tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57175342011-04-22T10:07:53.161+06:00Joel's Kaz Blog<img src="http://kerseykaz.blogspot.com/Main page pic.JPG">
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<B>Questions? Comments?</B>
<P>E-mail me at jkersey8@yahoo.com
<P>Related Links:
<a href="http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kz.html">Kazakhstan Information</a>
<a href="http://www.teachoverseas.org">ESI Home Page</a>
<a href="http://www.polvero.com">Polvero.com </a>
<p><a href="http://www.calvarysac.org">Calvary Chapel of Sacramento</a>
<p><a href="http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/KZXX0004_f.html">HowJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comBlogger731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1086628524341327662004-06-08T00:07:00.000+07:002004-06-08T00:15:24.340+07:00THE LAST DAY
I met my last full day in Karaganda with a lot of walking around the city and a lot of visiting to with friends that I had met in the last year. The entire day seemed to move in slow motion and I have had a hard time telling if I'm happy or sad about going because I think it is a mix of both. Happy to come back and see my family and friends, but sad to leave the ones I have made Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1086627913166049722004-06-06T18:56:00.000+07:002004-06-08T00:05:13.166+07:00FINAL WEEK OF TEACHING
The last day of class ended with a bang. It is hard to believe that everything is over now, but this last week we finished up our last classes. On Wednesday the students took a final test which I hoped would show that they at least remembered some of the things we talked about during the semester. They all proved, for the most part, that they had remembered and did wellJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1085766015787851862004-05-29T00:38:00.000+07:002004-05-29T00:40:15.786+07:00IS THERE A PROBLEM OFFICER?
Here is something that just occurred to me recently that I had never thought about the entire year even though it was a common occurrence in my daily life. Imagine if you were riding on a public bus and you’re on your way to work, or maybe you’re in a taxi cab and you’re heading home for the evening. You’re just sitting and minding your own business when all of the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1085529446039334772004-05-26T06:54:00.000+07:002004-05-26T06:57:26.040+07:00TWO WEEKS LEFT OF TEACHING
The countdown has begun (for teachers and students) as we are down to our final two weeks of classes for the semester. This week my classes will be preparing for their final exam that will take place next week. They will have a test that will cover the major topics discussed this semester in business. We have had some interesting discussions in the areas of Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1085098572046581422004-05-21T07:13:00.000+07:002004-05-21T07:16:12.046+07:00MORE INTERESTING STUDENT OPINIONS
Today in class we discussed the topic of “burnout” and how it can affect so many people today in work, school, or at home. I asked my class to give me a list of jobs they felt had the biggest potential for producing burnt out workers. My first class had an interesting combination. Their top three choices were a student, a stay-at-home-mom, and an unemployed Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1085012414187651132004-05-20T07:02:00.000+07:002004-05-21T07:12:58.893+07:00FINAL ENGLISH CLUB
This last weekend we finished up our final week of English club at the church. Well we will still have another meeting together but we plan to just have a time of fellowship together and not do anything organized. This last weekend however, I breathed a little sigh of relief as I realized that we had made it through a whole school year of clubs on Sunday. I have to admit, Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1084663334507376442004-05-16T06:11:00.000+07:002004-05-16T06:27:04.746+07:00CONTRASTING THE SEASONS
Well back in Sacramento, the weather certainly does have its changing weather patterns, but in comparison to what I have experienced in the last year in Kazakhstan it seems fairly mild. This last weekend I was up in the capital of Astana for our final teacher’s meeting, and I had chance to walk around to some of the same areas I had first seen back in November.
In the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1083627252038942462004-05-04T06:34:00.000+07:002004-05-04T07:05:42.796+07:00LET’S GO FOR A WALK
This week during our break from teaching, I took some time to walk around the city and take pictures of some of the monuments and interesting sights of the area. I did a lot of walking and thankfully the sun was shining bright during the afternoons that I ventured out of my apartment. To my surprise, I even came home on my first day of walking with a little bit of a sunburnJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1083369664973440552004-05-01T07:01:00.000+07:002004-05-01T07:07:14.466+07:00SAYING “I DO” IN RUSSIAN
No it wasn’t me who said, “I do”, but recently I had the privilege of attending my first Russian wedding which was also happened to be the marriage of one of my own students. I didn’t understand a lot of the words spoken during the wedding, but I was exciting about experiencing a new cultural event and really happy to see my student and his new bride happily married. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1083194590459873382004-04-29T06:23:00.000+07:002004-04-29T06:26:15.903+07:00WHERE IS THE LINE AROUND HERE?
Another cultural difference about shopping in a local store for food is not the competition between different local stores to get the most customers…it is the competition between the customers in the local store to get their food and pay for it first. Now we all know that if you go to your local 7-eleven for a slurpee or a bottle of soda you should wait your placeJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1083054587644265632004-04-27T15:29:00.000+07:002004-04-27T15:32:51.403+07:00SPRING BREAK ARRIVES
This week we are enjoying a week off from teaching. I am particularly happy about it because I have decided that I will not do anything this week. I was feeling a little guilty on Sunday night about not doing anything, but I have no plans, no scheduled travels to any new places, no parties to attend to, and I will just take my time and venture around the city taking Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1082504400119047462004-04-21T06:49:00.000+07:002004-04-21T06:56:12.750+07:00SPRING IS HERE…OH WAIT, NEVERMIND
Last week was beautiful. The weather was warming up quite nicely, I was pulling out my spring wardrobe, and the snow was gone. As you can see from my bedroom window view, this picture below shows that the sun is shining outside, there is no snow on the ground, and the dirt does not show any signs of being muddy. That was last week (April 12). It looked like Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1082334040501519202004-04-18T19:19:00.000+07:002004-04-19T07:23:35.983+07:00DANCE WITH JOY
This morning I woke up in a bad mood. My dreams the night before were not pleasant, but all I could remember was that I tossed and turned a lot during the night and I woke up several times. My stomach was upset from a bad choice of food I had eaten the day earlier and I was still very tired when I finally willed myself from my bed and prepared to go to church. My heart wasn’t Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1081725971793123642004-04-12T06:26:00.000+07:002004-04-12T14:38:16.543+07:00WHY DO YOU SEARCH FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?
This has been a lingering question that I have had all week. The thought entered my mind in class on Monday as a student was sharing that his (mine as well) favorite holiday is Easter. He was telling about some of the Easter traditions that are common here in Kazakhstan and one that he mentioned was the tradition of going to the cemetery after Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1081380589270814522004-04-06T06:27:00.000+07:002004-04-08T06:40:26.280+07:00A SHORT, DEPRESSING ENTRY
Today, Tuesday the 6th of April….it snowed again.
{sigh}
ANOTHER ROUND OF STUDENT QUOTES
I thought it was about time to present you with another series of delightful, funny, and insightful quotes written by my students in their journals and exams. As you can see from some of these entries, either I didn’t do a good job of explaining some of these concepts, or they Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1081011998543053212004-04-03T06:02:00.000+07:002004-04-04T00:09:18.763+07:00RIVERS RUN THROUGH IT
The last days of March have brought and end to what has felt like the most depressing month of weather that I have seen since I’ve been here. The dreariness of the cold weather was getting to be a tiresome routine that kept people inside more than was preferable. During these past cold months, people have tended to stay at home much more. There are no walks in the park Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1080322169186318672004-03-26T23:29:00.000+06:002004-03-26T23:47:48.653+06:00THE RICHNESS OF A LANGUAGE
They say that the Russian language is a rich language full of a variety of words and tenses that are used to describe different things in the world around us. One might ask, “Just how rich is it?” Well it’s not only rich but very complex. I learned this fact a while ago but was struck again by it the other day when discussing how to say my name in Russian.
The factJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1080116223748433262004-03-24T14:14:00.000+06:002004-03-24T14:19:33.436+06:00CELEBRATING ANOTHER NEW YEAR
Kazakhs like to celebrate holidays. I believe that I mentioned before that January 1st is the biggest holiday celebration of the year. Well the people here enjoy celebrating the New Year so much that they actually have three different New Year celebrations.
The first, and most important, is January 1st, but there is a second New Year celebration during the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1079830618869904322004-03-21T06:56:00.000+06:002004-03-21T07:04:32.590+06:00COLD WEATHER CONTINUES TO LINGER
It’s nearing the end of March now and I saw that the temperatures in California are nearing perfection…at least I think so. About 65-70 degrees is the most beautiful weather in the world.
And I’m dying to see and feel that just about now…
Today the temperature was a bearable but jacket-required 20 degrees farenheight. Like most of the rest of the people Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1078939907042661922004-03-10T23:31:00.000+06:002004-03-10T23:41:24.716+06:00I LOCKED MYSELF…INSIDE THE HOUSE!
Only in Kazakhstan can you do this, or at least only in Kazakhstan can I manage to do this. Yes I locked not only myself, but six other people inside a friend’s apartment during a recent visit to Kokshetau, a city in the northern part of the country. We traveled there for the weekend to visit two other teachers and to celebrate the birthday of one of them. ItJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1078792139623358632004-03-08T23:28:00.000+06:002004-03-09T06:39:12.076+06:00LADIES, THIS DAY IS FOR YOU
Last month I shared with all of you about a special day for men that is celebrated at the end of February. It is supposed to be for men in the military, but it has spread itself out to include all men of any age.
Well today, March 8th, is a much bigger day for those of the female persuasion who live in Central Asia. Today is National Woman’s Day, and it is a much Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1078101104111021682004-03-01T06:31:00.000+06:002004-03-01T06:33:50.436+06:00WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE?
The new movie about the death of Christ, The Passion of Christ has been all over the news lately and has caused a lot of controversy among just about every person from every group or background. Everyone seems to have to have an opinion of the latest Mel Gibson flick that has been labeled as the most violent and bloody portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ in modern Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1077972396122518622004-02-28T18:46:00.000+06:002004-02-28T18:48:40.780+06:00(IN)FAMOUS PRODUCTS TO BUY IN KARAGANDA
I thought I’d put together a little collage of products that I have found amusing and sometimes hilarious to come across when shopping around in Karaganda. Most products here are sold in Russian, but some use English letters (rather than Cyrillic) that don’t make a whole lot of sense to the native English speaker. Shopping for food can be quite a Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1077908471438297002004-02-27T00:59:00.000+06:002004-02-28T01:03:15.826+06:00JUST A POOR COLLEGE STUDENT
Here’s a riddle: What do college students living in Karaganda do when they don’t have a refrigerator or a cooler in their dormitory room to keep food fresh?
Answer: It’s easy, the just build a refrigerator and hang it outside the window.
Maybe I should explain that a little more…yesterday I got a small a glimpse of dormitory life here in Kazakhstan for students Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1077583357998515332004-02-23T06:33:00.000+06:002004-02-24T06:44:38.076+06:00A UNIQUE HOLIDAY
If there’s one thing that the people know how to do really well here, it is celebrating holidays. And they have a lot of them to celebrate it seems. Today I experienced a new one that I’ve never had the pleasure of celebrating in the States. Today was Men’s Day!! That’s right all you men out there…contrary to what some American women say about us needing to have a holiday (Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1076977830861986812004-02-17T06:30:00.000+06:002004-02-17T06:32:24.216+06:00SLURPEES ON SALE AGAIN
You won’t believe it but today we had temperatures that almost reached forty degrees! It was great not to fill a chill on the bones, but on the downside it wrecked havoc on the streets and walkways all over the city. Everything is melting! It’s like walking through a giant Coca-Cola Slurpee! The mud is mixing with the slush and ice and making a mess everywhere. Many Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1076204261357334542004-02-08T07:37:00.000+06:002004-02-08T07:39:25.436+06:00A $60 TAXI RIDE??
Now I know that taxis in big cities like New York can be quite expensive, but I don’t know of many people who have paid this much for a taxi ride. I almost did just that by accident the other day on the way back from our trip to Uzbekistan.
Karl and I had just crossed through the border of Uzbekistan and back into Kazakhstan, and we were working on getting a taxi to a city Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1075918872239279722004-02-05T00:21:00.000+06:002004-02-08T07:38:58.670+06:00SUCCESSFUL AND SAFE TRIP THROUGH UZBEKISTAN COMPLETED
I just recently arrived back in Karaganda from a week-long excursion down south to the bordering country of Uzbekistan. Karl and two of my students traveled with me as we took a two-day train journey Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Our plans were to visit some other teachers there and then do some sight-seeing in the two old historicalJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1075918924650358702004-02-03T09:24:00.000+06:002004-02-05T00:57:51.403+06:00ANNOYING TECHNOLOGY MEETS OLD SANITATION
A year spent in the CIS would not be complete without at least one “toilet story”, so I feel this would be a time to share it with you after a recent experience I had last week in Southern Kazakhstan. If you are not particularly fond of reading about the sanitation of other countries, I suggest you move on to my next journal entry, but for me this is a Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1074367648636722352004-01-15T01:27:00.000+06:002004-01-18T01:39:14.090+06:00A TASTE OF KAZAKH CULTURE
When is the last time you heard about a group of students giving their teacher a birthday party during class? I’d never heard of that happening before, but today I had a little taste (the cake was good too) of Kazakh hospitality to go along with a great surprise from my students.
It all started about two nights ago in class when I was just finishing up my lesson…one Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1074367523233622462004-01-14T21:23:00.000+06:002004-01-18T01:26:46.280+06:00BUS 45…WHERE ARE YOU??
As the old TV show so appropriately asked the question about the police car, I asked tonight about my bus. Just as the rest of North American seems to be experiencing extremely cold temperatures during this last week, we too have seen our share of sub-zero temperatures. One difference I have noticed with living here as compared to North Dakota where I experienced the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1073676107510160162004-01-10T01:21:00.000+06:002004-01-10T01:29:29.623+06:00THE FASTEST ALWAYS FINISH FIRST?
Tonight the students in my class took their third exam and I noticed for the second time that they have this interesting habit of not wanting to be the first person to hand back the test once they have finished. It seems odd, but I notice that a few of the students who do finish first seem to spend a long time daydreaming or delaying right before they hand in Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1073178451599461292004-01-04T07:07:00.000+06:002004-01-04T07:08:41.466+06:00A REAL RUSSIAN GUY
Well I think I’ve officially disguised myself to look like a local “Russian man” now. Often times it can be pretty easy to pick out someone who is not a local; especially if they are not wearing the traditional dark colored clothing. I have a pair of Docker Khakis and every time I wear those people stare at me like I am asking for a car to drive by a puddle and splash me. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1073178327368346842004-01-01T07:05:00.000+06:002004-01-04T07:12:55.716+06:00NEW YEAR IN KAZAKHSTAN!
Here in Kazakhstan, it is traditional for people to stay up the entire night, and it evens seems to be a little bit of a competition because it is people like to ask how late into the morning you stayed awake until going to sleep. Generally people will celebrate with their friends or family at home or in a café or restaurant of some sort and then when midnight hits most Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1072723004508836862003-12-30T00:36:00.000+06:002003-12-30T00:51:33.046+06:00CHRISTMAS IN KAZAKHSTAN
Well yesterday was my first Christmas away from home, and it was quite an experience. First of all, I did get to talk to my family by phone in the morning, so that started the day off quite well. Secondly, the weather here is a lot more Christmassy, although a little chilly at about 15 degrees. When I stepped outside for the first time, I was hit with another one of Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1072200270254446602003-12-23T23:24:00.000+06:002003-12-23T23:34:47.686+06:00PICTURE OF A FROSTY DAY IN KARAGANDA
Thanks to the generous upgrade from BLOGGER, I can now post my pictures directly to my journal.
For my first picture, I thought you might like to see a photo of a frosty day in Karaganda after a snow storm. We had huge snowflakes the night before this picture was taken and they stuck to pretty much everything they landed on. This is the road that leads up Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1072027549818152762003-12-21T23:25:00.000+06:002003-12-23T09:38:08.200+06:00WHAT LANGUAGE MISTAKE CAN I MAKE TODAY?
Well I’m starting to learn a little more Russian and I am “attempting” to create logical sentences by which other human beings can actually understand. It works, but the problem sometimes is that I don’t communicate the correct things that I want them to understand.
During my last Russian lesson I came in and sat down and began talking with my teacher.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1071967943787120972003-12-17T06:29:00.000+06:002003-12-21T06:53:19.030+06:00THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING QUICKLY!
Wow, is Christmas and New Years coming as fast for you as it is for me?? What has happened to 2003? It's gone by so fast and now the new year is approaching along with the rush of the holiday season. At least the food is good...
It is not not common here for Kazakhs to celebrate Christmas over here, but as American teachers here, we have still used this Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1071163141621682892003-12-11T23:19:00.000+06:002003-12-11T23:19:48.153+06:00SLURPEES ANYONE?
We’ve had quite the strange week for weather. Normally at this time of year, the snow and the ice a have combined to form a permanent walkway in almost every part of the city and it usually lasts until the spring time. I did not expect to see the ground again for quite sometime. To my surprise we had a rise in temperatures this week above the freezing point and on Wednesday Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1070670074061374482003-12-06T06:21:00.000+06:002003-12-06T06:28:02.123+06:00WRITING FROM THE SOUL
I have found during my time of teaching here that one of the best ways to get to know my students is by reading their journal entries that I assign to them each week. It never ceases to amaze me how the barrier of a foreign language fails to stop them from sharing with me personal, profound, and sometimes hilarious thoughts that tell me much more about who they are than Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1070414070368540252003-11-30T07:06:00.000+06:002003-12-17T07:26:11.793+06:00RETREAT TO THE MOUNTAINS
We had this last week off from teaching to celebrate Thanksgiving, and the time was well-spent in a retreat area about four hours outside of Karaganda called Karkarlysk. All the other teachers from Kazakhstan and four others from Kyrgyzstan met us and we traveled to stay in a hotel and spend time relaxing, sharing, and recuperating from the first three months of Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1070207948649369592003-11-22T21:56:00.000+06:002003-11-30T21:59:44.500+06:00THANKSGIVING BREAK
We have been graciously given an entire week off from teaching and an opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving together with all the other ESI teachers here in Karaganda as well as four more teachers from Kyrgyzstan. We’ll be traveling outside of Karaganda for a three-day retreat to relax and enjoy some fellowship together. I am looking forward to the chance to relax and Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1069375986778558442003-11-21T06:53:00.000+06:002003-11-21T06:59:09.483+06:00ENGLISH CLUB ADVENTURES
Last Sunday we had English Club again, and it was great to see so many come out to the club even though the weather was quite chilly. I believe it was probably between zero and ten degrees F out there that afternoon. Again we had about 30 students and this week we talked about the topic of “Paradise” and what your idea of the perfect place to live might be. So it was aJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1068944928974335812003-11-16T07:08:00.000+06:002003-11-18T06:21:27.293+06:00IT'S NOT INTERESTING!!
One of the student's favorite phrases they like to use when they don't like something or they are bored is, "It's not interesting." They say it correctly, but sometimes it just doesn't fit the situation in which they are trying to use it in.
I nearly had a riot in class the other night with a spelling game I created for the students to play as a way to review for the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1068773069012495552003-11-14T07:24:00.000+06:002003-11-14T07:29:24.543+06:00SLIPPERY SITUATIONS
I’ve never seen a place ice over so fast in my life. It did get icy in North Dakota, but I don’t remember it being like this. It’s not the roads that are so bad (they are salted to keep the ice down), it’s the walkways and sidewalks that are treacherous. After two days of snow, the ice on the sidewalks is incredible. I was walking to school yesterday and I found myself Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1068772797020376452003-11-12T22:26:00.000+06:002003-11-14T07:28:31.546+06:00THE SNOW COMITH!
Well I woke up this morning to a slightly shocking site outside my window. I didn't actually notice it for about two hours, but once I looked outside, I saw that the ground was covered in snow. Yes, we have had our first major snow day of the year and it was a pretty good one. It snowed for most of the morning all the way into the afternoon. By the end of the day, we had a Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1068338001457025522003-11-09T06:33:00.000+06:002003-11-10T06:26:52.500+06:00AMERICAN POLITICAL NEWS IN KZ
Well for all of you back there, the news about California’s newest elected governor is probably already getting old. Arnold this, Arnold that, and now he will take office there. Of course it’s only in California that Hollywood movie star from Austria whose most famous line is in Spanish, and who claims to be a Republican but is married to a Kennedy can be elected Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1068165815447905012003-11-07T06:43:00.000+06:002003-11-07T06:43:33.243+06:00PROOF AGAIN OF A SMALL WORLD
So I was sitting eating lunch after church on Sunday with the several families and one of them, an American family, had brought a friend with them who was visiting from California for a week. The two of us got to talking and I found out that he was from Southern California. I told him I was from Sacramento but originally from SoCal. He said, “Oh yeah, where in Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1067820117541582722003-11-03T06:38:00.000+06:002003-11-04T06:59:37.236+06:00NOVEMBER ALREADY?
Time is passing so quickly! We adjusted our clocks for daylight savings time last week and now the days are ending much quicker which means that it gets colder earlier in the evening now. When we leave our classrooms in the evening to head for the bus stop, the nighttime has pretty much set in.
Halloween has come and gone and I didn’t even see one person dressed in a Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1067819540492903402003-11-02T22:59:00.000+06:002003-11-03T06:53:25.630+06:00HALLOWEEN (UH, I MEAN HARVEST) CELEBRATION
Well, several of my students asked if I would talk about Halloween when it came around at the end of October. I figured since I was teaching a business class, I wouldn’t broach the subject (unless it was regarding how much profit the US makes on selling candy and costumes), but I decided that this would be a good excuse to invite all the students over Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1067191905999578392003-10-26T23:11:00.000+06:002003-10-27T00:20:58.796+06:00ENGLISH CLUB CONTINUES
Today we had our third English Club at the church after the end of the service. I was curious to see how many people would show up for the club, and I was so surprised by the result! The first week of the club we had about 12 people. Last week we had 25 people and filled up our room completely. This week, 35 people showed up and we had to move into a larger area of theJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1066235597178203002003-10-15T23:33:00.000+07:002003-10-15T23:33:16.960+07:00HAS THAT SERVICE COME TO YOUR REGION YET?
Back in California, and in many other areas of the US, one of the most popular questions that I hear asked by those who enjoy using the internet is, “Has DSL come to your city yet?” Everyone who has the internet seems to want to know if DSL or a local cable network company is available in their region yet so that they can get rid of that old dial-up Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1065985511261910842003-10-13T02:05:00.000+07:002003-10-13T02:05:11.333+07:00ONE MONTH OF TEACHING COMPLETE
It hardly seems possible that our team has been in Karaganda for over a month already. It seems like just yesterday that I was wandering aimlessly around a local market looking for bread and pointing at food items while making many unintelligible noises that the clerk could not understand...oh wait, that WAS yesterday.
Okay so one month went by fast, and I Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1065807290555031172003-10-11T00:34:00.000+07:002003-10-11T00:34:50.196+07:00PLAYING BALL AT THE SANDLOT
Well how about that baseball game we played on Saturday? I think the students had a great time, and I know I had a great time. About 18 of my 33 students showed up to play baseball at the all field on Saturday and I was very happy to see that so many people came out to play. We started off with a little batting practice so I could teach them the rules of the game.
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1065200786312046872003-10-04T00:06:00.000+07:002003-10-04T00:06:26.373+07:00FUNERAL ON THE SIDEWALK?
Today I was walking with my teammate to visit another friend in a different apartment complex. We were walking down the sidewalk, chatting about various things when we noticed down the way that there was a large group of over 100 people standing in an organzied formation wearing mostly dark colors. I immediately thought it might be a funeral, but I was puzzled as to Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1065121384906715372003-10-03T02:03:00.000+07:002003-10-03T23:41:36.500+07:0010 REASONS WHY HAVING "LOW EXPECTATIONS" HAVE HELPED ME ADJUST TO KARAGANDA
When at training they kept beating into our heads the phrase, "low expectations." We were told to be prepared for the worst and then it won't seem so bad if it's slightly better than worse. Well as a normally optimistic person, that has helped a lot here and these are some reasons why...
10. There is no In & Out Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1065118132531840562003-10-03T01:08:00.000+07:002003-10-03T01:08:52.523+07:00THREE WEEKS OF TEACHING COMPLETE
I am relieved to have made it this far in my time of teaching as I continued to be challenged in my lesson planning for each day of class. The students seem to be enjoying the class, but I am sometimes pressed for what I think to be appropriate material to teach the class. Some students are at different levels than others so I don’t want to leave anyone behind Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1064857752333399402003-09-30T00:49:00.000+07:002003-09-30T00:49:11.980+07:00AUGUST BRIDES
Well I should have written about this a little earlier (like August maybe) but I never got around to it until now. I would like to share about weddings here and how it is possible for everyone in downtown Karaganda to be involved in your wedding if you choose to have it here in the city. The reason I say that is because the wedding tradition is similar to ours but a little more Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1064857669230510522003-09-27T09:52:00.000+07:002003-09-30T00:48:45.993+07:00MORE BUS ACTION TODAY
Today's bus ride downtown was unusually eventful inside the bus. I have shared a little bit before about what it is like to ride on a bus in Karaganda's just like most buses in the sense that most people keep to themselves. There is not a lot of conversation going on between people unless there is a group of younger or older friends riding together on the bus. Well todayJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1064334828336958862003-09-23T23:33:00.000+07:002003-09-23T23:52:50.496+07:00WEATHER CHANGES
Well today we had the first "real" cold day of the season since we arrived in Karaganda. I looked out the window at the thermometer this morning and saw that it was a chilly 8 degrees Celsius. The wind was blowing pretty well and I suddenly remembered what it was like to live in North Dakota for a year and a half. Of course this is only the beginning...I didn't have to put on Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1064334108389496312003-09-22T23:09:00.000+07:002003-09-23T23:25:20.956+07:00September 21, 2003
VISITING THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
(Note: Today's entire journal is based on my personal observations of today. I do not make any claim to be a expert on the religion and rituals of the orthodox church, so if I explained anything wrong or observed something that just seemed very out of place or contradictory, please forgive me and then write me to let me know because Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1064162831469357322003-09-21T23:47:00.000+07:002003-09-21T23:47:10.960+07:00FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES
So you probably want to know what my first week of class has been like. Well to put it bluntly, the Bible verse, “pray without ceasing” has certainly played a part in my days this week. Of course, I’ve been so busy that I have sent up a lot of those little “mini prayers” that often are the only option when you know you don’t have time to get on your knees by yourself and Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1063817892668080302003-09-17T23:58:00.000+07:002003-09-18T00:24:49.676+07:00WHERE'S MY DAY-TIMER?
So many things occur in five days. Tomorrow I complete my first full week of teaching, and it has definitely been a challenge to come up with a new 90 minute lesson for each day of class. All of the sudden, my schedule does not seem so open anymore. I believe that I will start feeling like I am back in college all over again once I begin to commit to evening activities Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1063473769080905702003-09-12T22:22:00.000+07:002003-09-14T00:25:03.090+07:00September 12, 2003
JOIN THE SARDINE RACE
Well they have a saying back in America that those who live in the big city go out every day and join the rat race. When I think about the rat race, I often picture in my head an overlooking view of a freeway showing many cars driving up and down; sometimes moving quickly, other times stuck in traffic. Or sometimes I picture many different people in Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1063301614077701632003-09-12T00:33:00.000+07:002003-09-12T00:36:24.516+07:00September 11, 2003
FIRST DAY OF CLASS
What an awesome experience. I will never forget this day as long as I live. We began our first 4pm class session by placing all the students in the upper meeting room as we had done on the day of placement testing. This time only the students who were attending the 4pm class were present. We went through what could be described as an opening ceremony. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1063212089018540732003-09-10T23:41:00.000+07:002003-09-10T23:41:29.070+07:00FIRST DAY OF TESTING AT SBTC
Monday was our first day of testing at the school. It was a memorable scene as we (the ESI teachers) all met upstairs on the fourth floor of the school and saw with our own eyes the new students entering the room, eager to learn English. There were about 150 students packed into all the chairs in the room. Those who wanted to take the regular English courses wouldJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1063211708834476972003-09-10T23:35:00.000+07:002003-09-10T23:43:36.323+07:00SECOND SUNDAY
Today we went to the Joy church on the other side of town. It was quite an interesting service. The service was all in Russian. I did my best to try and read along with the worship songs on the projector even if I did not understand what they were saying (except for those songs I already knew)
After the service we met with the pastor in his office and we each introduced Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1062781813540948082003-09-06T00:10:00.000+07:002003-09-06T00:10:13.563+07:00UNUSUAL FEELING
Today I helped out a couple of other teachers at their school with their initial testing of new students for placement into English classes. I was fairly relaxed coming up to the time to go to the school and begin the testing, but once we got there, past out the tests, and began watching the students as they took the test, I found that my heart was beating fast and that I was Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1062435132848337392003-09-01T23:52:00.000+07:002003-09-03T01:05:56.766+07:00IS THIS SPOT TAKEN?
Today at the market we experienced a cultural phenomena that we had heard about at training but not yet seen since coming to Kazakhstan. I was standing at the end of the line to pay for my groceries with a couple of other teachers when another woman (shopper #1) comes up to me and asks me a question in Russian. I assumed she was asking if I was the last one in line, so I Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1062350865569090052003-09-01T00:27:00.000+07:002003-09-01T00:27:45.566+07:00FIRST SUNDAY
Today we went to a church close to our apartment. It was located in a office like building that was one large room set up with many fold-away chairs. The walls were painted white all around, and it was well-lit, but what I noticed as soon as I stepped in was the different presence in the room. There was a lot of joy and smiling faces in the room, and I immediately felt uplifted Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1062249292378172662003-08-30T20:14:00.000+07:002003-08-31T23:24:59.273+07:00ADJUSTING TO KARAGANDA
Well we have now been in our new city of Karaganda for a little over two whole days. It has been quite the adventure to say the least. First of all, the train ride was a lot of fun and a good experience. We did not have any delays once we were on the train, and it seemed to pass by fairly quickly. We spent our time talking, reading, and blundering our way through Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1061896897324248832003-08-26T18:21:00.000+07:002003-09-03T01:09:32.516+07:00PLANE FLIGHT TO KAZAKHSTAN
Flew out of San Francisco and arrived in Frankfurt. Plane flight in was very smooth. We arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan late last night from Frankfurt and found a hotel about one hour later. Everyone was wiped out about that time, so it was very easy to get to sleep. Almaty is a nice city with a lot of trees. I don't expect to see this once we reach Karaganda. Our Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5717534.post-1061664784471287342003-08-24T01:53:00.000+07:002003-08-24T01:53:04.336+07:00First Entry:
Leaving from San Francisco International tomrrow at 2:20pm. Will meet my team at the airport as they arrive from LAX. We fly to Frankfurt, Germany and from there will change planes and fly into Almaty, Kazakhstan. From that point, we take a 20 hour train ride to Karaganda. We expect to arrive in Karaganda on Wednesday AfternoonJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236121586699666595noreply@blogger.com