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.