A timely update, and a mention of a feast

It turns out, dear reader, that I'm pretty awful at updating this thing. Also, Blogger is blocked in Kazakhstan, so I have to update things by email which makes it a bit confusing. Please bear with the K-stan insanity.

Here are a few updates:
1. Tomorrow is the first day of school across K-stan. It turns out we won't be introducing ourselves to the entire school as expected. The director decided there wasn't enough time, or else our Russian skills are too awful to be heard in the halls of such a fine establishment. Instead we will be observing an English class to better understand the educational system here.
2. Throughout training we will be completing 16 hours of "practicum," by leading English clubs, extracurriculur clubs, and other classes to gain experience working with youth. This is slightly terrifying, as I have no real teaching experience. I hope I will not make a fool of myself. Keep your fingers crossed for me, dear reader.
3. There are a number of running jokes my family has started that you should be aware of.

                 a. Either my host family will turn me into a carnivore in the next 3 months, or I'll turn them all into vegetarians. At the moment I have the upper hand,

but considering last night we had a Ramadan feast involving not one, but two sheep heads, it's still a toss-up as to who will prevail.

                                     b. In the next two months my host family and all their relatives will successfully find me a good Kazakh husband. Never fear, I'm steering clear of this one.


In general, I'm still in the honeymoon period of all this business. Things are still going great, and I love the other Trainees I get to work with. If there were fewer pit toilets and roasted sheep heads, I'd like it better.