July 12, 2011 7:48 PM London Heathrow Airport I’m incredibly nervous and I haven’t yet figured out why. Part of it may have been the lamb donor I ate after visiting JHub (thank you David), but I think the more substantial contributing factor is a sense of uncertainty regarding my return to Kazakhstan after [...]
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Given that I’ve spent almost the last ten years strongly passionate about the idea of global Jewish peoplehood and equality amongst how the Jewish community globally relates to itself, it feels very strange to say that ROI was the first situation where I felt a sense of global Jewish equality. My first trip to Bulgaria [...]
Speech delivered at the ATID Graduation Ceremony, Monday, May 16, 2011. Shareey Zedek Synagogue, Southfield, MI. Sitting in a yurt in the Karokum Dessert in Turkmenistan, I had absolutely no expectation of having a conversation about Judaism. Following two years in the Peace Corps, I spent four months of traveling around Central Asia and the [...]
“I recall God silencing the singing angels when the Egyptians were drowning. Justice is one thing joy another?” – @RabbiWill [Berkowitz] I was thinking about this extensively as I went to the White House during President Obama’s announcement last night. The unmitigated joy of the crowd – many of whom were unable to clearly articulate [...]
After the charity parties organized by “Tres Hombres”, subsequent Peace Corps Volunteers and Aktobe volunteers began to organize more charity parties. This past week, for International Volunteer Day, the Aktobe Vestnik published a wonderful article about the continued work of the volunteers. I’m very proud of Nurgul, Zhenya, and everyone else that has been working [...]
Courtesy of The United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (http://unrcca.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1996) Q1. How large is UNRCCA? Answer: This is content for newly added question. This is content for newly added question. This is content for newly added question. This is content for newly added question. This is content for newly added question. This [...]
*WPD101 06/14/2010 U.S. Aids Victims of Ethnic Violence in Kyrgyzstan () (511) By Stephen Kaufman Staff Writer Washington — The Obama administration wants a coordinated international response to address the ongoing ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan and is providing humanitarian assistance for the victims, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. Speaking to reporters June 14, [...]
June 14 2010 Michigan It’s horrible to follow a horrible situation and know that there should, at a minimum, be greater awareness of what’s going on, if not calls for action to protect innocent people from further slaughter. At least there’s some coverage in American newspapers and on blogs. Especially given that state of facts, [...]
Wednesday, June 9 2010 Pinckney, MI, USA It’s already been 6 months since I was last in Kyrgyzstan. As everyone who spent even one day on the road with me learned, I take a lot of pictures while traveling. When I returned home, unfortunately, that has resulted in countless hours reviewing and deleting photos. In [...]
Originally posted at http://www.jdcinservice.org/jdcnextgeneration/jews-in-the-steppe-an-american-jew-in-kazakhstan-and-ukraine JDC Short-Term Service welcomes past participants to share reflections on their service with jdcinservice.org. Today, Perry Teicher, 25, reflects on his time serving throughout the Former Soviet Union. When I traveled to Ukraine with JDC Short-Term Service and University of Michigan Hillel in 2005, it was (surprisingly for me as I [...]
Dear President Obama, After graduating from University of Michigan in 2007, I joined the United States Peace Corps. Like all other newly serving Peace Corps Volunteers, I had no idea what to expect. As a UM alum, Peace Corps has a special significance to me. As you referenced in your commencement address to the UM [...]
My friend, Chiara, has been traveling around Kazakhstan for the last few weeks. Here are some of her text messages:
Astana is cold.
This bus could be anywhere for all I know, kind of looks like a snowy version of the moon.
I don’t know…I’m somewhere…I hope.
Just 2 more hours. I’m lonely and I really want a cheeseburger.
Feeling [...]
Sunday, February 28 2010. 7AM
At 1:40 PM, Saturday February 27 2010, I returned to America. 2 and a half years since I was last here – a few days longer to the day. Since then, I’ve been trying to make sense of what it means to return to America. Immediately, I’ve been organizing my stuff. [...]
Thursday, February 25 2010
Flight from Yerevan, Armenia to London, England
There is still much more to describe about Central Asia, but as the Caucasian part of the trip has most immediately concluded, I’ll try for a more timely update first.
A quick diversion. As I was writing the above, the “fasten seat belts” sign went off and [...]
The Dushanbe airport is a mess. It appears that out of all the aid money the country is receiving, very little has gone to airport infrastructure or training – or, if it has, someone is doing a very poor job. I quickly discovered that the way to determine where international departures is located is not [...]
The Tajik Jewish community was never large, but it is now down to very low numbers, due to emigration and the Civil War, in addition to normal aging. Tajikistan has a mix of Ashkenazi Jews who were relocated to the area during Stalin-times, and Bukharan Jews, having spread to Tajikistan from nearby Uzbkekistan. The overall [...]
Wednesday, January 20 2010
13:33
Today is the 61st day I’ve been out of Kazakhstan and my 3rd day out of Central Asia. All parts of the trip have been amazing, particularly in thinking about how many people I’ve met, how many climates I’ve jumped through, and how generally smooth it has been.
Tajikistan
Our first stop was Tajikistan. [...]
The last 28 days I have been traveling around two countries in Central Asia: Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The trip has been amazing in many ways and very cold at parts. Winter is beautiful here, but tourists are not common. The first response to meeting anyone - in a taxi, at the bazaar, in a guest house, [...]
2 года и 3 месяца закончились. Теперь я вернувшийся волонтер Корпуса мира, за исключением путешествия по Центральной Азии в течение четырех месяцев, и возвращение в Америку только в марте 2010 года. Мое официальное закрытие службы в Алматы было таким как я ожидал: документы, несколько встреч, а затем – я завершил службу в Корпусе Мира.
Последние дни [...]
7 November 2009
Almaty
2 years and 3 months is over. I’m now a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, except for the “still living in Kazakhstan and traveling around Central Asia for four months” and only returning to America in March 2010. My official Close of Service in Almaty was anti-climatic: paperwork, a few meetings, and then – [...]
Как приготовить салат при помощи зубочисток и поверить в себя, показали инвалиды на очередном фестивале «Золотое сердце-3».
На прошлой неделе общество по защите парализованных граждан Актобе вновь организовало для своих подопечных праздник. В гостинице «Актобе» прошел ежегодный фестиваль «Золотое сердце-3». На праздник приехали дети с ограниченными возможностями из города и районов области. Два дня дети-инвалиды и [...]
Закончился конкурс для детей-инвалидов «Кала мен бала». 90 участников получили подарки, проигравших нет.
В прошлый четверг Общество защиты парализованных граждан Актобе устроило праздник для детей-инвалидов в гостинице «Космос». На мероприятии чествовали участников конкурса «Кала мен бала».
– Конкурс проходил 9 месяцев, в три этапа, – рассказывает исполнительный директор общества Гульмира Сражова. – Дети писали сочинения, рисовали картины [...]
9 October 2009
Aktobe
So soon. I’m truly overwhelmed about leaving. Now that I can easily count the number of weekends and the numbers of days until I depart Aktobe, it’s strange. Every conversation has something to do with my departure or future plans. Usually this theme is directly addressed. Sometimes, it’s approached in a more roundabout [...]
Четверг, 17 сентября 2009 / 10 просм., 3 сегодня
«Молодежный ресурсный центр» – проект под таким названием стартовал в Актюбинской области недавно. Его куратором выступило молодежное крыло партии «Нур Отан» «Жас Отан» и городской отдел внутренней политики. В рамках проекта проводятся тренинги для руководителей молодежных НПО, фокус-группы и т.д. На прошедшей неделе в [...]
The Kazakhstan Volunteer Handbook is finally on-line! Read it, use it, and pass it on!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19492259/Kazakhstan-Volunteer-Handbook
Thanks!
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Aktobe
For most of service, Peace Corps jokes tend to revolve around one of a selected number of topics: (1) politics; (2) the country in which you’re serving; or (3) volunteer relationships. Then, as the time before COS (Close of Service) shrinks, themes change. We start talking about the next group of volunteers [...]
7 July 2009
Aktobe
The times between writing tend to be very busy. The last few months have been filled with a series of projects that have been relatively continuous between planning and implementation; layered on top of each other. I have lots of stories. As I’ll be home in under a year, I am looking forward [...]
Monday, April 20 2009
Aktobe
The repeated attempts to relive winter are very tiring. We have a term for the “second coming of Winter” - that roughly 10 days at the beginning of April where the weather pretends its main goal is to pretend it’s purgatory; snow, cold winds, and chilly rain - beskunak. The term is [...]
International Women’s Day
8 March 2009
Aktobe
Each time I have started to write over the last few months, I get overcome with the present. Life has been normal life and consequently overly busy. I love it still, but only recently realized how stressed I had become. Writing is relaxing and helps put everything in [...]
11 January 2009
Aktobe
Part of the explanation for why I haven’t written is simple: I’ve been really busy and when I return home, simply tired. The other, and more difficult reason to explain, is that I have felt slightly overwhelmed. Not because work or life here has been overly stressful, but simply the breadth of what [...]
Sunday, November 23 2008
Aktobe
Last night was my first night home in three days. Thursday and Friday we had our festival, “Golden Heart”, for disabled children and their mothers. The event was outstanding. 26 disabled children. 25 mothers and fathers (two of the children are sisters). 27 volunteers. 1 hotel. 7 hours of sleep over two [...]
Monday, November 17 2008
Aktobe
This morning when I was running my normal morning route: walk the four minutes from my home to bus #1, gently scramble to find a seat on the bus, sit for 20 minutes listening to my music and often awkwardly take a call in English as everyone again looks at me (which [...]
27 October 2008
Aktobe
This past weekend was Republic Day. Our organization sponsored an arm wrestling competition for the disabled on Saturday, and then on Sunday we sponsored a celebratory lunch. And today, Monday, there is no work due to the holiday. But, schools still have classes and some businesses are working. Even after a year, I [...]
Monday, October 13 2008
Aktobe
The last few weeks, it’s been very difficult for me to find a clear narrative to write about my experiences. Life has been full and busy, but it seems so regular. Spending a week in Almaty to work with the new volunteers and spend a few days relaxing with my friends was [...]
Friday, September 19, 2008
Aktobe
Two days till the Summit. The Summit has defined the life of the city for the past few months. A number of months ago, the government awarded the hosting of the Summit to Aktobe. This involved more than rolling out the red carpet for our guests. Playing host in Kazakhstan apparently means [...]
The Magical Marvelous Mysterious City: Astana
Our planned early morning flight to Astana was rescheduled to the afternoon as of two days before. We still decided to get to the airport with solid cushion just in case it was changed again. All of our other flights were on Air Astana, a comfortable airline that I [...]
Family Reunion: Almaty
My family arrived at 5 AM. We went back to the apartment to take a short nap. They liked to say that I let them sleep an hour after we got to the apartment. That is not true; I gave them a solid hour and a half.
After that long sleep, we walked around [...]
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Aktobe
Aktobe Shock
The shock of returning to Aktobe after almost a month of traveling around Kazakhstan and volunteering in Almaty felt even stronger than when I first arrived in Aktobe. The last two weeks I toured around the country with my family. The week and a half prior to that, I spent in [...]
В Актобе к американскому сыну
Супруги Марк и Джули Тайчер две недели путешествовали по Казахстану и на прошлой неделе добрались в Актобе. Здесь теперь живет их сын.
Альмира Алишбаева
Выпуск № 34 (759) от 21.08.2008
Больше всего, говорят гости, нас порадовало казахское гостеприимство, а огорчили горы мусора. Они у вас даже в степи, недоумевают американцы.
Об экстремальном такси, и не [...]
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Aktobe
We restarted hippotherapy yesterday. After a confusing few weeks of lost trainers, and misplaced owners, we seem to be back on track. The three boys who previously participated again rode this week, accompanied by their mother or father. Maral and Assiya also came. This is really important as the ownership and responsibility [...]
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