A Trip To Aral

Work at PDI got off to a roaring start this year. Not only are we are beginning to prepare a methodology booklet for English teachers, and I have already been to a seminar in Aralsk. Aralsk used to be on the shores of the Aral Sea, but over the last thirty years overuse by farmers in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has caused the sea to shrink dramatically, and all that is left of Aralsk’s former status as a seaside town is an abandoned harbor. Still, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with Aralsk, probably because books like Apples are From Kazakhstan made Aralsk sound like an incredibly depressed hovel. Instead, I found a charming little village, though I will admit that the tales of environmental degradation were no exaggeration. The fishing industry is long gone, but the town continues to plug along, and people are still finding ways to make money off the sea, either as tour guides for foreign tourists or working with one of the several NGOs associated with the Aral Sea reclamation Project.


The school where I gave my seminar was located right next to the former harbor and was very nice. The teachers that work there, including one of my former students, spoke very good English, and the students I saw during a question and answer question were very attentive and intelligent. In fact, though I was still a recovering from bad train food, the Aral seminar was probably one of my best because the teachers were so cooperative.


However though the people of Aralsk are doing just fine, the loss of the Aral Sea has not been without consequences. The air is incredibly dry, as if the atmosphere has not gotten used to the fact that it cannot just draw moisture from the water whenever it wants anymore. I drank water like crazy to make up for this, but I was still mildly dehydrated for much of the time I was there. I guess that over time you adapt to this to this problem, as I did not see any of them guzzling water, but it would be challenge for any PCV that got sent there. That said, physical challenges aside, Aralsk might be a great site. It is a rather far from the city, but the right volunteer, someone adventurous and totally independent would have a great time there. There are more than enough challenges to keep them busy with projects for two years. I know that I would be the one up for it, but I think that I will mention it to Alma when we do site development, lord knows they could use a volunteer, and it would definitely be one of the most interesting sites in Kazakhstan.