550 Years of Kazakh History

This past month, Kazakhstan celebrated its 550th year of statehood.  All those years ago, the meeting and agreement were finalized here in Taraz.

The town has been getting ready for this celebration for months.  New streets, flowers planted everywhere, new bus stops, new parks, new white stuff painted on the bottom of the trees...

The celebration lasted 3 days and brought President Nazarbayev and the presidents of our neighboring countries to Taraz.  Although I had to work, Terry was able to attend some of the events, so I thought I could share a few of his pictures.

Taraz was a major crossroads on the Silk Road.  To celebrate that, there was a caravan of about 30 camels that brought in materials and goods to set up a Kazakh cultural event in one of the big parks.

 Here are the camels diagonally parked on the side of the road.

Yurts were set up around the park, and artisans were practicing their crafts.  This is the beginning of a felt rug made from wool.

This is the inside of one of the yurts.  You can see the handmade instruments hanging on the blue background.  If you look at the ceiling, you can see the "ribs" of wood that form the yurt structure.  It's kind of like a teepee idea.

These young ladies in traditional garb were very busy posing for pictures.

Sorry, those are all the pictures I have.  I'm bummed that I missed it all.

We Are Members!

As I've been saying, "Who wouldn't want to have us as a member?"

We are now officially members of the Council of International Schools.  What does mean, you ask.  Well, it means we can now apply for accreditation from CIS.  It means that the first step in the long journey of my job here is successfully completed.  It means the hardest part is yet to come.

In order to continue to move toward accreditation, we need to continue to establish systems at the school that are integrated, sustainable, and focused on student well-being and achievement.  For me, it means setting up a system of Professional Learning Communities where the teachers can work on curriculum review, data analysis, and effective instruction.  

"Easy," you say. "You've done that before."  Yes, but with resources and a common language.  This is proving to be quite a challenge.

All those things that we so take for granted in the U.S. are new concepts here.  Remember, Kazakhstan has only been out from under Soviet rule for a short time.  Many of the Soviet style systems and the thinking that accompanies them are still alive and well.  

But we have begun the hard work.  Last week, my team and I did three days of professional development workshops kicking off our new initiative.  Again, I am fortunate to work with a group of international teachers who are knowledgeable, patient, and willing to continue to learn themselves.  

Slacker!

OK, OK, I've been a slacker!  I have let the blog slide.

Terry and I arrived back home in Taraz in August.  Time flew by, and he is now back home in the U.S.  But a lot happened in between.

First, we bought an apartment in Viana do Castelo, Portugal.  Why Portugal?  Have you tried the food there?! We have decided it would be worth moving there if only for the food.  It's really a beautiful spot north of Porto and just south of Spain, where the Lima River goes into the Atlantic. Our place is at the edge of the City Center, about a 5-10 minute walk to the river and about a 10-15 minute walk to the ocean.  We are very excited, but we have only spent about 3 hours in our place since we completed the purchase.

This is looking up the main street in Viana toward the train station and Santa Luzia Cathedral.

Looking down on the town from up by Santa Luzia.

Sitting by the Lima River.

The coast that far north is rocky.  

I would say that the most amazing thing about this experience has been the people we have met.  We now have an accountant, a notary, a real estate guy, a lawyer, and two bankers in this town.  Oh yeah, and two ladies who run a coffee shop and a couple of waiters who make sure we get to try all the delicious dishes.  Did I mention the food?! All of these folks are within steps of each other, and they were all very kind and helpful to the two foreigners who only speak enough Portuguese to say "good morning," "good bye," and "thank you."  

Tchau...