Happy Fall!

Time seems to pass without me realizing exactly how much time has past. Looking at the calendar this week I was shocked to see it's already well into September. One year ago today was my very first day as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and my very first day living in my village. I still can't believe that I've been in country nearly fifteen months. Looking back on my first year of service, I am glad that I made the decision to be here. I may not love teaching everyday, and I may reach my cultural overload every now and then, but when I do fun things like camp, teach a successful lesson, or have a fun teacher training, I remember why I'm here.

 

I remember awaking the morning after our swearing-in party (feeling a bit hungover) and getting on a Southern bound flight. After a three hour taxi ride, I hopped out with my luggage and walked into my new home. It was scary, it was like starting out all over again. But here I am, survived a year, and still happy about it. Ariel and I have come to be known as our village's "redemption volunteers." There has been something like fifteen volunteers who have served in our village, and only three have finished all two years. Everyone else left before they made it seven months. If Ariel and I didn't make it, the village wasn't getting any more volunteers. To have made it past those other twelve volunteers is great. People no longer seem afraid that we're giong to leave.

 

There's this ice cream place that we always go to, at least five times a week. Ariel and I were sitting there the other day thinking about how lucky we were and how much we loved our site. The two of us think that we got the best site in the country. Our village has a village feel, but is quite large by Kyrgyz standards, so we have city like amenities. Cafes to eat at, a huge bazaar to shop in, and easy transportation to anywhere in the country.

 

The last few weeks have been uneventful. Ramadan started, school started, and we celebrated Kyrgyz Independence Day. The weather has started to cool off, which is great, I was starting to really hate the heat (110 and no air-con= unpleasant). The Bazarkorgon girls are planning a rayon wide Harvest Festival that is going to be a fundraiser, but for what exactly we're not sure. That's about all I have planned this fall, which is a welcome break after my hectic summer schedule.

 

 

Ryan, Joni, and I bought cheap Chinese bicycles in the bazaar.

Ryan and I with our new bikes. I think Alex is negotiating for a playboy bunny stamped bike bell.

Me with four of my five sitemates on Kyrgyz Independence Day (Aug 31), and some random kid who jumped in last minute.

Joni, Ariel and I in front of the Bazarkorgon yurt on Independence Day.

Local students participating in the independence day celebrations.

Bazarkorgon officials watching over the festivities, while Lenin watches over them.

The main stage on independence day. Local girls wearing national dress.

A traditional Kyrgyz yurt.

Girls in national dress.

Photos from camp!

The girls hard at work- coming up with team names.

At a workshop on the first day- everything is so green!

There was a ferris wheel at camp... but it was broken.

We're in charge- can't you tell?

Tug-of-war got fierce! The girls snapped the rope in half.

Walking down the counselors' cabin- camp was beautiful and delightfully not hot

Tye-dye- a little bit of American camp, the girls loved it

We had a scavenger hunt one night. Joni and I made the girls form a human pyramid when they found us.

At one of the sessions, the girls had to make a community map, and all the groups made a map of camp. One group included Joni and I!

The volunteers- hard at work!

Everyone from first camp.

Anthony came up with some sort of team-building exercise. This photo makes it look more torturous than it was.

The volunteers demonstrated steal the bacon.

Camp Counselors at second camp.

Second camp!

The volunteers performing at the talent show- I think they're singing Britney Spears.

Having fun at arts and crafts.

This is Aktan, Joni's host-brother; he was the star of second camp.

Summer Camp

The last six weeks have been camp, camp, and more camp. Joni and I wrote grants to have two camps this summer. The first was for sixty high school aged girls from all over Jalalabad Oblast; the second camp was for fifth, sixth, and seventh form boys and girls from around Bazarkorgon Rayon (a rayon is sort of like a county). 

 

There were a number of hurdles to overcome, mostly having to do with our funding. At times it was frustrating, and at other times it looked like camp wasn't going to happen at all.  But it all worked itself out eventually, and once I got to camp, it was awesome.

 

During first camp, near the end of July, I had Alex, a new 17 in my area, to take care of my cat. Oops, big mistake. He apparently was not paying attention when I gave him instructions so he only came to feed the cat once, on Tuesday- I got back from camp on Saturday! The only reason that Timurlane seems to have survived is because my bathroom floor was mysteriously flooded.

 

Saturday night, after having returned from camp, Cameron and I were cooking dinner when all of a sudden it sounded like dripping water. I peeked into the bathroom and beheld a miracle- RUNNING WATER! Now when I say I have running water, it's not like I turn the faucet and water comes out. Really it just drips, and I can't turn it on or off. I had heard that the water occasionally turns on, maybe once a year, for a couple of hours, but this far surpasses that. The water comes on for about six hours everyday, usually in the evening, and there doesn't seem to be any sign that it will stop. This running water has made living in my apartment so much more enjoyable. I can flush my toilet! I can wash my clothes! I can bathe in my bathtub! I love it.

 

After first camp I had less than a week before I headed to second camp. Joni needed to make an unexpected visit back to America, and so I was left to do almost all the rest of the planning/organizing by myself. At this point camp began to unravel. I had to find two replacement volunteers to come to camp, which was no easy task- everyone was busy. I got sick and then our Kyrgyz director decided not to go to camp. In the end it all worked out, and camp was just as much fun as the previous, despite the problems and the rain.

 

Immediately after camp, Cameron was back down South with his cousin and her boyfriend who were visiting from America. Their visit coincided with the J-Bad volunteers' visit to Osh. So we all headed down and went out dancing on Saturday night. Osh is so much more of a city than Jalalabad, so we had Chinese food for dinner- delicious. And I actually got to be out when it was dark! That may not sound like much, but I make it a rule to remain indoors once the sun goes down- I don't like to be prey for drunk men. The club was fun until said drunk men tried to start a fight with the male volunteers. Despite the way the night ended, I had a lot of fun!

 

My trip back to J-Bad was uneventful, albeit very Kyrgyz. When Ariel and I went to get out taxi back to our village the taxi driver handed us his keys, pointed in the direction of his car, and told us to make ourselves comfortable while he found more passengers. Only in Kyrgyzstan would someone just hand over car keys and not worry that his car would get stolen.

 

The next few weeks I finally get to enjoy summer! I have trips to the pool and a trip to Talas (an oblast in the North) to visit Cameron planned. And this week I have to say goodbye to the 15s who are headed home. I can't believe that this time next year I will be saying my own goodbyes to Kyrgyzstan. One year feels dually a short time and a long time. When I first began my service I didn't think that two years was that long. And while it isn't in the long run, I'm starting to see that it is in fact a significant chunk of time. While I'm here living in and experiencing a new culture, my friends and family are continuing their lives and it feels kind of like I put my on hold.

 

One 15 left in the middle of July and he's sent a few emails. It sounds hard to go back. People don't really understand what you've been through, and how do you explain two years of experiences in five minutes (the amount of time most people are willing to listen)?

 

With the 17s arriving, and the 15s departing, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the next year and what I still want to accomplish. My primary assignment, teaching English, hasn't been rewarding as I had hoped, but all of my secondary projects have exceeded my expectations and I've found them immensely rewarding. Despite all of the problems associated with my camps, I loved planning, organizing and running them, and I have enjoyed the teacher trainings that I have conducted. I'm hoping that next year I can spend more time than I did last year on my secondary projects.

 

So that's it for now, I'm sorry for the serious gap in communication. Hopefully I'll be more loquacious now that I'm not hiding in the mountains at camp. Enjoy the rest of summer! 

Summertime!

The last few weeks I've been rather busy, considering that I am no longer teaching. My parents came to visit me for a week and a half at the beginning of June. I spent the time showeing them around the country and my village. It was interesting to see their reactions to things in country, to Kyrgyzstan through their eyes. So many things are just so commonplace to me that I never even think about them anymore.

 

When they first arrived we immediately took a taxi straight south to Jalalabad. U hadn't been on the Bishkek-Osh highway for a couple of months, and things were much different this time. The drive was beautiful. Snow was beginning to melt, and things everywhere were turning green. Families had started to set up their summer residences, in yurts along the highway.

 

Kyrgyz culture is still nomadic, but today it's more of a vertical nomadism. During the colder months, people and the herds spend time in the warmer valleys, while in summer they head up into the cooler mountains. When we were driving down, it was time for all of the animals to head up to the jailoo (mountain pastures). So the road was clogged with swarms of sheep, cows, and horses. Our taxi driver spent much of the drive using his horn.

 

With my parents and Ariel, my sitemate, we headed to the lake region and went to Karakol. Ariel and I were largely disappointed with the town. After everything we had heard, we expected more. I still definitely prefer the more vibrant south. My mom really took a liking to Karakol- but that may have had more to do with the hotel.

 

After my parents let, the new volunteers (the K-17s) arrived at permanent site. I have four new sitemates. One is actually in my village, and the other three in surrounding villages. They seem nice- hopefully we'll all get along and not have too much drama.

 

Since it's summer, I also went on a mini-vacation to Talas, an oblast in the north, the visit Cameron. Other volunteers are always hating on Talas, but I liked it. I got to see my friend Patrick, we studied Kyrgyz together last summer. And I played Frisbee golf. K-10 volunteers set up a Frisbee golf course outside Talas city and volunteers still use it! It was an awesome way to spend the day.

 

The rest of my summer is turning out to be very busy. Joni and I have been planning a number of things. We're having a series of teacher training seminars for English teachers throughout our rayon (a rayon is sort of like a county). Also, we are having TWO summer camps! We're a little nuts. I'm already stressed about the planning and conducting of two summer camps, and it's not even July! But both camps will be fun… I hope.

 

Our first camp is for 10^th and 11^th form girls from throughout the Jalalabad Oblast, and our second camp is for 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th form boys and girls from our rayon. We've had a bit of stress with the funding for both camps, but it's looking like we're going to get both completely funded.

 

Also, we are having a 4^th of July party with our local friends, families, and counterparts- to introduce them to an American holiday. We're going to have a bbq and have fireworks. One of the three goals of Peace Corps is to share American culture with HCNs (host country nationals). So Joni, Ariel and I thought this would be a good way and time to work on the second goal of Peace Corps service.

 

The last thing on my summer list is working on a grant project for my school. Initially, my school wanted a resource center with English language books and materials, but after speaking with my director, my school has decided on something else. My school's director feels that students' health should be our first priority, and I agree. So, we have decided to construct a new toilet for our school. I have no idea how old the toilet we have now is, but I can say that it is disgusting. During the school year I would wait all day until I got home, rather than use that toilet. Once, I even ended my afternoon club twenty minutes early because I really had to use the toilet and I didn't want to use the school one.

 

I'm about a week shy of having been in country for a year. I still cannot believe that I have been here that long. Especially now that the weather is hot, it really does feel like I got off that plane last week. I continue to be surprised by Kyrgyz people and culture, I'm still learning the Kyrgyz language, and I still feel like an outsider. I'm not sure if I'll ever really feel like I'm a part of my village- there really are too many cultural differences. I love my village, and I love the people I get to interact with, locals and volunteers alike, but every time I go to the bazaar, or to the ice cream place, I still feel like I have a long way to go with my cultural and community integration. I'm excited to see where this next year and couple of months goes. I can't even begin to imagine what I will feel like at this point next year.

Timurlane, my new kitty.

My kitchen, with a broken fridge

the entryway, with buckets awaiting water

my bedroom

the living room, i got lucky with the furniture- normally apts don't come with quite so much

how i cook- homemade hotplate, and a small red oven

view behind my bedroom- I forgot that it was ever that green

My two counterparts- Salima, and Aigul at my birthday party

Cameron and I went to my host family's house for my cousin's bday

My 11 yr old host cousin, right before I moved out- she was my favorite person in that house

Two Buckets of Water

The last couple of weeks I've been thinking about water. It's been raining more than usual, which has had an impact on this year's crops; things are not growing. Joni's counterpart has a field where they planted watermelons, by now the watermelons should have been growing, but this year- no such luck. Water is very much a part of my daily life, not that it wasn't before, but I spend a lot more time thinking about water these days. My apartment, and actually my whole village, does not have running water. The village also has no ground water, so traditional wells are not an option. To get water I take two buckets and walk back behind my apartment building to a fellow teacher's house, where I can fill my buckets. The woman has an in-ground tank that gets filled with water as it empties. The walk there isn't too far, but the walk back seems endless. Water is deceivingly heavy! And the handles of those buckets- they dig into the palms of your hands, which is uncomfortable. This past week, the teacher's "well' was empty! So I haven't had water all week. To flush my toilet I had to go to the canal- which is full of lovely muddy water, and collect two buckets. Not really the best water for drinking or cleaning, so my apartment is a bit of a mess.

 

I also got a kitten! The kitten was Anthony's, but he decided he was actually allergic to it, so the kitty came my way. He's really cute, and very little. I've named him Timurlane, after Timur the "lame," who was a mongol warrior. Timurlane really lives up to his moniker, he's fiesty and fierce.

 

School was supposed to end May 25, but because of our long break in winter, school has been extended until June 13th. Not that students or teachers can be found at school. Many have already left for smaller villages and fieldwork.

 

Joni and I have been gearing up for summer camp! I'm really excited. The camp is going to be for high school girls from all over the Jalalabad Oblast. We have a lot of volunteers interested in helping out, which is great. I think it's because everyone heard how awesome our winter camp was, and now they want to help with summer camp!

 

My parents are arriving in a matter of hours! They missed their connecting flight in London, and so got redirected through Istanbul and are arriving in the morning. I'm pretty excited; it's been almost exactly a year since I've seen them. I have no idea what we are going to see and do, but as always in Kyrgyzstan- I'm going to go with the flow.

 

Happy Summer!

Happy Spring!

It's been a few weeks. So much has happened, but at the same time it feels as if I haven't really done anything. After Nooruz, I settled back into my school schedule, although my students did not. My afternoon classes are "specialized courses," and seem to be optional. I have spent many afternoons over the last few weeks staring at an empty classroom.

 

My English clubs are going really well. All the kids that come want to be there and to learn. Sometimes English club is my favorite part of the week. On Mondays I've started teaching one lesson at the Russian school in my village. Don't be misled by the term 'Russian' though, the students are mostly Krygyz or Uzbek, they just have all their classes in Russian. At the Russian school is a really young and awesome English teacher, Gulnaz. She's really motivated to improve her English and her teaching. Teaching with her is fun, and every week, I'm reminded why I became a Peace Corps volunteer.

 

In the first week of April, Jalalabad had a guest! Eric Weiner, an author from the US (he wrote The Geography of Bliss) came for a visit. He had met Fritz and Ginger (two volunteers down here) when they were back stateside in January, and he came out for a visit because he was writing an article for New York Magazine about Peace Corps.  The article should be coming out either next month or the month after. I'm not really sure. But his visit coincided with a birthday party, so we all got to meet and talk with him.

 

At the beginning of April, I started looking for a new place to live. I had several options available and then I moved into an apartment about two weeks ago. The apartment is nice, albeit very soviet, and it does not have running water. Volunteers have lived in the apartment in years past, and so it came stocked with some books in English, as well as a lot of furniture. I have to be very Kyrgyz and go down the street with buckets to collect water, but luckily I'm only on the first floor.

 

So far I really enjoy the freedom of getting to cook my own food. The diet I was on with my host family was… minimal- I have lost a lot of weight over the last few months. Now I can cook my own meals, and eat things besides soup, and just maybe my clothes will fit again by the end of the summer!

 

I spent last week in Bishkek. I went to the K17s training to help give a session with the medical unit about sexual assault. It was a long way to go for only 5 minutes of talking, but it was necessary. Myself and another female volunteer were there to talk about a couple of incidents that happened in the last few months. I can remember sitting in that session last year, not really listening, and dismissing the statistics that the doctors gave us. I think that by having the two of us share, it made the statistics seem more real. While I was standing in front of the sixty of them, it certainly looked like they were all listening. So perhaps, next year's statistics will be one less.

 

We found out a couple of days ago where all the new volunteers are going. Ariel, Joni, and I are excited about the three new volunteers headed our way. I met a couple of them when I was up in Bishkek, and they seem awesome and fun. They're coming down for a few days at the end of May. We've been planning a few fun things to introduce them to the amazingness that is the south.

 

Starting today holiday season is in full swing. There are three holidays during the next week, and it looks like school is going to be cancelled until the 10^th. My friend Cameron from Talas (an oblast in the North) is coming down for a visit this week, so at least I'll have things to fill my week with.

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.