Well I'm back in Kyrgyzstan; and now that I'm back- it almost feels like I never left. My first two weeks back were cold and hectic. My house upon my arrival was 34 degrees inside (chilly!). I also headed back up to Bishkek only a few days after being back for a training seminar. But now I'm back in my village and it seems as if spring is here. It's warmed up, and is warmer than it was back in October. And we've had rain instead of snow.

 

The grant that I wrote to build a new toilet for my school was approved, so we'll start construction later this semester. Also, Joni's and my Future Leaders of Kyrgyzstan camp grant is still up. Thank you, so much, to everyone who has donated money so far! However, we still have a ways to go, so please click the link and pull out your credit card. You can find the grant here: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=307-143

 

I just finished reading The Ugly American- it was amazing, the book that inspired JFK to start the Peace Corps. Several of the characters in the book are diplomats who don't speak the language of the country they work in, and this often leads to cultural misunderstandings. I am so thankful that I can communicate with the people who live here. I am a full believer in the idea that you can't really understand another culture without speaking its language. Yes, there are universal things that transcend cultural and linguistic differences, such as motherhood, but so many other things don't. Learning t speak another language allows and show you that people express similar things differently.

 

I always think about this in how Kyrgyz uses the word to sit. To sit is a verb in both English and Kyrgyz, but it doesn't quite describe the same action in both languages. English usage of the verb implies the actual touching of your butt to another surface; while in Kyrgyz it's the action of bending your knees and moving into the sitting position. Whereas in English you could say I am sitting, using the present continuous tense, you cannot use this tense with the verb to sit in Kyrgyz. With this slight difference there implies a whole different concept of 'sitting.'

 

Sitting is not something Kyrgyz people do- they interact. They go guesting, they drink endless cups of tea, and they argue about politics and the current price of carrots. There is no way to describe sitting in Kyrgyz because Kyrgyz people are never alone (something most people here don't enjoy), they are always doing something else. There is no 'resting.'

 

And this is just one word. I could get into how Kyrgyz people call everything that is green- blue, even thought they have a word for green. Green tea is blue tea; green eyes are blue eyes, etc. Or perhaps how the days of the week are numbered (first day, second day, etc.) even thought they have words for the days of the week. Or even how months of the year are always called by their Russian names, despite having names in Kyrgyz. All these things explain how Kyrgyz people view and approach their world; view and approaches I might have misunderstood or dismissed had I not learned Kyrgyz.