My First Kazakh Host Family – Peace Corps Kazakhstan

This was my first Kazakh host family during my Peace Corps training in Kapchagai, Kazakhstan.  Unfortunately I only spent a couple months with them so I forgot who they were after I left.  We lost touch in 1999 when I

Kapchagai, Kazakhstan (1997)

Here is a photo from memory lane.  I am with my Kazakh host sister in Kapchagai, Kazakhstan, during my Peace Corps Pre-Service Training.  Amazing, look how skinny I was at that time.

Karatau Lyceum in Winter

This was my first winter in Karatau, Kazakhstan.  It was quite cold, we got a lot of snow.  Still, it was so beautiful.  I miss the Kazakh winters.

Welcome to Karatau

I took a picture of this sign in 1997.  It was first uploaded unto one of my old websites in 2000.  Now, if there is any site or social network page focusing on Karatau, you will most likely see this

Karatau Mosque – 1997

When I lived in Karatau, Kazakhstan, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, there were two mosques in the town.  With Saudi funding, the townspeople started to build a new mosque to replace the smaller older one.  Unfortunately, roughly a year before

Riskul

This picture was one that surprised me when I saw it in the US.  It nearly brought tears to my eyes. If you look at the photo below, look at the girl to the farthest right.  Her name is Riskul,

A Cold Christmas (1997)

Winter, 1997, in Karatau, Kazakhstan, was the coldest I ever experienced in my life.  I was at my Peace Corps site for just a little over two months when winter struck with a fury.  Even the local Kazakhs and Russians