I woke up this morning with a certain amount of anticipation. Today we will be traveling to Savva Orphanage for a video-editing workshop. To be honest, while I am happy to do the workshop, seeing the kids one more time is what I'm really looking forward to.
Sara and Ember arrived around 8:30 and we all enjoyed some pancakes cooked by breakfast chef Ken. I hadn't had a good pancake in ages, so it was a real treat. We drove to the office to pick up some equipment and meet our translator. There was only one problem--our translator wasn't there. We waited a while, then realized that she wasn't coming. Sara explained that in Kazakh culture it was perfectly acceptable for someone to back out of something that he or she had volunteered for. Ember made a quick call to Kiikzhan (one of the office staff) who not surprisingly agreed to translate. We picked him up and began our trek down the bumpy road to Savva. As usual, we had to do a lot of passing. Although it is the main road to Almaty, it is almost entirely two lane. The Kazakhs tend to be "bold" passers, and I witnessed more than just a few close calls. As we pulled up to the orphanage, I hoped that the editing workshop wouldn't prevent me from spending some time with the kids.
We got out of the SUV and headed for the main building where some kids were engaged in some sort of jump-rope relay. Others, I was told, were playing soccer. Before I knew it, several familiar faces greeted me, including little Vadim, who had seemed to take a liking to me on my previous visit. He led me by the hand to a nearby bench and motioned for me to sit down. The crowd around me grew as I began to hand out some photos that I had printed for them. A few moments later I was asked to finish handing them out later so as not to disturb the game. I went inside the building where some confusion was ensuing regarding the use of the director's office for the workshop. When we finally gained access, there were a host of technology issues that prevented us from using the LCD projector that we had brought. In what seemed like just few minutes, we were called to lunch. We would have to finish setting up later. We enjoyed some tasty soup and then some rice. I wanted to get back to the equipment so as not to be caught unprepared, but there was little that I could do except to wait for everyone to finish. With 30 minutes before the seminar would start, we returned to make our final preparations. Adding to the fun, of course, was the fact that the entire process would require translation. We would also be using an English and a Russian version of the software. It's a long story, but I had to demonstrate software that I had never actually used before. I know what you're thinking--but trust me, there was no way around it! Thankfully, it was fairly intuitive and similar to other editing software that I had used before, so I felt only marginally apprehensive about using it. The participants, mostly staff members who had attended my last seminar at Savva, joined the director for the workshop. As it turned out, the director often interrupted, and a few things were quite difficult to translate properly, making for a sometimes frustrating hour. It all turned out okay in the end, and I hoped that that everyone got something from it. Now I was anxious to see the kids.
As it turned out, it was quiet time and the caretaker was reluctant to let me disturb the kids. I tried to explain that this would be the last time that I would see them, but I'm not sure that she understood. In any case, Kiikzhan and Ember, with the help of a couple of the kids, led me from room to room to hand out photos and to say goodbye. They loved the photos, although I did feel bad that I didn't have photos of all the kids. There were many hugs and then it was time to leave. I was a bit disappointed that I had spent most of my time with the editing workshop, but nonetheless glad that I could see the kids one final time. Two of the kids, Stas and Daniel, ran to the gate and waved at us as we left.
On the way home, we thought we would stop by Mukbar's house. When we arrived, we found that he had just left. We were told that he had looked for us in the morning but then had to go to Almaty to visit his father. I was, of course, disappointed, but knew that there was little I could do. The ride home was, not surprisingly, just as action-packed as the ride there. Adding to the excitement was the fact that we got a flat tire and had to pull off the narrow road to change it. Kazakh drivers do not tend to slow down for vehicles on the side of the road, and I held my breath as the cars and truck zipped past Kiikzhan as he changed the tire. We were finally back on the road, and I looked forward to an uneventful remainder of the journey. The only other thing of note was the number of people we saw swimming in some rivers and canals. In one case, the water was flowing so quickly, the guy in the water looked like he would be swept away at any moment. After a few minutes and with some effort, he pulled himself out and rested near the edge. It wasn't long before we were home.
Tomorrow will be the last day for me in Taraz. Sara and I will take the night train to Almaty, then spend one day sight-seeing. I will have been here nearly two-weeks. The time has flown by, and I already know that I will miss this place. My next, and most likely, final blog entry will probably be written when I return to Madrid.
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