This is Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia Wins Again

There are two acronyms I find myself using a lot these days: TIK (this is Kyrgyzstan) and CAWA (Central Asia wins again). Peace Corps' abundant use of acronyms must be rubbing off on me. At least once a day I have a TIK moment, such as this afternoon when I found a walnut in my purse, unshelled of course.

 

I had an ultimate CAWA moment last week. The K-16s were headed to Bishkek for our PDM conference. Ariel, Leslie and I were taking a taxi. The driver picked us up around 7 am, on time amazingly, and we set off. After several hours in the car, and past the half-way point, we reached a road block. The road was closed due to an avalanche and seven deaths, and would remain closed for another five days. We called the PC office and informed them and then turned around. Our instructions were to drive to Osh, and get on the first flight. We called all the volunteers planning to drive and informed them as well. Before we even reached Osh, still a five hour drive away, we discovered that all flights were sold out. We frantically tried to organize a flight from the car (not easy) with our intermittent cell phone service. Peace Corps told us not to bother because the first flight out wasn't until Thursday and we would miss the entire PDM conference by the time we arrived. So only a select few of us headed up Thursday for a different training, which was taking place Friday.

 

Rather than go back to school or to Jalalabad, we stayed in Osh for two days. For two days we saw the sights, and ate some good food. We stayed at one the 16s' apartments- he, however, was not prepared for guests. So it was an uncomfortable two nights. While there we walked around and enjoyed the glorious weather- I even got slightly sunburned. Spring had begun, everything was green and the apricot blossoms were beginning to bloom; it was so warm that I didn't even need to wear a sweater.

 

My weekend in Bishkek was ridiculous, and not necessarily in a good way, though I did get to see all of the other 16s. PDM was the last time that all of the 16s would be together until our close-of-service conference. Friday night turned into a serious incident. I can't discuss the details, but it really pissed me off. The week after I was filled with anxiety and stress, waiting for the situation to be resolved. And now I have to watch four of my friends go home.

 

School is back in session, but the holiday season has begun! March 21^st is the biggest holiday in Kyrgyzstan. Nooruz, or Navrus in Uzbek, dates back to Zoroastrian times. While not originally an Islamic holiday, the holiday has been adopted throughout Central Asia as an Islamic holiday. Traditionally, a dish called 'sumalak' is made. It takes about twenty-four hours of constant stirring to create sumalak. As to what exactly is in it, I'm not sure, but wheat is definitely in it. It involves boiling down, then adding more liquid, then boiling down again until the consistency is like carmel. They do this at least seven times.

 

I spent Nooruz in Jalalabad with the other volunteers as it was also Leslie's birthday. The big park in Jalalabad had a huge festival going on, which is where spent some time. In the park there is a giant ferris wheel, so of course we had to get on. It was one of the scarier rides of my life. Despite going very slowly, the small chain across the gap did not make me feel better. It was a very TIK moment.

 

The news here is full of events. There was an alleged 'assassination,' general elections were called, and the opposition parties have organized nationwide protest rallies. It's been a crazy couple weeks for Kyrgyzstan and for Peace Corps. Just in time for the K-17s. The 17s will be here in less than a week! It's crazy that enough time has passed for a new crop of volunteers to arrive. To me, it still feels like I got here yesterday.

Me at the big temple on Lantau island.
Monastary on Lantau.

The second largest seated bronze Buddha statue, on Lantau.

Buddha on Lantau

Kari and I enjoying Hong Kong at night

I got a haircut!

Kari and I on Lantau

Out to dinner with Kari's Chinese family

Hong Kong during the day

The only picture of Patrick, Kari and I... at Ikea

They had Mister softee!

Yes, this place actually exists. Also- most people in HK speak English- how'd they let this one get by?

On our hike.

Kari and I on the hike.

Patrick and I went on this epic walk down mountain in the middle of HK. This is the sweet view.

We met Jackie Chan! Ok not really, he was made of wax.

The oldest stairs, or maybe street, in HK.

We went to an outdoor market.

Fruit at the outdoor market.

more fruit

We went out for dim sum with Patrick's friend from Hong Kong.

Patrick and I reunited, I had also recently bathed.

My trip to Hong Kong

My trip to Hong Kong, sorry Gong Kong, was amazing. A bit overwhelming- so many people, so many tall buildings!- but still awesome. I really enjoyed getting to see Kari and Patrick and eating all kinds of delicious foods!

 

My trip started out auspiciously enough. I decided to take a taxi to Bishkek rather than fly. A taxi because there is no such thing as public transport here. There are no buses or trains that go up to the capital. My only two options are to fly or to take a taxi. Flying, one way, is about 2500 som to Bishkek; a taxi to Bishkek is about 1000 som. The taxi ride is along the Osh- Bishkek highway, which isn't so much a highway as a sort of paved road. The nine-hour drive from Jalalabad to Bishkek goes through some of the most beautiful countryside in Kyrgyzstan. At one point the road hugs the Uzbek border, and before long climbs into a 10,000 foot mountain pass. The drive was absolutely stunning. I would say that the drive is one of the highlights for a visit to Kyrgyzstan.

 

I got to Bishkek a bit early, and had to wait around the airport for awhile before my first flight left. Traveling to Hong Kong was a bit ridiculous. It took me 60 hours to get there. I flew from Bishkek to Almaty, Kazakhstan to Seoul, South Korea and then finally to Hong Kong. While it took a long time to get there, I enjoyed the travel. Each stage of my trip offered a bit more "civilization." Almaty was more developed than anywhere in Kyrgyzstan- they had escalators!

 

My first encounter with modern life- the escalators- did not go well. I haven't been gone that long, so I really have no excuse, maybe I was just really tired? I was wondering around the Almaty airport and I attempted to go up the down escalator. Normally this wouldn't be something to mention, except I didn't get it. I spent three minutes in absolute confusion about why I wasn't going up and kept getting pushed back to where I started. THREE MINUTES!! People were staring, and I was confused. Oops- what a great way to start the vacation.

 

By the time I got to Hong Kong I was tired, I had lost my luggage, and I was really hot (I was still wearing my winter clothes). Kari met me and we enjoyed a very flavor filled Thai meal.

 

I spent the next two weeks lounging, enjoying the comforts of a hot shower, and seeing the sights. One day Kari, Patrick and I went on an eleven mile hike. It was beautiful! Hong Kong, for a city filled with so many high-rises, is full of hiking opportunities.

 

While I, almost, easily slipped back into modern life, my computer did not. The second I tried to connect to the internet- it broke. I managed to get it fixed in Hong Kong, the hard drive needed to be replaced, but I lost all my files. Oh well.

 

My trip back was not quite as event filled, although I did almost get stuck in Korea. The airline would not let me on the plane! Then immigration got involved and was basically a giant mess for three hours. But I got on the plane eventually, and made it back.

 

It was hard to get on the plane. I was expecting a certain amount of reluctance to want to return to Kyrgyzstan, but I was not prepared for the amount of anxiety I felt. I really did not want to get on the plane. To come back to bathing once a week, eating food that I don't really like, and coming back to a village where I no longer feel safe all the time. But I did, I got on that plane, despite my reservations, and I am glad I did.

 

School started while I was gone, so I was back in the classroom this past Monday. Standing in front of 15 Kyrgyz students brought me back to why I'm here. They were all so excited that I had returned, they even did their homework! Walking around my village and seeing people I know shout hello, it really felt good to be back and reminded me that I am indeed part of this community.

 

This next week I'm headed back to Bishkek for PDM (project-design and management) with the rest of the K-16s. This will be the last time that we will all be together until our close of service conference in 18 months. And by that time we'll have probably lost another 15 volunteers.  So I'm excited to see everyone and swap stories of what we did over the winter break, and make plans for the summer.

 

There will be a lot of talk about the K-17s. The new group of volunteers is set to arrive at the end of March. Ariel, my sitemate, and I already know that we are getting a 17 in our village! And since the position that the volunteer will have is so specialized, we got to pick the volunteer, so we already know who's coming down here. Hopefully the volunteer is as awesome as their resume leads us to believe.

 

That's it for this edition. Happy March and Happy Women's Day (March 8 and a very big holiday here)!