"And so, the time is here, and so I've reached, the final curtain....."

Yes, it's goodbye time again. Having been in Kazakhstan almost 12 weeks, and here in Shymkent for 11, the GX programme is very almost over and I find myself thrown into manic preparations for departure. We gave our official community farewell reception on Saturday where the whole team joined together in thanking our host homes, volunteer placements, and others in the community for their support. I must say, it was rather a fun afternoon. We had a giant "Spaseeba Shymkent" (Thank You Shymkent) jigsaw, we showed a video of some of the things we've been up to since getting here, we sang songs (John Lennon's 'Imagine', and a Russian song of similar style about friendship and overcoming challenges), and we gave a presentation of the things we will be leaving in Shymkent (my contribution was English language teaching), and the things we will be taking away with us (clicheed, but I said I'm taking memories of all the fun we had, especially at the kids' summer camps). Oh, and there was muchos food - every member of the team had made and/or brought something. I had attempted a Doughty's Delight - a creamy cold pudding which my mum is famous for. Unfortunately I could not easily come by all the ingredients so it turned into an experiment involving biscuits rather than trifle sponge, and smetana (creamy yoghurty stuff) rather than the specific cream-yoghurt concoction it was supposed to be. However, it seemed to pay off alright as it all got eaten before I myself got to try it!

I'm going to continue to talk about food. One of my favourite topics. And there has been plenty lately. Last night, my host home made a little celebration for me which was so lovely. Roslan (Rashida's boyfriend) cooked shashlik - the traditional Kazakh barbeque - of marinated chicken. It was absolutely de-li-cious and we had it the traditional Kazakh way - meat only and eaten with the fingers! Rashida, Roslan and I sat outside in the evening warmth, eating shashlik, drinking beer and wine (no mixing, don't worry!), and chatting. Madina, Rashida's daughter joined us later too. It was such a lovely relaxing evening and one I won't forget. I'm already getting sad at the thought of having to say goodbye to them and to Rashida's father tomorrow!

And so, the next part of the adventure is that we are going to get an overnight train to Almaty tomorrow evening, arriving on Wednesday morning. Wednesday and Thursday will be spent in true GX-style, evaluating everything - we have 24 weeks to cover! I'm on the debrief committee along with Dinara, Rory and Kassym and so we have spent the last few weeks planning the two days. I just really hope they turn out OK and that we all have a load of fun in our last days together. :)


We certainly have had fun since we got here, though at times it has been a rollercoaster. As usual, now that I am finally feeling fully settled and used to the ways of Shymkent, it's time to leave..... OK, I'm going to mention some highlights:

• Our Community Action Days (CADs) where we could see the contributions we were making - bringing some joy into the lives of the kids at the summer camps, taming an overgrown garden, tidying up a library, dancing along to music at an anti-drugs campaign concert.....
• Teaching English at my placement. By the end of my time working at the Clinic, I was really attached to the girls who came along to the English classes we ran - their enthusiasm made it all worthwhile. On our final day there, we had a bit of a party and played loads of games. I won't forget their smiles.
• The trips we've taken - to the mountains, to Turkestan and Sairam (nearby towns where we saw many beautiful old mausoleums.....though I think I've seen more mausoleums in the last 11 weeks than I had seen in my entire pre-GX life - I'm now mausoleum-ed out!).
• Discovering the little oasis-es in Shymkent which were welcome relief on many a hot day - the cool shade and waterfall in Ken Baba Park, the sheer relaxation of the pool and sun loungers at the Aquapark, Mozarella - a Italian restaurant serving super-tasty pizza, and the centre of everything, the Mega Centre (a fully air-conditioned shopping centre!).
• The experience of the colourful and characterful bazaars and haggling over prices. This is something I really felt uncomfortable with at first, especially as I would ask how much something was, and then spend 5 minutes working out what price had been quoted me, and another 3 minutes working out how to say my offer! But with a bit of practice, I'm proud to say I improved.

And then, of course, I can't fail to mention all the people I've met and got to know here. Some of the moments that have meant so much have been where people have recognised me in the city centre and come over to say hello, for instance, some of the children from the camps, or the students from Interlink. It's like I've felt accepted and welcomed. Initially Shymkent seemed like a chaotic crazy place but it just took a little while to get used to. There are probably still places and instances I'm a little uncomfortable with (the blatant staring of some people, and getting comments from strangers on the street), but for the most part, I can hold my own. I can communicate with people in shops and on buses, and with my host family. It's little victories like communication which have helped to keep me positive.

I've learnt a lot. Man, I could go on forever about everything (but I won't).....I now know more about Kazakhstan, about cross-cultural teamwork, about social issues, about volunteering, and about myself. I have many memories to share with people. And I have good friends in an awesome team. We've had our difficulties in the past, but we have shared this experience with one another and that's something which will keep us united. When we all go our separate ways on Friday I predict there will be more than a few tears shed.

OK, so I am starting to sound more and more wishy-washy and so I should probably sign off here. When I get back to England I'll try to get some photos up and maybe a run-down of the FINAL DAYS.

I'm looking forward to seeing you back in Old Blighty. But until then, take care, and with much love,
Beth x

Prayer Points (thanks so much for your support over the past 6 months - I have appreciated it so very very much!)
Praise:
- For the successful completion of Phase 2, here in Shymkent. For the relationships we've built up with host homes, volunteer placements and others. For all that we have managed to achieve. Specifically I'd like to give thanks for my host home where I have been very happy.
- For all that has been learnt by each member of the team. I think we have all benefited from the programme.
Prayer:
- For safe travel. Our train to Almaty is overnight on Tuesday, and our plane home is on Friday morning. The Kazakhstanis will also all be travelling to their respective home towns on Friday.
- For our time of debrief and evaluation in Almaty. May we leave the programme havnig reflected on all the positive things which have happened and been achieved over the past 6 months, and have a lot of fun in our last 2 days together as well!
- For the future of the team. May each member be blessed in the path they will now take. Some do not know what they will do next, so for guidance and blessing.

Thank you and God bless,
Bx

Action stations!

As usual, too much to write about! The last few weeks have been action-packed on many levels. The geographer in me is wanting to split down my descriptions of what has been happening into different scales so here goes....bear with me on this!

Shymkent itself - nothing much has changed to be honest. The summer has continued on, hot and dusty.....until about the last week when there has been a perceptible change in the mornings and evenings - it's a little cooler! Thank goodness for that. :) The middles of the days are still sweltering most of the time, but the other morning, I actually woke up cold (imagine! Or maybe this is all too real for those of you back in the home country) and the night before last I found myself reaching for a blanket whereas for the previous weeks I have used just a mere sheet as covering, if that.

Ha! In true British fashion I find myself mentioning the weather first. But I have developed a theory as to why this is. You see, the UK has such a temperamental climate that the weather is always always changing and surprising us, so we like nothing better than to discuss it! So, you can understand why I pounce on the smallest variance in climate here as it makes a change. :)

The team - oh, we've been up to oodles and oodles of stuff. I think the last time I wrote we were just about to trip off to our Mid Phase Review at a place called Aksu-Jabagly, right near a nature reserve about 2 hours away. It couldn’t have been more different from Shymkent, and a very welcome break from the norm. We were staying in this tiny village with one street. The surroundings look right out of the Lake District and it smelt like Yorkshire. And we could hear the silence! I think it was only by traveling out of Shymkent that we realized just how noisy the place is all the time. Unfortunately most of our time was taken up with evaluating the programme so far (controversial at times, but good to get unspoken concerns out in the open), and the other activities we had planned – horse riding and walking in the mountains – had to be scrapped on account of complicated logistics (divide 6 horses by 19 people…..) and again, the weather (a very strange weekend of heavy rain showers). But the whole weekend was a refreshing break nonetheless.

Another notable trip we have recently taken has been to another children’s summer camp. I really have enjoyed these as the children are so open and friendly and eager to say hello or just look at us if they’re too shy! And we got to conduct some activities for them about smoking and how it’s bad for your health. So, whereas at a previous camp I, along with Gulnara, had to lead the kids in 5-minute sessions of aerobics (!), at this one, I, Kassym, Catherine and Misha got each team of children to elect one of their number to stand at the front with a spoon in their mouth, and read off some statements about smoking and healthy lifestyles. The rest of the team had to guess what they were saying. This was quite amusing, and we had more than one child laughing, trying to speak with the spoon impeding them and causing them to drool – lovely!

We’ve also been up to various socials including possibly the most relaxing day on GX so far where a few of us spent the whole afternoon and early evening at Shymkent’s outdoor water park. We did nothing much all day other than lounge about on sun loungers, reading books, chatting, and occasionally dipping into the swimming pool, or, if we were feeling adventurous, zooming down one of the water flumes. Bliss. I think Aquapark fits into our list of oasises (oases?) in Shymkent, along with Ken Baba Park and the Mega Shopping Centre.

I must mention GCDs (Global Citizenship Days) as they’ve played an important part in my fulfillment on GX, and yesterday was our last ever GCD (sob!). No more shall the team meet on Fridays to learn about global social issues….. Over the course of this phase, we have covered topics such as teenage pregnancy and contraception, human trafficking, poverty, disability, and corruption (as well as a few others). At one of the GCDs (I won’t tell you which one), we watched a really clever and interesting short film which had a profound and challenging effect on my attitude. Please do check it out if you have the chance. It's in two parts, in total about 11 minutes long. Take a look at part 1 here. And part 2 here. I would also highly recommend watching the film ‘Philadelphia’ which we did when thinking about attitudes towards sexuality. It’s a brilliant film, set in the 1990s, in which Tom Hanks plays a high flying attorney who is gay and has AIDS. When this is discovered by others, he is discriminated against and fired from his job on a pretext of incompetency. The main plot focuses on the legal battle for the recognition of his rights, and the efforts of his attorney (Denzel Washington) to overcome his own homophobia to make the case for him. It’s a tear-jerker too and I wasn’t the only one who had tears streaming down my face by the end of the afternoon.

OK, stepping down from team level, I’ll talk about my placement. To be honest, it’s similar to last time. I can’t deny I’ve had a mixed experience volunteering there as there have been long stretches of time where I haven’t felt that I’ve been contributing much, but I can certainly say that teaching English has made me feel more useful. I have three more classes to teach – two on Monday, and our final one on Tuesday which is also our last day of being at our placement. Last Thursday I told the girls that Tuesday would be our last lesson and they were so sad about it! To be honest, I will be too as they’ve been great pupils and we’ve had a lot of fun together. During one of our lessons last week, I ended up acting out certain feelings (feeling angry, feeling hungry, feeling in love, feeling…..ugly!) which had us all in giggles. I never thought I would be able to teach English, and it’s been a challenge, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, I couldn’t do it without the help of Olga, and sometimes some of the other Kazakhstanis, to help translate stuff, and also to explain English grammar. Honestly, until Olga explained, I had no notion of the rules for making nouns plural!

Ah! I forgot to say that we have moved into the new clinic building and so for the last 2 weeks we have had a lovely spacious, unsmelly room with a squeaky clean white board. J It’s beautiful. The building itself doesn’t officially open until next Friday (although, as usual, this is subject to change as it has done at least 3 times so far), but we may yet be involved in the opening.

And now onto a personal level. It has been a turbulent time of late for several reasons. Last time I wrote I was preoccupied with trying to work out what I should do post-GX. Well, I am very very happy to say that that is now sorted! A big answer to weeks and months of prayer. As of Tuesday 15^th September, I will be a part-time administrator for a fair trade NGO called Banana Link which has its UK headquarters in Norwich! It all became clear about a week and a half ago – I had a telephone interview and an emailed computer test (both not without technical difficulties being as they were being conducted a couple of thousand miles away from Norwich!), and an hour or so later, I was told that Banana Link were offering me the job! Now at this point, I still wasn’t entirely sure that I wasn’t meant to be going to Reading to do my Masters after all. But I had what might be called a revelationary moment at about midnight that night, when everything became clear – of course this is the right thing for me to do. It was a lot more complicated than that but I don’t want to bore you with even more details, but there we are. Reading is deferred and I shall be working in Norwich. It is a job which could, potentially, start me on the international development career ladder (admin’s where everyone has to start), and the fact it’s in fair trade…..well, let’s just say that on the team I am known for being a fair trade nut.

The other turbulence has been caused by the departure of Dinara from our host home – she has moved into a different host home with some of the others on the team. The two of us are fine and still get on really well, but you can imagine it’s taken a bit of getting used to as for the last 5 months we have shared almost every moment (except when we’ve been at our placements) together. I do miss her a lot :( but thankfully I’m very comfortable living here with Rashida, Madina, and Rashida’s father. Obviously there’s been some adjustment as it’s very different without Dinara here. But it has also meant that I’ve been improving my Russian and communicating more with Rashida’s father (who speaks no English) as Dinara has not been around to act as intermediary! Often, in the evenings we watch a Turkish family soap together which has been really badly dubbed in Russian, but I kind of understand it and it’s quite funny in parts!

OK, well, I think that’s the blog fairly well up to date by now! Sincerest apologies that, once again, on account of my laxity, everything has piled up and so it’s turned into an epistle of uber-mammoth length. Perhaps next time it will be a bit shorter. And it may be the last as it’s a mere 13 days until we leave the country, and 10 days until we leave Shymkent! Crazy stuff.

I hope all is well with everyone. I can’t wait to get in some proper catching up soon.

Take care, and with much love,

B x :)

Prayer points

Praise:

- For the friendships and relationships that the team has been built up here in Shymkent with our host homes, volunteer placements, and with the others we have met.

- For answer to prayer about my future, and that I will have a job to return to which I am very excited about!

- For the completion of the new building at my placement (Youth Healthy Lifestyle Clinic). The are a few bits and pieces which need tweaking but it’s looking fab and I’m sure it will be a real blessing to the work that the organization does.

Prayer:

- For all the preparations for our departure. As we’re winding up our activities here in Shymkent, please pray that we will have the time to fit in all that needs to be done as there really is a lot, as well as devoting enough time to the people who have supported us here (host homes, volunteer placements), to ourselves, and to spending time with God.

- For team friendships and relationships. May they continue to grow stronger and stronger right up until the end of the programme.

Thanks so much. Love and prayers, Bx

What next?

Yes, as Kirsty said, I am a scamp. I'm sorry it's been more than a month. I can feel the pressure of falling behind on my updates. And alas, I haven't the time right now to fill in the massive gap I've left behind me (the last 5 weeks) but I thought I'd better reassure you I'm still alive. I've become a little more roasted in the sweltering Shymkent sun (mid-30s to 40s most days), but otherwise I remain unscathed by my experience. Pretty much over the major culture shock - it took longer than expected but I can now say with confidence that it's a thing of the past. My motto has become 'Go with the flow' as it's the best way to accept the unfamiliar environment and happenings that surround me. (I hope) I'm older and wiser for the experience. And I shouldn't forget to mention I am having fun! Recently we've helped out at a couple of children's summer camps which has been rewarding as the kids enjoyed the activities we put on for them. At the last one Gulnara and I ended up leading teams of children in some aerobics exercises!

There has been much to keep me preoccupied lately. It varies from week to week. There was Dinara's and my second GCD on Human Rights (did you know that one of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the right to rest and leisure - we should do well to remember that one!!!). Then I'm on the communications committee which means that every so often I have responsibilities in putting together our team newsletter. But at the moment, my main preoccupation is not to do with GX. It's to do with the future. At the beginning of the programme I thought I had everything mapped out.....I return to the UK on 4th September and I have a place to study a MSc in Rural Land and Business Management at Reading University, commencing in late September. However, I'm now rethinking this. There are very good reasons both why I should go straight to Reading, and why I should defer a year, but I just can't seem to sort them out at the moment in my mind. So I'm hoping and waiting and praying for some guidance. Watch this space for what happens next..... Oh, and if anyone has any answers, pass them this way!

Right folks. Here's a promise that more blogging will follow shortly. In particular I want to put up a bit of light travel writing as it's all getting composed in my head but doesn't seem to come out on the keyboard when I sit down in the internet cafe. But we're going away this weekend to a nature reserve for some time to reflect on the past 7 weeks that we've spent in KZ (yes, it has been that long!) and for a bit of a break. Back Monday, hopefully rested, relaxed, refreshed and ready for the final 5 weeks.

So, until next time, much love,
Beth x :)

Prayer points
Praise:
- That activities at work have recently picked up. I now help to teach two English classes a week which I really enjoy, and our new building is very almost finished so we're looking forward to moving in soon!
- For successful Community Action Days where the team has pulled together to help out at various places. We have recently been to two children's summer camps, and done a day's gardening work at one of the other placements.
Prayer:
- For team health. It seems that periodically people get dodgy stomachs, and in particular, Ben has been suffering from various different ailments. When people aren't feeling well it seems to affect motivation and mood levels.
- For our weekend away. That it will be an encouraging time together and that we will return to Shymkent feeling rested, relaxed, refreshed and ready for the final few weeks. I've a feeling some issues may arise so please pray that we will work through them effectively become closer as a team as a result.
- For the decision I have to make. Please pray that I will know what God's will for my future is and that I will be able to make the decision in time.

Thanks. Bx

Sickness and (near) death

Strictly speaking, if we're going for chronological order then the title should be the other way round as the near death experience came first, but that's by the by.

Yes, it's true, earlier this week my stomach (which I had great faith in seeing as it survived four and a half months in Brazil without the slightest revolt) decided it didn't agree with whatever I ate (too much fruit methinks) and so I had a 45 minute date with the bathroom at 2 in the morning as my bowels decided to empty themselves however they could. Beautiful. Thankfully I am back to normal now but I know now to be more wary with what I'm eating and drinking. Think I'll steer clear of cherries and apricots from now on...

The near-death experience came last Sunday and it's certainly something I will not be forgetting easily. I don't think I've ever feared for my life as much as I did then thanks to the stupidity of some 20-something Kazakhstani guys who thought they would be giving us a fun afternoon and evening! Seeing as it is ridiculously hot here in Shymkent, I have been dying to go swimming since we arrived and so when one of the host homes (a young recently married couple) offered that they and their friends would take us to a nearby swimming spot, we readily agreed. Little did we realise then. We started to gather at 4pm at Mega, the super-shiny shopping centre in the centre of Shymkent which juxtaposes against the hot and dusty streets of the rest of the city. As Kazakhstan is pretty laid back when it comes to timing, it was 5pm before we were ready to set off. We were split into different cars and off we set. A little more quickly than we are used to but we know drivers here are pretty nippy so we thought little of it. It was only once we hit the roads outside of the main city that we realised perhaps the driving was a little more than we had bargained for. I'm talking something like out of The Fast and The Furious. And literally breaking every single driving rule I can think of!!!! No seatbelts, talking on a mobile whilst driving, speeding, going through red lights, drinking beer...at one point, three of the guys drew their cars into a row across the road, revving their engines before slamming on the accelerators and racing up the road. I was in the car on the inside of the road and along with Grace and Ben, the other passengers, was literally screaming as we saw an oncoming lorry! Parents and friends, I PROMISE FAITHFULLY NEVER TO TAKE SUCH A RISK AGAIN by getting into a car with these lunatics on any other occassion! We all agreed later that a lesson had been learnt.

Having said all that, once we got to the second lake (the first was too full...so 2 and a half hours of hair-raising driving later we finally got to some water!!!), had a thoroughly refreshing swim. It was just approaching dusk which gave the place a lovely light and we got to see the mountains near Shymkent too in the hazy distance. It was rather pretty after the dusty confusion of the city. Dinara and I didn't want to stay too late so took the first opportunity of getting back to Shymkent with the first car leaving. Still, this wasn't quite the direct route home we were hoping for as the couple in the car insisted taking us to a cafe first and stopped off to persuade another family member, Oscar, to come too. There were a few comments that Oscar and I should get married but they were only joking. I think! Although we didn't really want to go to the cafe and stay out even later, it was a display of Kazakhstani hospitality and people here are really just genuinely interested in English people (we're a very rare breed) and are eager to learn more English.

Dinara and I got off quite lightly compared with the others in our team who had stayed on at the lake - they weren't so lucky. The crazy lunatic drivers insisted on having a party which meant everyone had to stay late and when they eventually agreed to head home, all three cars got stopped by the police! It all sounded very confusing but involved trying to bribe the policemen... But thankfully the whole team did eventually get home safe and sound. It was an adventure not to be repeated and one that we can now look back on and laugh!

On more a more GX programme-related note, we started our volunteer placements last Monday. I am working for a Youth Clinic with Olga. The clinic is not yet open as the building (an old 'House of Blood' - where blood was donated and transfused) is being thoroughly renovated and repaired, but the organisation also works with schools etc to provide education and information and healthy living and sexual health. I'm not entirely sure if the building will be ready before we leave but we'll have to see. This week has been very quiet and there have been long hours when Olga and I have been sat in our room (yes, we have our own room!) chatting and trying to make some decorations for the room with the very limited resources we have (pens keep disappearing as well...). A lot of the other workers were hard at work preparing for an Anti-Drugs event which happened on Friday evening. I'm hoping that that's part of the reason why we did not have much to do and that things will pick up from this week. There's talk that we might be giving some English classes to the rest of the workers in the clinic as none of them speak much English and they are keen to learn more. To be honest, I have found the week quite frustrating as I'm the type of person who wants to get stuck in and make a difference from the beginning but it is really difficult when I am unable to communicate with anyone else except Olga. But these are probably just teething problems and hopefully as the weeks pass we will be able to identify how we can make a difference.

Another GX development is that we have taken part in several Community Action Days already which is encouraging as through these actions we have a purpose regardless of our placements and through them we also take part in the community. The first CAD I missed as I still wasn't feeling 100% on Thursday evening, but the rest of the team went to a nightclub, introduced themselves at the front and stated their purpose - giving out condoms to encourage safe sex so as to prevent the spread of HIV-AIDS (a rapidly increasing problem in this region) and STIs. Apparently it was quite a fun evening but the condom distribution got a mixed reception as some people just did not want to know. I think sex is still quite a taboo topic in Kazakhstani society, especially in this region which is known for being more "traditional".

Our second CAD was on Friday - the team were involved with the Anti-Drugs event which took place in one of the parks in the centre of Shymkent and was to mark the International Day of Combat Against Drug Addiction and Trafficking. The Event was kind of a concert thing with lots of acts - dancers (including some breakdancers who involved contortion in some of their moves!), singers (the GX team were spontaneously invited up on stage to act as backing dancers - a very surreal experience dancing on stage in front of a couple of hundred Kazakhstani people!), quizzes about drugs, and then GX. Our team performed a sketch about why drugs are bad which involved string tying people together representing the different pressures that drugs exert on a person. Unfortunately the string kept breaking but I think we just about managed to pull it off! Our other involvement was in a "volunteers' dance" along with some othe local young volunteers. We had only learn the dance that afternoon so were a bit nervous but it was actually rather fun and went well. The concert closed with the symbolic act of launching lots of helium balloons. We left feeling that it had been a good evening's work and that, hopefully, the message about drugs will have hit home to at least some of those who attended.

And then yesterday (Saturday) we did another mini-CAD in about 20 minutes where we handed out 150 information packs about HIV-AIDS to young people in the centre of Shymkent, representing one of the volunteer placements which supports HIV-AIDS orphans. Again, a bit of a mixed reception but most people were happy just to take a plastic bag from us, I think as it was easier than stopping to chat or to refuse!

Phew! Mega-bloggage going on there. But a lot has been happening recently. Every day is different and my mood is yo-yoing a bit at the moment too. I think I am finding it more difficult to settle in here than I had expected I would but things are definitely on the up as we take part in CADs. Hopefully our role in the placement will begin to take shape this week too... I'll update you on that next time.

But til then, with lots of love,
Beth xxx :)

Prayer points
Praise:
- That we are getting stuck in to some Community Actions;
- That I am beginning to feel a bit more settled. Getting to grips with the bus system, and being able to update my phone by myself are just little daily victories!
- That I am being taught to trust and rely more on God day by day. This experience is really helping me to focus more on Him.

Prayer:
- For team health. I think most people have suffered a little in some way since we arrived.
- For more opportunities for the team to take part in the community.
- For my placement - that Olga and I will find some meaning to us being there which will keep us thoroughly occupied!

Thanks and God Bless. B x

Contact address

In case you feel like testing out the Kazakhstani postal service (I have absolutely no idea what this is like!), I am staying at:

26a Kentau Avenue
160002 Shymkent
KAZAKHSTAN

The novelty factor

Hello from Kazakhstan!

After 5 days of being in Kazakhstan, we've finally made it into an internet cafe. I think it looks like any othe internet cafe around the world since it seems to be identical to the ones I used to frequent in Brazil 5 years ago!

Anyway, the last week has been absolutely jam-packed full of new and strange experiences which are making my head feel like bursting! I believe it's called culture shock..... Hopefully as we get settled into our host homes and placements over the next week then this feeling will subside. The whole team seems to be feeling this way at the moment, Kazakhstanis included - apparently Shymkent (our host community) is pretty much like a different world to most of them too!

The whole adventure started last Thursday when we jumped on board a coach from Harlow, and from there to a bmi flight from Heathrow bound for Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty. We arrived in the wee small hours of the morning, getting to our hotel at 4am and so only got about 3 hours sleep before breakfast and the commencement of our bombardment with new experiences, starting with breakfast itself. I have never had cabbage and beef at 8am before! There were other courses to breakfast too, including a type of porridge of which we had several varieties whilst in Almaty - almost makes up for the lack of cereal. ;) Other 'cross-cultural musings' about food are that in Kazakhstan, tea is drunk with everything, and can either be taken with milk, lemon, sugar, none of the above, and can come in an instant packet. Also, I think I may get rather fat in Kazakhstan as most meals seem to include meat and potatoes, and the pastry snacks we have been provided with are delicious, and they are mostly fried. Oh dear...

Over the weekend that we were in Almaty, we had various bits and pieces of training and a press conference with the national press (!), but also a chance to do a bit of sightseeing. I think the highlights for me were going to the city's best viewpoint, Kak Tibya (pronounced something like that at least) and looking out over the city towards the majestic Tien Shan mountains which rise up to the east of the city. We also went to the foothills of the mountains, where some of us climbed up 841 steps to get another spectacular view! Stunning.

We have quickly learnt that traffic in Kazakhstan is crazy. Crossing the road is a mission, even more so here in Shymkent than in Almaty and drivers nip around pretty quickly, seemingly with few road rules! We're mainly sticking to buses which, as you can imagine (and like in any new city), have their own system which we will hopefully get used to.

On Monday night we left Almaty to travel by overnight train to Shymkent. Although the process of leaving the hotel and getting on board the cramped train and into the compartments was a bit of a stressful mission, once on board I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. Before the sun went down I was more than happy to gaze out of the window (lying front down on one of the top bunks with my head next to the open window through which the breeze was a welcome relief!). The steppe landscape was mesmerising - it seemed to go on forever with very little interruptions, just the occasional isolated settlement or lone horse. Once night fell, we tried to get a bit of sleep - I got more than I thought I would, even though I was on the top bunk and was told that I had to be careful when the train stopped as I might be catapulted onto the floor!

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning, we received a fantastic welcome at Shymkent station - quite a lot of people turned out for our arrival, complete with a massive 'Welcome 2 Shymkent' banner and English and Kazakhstani flags. We were all whisked away to our host homes. Dinara and I are staying with Rashida, an English teacher in her late 20s. There is also her daughter (Medina) and her father in the house. She has given up her large double bedroom for us and she is sleeping on the sofa. The house itself is much more spacious than Harlow. It is in a peaceful area and there is an overgrown kind of garden where I picked fresh raspberries for breakfast this morning. :)

Yesterday and today we have been having yet more training, but we also now know our placements. I will be working at Youth Friendly Clinics with Olga but we have yet to be told what this involves so we will have to wait and see until Monday! Some American Peace Corps volunteers came to speak to us today about volunteering in Kazakhstan and we were told to expect a very different style of working to what we are used to. Intriguing.

OK, running out of time so my comments on Shymkent will have to wait for another time.

Love to all,
Beth xxx :)

Prayer points:
Praise:
- That we and all our luggage arrived safely in Shymkent!
- For the welcome that we have received here.
Prayer:
- That we all settle in quickly. The whole team seems to be suffering from culture shock at the moment which I think is affecting our energy levels.
- That Olga and I will be able to get stuck in at Youth Friendly Clinics on Monday, that we will be challenged, inspired, and learn through the experience whilst making a difference!
- For host home relationships. As we have only been here 1 and a half days it will take a while to build these up. I'm still feeling a bit awkward and shy so I'd really appreciate prayer for this.
Thanks!

Clarity

I've no idea why the previous post was labelled Tuesday 9th June - it seems to be a bit behind times! I'm leaving tomorrow, on Thursday 11th June.... Bx

Goodbyes

Given that in less than 12 hours we will be leaving Harlow, bound for Almaty, Kazakhstan via Heathrow, I'll keep this brief.

I'm giving up on a full update of the last month, my apologies. All I'll say to fill in the gaps is that I have continued to find the programme incredibly beneficial, even if it has had its challenging moments. We've had some fun, including a fancy dress party, more birthdays (mine included - awesome day with lots of sunshine and food!), more African drumming and dancing complete with bright costumes, and then more general GX socialness. We've had plenty of informative discussions at our Global Citizenship Days including about individuals and society, the role of women, democracy, and one which Dinara and I led on education - did you know that 72 million children around the world are denied the right to a basic primary education? I'd highly recommend checking out Global Campaign for Education and taking action - add your name to a petition! We completed another Community Action Day at a place called Grove Cottage which is a nursery for disabled children from 0-5 years old. We got down to a spot of painting, cleaning, gardening, and washing of the minibus. We took a trip to Cambridge. Dinara and I made a flying trip back to Norwich. The whole team turned out for a bit of friendly rivalry and watched Kazakhstan vs England in the football last Saturday at the pub - the result will no longer be mentioned. And in all, there's just generally been a lot going on!

So how have I been feeling? Well, right now, I must admit to being a little zombified from 12 weeks of intensive action. In some ways the reality that we are actually really and truthfully upping sticks and going to live in a faraway scorching hot country has been dawning on me little by little over the past week, but since I seem to be in a permanent state of autopilot at the moment, there's still a small part of me which hasn't quite grasped it! Yes, the bags are packed (well, very almost), but I will always have this feeling of not being quite prepared enough for going out into the unknown. And yet, tomorrow at 9am, we shall set off.

I'm rubbish at goodbyes as many of you will probably know. The past week has been full of them so I'm a bit goodbyed out but I've still a couple more to get through tomorrow morning with Kofi and Efua. There may be tears, especially if I don't get much sleep tonight (very likely!).

It's funny how settling somewhere for even a mere 12 weeks can have such an impact on you and you become attached to the people and places - I'm leaving with good associations and ones which I hope will continue on long after we've packed up our suitcases and taken to the skies. Saying goodbye to Realife last Thursday was more of a wrench than I thought it would be. Even though Kassym and I have just been doing a few odds and ends of projects these last few weeks, I really enjoyed it and I got to know some of the others who worked there a bit better, especially Maire who fundraises for Realife by auctioning off celebrity autographs on eBay. I'm sad to leave but I'm sure I will return as it's not exactly far from Norwich - something which has made it easier.

Another significant goodbye was at St Mary's Church on Sunday morning. I think I only attended St Mary's maybe 7 times, but it has had lasting impact on me. I couldn't have been made to feel more welcome and supported. Whenever I went along weighed down by GX issues, it managed to lighten my load, lift me and refresh my spirit. And it was another way through which I became a little integrated into the community, and outside the structure of GX. Not to mention it has been so important to me to have that Christian input into my time here - I would be far weaker without it so I am truly thankful.

We also put on a Community Farewell on Sunday to say a big thank you to our host homes and volunteer placements. We had copious amounts of food, a time of posing for the paparazzi (well, the paparazzo - there's was one newspaper there!), and a presentation which included music, dancing and film. It was a bit disappointing that not that many people turned out for it but the whole thing was very much organised last minute - I suppose it was the principle of saying goodbye and thanks though which mattered. Our amazing decorations (banners, tissue paper flowers, paper chains etc) made the place look brilliant at least.

Phew, the clock keeps ticking. Now there's less than 11 hours (I think this is taking me an age to write as I've been watching the footie at the same time!). But seriously, as this UK chapter comes to a close, I am in rather reflective mood. Goodbyes are acting as an emotional drain on me, but I am certainly looking forward to what the next stage will bring and the novelty of a new culture to get to grips with. Nerves are kicking in, but I think the adrenaline is needed to keep me moving!

It's time for me to draw this to a close. So a few final prayer points:

Praise:
- For the successful completion of this first phase.
- For the friendships that have been developed between the GX team and the communities of Harlow and Bishop's Stortford, in our host homes, at our volunteer placements, and in other ways.
- For all that we have learnt, both personally about ourselves, and about development issues.

Prayer:
- For safe travel, both flying to Kazakhstan tomorrow and within Kazakhstan - on Monday evening we will be taking an overnight train from Almaty to Shymkent.
- For the next phase, that we can make a lasting positive impact in Shymkent and develop more cross-cultural friendships.
- For the team as we pull together to reassess how we are working. Last Friday and Monday we were evaluating how things have gone and although there have been a lot of positives, we all recognise that there is a lot more we could do. We have decided that we need to be clearer about our aims so please pray that we can carry this through when we get to Shymkent.

Thanks so much guys. Sorry this post has been a bit vague and boring - a snapshot of my state of mind at the moment. But I hope all are well. For those about to graduate, have an amazing time and all the best with what's next. And all the best to everyone anyway.

And so with much love, until Kazakhstan,
Beth xxx :)

Photos of the UK phase

Getting near a computer connected to the internet for an uninterupted amount of time seems to be a near-impossibility these days so it has been an absolute age and a half since I last updated! And it will have to remain that way until tomorrow at least (poss longer). But whilst I've a few spare minutes, maybe a few photos will suffice. So sit back for the show... Bx

My host home, right near the beginning - Efua on the left (host mum), and Kofi on the right (host dad), Grace is second left (another English volunteer), Dinara is in the middle (my counterpart), and me second right (obviously!). Aigera (Grace's counterpart) took the photo.

The next three photos are from Stortford Music Festival - some of the team in our green T-shirts and pirate hats, and African drumming and dancing!

Mannequins!

Kassym and I in the Realife office.

I was counting down to the Revolution....but now it has started!

Evening all,

My goodness, it really has been a seriously long time since my last post! And yet the time has simply flown by. I could get philosophical about this phenomenon but instead I shall just say that it's probably because it has been an incredibly busy time lately, not least because last weekend was the Festival of Festivals where we started a Creative Revolution!

I have a mere 46 minutes on the clock in which to write up 3 weeks so forgive me if I'm rather brief. Any further questions I shall try to answer in due course..... Perhaps send them on a postcard?! ;)

OK, so the Festival. I must admit that the week leading up to that mighty event I was my usually anxious self. Kassym and I were putting in long hours at work to try to make sure all the arrangements were in place for the GX team and exhibition, the mannequins, and various other details. Add to this the fact that Realife (the local charity we're tehnically volunteering at) was moving office over the course of that same week (which meant a lot of upheaval, lack of omputers and internet) and you'll get an idea of why it was a little busy.

Anyway, despite the blood, sweat and tears (a moment of weakness, I admit), I can proudly say that the Festival was a success! About 3000 people attended over the course of the weekend, enjoying 66 music acts, as well as many other ativities and impromptu performances. The weather was absolutely perfect on Saturday, and although Sunday was a little grey and windy (our tent seemed to be in danger of taking off!), the rain held which was an answer to many prayers methinks! Obviously the success of the weekend was not completely down to us.....in fact, the GX team were just a tiny part of the organisation.....but to have been part of it at all was definitely something I will never forget and I feel I've learnt a lot through the experience. I don't want to sound big-headed but it really feels like we, and also I personally, have achieved something which I didn't think we would. Maybe when I describe it here it won't sound like so big a deal but it's not something I would have seen myself doing had I been questioned about it 6 months ago.

So you probably want a run-down of what we got up to! Well, the main responsibilities of the GX team were to help with the publicity prior to the festival, and then to help out with stewarding duties on site. For the former, the whole team were involved as we all delivered flyers about the festival to some of the houses in Stortford on one sunny Sunday afternoon. I think this was completed rather enthusiastically as it quickly became evident that Kassym and I had underestimated the number of flyers we would be able to deliver in an afternoon when we had planned it all! Kassym and I also helped with publicity by getting posters up in the shops all over town, and also in giving a presentation at a language school, something I think we were both a little nervous about.

At the festival itself, GX was certainly noticeable! In addition to our bright green GX T-shirts (oh, what advertising we do!), we also all donned tricorn pirates hats, kindly bought for us by Tony, one of the directors of Realife. "Why on earth...?!" I hear you cry. There was a point, honest. Well, the theme of the festival was "Let's Start A Creative Revolution" so we wanted to look vaguely revolutionary. We also had our very own tent in which we displayed an exhibition about GX and about Kazakhstan, providing leaflets and chatting to anyone who happened to look vaguely interested. This also provided the setting for our first African drum and dance performance! It had all been a bit of a last minute arrangement, not without its hiccups....Efua and Kofi's car had broken down during the week so they had to make use of taxis. But also the costumes had been left in London so Efua kindly rushed down to the capital on Saturday morning in order to get them to us in time for our first performance. They made all the difference as we felt really special dressed up in the bright costumes. Awesome. Although our first performance left a little to be desired, our second one was a corker and we were all buzzing afterwards. :)

Other GX duties weren't so glamorous but they were necessary, and being volunteers, that's what we were there for. So, car parking, litter picking and entrance gate duties it was. But, in return, we also got plenty of free time to enjoy the festival atmosphere, watch a few acts (Squab, the human beat-boxer/rapper who was accompanied by two acoustic guitars was certainly memorable, as were headliners, Official Secrets Act, with the lyrics "I like her, She likes me" - catchy) and even take part in other ways. Kassym ended up carrying one of the performers on stage in a coffin as part of his act! And Kate and I took part in a performance of samba drumming, something we learnt in one of the workshops. You'd better watch out as when I return to Norwich, this might well be another activity I take up.

And what of the mannequins, banes of my life?! Well, we got them sorted, much to my surprise and relief. Again, a bit of a last minute effort but we had some great support. I'll try to get some photos up so you can get an idea of what we did. We were intially going to go for the traditional eighteenth/nineteenth century revolution look but with very limited resources, in the end we went for the general creative revolution-y look with a bit of punk, eighties, and army style going on. Thank goodness for St Mary's School costume cupboard in which I was allowed to rummage for 20 minutes and where we picked up most of the clothes. Ann (one of the other organisers) also brought along a fabulous blonde afro wig which really complemented one of the outfits! All a lot of fun, I must admit, especially when Kassym and I got to dress up these mannequins on the lawn in front of the Town Council offices. :) Oh, and transporting body parts about the town from the shops also got us a lot of funny looks!

Phew! By Sunday evening, when the festival closed, I was absolutely shattered and yet I was feeling euphoric as we got the bus back to Harlow. It had been a weekend about which I had mixed feelings of anxiety (that all the arrangements would fall into place) and excitement, but it was definitely all worth it. Long live the Revolution say I! I might just be back next year.....

OK, so enough festival talk. What of other things? Well, 14 mins on the clock so sorry this will be a bit of a list. Since I last wrote, we have had a brilliant day trip to London where we hurried round to see as many sites as possible. A few issues have also arisen in the team, but been dealt with. Probably the most significant of these is that one of our members has departed us to return back to Liverpool. And so we are down to 17. It feels a little odd - it's surprising what a difference one less person makes, but I think the team is pulling together well.

I honestly cannot believe that it is little more than a month until we fly to Kazakhstan! The other day, in our host home, we watched the episode in 'Long Way Round' (Ewan Macgregor & Charlie Boorman) where they travelled through Kazakhstan and I think it made both Grace and I even more excited about what's to come! It has been more challenging living here in Harlow and Bishop's Stortford than we had anticipated, and I'm sure it is going to be just as challenging, if not more so when we get to Shymkent but I know it's all worthwhile. Now that I feel like I've made a contribution I'm happier with the way things are turning out. And it sounds clicheed and cheesy but I am learning more about myself and the way I relate to the people and world (both local and global) around me. Not only that but I'm also enjoying getting so much learning from our Global Citizenship Days. The most recent have been about malaria, Christianity & Islam (a highlight was visiting a mosque where we were so warmly received and heard from the girls and ladies exactly what being a Muslim meant to them - it's not the oppressive religion that it's made out to be in the media!), and today was about individuals & society. As one of today's exercises, we had our faces painted and so yes, I'm sitting here in Harlow library with a couple of butterflies painted on my cheeks. I don't feel self-conscious! The point being that we should all be allowed to be who we are, and should be proud of that, so long as we don't encroach on society's natural rules of decency.

Argh! 4 minutes. No time to say more....

And so, with lots of love,
Beth x :)

Prayer points
Praise:
- Thanks that the festival went so so so well!!!!!
- Thanks that I'm really starting to understand and learn more about myself and my values, as well as about global issues.
- That the team is pulling together after Christian's departure.

Prayer:
- For the Mid-Phase Review. Tomorrow we are going to London for one night where we will evaluate how the programme is going for the team so far. Please pray that we will be able to be honest with each other and sort out any problems that we have.
- That Kassym and I will work out what we should do next now that the festival is over.

Thanks! God bless. :)

Musical mannequins

Hello hello hello!

I can't believe it's been coming up to two weeks since I last posted on here. Time has sped by and so I feel I should give a quick rundown of what's been happening lately. And there's been a lot.....

Following my last brutally honest post about how I was feeling about my placement, things have certainly changed! And it's all down to meeting Ann, the lady chairing the organising committee of the Stortford Music Festival. We met her just over a week ago, on the Monday. Her enthusiasm for the festival bubbles over and I'm now feeling much more positive about helping out. How busy we are has still varied between uber-busy (today) and relative quiet (latter part of last week), but I have a feeling it's going to speed up between now and the festival. So much to do, so little time.

Ann immediately gave us a nice long list of tasks to do and ideas to consider. So, since then, we've been brainstorming about ways to get the festival known throughout the town, and ways to make the festival site look quirky and interesting. This led us one day to walk round all the clothes shops in Bishop's Stortford to ask if they would lend us some mannequins, or give us some old ones, the idea being that we're going to have mannequins dressed in eighteenth century revolutionary costume, spiced up with some modern styles mixed in. The theme is "Let's Start a Creative Revolution" so we're hoping this will come across. Needless to say, it wasn't easy acquiring mannequins. We discovered that they cost about £500 each and so are like precious gold to shopkeepers.

Other tasks we've been working on include distributing posters, working out ways to get flyers through every door in Bishop's Stortford (thank goodness for a team of 18!), and writing Power Point presentations. We have our first one to give at an English language school next Monday morning. Hopefully this will get the message out to some of the ethnic minority groups but I'm just a little nervous!!!!

Ooh, before I forget, take a look at this link: Stortford Music Festival 2009 (thanks Kirsty!). It'll give you an idea of how exciting the event will be. Please do come along if you can! :)

I guess my only fear at this point is that post-festival our placement will revert back to uncertainty but at least we've still about 3 weeks until that point. Something might come up in the meantime, who knows.

Other stuff to report. We've certainly been kept very busy outside of our work placements. Organised social activities seem to come up often and it's great to relax with the team. So we have.....been to Harlow Town Park lots to play football and ball games and picnic (a birthday picnic for Kate on Easter Monday!), been to an impressive amateur production of The Nutcracker ballet, seen 'The Boat That Rocked' (bit of a laugh but not the best film on the planet) and patronised a Bishop's Stortford football match (alas, a 0-0 draw - I don't think it particularly impressed the Kazakhstanis). However, I think one my favourite activities so far has been the stroll we took in Epping Forest back the weekend before last. A couple of the guys on the team are staying in a host home in Theydon Bois, and their host parents took us to the Forest. We couldn't have wished for more beautiful weather. It was thoroughly refreshing to get out of Harlow and Bishop's Stortford and see a bit of countryside. Lovely. :)

I think that's one thing I have noticed about the programme. It's very intense living and working in one community. It has really made me appreciate how much independence I had back in Norwich when I could travel to see friends all over the country whenever I wished (well, work permitting). Sadly, I also miss my bicycle. Relying on public buses and on your own two feet does limite you somewhat! It's not a complaint, just a realisation of some of the things I take for granted back home and which I never realised I would be missing when on the programme. I suppose that's what this UK phase is all about. A definite learning experience.

OK doke. I think that's about all I'll say for now. I always remember stuff I meant to include after I put up a post but I think the pressure of restricted time on library computers has an adverse effect on my memory! Ah, the other thing is that I can't put photos online whilst in the library but hopefully I'll be able to do so soon when at work.

Anyway, signing off now, so toodle pip.

Take care, and with a lot of love to all,
Beth x :)

Praise points:
- That we now have more of a sense of purpose and an idea of what we are doing at our volunteering placement.
- For St Mary's Church, Old Harlow, and all who worship there. I have attended for the last two Sundays and have been made to feel very welcome.

Prayer points:
- I think I will probably end up asking this quite often, but please continue to pray for team relations. I think a couple of minor differences in personality have come up so far between some counterpart pairs. Everything is fine most of the time but please pray that any differences within the team will be dealt with and not disrupt the good team dynamic we have going.
- That the organising of the festival will come together well and that Kassym and I will be able to make a real contribution in this.
- For the organisation of the team's Mid-Phase Review. This will be the weekend of 9th and 10th May, but accommodation and transport has yet to be booked. Please pray that we will be able to sort this out very soon.

Getting stuck in, or trying to...

I've a meagre 20 minutes to write a quick update because, as usual, this Essex library computer is being temperamental. But here's a rundown of how things have been going. Actually, I managed to bag another 25 minutes so this is quite a long post!

Last Monday was a momentous day in the programme as all of us toddled off to the local charities and projects where we will be volunteering for four days a week for the next two and a half months. I turned up bright and early at 9am at the Realife Trust in Bishop's Stortford (I had to leave the house at 7:30am in order to get there in time) to find that nobody was in the office. I waited a while before wondering off for a hot chocolate and returned to wait some more, by which time Kassym had also turned up (he has to travel up from south of Epping every day so was allowed to be late). Eventually at just after 10am, Tony, a director of the Realife Trust appeared and we got let in. Admittedly it had just been a mix-up over timings but according to Ali, and from our experience over the last week, the Realife Trust is flexible in all respects regarding time, and the projects it gets involved with. So long as it sees a need within the community then it will try to meet this need. But specifically its remit is with disabled people and those with learning difficulties.

Over a cup of tea, Tony sat us down and filled us in a bit on what he had in mind for us to do. We knew that it would have something to do with the 11th Stortford Music Festival which happens on the Saturday and Sunday of the 1st May Bank Holiday weekend, and of which the Realife Trust is the primary organiser. So, Kassym and I have two main aims: to organise some "community outreach" to schools and the different ethnic minorities within Bishop's Stortford in order for them to be included in the music festival, whether by taking part or by just attending. Our other aim is kind of bound up with this but also goes beyond the music festival in that we are going to produce a "community map" of Bishop's Stortford, listing details about any local activities/groups/venues etc to do with music, arts and leisure.

It all sounds a bit wishy-washy, which it is, so over the last week Kassym and I have been having difficulty getting our heads around this and working out how we will go about it and actually make a contribution to the community. It's not what we had been expecting as we are being left to take our own initiative. I suppose I'm just worried of the danger that by the end of 11 weeks we won't have achieved very much at all. This week has been very slow but then again, as it's our first, maybe we're allowed some time to find our feet. We wrote a letter to the local secondary schools (six in all) asking if we could give them a presentation about GX and the Stortford Music Festival, and sent out two and delivered four by hand. We've also been involved in producing our GX team's fortnightly newsletter. And we've been researching a few ethnic minority contacts but as yet, have not contacted any of them as we're still unsure exactly what we'll say! Tony says that the leaflets and other publicity for the music festival should come back from the print office very soon so maybe it will be easier once we have something on paper to give the people we meet. As for the schools, well, today they break up for the next 2 weeks so we're not expecting to hear anything from them very soon.

On Monday we also met a couple of the social work students who are on placement at the Realife Trust. One of them, Joel, chatted to us about the work of the student unit which is primarily involved in one-to-one support with people with disabilities and learning difficulties. It was really interesting to hear about how they get involved and the different models of social work which are followed by statutory bodies and by independent social enterprises (of which the Realife Trust is one). Whilst statutory bodies classify people as "able" and "disabled", independent organisations often agree with the principle that it is society itself which sets up barriers which make people disabled - people aren't classified as "disabled", it's just that they are less able to do certain activities etc because we have made it difficult for them. Definitely a point for consideration. It was encouraging that even on our first day of placement we were being challenged in our ideologies.

Joel also explained how Realife works from his point of view. He explained that we would quickly realise just how easy-going and flexible it is so the onus is most definitely on us to make of our time here what we will. I think we will definitely need to take some time to think carefully about how we will progress. At the moment I feel that maybe there is something bigger for us to tackle, maybe with the same aims as outlined above, but which really will make an impact. It's time to get creative! Any ideas, let me know!

Yesterday, we attended a meeting of the Inclusion Partnership, kind of the umbrella organisation under which the Realife Trust, along with a load of other mini-projects which work in the same office, operates. For the most part (it was 2 and a half hours long!) it was pretty boring chat about financial matters although it did give us a better idea of what else is going on around us. When we finally gave a very brief speech about who we are and what we are doing here, we had a few awkward questions about what resources we were using (demand for the computers in the office is very high) which Tony fielded but which made it sound as though we'll be more of a burden than a help....?! I'm probably being far too sensitive about this and reading back, I am sounding rather negative about our placement but I'm not entirely!!!!! Just still a little unsure about whether we are really needed there... I think the next couple of weeks, and especially the music festival will reveal how things will work out. I have another idea about what I would like to do in Bishop's Stortford but it doesn't really have anything to do with either the music festival or disabled people/people with learning difficulties so I'm not sure if it would be OK to follow it up under Realife. Anyway, chat about my placement will end there!

As for life outside the placement, for the most part it's going well. A few of the others are also taking a while to get used to their placements - it sounds like a lot of our expectations were very different from the way things have ended up. Socially, there've been a couple of minor tense moments within the team but I think those are inevitable within a group of 18 as we try to make decisions and all rub along together! Today we decided on different sub-committees within the team. I am on the Mid-Phase Review committee which will be responsible for organising a couple of days where the whole team leaves the community to evaluate how things are going so far and whether anything needs to be changed. I'm looking forward to doing this and I think it will also be a bit of a break from the norm so I want to help make it a positive experience!

OK, 8 minutes left now so news in brief now. We had our first Global Citizenship Day today where we learn about different development issues. Usually it would be led by different couterpart pairs in the team but as it was the first one, Ali and Malika, our two programme supervisors led it. It was on the topic of HIV and AIDS which, for me, was very educational - I never realised just how ignorant I was about the topic so I definitely feel it was worthwhile and interesting to discuss our different attitudes towards it.

Life back in our host home also continues on well - Efua and Kofi are always loving and friendly. Our African drum and dance lessons are a lot of fun as well as good exercise. We've had two now and have learnt a whole dance and the drum accompaniment!

I think that's all I can say right now. A few prayer points for those interested, many thanks as usual:
Praise:
- For all that I, and others on the team have learnt so far - I definitely feel that I'm gaining new perspectives on issues which perhaps before, I had assumed I knew my own mind about.
- For the friendship between Dinara and myself - we're getting on really well which is such a blessing when we're in each others company so much!
- For the potential opportunity of mine and Kassym's placement. I might not be sounding too convinced at the moment but I really think we can make something of it if we get the inspiration.
Prayer:
- For team relations - the novelty of the experience is wearing off and the reality is setting in so it's not always easy for all 18 of us to make decisions. Please pray that all will continue along on peaceful and friendly terms.
- For Kassym and I as we try to work out what we should be doing.

More next time, but thanks for reading! Much love, B xxx :)

A few extras

A few of you have mentioned that you'd be interested in prayer points and I stupidly forgot to put them on my last post as the library was about to shut! But here they are - thanks so much, I really appreciate your support. :)
Beth x

Praise points:
- For a wonderful team of both English and Kazakhstanis. We all seem to be getting on so well.
- For a welcoming host home. Efua and Kofi are also Christians and I am going to church with them tomorrow. It has also been great to learn more about Ghanaian culture too!
- For this whole opportunity. Although we haven't started our placements yet I am very excited about the work which we will get involved with and for how much I have learnt already through our cross-cultural exchange.

Prayer points:
- That I will be an effective help in my volunteer placement at the Realife Trust.
- That team relations will continue to be good and that the friendships which have been started will continue to grow ever stronger.

Thanks! More soon...

Essex girl greetings

Hello to everyone!

Since my GX adventure started last Thursday it feels like I have withdrawn myself from normal society and entered a little bubble of GX - only now are we being properly let loose on Essex and Hertfordshire! It's my first time on the internet in a week but finally we have managed to get registered at the local library and are able to make use of their uber-slow computers...

Anyway, I'll give you a quick rundown of the last week. So so so much has happened that I doubt I'll be able to mention all the highlights! Everything kicked off last Thursday when I travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon and met up with the rest of the British contingent of the team. I hadn't met everyone before but I can safely say that we have an excellent group of people from all sorts of backgrounds and locations. The Kazakhstanis joined us on Friday when we gave them a British welcome consisting of our own introductions, some Cadbury's chocolate and Kendal mint cake, a brief history of England by Rory, and some English country dancing (not very elegant on our part though!). Meeting the Kazakhstanis for the first time was a little daunting and I think we all behaved rather awkwardly as we tried to suss out what was culturally acceptable behaviour. However, over the last 6 days we have become firm friends. They also gave us a welcome on the Saturday which was also a celebration of "Nauris" - traditionally New Year as it is a national holiday in Kazakhstan. It was so much more impressive than our welcome but perhaps that's because Kazakhstan has traditions which are far better defined than any British ones. They sung us the national anthem, showed us traditional dress and symbols, and did a traditional dance. We also tried "kurt" (a bit like our word "curd" I think) which is dried, salted balls of goat's cheese. Sarah ate hers all in one go by accident and ended up drinking about a litre of water straight after! I can't say many of the team were particularly taken with these but I managed to finish mine which is more than some of the others did! I can also report that Kazakhstani chocolate isn't quite up to Cadbury's in my reckoning but it's certainly nicer than I was expecting. Just so you know, our team consists of me, Kate, Catherine, Sarah, Anne-Marie, Grace, Christian, Rory and Ben (all from the UK), and Dinara, Dina, Nina, Gulnara, Olga, Aigera, Baurzhan, Kassym and Misha (all from Kazakhstan). I haven't got much time now to tell you about them all but they are all truly awesome and we are having a lot of fun and laughter together (as well as hundreds of photos!).

We had a couple of days training in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Youth Hostel before hitting the road and arriving in Herts & Essex where we are now living in twos (or in a four in my case) in host homes. We have been made to feel so welcome, it really is lovely. The host hosts are also very diverse in background and location. Some people are living in Bishop's Stortford and some in Harlow - they are about 20 mins away from each other and also a county border separates them (BS is in Herts, Harlow is in Essex). Along with Grace, Dinara and Aigera, I am living with a Ghanaian couple in their 50s called Efua and Kofi who are very friendly. Efua teaches African dancing and drumming and I think we are going along to one of her lessons tomorrow evening so more on that next time! I'm sharing a room with Dinara which is great as we get on really well and are fairly similar, especially as we both say "sorry" a lot. And I mean a lot! Our room is quite small and we have a rickety metal bunk bed but everything is comfortable.

Oh gosh, I'm running out of time now so I can't give many more details. Since we arrived we have had a lot of training which consists of discussion sessions, role playing, and other similar activities to do with the practicalities of being on GX as well as starting to think about global issues. Already we are gaining new perspectives by listening to ideas from both the UK and Kazakhstan. I have also found out a little about my volunteer placement but that won't start until next Monday when I will know a lot more. It's working with the Realife Trust in Bishop's Stortford. I'll be there along with Kassym and we'll be involved in organising a 2 day music festival for the first May bank holiday. Exciting stuff.

A quick note, if anyone does ever want to write (I love post!), my address until 11th June will be 11 Lower Meadow, Harlow, Essex. You'll have to find out the postcode yourself as I don't know it yet, sorry!

Big apologies (I said I say sorry a lot!) for cutting this entry off quickly but the library's about to close. But big love to all. Let me know your news too - I don't want it to be all about me!

Da sveedanya (good evening),
Beth xxx :)

Beginnings

I never thought I'd ever be the type to keep a blog (mind you, this being just one post doesn't exactly count as "keeping a blog" yet). Although I respect others who are able to divulge a portion of their personal thoughts and feelings on the limitless world wide web, and I enjoy reading their contributions, I've never felt able to, partly as I keep things to myself most of the time, or at least, just amongst my closest friends.

Nevertheless, with an exciting new era dawning, and the prospect of a 6 month volunteering exchange programme which will take me to places as diverse as the Stansted area (Harlow and Bishop's Stortford) in the UK, and Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan, I feel this is the best way to do things and keep people in the know with how things are going. Last time I went abroad for an extended period of time I would send stupidly long emails round to everyone. Now I know from personal experience that that's not what people want cluttering up their inboxes so this here blog is the solution! I'll try to update it from time to time, with a few details about what I'm up to, how I'm feeling, and thoughts and "musings" on what I'm experiencing. I'm certainly not the world's best writer but I'll try my best!

For info, I'm leaving Norwich on Thursday 19th March, first heading to Stratford-Upon-Avon where I will meet my team (there are 18 of us, half from the UK and half from Kazakhstan) for a few days preparatory training. Then we're travelling across to Harlow and Bishop's Stortford where we'll live with local families and volunteer with local charities. Then in mid-June sometime we'll make the trip over to Kazakhstan, to do the same kind of things (albeit the Kazakh way, and in charities appropriate to the local issues) in Shymkent. I believe our return is scheduled for 4th September but it's all a bit vague at the moment.

Many of you know that I have to contribute £600 to this programme (the rest being subsidised by the British Council who jointly run it with VSO). I am almost there - about £80 short at the moment so I will use this space for a cheeky plug for my fundraising page - http://www.justgiving.com/bethwilliams_gx_march2009. Please do take a look and contribute if you can - I appreciate all contributions, big and small as every little helps (thanks Tesco)! Just Giving accepts donations from as little as £2 - the mere price of a drink. I'll be on the volunteering programme when my birthday comes around so perhaps you might consider donating instead of buying me a birthday drink?! A big thanks to all those who have donated already. :)

OK, money plug over. There's loads more general information about Global Xchange available about http://www.globalxchange.org.uk/ - well worth a look. The first time I checked it out I knew immediately that I wanted to get involved. Who knows, maybe the same will happen to you?!

Also, I appeared in a recent article in the local newspaper so if you want to take a look and laugh at my self-conscious-looking mugshot then go here: http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/LocalLife/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=LocalLife&tBrand=enonline&tCategory=locallife&itemid=NOED03%20Mar%202009%2016%3A05%3A28%3A580

Please do watch this space if you wish to keep updated and to learn some fascinating stuff about Stansted and Kazakhstan (did you know that apples originate from Kazakhstan?)! I've also a facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=72064335866) if you're interested and I'll try to respond to personal emails/phone calls/letters as well as I'd love to hear how you are getting on too (it's not all about me!). But this has been a very long start to this new blogging chapter in my life. I'm incredibly excited about the next 6 months, but there's a little time to go before things start kicking off good and proper, so for now, I shall bid you farewell, and until next time,

Beth x