I'm not sure where I left off concerning the language camp, but I think I at least finished telling about the train ride.

The language camp itself involved a lot of class time, about six hours a day. The teacher we had was the same one we all had from our days in training, and she is an amazing teacher. Her name is Saltanat, which is a common name in this country, and I used to know the translation, but I have forgotten and I don't have my Kazakh English dictionary with me at this point. But she is an incredible teacher.

When we arrived, we were under the impression (a trick played by the organizer Jon) that we were to have a different teacher, which was a disappointment to myself (and I am sure to all of the other volunteers at the camp) because I was looking forward to having Saltanat again as a teacher. As it turned out, we had Saltanat, which worked out wonderfully. She put together all of the lessons that we had after arriving because she didn't know until then what kind of lessons we were in need of or wanting. (She is working for the US Embassy in Almaty right now teaching Kazakh to a bunch of diplomats.)

The language camp was a welcome change from the monotony of classes. It was also nice to get to see the people that I had spent three months of six-hours-a-day-six-days-a-week minimum in class or training. We cooked some great American meals, and went out to some different restaurants, which was also a welcome change. I should be careful using we though. I know I didn't do a whole lot of cooking myself. I can't remember some of what we had, but we had an awesome salad (recipe provided from Jon), White Bean Chili (or something along those lines), some apple and pear crisp, grilled cheese, as well as some other great food. We also went out to eat a really great Korean Restaurant.

It was an interesting trip that I will have to repeat as soon as I can. The city itself isn't that impressive. It was a little on the dry side, which was a welcome relief to Susan and I, who were coming from Uralsk and three or four weeks of rain. The buildings there are small and less decorated than those here in Uralsk. I did see some interesting statues that I wanted pictures of, but, failing to have my camera with me, I did not get them. On the other hand, I was able to find a battery for my camera at the first store that I looked at, so now I don't need one, for the time being.

The train ride home was interesting also. Susan and I bought our tickets together and decided to ride in the coupe instead of Platts car. Coupes are cars that are divided into four-bunk rooms. Each room has four bunks, duh, and room for a lot of luggage, which was important for the car that I was in as well as Susan. We were worried about our arrangements, because we did not have an assigned room. The worry was that we would end up in a cabin with some drunk guys and get harassed the whole trip home, which had happened to some of the other volunteers on the trip to the camp.

Our worries were for naught as both of us ended in cars with women and children, who, I think, were traveling together. The car I was in had three women and a little girl, who ended up throwing up her dinner after taking some kind of pill which I think reacted with the pill she took. These ladies had so many bags, it could hardly be considered funny. The entire area of baggage was full of their bags and even one of the bunks that was being slept in had some large bags on it. As a result, I spent my sleep time shared with my bag, which, considering that the bunks are too small for me to begin with, made for some uncomfortable sleep. All in all the rest of the trip was uneventful, with one exception.

I talked a little bit with the ladies in the cabin, and found out that one of them was related to someone I know. She turned out to be the sister of one of the gym teachers at the school where I am teaching. She then proceeded to look through the pictures I had with me and we had a decent conversation, which ended with her offering me her phone numbers and address. I'm still not sure why.

All in all it was a pretty good trip. It was a chance to refresh myself from the worries of having to teach class. It was nice to eat American style food, and be able to carry on conversations without having to dummy it down or watch what I say for fear that something will be taken the wrong way.

Speaking of which, we also got to watch and have a decent discussion on Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11". Even though I don't like the guy or his style, he makes some pretty poignant statements about the quality of the administration that is playing with the future of America. It's too bad more people didn't take his message to heart.

I hope y'all are doing well out there. Remember that if you don't get emails from me when you write me, it's not because I don't want to write back, but my time is precious and needed in the classroom, and the internet is not cheap nor reliable.

Take care.