Wednesday through Saturday, August 5 through 8, 2007

Where to begin!?!

I have a lot of catching up to do. For the first part of the week I was sick and unable to write or post descriptions of my days on my blog.

Saturday

During the early part of Saturday day, I went to Kok-Tube Mountain. This mountain is a short bus trip from my apartment. You take the bus to the end of the line, get off, and then walk up the mountain. Gates block the road for cars, but you can walk up without a problem. I followed a group of people I thought might be going. I was right. Up I climbed for about 20 to 30 minutes.

I finally reached the top and was surprised to find that it was a well developed, somewhat touristy park. There were some signs in English! It is on top of a mountain that overlooks Almaty. There are some gorgeous views from the mountain. I would love to go early in the am, if it is open then, to see past the city into the steppe. However, you can only do this if it is Sunday (early) or early in the am on other days because of the smog. There are too many cars driving around trying to get to work. There are also a lot of older versions of cars (especially older Soviet Union cars), which doesn’t help. And I am sure there are no emissions standards here for cars.

I saw a little past the suburbs, they go for a while, to an industrial section of the city. I am not sure how big that area is, but I saw one plant billowing smoke or something into the air. I probably don’t want to know what it is. I was able to pick out my apartment, the main state buildings, KIMEP and a few other landmarks. It is nice to know that I am beginning to have some familiarity with the city layout.

From this perspective, I could also see the trolley car that goes up to the mountain park. There are two, red and blue, and they come crammed with people from a relatively central part of the city. Kinda a neat ride, but I didn’t take that option. The bus and walking were cheaper, and I think quicker, given where I live.

The park management is also building a roller coaster up there. That is kinda cool I think. After exploring this part of the park, I strolled to the other sections father towards the mountains. There I saw a few cages of animals, mostly birds. See the pictures attached. It was nice to see the native birds of the area. There was a kid’s play area that I sat and watched for a while. I have a few pictures, but none really worth mentioning. Cute area though.

The walk continued past other good vistas from the sides of the mountain. These views were mostly of mountain sides, not the city. Some homes were seen on the mountain sides, but not a ton. I assume those people work in Almaty, and I am sure they have quite a commute in the morning. But they are away from the hustle and bustle, so that may be nice. I also saw some very large homes. It is unusual for a family of have enough money to build a large home. So I assume these homes are owned by oil company employees. Not sure who else could afford them. They are big homes though. Up in the mountains, there are also smaller homes. They don’t look like much; they look like the homes you would see in a developing country. But they are homes nonetheless and I am sure they look decent inside.

I kept on walking and passed a pleasant looking bistro and café. I also looked inside a few gift shops. Everything was overpriced. I can the same stuff cheaper down here, but it was nice to see what they had. There were some very pretty paintings and some gorgeous pottery designs. The pottery designs remind me of Polish pattern that is so big in the States now, but even more detailed. I think I like the Kazak version better. They also had the traditional hats of the area, a hat that fits on the top of the head. It doesn’t cover the ears. It just sits on your head, for decoration. They also had shoes and purses made out of felt with traditional designs. These also are very pretty.

After looking around at the shops and viewing a yurt, see the white and red “building,” I people watched a bit. Nothing notable from that experience. I decided to leave and head down the mountain to go back home and grab some lunch. I had to wait a while for the bus driver to get the bus moving, but finally he came. I made it home safe and sound. I made scrambled eggs, toast, and had yogurt for lunch. Yum yum!

Overall, it was a nice, day excursion. I enjoyed the views of the city and seeing a nice park outside of the city.

After the park excursion and lunch, I headed to my church experience. I won’t go into this. But I won’t be going back. From church, I took a bus to KIMEP and checked email briefly. I then walked back and made dinner. Dinner wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I will try again this evening and hope it comes out better. I bought pretty almost all new food this morning. Because of my sickness this past week, I wanted to start fresh. I bought some frozen and canned veggies and what I thought were chopped veggies that I could add to rice. The veggies were actually with the rice, frozen. I didn’t know how to cook them. And the directions were in Russian and Kazak. So I tried my best.

I am learning the language. I am on the alphabet now, but my oh my it is slow. I have a hard time balancing KIMEP work, seeing the city while it is pretty outside, and learning the language. I figure I can focus on the language when I am snowed in during the winter.

So dinner wasn’t exactly great. I didn’t cook it right, but next time I will try something different. I stayed in during the evening. I graded some papers, read and relaxed after my action packed day. :)

Sunday

Today, James and I were supposed to go to Big Almaty Lake with a co-worker. I talked with her yesterday to make sure this was still on. She said it was. I told James, and we were excited. However, later in the day, she called and said that she didn’t feel comfortable mixing her Russian and English speaking friends. She didn’t want people to feel uncomfortable with the language differences. So she asked that we not go. I said that was fine. There wasn’t much else I could say. But I sure do wish I had known earlier. I would have made another trip reservation with a company or something like that for today if I had known.

So, plan B today is to catch up on blog stuff and visit a few local parks and churches. I also plan on making bellinis! These are the Kazak pancake equivalent. I am sure they won’t turn out exactly how I want them, but the directions just say add about 500 mL of water. And the directions are in English. So, I think these will be manageably.

Last Week - Wednesday

As for last week, I should fill you in a bit. I have been unable to keep food in me for about a week and half now. It just wouldn’t stay in me. On Wednesday, this escalated to me not being able to keep water inside me. I would actually throw up the water, even if it was in small amounts. I also didn’t eat at all on Wednesday because I didn’t feel like my stomach could handle it. So, on Wednesday I was lying down if at all possible and doing the bare minimum for school. I unfortunately couldn’t miss the day because I had two sets of lessons for the first time and I was meeting a co-worker’s husband, Paul, who was coming to the school. This is the man who is an environmental consultant here in Almaty.

So I managed to drag myself to all of these events. Unfortunately, during my first lesson with a very nice Japanese mother, I threw up in front of her. She was very nice about the whole ordeal, and she was impressed that I managed to see her and still be sick. She appreciated my effort and was very concerned about me. It was nice to have her around. She actually called me the following day to confirm that she would like lessons and to check on my health. As it turns out we will have a total of three hours together per a week, just talking. This is perfect. I will be paid about $25 an hour and she is nice to talk with. So this should be very easy money.

After throwing up in front of her and concluding our lesson, I had another meeting about 30 minutes later on a class I am teaching. I managed to ask a few pertinent questions but really wasn’t into it. I had to move from the chair to the floor because I was afraid I might fall.

Afterwards, I met with Paul and his wife, Yelena. Yelena has been very helpful with providing teaching support and everyday life suggestions. I have appreciated her kindness throughout the weeks. They took me out to a nearby café. I was exposed to bellinis there. I managed to eat one with them. I took the other three back to school with me, in hopes I would be able to eat them later.

After that meeting, I had class. I just had to review three ideas and pop in a movie, so that was ok. Immediately after that I had another lesson for the first time. Luckily traffic was bad so the student wasn’t able to make it and I didn’t have to meet with her. Instead, I took a nap at the library. After the library nap, it was about 6 pm. I realized then that I had to make it up the hill to my apartment. I don’t know the buses that go up here from the school, so I walked. But this walk was hellish. Because I hadn’t really eaten or drunk anything all day, I was weak and thirsty. It was a slow climb up the mountain to reach my apartment. I made it and took a break outside my apartment. I was incredibly thirsty so I had a swallow of water. Bad idea. For the second time that day, I threw up. Everything came up. Any eating and drinking attempts made throughout the day were useless. Everything came up after that walk. So I sat there for a bit longer, looked at my throw up on the street and decided to go up to my bed and sleep. I thought about cleaning it up, but bed seemed like a better option. I sent James a text message asking him to find out the hours of the university medical center.

James was in class until about 7:30 pm that evening, so he called me after class. He asked how I was feeling and I told him that I needed to go to the doctor tomorrow at school. And I asked him to find out when they open. He talked to our supervisor and they brought a school nurse up to my apartment. That was VERY nice. She only spoke Russian, so our supervisor came and served as a translator. She checked my blood pressure (normal), temperature (a little high), and other things. She told James to go buy a few drugs (Cipro, dehydration salts, and something else that tastes bad). You can buy that stuff at any big store. Luckily there is one of those big stores right near us. James was good enough to get the stuff that evening, even though it was late. She said I needed to drink small amounts of water and eat toast and other bread materials for the next few days. She also said I needed to go to the doctor at the school tomorrow.

Last Week - Thursday

After the meds, her visit, some water in small amounts, and sleep, I felt better on Thursday. I woke up the next morning, drank, took my meds, and was about to head to school when James woke up. He asked me to wait for him before going to school. I guess he wanted to walk me down. I didn’t really need it, but it was a nice thought. So I waited. He doesn’t wake up until about 10:30 am or later, so it was kinda late. But I don’t end school until about 9 pm so I can go in late without a problem.

James suggested a bus; I said I could walk. He insisted on a bus so I gave in. I didn’t feel like fighting. The bus took much longer than walking. I immediately went to the doctor upon reaching the school. The doctor spoke English relatively well. I explained my symptoms, etc. He asked me specifics about my blood pressure and temperature from the night before. I guessed those. I was in no condition for remembering all of that stuff.

He then gave me about 7 drugs to buy. He said I needed to go to the central pharmacy, which was down the mountain. So I took a cab there and bus back. I got everything for about 35 bucks. Drugs are cheap here and you don’t need prescriptions. You can just ask and they will give it to you. I didn’t speak to the English speaking lady there, but I hear there is one. I just gave my sheet of meds to the people there and they got them together for me.

I had to use a credit card because I didn’t have enough cash on me. This required me getting in another counter’s line and paying there. After paying, I went back to the other counter and picked up my drugs. Things are always a process here, usually requiring lines and waiting.

Anyway, I made it back to the school. I took a few meds, drank some water, had some toast, and tried to get myself together for my classes that evening. I did a decent job in class, but the problem is that for one of my classes it required that my students do their homework. And of the 10 people who showed up, I have 16 in my class, 3 did their homework, a draft of a two page essay (double spaced). It was a frustrating class. I did the best I could and then released class. They have a final due on Tuesday. I wonder how many I will get.

Oh, I also had the lesson that the girl wasn’t able to make on Wednesday. She is in middle school. Nice, but I think a little intimidated by me. She needs help with writing most of all, not surprising, and then speaking. I gave her a short writing assignment. She is the daughter of a school employee. Both seem nice. I hope I can help the girl. Again, $25 an hour isn’t bad. So that was Thursday.

Last Week - Friday

Friday I caught up with school work - graded assignments, figured out my lesson for my three hour course, etc. I ate some real food – rice with veggies. That is what inspired my cooking experiment last night. The restaurant food was better than mine, as you might have guessed.

And now we are caught up. :) See the pictures of my day yesterday and today in later posts.

I have been eating and drinking regularly now for the past two days - this is good progress.