breathe in. breathe out.

It’s hard to believe it is already mid-September. With summer activities such as a teacher training conference in Bayanaul and a quick trip to Kokshetau lasting right up to the beginning of school and trainings at the institute on September 1, I’ve been simply unable to process (much less write about) what’s happened in the last month. Right now I have an hour at the Peace Corps office in Almaty before meeting up with the other PCVs to kick off our Close of Service (COS) conference. I just took the GRE this morning, and I’m feeling like a breath of reflection is an order.

So, Bayanaul. Bayanaul is a nice little town halfway between Pavlodar and Karaganda, and is also the home of PCV Mary Couri, with whom I had the pleasure of studying Russian in Uzunagash two years ago (wow… it really has been that long…). She hosted a teacher training conference with her school’s entire teaching staff, requiring the presenters to explain their topics in Russian. Thankfully, I managed to complete my hour-long session in Russian with at least most of the teachers understanding and agreeing with my ideas regarding interactive teaching. The success of the conference, however, was only a part of the reason why my week there was great. Like the internationally famed Baravoe (it’s like, the second Switzerland), Bayanaul has a beautiful combination of rocky mountain features and lakes. Unlike Baravoe, Bayanaul has virtually no tourists. This meant that we were able to enjoy our afternoons and evenings hiking and swimming in perfect seclusion from the hoards of Kazakh and Russian tourists and their trash. Given our pleasant company (Kaz19s and 20s and locals) and picturesque setting, it would be hard to have a disappointing experience there.

September 1st came as a whirlwind after a calm and relaxing summer. The traditional first-bell ceremony went on without a hitch despite our school’s lack of director. The previous director found a new job somewhere else, and the administration has yet to announce his replacement, though I haven’t noticed much difference between school with and without him. My counterpart was in Astana for the first two days of class, allowing me to plan my own lesson and greet the kids coming back from a long spell without English practice. The students were glad to see me and I had very few problems teaching alone for the first couple days. There is such a difference between working with students whom you’ve known for over a year and starting to work with a new group. I was also pleased at the level of interest the students have shown, at least initially, in continuing English Club and Literature Class. Both semester kick-off sessions attracted more students than ever attended last year. Although right now I don’t know whether I’ll be replaced, I’m hoping that a new PCV at my school would be welcomed by a strong group of motivated students.

Speaking of new PCVs, the Kaz-21s are in country, having already completed four weeks of their PST. It’s hard to believe I’m winding up my time here. I bought a plane ticket home (November 21), but it still hasn’t quite sunk in. This week’s COS conference will be a great time to reflect and process not only the last few months, but my PC service as a whole.