Playing catch up again!
Friday
Joey arrived on Friday. :) I met him at the airport early in the morning. This required getting a cab at 5:00 am so I don’t think I was the most awake person at the airport. However, he made it through customs without any problems and walked through the gate around 6 am. I waited with two people from ICC Plus that were there to pick him up. From the airport, the four of us went to Joey’s accommodations for the next few days, a homestay in the suburbs of Almaty. He is staying in a nice place where a grandmother of one of the school staff member’s lives. If the place wasn’t so far away from the city, it would be a nice set up. The woman is very friendly and wants to make sure he eats, which is good. At least he won’t starve. J
I stayed with him there for a few hours. He slept off and on, while I graded papers and “chatted” with the grandma. She actually has a similar breakfast as me, a combination of sautéed or cooked veggies and bread. And she also offered lots of tea. That is the drink of choice here. Water is not appropriate with cookies, breakfast, etc. Tea is.
Around 11 am, a staff member of ICC Plus came to pick us up to take us to ICC Plus. We arrived around 11:30 am and I headed off to get the apartment somewhat clean, grocery shop for our hike the next day, and get ready for my class that evening. The rest of that afternoon I spent preparing for class, taking care of errands at school, and catching up with teachers. I didn’t want to hang out ICC Plus. I feel like I have kinda been a nuisance to them and it is Joey’s school and job. I don’t need to be there to complicate things.
Class ended around 9:15pm. I was ready for that class to end. The kids were not into class and hard to control and keep quite when others were talking, even when I was talking. I lost it towards the end and told them if they talked like they did in that class again, I would give them all zeros and cancel the whole class. I can do this. I have asked. So, they understood my frustration after that remark and kept quite for the rest of class.
After class, I met up with Joey. We went to a dinner for international faculty; there were the traditional Kazak foods – horse meat, multiple salads, breads, a finger sandwich with meat, cheese, cucumber, mayo and tomato – sushi, and various desserts from Kazakhstan. I stuck with the vegetarian sushi. Joey had had dinner earlier and stuck with apple juice.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back to my apartment. We both unpacked a bit and then went to bed. He had a long day at school, not to mention the 30 our flight, and my week has been hectic.
Saturday
This was the English Club’s trip to the mountains. It was a very pleasant affair. We met at the selected bus stop at 9 am and traveled up the mountain to our drop off point. David, a guy that Joey and I have both been in contact with through the internet, came along. I think he enjoyed the day with the group, so that is good. He is a very nice, pleasant person. He is a Kazak, but has lived in the US for the past 11 years; he recently returned to Kazakhstan in June.
I took the first group up the mountain and managed to get us off at the right stop. J We waited for the rest of the group; they were on the next bus. When everyone was together, we headed up the mountain to a meadow that James, Dinara, Dinara and I had found earlier in the month. See my blog entries two weeks ago for more details about that trip. Once at the field, I led a few icebreakers that were decided upon the week before. Afterwards, we got into small groups and created limericks (a type of poem, like Hickerory Dickerory Dock). It was fun to hear what the groups came up with. Joey’s group had two very good ones.
After poems, we had a picnic in the traditional Kazak style with everyone sharing their food. A group of students, David, Joey, and I then went up the mountain on a short hike, about an hour. We had a very good view from one spot. See the following pictures. After the hike, we hung out in the clearing and cleaned up a bit. We ate one more time, J, and then played the human knot game. That was entertaining and I think the kids enjoyed it. With that game, and announcements, we concluded the meeting and headed back home. We took buses back and Joey and I got home around 4 pm. Not a bad day at all. Met a lot of nice people and had beautiful weather, for the most part.
Not sure what the evening will bring, but I’m sure we will do something.
Tuesday through Thursday
This was full of teaching – two sessions of the 8 am - 12 pm tutoring, one other private lesson, and KIMEP. Keeping up with KIMEP is fine so far. I have a good amount of grading to do this weekend, but that is normal. I had quite a few deadlines this week – essays, article reviews, tests, etc.
The school had a nice lunch function for the Language Center teachers on Thursday. I arrived late, but the tail end was nice. I also had Russian lessons during those days. I am learning the language, but it is slow. However, the locals appreciate the effort. They are willing to help you with pronunciation – this is so important! – and increase your vocabulary. Their patience is appreciated.
The days were long though. I stayed at KIMEP each night until usually 9:30 pm teaching. Oh man, what I would do for morning classes…
There really isn’t much else for those days. I helped Joey out with last minute details. The school wasn’t planning on picking him up or providing housing for him as of Tuesday. I made a few phone calls, and went by the school a few times to try and correct these problems. You can see how they might be tired of me.
Next weekend is KIMEP’s celebration of 15 years. It is a whole weekend of events. I look forward to seeing my co-workers’ families, playing games, talking in a non-work environment, etc.
Fall is here. It is official. It is cold in the mornings and evenings leaving to and from the apartment. And the days don’t get incredibly warm. A long sleeve shirt and pants are required for the day and a sweatshirt or fleece is needed for the evenings and mornings. The mountains are white with snow. We had a little rain a few days ago. It turned to snow up there - COLD! It is overcast now, which is unusual here. I guess this might be typical for fall, but I obviously don’t know for certain.
My mom wanted to know the veggies I eat now, so I will tell you all as well – green and red peppers, eggplant, apples, sometimes nectarines, plums or bananas, tomatoes (very good ones), broccoli sometimes, and onions. Overall, it is a satisfactory mix. I go through a lot of veggies during the week.
So yeah, that is it for now. I hope everyone is doing well.
Friday
Joey arrived on Friday. :) I met him at the airport early in the morning. This required getting a cab at 5:00 am so I don’t think I was the most awake person at the airport. However, he made it through customs without any problems and walked through the gate around 6 am. I waited with two people from ICC Plus that were there to pick him up. From the airport, the four of us went to Joey’s accommodations for the next few days, a homestay in the suburbs of Almaty. He is staying in a nice place where a grandmother of one of the school staff member’s lives. If the place wasn’t so far away from the city, it would be a nice set up. The woman is very friendly and wants to make sure he eats, which is good. At least he won’t starve. J
I stayed with him there for a few hours. He slept off and on, while I graded papers and “chatted” with the grandma. She actually has a similar breakfast as me, a combination of sautéed or cooked veggies and bread. And she also offered lots of tea. That is the drink of choice here. Water is not appropriate with cookies, breakfast, etc. Tea is.
Around 11 am, a staff member of ICC Plus came to pick us up to take us to ICC Plus. We arrived around 11:30 am and I headed off to get the apartment somewhat clean, grocery shop for our hike the next day, and get ready for my class that evening. The rest of that afternoon I spent preparing for class, taking care of errands at school, and catching up with teachers. I didn’t want to hang out ICC Plus. I feel like I have kinda been a nuisance to them and it is Joey’s school and job. I don’t need to be there to complicate things.
Class ended around 9:15pm. I was ready for that class to end. The kids were not into class and hard to control and keep quite when others were talking, even when I was talking. I lost it towards the end and told them if they talked like they did in that class again, I would give them all zeros and cancel the whole class. I can do this. I have asked. So, they understood my frustration after that remark and kept quite for the rest of class.
After class, I met up with Joey. We went to a dinner for international faculty; there were the traditional Kazak foods – horse meat, multiple salads, breads, a finger sandwich with meat, cheese, cucumber, mayo and tomato – sushi, and various desserts from Kazakhstan. I stuck with the vegetarian sushi. Joey had had dinner earlier and stuck with apple juice.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back to my apartment. We both unpacked a bit and then went to bed. He had a long day at school, not to mention the 30 our flight, and my week has been hectic.
Saturday
This was the English Club’s trip to the mountains. It was a very pleasant affair. We met at the selected bus stop at 9 am and traveled up the mountain to our drop off point. David, a guy that Joey and I have both been in contact with through the internet, came along. I think he enjoyed the day with the group, so that is good. He is a very nice, pleasant person. He is a Kazak, but has lived in the US for the past 11 years; he recently returned to Kazakhstan in June.
I took the first group up the mountain and managed to get us off at the right stop. J We waited for the rest of the group; they were on the next bus. When everyone was together, we headed up the mountain to a meadow that James, Dinara, Dinara and I had found earlier in the month. See my blog entries two weeks ago for more details about that trip. Once at the field, I led a few icebreakers that were decided upon the week before. Afterwards, we got into small groups and created limericks (a type of poem, like Hickerory Dickerory Dock). It was fun to hear what the groups came up with. Joey’s group had two very good ones.
After poems, we had a picnic in the traditional Kazak style with everyone sharing their food. A group of students, David, Joey, and I then went up the mountain on a short hike, about an hour. We had a very good view from one spot. See the following pictures. After the hike, we hung out in the clearing and cleaned up a bit. We ate one more time, J, and then played the human knot game. That was entertaining and I think the kids enjoyed it. With that game, and announcements, we concluded the meeting and headed back home. We took buses back and Joey and I got home around 4 pm. Not a bad day at all. Met a lot of nice people and had beautiful weather, for the most part.
Not sure what the evening will bring, but I’m sure we will do something.
Tuesday through Thursday
This was full of teaching – two sessions of the 8 am - 12 pm tutoring, one other private lesson, and KIMEP. Keeping up with KIMEP is fine so far. I have a good amount of grading to do this weekend, but that is normal. I had quite a few deadlines this week – essays, article reviews, tests, etc.
The school had a nice lunch function for the Language Center teachers on Thursday. I arrived late, but the tail end was nice. I also had Russian lessons during those days. I am learning the language, but it is slow. However, the locals appreciate the effort. They are willing to help you with pronunciation – this is so important! – and increase your vocabulary. Their patience is appreciated.
The days were long though. I stayed at KIMEP each night until usually 9:30 pm teaching. Oh man, what I would do for morning classes…
There really isn’t much else for those days. I helped Joey out with last minute details. The school wasn’t planning on picking him up or providing housing for him as of Tuesday. I made a few phone calls, and went by the school a few times to try and correct these problems. You can see how they might be tired of me.
Next weekend is KIMEP’s celebration of 15 years. It is a whole weekend of events. I look forward to seeing my co-workers’ families, playing games, talking in a non-work environment, etc.
Fall is here. It is official. It is cold in the mornings and evenings leaving to and from the apartment. And the days don’t get incredibly warm. A long sleeve shirt and pants are required for the day and a sweatshirt or fleece is needed for the evenings and mornings. The mountains are white with snow. We had a little rain a few days ago. It turned to snow up there - COLD! It is overcast now, which is unusual here. I guess this might be typical for fall, but I obviously don’t know for certain.
My mom wanted to know the veggies I eat now, so I will tell you all as well – green and red peppers, eggplant, apples, sometimes nectarines, plums or bananas, tomatoes (very good ones), broccoli sometimes, and onions. Overall, it is a satisfactory mix. I go through a lot of veggies during the week.
So yeah, that is it for now. I hope everyone is doing well.
2 comments:
Hey Amanda,
Nice to know Joey got there with no problems. It seems you two have your hands full all the time, I guess that's a good thing and are not bored to death! From your pic's it shows that you are having fun, I hope you keep it up! Take care of the big teddy bear and yourself.
Yep, he got here safe and sound. And yes, lots of things going on. Not too much down time. But all the people are friendly and most things are fun. :) There is some work in there...
Hope things are going well in VA.
Thanks for the post.
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