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!