Hello out there in the rest of humanity...How is everyone doing?  Good, I hope.  I promised to write about the other volunteers, but as of right now, there are more important things to convey.

(this is just a small overview)...Ok... yesterday I got my assignment, for where I will be going once I leave training.  I am going to be in a small village near Uralsk.  Uralsk is in the north west corner of Kazakhstan, not far from the Russian border.  The village has about 3000 people in it, and they are 95% Kazakh, and five%  "others," which is surprsing because of how close it is to Russia. 

(These is the high points of what they gave me.)  "Uralsk was founded in 1591 or 1613, depending on who you talk to.  The center of the city is very old, historic, beautiful, pleasant, and attractive.  In the center the buildings are very old and pre-soviet... ...The Ural and Chagan Rivers circle the city center and are beautiful and provide great opportunities for hiking and nature watching.  Most of the soviet stuff is located outside the city center.

"Kazakh culture and traditions are strong here, but Russian culture and traditions are inportant too.  So, expect to do the Russian version of the Eskimo Swim--we all did it.  On Jan 19 each year,  adjacent to a 1700's Russian Church, the river is blessed and holes are cut into the ice.  Stand on the frozen river, strip to your underwear or bathing suit like 1000's of other Uralsk residents , jump in the river, dunk yourself three times, get out, drink some vodka, eat a pickle, and get rid of your sins and earn a year of good health.

"Geography and weather: Uralsk is on the Western Steepe with several rivers.  Because of the rivers, the area is relatively green with many large trees.  Some forests remain.  Precipitation is low except for a few weeks in the spring and fall.  Snow accumlation is not substantial.  The temperature is continental.  Area temperatures slowly drop until mid-February, the rise until mid-August.  There is no large temperature swings.  Summer is dry and hot and winter is cold.

"A cold and dry winter is succeeded by a hot and still drier summer, during which the grass, and sometimes all the crops are destroyed by the burning heat.  Uralsk, although lying wholly to the south of 52 N, has the same average temperature as Moscow and south Finland 39.5 N; its January is colder than that of northern Finland 30 N while July averages 73."