Days 8 and 9: AIS and Tien Shan Schools

At the AIS and Tien Shan Schools, we were fortunate enough to experience a melting pot of diverse cultures that had previously been inaccessible to us. Coming from a traditional private school environment, we often see an assortment of different racial backgrounds, but rarely do we come face to face with a diverse array of nationalities. On our first day, we visited American International School (AIS), where we experienced a “day in the life” with a typical international student. Highlights for us included visiting a yurt classroom, playing capture the flag in PE, meeting with the student leadership team, and engaging in some interactive games with the students (including Dance Revolution). While we were struck with the robust academic curriculum that was taught, as it was similar to that of Poly, we were especially impressed by the various activities and extracurriculars that were consistent with many of our own personal experiences halfway across the globe. Yesterday, on our second day of direct school visits, we visited Ms. Bocquin’s former school, Tien Shan International. While our visit was a “homecoming” for Ms. Bocquin, we, the students, were struck by the compassion and commitment to excellence that the school embodied and displayed. We were welcomed, played games together, sat in on Russian, Chem, Bio and a very lively Physics class. Even though both international schools were significantly smaller than Poly, we were able to meet with kids from over 20 different nationalities from 6 continents (excluding Antarctica). Through our countless conversations, interactions, and competitions, we had intimate interactions with all of the students with whom we met. For instance, Nick Gomez and Justin Wang partook in a friendly “2v2” basketball matchup with two Kazakh students who had been looking forward to it all week. Although there was an obvious competitive aura in the gym, the spirit of sportsmanship and respect triumphed. After school yesterday, several Tien Shan students joined us for dinner at a local Korean restaurant. This swath of the Silk Road is well-renowned for its diversity; in terms of cuisines, here is a taste of what we’ve enjoyed Kazakh, Uyghur, Uzbek, Georgian, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and even American food.

Nick, Sam, Sanjay

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Day 2

Today, we woke up to a majestic sight: every corner of the block was covered with fresh powdery snow, which only magnified our excitement for the day ahead. We started our adventure with a trip to a Kazakh grocery store, called a “Magazine”. There, we were astounded by the variety of snack options that the shop offered. We bought several exotic chip flavors such as lobster, kebab, and cucumber flavored Lays. Next, we took a 40-minute bus ride to the outskirts of Almaty to visit a village. Once we arrived, we instantly noticed the improved air quality and cozy vibe of the village compared to the city. We took a quick stroll to the house and were immediately greeted by several of the dogs living there. We learned about the international school program and the intriguing backgrounds of the various teachers and planned what games we were going to play with the Kazakh children who were going to visit later. Once the children arrived, we split into three groups by age and pl...

Day 0 and 1

We kicked off our journey meeting up at LAX, ready for our 13 hour flight to our 6 and a half hour layover in Istanbul. Excitement filled the air. Once we arrived in Istanbul, we enjoyed some Turkish food and played some games to get to know each other. After getting some time to explore the airport, we boarded our flight to Almaty. Despite not sleeping enough, it was suddenly 9:00 am, leaving a full day ahead of us in Kazakhstan. We grabbed a quick lunch and the bravest of us tried horse meat sandwiches. After lunch, we managed to catch the end of the Nowruz celebrations in the city. Justin and Jerry arm wrestled some locals and lost terribly while Max and Lauren went about holding an eagle and Celine tried archery. We got dinner at a Georgian restaurant where we enjoyed some Khinkali and Tarhun. Those of us who didn't already fall asleep at the restaurant got the much needed rest after checking into our hotel, thus concluding our first experien...

Day 1: games and engagements in a nearby village

Cori, Rebecca and "A" in the "backyard" After 30 long hours of travel, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We had an assortment of fruits, breads, juices, and rice. Soon after breakfast we hopped on a van and challenged ourselves by sitting next to people in our group we didn't really know yet. Despite this, we had great conversations about Poly life, sports, Kazakhstan, math, food, and the gym. Finally, we arrived at the house we spent the next 7 hours. There, we met the owners of the house in the village. The husband served us great home cooked meals and talked about his experience shopping in Kazakhstan and finding different kinds of meats, cheeses, and other ingredients that not many people know how to find. While we ate, the wife talked to us a little bit about the Kazakh children we were about to meet. We learned that most children in the village only attend school up to Grade 9, and although they may continue until grade 11, most are requested by t...

Poly GIP Kazakhstan

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