One Week Concluded

This was horribly delayed, mainly by my own use of time rather than a lack of it. Seeing as how this is supposed to be a blog and less of a journal, I'll be writing posts out based on subject rather than a chronological walk through.


English School

As we learned, our groups of students actually switch every 3 days in the English school. Thus after Monday, I said goodbye to my old classroom and transferred into a new group of students.

This class was extremely different. While more shy and less understanding of English, their behavior and participation was impeccable. This made setting up lessons and, estimating how long they would last, much easier. During the first break I learned Marko had now been assigned my old class, as he came in with the conversation opener of "How on earth did you survive them?!"

Bretislav & Marko taking a break in my classroom

All that time playing 2048 in university wasn't wasted after all. Showing the kids I could beat 2048 gained more respect from them than any lecture could xD.

Still, with more experience under our belt, the four of us in the English School, Marko, Bretislav, MJ, and I, tended to do far better each time around. (So long as we didn't have that one group I started off with). I myself took the time to write down what I would focus on for each day, making things much easier. The first day would always be focused on verb vocabulary, with games such as charades and pictionary, the second day reviewed different types of verbs (continuous versus simple, past and future tense, etc.), and the final day involved verbs regarding travel, concluding with my own presentation on the United States of America.

I asked the kids to write everything they think of with the USA on the board. This is the unaltered result

Beyond classes, there have been multiple particularly interesting activities based on the day. Apparently, Saturday was a sort of "Love Day" which meant that the classrooms were decorated with hearts and the teachers were dressed in red. The kids were given strings to pass out to people they cared about, and thus naturally Marko ended up with both of his wrists sufficiently covered, with MJ not far behind. Every poster which talked about couples would have at least three instances of "Mark + MJ = *heart*" on them written by the students. Other activities were more interesting:

All staff kissed the paper, even us male interns. Can you guess mine?

 Now, on this upcoming Monday we will transfer to our last group to conclude the Summer Camp program.

Sharapat:

On Monday, we were introduced to Sharapat, the Youth Organization for Disabled Peoples. This was an additional part of Shine Bright added in later for us to assist in. The organization focuses on promoting professional knowledge among the disabled, giving them a better understanding of what their prospects are, and even assisting them in practicing some English.

Unlike what we have done in the past, past the introduction day we will never be together at Sharapat. Rather, each of us has a three day section in which we give three presentations. The first one is an introduction of our country and ourselves, the second one is a focus on cultural and youth organizations within our country, and the last one is an overview of opportunities and laws concerning people with disabilities.

I'm the last person to go, so I won't be started on Sharapat until June 30th. Still, I'm excited to share about the United States and get to know the people involved better.

First President's Park

On Tuesday we had the pleasure of going somewhere I had been eager to see since first arriving in Almaty: The First President's Park. After a photo shoot with the other interns in a smaller park nearby, we headed to the major location, passing some interesting buildings along the way.

The glass industry in Kazakhstan must be going very well.

Finally we arrived to the spectacular view of the park's entrance. Despite clouds somewhat depreciating the view of the mountains, the location was still wonderful.

While waiting for others to arrive, a celebration began at the base of the entrance with various people dancing to a wind instrument and drum. Apparently, this location is (understandably) very popular for wedding celebrations and photos. This particular case was an Azerbaijani celebration.

Finally, when the rest of the group arrived, we headed up the park to for activities at its highest location. The sights were absolutely incredible.

Interns and AIESECers at our meetup point

After tons of photos, some games, and even some dancing, the group dispersed so that us interns could return back to the dormitory before curfew.

Other Activities:

Since, our days have been fairly simple. In the morning from 10 - 2:30 we work at the English school. Afterwards, one of us goes to Sharapat while the others return for rest and preparation in the dorm. Once the person at Sharapat is done ( 4-5 pm), we head out for an activity, usually including dinner.
That covers the first four of us, Bretislav, Marko, MJ, and I. The rest have an orphanage they work in instead, which us four will be joining once our projects with Sharapat and the English summer camp are completed.
While our work is divided, we keep together for later activities.

Our group trying Shashlik

Trying desperately to get to my lamb, with MJ's help

We've had many new faces over the week, from Thailand and Macau with expected additions from China and the Netherlands at the time I wrote this out. So far every new person has been wonderful and interesting, so I'm very excited to expand the group further.

In conclusion, the week has been wonderful, and I'm excited to continue the work we have started.