Dawn's Year Old Blog Post

*Editor's Note: Ok, so just to be very clear -- this is a post from Dawn which she wrote in Jan. 2010. That's over a year ago! uhhh.. better late than never?*

A message from Dawn on Jan. 2010:

So…I’m sorry that I’m so bad about doing the blog thing. I’m sure all of you that know me well fully expected as much, but I was personally hoping I might keep this up better than I have. I’ve had an equal amount of success with keeping a journal, unfortunately. I know I’m going to really hate myself in 2 years for not keeping better updates, but, oh well, thankfully, I’m not as unmotivated in my daily life!!

I guess I’ll start from Swearing in as I don’t think I’ve done a post since then.

I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer on October 31, 2009. I had to say goodbye to our Issyk host family after the ceremony, which was really difficult and sad. I then took a train with Aaron, his Counterpart, and a heck of a lot of luggage to Aktobe. The 42-hour (not a typo!!) train ride was actually quite fun and we got to hang out with Sarah and Lauren, two of our site mates, quite a bit. We arrived in Aktobe with a really warm welcome from the current Aktobe PCV’s.

I absolutely love my school. They’ve been incredibly welcoming and helpful. I’ve taught a mixture of 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders, but I usually teach the 4th, 7th, 9th, and 10th graders. The school year has almost ended at this point and next year will be quite different. My counterpart (the local woman that I work with), Zhanat, is pregnant, so I’ll have to find a new counterpart next year. I also work with several other teachers, but since the end of the year is coming, I’ve pretty much just been working with Zhanat since I’ve been back from the states.

I’ve been really busy so far. Some of the projects I’ve attempted to start have been: A kickboxing class, methodology class for teachers, a beginning English course for teachers that don’t speak English, a college abroad Prep course, a discussion/listening class, English Olympiad training, some Toefl prep work ( a big English Test for foreign speakers), a couple of different concerts/competitions including a Christmas concert. It’s been a lot of fun, but a couple of projects have already fallen through, at least for the moment. I couldn’t get the kickboxing class going and the Methodology class has fallen through but considering what I hear from other volunteers, I’m actually off to a pretty good start!!

I’m also busy with some personal stuff. I’m taking Russian lessons from 2-4 hours a week and Dombra (Kazakh national instrument) lessons for 2 hours a week. I’m doing vacation planning right now too. I’m planning on going to Russia and Paris (hopefully) this summer and then I’m backpacking through Western Europe with my dad next summer! When I think about it, I also try to study for the GRE, but I’ve got a while to focus on that. I was trying to pick up the guitar (again!!) for a little while, but that’s kind of gone by the wayside until this summer. I’ve also been reading a TON of books. I’m averaging a little over 1 a week so far since I’ve been here. So, approx. 40 or so books. I’ll try to post my reading list separately if I remember… I’ve been here almost 9 months now. I’m ¼ of the way done.

Other misc. stuff I’ve been up to… I’m on Peer Support Network for Peace Corps, Aaron and I have been to several local events (charity, celebrations, etc), we’ve been in the paper and on TV several time (Aktobe media loves us!!!), I had an interview on a morning show, I’ve sang a Kazakh traditional song at several big concerts and awards ceremonies, and I also sang at the big New Year’s party my school had. I’ve helped randomly with stuff like the local English Club, Aaron’s discussion club, etc. and of course I banya as often as I can!! LOL

I’ve grown really attached to this place over on the far side of the world. I’ve been making a list of all the stuff I’m going to miss from here that I can’t get in the states!! I’m sure that list will have grown quite a bit by the time I have to leave…