April 4, 2008
16. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Gentlemen of the Road was written by the same guy who wrote the novel Cavileer and Clay, the fictionalized history of Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, so I knew ahead of time that it was going to be good and it did not disappoint. This is one of those rare books that is not only a good airport reader, but also an interesting, complex novel. It is really short so a person can easily finish it in about 6-8 hours, but you are likely to spend the next four hours thinking about it. The novel follows two honorable yet criminal highwaymen as they travel around the fictionalized nation of Kazaria. Just as they finish another scam they are roped into escorting and protecting a “prince” of Kazaria whose father was deposed and murdered, and the two “gentlemen” who prefer solitude and anonymity become entangled in palace intrigue and war.
17. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
This memoir follows one of Waco, TX’s favorite sons, Steve Martin, from his early life and career as a small time magician and comedian to America’s number one stand-up act, and explains why, at the top of his game, Martin left stand-up comedy forever. Martin is a great writer, and he paints a vivid picture of life as a stand-up comedian and the struggles that one faces in achieving success in that field. I have to admit that before I read this book I generally thought that stand-up comedy was mostly a mixture of talent and luck, but this book shows just how much work it actually is and how success can bring with it the depression, drug use, and addiction that prematurely ends careers and lives as was the case with other great comedians John Belushi and Chris Farley.
18. Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks
If you have ever turned on CNN and wondered what the hell is going on in Iraq and why are we even there in the first place, this is the book for you. It follows the War in Iraq from the lead up to war in early 2003 to the surge of 2007 and details how a the machinations a few key political figures, conflict between the military and the Bush Administration, and the inability of our generals and political leaders to a new type of warfare led to a “fiasco” in Iraq and has landed us in a quagmire that threatens to be the most embarrassing and damaging foreign policy action in United States history. What was great about this book was that as the author goes through all of the mistakes that had been made, such as Bush’s false claims of WMD’s, Rumsfield’s insistence on fewer troops, Gen. Tommy Franks’ lack of overall strategy, and mistreatment of detainees, the author does not engage in partisan attacks but lays blame where it is due, regardless of political party. In fact, early on in the book he condemns democrats and the “liberal media,” for refusing to investigate the administrations claims more thoroughly and rolling over because war was “inevitable.” The book also was interesting in that it lays out the most likely end results of our actions in Iraq, civil war or, even more worrisome, the rise of a new caliphate.
19. Heartfire by Orson Scott Card
20. Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
I may not like Orson Scott Card’s political and social ideas, and he is a bit of a jerk in person, but I have to say that I still really like his books. This is the second time that I have read each of these novels, and they were just as much fun the second time around as they were the first. Heartfire is the fifth novel in the “Alvin Maker Series” that takes place in an alternate early America where people have special powers and abilities. Furthermore, the United States was never created; rather the continent is made up of various small states like the Crown Colonies, Apalachee, and New England. I think what I like most about this series is comparing the true history of the United States with Card’s version and seeing how if certain events had played out differently our country would indeed look and feel much different than it does today.
Shadow of the Hegemon is nearly the complete opposite. It is part of the “Shadow Series,” a spin-off from Card’s “Ender Series.” Shadow of the Hegemon continues the story of the super intelligent child general, Bean, and his efforts to save his friends, defeat his greatest enemy, and bring peace to a fracturing world. The one thing I do not always like about this series is that Card’s ideas about International Relations are not usually that accurate and always run too conservative in my opinion. Overall however, I have no big complaints. After all, Card has my hometown of Greensboro, NC still going strong in 200 years!
пятница, 4 апреля 2008 г.
IST-Almaty
March 31, 2008
We got to Almaty early in the morning of the 24th after a long and sleepless bus ride. To be sure the bus was definitely cheaper and faster than the train, but I definitely wondered if the ability to lie down might have been worth the 1000 tenge after all. The first stop when we got to Almaty was the Peace Corps office, which promised free Internet, a shower, and drinking water that did not require a three-hour distillation process. A few hours later after checking email and a breakfast of Ramen noodles we were ready to head out again. IST did not start until the 25th so we had a full day to explore the city as we saw fit, and for the Kazak Language group that meant heading home to Chamalgan to visit our families for the afternoon. I had a great visit with my “mom” and “dad.” I think they were impressed with how much better my Kazak had gotten, and they were interested to hear what I had been doing and Kyzylorda and how much I liked it. I also met a few new relatives. An elderly Russian aunt came over and for a minute she actually thought I was a “blond” Kazak of the North who because of my fair complexion and the fact that I spoke Kazak. Just to give a bit of background, many people in Kazakhstan think that the ancient Kazaks of legend were blond haired and blue eyed before the first Mongol invasions gave everyone more Asiatic features. Thus, my aunt was saying that I reminded her something akin to the Lost City of Atlantis or maybe Troy. After the visit we headed back to the city to check into the Sanitarium and to get ready for long three days of meetings.
Most of the meetings during IST were pretty good, but nothing special. There was however, one session that everyone agreed was pretty mind-blowing. Andrea Schneider, who helps American teachers working in Central Asia, talked about our purpose here in Kazakhstan and our most important responsibilities, to speak English in class as much as possible, to hold our students accountable to higher standards. She argued that we were not just to provide schools with a native speaker, but also to present students and teachers with a grassroots example of and alternative education system. The Kazak system is good but it has a few fundamental flaws. First, cheating is widespread. Students regularly engage in “cooperative work” on tests and important assignments. The bigger problem however, is that far too much responsibility for a student’s success is put on the teacher’s shoulders. If for some reason after cheating on their test a student still fails, the teacher gets yelled for not teaching them properly, rarely does anyone blame the student for simply not studying. Thus, teachers often give students higher grades than they deserve simply because they do not want to get into trouble. The cheating and misplaced responsibility may not seem to be a huge problem like such a big deal, but the unfortunate result is that the diplomas become extremely devalued. I do not know how easy it will be to follow Ms. Schneider’s advice. We are often treated more like guest lecturers than real teachers, and giving grades is almost impossible since we are not allowed to write in the books and the teachers rarely accept the grades we give them. Still, I was definitely affected by her talk and am going to try to turn over a new leaf in the classroom as soon as possible. I believe that making real change is much more possible by making my students accountable than by doing grammar drills and role-playing exercises, and as a bonus I will not be insanely frustrated at the end of two years.
We got to Almaty early in the morning of the 24th after a long and sleepless bus ride. To be sure the bus was definitely cheaper and faster than the train, but I definitely wondered if the ability to lie down might have been worth the 1000 tenge after all. The first stop when we got to Almaty was the Peace Corps office, which promised free Internet, a shower, and drinking water that did not require a three-hour distillation process. A few hours later after checking email and a breakfast of Ramen noodles we were ready to head out again. IST did not start until the 25th so we had a full day to explore the city as we saw fit, and for the Kazak Language group that meant heading home to Chamalgan to visit our families for the afternoon. I had a great visit with my “mom” and “dad.” I think they were impressed with how much better my Kazak had gotten, and they were interested to hear what I had been doing and Kyzylorda and how much I liked it. I also met a few new relatives. An elderly Russian aunt came over and for a minute she actually thought I was a “blond” Kazak of the North who because of my fair complexion and the fact that I spoke Kazak. Just to give a bit of background, many people in Kazakhstan think that the ancient Kazaks of legend were blond haired and blue eyed before the first Mongol invasions gave everyone more Asiatic features. Thus, my aunt was saying that I reminded her something akin to the Lost City of Atlantis or maybe Troy. After the visit we headed back to the city to check into the Sanitarium and to get ready for long three days of meetings.
Most of the meetings during IST were pretty good, but nothing special. There was however, one session that everyone agreed was pretty mind-blowing. Andrea Schneider, who helps American teachers working in Central Asia, talked about our purpose here in Kazakhstan and our most important responsibilities, to speak English in class as much as possible, to hold our students accountable to higher standards. She argued that we were not just to provide schools with a native speaker, but also to present students and teachers with a grassroots example of and alternative education system. The Kazak system is good but it has a few fundamental flaws. First, cheating is widespread. Students regularly engage in “cooperative work” on tests and important assignments. The bigger problem however, is that far too much responsibility for a student’s success is put on the teacher’s shoulders. If for some reason after cheating on their test a student still fails, the teacher gets yelled for not teaching them properly, rarely does anyone blame the student for simply not studying. Thus, teachers often give students higher grades than they deserve simply because they do not want to get into trouble. The cheating and misplaced responsibility may not seem to be a huge problem like such a big deal, but the unfortunate result is that the diplomas become extremely devalued. I do not know how easy it will be to follow Ms. Schneider’s advice. We are often treated more like guest lecturers than real teachers, and giving grades is almost impossible since we are not allowed to write in the books and the teachers rarely accept the grades we give them. Still, I was definitely affected by her talk and am going to try to turn over a new leaf in the classroom as soon as possible. I believe that making real change is much more possible by making my students accountable than by doing grammar drills and role-playing exercises, and as a bonus I will not be insanely frustrated at the end of two years.
Nauryz!!
March 23, 2008
After seven months and Kazakhstan and four months at site, I was in serious need of a vacation, and “Spring Break” arrived just in the nick of time. On Monday, I am headed to Almaty to meet with the rest of the Kaz 19’s for five days of meetings and hopefully, bonding. This weekend though, several of us came to Shymkent, the second largest in Kazakhstan for the annual festival of Nauryz. Nauryz is the traditional Kazak New Year and is the biggest holiday of the year, especially in the Shymkent, where Kazak culture is dominant. We decided to take the bus from Kyzylorda because it was only seven hours vs. nine hours on the train, but now I can see why people like to take the train. The bus was comfortable and definitely faster, but we probably would have been much quieter on the train. We ended up sitting right next a young family with a baby that would scream every few minutes. That would not have been a problem except for the parents’ inability or unwillingness to shut the kid up. One of the female volunteers who has become rather disillusioned with the Kazak male said that this was because Kazak families spoil their sons rotten. Anyway, we eventually got there at around 8 P.M. and headed to the café to meet up with the rest of the volunteers and figure out where we would be staying for the weekend. After a few hours at a small café, reconnecting with fellow volunteers that we had not seen in the last several months, we headed back to the apartments to get over the super long bus ride.
The next day we went to Aksu, a small village next to Shimkent, where Eric, a fellow Chamalgan trainee, is living and working, and unlike many other Kazak sites, Aksu is predominantly Uzbek. The Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan border is only 50 miles away, so at first I thought that the Uzbek majority might be due to recent immigration, but it turns out that in fact the Uzbeks have been there for generations, and the only reason that they are living in Kazakhstan is due to the way that the Russian’s drew the borders! Even though it is a village, Aksu is nicer than most Kazak cities I have seen. It is certainly more beautiful than Kyzylorda! Most of the streets were paved, there was green grass, and it was amazingly clean. Eric took us to his college and introduced us to a few of his best students. The students were very friendly and clearly liked “Mr. Eric, so it was obvious that Eric was doing a good job. After the visit to the college we went to meet Eric’s family. Eric lives with an Uzbek family, and their house reflected their background. They live in a huge compound that the grandfather had built room by room with his own hands. Furthermore, unlike the typical Russian or Kazak house that is usually square, Eric’s Uzbek house is u-shaped. After a late lunch, we headed back to the city and then headed out for a night on the town.
The next morning was Nauryz, the traditional Kazak New Year, and as Shimkent is the largest predominantly Kazak city, it was ground zero for the festivities. At 11:00 we went to the hippodrome, which was five times the size of the hippodrome in Kyzylorda and settled in for an exciting day of traditional Kazak activities! First, we sat down for a light lunch of pilaf, shashleak, and Shimkent beer. Then we settled in to watch Kyz Kou, Kokpar, and some good old-fashioned horseracing. Kyz Kou is a game where a pair of riders, one man and one woman, chase each other on horseback. The first time they race, the man chases the woman trying to kiss her before they get to the end of the track. They then turn around and the woman chases the man while trying to hit him with a whip. It was pretty neat looking, and the female volunteers were particularly entertained. Kok Par is a lot like polo, but instead of using a ball and mallets they drag a goat carcass around by its hair. Don’t worry, they cut the head and legs off and sew it up before hand to make a kind of a goat suitcase, so it is not that gross. After such a large dose of Kazak culture, many of us were looking for something a bit for familiar and as fate would have it, Shimkent provided that too in the form of the Mega Center. The Mega Center is just like an American Mall, complete with ice rink, food court, grocery store, expensive clothing boutiques, and even an apple store. Needless to say, it was a rather trippy experience, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It was also nice to know that whenever I get homesick, I can just take the bus down to Shimkent for a weekend of retail therapy and I will soon be put to rights.
The last day in Shimkent was rather low key. We just packed up and got ready to leave for Almaty. Some of us went back to the Mega Center to do some shopping or in my case play video games, and then finally at 8:00 PM it was time to go to the bus station and catch our bus for the 12-hour ride to Almaty. I will not go into details but let me just say that between other bad movies, infrequent rest stops and other volunteers getting car sick, it was not that much fun, but at least we had memories of Nauryz to sustain us.
After seven months and Kazakhstan and four months at site, I was in serious need of a vacation, and “Spring Break” arrived just in the nick of time. On Monday, I am headed to Almaty to meet with the rest of the Kaz 19’s for five days of meetings and hopefully, bonding. This weekend though, several of us came to Shymkent, the second largest in Kazakhstan for the annual festival of Nauryz. Nauryz is the traditional Kazak New Year and is the biggest holiday of the year, especially in the Shymkent, where Kazak culture is dominant. We decided to take the bus from Kyzylorda because it was only seven hours vs. nine hours on the train, but now I can see why people like to take the train. The bus was comfortable and definitely faster, but we probably would have been much quieter on the train. We ended up sitting right next a young family with a baby that would scream every few minutes. That would not have been a problem except for the parents’ inability or unwillingness to shut the kid up. One of the female volunteers who has become rather disillusioned with the Kazak male said that this was because Kazak families spoil their sons rotten. Anyway, we eventually got there at around 8 P.M. and headed to the café to meet up with the rest of the volunteers and figure out where we would be staying for the weekend. After a few hours at a small café, reconnecting with fellow volunteers that we had not seen in the last several months, we headed back to the apartments to get over the super long bus ride.
The next day we went to Aksu, a small village next to Shimkent, where Eric, a fellow Chamalgan trainee, is living and working, and unlike many other Kazak sites, Aksu is predominantly Uzbek. The Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan border is only 50 miles away, so at first I thought that the Uzbek majority might be due to recent immigration, but it turns out that in fact the Uzbeks have been there for generations, and the only reason that they are living in Kazakhstan is due to the way that the Russian’s drew the borders! Even though it is a village, Aksu is nicer than most Kazak cities I have seen. It is certainly more beautiful than Kyzylorda! Most of the streets were paved, there was green grass, and it was amazingly clean. Eric took us to his college and introduced us to a few of his best students. The students were very friendly and clearly liked “Mr. Eric, so it was obvious that Eric was doing a good job. After the visit to the college we went to meet Eric’s family. Eric lives with an Uzbek family, and their house reflected their background. They live in a huge compound that the grandfather had built room by room with his own hands. Furthermore, unlike the typical Russian or Kazak house that is usually square, Eric’s Uzbek house is u-shaped. After a late lunch, we headed back to the city and then headed out for a night on the town.
The next morning was Nauryz, the traditional Kazak New Year, and as Shimkent is the largest predominantly Kazak city, it was ground zero for the festivities. At 11:00 we went to the hippodrome, which was five times the size of the hippodrome in Kyzylorda and settled in for an exciting day of traditional Kazak activities! First, we sat down for a light lunch of pilaf, shashleak, and Shimkent beer. Then we settled in to watch Kyz Kou, Kokpar, and some good old-fashioned horseracing. Kyz Kou is a game where a pair of riders, one man and one woman, chase each other on horseback. The first time they race, the man chases the woman trying to kiss her before they get to the end of the track. They then turn around and the woman chases the man while trying to hit him with a whip. It was pretty neat looking, and the female volunteers were particularly entertained. Kok Par is a lot like polo, but instead of using a ball and mallets they drag a goat carcass around by its hair. Don’t worry, they cut the head and legs off and sew it up before hand to make a kind of a goat suitcase, so it is not that gross. After such a large dose of Kazak culture, many of us were looking for something a bit for familiar and as fate would have it, Shimkent provided that too in the form of the Mega Center. The Mega Center is just like an American Mall, complete with ice rink, food court, grocery store, expensive clothing boutiques, and even an apple store. Needless to say, it was a rather trippy experience, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It was also nice to know that whenever I get homesick, I can just take the bus down to Shimkent for a weekend of retail therapy and I will soon be put to rights.
The last day in Shimkent was rather low key. We just packed up and got ready to leave for Almaty. Some of us went back to the Mega Center to do some shopping or in my case play video games, and then finally at 8:00 PM it was time to go to the bus station and catch our bus for the 12-hour ride to Almaty. I will not go into details but let me just say that between other bad movies, infrequent rest stops and other volunteers getting car sick, it was not that much fun, but at least we had memories of Nauryz to sustain us.
воскресенье, 9 марта 2008 г.
A Public Citizen
March 6, 2008
The other day at Contact Club’s weekly conversation club we were discussing media in Kazakhstan and America and Britney Spears was brought up. Someone said that the American media was hounding her and invading her privacy, but I pointed out that while the media is definitely contributing to her mental collapse, her lack of privacy is as much her fault as it is the media’s. Britney Spears is a public citizen and as such has lost of the right to privacy that ordinary people take for granted. Furthermore, at least until recently she constantly sought attention. In fact, that attention was the foundation of her financial success, from her music career, to her perfume, clothing, and other endorsements deals. As I made my argument however, I realized that now, due to my Peace Corps experience, I too am a public citizen.
Here in Kyzylorda, actions that would be considered trivial in the United States are newsworthy. For example, last month I visited a school and sang a Kazak song, and this was considered a newsworthy event important enough to be on TV and in the newspaper. I am no longer simply McKenzie Clark and teaching English is just a small part of the role I play here. I am now Mr. Clark, American Volunteer, and thus everything I say or do reflects not only me personally but also on my organization and my country. The opposite is also true. I was even asked one time to explain George Bush and American Middle East policy as if I represented the entire American electorate or came up with the policy myself. Furthermore, all three of us, at least to a certain extent, watch what we do and say and think, and so our trips to the sauna are important not just for cleanliness, but it is also the one place where we can let everything out. It is definitely tiring to be a symbol of America twenty-four hours a day, but it is also very rewarding, not only in regards to interviews and autographs, but also because I know I have a chance to really influence how people see America and Americans, especially at a time when many of our international relationships are strained. In the end, on those days that are hard, I just remind myself that I chose this and remember that this will be excellent training if I ever want to have a career in politics.
The other day at Contact Club’s weekly conversation club we were discussing media in Kazakhstan and America and Britney Spears was brought up. Someone said that the American media was hounding her and invading her privacy, but I pointed out that while the media is definitely contributing to her mental collapse, her lack of privacy is as much her fault as it is the media’s. Britney Spears is a public citizen and as such has lost of the right to privacy that ordinary people take for granted. Furthermore, at least until recently she constantly sought attention. In fact, that attention was the foundation of her financial success, from her music career, to her perfume, clothing, and other endorsements deals. As I made my argument however, I realized that now, due to my Peace Corps experience, I too am a public citizen.
Here in Kyzylorda, actions that would be considered trivial in the United States are newsworthy. For example, last month I visited a school and sang a Kazak song, and this was considered a newsworthy event important enough to be on TV and in the newspaper. I am no longer simply McKenzie Clark and teaching English is just a small part of the role I play here. I am now Mr. Clark, American Volunteer, and thus everything I say or do reflects not only me personally but also on my organization and my country. The opposite is also true. I was even asked one time to explain George Bush and American Middle East policy as if I represented the entire American electorate or came up with the policy myself. Furthermore, all three of us, at least to a certain extent, watch what we do and say and think, and so our trips to the sauna are important not just for cleanliness, but it is also the one place where we can let everything out. It is definitely tiring to be a symbol of America twenty-four hours a day, but it is also very rewarding, not only in regards to interviews and autographs, but also because I know I have a chance to really influence how people see America and Americans, especially at a time when many of our international relationships are strained. In the end, on those days that are hard, I just remind myself that I chose this and remember that this will be excellent training if I ever want to have a career in politics.
Spring is in the Air
March 3, 2008
It is official: Spring has come to Kyzylorda. How do I know this? The first clue was the sinus congestion that I always get this time of year. I thought that I would be safe living in a place with no green plants, much less pollen, but no such luck. I do have to admit though that my allergies were much less severe than they are normally so perhaps desert living agrees with me. The big sign of spring’s arrival however, is all of the couples that I see everywhere. The river is especially popular, and I regularly see fifteen to twenty couples hugging and making out on one of the park benches along the bank. At first, all of these public displays of affection struck me as strange, particularly in a culture that is usually demur about love and sex, but then I realized that the reason is that they have nowhere else to go. In Kazakhstan, most young people live with their parents who keep a close eye on their children’s friends and relationships, so a hook up in the basement when your parents were away would be difficult if not impossible. Some young people that do have cars and use them as rendezvous spots, but the vast majority do not and so turn to the only place that they can be together in private, public areas like parks, promenades or even the Korkit Ata Monument.
I know that parents and community leaders believe that by forcing their kids to romance in the public eye will keep them from engaging in risky behaviors, but from what I have seen in the last five months it has the unintended consequence of encouraging people to get married when they are very young. If people are told they can only have sex when they are married they are going to get married as soon as possible. For example, in one of my 4th year courses I have three nineteen year-old girls who are married, one has an eighth month old child and the other two are currently pregnant. That said, sex is not the only factor that promotes Kazaks to marry early. Most families vocally encourage their daughters to be married by the time they are twenty-one or twenty-two, but to deny the influence of sex, especially on those couples who get married before they turn twenty, would be ridiculous. Also, I am in not saying that marrying young is necessarily a bad thing, but getting married before you have graduated from high school/college or lived on your own is not usually the wisest decision, especially when you are marrying the first person you date. Still, there are few divorces in Kazakhstan, and most seem very happily married so maybe they know something I do not. In the meantime though, I will just enjoy the warm weather and sunshine, and maybe get a little jealous of all those couples as I run past.
It is official: Spring has come to Kyzylorda. How do I know this? The first clue was the sinus congestion that I always get this time of year. I thought that I would be safe living in a place with no green plants, much less pollen, but no such luck. I do have to admit though that my allergies were much less severe than they are normally so perhaps desert living agrees with me. The big sign of spring’s arrival however, is all of the couples that I see everywhere. The river is especially popular, and I regularly see fifteen to twenty couples hugging and making out on one of the park benches along the bank. At first, all of these public displays of affection struck me as strange, particularly in a culture that is usually demur about love and sex, but then I realized that the reason is that they have nowhere else to go. In Kazakhstan, most young people live with their parents who keep a close eye on their children’s friends and relationships, so a hook up in the basement when your parents were away would be difficult if not impossible. Some young people that do have cars and use them as rendezvous spots, but the vast majority do not and so turn to the only place that they can be together in private, public areas like parks, promenades or even the Korkit Ata Monument.
I know that parents and community leaders believe that by forcing their kids to romance in the public eye will keep them from engaging in risky behaviors, but from what I have seen in the last five months it has the unintended consequence of encouraging people to get married when they are very young. If people are told they can only have sex when they are married they are going to get married as soon as possible. For example, in one of my 4th year courses I have three nineteen year-old girls who are married, one has an eighth month old child and the other two are currently pregnant. That said, sex is not the only factor that promotes Kazaks to marry early. Most families vocally encourage their daughters to be married by the time they are twenty-one or twenty-two, but to deny the influence of sex, especially on those couples who get married before they turn twenty, would be ridiculous. Also, I am in not saying that marrying young is necessarily a bad thing, but getting married before you have graduated from high school/college or lived on your own is not usually the wisest decision, especially when you are marrying the first person you date. Still, there are few divorces in Kazakhstan, and most seem very happily married so maybe they know something I do not. In the meantime though, I will just enjoy the warm weather and sunshine, and maybe get a little jealous of all those couples as I run past.
понедельник, 3 марта 2008 г.
Reading List
February 28, 2008
Being a Peace Corps volunteer is a lot of hard work. Teaching English, speaking a foreign language, and trying not to do anything culturally inappropriate is a full time job and is physically and emotionally exhausting. Still, we do generally have a fair bit of free time in which to read or hang out. In the six months I have read several books from the intellectual to the embarrassing and I list them here because maybe even if you are not a Peace Corps volunteer you can still read like one if you want.
1. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
2. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
I brought these Lewis books with me to Kazakhstan because I had never read them and I knew that I was going to Muslim nation and wanted to keep my Christian theology sharp. I found Lewis’ ideas interesting and his logic nearly flawless for the most part. Still, I found myself disagreeing with several of his ideas such as the nature of the Trinity. Lewis envisions two beings or intelligences, the Father and the Son and the love between them is the Holy Spirit. This may make me heretical, but I have a hard time with the idea of God in Three persons, even if they are of “one mind and purpose.” It just seems inconsistent with monotheistic thought. Instead I like to look at God as one looks at a regular person, one being with three different jobs or aspects. For example, just as my dad is a lawyer, a son, and a father, so too is God the Father who watches over us, the Son who died for us, and the Spirit who guides us. I would recommend Lewis to almost anyone, whether they were an atheist or a conservative Christian, because while he may not totally change the nature of your belief, he will at least make you think.
3. River God by Wilbur Smith
This was a historical novel about Ancient Egypt. In the afterword, the author seems to be making the claim that his novel is sort of a rough transcription of several ancient scrolls from a recently found temple, and its hard to tell whether he is making a joke or actually thinks that what happened. It is narrated by a brilliant eunuch in Pharaoh’s court and covers a forty-year period from the splitting of the two kingdoms and invasion of the Sumerians through the Pharaoh’s exile and counter-invasion. It is a good book, and the realistic historically rooted plot moves smoothly, but you will never mistake this book for a history lesson. This is a great airplane or travel book. It will fill the time nicely but definitely not life altering.
4. Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card
5 Area 51: Legend by Bob Mayer
All right, I am almost embarrassed to admit I read this book. The basic premise is that there are evil aliens with advanced technology that resemble the sword Excalibur and the Holy Grail of Legend. The heroes of the story are trying to find these objects so that they can defeat the aliens and liberate humanity from the shadow war being waged between the aliens and even worse threat. This books one saving grace was that it was a quick read and made the train ride to Kyzylorda go faster, but if you try to make sense of all of the plot holes you will just give yourself a headache.
6. Roman Blood by Steven Saylor
7. Roma by Steven Saylor
I first read Roman Blood several years ago and since then have been a big fan of his work, especially his Roma Sub Rosa mystery novel series. I brought Roman Blood with me from home because I knew it was a guaranteed good read and I figured that I might run into a fellow classics major who might interested in reading it too. I also brought with me Saylor’s latest book, Roma, which follows one Roman family 2,000 years from the first settlers on the seven hills to the foundation of the city, through the Cataline conspiracy and finally to the death of Caesar. Furthermore, while it is fictional, there is much more history in it than River God. In fact, since Livy is pretty dry, I might even recommend that a beginning classics student might want to read this first to get a rough sketch. I look forward to seeing what Saylor comes up with next and cannot wait to read his next book that comes out in May. (Hi Mom)
8. The Brethren by John Grisham
9. The King of Torts by John Grisham
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
11. The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer
This is one of the best books that I have read in a long time, and I would like to thank my fellow volunteer for letting me borrow his copy. It is Moehringer’s memoir of growing in a very dysfunctional Irish family and how he found comfort and support with the men who worked at the local bar. Even if you have a father and your family is relatively normal, you will definitely get a lot out of this book, although being Irish definitely helps in understanding his complex relationship with his father and his attraction to bars.
12. I am America, and So Can You by Stephen Colbert
13. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
A story of growing up in America during the 1950s, I thought this book was hilarious not just because Bill Bryson is a great writer and very funny, but in many ways Kazakhstan is America 50 years ago. For example, from November to March, every child is wrapped up in a snowsuit that is warm and toasty is impossible to move in, and just as Bryson recalls playing with Mercury or running after the DDT truck, people here in Kazakhstan are burn their trash and blame the hot weather on the space launches in Baikanoor rather than their own and drive old, gas guzzling cars, all while blaming the space launches in Baikanor for the summer heat. Still, as much as I shake my head at such cluelessness, it is fun to read about that more innocent time. I just hope that as Kazakhstan moves forward, it takes the things that we have done well, such as technology and environmental consciousness, and leaves behind our less beneficial additions to history like Kmart and McDonalds.
14. The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
15. Remembering America by Richard Goodwin
Mr. Goodwin’s book is a powerful chronicle of one of the most important periods of American history, the 1960s. Using his own political and personal journey through that turbulent decade, Goodwin reminds everyone, even if they were there themselves, of the powerful hope and promise of the early part of the decade and the tragedy and dejection that brought it to a close. As much as I was interested in his reflections on John and Robert Kennedy, I think the section of the book that I enjoyed most was the passage about Lyndon Johnson. While both Kennedy’s loss their lives in senseless violence, it was Johnson’s life and career that was a true classical tragedy. It was heartbreaking to read how Johnson was, as Hilary Clinton recently stated, ultimately responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act, as well other pieces of landmark legislation such as Medicare and Medicaid, and then how it was all lost due to his stubborn refusal to leave the quagmire of Vietnam. Goodwin’s book was not just a reflection of lost dreams, however. He also reminds us that, though we have spent the last forty years in sitting in depressive apathy, complaining about the state of the world, but not doing anything about it, we can usher in a New America if we work for it. I hope that this election will usher in a new “sixties.” The last eight years have seen political process twisted, the constitution suspended, and the American Dream buried, but after reading this book I hold on to the belief that we can still turn things around.
Being a Peace Corps volunteer is a lot of hard work. Teaching English, speaking a foreign language, and trying not to do anything culturally inappropriate is a full time job and is physically and emotionally exhausting. Still, we do generally have a fair bit of free time in which to read or hang out. In the six months I have read several books from the intellectual to the embarrassing and I list them here because maybe even if you are not a Peace Corps volunteer you can still read like one if you want.
1. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
2. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
I brought these Lewis books with me to Kazakhstan because I had never read them and I knew that I was going to Muslim nation and wanted to keep my Christian theology sharp. I found Lewis’ ideas interesting and his logic nearly flawless for the most part. Still, I found myself disagreeing with several of his ideas such as the nature of the Trinity. Lewis envisions two beings or intelligences, the Father and the Son and the love between them is the Holy Spirit. This may make me heretical, but I have a hard time with the idea of God in Three persons, even if they are of “one mind and purpose.” It just seems inconsistent with monotheistic thought. Instead I like to look at God as one looks at a regular person, one being with three different jobs or aspects. For example, just as my dad is a lawyer, a son, and a father, so too is God the Father who watches over us, the Son who died for us, and the Spirit who guides us. I would recommend Lewis to almost anyone, whether they were an atheist or a conservative Christian, because while he may not totally change the nature of your belief, he will at least make you think.
3. River God by Wilbur Smith
This was a historical novel about Ancient Egypt. In the afterword, the author seems to be making the claim that his novel is sort of a rough transcription of several ancient scrolls from a recently found temple, and its hard to tell whether he is making a joke or actually thinks that what happened. It is narrated by a brilliant eunuch in Pharaoh’s court and covers a forty-year period from the splitting of the two kingdoms and invasion of the Sumerians through the Pharaoh’s exile and counter-invasion. It is a good book, and the realistic historically rooted plot moves smoothly, but you will never mistake this book for a history lesson. This is a great airplane or travel book. It will fill the time nicely but definitely not life altering.
4. Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card
5 Area 51: Legend by Bob Mayer
All right, I am almost embarrassed to admit I read this book. The basic premise is that there are evil aliens with advanced technology that resemble the sword Excalibur and the Holy Grail of Legend. The heroes of the story are trying to find these objects so that they can defeat the aliens and liberate humanity from the shadow war being waged between the aliens and even worse threat. This books one saving grace was that it was a quick read and made the train ride to Kyzylorda go faster, but if you try to make sense of all of the plot holes you will just give yourself a headache.
6. Roman Blood by Steven Saylor
7. Roma by Steven Saylor
I first read Roman Blood several years ago and since then have been a big fan of his work, especially his Roma Sub Rosa mystery novel series. I brought Roman Blood with me from home because I knew it was a guaranteed good read and I figured that I might run into a fellow classics major who might interested in reading it too. I also brought with me Saylor’s latest book, Roma, which follows one Roman family 2,000 years from the first settlers on the seven hills to the foundation of the city, through the Cataline conspiracy and finally to the death of Caesar. Furthermore, while it is fictional, there is much more history in it than River God. In fact, since Livy is pretty dry, I might even recommend that a beginning classics student might want to read this first to get a rough sketch. I look forward to seeing what Saylor comes up with next and cannot wait to read his next book that comes out in May. (Hi Mom)
8. The Brethren by John Grisham
9. The King of Torts by John Grisham
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
11. The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer
This is one of the best books that I have read in a long time, and I would like to thank my fellow volunteer for letting me borrow his copy. It is Moehringer’s memoir of growing in a very dysfunctional Irish family and how he found comfort and support with the men who worked at the local bar. Even if you have a father and your family is relatively normal, you will definitely get a lot out of this book, although being Irish definitely helps in understanding his complex relationship with his father and his attraction to bars.
12. I am America, and So Can You by Stephen Colbert
13. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
A story of growing up in America during the 1950s, I thought this book was hilarious not just because Bill Bryson is a great writer and very funny, but in many ways Kazakhstan is America 50 years ago. For example, from November to March, every child is wrapped up in a snowsuit that is warm and toasty is impossible to move in, and just as Bryson recalls playing with Mercury or running after the DDT truck, people here in Kazakhstan are burn their trash and blame the hot weather on the space launches in Baikanoor rather than their own and drive old, gas guzzling cars, all while blaming the space launches in Baikanor for the summer heat. Still, as much as I shake my head at such cluelessness, it is fun to read about that more innocent time. I just hope that as Kazakhstan moves forward, it takes the things that we have done well, such as technology and environmental consciousness, and leaves behind our less beneficial additions to history like Kmart and McDonalds.
14. The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
15. Remembering America by Richard Goodwin
Mr. Goodwin’s book is a powerful chronicle of one of the most important periods of American history, the 1960s. Using his own political and personal journey through that turbulent decade, Goodwin reminds everyone, even if they were there themselves, of the powerful hope and promise of the early part of the decade and the tragedy and dejection that brought it to a close. As much as I was interested in his reflections on John and Robert Kennedy, I think the section of the book that I enjoyed most was the passage about Lyndon Johnson. While both Kennedy’s loss their lives in senseless violence, it was Johnson’s life and career that was a true classical tragedy. It was heartbreaking to read how Johnson was, as Hilary Clinton recently stated, ultimately responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act, as well other pieces of landmark legislation such as Medicare and Medicaid, and then how it was all lost due to his stubborn refusal to leave the quagmire of Vietnam. Goodwin’s book was not just a reflection of lost dreams, however. He also reminds us that, though we have spent the last forty years in sitting in depressive apathy, complaining about the state of the world, but not doing anything about it, we can usher in a New America if we work for it. I hope that this election will usher in a new “sixties.” The last eight years have seen political process twisted, the constitution suspended, and the American Dream buried, but after reading this book I hold on to the belief that we can still turn things around.
Communication Issues
February 24, 2008
Life here in Kazakhstan is going well, but there are definitely frustrations to overcome, such as communication issues. The biggest of these issues is still definitely the language. After six months I find myself hitting a wall when it comes to Kazak. It is harder and harder to see any progress being made with the language and I am sometimes afraid that I am getting worse, not better. I know that it is going to take awhile, and I probably just need to work at it more, but to be honest my living and working situation is not always ideal for mastering Kazak. As an English teacher it is my job to help improve my students and fellow teachers’ skills with the language, so I primarily speak English when I am at work. I do occasionally have to speak Kazak in my first year course to make sure they understand homework assignments, but I otherwise only speak English during class. Also, while I could try to get my fellow teachers to speak Kazak with me, helping teachers with their English is even more important than helping the students. After all, I am only going to be here two years, but if I can help my fellow teachers significantly improve their own language skills than I will be making an important sustainable impact on the community. My house is not the greatest language lab either. We talk a bit during dinner, but they spend most of the evening watching Russian soap operas that I would not be interested even if I could understand them and I usually have to spend my evenings preparing for my lessons. All that said, my Kazak does not totally suck, I can definitely get around and survive, but it is hard to learn anything new because I tend to have the same sorts of conversations everyday.
Another communication issue is that I have not quite learned how to say no. People are always asking me to come to their school for a presentation or their practice, and I have a really hard time saying no because so often in Kazakhstan is actually a demand. For example, this week my supervisor relayed a request from the director that I privately tutor her two nephews. I had already started a Kid’s Club for the faculty’s children at the director’s behest earlier this term and her nephews came to it for awhile before they decided they were to embarrassed to work with the smaller kids in the club. I am already busy with stuff for my other classes, but while Kazak has “zhok” and “emec”, which both mean no or negative, it is a rare thing for someone to actually say they cannot or will not do something. What usually happens if you do not want to do something is say, “Ya, Kasir,” which means yes, in a minute, and then you proceed to put it off or procrastinate until the person that asked forgets all about it. One of the other volunteers here in Kyzylorda has already used this strategy successfully in a similar situation and I am hoping that it will work for me. If not though, I am thinking of arranging the tutoring to take place at six on Tuesdays. I may not be able to accept money, but I can definitely accept dinner, and I plan on being fully compensated for my labor.
Life here in Kazakhstan is going well, but there are definitely frustrations to overcome, such as communication issues. The biggest of these issues is still definitely the language. After six months I find myself hitting a wall when it comes to Kazak. It is harder and harder to see any progress being made with the language and I am sometimes afraid that I am getting worse, not better. I know that it is going to take awhile, and I probably just need to work at it more, but to be honest my living and working situation is not always ideal for mastering Kazak. As an English teacher it is my job to help improve my students and fellow teachers’ skills with the language, so I primarily speak English when I am at work. I do occasionally have to speak Kazak in my first year course to make sure they understand homework assignments, but I otherwise only speak English during class. Also, while I could try to get my fellow teachers to speak Kazak with me, helping teachers with their English is even more important than helping the students. After all, I am only going to be here two years, but if I can help my fellow teachers significantly improve their own language skills than I will be making an important sustainable impact on the community. My house is not the greatest language lab either. We talk a bit during dinner, but they spend most of the evening watching Russian soap operas that I would not be interested even if I could understand them and I usually have to spend my evenings preparing for my lessons. All that said, my Kazak does not totally suck, I can definitely get around and survive, but it is hard to learn anything new because I tend to have the same sorts of conversations everyday.
Another communication issue is that I have not quite learned how to say no. People are always asking me to come to their school for a presentation or their practice, and I have a really hard time saying no because so often in Kazakhstan is actually a demand. For example, this week my supervisor relayed a request from the director that I privately tutor her two nephews. I had already started a Kid’s Club for the faculty’s children at the director’s behest earlier this term and her nephews came to it for awhile before they decided they were to embarrassed to work with the smaller kids in the club. I am already busy with stuff for my other classes, but while Kazak has “zhok” and “emec”, which both mean no or negative, it is a rare thing for someone to actually say they cannot or will not do something. What usually happens if you do not want to do something is say, “Ya, Kasir,” which means yes, in a minute, and then you proceed to put it off or procrastinate until the person that asked forgets all about it. One of the other volunteers here in Kyzylorda has already used this strategy successfully in a similar situation and I am hoping that it will work for me. If not though, I am thinking of arranging the tutoring to take place at six on Tuesdays. I may not be able to accept money, but I can definitely accept dinner, and I plan on being fully compensated for my labor.
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