HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS, PART TWO

Some years ago, Allen Say wrote a children’s book called “My Grandfather’s Journey.”  In it he describes his grandfather’s two loves, Japan and America.  The grandson telling the story also falls in love with America, and moves back and forth between the United States and Japan.  But his biggest problem is that while he is in one place, he longs for the other. 

This is my experience.  I am happy here, but I still long for my friends in the places where I have lived before.  I miss my wonderful Japanese friend Okanosan, who helped me with my housekeeping and became an honorary grandmother to my boys when they were very young. She was a classical music lover who almost fell down the stairs laughing when she walked in on my boys watching Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny’s version of Wagner’s “Ring of the Nieberlüngen.”

I miss my Primary (LDS Sunday school for youngsters) class in England, where one eight-year old  perfectionist used to sing “the Lord can depend on me” and then added “sometimes.”  That boy set the bar high for himself!

I miss my little sister, with whom I had a wonderful visit over the holidays.   She has endured many things and hopes to be able to endure all things, and teaches me to be a better person.  I am grateful for her influence in my life.

But I love Kazkahstan as well.  I love the sense of safety here.  It is safe to be a child here in Kazakhstan – they are shielded from the ugliness of the world by their parents and teachers alike.  It is safe to show affection for a child – nearly every student of mine greeted me with a hug on the first day back at school.  It is safe to greet a child – in fact, most children greet us first, whether or not they know us.   I am safe as I walk to and from school.  It’s only the distance of 6 or 7 city blocks, but in many places in the world, that is more than enough distance to be risky. 

I love the sense of calm here.  Yes, a blanket of snow definitely contributes to that feeling, but winter here seems to have the additional effect of slowing people down.  People are not in a hurry to accomplish tasks.  Yes, there is a lot to do, but the pace seems more relaxed than it did in October or November.  People work with fewer complaints, and students understand that we can succeed if we help each other, and we are ready to work again, even while we celebrate the “Old New Year” – the celebration of the New Year following Russian Orthodox Christmas.  

This year, that celebration came on January 14^th, our principal’s 50^th birthday.  Quite a momentous occasion, New Year and a culturally significant milestone birthday.  Jim and I were part of a not-quite-spontaneous celebration and enjoyed our time in singing, clapping, and listening to the good wishes teachers had for each other and for our principal.

I am grateful for the loves of my life – the United States, France, Sweden, Japan, England, Netherlands, Korea, Italy, Tonga, and now Kazakhstan.  Each love has enriched the other, and although I sometimes long for the green of Tonga, or the trains of Tokyo, or the nearly endless fields of daffodils near Feltwell, England, or the awe-inspiring scale of history in Italy and Korea, still, I love where I am, and I am grateful for the lessons I am learning here.  Many happy returns from the wintry calm of a noble land and people. 

HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS - PART ONE

A scene along the road here in Kazakhstan.

A typical classroom at our school.  Yes, those are
teachers, not students.  Oh well.

Living in Kazakhstan is both very ordinary and very unique.  I spend my day working with teenagers, like millions of other teachers.  But after a lesson, my students come up to me to hug me  – I’ve even received applause for a counseling lesson.  I watch students who put their arms around each other while walking down the hall, talking and laughing like brothers and sisters.  I watched one girl who held the hand of another girl who has trouble walking, supporting her to help keep her balance. (Neither was a student of mine.) I congratulated them both and they were completely taken by surprise, since it was second nature to them.  Then I took the helper’s arm and said, “Here, help me too,” and we all laughed together.  I never would feel comfortable doing that to an unfamiliar student in an American school.  But here I am family.

Our school faculty and staff had a dinner party in December, celebrating the end of the second quarter of school.  There was music, dancing, and even silly games, and I watched a wonderful camaraderie in action, as some of the men played a game of musical potty chairs and the women trying to count how many rocks were on the seat of the chair where they were sitting – without looking, of course.  And at dinner, as I have seen many times in the school cafeteria, teachers laughed and hugged as they visited, alternately teasing and reassuring each other of their friendships. And when they danced together, they celebrated with a joy I have seldom seen in a group of teachers.  It was marvelous to be a part of a celebration of brothers and sisters.

Jim and two of the teachers here at NIS

My three co-teachers and I.

We got back from our stateside Christmas holiday trip on Wednesday the 8^th of January, and January 9^th was our first day back at school.  Even before I got into the school building, one of the teachers saw me coming and threw her arms around me, telling me how happy she was that we were back.   Kazakh women greet each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but the hugs and kisses today have been especially sweet.  Kazakh men shake hands with their right hand, but draw each other in by clapping each other on the back, and Jim’s been welcomed back a few times today as well.  We've  also had happy greetings from our fellow international teachers, and our supervisor came to check on us before the day even started, because he was concerned about us, since we had lost our luggage on the way back. 

Sunrise from our bedroom window.
Cold is a way of life here...no polar vortex needed

In all our years of marriage, this is only the second time the Szokas have lost luggage.  We got to the city of Almaty, the largest city in the nation (1.5 million), and zhok!  No bags! It made it easy to come through customs, as we really DID have nothing to declare!  But waiting for us outside the customs doors were the Carters, a missionary couple who have befriended us.  They are assigned to help the small LDS congregation in Almaty.  They gave us bags of brown sugar and ranch dressing mix, since we can’t find those items in Taldykorgan.  (We brought them a couple of bottles of vanilla extract from the US.)  No worries about the luggage, though - after we got to school, our Kazakh international vice principal Alisher (say Ah-lee-SHAIR) traced our bags through the airlines,  and provided a driver to go get them and bring them to us (about 8-10 hours round trip - whew!).  We had our bags delivered by Alisher at 9 p.m. that night - he wouldn't even let me come downstairs to carry one bag up.  He is younger than both Jim and me, but we call him Papa, because he cares for us as though we were his own sons and daughters.  We're happy to be home, where our hearts are.  We're with family - even though many other members of our family are far away.

A CAPITAL PLACE

This is a war memorial - that little light spot to the left of the 
base of the column is a full-grown man - that's how big this is.

We are spending a few days in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.  This  city is similar to Brasilia and Canberra in that it is a chosen site for a national capital that was designed intentionally and built purposefully. Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union until the Union's collapse in 1991, when it became an independent republic.  Some of the statues in this capital city reflect the heroic scale of Soviet monuments, while others reflect the history, cultural touchpoints, and humor of the people of this region.

The war memorial is called Mother Motherland.  Here she holds an empty amber bowl, symbolizing the suffering caused by war. 

Walk around behind the column and you see that the globe includes a representation 
of the Silk Road, an ancient trade route which runs through Kazakhstan.  

Obviously the dates in this sundial-themed statue are significant - I haven't found an answer 
as to why 2012 is on the statue. I have lots of questions, but can't ask them in Russian yet, 
much less understand the answers!

The Bayterek Tower connects the new and the old.  There is an old Kazakh story about a bird laying its egg in the sacred tree of life.  This 97-meter tall tower symbolizes the tree and the sphere is the egg,which represents both happiness and new beginnings.  Visitors can ride elevators to the top of the tower and explore from inside the egg, viewing the promises of the new city being established in all directions, honoring the past, cherishing the present, and looking forward to the future.

Sitting in the middle of a patch of petunias, a stylized camel and rider.  

A mare and foal, on a streetcorner.  Signs of wear and tear, but still beautiful.

Painted topiary horses, too, along the sidewalk.

Fanciful dromedary and bactrian camels - baby camel symbols are everywhere here, much as baby rabbits in the US.

The statues are for touching, as well as looking, and who wouldn't want a ride
 on a painted pony?