Final Weeks

Here it is, the end of another year in Kazakhstan.  It has been different from every other year, and I've grown and learned so many new things.  But I'm coming away from my time here with some great new friends, a lot of wonderful memories, a few more good lesson plans, and a deepening knowledge of who Gd is and who I am in Him.  Really, what more could I ask for?

As we are preparing to leave, our focus has been on making the most of every minute- whether it is using our team time to go to all our favorite places and take pictures, getting to know our students in a more casual setting, or spending every spare moment with our friends. 

Since we had to turn in grades early, we ended up with a whole week of classes after the final tests and projects.  So we decided to simply have fun and hang out with our students.  On Monday we walked around the city taking fun pictures (and even some videos) with the different classes.

Our 4:30 groups, Chattanooga and New Orleans:

I love jumping pictures!

Our 6:15 groups, Boston and Seattle:

On Tuesday, we met near the park entrance for a picnic.  While the first one was relatively uneventful, the second picnic was an ill-fated affair from the start!  We set up in a fairly open place between trees so that we could throw the frisbee around.  We did not, however, take into account the absolute cloud of bugs (mostly gnats and mosquitos) that would descend on us immediately.  Within 5 minutes it was clear that no one was going to enjoy this picnic unless we did something about it, so Alex and I ran back to the store to buy some bug spray.  We returned to find people huddling under blankets and jackets, swatting sporadically at the air, and VERY happy to see us.

Once everyone had a good coating of bug spray, we sat down to finish our meal.  Then...

Drip.

Drip, drip, drip. 

You've got to be kidding me.

But no, it was definitely raining.  At this point, all we could do was laugh.  The girls all huddled together on one blanket and then spread the others over our heads, while the boys continued their frisbee throwing undetered.  I'm so glad our students were such great sports about it.  We ended up having a grand time laughing and feasting under our makeshift tent, until someone finally discovered that the woods nearby were dense enough to keep the rain off.

This is just how we roll...

It turned out to be a very fun and definitely memorable picnic, mostly due to their great attitudes.  But we did decide to have our next class indoors, just in case!  :)

As I mentioned, our last team meeting was spent walking around the city taking pictures at a lot of our favorite places.  We also discovered a few fun new places along the way. 



Posing as statues: it's a toss-up whether these
or jumping pictures are my favorites.

We found an abandoned children's amusement park: jackpot!

Today I had my last meeting with the English club I lead on Wednesdays.  It started as a lesson exchange.  Katya, my Russian teacher, gave me free lessons and I agreed to do a weekly English club with the teachers at her school.  Our topics varied from "I Love Lucy" and pet peeves to eugenics and discussions about the book "1984."  It wasn't always easy to plan topics that would interest and challenge them, but I loved getting to know them and enjoyed the many turns our conversations took.  Today they had a farewell tea for me and presented me with a flash card with a few classic soviet movies and some Russian music so I can practice over the summer.  Afterwards we all (except Elena) walked to Victory park for some pictures.

 

 

After the graduation ceremony last week, Jennifer and I went out to a cafe with several of our students.  In the course of the evening I mentioned how much I love certain Russian dishes and want to know how to make them.  So tonight Vera, Natasha, and Tanya came over to our apartment for a cooking lesson.  We learned how to make golubsi (stuffed cabbage rolls- much more delicious than the name would suggest) and a kind of chicken soup with homemade noodles.  That's right.  Home. Made. Noodles.  I was super excited about that part.  It got even better when I realized that we would be using an iron (as in for clothes) in the making of said noodles. 

If you want, I can make you some this summer, seeing as how I am ::ahem:: a bit of an expert now.  :)

Well, those are the highlights of the past few weeks.  It's been crazy but fun.  Goodbyes are not my favorite, but inherent in the sadness is the fact that I got to meet, grow with, and love these amazing people in the first place.  I am truly blessed.

And now it's time to start packing and getting ready for the next step (more on that later).  Considering the places He's brought me already, I can hardly wait to see what Gd has in store for me now. 

Bring on the next adventure!