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