'Our values are all the same'

By BETHANY BLITZ

Hagadone News Network

Kim and Dave Kalberg arrived at their two-bedroom apartment in Almaty, Kazakhstan, last year, exhausted and jet-lagged from their 20 hours worth of plane flights. In the morning, Kim would have her first day of school teaching third grade.

The couple dropped their suitcases and took a look around their new home. It was small, but it was all they needed. Dave went to the fridge. The company Kim worked for, which provided the housing, had left some food for them.

He picked up a 2-liter bottle of what he thought was lemonade and took a big swig. He immediately spat it out. The cooking oil looked like a beverage, and because he couldn’t read the language on the bottle, he had no idea what it was.

“Oh man,” they thought, “What have we gotten ourselves into.”

The couple’s road to Kazakhstan began when Kim, an elementary teacher in the Coeur d’Alene School district for 20 years, earned her master’s degree and made a pact with her classmate. They each committed to fulfilling their lifelong dreams. Kim’s was to teach abroad.

The school board approved her leave of absence and she began sending applications. She applied to Department of Defense schools where military families send their kids, and all over Europe. She dreamed of teaching in Sweden or France.

But the schools never got back to her — none were interested. She took a friend’s suggestion and applied to Quality Schools International, a program that offers American education throughout the world.

Within days she received a job offer to teach third grade in Kazakhstan.

Kim had no idea where Kazakhstan was or what the culture was like. She and Dave did a lot of research and found out it was a young country with a lot of Russian and Muslim influences. The Silk Road ran right through it, so the area is very diverse. There were no wars there and it was reportedly a pretty safe place.

Kim was still leery of the idea, though. It wasn’t Switzerland or France. It was in central Asia and they spoke mostly Russian — a language she couldn’t speak, read or write.

But she and Dave decided to give it a try. Kim would teach and Dave would volunteer for the school.

Now, more than a year later, they can’t wait to go back, despite the deceptive cooking oil.

“The most important thing we’ve learned from this entire experience from living overseas and visiting other countries and learning about different ethnicities and backgrounds is that every person is the same,” Kim said. “We all just want a happy life and children that can be successful, so it doesn’t matter what country we live in or where you’re from, our values are all the same.”

The couple came to know and love the city of Almaty. With 1.7 million inhabitants, it is the largest city in central Asia. They both agreed the size of the city was the biggest culture shock, the language barrier was the second.

At first they were able to communicate with some English, relying heavily on hand gestures and their Russian dictionary. Slowly they were able to recognize the name of the street they lived on and tell taxis to go left, right or straight.

The grocery store proved to be a challenge because all the labels were in Russian. Once, they thought they were buying washing detergent, but instead ended up dumping salt into their dirty clothes.

They missed burgers and Mexican food. Peanut butter there was expensive — and not good.

However, within the school, both Kim and Dave fell head-over-heels for the students.

“Children from other parts of the world, especially these students I’ve been teaching whose parents are travelers, they are so accepting of cultures and diversity,” Kim said. “They could not fathom prejudice. They don’t understand racism. I can remember that was such an uplifting day in my teaching, thinking ‘Wow, they don’t understand this, how great would it be if everyone was this way.’”

When February came around, Kim and Dave decided they want to spend another year in the country they were just starting to feel connected with. It took them almost a year to get the hang of travel, reading signs and knowing what things were at the grocery store.

Kim said she feels she has more to offer the school, and more to learn from her experiences there.

Kim reapplied for her leave of absence and it was accepted.

She and Dave took their summer vacation in Coeur d’Alene to catch up with family and friends. Today, they start their journey back to Kazakhstan, suitcases full of clothes, books in English — and peanut butter.