Smiling is my Favorite!

Sometimes I feel like I do very little here in Kazakhstan, I mean I have a good time, but lack fulfilling work that I desire! Which led me to ask myself what can I do? It was told to us during Pre Service Training that people do not smile at each other after making eye contact, which seems SO foreign to me! In my small town back home where everyone knows everyone we ALL smile at each other and when I smile and people do not smile back I think that’s rude, so this is very very different for me. We were also told that if a woman does this to a man, she is flirting with him. As a confident woman who walks tall with her head up and smiles at everyone, it is very difficult to walk with my head down so as not to make eye contact with anyone. I think I flirted with EVERY man in my training village. I worked hard at not smiling after making eye contact. It wasn’t as difficult to walk with my eyes on the ground because there is a lot of things one can trip over just walking to the bus stop, but I have since decided that I’m not going to change this – smiling is contagious and it may not be much, but it’s all I got right now and I can freely give it. I’ve made a few friends because of smiling, at least, I assume that’s why. People like this, I know, but they are not used to it – the other day a woman smiled back! I was shocked!

There isn’t a lot I can do about my Eco-Org aka: boarding school. It’s very clear that I’m not going anywhere and will have to “make do” with what has been given. And I may not be able to offer much in terms of Ecology Projects, or anything, but have resolved to do what I can, with what I have, where I am! I will make a difference in the lives of people by building lasting friendships that begin with a friendly face.

“The sweetest thing that you’ll ever see in the whole wide world is a happy girl” – Martina McBride