Spring Break 2008 Kazakhstan (Work)

After our excellent trip down to Shymkent we headed to Almaty for our In-Service Training (IST), which is held typically right after the first three months at site. We took a twelve-hour overnight bus from Shymkent to Almaty, and I’ve decided that I’d rather do thirty hours on a train than twelve hours on a bus any day. Just awful. At least on trains you can lie down, sleep, eat, get up and walk around, use the restroom on your own schedule, etc. Ugh.

Anyway, we arrived, still full of plof and beer and promising never to eat or drink again. We stayed at the same sanatorium where we had our Counterpart Conference in October, and spent four days in various workshops, classes and meetings. The workshops taught us new communicative techniques for teaching English and reminded us of old ones that we had been taught in training. “Communicative” means using language as it is meant to be used, such as asking information to gain information, telling answers to share information, and generally communicating. This contrasts the techniques we still predominately use in our classes such as “read and translate this text”, “read and repeat these words”, and “memorize this dialogue”. We also discussed secondary projects and I found myself just wishing that I had time to put into effect some secondary projects not related to our floundering homeless library. We still work, tutoring and teaching, trying to raise money for this library, while we’re not even sure it will ever pay off. That is another can of worms that will work itself out in time, although hopefully soon. We had two Russian classes which were helpful, although I didn’t get a chance to sign up for the language test that would show me if I had improved to the next level (Intermediate Mid) or had stayed at Intermediate Low, where I was in early November. We received information about writing grants, planning projects, observing new leave policies, and successfully executing secondary clubs and classes.

The overall effect of IST was a positive one, as I found myself wanting to get back to site to implement the things we talked about. The first and foremost is turning my classroom into a productive, communicative one that uses the book as a guide and grammar reference while we introduce more thematic units like “Shopping” or “Traveling”. There is obviously so much more we can do with those topics than with the ones the book gives us like “Kazakhstani Constitution” and “The British Royal Family”. Then, as the snow melts and spring sets in, we have some major work to do with the library and soup kitchen to make something happen, hopefully something substantial enough to sustain it. If not, we need to make some decisions about their futures and considering turning them over the city library and embarking on our own secondary projects. Regardless, I have eight weeks until summer vacation with which to work in my classroom. Then I have Three months of camps, programs, vacation (my parents and lil’ bro are coming in July!), and preparation for my one and only full school year in country.

Most importantly though, I have been on three runs in the last week, which is reason enough for lifted spirits and increased energy, as the snow has melted for the most part and the temperature has peaked in the teens (60s F). I weighed myself in Almaty at a record 190 lbs, which shows what a winter of inactivity will do to a boy who likes chocolate and peanut butter. The first two runs were to the top of a lookout over Almaty called Kok Tobe, where we had visited via cable car in September (see flickr pics). The third was here in Petropavlovsk, amid the muddy streets and interested stares. I don’t think many people jog here, but I did see one of my students who gave me a smile and a “Hello, Mr. Montgomery.” It’s nice to be home.