Dear Mom, May 20 So here I am in good ol' Kapchigai! It is really nice to be back, although a bit strange. Some things have changed: the bazaar has been moved off the main street to a location near Vlodia and Larissa's house. The reason, I heard, was to keep the main street clean and uncluttered. There are fewer kiosks now; they mostly seem to be centered in the new bazaar. It is also strange to be part of the Pre-Service Training (PST) program as a member of the staff. I'm getting excellent experience in organizing a TEFL program which is so different compared to just teaching English. This will look fantastic on my resume and open opportunities for me in America as well. People who can teach English and who have taught overseas are a dime a dozen (nothing personal, all of those out there who fit in that category). This summer combined with my teacher training in KO, and other cities may possibly get me a job in a director or coordinator position at a school or organization. I could also work for the Peace Corps as contractor -running programs for PSTs in other countries. Here's a joke I heard recently from a local: So Nah-zer-by-yev (president of Kazakhstan) goes to the White House to visit Clinton. Clinton, who is showing him around, says, "You know, I have a direct line to God." Nazerbyev is surprised and asks if he can try it. Clinton says, "Go ahead. Be my guest." Sure enough, there's God on the other end of the line. Nazerbyev hangs up and says, "Wow, that's impressive. That must be really expensive. 3Clinton replies with a nod, "Yup, it sure is. 3So a few months later, Clinton returns the diplomatic favor and comes to visit the Presidential Palace here in Almaty. Nazerbyev shows him around proudly and finally takes him to his plush office. There on a desk is a normal looking telephone. Nazerbyev points to it with a flourish and says proudly, "I have direct connection to Hell." Clinton, surprised and a bit taken back, says, "Really? Can I try it?" Nazerbyev agrees, and Clinton picks up the phone. Sure enough, there's Satan himself, the King of Darkness, on the horn. Clinton quickly hangs up and turns to Nazerbyev and says with a tinge of awe in his voice, "Gee, that's really impressive. That must be quite expensive." "No," says Nazerbyev with a shrug, "It's only a local call." May 25 In America right now, most of Kaz 6 is frantically packing and worrying about going to Kazakhstan. I remember Joan and I in Mom Lambert1s basement, trying to figure out how we could fit all our stuff into our footlockers, trying to figure out what we could do without. About two in the morning, we finally finished and staggered upstairs. Then we realized that we had not chosen or packed any photographs to show to people in Kazakhstan. So we sat on the living room floor and pawed through all our photographs, trying to choose ones that would show our lives to others and provide comfort to us. What a weird selection we ended up with; it is quite a challenge to sit down with a local and go through the photos and try to explain what they all are. May 27 Now Kaz 6 is in D.C., getting to know each other a little and sweating bullets. I am really looking forward to working with them. May 29 Kaz 6 arrived this morning. They are staying in PDI just like we did last year. It is interesting to think that a year has passed, and now the cycle begins again. I will be going through all the same sessions and activities, but this time not at a Trainee but as one of the staff. I think that this means I will have less to write about this summer compared to last. How many pages did I write to you then? I heard that I had written over 100 pages! And then there are all those e-mail messages from KO. Could somebody count the pages on the web site and let me know? I haven't had enough time to really write that much about training thus far. It has been good to work with most of the PST staff, but there definitely has been a cloud hanging over it all for me. I guess I have to go back to when I first arrived in Almaty. Many things have been said and done that most of us disagree with and a lot of decisions have been made that don't seem right to us as well. ... decisions about training and other issues that affect us (as the people who will be working with the Trainees all summer from air-conditioned offices in Almaty) without asking us for our input or ideas. And they have not bothered to give us any rationale or reasons for some seemingly stupid decisions, even after we have asked for them so we can better understand what is going on. It seems to be all policy and rules, without absolutely any flexibility in terms of what they want to get done, even though they are always telling us how important it is for us to be flexible. They keep harping on about PCVs needing to be professional, but they are so often unprofessional in the office. It makes it very difficult to deal with them. They want to be professional and then they jerk us around or treat us like kids; it is a tad bit annoying. Another annoying that really pissed me off and still does is this whole arrival weekend of Kaz 6. Traditionally, some PCVs and most of the staff meet the new group at the airport (at 4:40 AM), to say hello and to help them get their act together. It is quite a special time. Well, last week in a meeting, Maria, our Training Director who was the Master Teacher in charge of pedagogical issues in my training, says, "Here's the list of people who will be at PDI this weekend . . . blah blah." I wasn't on the list. I am the only PCV who is PST Staff who has to stay in Kapchagai and "work" while the rest are in Almaty orienting the new group. Gee, thanks. That's a real slap in the face. It's not like I am going to have to work with the whole group all summer. It's not like some of the other PCVs who are staff get to go with bullshit excuses of "having to be there to help." And, during last week, when the group disagreed with all this (because at first a lot of staff wasn't able to go), and expressed our concerns and gave a rational list of reasons why we should all be there and expressly asked for some sort of response or feedback, the only response we got was, "The decision still stands." And there is even more. They don't want the Trainees to hang out with current PCVs. I have heard from a variety of independent sources that they want to have as few PCVs involved with training as possible. Hello! We are the ones who have lived here and know what is going on. We are the ones who will have to interact and be the friends of these new people for the next year, all scattered around the ninth largest country in the world. They said, "Stay away from the Trainees on Sunday. They should spend the time with their host families. Every Sunday should be a "Host Family Day.ý I love my host family and had a wonderful time with them, but when culture shock, the heat, the annoying, stressful training got too much, spending time with my host family was not what I wanted to do. Like it or not, spending time with the other Trainees or PCVs who were in Kapchagai is what keeps you sane. It also looks like our wonderful hiking/camping trip from last year will not happen because some are worried about liability. Let's see, riding in a taxi driven by a man who drinks vodka in the morning, without a seat belt, is OK? It doesn't seem to bother PC that much. So, as you can tell, I am experiencing some bitterness here in Kapchagai. I really want to be here. I really want to help the new group and make some friends. However, I am concerned about the way the summer is shaping up. It looks like we are in for a lot of petty bureaucracy and hassles. Ugh! And Joan is not here! This is the longest time we have been apart, and it sucks. I definitely think that being a married PCV, at least here in Kazakhstan, is much better than being single. Sure, the women are beautiful, and the fact that you are American makes you so much more attractive and desirable in their eyes (Scott Schiller - you should come visit us .......). Yet I have thought about it a lot, and the advantages of being married far outweigh the ones of being single. Unless, of course, your spouse is on the other side of the freakin' country. Right, I have to get back to work. These 10 hour days are long but interesting. And I am not getting paid! Only per diem, which on top of the living allowance I get automatically, works about to be about $10 a day, so that's one dollar an hour I1m getting! Wow, I am so lucky . . . I will e-mail this from the office tomorrow in Almaty. We won't have e-mail here in Kapchagai, but I should be able to send things regularly through Kazbek. Take care and write soon! love, Rich