Hi folks,

In case you didn't know, Sveta and I have been in India for about 2 weeks now, with a month left to go.

While you read, take a look at these pics, they show much of what is written, but more colorfully:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054377&id=31301444&l=a72fa9f262

After landing in Delhi, we went to a 'guest house,' which a relative had reserved for us. When we got there, the manager didn't speak any English and had overbooked the establishment, so we were resigned to sleeping on couches without any bathroom. Also, he would periodically spend periods of 10-15 minutes at a time standing in our room next to us and silently looking at the wall. We left the next morning.

After a night in Delhi, we were scheduled to take a Vipassana meditation course in a small, nearby city called 'Karnal.' This is the same meditation that I have participated in before and that has (in my opinion) made some positive impact on my character. When we got to this course, I realized that although these lessons are supposed to be 'standardized,' the same in each country, sometimes this just isn't the case.

In this form of meditation, you must sit very still and remain absolutely silent. This worked well in America, but in India, it took on a different flavor... and smell. Instead of diligently sitting in silence, the participants were constantly moving and producing loud, resonant noises from every feasible orifice. Amidst the snorting, snoring, farting, and burping, it was indeed a challenge to maintain focus.

On the second day of meditation, I entered my room to find that someone had thrown all my stuff on the floor, looking for valuables. This was indeed very disappointing. However, I had hidden all my cool stuff very well, so nothing was stolen. When I informed the teacher, he took a cavalier approach (not to be confused with a Zen approach) to it, and that vexed me. Sveta and I left the course early.

As this redefined our plans, we headed to Amritsar, where the Golden Temple lies. It's one of the holiest sights of the Sikh religion and is spectacular. Also, they have a dining hall with a really cool mass-feeding system. People come in in droves and sit on the floor and people with buckets walk around constantly filling plates. There are whole platoons for washing plates, peeling and cooking veggies, etc. We stayed there for three days and loved the temple, but the people were rather unfriendly and we were ready to leave.

Next, we headed to the city Chandigarh. On the way, our bus driver took a wrong turn at a detour and drove on the wrong side of a partitioned highway at full speed for 30 minutes. With cars and trucks charging at us, he kept his foot on the gas and his hand on the horn and proudly upheld his God-given, Indian right to drive in whichever direction he pleases. It was scary, but also amusing.

Chandigarh is the only planned city in India, and people actually drive according to rules and there are trash cans in the parks (but people still throw trash on the ground), etc. Long story, short, it's a nice city with some really nice parks. However, that's not the important part of our Chandigarh story.

In Chandigarh, Sveta and I tried couchsurfing for the first time! If you're not familiar with it, couchsurfing.org is a site that puts you in touch with people who are often willing to let visitors stay with them for free. So, as our plans had changed, we sent out some last minute requests to stay with people in Chandigarh and got a response from a man named Honey Preet.

We stayed with Honey and his friends, Jagat and Aman for 2 days and they made our first experience with couchsurfing a fantastic one! Not only did they show us around the city, but they introduced us to some really cool people and we even got to spend a day and night in rural India, where Aman's family lives. It was great seeing how their farm works and meeting Aman's family, which was extremely generous and warm to us. It opened up a whole new side of India to us and the experience washed away some of the emotional dirt from the beginning of our trip. After 2 days, we were sorry to leave and are very grateful to Honey and his friends for such genuine hospitality.

So now, we're in Jaipur. It's an old city with lots of beautiful temples. I'm tired of writing, and you're probably bored of reading, so I will continue this story in a few weeks.

Lots of love,Sidd

Hello everyone,

Today is the 1 year anniversary of when my Peace Corps group left USA. It’s strange to think about, as are most dates in the past which simultaneously seem like yesterday and a past life. I can’t define many of my feelings right now, so I’ll write short entry, just to state a few things that are clear to me.

1. I’m glad to be here. Although it’s been ‘ups and downs,’ I think this is a very valuable experience. I’ve grown a lot. When I think about some of the childish mistakes I made before, I’m glad that for the realizations which have helped me move forward. I know that in another year, I’ll have progressed yet further.

2. I missed my loved ones a lot, especially on birthdays, special occasions, etc. I know that life feels different back at home. When someone leaves, you still have everyone else there, so things go on. This isn’t the case when you’re the one who left. The change is much greater and so is the feeling of detachment.

The reason I’m saying this is because one of my greatest fears is that my great friends back at home will gradually forget about me. I’m afraid that I’ll be someone they thought about once every day, then every two days, then down to once per week, month, year… eventually until it takes some by-chance reference to jog their mind into brief recollection. I’m sorry if this sounds dramatic or self-pitying, but it really weighs on me. Friends, please send emails. I know it takes a few minutes, but consider it as international social work, as it brings a smile to someone across the world. It’s so valuable to know that when I see you again, it won’t be as strangers or acquaintances.

That’s all for now.

Lots of love, Sidd

PS – Sharky, happy birthday!

Since coming to Kazakhstan, several aspects of the culture have really sunken in with me. For example, I compulsively wear slippers indoors and feel awkward speaking on busses. However, the strongest cultural impact on me has been Kazakhstan’s passion for Mortal Kombat.

This game/movie powerhouse has permeated its way into many aspects of culture in this part of the world. The Mortal Kombat theme song is played during awards ceremonies when people walk across the stage. If you ask most people here, ‘Have you seen Mortal Kombat,’ they’ll answer with an emphatic, ‘of course,’ and look at you with the injured pride of a Texan who you just accused of never owning an SUV. My friend, Ruslan, was telling me about a school kid who wrote a famous essay about his adulthood dream job; to be Sub-Zero.

In university, I’d spend a lot of time talking with my friends about music during lunch time in the dining hall. Now that I’m here, I have talked more about Mortal Kombat than I did throughout my entire childhood, when the game was actually new and popular. A few nights ago, after watching the preview for the new Mortal Kombat movie that will be released in a couple of years, I had a nightmare. In this nightmare, I was myself, but I had to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament. I was scared ****less because I haven’t been exercising much lately, and therefore am definitely physically unprepared. Then, when Scorpion entered the hall and started demonstrating martial arts moves, I jolted upright, waking up in sheer panic. Scorpion is way scarier in real life than in the games.

Hello everyone,

I’m starting this post on a sad note. My family’s baby, our dog, Zorro, died recently. When I left the United States, I knew I’d probably never see him again, as he was getting old. Although this was in the back of my mind since I left, the news was very difficult to take when it arrived. He was very loved by all of my family and we have lots of good memories with him. I vividly recall the first day we saw him up at the SPCA. It was after church and he was so excited to be with us that when my sister picked him up, the skinny little puppy peed all over her dress. Since that moment, he was our favorite family member. He had a long, good life and went quietly and with dignity. Love you, Zorro. On a happier note, I just spent a week in a town called Shuchinsk, participating in a Russian language camp. It was fun to change the scenery for a little while, especially since Shuchinsk is right next to Baravoe, a mountainous lake region called ‘The Switzerland of Kazakhstan.’ I wouldn’t call it Switzerland, but it is pretty and was great to hike a little bit. Sveta and I rented a row-boat and took to the lake one day. We took turns rowing and all the locals were laughing and taking pictures when they saw her, a woman, doing some of the rowing. When we returned to Petropavlovsk (my site), we found that my little garden is doing quite well! I have two cucumbers and one small pepper growing, as well as the spices, which have been growing successfully for weeks.

Pictures of Zorro: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2001597&id=31301444&l=63c86ae6b2

Pictures of Baravoe (end of the album): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041819&id=31301444&l=1768003fec

Pictures of my site, Petropavlovsk, and my plants: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044051&id=31301444&l=000db9b013

Love, Sidd

Hello everyone,

I’m starting this post on a sad note. My family’s baby, our dog, Zorro, died recently. When I left the United States, I knew I’d probably never see him again, as he was getting old. Although this was in the back of my mind since I left, the news was very difficult to take when it arrived. He was very loved by all of my family and we have lots of good memories with him. I vividly recall the first day we saw him up at the SPCA. It was after church and he was so excited to be with us that when my sister picked him up, the skinny little puppy peed all over her dress. Since that moment, he was our favorite family member. He had a long, good life and went quietly and with dignity. Love you, Zorro.

On a happier note, I just spent a week in a town called Shuchinsk, participating in a Russian language camp. It was fun to change the scenery for a little while, especially since Shuchinsk is right next to Baravoe, a mountainous lake region called ‘The Switzerland of Kazakhstan.’ I wouldn’t call it Switzerland, but it is pretty and was great to hike a little bit. Sveta and I rented a row-boat and took to the lake one day. We took turns rowing and all the locals were laughing and taking pictures when they saw her, a woman, doing some of the rowing.

When we returned to Petropavlovsk (my site), we found that my little garden is doing quite well! I have two cucumbers and one small pepper growing, as well as the spices, which have been growing successfully for weeks.

Pictures of Zorro: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2001597&id=31301444&l=63c86ae6b2

Pictures of Baravoe (end of the album): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041819&id=31301444&l=1768003fec

Pictures of my site, Petropavlovsk, and my plants: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044051&id=31301444&l=000db9b013

Love, Sidd

Hi folks!

I just finished my first year of teaching here. It was a challenge, but I think next year will be better as I’m a bit more experienced now. This year, I really liked my 10th graders a lot, and next year, they will by my 11th graders and I will get to see them graduate (unlike in USA, students finish after 11th grade here), which is great.

The graduation ceremony was quite interesting and different than in the States. Instead of gowns, the girls wear little French maid outfits. It’s pretty funny. Then, all the graduating students sing songs about their teachers and things. I got a rose and a card like the other teachers, so that was nice.

The summer has finally come to Petropavlovsk, and after my first Siberian winter, I am glad for it. The city is gorgeous and relaxed and all the trees I thought were completely dead during the long winter are now in full glory, drenching the city in green. It’s amazing to walk on the pedestrian street and see kids on bikes, people smiling, fountains, and outdoor cafes. This city’s a completely different place when it’s not buried under ice.

What also helps my happiness is the fact that I’ve moved into my own apartment. Independent living is something I missed a lot in my first 8 months, so it’s lovely to get back to it now. I’ve been cooking a lot. My amazing girlfriend, Sveta, and I make very good homemade pizzas. Last weekend we made Indian food and it turned out well. Thanks for the spice pack, Mom!

A few days ago, I started an indoor garden. Nothing has grown yet, but the soil does look very nice. I have been speaking and singing to the pots to encourage growth. So far, I am attempting to grow sweet peppers, spicy peppers, cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, rosemary, thyme, dill, parsley, and one more thing, about which I have forgotten.

My summer plans are to stay here, practice music and Russian and continue my English clubs. I do a few clubs a week in the city library. Most of the members are university students or very motivated high schoolers. They’re very cool people and lots of fun to hang out with. Since the weather has been so nice lately, we’ve been playing lots of ultimate Frisbee!

The friends who I play with here really dig Frisbee, although the most common belief amongst the populace is that Frisbees are toys for dogs. Some cool news is that I played Frisbee at my school with my students, and the students loved it so much that PE Teacher wants to incorporate it into the next school year! The company Discraft is sending me 10 free Frisbees for my school, which will probably make us the first school in Kazakhstan with an ultimate Frisbee program! Very cool. Now, I just need to improve my fore-hand throw. Otherwise, I’m starting to play pretty well… finally.

So yeah, things are going very well. I am feeling well adjusted to this place. I do miss my friends and family from home, but I don’t miss America itself too much. One thing I do miss from home is having people to play music with, though. There’s no one to play or sing with here, which is a stark contrast from music school. That’s been hard sometimes.

On the other hand, there are many things I really appreciate about living here. For example, the other day, I wanted to buy flower pots, but it was 9pm and everything was closed. Then, I thought, “Who the hell needs flower pots at 9pm?” It’s nice NOT to be able to go to Wal-mart at 3am to buy a hole-puncher, lamp-shade, hot pockets and underwear. There’s something so much more logical about this reality.

Love,

Sidd

Please look at these albums:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041819&id=31301444&l=1768003fec

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044051&id=31301444&l=000db9b013

Hi folks,

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! On Thanksgiving, about 25 volunteers and a few locals from Petropavlovsk rented 3 bunk-rooms in a hotel in Zerenda, which is a cross-country ski resort in Kazakhstan. A gigantic dinner was prepared, including turkey shash-lik (similar to shish kebab) which was a lot better than normal turkey, mashed taters & gravy, and many other traditional USA fairs. So we ate a lot, talked too much and a few of us used the Bania and rolled in the snow afterwards.

            For those of you not familiar with the “Bania,” it is basically a very hot sauna. You go in naked with your friends or family, which would be more awkward if you could think straight, but it’s too damn hot to form coherent thoughts about anything other than the bench burning your ass when you sit down. So you sweat a lot and other naked people hit your with tree branches to cleanse you… it’s a long story. But anyways, it’s fun sometimes, and rolling in snow naked whilst covered in sweat tells you things about yourself that you don’t understand, but that I’m sure are important.

         So yeah, Thanksgiving was good. Things have been going rather well in general. Petropavlovsk is getting pretty with heavy snow and Christmas decorations coming up on the main streets. With the snow, bright red cherry trees and blinking lights, the city has got the “winter wonderland” charm going for it.

           I think I’m adjusting pretty well. I’m no longer feeling emo, as I was in my first couple weeks in the city (the previous blog post). So yeah… emotions intact and no more listening to “Tiny Vessels” on loop.

           Now, the only problem I face is my struggle to avoid looking like an idiot in front of my family. I don’t do this too regularly, but it's slowly becoming a bad habit: When I come home to a seemingly empty house, I have a penchant for walking about shirtless, singing Americana songs loudly while screaming emphatic curses at the mini-Doberman, ‘Vicont.’ Now this would be fine if the house was actually empty, but it’s really embarrassing when your 20 year old sister and her friend come out of a bedroom and see you half naked yelling “I will ****ing kill you” at a dog, while singing really pretty Gillian Welch tunes. It’s even more embarrassing the second time it happens (last week).

             I need to work on this.

             Other than that, everything’s going pretty well, I promise. My friends here are lovely people and I’m lucky to have met them immediately upon arrival. Work is fine, too, but no one likes reading about work, so I will refrain.

I love you all,

Sidd

PS - just experienced -10F... it is serious

Hello friends,

For about 2 weeks now, I have been living at my permanent site, Petropavlovsk. It’s a pretty interesting city with a very Russian style and lots of snow and coldness. Everyone here has big fur coats and hats. I now belong to that statistic, too. My big hat is pretty sweet. 

I had a coke freeze in my hands while walking the other day. Note that it isn’t “cold” yet, by the Siberian standard.

My new host family is great. I’m living in an apartment with a lady named Natasha and her daughter, Marina. Natasha is the teacher of costume design at the school I am working at. She’s one of the most energetic and constantly positive people I’ve ever met. She’s a total pleasure to live with. Phil Montgomery, the PCV who I replaced, lived with her last and highly recommended that I also live with her. Thanks, Phil.

In this apartment, there is also a dog named Vicont. He is a mini Doberman which will seriously strengthen my patience while I live here. He has a habit of chewing everything up, especially shoes, clothing and human feet. He’s a good boy, but he’s fond of property destruction and constant harassment. However, he is growing on me. He keeps things interesting.

The school I’m working at is pretty cool. It’s an aesthetic school, so the kids are into art and music. I haven’t heard the music aspect yet, but the art hanging in the halls is IMPRESSIVE. These kids are seriously talented at early ages.  

I’ve been hanging out with the other PCVs in the city. There are several of them and they’re all very cool. I’ve also met some of their local friends who are fun people. They speak amazing English that makes me feel sheepish about my Russian, but they’re cool kids so it’s ok. One of them even lived in good ol’ Virginia Beach for a while.

Although everything is going very well, I want to remind you loved ones at home that I miss you and think of you often. I love the freshness of snow and of a new place, but memories of bluegrass on the porch and sunsets in the valley are beautiful and, sometimes, a little painful. In new places, there’s an unidentifiable loneliness that sneaks through your smile when everything seems to be going well. However, don’t worry. We’ve all felt it before and I know all it needs is time, the proper reading material and lots of hot chocolate.

On that note: thanks to all my friends who have sent me lengthy emails! Soon, I will stop being so lazy and answer the ones I haven’t got to yet. Also, I just got skype. If anyone is interested in doing that new-fangled video stuff, let me know.

Love,

Sidd (no longer “Sacha,” because no one up here takes it seriously and it got old anyways)

PS – sorry I got sappy in this blog. It won’t happen again.

http://aboutkazakhstan.com/Petropavlovsk_city.shtml#overviewHere's a site w/ some Petropavlosk pictures & infoAlso, I promised to upload some pictures.  I just tried and it's not working.  The internet moves at a glacial pace here.  Will try again soon.

Ok, I have much to tell and I finally have the ability to tell it properly. This is because I just bought a new laptop, so now I can type up blog posts and paste them into my site when I get internet! It's a tiny Samsung notebook and it's super cool because the keyboard has English letters and also the Russian cyrillic alphabet! Pretty sweet huh? However, all the menus and stuff are in Russian, so it's a bit tricky right now, but also an incentive to expand my vocabulary. I bought the computer because I now know where I will work and what I will be doing, and a computer will be essential.

On that note, here's some big news! For the next 2 years (at least), I will be living in a city called "Petropavlovsk!" I have heard that it's a great city with lots of Russian architecture and culture. It's in the very North of Kazakhstan and is the NORTHERNMOST city that Peace Corps exists in! What this means is that I will be one of 4-5 of the most Northern Peace Corps volunteers in the whole world! Pretty cool... literally. It gets to -40C in Petro. I will be chilly. The winters are supposedly lovely with lots of snow and many trees with bright red berries.

So yeah, I'm going to live in a city, which is very uncommon for Peace Corps Volunteers and I am inexplicably excited to get there. It also means I'll have regular internet access, so PLEASE EMAIL ME.

NOW, what I will be doing:

1) I will be teaching in a secondary (high) school, probably grades 8-11 with a Kazakhstani counterpart who is a full time English teacher.

2) I will be working in a Professional Development Institute, training current English teachers on methods of teaching! This means I will have to really know all the technical aspects of teaching, as I will be presenting them in seminars to current teachers! It's going to be a challenge, but I will learn a ton and it's a huge honor to have such an assignment.

3) There are 2 orphanages in Petropavlovsk. I have my mind made up that I will spend my free time volunteering at 1 or both of them.

On another note, I just had my 23rd birthday and it was incredible. First, two of my close Peace Corps friends, Gambrill and Laura made me an apple pie and we shared it with the volunteers in my village and our language teachers. It was an awesome pie and they made it from scratch from materials bought at the bazar... nice. Great way to start the day!  

Then at night, my family surprised me with an amazing party! Birthday parties in Kazakhstan are incredible. My family made pizza, as I love it, tons of plof (fried rice w/ lamb and veggies), salad, and an awesome cake that had the number "23" in it. Naturally, there was also lots of vodka. One of the traditions here for parties is to roll up small pieces of paper and put them in balloons before blowing them up. Each piece of paper has a funny task written on it (ex. sing a karaoke song, dance like a chicken, etc.). After each person gives a toast to the guest of honor (and they all must toast), they must pop a balloon and do whatever is written on the paper. Sooooo my mom had to play accordian, my sister did a russian dance, my brother's friends crawled under the table and recited poems, and my brother kissed me on the cheek... twice. It was an absolute riot and one of the most fun birthdays I have ever had.

Ok, that's all for now, mostly. If you are still reading, you will be rewarded with the following anecdotes of Kazakh/Russian culture:

1) "Umm," what Americans say when at a loss for words, is Kazakh slang for "vagina." I try to avoid saying it in class.

2) "Yup" is Russian slang for fornication.

3) Apparently eating cabbages makes womens' boobs bigger.

More later.

Love,

Sacha

Howdy,

Well it seems I'll have to move out of my current house. Since I got there, I've been having wicked allergies to something in my room. After averaging 2-3 hours of sleep per night for 5 weeks, I conceded and went to the Peace Corps doctor. He said I need to leave the house ASAP because my allergies could turn into complicated asthma if I stay there.

Other than that, everything's going well. I've been having a great time teaching and especially in the English clubs we do after school. We did a singing one recently and the kids loved it. 2 of my friends and I taught about 20 Kazakhstani kids to sing a Tom Petty song, Beatles song, and Everly Brothers song (we went for easy & repetitive). At first I was singing very loudly to keep the group together, but I toned it down after a while and heard the kids singing in almost perfect English! Talk about rewarding!

The other day some friends and I went into Almaty and ate at a Pizza Hut for lunch. It's the only one in Kazakhstan and it's a NICE restaurant. I felt underdressed in Pizza Hut... it was weird. Also our hostess could have been a Russian supermodel, but I just got a really embarrassing hair cut, so I tried not to talk to her. Good times.

Well in 10 days, we will all know where we will be living for the next 2 years in Kazakhstan! It's very exciting. I was informed that there are some sites that have orphanages, so I'm really hoping they'll put me at one of those, as it would be a dream come true to volunteer there during my time off.

Pre-Service Training is going well and I'm learning a ton in my language and technical classes. However, it's really busy and I am looking forward to having time to exercise, read, etc once things settle down when I'm at my permanant site!

Anyways, thanks a ton to those of you who emailed me. It really makes me day, so if you have 5 minutes, send a brotha an email. I love/miss y'all and really, reaaaallllly want to hear about how life is back home. Be kind, email.

Love,

Саша (I am known as Sacha in this country, as I like that name and no one really knows how to say Siddhesh)

Ok folks,

It's been a while. We only get access to the internet for 1 hour a week and usually the electricity isn't working for that hour!

Here's the skinny:

I am currently in training in Peace Corps. This will last until Oct. 31, when we are sworn in and become "volunteers." Right now, we are trainees. The whole training process includes language, technical (teaching methods), and cultural training. It's really busy and we (me and the 5 other volunteers in my training group) usually have a 12 - 16 hour day, after which we are completely drained.

I live in a small village that's close to Almaty, the biggest city in Kazakhstan. I live with a host family. There's mama (Valentina Vasilovna), papa (Mikhail Ivanovich), 39 year old brother Vasili, 30 year old sister Paulina and her 1 year old daughter, Dasha. They're a nice family and feed me way too much. The first thing I hear when I show my face any time is "KUSHE KUSHE" (EAT EAT). They're very interesting and very energetic. My mom likes to tell me long stories in Russian which I only understand a few words of! However, each day I'm getting noticeably better at Russian.

Each day we have Russian lessons for 4 hours, plus an hour of tutoring. It's ridiculously mentally straining, but my Russian right now (after 4 weeks) is as good as my Spanish was after 2-3 years in high school classes, so I'm not complaining too much!

We also teach classes! I've taught 5 English classes so far to 5th, 7th, and 9th graders. I've had a blast teaching them various vocab and grammar (lots of present perfect continuous tense work!). We've been writing formal lesson and unit plans, so it's great to feel like a real teacher and be doing the work of one.

Kazakhstan is a cool place. Most people in this village are really friendly and love speaking to the Americans. I go to the bazar pretty regularly and now that my Russian is improving, people give me discounts because I'm a foreigner who can communicate (albeit brokenly) with them!

Also, it's a beautiful country. When you look to the East, you see the Tien Shan mountains and their snow capped peakes, which fill me with awe each time. They're truly magestic and if you're gutsy, you can climb over them into Kyrgystan (which I plan to do once I get some time).

Anyways, I'll be in this town for the duration of training and then I find out my permanant site! Very exciting. I've got my fingers crossed for somewhere nice and cold, which is a very reasonable request in this country, as it contains parts of former Siberia.

I'm going to try and upload pictures ASAP. I've got many and they'll do a much better job of showing you what it's like here than I can do rushing to get these words out over the few minutes I get on the internet. Sadly, the connection here is slow, so I'm going to try and internet cafe.

So I want all my friends to know that I love them very much. I miss all my family and friends and look forward to getting back to you all eventually. PLEASE EMAIL ME. Even if it's trivial day-to-day stuff. I feel so incredibly out of the loop and would really, really love to hear what's going on back at home.

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Sidd

Hi folks!

I'm in the Peace Corps office in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This is the first time I've been able to use the internet since my arrival. I want you to know that everything's going really well. My Russian lessons are going well, even though it's a hard language!

Soon I'll have some more time at a computer and will put up pictures and actual information and stuff, etc.

I have a cell phone you can call me on. My number is 011-777-7731-7417. That's country code and everything. If you want to call me, use a calling card because it's wicked pricey otherwise. It's my first day doing stuff in the city, so I'll try and buy an international calling card so I can call all of you too. Also, if you do call, please do it on Sunday morning. It'll be Sunday night in Kazakhstan (we're 10 hours ahead) and that's the best time.

If you want my smail mail address, please email me! Peace Corps is ninja-like and is proctective of its secrecy.

Anyways, just wanted to let you know that everything is going great, even though I do miss my friends & family! I'll update this blog ASAP with actual information. I hope you're all doing well and really, really want to hear from you!!

Love,

Sidd