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.