Planet of Youth, pizza, and pita bread - прекрасно!

Disappointments are a tough thing to work through alone, I’ve decided. I’d talk to someone, but being limited by language, a lack of local close friends, and many people who simply don’t understand the situation in a cultural context makes it difficult to communicate my frustrations. The result is a melancholy feeling, a feeling of isolation, and being around people I don’t know well puts me in a worse mood, like I’m becoming a misanthrope or something.

I’ve really gotten into old Soviet cinematography as of late. I never used to really be big into films, but part of my homework these days is to watch Russian films. I’ve become quite the coinsurer of old Russian films, especially the 50s/ 60s era. And it’s really cheap to get into because you can buy DVDs at the market for about $5 that have 8, 10, or even 14 movies on one disk. I told myself that I want to really learn this language and every language is influenced by its culture. It’s been interesting to learn little phrases from movies that are quipped in daily speech.

The previous four days have been spent back at the lake “Jesabai,” where we had session two of summer camp. My sole job was supposed to be photo taking and shooting video, but, as always with my organization, things didn’t quite go as planned… oh well, no worries I suppose. I got quite a bit of work done as far as a report and a form I needed to fill out for Peace Corps and wrote a bit more on the project. The goal is to have the “Planet of Youth” project written and submitted before I leave for vacation, so I’m really trying to crank it out.

I got to watch the first thunderstorm I’ve seen in Kazakhstan last evening and it was awesome! Just what I needed to help boost my mood a bit and it was complete with thunder and lightening. I was leaning out my balcony, talking with my neighbor on his balcony, and we watched it roll in. Then I closed the windows, pulled up a chair, had a beer and ate pita bread with baba ghanoush. A nice close to the work week :-)

Wine, pizza, and our typical evening sunsets. Jealous yet?


The basil is really coming up!


Me and my counterpart's sister, Olga, working at the dacha (Cherry trees in background).


Nina eating more cherries than collecting ;-)


Slava, Olga's husband, watering the strawberry plants. He's one of the chillest guys I've met in a while - not much get's him excited.


This is what the Dacha region looks like - perhaps a half acre of land each with a little cottage like house.


An underground newspaper! At the top is stamped "not for sale."


This guy is the first local I've seen in Kazakhstan to be sporting a full grown beard. Had to have a photo.


Me and one of the cutest kids ever. He has cerebral palsy, as does his twin brother. They have the softest looking faces (personality I mean) and easily steal one's heart :-)


Slava and his mom playing in the lake.


Some relatives of friends of cousins twice removed (i don't know exactly who they were or why they were at the camp) - we hung out on the beach one night and had a beer together. Nice people.


Baba ghanoush and fresh pita bread - mmm!


A late saturday morning breakfast.