Site Placement: Ust-Kamenogorsk

I apologize for the lack of postings as of late - the past three weeks has been a whirlwind of activity.

What they often say about the Peace Corps experience is that because so many things happen, you only remember things in chunks. I can tell you everything about my first 5 minutes in Kazakhstan. Then the first day or two. Then what happened this particular week or that particular week. Now it's starting to go by in months.

Whereas a few weeks ago I'd run home and write down every new experience I've had, finding the time to simply sit down and write has been incredibly difficult. This mainly stems from my site announcement.

The last post you saw was of immersion teaching, where I had been practice teaching 6th-8th form children, 11-14 year olds. During these sessions, we are constantly being observed by Peace Corps staff - well, maybe not just during these sessions, as our attitudes and behaviors are constantly being evaluated throughout the whole training - but it's here where people make their mark on the regional managers who then go and decide where the volunteers will go spend the next 2 years of their life.

Apparently I've made some sort of mark.

For the past 6 weeks I've been trained as a secondary school teacher - I fully expected to be working with them, but when I opened my package, the first thing I saw was:

Ust-Kamengorsk East Kazakhstan State University

Holy crap.

For some reason, I was the only volunteer that was upgraded to the University level at site placement - we currently have 6 other university volunteers, and they're all at least 25, have either extensive teaching experience or a masters. Normally I'd never qualify for a position of this sort, but Ekaterina, the PST director, came up and told me that I had come off as a person who would be capable of handling this, and I should be looking at it as an honor of sorts, and I do.

Being in a university now means that I'll be getting a lot of amenities that might not be afforded to other volunteers - things like steady internet access, hot and cold running water, indoor toilets, etc. I'll be able to find almost anything I need in a city of 350,000. Comparing the assignment to my fellow volunteers, I’m in a pretty cushy position.

A fellow volunteer is in a town of 6,000, has one café that’s open only during the summers, and no running water, and a guaranteed outdoor toilet. It’s important to understand, however, that there theoretically are no ‘bad’ sites – I personally was prepared for the poorest, most backwards countryside village if they were going to give it to me, because I knew that when I signed up for the Peace Corps, I wasn’t signing up for a cushy job.

In addition to that, villages, while lacking in creature comforts like hot running water or washing machines, tend to be a little safer than cities, since you can usually count on your community in the villages to come out and help you and protect you. The other interesting piece of news is that I'll be teaching 18-22 year old girls, since these are typically the only ones who are interested in being future interpreters or english teachers. I think I'd enjoy that more, because if secondary school has taught me anything, boys are the jerks and difficult in class.

So here's the breakdown of Ust-Kamenogorsk:



The good news: It's a big city, it's got almost everything, and the surrounding area is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, nature-wise. An excerpt from my site description:

"Ust-Kamenogorsk, a former Russian fort in in late 17th and 18th century, is located in arguably one of the most beautiful areas of Kazakhstan. There are mountains, vast lakes, coniferous flora and fauna. Local wildlife includes elk, deer, bears, and snow leopards."

Compare to some other site descriptions that said things like:

"Your site is in the Steppe. There is no local wildlife. Your town has 1 cafe, but it's advisable that you get any supplies you need while you are in Almaty."

So you understand, I'm quite pleased. There are tons of positivesa about my site - internet should be available at my university, infrastructure is better up in the north, and I'll be able to buy almost nearly everything I need.

Now the bad:
It's in Siberia. We're talking -40 celsius (-40 F) minimums in the wintertime, although average is closer to -30 (-22 F).

It's also supposedly fairly polluted because of all of the factories in town.. but the town itself is clean.

But all in all, the assignment is most definitely a step up for me, and I feel honored and glad to be working there - I've heard only good things, and the other volunteers there are supposed to be awesome.

Here's to 2 years of work. ::clink::