List of resources for Kazakhstan

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We offer a list of Web sites for you to search for additional information about the Peace Corps and Kazakhstan, or to connect you to returned Volunteers and other invitees. It is difficult to track information as it is moved around on the Web, so please note that links change. We have tried to make sure these links are active and current, but we cannot guarantee it.

A note of caution: As you surf these sites, please also remember that you will find bulletin boards and chat rooms in which people are free to give opinions and advice based on their own experiences. The opinions expressed are not those of the Peace Corps or the United States government. You may also find opinions of people who were unhappy with their choice to serve in the Peace Corps. As you read these comments, we hope you will keep in mind that the Peace Corps is not for everyone, and no two people experience their service in the same way.

[edit] General Information About Kazakhstan

http://www.countrywatch.com
On this site, you can learn anything from what time it is in Almaty to information about converting currency from the dollar to the tenge. Just click on Kazakhstan and go from there.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations
Visit this site to learn all you need to know about any country in the world.

http://www.expat.kz
Site with information primarily about Almaty from the view of a tourist or expat

http://www.state.gov
U.S. State Department’s website. Issues background notes periodically about countries around the world. Find Kazakhstan and learn more about its social and political history.

http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/official.htm
This site includes links to all the official sites for governments of countries around the world.

http://www.geography.about.com/library/maps/blindex.htm
This online world atlas includes maps and geographical information about countries around the world. Each country page contains links to other sites, such as the Library of Congress, that contain comprehensive historical, social, and political backgrounds.

http://www.un.org
This United Nations site allows you to search for statistical information for member states of the U.N.

http://www.worldinformation.com
This site provides an additional source of current and historical information about countries around the world, including Kazakhstan.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
This site provides updated political, economic and environmental information.

[edit] Connect With Returned Volunteers and Other Invitees

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/peacecorps
This Yahoo site hosts a bulletin board for prospective Volunteers and returned Volunteers.

http://www.rpcv.org
This is the site of the National Peace Corps Association, composed of returned Volunteers. On this site you can find links to all the Web pages of the “friends of” groups for most countries of service, made up of former Volunteers who served in those countries. There are also regional groups who frequently get together for social events and local volunteer activities.

http://www.peacecorpswriters.org
This site is hosted by a group of returned Volunteer writers. It is a monthly online publication of essays and Volunteer accounts from countries around the world.

http://www.rpcvwebring.org
Web ring linking to other websites of returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

[edit] Online Articles/Current News Sites about Kazakhstan

1. The Economist: www.economist.com/countries/ kazakhstan/
2. The Times of Central Asia: www.timesca.com

[edit] International Development Sites about Kazakhstan

1. The United Nations Development Programme: www. undp.org
2. Asian Development Bank: www.adb.org/Kazakhstan/ default.asp
3. The United States Agency for International Development: www.usaid.gov/regions/europe_eurasia/car/kzpage.html
4. World Bank Group: http://www.worldbank.org/

[edit] Recommended Books

1. Hopkirk, Peter. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia. New York: Kodansha Globe, 1994. An account of the race between Britain and Russia to learn about and acquire the territory of Central Asia.
2. Hopkirk, Peter. Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin’s Dream of an Empire in Asia. New York: Kodansha Globe; Reprint edition, 1995.
3. Olcott, Martha Brill (ed.). Kazakhstan: Unfulfi lled Promise. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2002.
4. Remnick, David. Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire. New York: Vintage, Reprint edition, 1994. A journalist’s account of the final days of the Soviet Empire. Provides insight into the history of the Soviet Union, the mentality of the people, and the role of the republics in the development and fall of the Soviet Union.
5. Thubron, Colin. The Lost Heart of Asia. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995.

[edit] Books About the History of the Peace Corps

1. Hoffman, Elizabeth Cobbs. All You Need is Love: The Peace Corps and the Spirit of the 1960’s. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000.
2. Rice, Gerald T. The Bold Experiment: JFK’s Peace Corps. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.
3. Stossel, Scott. Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2004.

[edit] Books on the Volunteer Experience =

1. Dirlam, Sharon. Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place. Santa Barbara, Calif.: McSeas Books, 2004.
2. Casebolt, Marjorie DeMoss. Margarita: A Guatemalan Peace Corps Experience. Gig Harbor, Wash.: Red Apple Publishing, 2000.
3. Erdman, Sarah. Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village. New York, N.Y.: Picador, 2003.
4. Hessler, Peter. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. New York, N.Y.: Perennial, 2001.
5. Kennedy, Geraldine ed. From the Center of the Earth: Stories out of the Peace Corps. Santa Monica, Calif.: Clover Park Press, 1991.
6. Thompsen, Moritz. Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle. Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, 1997 (reprint).