So I know that I haven’t been abe to post anything in about a month and I should be updating you on my life in the village but I have a much more exciting story to tell!

So this weekend is the Kazakhstani national independence and all of the schools have a two day holiday.  It coincidently occurs around my birthday (which is the 20th, go me!) and so Jon and I decided to take the oppertunity to go into the city for a few days to get internet, the news in english, fast food, and a chance to speak in only English.  So we came into the city on Thursday, spent the afternoon at the “mall” then headed to the apartment that we would be staying in over the holiday.  It belongs to local volunteers and they have headed back to the states for the holiday (Aaron and Dawn if you are reading this…Thank you!).  Anyways, so we get on one of the local buses and it was super crowded and I was aware that I needed to watch my bags.  But I also couldn’t really move.  Anyways, within two bus stops I checked my bag to make sure everything was ok and I discovered that my wallet was missing!!

So Jon and I got to the apartment, double checked that my wallet was indeed missing, then went into business mode.  See, it wasn’t just my wallet that was stolen.  My passport, money, credit cards, social security card, and Peace Corps ID card were all in my wallet.  The first thing I had to do was call the social and security officer to tell them that my things were stolen and to get my credit cards frozen as quickly as possible.  Then Jon and I had to go to the police station to write a report.  Personally I didn’t think that anything would happen.  I mean, you don’t just find a wallet…right?

Anyways, Aliya arranged for some of Peace Corps’ local friends to come, meet us, and help us with the translations for the report.  So we met them and headed to the police station.  The first station we went to said it wasn’t their district and so then we had to go to a second police station.  When we get there we had to talk to pretty much every cop in the building and yet no one seemed to be able to help me.  Personally, I think for the most part most of them just wanted to see the American girl who was in the station (not only because I was American but also because I was the only female in the building).

Anyways, so I had to write a report saying that I lost my wallet and I was requesting the help of the police to find it.  So I finally got a report written and I headed back to the apartment to make dinner and bemoan my situation (which for me means playing Ride of the Valkuries as loudly as possible and laying on the floor).

So the next day we spent laying around the house and trying to lay low.  Around 4 o’clock I get a phone call saying that the police actually found my wallet!  All of my cash was gone but my American credit card, passport, ID cards and all of my identification was still intact! Even now I cannot believe that all of this happened!  I can never diss the cops in this country again…they saved me.  I had to go back to the police station and fill out another report that I had received all of my items but it was incredible for me.  I met the chief of police and he gave me a pin that all cops in Aktobe receive when they graduate.  He told me it was from him personally then he kissed my hand and told me good luck with the rest of my time in Kazakhstan.  All of the cops from the night before came and talked with me (or to my translator really) and I was told that 120 people were called in to work on my case.  They even shut down 3 bus routes to find my wallet!  It is incredible that they worked so hard for me!

So the moral of the story?  I don’t know.  Watch my things, be brave, and trust the locals.  I’m just glad that in the end everything worked out and I have another crazy story to add to my life’s novel.  My next blog should come in about a week (I have finally figured out how to update via email so I can now write from site) and it will be more about my daily life and the work I’ve been doing.  Thanks for being patient everyone and happy holidays!!