NEW BLOG

hello everyone, so i decided to create a new blog. its on shutterfly.com so i'm able to post pictures too a lot easier. please check it out at http://josephinkazakhstan.shutterfly.com!

So I am currently on my "site visit" to Shymkent. I'll be here for a week meeting people in Sana Sezim, checking out the town, meeting possible host families, etc... So far, so good. Right now I am at Sana Sezim. The women I'll be working with are very nice and play dance music. I think it will be a good time. I've been trying to get an idea of what exactly I'll be doing here and so far I'm pretty sure my biggest tasks will be to research and write grants from international donors and to develop their volunteer program, both of which sound exciting to me. I already got to meet a few volunteers the other day. Three high school kids took me around and showed me Shymkent. It was an interesting experience, especially because they didn't speak English and I speak only some Russian. I'll probably also do a lot of proof-reading things in English.


I will also be helping with an English club and an English movie night this week. Last night I went to the English club. It is held at a library and between 10-20 high school and university students attend regularly. I think it will be a really great way to get to know people. Britt and I are going to make it our project.

Now Shymkent... It's kind of difficult to describe. The only way I can describe it is that it's like a mix between an Asian city and an Eastern European city. It's definitely bustling. There are street vendors everywhere selling everything from food to ripped DVDs to clothes to car parts. People are very put together and fashionable, in that Asian-Eastern European way?. I'll put up pictures once I'm here permanently that might put things into perspective. Anyway, I really like it. I can feel that city energy when I'm walking on the street. I like that. There are a million cafes and food is really cheap. For example, I got my lunch today for less than two dollars and it was delicious and more than filled me up. Also, yesterday I went to a cafe called Madelin's which is really fun and makes real coffee for pretty cheap (an americano for about $1.25).

I have to say, I feel like I lucked out on my placement (knock on wood). I'm in a really great city and working for an organization that is very effective. Now that I've visited Shymkent I am excited to move here and really start working.

I know where I'm going to live and work for the next two years!

I found out my permanent site Friday. I will be working in Shymkent, which is the third largest city in Kazakhstan (about 500,000). Kazakh is the language that is used most often there; however, everyone can also speak Russian. I’ll probably focus on speaking Russian for now, but once I become a little more advanced will start to focus on Kazakh as well. I will be working for an organization called Sana Sezim (www.sanasezim.org), which is an organization that works on issues such as women and human rights, violence against women, gender research, and conflict resolution. As of now my main tasks will be to “look for organizational sponsors for a women’s shelter, organizational management and development, organize volunteers to work with victims of abuse, develop relationships with international NGOs who work with the rights of women, and provide English language instruction for organization”. I’m not really sure what all of that means and it sounds a little daunting, but I’m really excited.

I’m also really excited to be working in Shymkent. I was a little nervous I would be placed in some tiny village working with kids (I mean no offense to kids, but that’s really not for me). I’m particularly excited because working in such a large city means that the options for secondary projects are really endless. I have a few ideas running through my head, but I’ll probably wait to flesh them out until I have been at my site for a few months. One of them is to start a program with male high school and university students. Female-headed households are on the rise here in Kazakhstan and I would be really interested in talking and working with young guys to encourage and empower them to be responsible leaders in their family and community and to respect women. There are a lot of (absolutely necessary) programs out there that work to empower girls and women; however, I feel that programs that teach young men to respect these women are important as well. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts on this please let me know. I’ll see how things go the first few months and see if this is something I want to move forward with.

Another exciting thing is that I have a site-mate. A friend of mine, Britt, will also be working with an NGO in Shymkent. We get along really well, and have already bonded and taken a day trip into Almaty together. On the other hand, some people are really far away. For example, my pals Megan from Cincy, Dave from Cincy, and Mel are not near me at all. Our placements actually form a square(ish) in Kazakhstan. I’m in the southwest, Megan is right outside Almaty in the southeast, Dave is in the northeast, and Mel is in the northwest. We’re bummed, but already planning “work” trips to visit each other (Peace Corps pays for travel if you are going to “work” at someone else’s camp/conference/etc…). What’s a day and a half on a train if it means you get to see your pals right?

While it is a little hard to judge my placement when I haven’t been to Shymkent or met my future co-workers I am feeling good about it. Next weekend I will be visiting my site for the first time. I’ll spend a week there getting to know the city, the organization, and meeting a couple possible host families (I have to live with a host family another six months at site before I can get my own apartment). For now I am really psyched about where I have been placed.

Right now I am still in Peace Corps training. I live in the same town and train (language, technical, and cultural) six days a week with the other twenty people in my program. This all ends November 7th, when we are all shipped off to different parts of Kazakhstan to work in various NGOs. This Friday we find out where our permanent sites (like the ones we’ll have for the next two years… OMG) will be.

I must admit that I am very anxious about this revelation. A couple weeks ago we were given a questionnaire regarding the type of NGO we would like to work for and the area of Kazakhstan that we would prefer to work in. I expressed the desire to work in an urban area in Northern Kazakhstan. I also expressed the desire to work for an NGO that dealt with either urban development or human rights issues. The Peace Corps staff has taken these things into consideration, as well as my past experience, and the available sites when placing me; however, there are no guarantees and in fact it is unlikely that all of these preferences will be met.

These next four days are going to be VERY long. Now I knew going into the Peace Corps that I would need to be really flexible and willing to go with the flow, but I will be very disappointed if I am placed in some tiny village working in some school or something. It’s not that I don’t think working in villages or with children is worthwhile, but I don’t think that in this type of situation the Peace Corps would be utilizing my skills and experiences to their fullest (I mean I did just graduate with a degree in URBAN and regional studies, concentrating in international development…). But hey, whatever happens I think I’ll be okay. I will likely have to create some secondary project anyhow and maybe there I can really get creative and make this Peace Corps adventure relevant to my studies. Anyway, I will be sure to post where my placement is, any information I have about the organization I’ll be working for, and how I feel about it all.


On a slightly lighter note… I went on a hike with a few friends in the mountains outside of my town. It was pretty amazing because we’re right on the edge of a mountain range and the steppe (flat nothingness) and we could see forever once we got up a little :)

Here's a couple pictures finally.

Ok friends, you will be happy to know I am doing well. I have begun to adjust to my new host family, which is a big weight that has been lifted from my shoulders. Also my Russian is progressing quite smoothly, which just makes everything easier.

I've also been doing a "mini-internship"/"practicum" with a local NGO twice a week, which has made me even more enthusiastic for the work that I will be able to do when I'm at my permanent site. The organization I'm working is the Kazakhstani Union for the Blind. Their mission is to spread awareness about people with disabilities and to educate disabled people (and parents with disabled children) about how to be self-sufficient in Kazakhstan. The goal of the practicum is primarily to observe the way an NGO works in Kazakhstan, but I have also been able to create a logo and brochure on the organization (two great marketing tools that they did not have before). I am very excited to hear about where and which organization I will be placed with. It will likely be an organization working with urban issues, but I have not idea what kind. I find out on October 4th where I will live and work the next two years.

You'll also be happy to know that I have discovered the best coffee shop in Almaty. It takes me an hour by public transportation to get there and one coffee is an entire day's worth of my spending money, but it is absolutely worth it. As some of you know I LOVE coffee and it has been very difficult to pretty much go cold turkey and substitute it for "chai", which is tea in Russian. This cafe is my happy place :)

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well stateside. Until my next post... Das Vidanya (a sad attempt at the phonetic spelling of the Russian goodbye).

Alright. So finally a rundown of the last couple weeks...

So I started off my Peace Corps adventure by flying to Philadelphia on August 17th. We had some general information sessions on the Peace Corps as an organization, policies, etc... It was also an opportunity for me to get to know the 60 other Peace Corps volunteers that will be serving in Kazakhstan the next 27 months.

Two days later we took a bus to NYC where we flew to Kazakhstan. It turned out to be an extra long trip as we had a ten hour delay in Frankfurt, but essentially just meant more time to get to know people.

I arrived in Kazakhstan jetlagged, but excited. We spent one night in Almaty (one of the biggest cities in Kazakhstan) and the next day we were driven about an hour away to our training base in a small city called Esik. We were met by our host families who immediately took us to our new homes.

I have to admit having a host family was the part about the Peace Corps that I was most nervous about. My host family ended up being just an older, retired woman named Mira. She was very nice, but spoke no English. Her apartment was very nice, especially by Kazakhstan standards. I had my own bedroom with a desk, running hot water, a tv, a washing machine... After the next week I became less nervous as we kind of figured each others habits and schedules out. Unfortunately after being here about three weeks, Mira's doctors decided that she needed to go to the hospital to get treatment for high blood pressure. This past Friday I had to move out of her place into a new house. This was difficult because I felt I had just begun to feel comfortable living with Mira. The new family is very different. It's a married couple and their 3 and 11 year old daughters. They are very energetic and talkative, which is good for improving my Russian, but not as great when it comes to personal space and alone time. It can be a bit frustrating now, but I'm confident in the next few weeks I'll adjust.

Anyway, a lot of my time is spent away from my host home. First of all, I have Russian classes from 8AM-12:30PM six days a week. Russian is incredibly difficult, but I feel like I am improving just fine and I'll admit living with a family who doesn't speak English is helping. In the afternoon I have Technical Training from 1:30PM-6PM. During this time we have sessions about how to work with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Kazakhstan, maintaining our health and sanity, and other skills that will be useful while here. We also have "mini-internships" two afternoons a week with local NGOs. I am working with the Kazakhstani Union for the Blind, which is run by two Kazakh ladies, one of which is blind herself. My job is mainly to observe and learn, but I am also working to create a logo and a brochure for the organization which is fun. This schedule is really tiring, but clearly helpful. It also gets me excited about the work I'll be able to do once I get sent to my permanent site (the one I'll be at for the remaining two years) in November.

So this is the basic overview of the last two weeks. Now that I've gotten it out the following posts will be able to include more fun stories of weird food, panic attacks, and the cow man. But for now you should know that I am doing well. While I have had my difficult moments, I am lucky enough to be surrounded during the day by other Peace Corps volunteers who are amazing. We all have a lot of fun and keep each other stable. I have already begun to form a few of what I am sure will be long-term friendships. Of course, what also keeps me sane is thinking about all my friends and family in the great US of A :)

Anyway, this is it for now. Feel free to shoot me an email (mizenerj@gmail.com) or package full of Starbucks coffee :)

I finally have a blog!

Hello everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to start my blog. The training site here just got DSL this week and this is the first chance I've had to spend more than a few minutes on the computer. From now on I should be able to post every week or so, the first detailed entry coming Monday or Tuesday. Until then everyone should know I am doing well and miss them immensely.