighting over a spot at the First President's Park

While at first I didn't see Iris often as we worked at separate orphanages, after the remaining six girls in Almaty moved from the old dormitory to Orphanage #2, I saw her often as she assisted Eva and Kay in Regional Orphanage #1. One of my favorite memories with Iris was actually on the last day I saw her and Kay. We joined them onto their train and helped them get set up. Afterwards, after a long time of waving and shouting through the window, we chased the train as they departed to Western parts of Kazakhstan.

Iris and Kay on the train leaving Almaty

Eduardo Moran

Eduardo is an intern from Mexico has actually been involved with AIESEC Almaty for an incredible amount of time, and has a flat and work in Kazakhstan. While I don't know the exact frame of his arrival, when I first arrived in Kazakhstan and met him (about one week into our internship) he had already lived in Almaty for about EIGHT months. While he worked at the same orphanage as I did, Regional Orphanage #1, he worked on a separate floor with older students, so we didn't see too much of each other.

Eduardo, having work and other obligations for sustaining his own living in Kazakhstan, wasn't too often with us. However, we did see him regularly in large AIESEC events. After our time in the dormitory ended, he was kind enough to provide Bretislav and I with a place to stay for the remainder of our internship.
I think my favorite moment with Eduardo was when he saw me using a timer for hard boiled eggs. The look of disbelief and following confused rant on how cooking shouldn't be done with a timer but “with the heart” was definitely memorable.



Paulina Spiess

Paulina was the last intern to join the Shine Bright program, having arrived from Germany two weeks into July. She never lived with us in the dormitory as, on the same day she arrived, she immediately departed for Ak-Bulak summer camp with Bretislav. She has continued to work with Ak-Bulak for nine day shifts with breaks in Almaty city in between, and is still working in Kazakhstan now.

As I was in Kyrgyzstan when she arrived, I didn't have an opportunity to meet with Paulina until one of the last days I spent in Kazakhstan. I met her when she visited Regional Orphanage #1 on our last day. From there she joined us in heading towards Orphanage #2, and I got a chance to know her better as we both attempted to navigate the way from the orphanage to Zhanat's place, where she stays while in Almaty. This, along with the farewell party that night, is the only time I spent with her, so I guess that should count as my favorite memory. But it's certainly a good one.

There and Back Again

Well, I'm writing this on my flight from Almaty to Amsterdam, which will be shortly followed by a flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta. In the airport, I said goodbye to the last intern I would see, Bretislav, as he waited for his plane to Saint Petersburg.

I've delayed writing my post on our last time in Almaty significantly, often out of business but in a way also not wanting to accept that this is over. It's been an incredible last few weeks, but also incredibly sad as we needed to say goodbye to people we came to know so well.

I can't go over everything that has happened in over 2 weeks since I last wrote a comprehensive blog post, but this will go over some of the biggest moments and my final thoughts from the project.

1. Change of Scenery
2. First Goodbye
3. Global Village
4. Work Concluded: Final Days at the Orphanages
5. Time to Say Goodbye

Change of Scenery

Not long after I returned from my trip to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, our time in the university dormitories came to an end. We knew this for a while, though it was more recent that we found out where we were going.

Unfortunately, I needed to divide from the rest of the group. As the 6 girls remaining were going to work at an orphanage that could only house 6 females and no males, I couldn't live near them any more.

However, as they left for their orphanage across the city, I ended up living not far away from where we always had lived, in a flat owned by Eduardo, an intern of Shine Bright from Mexico who has lived in Almaty for over 9 months now.

I'm glad to say that, despite this change, we still worked together daily at our original orphanage, while afterwards two of the girls would work at the new orphanage in shifts. It was only the day after they moved that I joined Iris from work to see where they lived, and what I saw was nothing short of impressive.

Children's Home No. 2

While Eduardo's location was very convenient, being close to groceries and many major bus routes, I admit I was extremely jealous when I saw where the girls lived. The new children's home (Children's Home No. 2) was built less like an orphanage and more like a hotel. It has a beautiful layout, and amazingly is largely managed by the residents themselves.

When I arrived, kids were busy working on a garden (which turned out to be where they grow many of their own vegetables) as others shaped the trees within their fences. In addition, the orphanage often had very intricate meals, as the kids planned and created them largely on their own.

A main course of lamb complete with sides of salad and baursak

The children there were incredibly friendly, and were consistently eager to talk with me, over any language barriers. This was excellent as I believe I gained more practice in those last two weeks for my Russian than I probably had over the past month before it.

Enjoyed the place so much, I ended up visiting almost every day that we worked together and there wasn't an activity in the afternoon. The orphanage was friendly enough to accept my visits and I was glad to be able to help with English lessons there when I could.

First Goodbye

Unfortunately, however, it wasn't long after coming to this new orphanage that we needed to say our first goodbye to an intern leaving Kazakhstan.

Due to some issues regarding visa terms, Eva needed to leave earlier than expected and return to her home in Macau.

Eva leading us in a Beatles mimic in one of her first days
Taken June 22nd at Kok-Tobe

While it was sad to say goodbye to someone so soon, we made sure to mark the occasion with plenty of activity and celebration.

First, we had a farewell celebration with the kids of Eva's original orphanage. To begin, we had a celebratory dinner and spent much of the day playing with the children rather than our usual English lessons.

This celebration included dance performances by many of the children, including a rather incredible performance by one of my students (clip below)

This concluded in a final farewell party for Eva in one of the best places in Kazakhstan, where we visited during my first week (before the other interns with me arrived. I was the most experienced ShineBright intern in Almaty at this point, save of course for Eduardo). At the high point of the park, we sat and enjoyed a picnic while talking about our favorite parts of the internship and our favorite times with Eva.

While it was sad to see her go, we made sure to make our last day with her in Kazakhstan memorable.

I'm very glad to say, however, that I may be seeing her sooner than most, as Eva will be studying this fall at the excellent Boston University, 8 hours from DC.

Global Village

After Eva's farewell, we continued working in the orphanage as the days led up to "Global Village," an important event which we had been consistently reminded of since before we even got our visas for Kazakhstan.

In this event, all interns (including those who left Almaty to work in summer camps) would set up stalls in a mall's food court and give presentations about our country. In addition, we would need to go on stage and perform something related to our country's culture.

The result of the interns' work was quite amazing.

Many girls even brought traditional attire from their countries, and looked incredible.

 

 

Unfortunately, my stall was quite simple for the United States, but I made do with what I had.

As for the stage performance, I resorted to something that every intern had heard more times than they could count. One of my favorite songs to play on guitar by fingerstyle was written by a Hispanic-American, and thus could be fitting to present an aspect most don't think of when thinking of the United States.

I'm glad to say I didn't mess this up, and while it was simple, it seemed to be popular with the mall crowd at the time.

I'm sad to say that I couldn't stay in Global Village for long, as I had a train to Astana to catch (see previous posting). Still, Global Village was an excellent time, and the interns who put it together did an amazing job.

Work Concluded: Final Days in the Orphanages

During the past two weeks,  my work at the orphanages hit a high point. The kids became entirely comfortable with me and respected me largely as a friend in addition to as a teacher. Whereas the first few days working with them were absolute chaos and difficult to control, they improved significantly, and were even beginning to be able to make sentences in English on their own (barely).

Perhaps the best part of my work at the orphanage however, was learning how much they would pay more attention if I incorporated video games into the lessons. Sometimes, it would be simple. During break I would take out a video game and play it with them. I never did anything they said in Russian, so they were constantly asking how to say verbs in English before asking for me to do them.

The day that I returned from Astana was our final day working at the orphanage. As a result of this, we spent the day without lessons but rather celebrating and enjoying our final day with the kids we came to know so well. This celebration included cake, balloons, and a LOT of photography.

We also had the pleasure of meeting the newest intern of Shine Bright, Paulina (She will work for a separate summer camp for a few weeks after we have left)

Unfortunately, most of the students I taught lessons to were not present for this final celebration, as they had a summer camp to attend. Still, I enjoyed my time with Iris and Kay's students, who I had still come to know very well.

Seeing the kids reactions to us going, their eagerness to say what they thought in English, and their overall benefit from our time together was wonderful. It made me absolutely proud of my choice of project, and glad that I did make some impact in their capabilities and more importantly their perception of our countries.

Time to Say Goodbye

After our celebrations in the orphanage, we headed for our own goodbye party at a cottage near Kok - Tobe (The highest point in Almaty, where some of the interns visited during one of our first weeks). There, we met with the interns from summer camps who we had seen little of over the past two weeks, but still remained close to.

After some kind words about our experiences in Almaty with Shinebright, the distribution of gifts and certificates, we also celebrated Karina's birthday with a rather unique set up (joined by our International School of Leadership friends).

Setting up a pathway to guide the birthday girl

Presenting the cake

After a long night of catching up and enjoying each others company for what was for many the last time before leaving Kazakhstan, we fell asleep at various times. (I'd like to apologize once more for taking Saber's bed when passing out early at 2am)

In the morning, we divided up for the last time. Paulina needed to leave fairly early (6:00 am) to return to Ak Bulak summer camp where she would continue to work for two more of their nine day seasons (For her, honestly, this was both a greeting and farewell party, as she was the most recent intern and has worked in the separate summer camp since she arrived in Kazakhstan).

Those of us not going to Astana with Shine Bright returned to our homes to prepare our stuff to leave, and those going prepared for their coming trip by train.

After this point, everything we did was for the purpose of wrapping up. On Saturday, Iris, Kay, Lucija and I went to the Almaty Reservoir by tour, largely as a farewell to Lucija, who left the next morning.

Not pictured: 4 kilometer walk of aggravation

On Sunday, Bretislav and I had one last shashlyk (and by one, I mean 3 for me and 2 for him). We also took trips to the Green Bazaar and other locations as to make sure we had everything we would like from Kazakhstan.

*hums "I Will Always Love You"*

On Sunday evening, Bretislav and I came to the train station to say goodbye to Kay and Iris, (joined by Karina and Bagim). Kay and Iris actually weren't leaving Kazakhstan but rather are taking a long trip accross its less known regions west of Almaty. Still, as this would be the last time we would see them in Kazakhstan, it was pretty emotional.

Iris and Kay on the train to Shymkent

Finally, at 12:30am, Bretislav and I took a taxi with the help of Bagim to the Almaty airport. Amusingly, Bretislav and I had been to so many of the same places, but our last day was the only time we had ever traveled any notable distance together.

Bagim and Bretislav the night of our departure

Spending some three hours in the airport through check-in, customs, and other matters, we finally said true goodbyes at 3:40 as I said goodbye to Kazakhstan, and boarded my plane for Amsterdam.

So here I am, writing on a plane with an Estonian flag on my wrist. A flag of Taiwan hangs from my bag along with trinkets from Kazakhstan. In my wallet there is a scale from the Czech Republic and money from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. A hat from Kyrgyzstan sits next to me, and in my journal, cards from Macau and poetry from China remain safely tucked.  On my computer, 45 GB of pictures highlight this entire adventure from beginning to end, step by step, moment by moment.

Thank you to all of AIESEC Kazakhstan for preparing this experience, and keeping me and all the other interns safe and informed during our time in your wonderful country. I hope to do my part in sharing about Kazakhstan and what I have experienced with those who know little of the region here.

Furthermore, to all those interns who I joined in this: I can't possibly express my appreciation of your friendship. Despite coming from places thousands of miles (or, ahem, kilometers) apart, I never felt out of place in all of your company. I know that this was not truly good bye, and ,one way or another, we will see each other again.