On students in Ust-Kamenogorsk

Here are some of the questions you have asked about students in Ust-Kamenogorsk.  I have grouped them because some questions are the same or similar.

Free Time

• What do the students do after school, and what do they do in their free time?
• Where do the kids hang out after school? What do the kids do for fun after school?

Here is what the kids told me:

• go to a friend's house to play
• ride bikes
• play sports, like soccer, tennis, hockey, volleyball, or basketball
• go swimming at a recreation center
• play on the computer (online multiplayer games are popular here like they are at home)
• hang out with friends
• take a class like karate, music, foreign language class, computer class, dance, or something else
• read, draw, write, or do some other things on their own
• play outside
• help their parents around the house

Playing in the street

• Is it normal for kids to play in the middle of the street?/Why are kids hanging out in the middle of the road?

No, this is definitely not done!  In the photo I previously posted, it might like the kids are sitting on their bikes on the street, but they are actually in a section of the street that is like a median where cars do not drive.  It is between the two opposite lanes of the street.  

Dances

• Do they have dances and prom in Kazakhstan?

I don’t think so, but I still have to check on this.

Rules

• Do students ever get to do what the grown-ups get to do, and do they have the same rules as us? (from Destiny)

Destiny, what kinds of things are you wondering about? They have basically the same rules as you—respect each other and obey teachers and other adults, come to class on time, etc.  They might have a few different rules here and there but they are minor. 

Dress

• How do students dress compared to us? (Keshon)

Students wear a uniform in every public school in Kazakhstan. At Gymnasium #10, elementary students wear one uniform and middle and high school students wear a slightly different one.  After school, students dress pretty much like kids in Charlottesville. 

I don't know this young man, but I asked if I could take his
photo, because I have seen people wearing this same
sweatshirt in Charlottesville!  Doesn't he look like he
would fit right in?

Comfort around Students

• How do you feel around the students?  Did you feel like you fit in with the children? (from Min Su)

Min Su, the students here are so welcoming and very fun to be around.  They were always coming up to me and practicing their English.  They would ask me to take a picture with them or ask for my autograph.  I felt like a real celebrity.  The students here remind me of Jack Jouett students.  If they were not wearing uniforms I might forget that I was not back home!

Students had done some beautiful artwork to welcome us.