Hello..hope all is well. The week is officially over and the brunt end of Pre Service Training is as well. The next two weeks will hopefully be a breeze (and have a much lighter schedule) than the past 8 have. My work at the school is done, as we had our last class on Saturday. The students turnend in their projects about Kazakhstan, and did a great job, I was really impressed with how hard they worked and how well they were able to describe their country in English. The students were definitely more hardworking, motivated, and gifted than I had imagined they would have been. I am a little reluctant and saddened to be leaving them for new studnets who may not have the same attitude about school (especially since they have never worked with a Peace Corps Volunteer before).
My Russian test was also this week, I think I did fairly well. I will probably score a novice high score, rather than the Intermediate Low score I really wanted, but I guess I will have just a bigger jump to make later. I got really frustrated during the test because the woman asked me to describe the rules of Jeopardy in russian (which clearly I am not able to do) and I told her that during the test, but she insisted I could. Also, she asked me inane things like what are my favorite books to read and who are my favorite authors..NOT the stuff about my previous work experience, family, daily routine, goals of peace corps, or any of the things that I was actually taught to say in Russian. Anyway, the test has no bearing on anything so I should not get so worked up about it.
This coming week we will be in Almaty for a few days to meet our counterpart for the next 2 years. I am VERY unsure about what that situation will be like, I just hope for good luck with my counterpart. I do not have any idea of what this person will be like to work with, what their attitude will be towards me, or what their expectations are of me. Honestly working with them for 3 days in PC's setting will probably not give me any better of an indication of them either...it will not come until I am actually in my village, working with that person everyday.
My Russian test was also this week, I think I did fairly well. I will probably score a novice high score, rather than the Intermediate Low score I really wanted, but I guess I will have just a bigger jump to make later. I got really frustrated during the test because the woman asked me to describe the rules of Jeopardy in russian (which clearly I am not able to do) and I told her that during the test, but she insisted I could. Also, she asked me inane things like what are my favorite books to read and who are my favorite authors..NOT the stuff about my previous work experience, family, daily routine, goals of peace corps, or any of the things that I was actually taught to say in Russian. Anyway, the test has no bearing on anything so I should not get so worked up about it.
This coming week we will be in Almaty for a few days to meet our counterpart for the next 2 years. I am VERY unsure about what that situation will be like, I just hope for good luck with my counterpart. I do not have any idea of what this person will be like to work with, what their attitude will be towards me, or what their expectations are of me. Honestly working with them for 3 days in PC's setting will probably not give me any better of an indication of them either...it will not come until I am actually in my village, working with that person everyday.
Hopefully while I am in Almaty I will also be able to get my laptop out of customs in Kazakhstan where it is currently being held (to my disdain).
Recently my host family has been treating me as far less of an outsider...I am now allowed to drink at the family gatherings, make jokes, I watch tv with them pretty regularly (tv is NOT censored at all here either) and just in general feel more at home with them. They definitely have never seen Microwaveable Easy Mac before which is interesting trying to explain to them, also they still think that me walking in the house barefoot will cause me to be sterile for some reason, and they blame when I am sick on that fact that I drink cold water (I have to sit there and not laugh for that...which is the most difficult part). I would love to know how strange they think I must be.
Anyway once I get to my permanent site around the 3rd of November I will hopefully have a computer, and be buying an internent connection in my host family's house (unless one of them already has it in which case......get ready for me host family!!!). Point being I would like to keep a much more descriptive, regular blog, with more pictures, and more stories. Hopefully this will be possible with regular internet access. Also I would like to make this blog look alot more interesting than it currently does, just do not feel like messing with those things in a crowded, expensive internent cafe.
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