Our first days in the FSU

Hey everyone! This is Derek Miller and Laura Herman writing from Almaty, Kazakhstan! We’ve had a busy past couple of days travelling and getting adjusted to the 10 hour time difference. Here’s an update on our first day of traveling as a group…

After flying from JFK to Kiev, Ukraine we were all really excited to break up our long trip to Kazakhstan with a six-hour layover in Kiev. We were met at the airport in Kiev by Sarah and Melina, two JDC Jewish Service Corps volunteers based in Kiev, who showed us around the city. First, they took us to a cafeteria-style restaurant that served traditional Ukranian food. We had a hard time reading the signs and menus, but we enjoyed trying a lot of new foods (lots of traditional Russian-style salads, dumplings, stuffed cabbage etc)! Kiev is a beautiful city and we were all surprised at how cosmopolitan it was. We’ve made a lot of observations about Kiev, especially now that we are in Kazakhstan and thinking about the two cities comparatively, but overall both places have definitely defied our initial expectations so far. Our guides in Kiev explained that a lot of the city was destroyed during WWII so much of it has been rebuilt in the post-Soviet era. As a result, the city has been rebuilt in an old and “traditional” style but actually looks quite modern. Compared to Almaty, which feels very multi-cultural and diverse, Ukraine seemed a lot more homogenous. After lunch we continued on to Babi Yar, the site of a major Holocaust massacre. We started the trip on a somewhat somber note as we held a memorial service and learned about the historical and personal significance of the place. Then we went to a walking tour of downtown Kiev, stopping at a one of the city’s Orthodox synagogues, seeing gardens, and the last statue of Lenin in the city--all within a couple of hours! After a jam-packed day, we headed back to the airport to board our flight to Almaty and complete the last leg of our journey!
During our six hour flight from Kiev to Almaty we all tried to sleep as much as possible in order to be lucid for our first day in Kazakhstan. Derek’s first impression of the country was that it was very flat and brown because that was all that I could see from my window of the plane. Upon landing, however, I saw the awe-inspiring mountains that were on the other side of the plane. After going through customs, getting our luggage, and meeting up with the JDC Almaty staff, we drove from the airport to our cabins in the mountains where we will be staying the entire time that we’re here. We got to see a bit of the city from the car and we are looking forward to seeing more of it while we’re here. We were all in a bit of a daze because of the long flights but we got settled into our cabins, had the opportunity to shower (finally!), and eat breakfast.
After everyone re-energized, we headed back into the city (about a 30-minute drive) to visit Hesed, the JDC supported Jewish welfare organization with whom we will be doing most of our volunteer work, and the JCC. We met community members and our Kazakhstani peers who will be joining us for our entire trip. We spent the rest of the day bonding as a group and finally got to sleep after a very long but exciting first day. We’ll keep you updated on our adventures and activities as we go! We’re looking forward to it!