"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