I have lived in small towns my whole life. The largest city I have lived in was only a few hundred thousand people large, which seems huge to me and huge to people in Kyrgyzstan but small by American standards. This means several things. It means that I have never had to experience cramped public transportation like subway systems or cramped city buses. Even on very busy days, the buses always seemed to have room enough to maintain our cultural idea of personal space. So, perhaps this part of my experience here has more to do with my small town history than my perception of a ingrained masculinity competition. With that said, here is, what I like to call, Taxi Cab Knee Wrestling.
I was once called the epitome of masculinity. Ok. That is a lie. I like to call myself rustic but people usually laugh when I say this. Truth is, I find myself much more at home in a library or a coffee shop where the scariest encounter one will have is with the napkin dispenser than a gym or recreation park or lumber mill. Over the course of many years, the middle school taunts of “Stick to your books, Thomas!!” from George, my nemesis, have eased me into a very comfortable place of acceptance. I am not macho. I am more likely to be asked to recall some archaic fact or define a word than pick up a large bag of bricks or push a log off the road. And I am ok with this.
So it strikes me odd that it took so long for me to recognize what was happening in these taxis.
I remember the moment I realized that this egghead was being dragged into a street fight. It was nearing the end of summer. The bean harvest was near and school was soon to start. I found a taxi returning to my village so I went and sat down waiting for the forth person to arrive. (*Unlike cabs in the U.S., we wait for the entire cab to fill up. No one buys out an entire cab here, including the American without a salary.) In the front seat was a young man eating ice cream. In the back with me was his friend also eating ice cream. It was a hot day so he had taken his shirt off. I immediately was put off thinking, “We are about to cram up in this car together and he thinks I or anyone else wants to squish up next to his sweaty dirty body?” But I off course didn't say anything and hoped for an older woman to come and tell him to put his shirt on. Unfortunately, within the next few moments, our fourth passenger would present himself and the subconscious battles would begin.
All these boys were, at most, 19 years old but more likely 15-16. In this culture, that puts me in an advantageous position being 5-10 years their elder. But when those little doors noisily closed and we began our bumpy ten minute journey home, all that could represent Kyrgyzstani culture becomes second hat to this battle.
The driver makes a joke, and turns up the music. The boys idly stare out the window and occasionally make small talk with one another over the music. But as I was sitting holding my backpack in my lap, I realized my right leg was getting tired. Shifting my backpack, I realized my mistake only after it was too late. Lifting the bag just enough to allow the space it was occupying between my two knees to vacate, my right knee was immediately pushed into my left knee. Looking over at the other two boys thinking this was certainly going to be a mean joke they were playing on the “tourist” they didn't know spoke Kyrgyz, I was stunned to find that neither of them were paying any attention to me and had no idea what they had done. Sitting in the most natural way possible, both were seated with their legs spread as wide as possible. My leg had been getting tired not because my backpack was sitting on it, but because since the moment I had sat down, I had been engaged in a battle for testicle room with this other boy's knee!
Now I can assure you, there was more than enough room in this taxi for us all to have a reasonable amount of room to spread out and be comfortable. But instead, the two boys were sitting completely open legged and I was sitting with knees together with my bag on my lap like some woman concerned with propriety while sitting in Sunday School in the 1950's.
I rode the entire way home like this without anyone making any notice. I exited the taxi and walked down the road to my house. Now maybe there is some evolutionary reason concerning males and claiming territory or pronouncing their genital dominance while in the presence of other competing men. Whatever. It matters nothing to me the reasons why it occurs, but from that moment on, I have come to realize that every time I sit down in a taxi cab and sit beside a man, my unsuspecting knee is propelled into a battle of strength and fortitude. The force of the push is not enough to be overtly noticeable. It is just enough that if an adequate amount of resistance is not applied, every ounce of masculinity that once made you a member of the male gender will be usurped and you will be looking for the nearest opportunity for the car to stop and regain your dignity as you stand, stretch, and remind yourself, “I am a man.”
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
nothing new
So nothing new or exciting has happenened recently. I am talking to Mary An on Facebook chat right now. That is pretty darn exciting for me! Thomas and I are about to go on a lunch date to our favorite cafe for fried chicken and french fries! I was talking to Mary An about our favorite mexican places in tally! And now all I want more than anything is a plate of empanadas and a big margarita!
My mom has 3 packages in the mail and on their way to me!! Woohoo! I am excited about getting some warm sweaters and some christmas presents for my host family... even though they are Muslim and don't celebrate Christmas, I think everyone likes getting presents. New Years is a big holiday in Kyrgyzstan (maybe in every country). My sister said there will be tons of food and fireworks. Oh and Santa Clause comes on new years! I was thinking about going to Osh for Christmas, once school is out. But I think I really want to spend New Years with my host family. I know they will be sad if we aren't here.
Let's see... what else? My puppy is about 8 months old now and HUGE!!! I will have to post new pics soon! She is looking more and more wolfish everyday which is pretty cool! She is obsessed with this one rope toy I got her and will bring it to me over and over again for hours to play tug of war and fetch. I wish she was allowed inside! She is so cuddly!
My sister has decided she is going to get serious about learning English. I think a lot of her relatives and people in our village have been giving her crap for not learning it faster. She has picked up a lot since we have been here and they have no idea how difficult of a language English really is. But anyways she has decided she wants me to tutor her every night this week and then next week, she will try only speaking English to Thomas and I. I think if she works really hard this year, maybe she could pass the flex next year and study for a year in America. I really want her to be able to do what she wants to do with her life. She is so smart and motivated. I get so worried about her because so many of the girls here don't get to decide their own futures. Which is why I'm really hoping to start a girls empowerment club next semester.
Well it's lunch date time! Get skype and call me for super cheap!
My mom has 3 packages in the mail and on their way to me!! Woohoo! I am excited about getting some warm sweaters and some christmas presents for my host family... even though they are Muslim and don't celebrate Christmas, I think everyone likes getting presents. New Years is a big holiday in Kyrgyzstan (maybe in every country). My sister said there will be tons of food and fireworks. Oh and Santa Clause comes on new years! I was thinking about going to Osh for Christmas, once school is out. But I think I really want to spend New Years with my host family. I know they will be sad if we aren't here.
Let's see... what else? My puppy is about 8 months old now and HUGE!!! I will have to post new pics soon! She is looking more and more wolfish everyday which is pretty cool! She is obsessed with this one rope toy I got her and will bring it to me over and over again for hours to play tug of war and fetch. I wish she was allowed inside! She is so cuddly!
My sister has decided she is going to get serious about learning English. I think a lot of her relatives and people in our village have been giving her crap for not learning it faster. She has picked up a lot since we have been here and they have no idea how difficult of a language English really is. But anyways she has decided she wants me to tutor her every night this week and then next week, she will try only speaking English to Thomas and I. I think if she works really hard this year, maybe she could pass the flex next year and study for a year in America. I really want her to be able to do what she wants to do with her life. She is so smart and motivated. I get so worried about her because so many of the girls here don't get to decide their own futures. Which is why I'm really hoping to start a girls empowerment club next semester.
Well it's lunch date time! Get skype and call me for super cheap!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
no school!
My school has been quarrantined! It is closed until December 7th because sooo many teachers and students have the flu! Thanks to medical, I have my handy, dandy flu shot. So hopefully that will keep me safe. I also started taking vitamins and buying oranges (which are FREAKING expensive). Now I need to come up with ways to occupy my time for the next ten days. I am thinking that since I am fresh from IST that I will start creating materials for my future lessons. Like maybe go through all of the resources I got at IST and start making some of the games and activities. That way, I will save time in the future, just being able to grab the pre-made activity, rather than having to sit down and create it. I also want to start writing a calendar plan for next quarter. The one my counterpart wrote for this quarter just isn't working. There is way too much reading and translating texts. Not enough grammar and speaking.
Tomorrow is ait. A muslim holiday. I will go around from neighboor to neighboor with my host mother eating food and fruit and candy and bread until I absolutely, positively cannot eat anymore (actually takes longer than you think!). Having lost 15 pounds since being here, I think I can afford it!
Thanks to all the fantastic friends and family who have send us packages recently! We have enjoyed lots of tasty American food! And we have gotten really good at making things last. It took us 2 weeks to eat a package of Oreos. Actually it really isn't me at all. If I had my way I would have eaten them in two days. It is religiously sensible Thomas who helps me have oreos for an entire 2 weeks!!!
I am thinking about starting a girls club at my school. Just an all encompassing information club where girls can get together in a safe environment and chat and ask questions. It's really hard for them to get information, especially about female health or reproduction. The tricky part is I need to find a local woman, who speaks English, who would be interested in helping me. The language barrier is really difficult. I could understand and answer questions in Kyrgyz but I don't think I could expand on any scientific or medical reasons. Also it might be a little risky for me to lead the club alone. Especially if the girls want to talk about sex or any other "taboo" topic.
I want to do so much and be so proactive... but it's so slow going. There's so much involved in cross cultural exchange, gaining trust, language aquisition, etc. This is when I feel like my social work education comes in so handy. A lot of volunteers can't see that all of that stuff goes hand in hand with sustainable development work so they rush gung-ho into a project and when it doesn't work they get frustrated and bitter and they blame everything on the local people. It's actually a big problem in PC. So many volunteers leave bitter and hating their time here. I DO NOT want to be that person. Just spending time with those kinds of volunteers is draining and frustrating.... and unfortunately there are a lot of them!
It started snowing here. Just a little, but it is beautiful! I am a tiny bit excited for winter... and a lot a bit scared!!!
If you are interested in sending a Christmas package, I could really use some sweaters, a cute skirt or 2 (atleast knee length), and brown or black tights. Thanks!
Tomorrow is ait. A muslim holiday. I will go around from neighboor to neighboor with my host mother eating food and fruit and candy and bread until I absolutely, positively cannot eat anymore (actually takes longer than you think!). Having lost 15 pounds since being here, I think I can afford it!
Thanks to all the fantastic friends and family who have send us packages recently! We have enjoyed lots of tasty American food! And we have gotten really good at making things last. It took us 2 weeks to eat a package of Oreos. Actually it really isn't me at all. If I had my way I would have eaten them in two days. It is religiously sensible Thomas who helps me have oreos for an entire 2 weeks!!!
I am thinking about starting a girls club at my school. Just an all encompassing information club where girls can get together in a safe environment and chat and ask questions. It's really hard for them to get information, especially about female health or reproduction. The tricky part is I need to find a local woman, who speaks English, who would be interested in helping me. The language barrier is really difficult. I could understand and answer questions in Kyrgyz but I don't think I could expand on any scientific or medical reasons. Also it might be a little risky for me to lead the club alone. Especially if the girls want to talk about sex or any other "taboo" topic.
I want to do so much and be so proactive... but it's so slow going. There's so much involved in cross cultural exchange, gaining trust, language aquisition, etc. This is when I feel like my social work education comes in so handy. A lot of volunteers can't see that all of that stuff goes hand in hand with sustainable development work so they rush gung-ho into a project and when it doesn't work they get frustrated and bitter and they blame everything on the local people. It's actually a big problem in PC. So many volunteers leave bitter and hating their time here. I DO NOT want to be that person. Just spending time with those kinds of volunteers is draining and frustrating.... and unfortunately there are a lot of them!
It started snowing here. Just a little, but it is beautiful! I am a tiny bit excited for winter... and a lot a bit scared!!!
If you are interested in sending a Christmas package, I could really use some sweaters, a cute skirt or 2 (atleast knee length), and brown or black tights. Thanks!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
If i had a million dollars....
So for everyone concerned, I am over the cake incident! It was just a clash of individualism versus collectivism. Things are patched up with my family... they felt so bad, they bought us a replacement cake... not nearly as tasty but a very sweet gesture.
Thomas and I just got back from an 11 day trip to the capital. The first 6 days were spent in training sessions with all of the other volunteers from our k-17 group. The sessions were fantastic! It was a really good time to get together and discuss our frustrations and sucesses. We also had a few language sessions and a chance to take the Kyrgyz fluency test again. Thomas and I are both now officially fluent in Kyrgyz. I think that's a pretty big accomplishment for only living here and studying Kyrgyz for 8 months. We also had a chance to meet the 2 new PC staff members, Greg and Seth. They seem pretty down to earth!
On Saturday, our sessions were over and PC wasn't putting us in our hotel until Sunday night, so we stayed with Kathleen. She is a K-13 who lives in the capital and has the nicest, most cozy apartment EVER! Fritz was stayed there too.... I had never met him before but we hit it off great! It was nice to hang out with older (not old, just older) volunteers! On sunday we checked into our hotel and found that a lot of other volunteers were staying there as well... so we had plently of company. It was like a mini-vacation. I did have to go to the dentist though. But it was quite possibly the best dentist visit I have ever had. I had a cavity filled and it was completely painless. I didn't even feel the novacaine needle. For those of you who know how terrified of the dentist I am, you know this was a big deal!!! It was a great week! Now I am back at my site and pumped to get back to teaching and really try to implement some of the new strategies and lesson plans we learned. We'll see if my counterpart is as pumped as I am!
I miss you all!!! Call or email when you have time! It really means a lot to us!
Thomas and I just got back from an 11 day trip to the capital. The first 6 days were spent in training sessions with all of the other volunteers from our k-17 group. The sessions were fantastic! It was a really good time to get together and discuss our frustrations and sucesses. We also had a few language sessions and a chance to take the Kyrgyz fluency test again. Thomas and I are both now officially fluent in Kyrgyz. I think that's a pretty big accomplishment for only living here and studying Kyrgyz for 8 months. We also had a chance to meet the 2 new PC staff members, Greg and Seth. They seem pretty down to earth!
On Saturday, our sessions were over and PC wasn't putting us in our hotel until Sunday night, so we stayed with Kathleen. She is a K-13 who lives in the capital and has the nicest, most cozy apartment EVER! Fritz was stayed there too.... I had never met him before but we hit it off great! It was nice to hang out with older (not old, just older) volunteers! On sunday we checked into our hotel and found that a lot of other volunteers were staying there as well... so we had plently of company. It was like a mini-vacation. I did have to go to the dentist though. But it was quite possibly the best dentist visit I have ever had. I had a cavity filled and it was completely painless. I didn't even feel the novacaine needle. For those of you who know how terrified of the dentist I am, you know this was a big deal!!! It was a great week! Now I am back at my site and pumped to get back to teaching and really try to implement some of the new strategies and lesson plans we learned. We'll see if my counterpart is as pumped as I am!
I miss you all!!! Call or email when you have time! It really means a lot to us!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
two in a row?
Who would have known that I would need to rant twice in a row. But today just started out as one of those days where I want to give up. Sometimes I amazed at the rudeness of people. So here is what set me off....
I recently got a package from my bestest friend TT which included a wonderful Duncan Hines cake and chocolate frosting. I was super exicted about it beacuse the cakes here just aren't good. And it's a huge treat to get something like that from America. So last night I decided to make this amazing cake... which doesn't take a lot of ingredients but does take a lot of upper arm strength since it required a blender (which we don't have). After spending 40 minutes beating out all the lumps and getting it into the oven, it was finally finished. After dinner me, Thomas and my host all ate a small piece, leaving 3/4 of it for the next day to share with my sister when she came home. So I set the cake on a seperate table and continued about my night. Later in the evening two high school age boys came over to spend the night so that the next morning they could help my host mother sort beans. The next morning I got up and went into the dining room to find that the 2 boys had eaten the entire rest of the cake. Without asking ANYONE! They didn't just eat a piece they ate ALL of it. I was so pissed. I could tell my host mom didnt understand why I was so angry. After all it was just a cake right? It really wasn't the cake that was a big deal.... it was the fact that 2 random boys came to MY house and proceeded to eat everything insight without any regard for whose it might be.... and they ate the ENTIRE cake. What is wrong with people? They never apologized or anything, they just said they didn't know it was mine. Even if it was my host mom's, what right do they have to come into our house and eat an entire cake without asking? AHHHH!! I was so angry I had to get out of my house and come to the city where I now am typing this ridiculous rant.....
I recently got a package from my bestest friend TT which included a wonderful Duncan Hines cake and chocolate frosting. I was super exicted about it beacuse the cakes here just aren't good. And it's a huge treat to get something like that from America. So last night I decided to make this amazing cake... which doesn't take a lot of ingredients but does take a lot of upper arm strength since it required a blender (which we don't have). After spending 40 minutes beating out all the lumps and getting it into the oven, it was finally finished. After dinner me, Thomas and my host all ate a small piece, leaving 3/4 of it for the next day to share with my sister when she came home. So I set the cake on a seperate table and continued about my night. Later in the evening two high school age boys came over to spend the night so that the next morning they could help my host mother sort beans. The next morning I got up and went into the dining room to find that the 2 boys had eaten the entire rest of the cake. Without asking ANYONE! They didn't just eat a piece they ate ALL of it. I was so pissed. I could tell my host mom didnt understand why I was so angry. After all it was just a cake right? It really wasn't the cake that was a big deal.... it was the fact that 2 random boys came to MY house and proceeded to eat everything insight without any regard for whose it might be.... and they ate the ENTIRE cake. What is wrong with people? They never apologized or anything, they just said they didn't know it was mine. Even if it was my host mom's, what right do they have to come into our house and eat an entire cake without asking? AHHHH!! I was so angry I had to get out of my house and come to the city where I now am typing this ridiculous rant.....
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
My students love Halloween!
Yesterday was Halloween! I took 11 of my English club students to a Halloween party put on by some of the volunteers. There was a small haunted house, which scared the crap out of some kids. Then there were games like bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, guess the mystery item and ski ball (or skeet ball if you're Corey James.) My students absolutely loved it. After the games we all ate lunch and then each group performed a skit about Halloween (which is not really only an American holiday, my students didn't know much about it). My students did a skit about a witch stealing candy from 2 little kids. And then an angel appeared and said "abra kadabra", making the witch die and candy appear for the children. It was so funny. Then they danced to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. I showed them the video before hand so they even included some "zombie" moves. It was amazing! We all dressed up as zombies for the dance! When we finally got home later that day, I asked my sister if she liked it and she said "I'll never forget it!" It made me realize what a special day it really was for my students. They don't get many days where they can get away and just play like kids. They are always busy, always working. It's just the nature of life in Kyrgyzstan.
After getting my students home safely, I went back into the city to Kristen's house. Patrick made us all stir fry and something with eggplant in it. It was a fun night. The guys decided since it was Halloween they needed to put their clothes on inside out (yea I'm not sure what that has to do with Halloween either). They attempted to intitiate a dance off against us girls. But the other girls wouldn't reply to their challenge. So I reluctantly joined the boys side and led an offensive against them. They gave me no choice.
This Halloween made me remember last Halloween when I hung out at Justin and Angie's house. We just sat around with our beers and our food on the balcony and pulled a string to our "ghost" rocking chair to scare kids. It was so simple but so perfect. I miss feeling so confortable with people and just in my own element.
This week is a school holiday so I don't have classes. But I am going to go in to plan with my co-teacher and also have English clubs. Hopefully I can convince my co-teacher to change the calendar plan for some of the grades. The content she has planned is just way to hard for them. We could probably take the calender plan for 7th grade and apply it to 8th- 11th grade and it would still be difficult for most of the students. And why my 9th grade students need to read about the Great October Socialist Revolution, I will never know. I am happy for a light week of work and ready for a little rest. I feel like I have been very busy lately with little time for my co-teacher and I to get on the same page. Sometimes we can spend an entire day at school together and never have time to discuss our classes. Next week is our IST in Bishkek. IST stands for something I cannot remember. But basically it a week of technical and language training. We spend the first 2 days in training sessions with our counterpart and then the last 4 with just volunteers. It will be nice break from teaching, the village and our family.
After getting my students home safely, I went back into the city to Kristen's house. Patrick made us all stir fry and something with eggplant in it. It was a fun night. The guys decided since it was Halloween they needed to put their clothes on inside out (yea I'm not sure what that has to do with Halloween either). They attempted to intitiate a dance off against us girls. But the other girls wouldn't reply to their challenge. So I reluctantly joined the boys side and led an offensive against them. They gave me no choice.
This Halloween made me remember last Halloween when I hung out at Justin and Angie's house. We just sat around with our beers and our food on the balcony and pulled a string to our "ghost" rocking chair to scare kids. It was so simple but so perfect. I miss feeling so confortable with people and just in my own element.
This week is a school holiday so I don't have classes. But I am going to go in to plan with my co-teacher and also have English clubs. Hopefully I can convince my co-teacher to change the calendar plan for some of the grades. The content she has planned is just way to hard for them. We could probably take the calender plan for 7th grade and apply it to 8th- 11th grade and it would still be difficult for most of the students. And why my 9th grade students need to read about the Great October Socialist Revolution, I will never know. I am happy for a light week of work and ready for a little rest. I feel like I have been very busy lately with little time for my co-teacher and I to get on the same page. Sometimes we can spend an entire day at school together and never have time to discuss our classes. Next week is our IST in Bishkek. IST stands for something I cannot remember. But basically it a week of technical and language training. We spend the first 2 days in training sessions with our counterpart and then the last 4 with just volunteers. It will be nice break from teaching, the village and our family.
wtf?
And I had a need to rant.....
If one more person insinuates that me being married makes my opinions and experiences null and void, I might have to throw something. It's like I joined Peace Corps, stepped into this culture of single people and all of a sudden I came into this world married with no prior history or experiences. If one more person says "Oh well you're married so..." So what? I can't possibly understand the plight of a single person? I can't state an opinion about a relationship issue? I mean obviously I was born this way and never had any experience being single. What the heck people? I can let it go a few times, but it has become a staple part of the defense in any conversation I am a part of. I found out recently that when we first came to country, some of the girls didn't consider me part of the "girl" group because I was married. Sometimes I feel so isolated here. I went from having a core group of friends who were all married, to having no married friends. I don't even nescessarily need married friends.... just friends who don't make idiotic statements about the value of my opinions because of my marital status. Atleast people who can uderstand that being married is not my entire identity and doesn't define me as a human being. This blog was brought on by a comment that was made last night and I am still fuming over it. I refuse to look over it anymore. It's unfair and isolating.
If one more person insinuates that me being married makes my opinions and experiences null and void, I might have to throw something. It's like I joined Peace Corps, stepped into this culture of single people and all of a sudden I came into this world married with no prior history or experiences. If one more person says "Oh well you're married so..." So what? I can't possibly understand the plight of a single person? I can't state an opinion about a relationship issue? I mean obviously I was born this way and never had any experience being single. What the heck people? I can let it go a few times, but it has become a staple part of the defense in any conversation I am a part of. I found out recently that when we first came to country, some of the girls didn't consider me part of the "girl" group because I was married. Sometimes I feel so isolated here. I went from having a core group of friends who were all married, to having no married friends. I don't even nescessarily need married friends.... just friends who don't make idiotic statements about the value of my opinions because of my marital status. Atleast people who can uderstand that being married is not my entire identity and doesn't define me as a human being. This blog was brought on by a comment that was made last night and I am still fuming over it. I refuse to look over it anymore. It's unfair and isolating.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Thomas blogs too.
Brevity does not exist here. Prepare yourself.
The other week the Director of Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan came to our site to check up on us. They call these "site visits." The site visit wasn't just to Rach and myself but, I assume, will eventually be done to all volunteers, oblast by oblast. The scene goes as follows, our modest four person table is decorated with the finest fares that our humble host family have for just such an occasion: several kinds of jams, honey, sugar cubes, the nice tea pot and special tea cups, bread, candies and other sweet pastries of all kinds. With my host mom serving tea and the director's assistant idlely chatting to keep her company, the director asks questions concerning everything that is our entire existence at this moment. I don't mean to make it seem like a therapy session, because it certainly is not. But even the simplest question like, "How are things going?" or "How is work?" or "How are you adjusting?" have the potential to fully pierce any hardy exterior and get to the root of all that plagues our 24 hour job of being a volunteer. That is of course if we choose to answer truthfully, or as we humans are, truthfully know the answer within us.
Sitting maybe a meter from my host mom, who stays to serve tea, we have the absolute freedom to say anything we want, maybe against her, the village, the country, the culture, whatever. Because all questions of impropriety are lost in this situation.
She doesn't understand a word we say.
And what an ample metaphor, but you won't understand that just yet.
The Director suggests I read a blog from another volunteer that is currently experiencing similar problems. (She knows about the contents of blogs because, as it might surprise all but the most cynical readers, our blogs are monitored for appropriateness. Hi Claudia.) I took her advice, spent a few minutes searching for it next time I was on the internet and read it. It was brilliant actually. Her struggles were actually relatively similar to some of mine. And although I can't say I am happy that another volunteer is having a difficult time, like any human being, it is good to know I am not alone in my struggles. And it occurs to me, that while people constantly ask about what is going on "over here," it might actually be that some of them have the capacity to understand some of all this. So here I am, vaulting myself into yet another endeavor that is based on some naive idea of humanity.
I arrived in mid-June to my site. I am a health promotion volunteer assigned to an Orphanage for "Specialty Children" which basically means children with mental development issues. Funny thing about my orphanage is that during the summer, the school closes and the kids go home. So I was told there was no work. My director was an older woman who had worked at the orphanage for over twenty years. She knew the last volunteer that worked there and worked very closely with him on some of his projects. She spoke brilliant English and seemed nice enough. She told me to spend the summer studying my language skills and getting to know my new home. Work would come in September.
So I enjoyed my summer. I relaxed. A lot. I read. I played some computer games. I studied my language and got to know my community. I was even able to visit some other portions of the country and help with some summer camps.
My summer morning: #1. Sleep in. #2. Eat breakfast with coffee. #3. Get water. This entails me putting a giant old milk canister (maybe 50 liters, maybe more) on a hand cart and hauling it down our road and to an old pump, filling it up, then hauling it back. This is our water for the day. I was in the middle of step 3 of my day when my phone rings. "Guljan Eje." Probably just checking up on me, I suspect. It is around 9:30. After the usual hi's, how are you's, she says, "Thomas, I need you to come to the internat (orphanage) today. I need you to meet the calibrators. I need you here at 11." That was only an hour and a half away and, surprisingly, on this day I had actually made plans in Talas City. "Calibrators? What calibrators? What are they calibrating?" "No. [pause] Collaborators. I need you to meet the other collaborators. You must come today." This was not the way I wanted to begin our professional career together but I figured I would explain proper scheduling to her later. I mean, we spent 11 weeks in Training talking about this kind of stuff. It was half expected.
So I went. But collaborators wasn't the right word. I think... new staff would have been better. Replacement director would have worked also. The government put a new director at the school. And he had no idea who I was. Or what Peace Corps was. The first words he said after meeting me were, "We can't pay him. We don't have the budget for him." I knew this was going to be rough.
To give him and Peace Corps (PC) credit, he was quickly brought up to speed. He was educated and quickly came to understand what my "role" was. But here is where it starts to get muddy.
What is my role there? If you ask PC, my director, and me, you will probably get all different answers. No matter where you go in this country, health equates physical fitness. September came and so did the children. It was here that I quickly learned that the next two years of my life had been mapped out as giving PE classes to 1st-4th graders and/or English lessons.
As they say here, bolboeet (Not going to happen, or literally, it will not be).
I feel like we need a recap before we move on. Act 1: Removal from large airborne metal canister to foreign soil. Act 2: Two and a half months of training. Act 3: Summer, AKA, Intermission. Act 4: Conflict! English language removed. Next two years realized.
And what are those two years?
I had visions about what this would be. I think everyone did. And still does. I mean, I still have these amazing dreams about doing amazing things to help lots and lots of people. But truthfully, my blissful naivety has seen better days. I mean, I will always fight the losing battle. I won't give up. But sometimes, I used to think there was a chance of not losing.
Anyways... those two years. What do I do? The orphanage won't do. I am no PE teacher. I mean, for goodness sake, with every new person I meet, I inevitably will get the question about why I am so skinny. Apparently, it’s because I don't eat enough and do enough manual labor, I am told. What makes it more, I just don't like small children. Teenagers and adults are great. But not small kids. Is this truly what development work is boiled down to? PE classes to children?
So I have to build my own job. The next two years will be completely contingent on me finding someone to work with. Only problem is, I can't say that last sentence in Kyrgyz. And I can't say lots of other things in Kyrgyz. My director tells me almost everyday I talk with him that I have bad Kyrgyz. (My apa, mom, emphatically tells me the things I can tell him in return. It is actually quite cute.) I have to weigh every opportunity against my language ability. Every possibility for work comes with a catch; "He speaks very poor Kyrgyz so you have to baby step with him." And what is more, everyday, my life is in contrast to the work done by others with English-speaking counterparts.
"I don't know" and "I don't understand" have both become staple pieces of conversation in this country. And being laughed at, a new pause in conversation.
I know this might sound terribly depressing. So let me be clear. It is. It truly is that depressing sometimes. It is cold too. And when I am sad, there is no, let’s go to a bar with some friends and drink and go see a movie and get a slice and then wake up tomorrow feeling better. Everyday is a battle with the sun to make it go faster so that your lack of work seems less heavy. Everyday involves a conversation with hard-working Kyrgyz people about what I am doing that day where I am embarrassed to admit, "Nothing". Everyday involves a conversation with myself where I question the necessity and virtue of being here.
And I guess maybe this is the bright spot. Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither can my language be. And neither can my work. Everything has a process. And process is important. Process gives the end meaning. So I climb my Everest. I participate in culture exchanges. I help my family with the potato harvest. I go to wedding feasts and give bad toasts that people cheer for nonetheless. I teach three students in an English club and talk to them about culture. I study my Kyrgyz and try my elementary school level sentences on for a try. I help build a bigger sheep pen out back and I herd the calf, cows and sheep when need arises. I learn what it means to live in these inhospitable lands with these very hospitable people.
And that also means I sit a meter from people and let them talk about me, my culture, my thinness, my bad Kyrgyz, or whatever they want, without the necessity of knowing everything they say. But I stay because maybe in a bit, work may open up. You know, they may drink all the tea in their cup and need a refill.
The other week the Director of Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan came to our site to check up on us. They call these "site visits." The site visit wasn't just to Rach and myself but, I assume, will eventually be done to all volunteers, oblast by oblast. The scene goes as follows, our modest four person table is decorated with the finest fares that our humble host family have for just such an occasion: several kinds of jams, honey, sugar cubes, the nice tea pot and special tea cups, bread, candies and other sweet pastries of all kinds. With my host mom serving tea and the director's assistant idlely chatting to keep her company, the director asks questions concerning everything that is our entire existence at this moment. I don't mean to make it seem like a therapy session, because it certainly is not. But even the simplest question like, "How are things going?" or "How is work?" or "How are you adjusting?" have the potential to fully pierce any hardy exterior and get to the root of all that plagues our 24 hour job of being a volunteer. That is of course if we choose to answer truthfully, or as we humans are, truthfully know the answer within us.
Sitting maybe a meter from my host mom, who stays to serve tea, we have the absolute freedom to say anything we want, maybe against her, the village, the country, the culture, whatever. Because all questions of impropriety are lost in this situation.
She doesn't understand a word we say.
And what an ample metaphor, but you won't understand that just yet.
The Director suggests I read a blog from another volunteer that is currently experiencing similar problems. (She knows about the contents of blogs because, as it might surprise all but the most cynical readers, our blogs are monitored for appropriateness. Hi Claudia.) I took her advice, spent a few minutes searching for it next time I was on the internet and read it. It was brilliant actually. Her struggles were actually relatively similar to some of mine. And although I can't say I am happy that another volunteer is having a difficult time, like any human being, it is good to know I am not alone in my struggles. And it occurs to me, that while people constantly ask about what is going on "over here," it might actually be that some of them have the capacity to understand some of all this. So here I am, vaulting myself into yet another endeavor that is based on some naive idea of humanity.
I arrived in mid-June to my site. I am a health promotion volunteer assigned to an Orphanage for "Specialty Children" which basically means children with mental development issues. Funny thing about my orphanage is that during the summer, the school closes and the kids go home. So I was told there was no work. My director was an older woman who had worked at the orphanage for over twenty years. She knew the last volunteer that worked there and worked very closely with him on some of his projects. She spoke brilliant English and seemed nice enough. She told me to spend the summer studying my language skills and getting to know my new home. Work would come in September.
So I enjoyed my summer. I relaxed. A lot. I read. I played some computer games. I studied my language and got to know my community. I was even able to visit some other portions of the country and help with some summer camps.
My summer morning: #1. Sleep in. #2. Eat breakfast with coffee. #3. Get water. This entails me putting a giant old milk canister (maybe 50 liters, maybe more) on a hand cart and hauling it down our road and to an old pump, filling it up, then hauling it back. This is our water for the day. I was in the middle of step 3 of my day when my phone rings. "Guljan Eje." Probably just checking up on me, I suspect. It is around 9:30. After the usual hi's, how are you's, she says, "Thomas, I need you to come to the internat (orphanage) today. I need you to meet the calibrators. I need you here at 11." That was only an hour and a half away and, surprisingly, on this day I had actually made plans in Talas City. "Calibrators? What calibrators? What are they calibrating?" "No. [pause] Collaborators. I need you to meet the other collaborators. You must come today." This was not the way I wanted to begin our professional career together but I figured I would explain proper scheduling to her later. I mean, we spent 11 weeks in Training talking about this kind of stuff. It was half expected.
So I went. But collaborators wasn't the right word. I think... new staff would have been better. Replacement director would have worked also. The government put a new director at the school. And he had no idea who I was. Or what Peace Corps was. The first words he said after meeting me were, "We can't pay him. We don't have the budget for him." I knew this was going to be rough.
To give him and Peace Corps (PC) credit, he was quickly brought up to speed. He was educated and quickly came to understand what my "role" was. But here is where it starts to get muddy.
What is my role there? If you ask PC, my director, and me, you will probably get all different answers. No matter where you go in this country, health equates physical fitness. September came and so did the children. It was here that I quickly learned that the next two years of my life had been mapped out as giving PE classes to 1st-4th graders and/or English lessons.
As they say here, bolboeet (Not going to happen, or literally, it will not be).
I feel like we need a recap before we move on. Act 1: Removal from large airborne metal canister to foreign soil. Act 2: Two and a half months of training. Act 3: Summer, AKA, Intermission. Act 4: Conflict! English language removed. Next two years realized.
And what are those two years?
I had visions about what this would be. I think everyone did. And still does. I mean, I still have these amazing dreams about doing amazing things to help lots and lots of people. But truthfully, my blissful naivety has seen better days. I mean, I will always fight the losing battle. I won't give up. But sometimes, I used to think there was a chance of not losing.
Anyways... those two years. What do I do? The orphanage won't do. I am no PE teacher. I mean, for goodness sake, with every new person I meet, I inevitably will get the question about why I am so skinny. Apparently, it’s because I don't eat enough and do enough manual labor, I am told. What makes it more, I just don't like small children. Teenagers and adults are great. But not small kids. Is this truly what development work is boiled down to? PE classes to children?
So I have to build my own job. The next two years will be completely contingent on me finding someone to work with. Only problem is, I can't say that last sentence in Kyrgyz. And I can't say lots of other things in Kyrgyz. My director tells me almost everyday I talk with him that I have bad Kyrgyz. (My apa, mom, emphatically tells me the things I can tell him in return. It is actually quite cute.) I have to weigh every opportunity against my language ability. Every possibility for work comes with a catch; "He speaks very poor Kyrgyz so you have to baby step with him." And what is more, everyday, my life is in contrast to the work done by others with English-speaking counterparts.
"I don't know" and "I don't understand" have both become staple pieces of conversation in this country. And being laughed at, a new pause in conversation.
I know this might sound terribly depressing. So let me be clear. It is. It truly is that depressing sometimes. It is cold too. And when I am sad, there is no, let’s go to a bar with some friends and drink and go see a movie and get a slice and then wake up tomorrow feeling better. Everyday is a battle with the sun to make it go faster so that your lack of work seems less heavy. Everyday involves a conversation with hard-working Kyrgyz people about what I am doing that day where I am embarrassed to admit, "Nothing". Everyday involves a conversation with myself where I question the necessity and virtue of being here.
And I guess maybe this is the bright spot. Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither can my language be. And neither can my work. Everything has a process. And process is important. Process gives the end meaning. So I climb my Everest. I participate in culture exchanges. I help my family with the potato harvest. I go to wedding feasts and give bad toasts that people cheer for nonetheless. I teach three students in an English club and talk to them about culture. I study my Kyrgyz and try my elementary school level sentences on for a try. I help build a bigger sheep pen out back and I herd the calf, cows and sheep when need arises. I learn what it means to live in these inhospitable lands with these very hospitable people.
And that also means I sit a meter from people and let them talk about me, my culture, my thinness, my bad Kyrgyz, or whatever they want, without the necessity of knowing everything they say. But I stay because maybe in a bit, work may open up. You know, they may drink all the tea in their cup and need a refill.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
What if I can't do it?
Had a few frustrating days this week! Team teaching is proving to be difficult as my co-teacher is proving a bit unreliable. Grrr.... I do not understand her.
Anyways, on a good note... my sister turned 14 last Thursday. We had a great time. We made pizza and a cake and invited her friends over for dinner. They were so cute. She wanted me to hang out with them but not our host mom.... poor mom was stuck in the kitchen, washing dishes. Tomorrow is a national holiday... the last day of Ramadan. So I am going with my mom and sis guesting. We will got to about 10-15 different houses and be expected to eat full meals at each one! Wahooo!
Thomas and I got an amazing package from his old coworkers at TMH... enough coffee to last for our entire service, dorrito's, oreos, spices.... omg! I'm so excited for Thomas to get back from his seminar so we can dig in! I promised him I wouldn't open anything until he got back.... it's like he wants to torture me.... 2 days to go!
Anyways, on a good note... my sister turned 14 last Thursday. We had a great time. We made pizza and a cake and invited her friends over for dinner. They were so cute. She wanted me to hang out with them but not our host mom.... poor mom was stuck in the kitchen, washing dishes. Tomorrow is a national holiday... the last day of Ramadan. So I am going with my mom and sis guesting. We will got to about 10-15 different houses and be expected to eat full meals at each one! Wahooo!
Thomas and I got an amazing package from his old coworkers at TMH... enough coffee to last for our entire service, dorrito's, oreos, spices.... omg! I'm so excited for Thomas to get back from his seminar so we can dig in! I promised him I wouldn't open anything until he got back.... it's like he wants to torture me.... 2 days to go!
Monday, September 7, 2009
skipping school
September 8, 2009
So I get to skip school today and hang out in the city with Tsui (another volunteer)! We are waiting for our students to finish the 2nd round of Flex testing. Flex is a scholarhip program that awards 70 scholarhips to Kyrgyz high school students to study for one year at an American high school. There are 3 rounds of testing. Yesterday was the first round. I brought 3 students and one of them passed the first round and is taking the second round as I type. I am so proud of her! It's a really big deal to even get this far. Out of the 100 students that came to the first round only 28 passed.
Even though I come to the city all the time, it's a lot more exciting to come when you are skipping work! LOL!
So I get to skip school today and hang out in the city with Tsui (another volunteer)! We are waiting for our students to finish the 2nd round of Flex testing. Flex is a scholarhip program that awards 70 scholarhips to Kyrgyz high school students to study for one year at an American high school. There are 3 rounds of testing. Yesterday was the first round. I brought 3 students and one of them passed the first round and is taking the second round as I type. I am so proud of her! It's a really big deal to even get this far. Out of the 100 students that came to the first round only 28 passed.
Even though I come to the city all the time, it's a lot more exciting to come when you are skipping work! LOL!
what happened to the weather?
September 4, 2009
Well the first week of school is over... I don't really know quite what to say about it. It was difficult. The first week of school most classes don't actually have lessons. The teachers hand out books, explain what supplies the students need and the rules. My counterpart (co-teacher) didn't mention this so we had lessons planned for the entire week. I'm not really sure why she didn't tell me. We tried to have most of the lessons but it was really difficult because class always started late and ended early. Also my counterpart asked during 2 classes if she could be excused to go to the library to help hand out books... so I was left 2 seperate times on the 1st and 2nd day of school in a class having no idea what I was doing. It was really frustrating. It's a difficult working relationship because we don't know each other very well and she doesn't understand English very well. I try to speak to her in Kyrgyz but she doesn't want me to because she wants her English to get better (which I understand). But it's difficult having so many misunderstandings. Right now I just feel a little frustrated. I know (or I hope) things will get better but this week was aggravating. She seems very willing to incorporate my ideas into the lessons but she just refuses to give up the vocabulary lessons in this really old soviet book from 1986. It just makes no sense to me why anyone would ever need to know the words hydraulic irrigation or backwardness or nomadic cattle breeding...... especially students who can barely introduce themselves in English. The thing that is the most frustrating is that the book doesn't even contain the national curriculim... which I thought every teacher had to use. The national curriculum actually makes sense. The topics are things like family, friends, shopping, holidays, etc. Not "education in the USSR."
I had a fun day with my siblings today. They accidentally learned some bad words from me. Ooops! It really was an accident. They were playing around and speaking in a Kyrgyz pig latin language and one of the words that came out was "eng jamon" (really bad....the worst). So I started laughing and of course I had to tell them what I was laughing about. And then it became a joke after that where they kept saying it over and over again. When Thomas got home, he got an earful from both of them. I laughed so hard I almost puked. (We had just stuffed ourselves with burritos... a now weekly tradition in my family).
It's starting to get colder here. I have worn a hoodie and pants everyday this week. At night it is really cold. I can't believe it's this cold in September! Now I'm really scared of the winter! AHH!!! I'm gonna freeze to death!
Well the first week of school is over... I don't really know quite what to say about it. It was difficult. The first week of school most classes don't actually have lessons. The teachers hand out books, explain what supplies the students need and the rules. My counterpart (co-teacher) didn't mention this so we had lessons planned for the entire week. I'm not really sure why she didn't tell me. We tried to have most of the lessons but it was really difficult because class always started late and ended early. Also my counterpart asked during 2 classes if she could be excused to go to the library to help hand out books... so I was left 2 seperate times on the 1st and 2nd day of school in a class having no idea what I was doing. It was really frustrating. It's a difficult working relationship because we don't know each other very well and she doesn't understand English very well. I try to speak to her in Kyrgyz but she doesn't want me to because she wants her English to get better (which I understand). But it's difficult having so many misunderstandings. Right now I just feel a little frustrated. I know (or I hope) things will get better but this week was aggravating. She seems very willing to incorporate my ideas into the lessons but she just refuses to give up the vocabulary lessons in this really old soviet book from 1986. It just makes no sense to me why anyone would ever need to know the words hydraulic irrigation or backwardness or nomadic cattle breeding...... especially students who can barely introduce themselves in English. The thing that is the most frustrating is that the book doesn't even contain the national curriculim... which I thought every teacher had to use. The national curriculum actually makes sense. The topics are things like family, friends, shopping, holidays, etc. Not "education in the USSR."
I had a fun day with my siblings today. They accidentally learned some bad words from me. Ooops! It really was an accident. They were playing around and speaking in a Kyrgyz pig latin language and one of the words that came out was "eng jamon" (really bad....the worst). So I started laughing and of course I had to tell them what I was laughing about. And then it became a joke after that where they kept saying it over and over again. When Thomas got home, he got an earful from both of them. I laughed so hard I almost puked. (We had just stuffed ourselves with burritos... a now weekly tradition in my family).
It's starting to get colder here. I have worn a hoodie and pants everyday this week. At night it is really cold. I can't believe it's this cold in September! Now I'm really scared of the winter! AHH!!! I'm gonna freeze to death!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The first day of school which is apparantly a holiday
I have survived my first day of classes! Yesterday was technically the first day of school but no classes were actually given. It was just a big celebration of the new first grade students and the eleventh grade students (there is no 12th grade). Everyone came to the school for a big ceremony... lots of people gave speaches, the first graders sang songs and there was a white aisle covered in rose petals for everyone to walk down. Then all of the school staff went to a first graders house and had a huge feast. This is the tradition for the first day of school and it happens all over Kyrgyzstan. We ate until we could not eat even another bite. Then we gave our wishes to the first graders mother, we sang songs and most everyone (not me) drank vodka. I sang Abba.... it was awesome!
Today classes started. I teach 7th-11th grade. It is a pretty light schedule. Only 14hours of actual classes a week so I will have plenty of time for clubs and secondary projects. I start teaching at 8am and am home by 12pm. And I am only teach Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.... Pretty sweet!
Today classes started. I teach 7th-11th grade. It is a pretty light schedule. Only 14hours of actual classes a week so I will have plenty of time for clubs and secondary projects. I start teaching at 8am and am home by 12pm. And I am only teach Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.... Pretty sweet!
Friday, August 28, 2009
I really don't know
Asel, (the peace corps safety and security coordinator) came to visit Talas this week. I freakin love her! She is so sassy! She introduced us to the governor and police force in Talas. I've always been a little wary of the police here but our meeting went great. The entire Talas City police force was there. It was a bit intimidating at first. We all had to stand up and introduce ourselves and tell where we lived and what we did. After each volunteer introduced themselves the entire police force clapped... everytime. Then at the end we took questions and they asked a city volunteer if he would have an English club for the police. It was great!
We found out this week that we helped out family stay in their home and helped our brother get to go to university. Basically, before we came our brother talked about going to University and his Uncle told him he could not go because if he moved out my sister and mother would live alone. And he said it is dangerous for them to live alone. So if my brother decided to go to university then my mother and sister would have to move in with other family members.... but then we came and everything worked out.
We also talked to them about how we wanted to live with them for our entire service and they were thrilled. They said they already thought of us as family and that we helped them to not be lonely. It was very sweet. Now if they will just let Sadie in the house everything would be perfect!
School starts Tuesday. I found out yesterday that the first day of school isnt even spent at the school. It's spent guesting at the first grade students houses. I love guesting... sitting around with a bunch of people, chatting about nothing, everyone staring at me b/c I look different. The only thing I don't like about it is how much food I have to eat! I have to eat and eat and eat some more so I don't offend anyone. Speaking of food....
We made taco's for our family yesterday and they loved them! I mean LOVED!!!! My brother told me I could make taco's everyday and he would eat them. Thomas taught him the phrase "oh buddy" on accident when they were playing a chess game. So as he was eating he just kept saying "oh buddy......ohhhh buddy!" It was so funny!
Today my sister comes back from Bishkek!! Wahoo!!! I miss her. She has been gone for a month! I can't even remember what she looks like anymore...lol! Oh and a k-16 volunteer from Talas just got engaged to a kyrgyz girl. She is really awesome. Beautiful and speaks fantastic English.
All for now! More once school starts!
We found out this week that we helped out family stay in their home and helped our brother get to go to university. Basically, before we came our brother talked about going to University and his Uncle told him he could not go because if he moved out my sister and mother would live alone. And he said it is dangerous for them to live alone. So if my brother decided to go to university then my mother and sister would have to move in with other family members.... but then we came and everything worked out.
We also talked to them about how we wanted to live with them for our entire service and they were thrilled. They said they already thought of us as family and that we helped them to not be lonely. It was very sweet. Now if they will just let Sadie in the house everything would be perfect!
School starts Tuesday. I found out yesterday that the first day of school isnt even spent at the school. It's spent guesting at the first grade students houses. I love guesting... sitting around with a bunch of people, chatting about nothing, everyone staring at me b/c I look different. The only thing I don't like about it is how much food I have to eat! I have to eat and eat and eat some more so I don't offend anyone. Speaking of food....
We made taco's for our family yesterday and they loved them! I mean LOVED!!!! My brother told me I could make taco's everyday and he would eat them. Thomas taught him the phrase "oh buddy" on accident when they were playing a chess game. So as he was eating he just kept saying "oh buddy......ohhhh buddy!" It was so funny!
Today my sister comes back from Bishkek!! Wahoo!!! I miss her. She has been gone for a month! I can't even remember what she looks like anymore...lol! Oh and a k-16 volunteer from Talas just got engaged to a kyrgyz girl. She is really awesome. Beautiful and speaks fantastic English.
All for now! More once school starts!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
and then there was fried chicken...
August 18, 2009
I had lunch with Diego today. We went to this resturaunt that Kristen told us about. It was delicious! Fried chicken and french fries. Total comfort food... I couldn't believe it existed here! I think I talk about food too much in my blogs. I guess it's obvious what I miss most about America... lol!
Diego and I talked about our future plans and all the things we wanted to do after Peace Corps. He is the one person Thomas and I have really connected with here. We share very similar ideas and goals. Not that I can only be friends with people like me but it helps to have common interests and ideas to form a strong friendship. He is one of the few people I have met who isn't using Peace Corps as a means to an end. He is here because he believes that he can actually do something good. I feel the same way. We had a good talk.
I am excited for school to start. Although I have enjoyed the restfulness of the summer. It has been nice to be away from the constant busyness I felt in America. Always having to be doing something, working, cleaning, working, busy, busy, busy. I have had one of the most relaxing summers. It has had its stressors.... being in a different country and speaking a different language. But I love the slower pace of Kyrgyzstan. The way people don't really rush to be anywhere and don't rush to do things. It's like they have all the time in the world to finish what they started. I like that. Although I know it will probably be aggravating when people don't show up for school things on time. We'll see.
I'm so proud of the girls in my English club. They have really worked hard this summer. We went through an entire chapter in the grammar book I have. We covered a lot of material and they really retained it well. They're not conversational yet but if they keep working as hard as they are, they will be very soon.
Tomorrow I am getting together with some other volunteers for a movie night and some mexican food. Wahoo!!! I am going to share the movies and TV shows that I got from Burns. They are all gonna flip a lid! It's kind of a big deal to get new material!
I am going to put up some new pics on Facebook soon so be on the lookout!
I had lunch with Diego today. We went to this resturaunt that Kristen told us about. It was delicious! Fried chicken and french fries. Total comfort food... I couldn't believe it existed here! I think I talk about food too much in my blogs. I guess it's obvious what I miss most about America... lol!
Diego and I talked about our future plans and all the things we wanted to do after Peace Corps. He is the one person Thomas and I have really connected with here. We share very similar ideas and goals. Not that I can only be friends with people like me but it helps to have common interests and ideas to form a strong friendship. He is one of the few people I have met who isn't using Peace Corps as a means to an end. He is here because he believes that he can actually do something good. I feel the same way. We had a good talk.
I am excited for school to start. Although I have enjoyed the restfulness of the summer. It has been nice to be away from the constant busyness I felt in America. Always having to be doing something, working, cleaning, working, busy, busy, busy. I have had one of the most relaxing summers. It has had its stressors.... being in a different country and speaking a different language. But I love the slower pace of Kyrgyzstan. The way people don't really rush to be anywhere and don't rush to do things. It's like they have all the time in the world to finish what they started. I like that. Although I know it will probably be aggravating when people don't show up for school things on time. We'll see.
I'm so proud of the girls in my English club. They have really worked hard this summer. We went through an entire chapter in the grammar book I have. We covered a lot of material and they really retained it well. They're not conversational yet but if they keep working as hard as they are, they will be very soon.
Tomorrow I am getting together with some other volunteers for a movie night and some mexican food. Wahoo!!! I am going to share the movies and TV shows that I got from Burns. They are all gonna flip a lid! It's kind of a big deal to get new material!
I am going to put up some new pics on Facebook soon so be on the lookout!
gatorade vom and English class
August 17, 2009
I threw up bright pink gatorade vomit all over the road today...mmmmm. I'm not even sure why I was naseaus. Maybe the sheep smell that's been permeating the house for 2 days now. We've had relatives over since Friday. It's customary when important people come to visit that you kill a sheep in their honor. So for 2 days my family has been eating sheep for every meal. I just have not aquired the taste required to eat sheep. My family seems to understand this and therefor I am exempt from eating it. Although last night I was offered half an eye ball from a relatives husband. I declined as politely as I could.
I met with my counterpart today to discuss lesson plans for the up coming school year. My school really needs new books. My counterpart has one book for the 8-11th grades that was written in 1986. The students don't have books so they have to copy everything down from the one book. It's a lot of reading and translating. I was hoping for a more grammar based approach. That is what I have been focusing on in my English clubs. It seems to me that if the students know the basics of English grammar then they will be able to construct their own sentences and thoughts, rather than only knowing phrases they have learned. I had been wondering why the students were able to speak on "topics" but not able to communicate away from that. For example, my sister can speak rather fluently about "her family". She can fluently tell me names, ages, where they live, what they do, etc. But she cannot translate that to tell me about someone not in her family, or discuss a different topic. I'm struggling with how to be effective and but not offend anyone, especially my counterpart. She gave me her lesson plans from last year. They consisted of the dates of the lesson, topic of the lesson, and page number. That was all.
Thomas has been in Osh since Saturday. He is helping some other volunteers with a University Camp on journalism. I have never been so bored in my life. I did not realize how much amusement we brought to each other. With him gone there is no one to speak to... atleast not fluently. My host sister is gone too. This makes it even harder since she is really the only person who can communicate with me in Kyrgyz in a way that I can completely understand. I read an entire novel today. The whole thing, cover to cover, that's how much free time I had on my hands.
School starts on September 1st. I will be teaching about 15 hours a week. But I'm sure I can fill the rest of my time with English clubs and tutoring. I have already had several people inquire about me tutoring their children. There are also 2 students I really want to help get ready for the Flex test so that maybe next year they can study in America. We'll see what happens.
Sadie is doing well. In only a few weeks she has learned, sit, stay, down, leave it and how to walk on a leash. She's a pretty smart dog! I have been taking her for walks in the evening and it has helped her get familiar with new people. She now rarely chases people down the road. She really only chases bikes and herds of sheep now. Much better than the women and small children she used to be prone to chasing. I have decided that at the end of September I will take her to the vet to get her fixed. She still seems a little underweight to me and a little young. She still has a lot of molars missing and Christina told me when they all come in she is 6 months. I'm guessing that will be about a month or so from now. It's neat how I've watched my family's interaction with her change. In Kyrgyzstan dogs aren't really pets the same way they are in America. They aren't petted or given "special" food or ever allowed inside. But my family has slowly been coming around. They have started petting her, giving her bones and talking to her sweetly when they think no one is listening. It's nice to see the impact I'm having even though it is relatively small. Start small......
I threw up bright pink gatorade vomit all over the road today...mmmmm. I'm not even sure why I was naseaus. Maybe the sheep smell that's been permeating the house for 2 days now. We've had relatives over since Friday. It's customary when important people come to visit that you kill a sheep in their honor. So for 2 days my family has been eating sheep for every meal. I just have not aquired the taste required to eat sheep. My family seems to understand this and therefor I am exempt from eating it. Although last night I was offered half an eye ball from a relatives husband. I declined as politely as I could.
I met with my counterpart today to discuss lesson plans for the up coming school year. My school really needs new books. My counterpart has one book for the 8-11th grades that was written in 1986. The students don't have books so they have to copy everything down from the one book. It's a lot of reading and translating. I was hoping for a more grammar based approach. That is what I have been focusing on in my English clubs. It seems to me that if the students know the basics of English grammar then they will be able to construct their own sentences and thoughts, rather than only knowing phrases they have learned. I had been wondering why the students were able to speak on "topics" but not able to communicate away from that. For example, my sister can speak rather fluently about "her family". She can fluently tell me names, ages, where they live, what they do, etc. But she cannot translate that to tell me about someone not in her family, or discuss a different topic. I'm struggling with how to be effective and but not offend anyone, especially my counterpart. She gave me her lesson plans from last year. They consisted of the dates of the lesson, topic of the lesson, and page number. That was all.
Thomas has been in Osh since Saturday. He is helping some other volunteers with a University Camp on journalism. I have never been so bored in my life. I did not realize how much amusement we brought to each other. With him gone there is no one to speak to... atleast not fluently. My host sister is gone too. This makes it even harder since she is really the only person who can communicate with me in Kyrgyz in a way that I can completely understand. I read an entire novel today. The whole thing, cover to cover, that's how much free time I had on my hands.
School starts on September 1st. I will be teaching about 15 hours a week. But I'm sure I can fill the rest of my time with English clubs and tutoring. I have already had several people inquire about me tutoring their children. There are also 2 students I really want to help get ready for the Flex test so that maybe next year they can study in America. We'll see what happens.
Sadie is doing well. In only a few weeks she has learned, sit, stay, down, leave it and how to walk on a leash. She's a pretty smart dog! I have been taking her for walks in the evening and it has helped her get familiar with new people. She now rarely chases people down the road. She really only chases bikes and herds of sheep now. Much better than the women and small children she used to be prone to chasing. I have decided that at the end of September I will take her to the vet to get her fixed. She still seems a little underweight to me and a little young. She still has a lot of molars missing and Christina told me when they all come in she is 6 months. I'm guessing that will be about a month or so from now. It's neat how I've watched my family's interaction with her change. In Kyrgyzstan dogs aren't really pets the same way they are in America. They aren't petted or given "special" food or ever allowed inside. But my family has slowly been coming around. They have started petting her, giving her bones and talking to her sweetly when they think no one is listening. It's nice to see the impact I'm having even though it is relatively small. Start small......
I'm a slacker
July 27, 2009
Sorry I have been slacking on the blog posts. No real reason other than I haven't had a lot of new adventures to report. When school starts I'll probably have more enlightening things to say. I started tutoring one of our family's relatives (a cousin I think). His mom found out I was an English teacher and asked if I could tutor him. I had to say yes because she is our relative and our family would be embarrased if I didn't. But this kid has no desire to learn English, which is ok, it's just a bit of a waste of my time. I did have a talk with him about him atleast "trying" to learn. I also started creating more games to play with him, that seems to engage him a lot more than repetition and conversation. We'll see how it goes today! My sister has been getting pretty good with her English. Last night we had a whole conversation about her family. How many brothers and sisters? How old they were? What they did? Where they lived? Pretty cool that she's catching on fast. And she really wants to learn to. She created these themed lists of phrases. Like she has one for meal related conversation that says things like "this food is delicious" and " I am finished with food and tea." She taped it to the wall next to the dinner table so she can practice while we are eating. She wants to create lists for several different activities so she can tape them around the house. She's pretty cool.
I learned a kyrgyz card game. It's called "Crazy". I can't wait to blow the socks off some Kyrgyz guys next time they bust out the card deck. I'm actually pretty good at it too.
Friday I am going to Chui oblast to visit my first host family and another volunteer who lived in my training village. I'm going with one of the other new volunteers who live in Talas. Hopefully it will be a good chance to get to know each other better. We plan on heading out early Friday morniong so we can make it to the Peace Corps office before they close to turn in some forms and pick up the other volunteers passports. Then we will head to my training village and hang out with my family. On saturday we are hoping to get a ride into Bishkek with my host dad, since he goes everyday to drive a taxi. And then try and find the vet's office we have been in touch with and talk to them about getting my puppy spayed and her kittens neutered. Then we're going to head to this awesome Chinese resturaunt to eat with my Kyrgyz teachers from training. Then off to the Beta Store and Osh bazaar to buy things we can't get in Talas. Things like Peanut Butter, spices, dove chocolate, BBQ Sauce, parmesan cheese, popcorn, brown sugar, etc. Then saturday night at Alysons house. I''m excited to get out of Talas for a little while and to see Alyson. I haven't seen her since we moved to Talas.
We got a fridge!! Woohoo for butter and mean and yogurt and milk and juice! And for food not sitting in the kitchen swarming with flies! Woohooo! It's an awesome fridge too. Full size with an ice cube tray. Heck yea!
I gotta call Peace Corps today and try to work out my leave dates for next summer. Trying to make it to Stephanie's wedding. As long as Peace Corps says yes I'm pretty sure Thomas and I can both go. We've had a few awesome people offer to help us out with plane tickets. We'll probably have a month of leave built up by that time so tentatively mark your calenders for seeing us next May! I can't wait to steal my kitty for a month!!
My puppy has turned into a bit of a terror lately. She is teething and therefor wants to chew on everything. Shoes, clothes, hands, toes. She has also taken up chasing the little kids down the street and nipping at their heels. No idea how to stop this behavior. It's driving me crazy. She is such a sweet dog as long as no one she doesn't know is around. If a stranger walks down the street she goes nuts. But when I take her out with me like to the store or for a walk, she is totally fine with strangers. I think she has extended the boundary of our home into the road and now feels like she has to protect it. Hmmm... Anybody got any ideas. My family wants to chain her up during the day if she keeps it up, especially since she's getting pretty big.
Anyways that's all for now
Sorry I have been slacking on the blog posts. No real reason other than I haven't had a lot of new adventures to report. When school starts I'll probably have more enlightening things to say. I started tutoring one of our family's relatives (a cousin I think). His mom found out I was an English teacher and asked if I could tutor him. I had to say yes because she is our relative and our family would be embarrased if I didn't. But this kid has no desire to learn English, which is ok, it's just a bit of a waste of my time. I did have a talk with him about him atleast "trying" to learn. I also started creating more games to play with him, that seems to engage him a lot more than repetition and conversation. We'll see how it goes today! My sister has been getting pretty good with her English. Last night we had a whole conversation about her family. How many brothers and sisters? How old they were? What they did? Where they lived? Pretty cool that she's catching on fast. And she really wants to learn to. She created these themed lists of phrases. Like she has one for meal related conversation that says things like "this food is delicious" and " I am finished with food and tea." She taped it to the wall next to the dinner table so she can practice while we are eating. She wants to create lists for several different activities so she can tape them around the house. She's pretty cool.
I learned a kyrgyz card game. It's called "Crazy". I can't wait to blow the socks off some Kyrgyz guys next time they bust out the card deck. I'm actually pretty good at it too.
Friday I am going to Chui oblast to visit my first host family and another volunteer who lived in my training village. I'm going with one of the other new volunteers who live in Talas. Hopefully it will be a good chance to get to know each other better. We plan on heading out early Friday morniong so we can make it to the Peace Corps office before they close to turn in some forms and pick up the other volunteers passports. Then we will head to my training village and hang out with my family. On saturday we are hoping to get a ride into Bishkek with my host dad, since he goes everyday to drive a taxi. And then try and find the vet's office we have been in touch with and talk to them about getting my puppy spayed and her kittens neutered. Then we're going to head to this awesome Chinese resturaunt to eat with my Kyrgyz teachers from training. Then off to the Beta Store and Osh bazaar to buy things we can't get in Talas. Things like Peanut Butter, spices, dove chocolate, BBQ Sauce, parmesan cheese, popcorn, brown sugar, etc. Then saturday night at Alysons house. I''m excited to get out of Talas for a little while and to see Alyson. I haven't seen her since we moved to Talas.
We got a fridge!! Woohoo for butter and mean and yogurt and milk and juice! And for food not sitting in the kitchen swarming with flies! Woohooo! It's an awesome fridge too. Full size with an ice cube tray. Heck yea!
I gotta call Peace Corps today and try to work out my leave dates for next summer. Trying to make it to Stephanie's wedding. As long as Peace Corps says yes I'm pretty sure Thomas and I can both go. We've had a few awesome people offer to help us out with plane tickets. We'll probably have a month of leave built up by that time so tentatively mark your calenders for seeing us next May! I can't wait to steal my kitty for a month!!
My puppy has turned into a bit of a terror lately. She is teething and therefor wants to chew on everything. Shoes, clothes, hands, toes. She has also taken up chasing the little kids down the street and nipping at their heels. No idea how to stop this behavior. It's driving me crazy. She is such a sweet dog as long as no one she doesn't know is around. If a stranger walks down the street she goes nuts. But when I take her out with me like to the store or for a walk, she is totally fine with strangers. I think she has extended the boundary of our home into the road and now feels like she has to protect it. Hmmm... Anybody got any ideas. My family wants to chain her up during the day if she keeps it up, especially since she's getting pretty big.
Anyways that's all for now
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
great day
Had a fantastic day so far today. Some volunteers who live in another oblast came to visit this week. The first visitors we've had here. They came into the city today and we found this new resturaunt that has pizza and a full bar. It was amazing. It was nice to just sit and eat and laugh with other people. Really great time.
Tomorrow I start my English club again. I'm not expecting to many kids though since right now most of them are working out in the fields. We'll see though. Today we were supposed to meet at the school to decide when we would have English clubs and only one girl showed up. So maybe I will only have 1 student. She's a sweet girl so I don't mind tutoring her one on one.
I took my puppy with me to the school since we were meeting outside. She did great. She's really learning to stay by my side and not pull me. She got a little scared when this big dog came charging at us but so did I, so I couldn't get mad at her for it. She's also gotten better about not chasing people. Not perfect yet but better. She still loves to go for the people on bikes. I'm trying to get her out and exersize and play more. A tired puppy is a good puppy. I found a tug rope for her in Bishkek and she is having a blast with it. Her first and only toy.
Still waiting on our packages to arrive. Hopefully this week they will come. If they don't come this week, I will be a little worried. Got an anniversary card from my momma so I know our address was correct.
This weekend I am going to visit my bff volunteer who lives in Chui. Should be a good time.
Tomorrow I start my English club again. I'm not expecting to many kids though since right now most of them are working out in the fields. We'll see though. Today we were supposed to meet at the school to decide when we would have English clubs and only one girl showed up. So maybe I will only have 1 student. She's a sweet girl so I don't mind tutoring her one on one.
I took my puppy with me to the school since we were meeting outside. She did great. She's really learning to stay by my side and not pull me. She got a little scared when this big dog came charging at us but so did I, so I couldn't get mad at her for it. She's also gotten better about not chasing people. Not perfect yet but better. She still loves to go for the people on bikes. I'm trying to get her out and exersize and play more. A tired puppy is a good puppy. I found a tug rope for her in Bishkek and she is having a blast with it. Her first and only toy.
Still waiting on our packages to arrive. Hopefully this week they will come. If they don't come this week, I will be a little worried. Got an anniversary card from my momma so I know our address was correct.
This weekend I am going to visit my bff volunteer who lives in Chui. Should be a good time.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Out of control
July 28, 2009
My puppy is out of control. I didn't know that puppies were so much freakin work! Good news is I got some really helpful training advice from Christina that I plan on putting into practice right away. No more Sadie getting away with stuff. She is going to have to work for every reward. Yesterday she stole one of my Reef sandals (the only pair I have with me) and chewed through the toe strap... I was so pissed. So we decided she is no longer allowed in the area we keep our shoes. My host mom saw how upset I was about it and she sewed the strap back together for me. Now one shoe is a little tight but it's better than not having them.
Tomorrow is mine and Thomas' 3 year anniversary. Holy crap. Three years! It does not seem like it has been that long. To celebrate we are going to make a delicious breakfast complete with omletes and OJ. Now that we have a fridge.... delicious food is possible.... just expensive.
We met some Australians today who work for an NGO based out of Bishkek. Something that involved veterinary work mixed with engineering. I didn't quite understand but they did invite us to come over to their house anytime. 2 of the guys were young, probably same age as Thomas and I. The other guy was a little older and lives here with his wife and kids. I think it will be fantastic to get to know some new people.
I'm going to head into Bishkek on Friday with one of the other volunteers here. We're going to visit my old host family, my bff, and do some shopping in the capital. We desperately need some new spices, bbq sauce, parmesan cheese, popcorn, and anything else we can get our hands on that talas doesn't have. I plan on eating out atleast twice (Bishkek has really good Chinese food). Once for dinner when I get there, maybe find an American resturaunt. And then on Saturday have lunch with my Kyrgyz teachers at this awesome Chinese resturaunt. I'm going to eat enough to last until I go back again next month. Can you tell I miss good food?
I am going to talk to Peace Corps today about possibly taking my leave in May of next year. I desperately want to make it to Stefanie's wedding. It just depends on whether or not they will let me leave when school is in session. I really hope so! By next summer Thomas and I should have a month of leave built up. Which would give us plenty of time to be in Gville and Tally. And wherever else we get dragged to.
And the end!
My puppy is out of control. I didn't know that puppies were so much freakin work! Good news is I got some really helpful training advice from Christina that I plan on putting into practice right away. No more Sadie getting away with stuff. She is going to have to work for every reward. Yesterday she stole one of my Reef sandals (the only pair I have with me) and chewed through the toe strap... I was so pissed. So we decided she is no longer allowed in the area we keep our shoes. My host mom saw how upset I was about it and she sewed the strap back together for me. Now one shoe is a little tight but it's better than not having them.
Tomorrow is mine and Thomas' 3 year anniversary. Holy crap. Three years! It does not seem like it has been that long. To celebrate we are going to make a delicious breakfast complete with omletes and OJ. Now that we have a fridge.... delicious food is possible.... just expensive.
We met some Australians today who work for an NGO based out of Bishkek. Something that involved veterinary work mixed with engineering. I didn't quite understand but they did invite us to come over to their house anytime. 2 of the guys were young, probably same age as Thomas and I. The other guy was a little older and lives here with his wife and kids. I think it will be fantastic to get to know some new people.
I'm going to head into Bishkek on Friday with one of the other volunteers here. We're going to visit my old host family, my bff, and do some shopping in the capital. We desperately need some new spices, bbq sauce, parmesan cheese, popcorn, and anything else we can get our hands on that talas doesn't have. I plan on eating out atleast twice (Bishkek has really good Chinese food). Once for dinner when I get there, maybe find an American resturaunt. And then on Saturday have lunch with my Kyrgyz teachers at this awesome Chinese resturaunt. I'm going to eat enough to last until I go back again next month. Can you tell I miss good food?
I am going to talk to Peace Corps today about possibly taking my leave in May of next year. I desperately want to make it to Stefanie's wedding. It just depends on whether or not they will let me leave when school is in session. I really hope so! By next summer Thomas and I should have a month of leave built up. Which would give us plenty of time to be in Gville and Tally. And wherever else we get dragged to.
And the end!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Good day.
July 12, 2009
Today was a good day. I have forever been a story teller and have yet had few stories to tell that were worth telling and as my mood is steadily getting better, the ability for me to see good things is easier and the stories can come.
My village is about a 30 minute walk from a major town. It is the summer and it can get very hot (100+ degrees), not to mention the fact that the walk has very little shade and dirt roads with lots of wind. So the walk is quite a pain. I usually also have my backpack with me because if I buy things at the bazaar (which is one of the only reasons I come to the city) I will need something to carry them back in, so my back gets especially hot and sweaty.
My village is small and no voksal (bus/taxi station) and you pretty much have to hope a taxi happens to be passing by going into town. Most times, you don't get a taxi ride. Needless to say, I was walking into town.
I was little less than half way when a horse drawn buggy with three Kyrgyz people inside passed me. It was going a little faster than I was (the horse was merely walking) so we had time to say hello to one another as they passed and smiled at the novely of a foreigner and one that spoke Kyrgyz at that as well. Just as they got just a hair further than me, they stopped and offered me a ride and a tushook to sit on (a tushook is a cushion that is as long as a couch and used to sit on by multiple people - if folded up and sat on by only one or two people, it doubles the comfort). It was extremely pleasant and while the sun was still beating on me, I was not walking, I was out of the dust and I had some pleasantries with them. They required no payment. They were just being nice. It was worth noting and one of the moments that makes all the bad days disappear.
New goodies
July 5, 2009
Thomas and I really appreciate all of the people who have sent us packages so far. Thanks to you all we are good on peanut butter and desert mixes for a while. However if you are still interested in sending something, here are some new things we could use.
New Care Package List
Spices- any kind. The only thing we can buy here is salt and pepper. I would suggest taking them out of the containers and putting them in ziploc bags to minimize space and weight.
Cliff bars- there are no quick healthy snacks here
Velveeta- I can't tell you how much we miss mac & cheese. You can't get cheese here that melts well.
Oreos and Chips Ahoy- always well recieved
lint roller
Chips!!! - despite potatoes year round, they make their chips from rice
Comic Book collections (bound books that contain the earliest series of a particular comic book: Xmen, Batman, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, etc. - guess who this is for?)
Coffee- Good Earth Mystic Blend (if possible)
Thomas and I really appreciate all of the people who have sent us packages so far. Thanks to you all we are good on peanut butter and desert mixes for a while. However if you are still interested in sending something, here are some new things we could use.
New Care Package List
Spices- any kind. The only thing we can buy here is salt and pepper. I would suggest taking them out of the containers and putting them in ziploc bags to minimize space and weight.
Cliff bars- there are no quick healthy snacks here
Velveeta- I can't tell you how much we miss mac & cheese. You can't get cheese here that melts well.
Oreos and Chips Ahoy- always well recieved
lint roller
Chips!!! - despite potatoes year round, they make their chips from rice
Comic Book collections (bound books that contain the earliest series of a particular comic book: Xmen, Batman, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, etc. - guess who this is for?)
Coffee- Good Earth Mystic Blend (if possible)
Burrito's and camp
July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July! Thomas and I met up with a couple other volunteers to make food and hang out today. We ended up making some pretty fantastic burrito's. Complete with refried beans, pulled beaf, mexican rice and sour cream. It took about 3 hours to cook everything but it was worth it.... It would have been a perfect day if only I weren't still sick from camp. We met at Cameron's house though, which meant a flush toilet for me. I was so glad we were there because I went once every half hour... not sure if Cameron was glad I was there though! :)
We got back from a very successful youth leadership camp yesterday. We had about 80 students for 5 days at a camp site that reminded me a lot of the Love At Work camp. Same style dorms and kitchen... the only difference was we had an outhouse where Love at Work had toilets. It actually made me a little homesick to be there... made me miss the Gibbs, the Hodge's and Morrissey! So back to the camp.... it went well. We got there on Sunday with the kids and spent the day getting into groups, making a group name, flag and cheer (sound familiar). Our team name was 7th Heaven. This was actually the second try for a team name... the first try was flowers..... just flowers.... then we made up a cheer that went a little like this (imagine it with a clap, stomp kind of dance) Entire group chants "Hello girls, How are you boys?" Then one girl steps up and says "Have you been to 7th Heaven? If not..." Then the group chants "7th Heaven is the best, we are better than all the rest." Sounds simple enough but it took us an hour and a half to come up with! Then the next day real camp started. Everyday the kids had 3 sessions to go to on topics like role models, bride kidnapping, brushing teeth (a big prob here), healthy eating, etc. In the evenings we played capture the flag, which was a huge hit. The last round of the game was 23 volunteers versus 80 students... it went on for 2 hours until the kids gave up! The last night of camp we had a "diso teka". It was beyond amazing. One of the volunteers has a kyrgyz friend who is a dj who came and dj'd the whole thing for us. We all danced our pants off until midnight when everyone passed out in their dorms from exhaustion (volunteers and students). I had no idea that Kyrgyz kids could dance so well until that night.
The kids left camp on Thursday and the volunteers stayed one more night to clean up the camp and hang out. It was nice because we were in the woods where no one could see us or hear us. Not that we did anything crazy (although there was an awesome water hose fight) but it was just nice to be completely away from Kyrgyzstan for one night. We didn't have to worry about what any Kyrgyz people would think or say about how we chose to have a good time.
I've had a few request for some more detailed photo's of my home here as well as my outhouse... those will be posted promptly on Facebook.
While we were gone our family's 17 year old dog died... sad day!
Happy 4th of July! Thomas and I met up with a couple other volunteers to make food and hang out today. We ended up making some pretty fantastic burrito's. Complete with refried beans, pulled beaf, mexican rice and sour cream. It took about 3 hours to cook everything but it was worth it.... It would have been a perfect day if only I weren't still sick from camp. We met at Cameron's house though, which meant a flush toilet for me. I was so glad we were there because I went once every half hour... not sure if Cameron was glad I was there though! :)
We got back from a very successful youth leadership camp yesterday. We had about 80 students for 5 days at a camp site that reminded me a lot of the Love At Work camp. Same style dorms and kitchen... the only difference was we had an outhouse where Love at Work had toilets. It actually made me a little homesick to be there... made me miss the Gibbs, the Hodge's and Morrissey! So back to the camp.... it went well. We got there on Sunday with the kids and spent the day getting into groups, making a group name, flag and cheer (sound familiar). Our team name was 7th Heaven. This was actually the second try for a team name... the first try was flowers..... just flowers.... then we made up a cheer that went a little like this (imagine it with a clap, stomp kind of dance) Entire group chants "Hello girls, How are you boys?" Then one girl steps up and says "Have you been to 7th Heaven? If not..." Then the group chants "7th Heaven is the best, we are better than all the rest." Sounds simple enough but it took us an hour and a half to come up with! Then the next day real camp started. Everyday the kids had 3 sessions to go to on topics like role models, bride kidnapping, brushing teeth (a big prob here), healthy eating, etc. In the evenings we played capture the flag, which was a huge hit. The last round of the game was 23 volunteers versus 80 students... it went on for 2 hours until the kids gave up! The last night of camp we had a "diso teka". It was beyond amazing. One of the volunteers has a kyrgyz friend who is a dj who came and dj'd the whole thing for us. We all danced our pants off until midnight when everyone passed out in their dorms from exhaustion (volunteers and students). I had no idea that Kyrgyz kids could dance so well until that night.
The kids left camp on Thursday and the volunteers stayed one more night to clean up the camp and hang out. It was nice because we were in the woods where no one could see us or hear us. Not that we did anything crazy (although there was an awesome water hose fight) but it was just nice to be completely away from Kyrgyzstan for one night. We didn't have to worry about what any Kyrgyz people would think or say about how we chose to have a good time.
I've had a few request for some more detailed photo's of my home here as well as my outhouse... those will be posted promptly on Facebook.
While we were gone our family's 17 year old dog died... sad day!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
things you wish you knew... now you do!
June 26, 2009
I have some very exciting news for you all..... Drum roll please! Our cow had a baby boy! He's just adorable! Our family decided that if the cow had a girl, I would name it. But if the cow had a boy, Thomas could name it. So Thomas settled on Zeus. Good name for a cow, I think. He's tiny and brown with white spots and was just born this morning so he still stumbles around and runs into things. It's very funny to watch.
But that leads into the next good news... Now we have an endless supply of milk (atleast for a while). Mmmmm.... it tastes a bit different from milk in the states... a little more cowey and grassy. But still really great to cook with.
I've decided that you all probably wonder what I do everyday... what is a regular day in Kyrgyzstan like for Rachel? I'm sure you sit around all day just wondering this. Well wonder no more because I am about to lay out an hour by hour schedule for you. (Partially out of boredom but partially because I think some of you really might want to know). Keep in mind that right now there is no school!
9:00 am Wake up. Get dressed. Try to smell good. Wash my face and brush my teeth.
9:30 am Go out to the kitchen to see if I can help my sister with breakfast -the kitchen is in a seperate building from the house and consists of a gas stove and a very old oven- check the chicken coop for eggs and maybe eat them for breakfast
10:00 am Breakfast time! We usually eat hard boiled eggs. But sometimes we have kasha (like cream of wheat) or oatmeal with raisins. And always tea... tea with every meal. Sometimes tea with bread is a meal.
11:00 am Clean up the dishes from breakfast. Walk to the village water pump if we need water.
12:00 pm Play with my puppy. Hang out with my sister. Help her clean the house for the 3rd time this week (she is ALWAYS cleaning the house! Everytime I turn around she is mopping the floors or vacuuming).
1:00 pm Read a book or maybe watch a movie
3:00 pm Help make some lunch. Usually some kind of pasta or rice dish. My favorite is plov. It's like fried rice with carrots and onions and sometimes chicken. But today we made pasta with sauteed eggplant, tomatoes and garlic again.
4:00 pm Eat lunch. Drink more tea. We had apple flavored tea today. Quite delicious.
5:00 pm Clean up the mess from lunch.
6:00 pm Play with my puppy some more. I'm trying to teach her some basic obedience but she is just to young and crazy right now. She can't pay attention to anything for more than 5 minutes. Hold the baby chicks, try not to get killed by the mamma.
7:00 pm Go out and fetch the cow. Every day the cow spends it's time in the mountains. In the morning it goes out and in the evening it comes back. The village has one man (a cowboy you could call him) who rides out to the mountains with the cows, watches over them and then brings them back to the village. We just have to go to the edge of the village to meet our cow and drive it back home.
8:00 pm Read some more. Come up with some plans for my English Club, study a little Kyrgyz language.
9:00 pm Fix dinner. Thomas and I usually make dinner for our family because they spend almost everyday out in the field. Tomorrow night we are making ravioli!! wahhooo!!
9:30 pm Eat dinner. Drink more tea. Talk with our family about our plans for the next day (if we have any.)
10:30 pm Clean up from dinner. Lock up the kitchen. Go to the outhouse one last time. Make sure my pee bucket is in my room- gross but nescessary. It is really unsafe for us to go out to pee at night. That's when all the drunks are out.
11:00 pm Say goodnight to the family and settle down in our room. We usually watch a movie or a TV show (just finished Season 1 of 30 Rock and The Office).
1:00 pm Night Night
So there it is. Your mind has been set at ease. Of course that is our schedule when we stay home but many times we go in the city to see other volunteers, use the internet or buy groceries.
Here is our schedule on those days....
JUST KIDDING!
That would be really boring.
I finished this Jodi Picoult book today called Picture Perfect... not good. I have read 2 other books by her and they were fantastic. But this one, not her best work. Annoying main character and extremely predictable. I wouldn't read it if I were you. I would, however, reccomend Plain Truth by her. Great book, incredibly unpredictable. They even made a movie out of it starring that one woman from Law and Order...
Well, it's 9pm now and you all know what that means.... time to fix dinner! Miss you
I have some very exciting news for you all..... Drum roll please! Our cow had a baby boy! He's just adorable! Our family decided that if the cow had a girl, I would name it. But if the cow had a boy, Thomas could name it. So Thomas settled on Zeus. Good name for a cow, I think. He's tiny and brown with white spots and was just born this morning so he still stumbles around and runs into things. It's very funny to watch.
But that leads into the next good news... Now we have an endless supply of milk (atleast for a while). Mmmmm.... it tastes a bit different from milk in the states... a little more cowey and grassy. But still really great to cook with.
I've decided that you all probably wonder what I do everyday... what is a regular day in Kyrgyzstan like for Rachel? I'm sure you sit around all day just wondering this. Well wonder no more because I am about to lay out an hour by hour schedule for you. (Partially out of boredom but partially because I think some of you really might want to know). Keep in mind that right now there is no school!
9:00 am Wake up. Get dressed. Try to smell good. Wash my face and brush my teeth.
9:30 am Go out to the kitchen to see if I can help my sister with breakfast -the kitchen is in a seperate building from the house and consists of a gas stove and a very old oven- check the chicken coop for eggs and maybe eat them for breakfast
10:00 am Breakfast time! We usually eat hard boiled eggs. But sometimes we have kasha (like cream of wheat) or oatmeal with raisins. And always tea... tea with every meal. Sometimes tea with bread is a meal.
11:00 am Clean up the dishes from breakfast. Walk to the village water pump if we need water.
12:00 pm Play with my puppy. Hang out with my sister. Help her clean the house for the 3rd time this week (she is ALWAYS cleaning the house! Everytime I turn around she is mopping the floors or vacuuming).
1:00 pm Read a book or maybe watch a movie
3:00 pm Help make some lunch. Usually some kind of pasta or rice dish. My favorite is plov. It's like fried rice with carrots and onions and sometimes chicken. But today we made pasta with sauteed eggplant, tomatoes and garlic again.
4:00 pm Eat lunch. Drink more tea. We had apple flavored tea today. Quite delicious.
5:00 pm Clean up the mess from lunch.
6:00 pm Play with my puppy some more. I'm trying to teach her some basic obedience but she is just to young and crazy right now. She can't pay attention to anything for more than 5 minutes. Hold the baby chicks, try not to get killed by the mamma.
7:00 pm Go out and fetch the cow. Every day the cow spends it's time in the mountains. In the morning it goes out and in the evening it comes back. The village has one man (a cowboy you could call him) who rides out to the mountains with the cows, watches over them and then brings them back to the village. We just have to go to the edge of the village to meet our cow and drive it back home.
8:00 pm Read some more. Come up with some plans for my English Club, study a little Kyrgyz language.
9:00 pm Fix dinner. Thomas and I usually make dinner for our family because they spend almost everyday out in the field. Tomorrow night we are making ravioli!! wahhooo!!
9:30 pm Eat dinner. Drink more tea. Talk with our family about our plans for the next day (if we have any.)
10:30 pm Clean up from dinner. Lock up the kitchen. Go to the outhouse one last time. Make sure my pee bucket is in my room- gross but nescessary. It is really unsafe for us to go out to pee at night. That's when all the drunks are out.
11:00 pm Say goodnight to the family and settle down in our room. We usually watch a movie or a TV show (just finished Season 1 of 30 Rock and The Office).
1:00 pm Night Night
So there it is. Your mind has been set at ease. Of course that is our schedule when we stay home but many times we go in the city to see other volunteers, use the internet or buy groceries.
Here is our schedule on those days....
JUST KIDDING!
That would be really boring.
I finished this Jodi Picoult book today called Picture Perfect... not good. I have read 2 other books by her and they were fantastic. But this one, not her best work. Annoying main character and extremely predictable. I wouldn't read it if I were you. I would, however, reccomend Plain Truth by her. Great book, incredibly unpredictable. They even made a movie out of it starring that one woman from Law and Order...
Well, it's 9pm now and you all know what that means.... time to fix dinner! Miss you
nothing much
June 25, 2009
I got an email from Stefanie the other day, letting me know her and Mark set a date for their wedding!! AHH!! I'm so excited for them! I really, really, really want to be there for it. I'm going to do some talking with Peace Corps and with my family and see if it's possible! AHHH!! I love weddings!
Got an email from ol' Billy too! I really miss being a part of the office trio (me, Tricia and Bill). Going for cookie runs and working hard (and when I say working what I really mean is laughing!) It was fun working there. I hope him and Amy really do come to see me next summer. It would be amazing! I could totally give them a fantastic tour of the country, complete with a weekend stay in a yurt. Omg, I just got really excited. And they could meet my awesome family.
Today was another rough day. Nothing much to do so it was hard not to wish I was back at home. And for some reason I really wanted a smoothie! So I drank some warm pineapple juice but that just didn't do it for me. It's ridiculous how much I miss food. Sometimes I sit and daydream about eating a Moe's burrito... like how it taste's and how full and content I'd be after I ate it! Pretty sad huh? But I'm not the only one... the other volunteers concur that they miss american food A LOT! One volunteer just got back from a 2 week visit to America and admits to eating nothing but steaks and seafood the whole time she was there!
I think on Saturday Thomas and I are going to try and make some cheese ravioli. I'll let you know how it turns out. Last night, we made pasta with sauteed eggplant, tomatoes and garlic for our family. It was pretty good. I'm really enjoying cooking for ourselves. Peace Corps gave us this huge cookbook with some really great recipes that past volunteers recomended. It has been so helpful!
Yesterday we went into the city to meet some of our fellow k-17's for lunch. A good day. We grabbed lunch at this little cafe. It was good, traditional Kyrgyz food, fried logmahn (fried handmade noodles with veggies and beef in a spicy sauce. We used the internet for a while. I got a lot of pictures uploaded but I still have a lot more to go. I want to get up more of the scenic pictures. Then we went to the "volunteer library" and returned/picked up some books. I'm waiting to get my hands on Twilight #4. Another volunteer is finishing it up now and then it's mine!!!
I gave my puppy a bath today and she hated it!!! I found 3 fleas and 1 tick... gross. She's really freaking cute though. Today she climbed up on my lap and fell asleep immediately. The other night I was putting my shoes on and I accidentally stepped on her. She howled for 10 minutes... I felt awful. Then she hopped around and wouldn't put any weight on it. So I started crying because I thought I broke her leg... then my host mom made fun of me and said the next day she's be fine.... sure enough she was fine in the morning. But man did she howl... it was awful!
We leave for camp on Sunday. We will be gone for 5 days with no access to internet, so if you send an email then, we will respond as soon as we get back in town. The weekend after camp I am going with Taylor to visit some volunteers in another oblast. It should be fun, just getting away will be fun. Plus Taylor is the only k-17 female volunteer that is close to me.... and I really like her. I think we could be good friends.
I got an email from Stefanie the other day, letting me know her and Mark set a date for their wedding!! AHH!! I'm so excited for them! I really, really, really want to be there for it. I'm going to do some talking with Peace Corps and with my family and see if it's possible! AHHH!! I love weddings!
Got an email from ol' Billy too! I really miss being a part of the office trio (me, Tricia and Bill). Going for cookie runs and working hard (and when I say working what I really mean is laughing!) It was fun working there. I hope him and Amy really do come to see me next summer. It would be amazing! I could totally give them a fantastic tour of the country, complete with a weekend stay in a yurt. Omg, I just got really excited. And they could meet my awesome family.
Today was another rough day. Nothing much to do so it was hard not to wish I was back at home. And for some reason I really wanted a smoothie! So I drank some warm pineapple juice but that just didn't do it for me. It's ridiculous how much I miss food. Sometimes I sit and daydream about eating a Moe's burrito... like how it taste's and how full and content I'd be after I ate it! Pretty sad huh? But I'm not the only one... the other volunteers concur that they miss american food A LOT! One volunteer just got back from a 2 week visit to America and admits to eating nothing but steaks and seafood the whole time she was there!
I think on Saturday Thomas and I are going to try and make some cheese ravioli. I'll let you know how it turns out. Last night, we made pasta with sauteed eggplant, tomatoes and garlic for our family. It was pretty good. I'm really enjoying cooking for ourselves. Peace Corps gave us this huge cookbook with some really great recipes that past volunteers recomended. It has been so helpful!
Yesterday we went into the city to meet some of our fellow k-17's for lunch. A good day. We grabbed lunch at this little cafe. It was good, traditional Kyrgyz food, fried logmahn (fried handmade noodles with veggies and beef in a spicy sauce. We used the internet for a while. I got a lot of pictures uploaded but I still have a lot more to go. I want to get up more of the scenic pictures. Then we went to the "volunteer library" and returned/picked up some books. I'm waiting to get my hands on Twilight #4. Another volunteer is finishing it up now and then it's mine!!!
I gave my puppy a bath today and she hated it!!! I found 3 fleas and 1 tick... gross. She's really freaking cute though. Today she climbed up on my lap and fell asleep immediately. The other night I was putting my shoes on and I accidentally stepped on her. She howled for 10 minutes... I felt awful. Then she hopped around and wouldn't put any weight on it. So I started crying because I thought I broke her leg... then my host mom made fun of me and said the next day she's be fine.... sure enough she was fine in the morning. But man did she howl... it was awful!
We leave for camp on Sunday. We will be gone for 5 days with no access to internet, so if you send an email then, we will respond as soon as we get back in town. The weekend after camp I am going with Taylor to visit some volunteers in another oblast. It should be fun, just getting away will be fun. Plus Taylor is the only k-17 female volunteer that is close to me.... and I really like her. I think we could be good friends.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
internet at last
June 22, 2009
We found a great place to use the internet today! I was even able to upload a few pictures in a decent amount of time. So I think that will no longer be a problem. We plan on going back in 2 days and I will post some more pics on Facebook.... and maybe on this blog, it just depends on how long it takes.
We are now settling in fairly well. We have started to cook for ourselves a bit. We made pancakes, using muffin mix, the other day (thanks Christina!) and our family loved them. So we made them again for lunch today and again they were a big hit. We also found eggplant at the market so we cooked some up for dinner! It's so much better being able to cook for ourselves. It takes the pressure off guessing if they will cook a meal we hate and if we will have to pretend we like it.
On Saturday I went to a picnic in the mountains with my host sister and host mother. In Kyrgyzstan whatever students you start with in your class in first grade, you stay with until the end of high school. So the students in the same classes here are very close, even into adulthood. So we went to the picnic with my host mom's late husband's classmates. They are all in their 40's now and still friends. It was a blast. Thomas didn't go so it was a good chance for me to have a "Kyrgyz only" day. (A day where I speak no English). We got there at 9:30am and stayed until 9:00pm... long day... full of every Kyrgyz tradition I could possibly experience in one day.... I will explain.....
So the three of (mom, sister and me) leave the house to meet the car full of friends that are picking us up. As we approach the car I think to myself "there is no way my tiny sister will fit in that car, much less all three of us" then I ate my words as the three of us packed in the tiny car totalling nine people. We then drove into the mountains to meet the other people picniking with us. We find a nice spot to gather at and then people and food start coming out of nowhere. I mean first there were 9 of us, I blinked once and then 20 people appeared with bags of carrots, tomatoes, fruit, onions, etc. And one person was hauling a live sheep. In Kyrgyzstan for any big even a sheep is usually slaughtered and eaten. And sure enough they took it out of eyesight and cut it up. We ate so much food that day... all consisting of sheep. We also drank coomooz, which is fermented mares milk... mmmm... not my favorite. So after a hot day of eating sheep and drinking coomooz, we headed home, while I proceeded to vomit in the car. But overall it really was a fun day. I had a lot of time to chat with my sister, which was really great. She's so helpful and patient with my broken Kyrgyz chatter.
Today was my last day of English circle for a while. The school is being painted right now and therefor cannot be used. But we will start again on July 25.... in between then Thomas and I are going to help some other volunteers with a camp. It is a "sleep away" camp. So we will stay overnight for 5 days with Kyrgyz students, playing sports and discussing subjects like nutrition, health, self esteem, etc. It should be a good opportunity to get to know other volunteers.
Hopefully since I can now upload photos, you guys can get a bit of an idea of how beautiful Kyrgyzstan is and what life is like here. Also we have a new address now that I will email out, but if you would like it and don't get it, just let me know!
Peace
We found a great place to use the internet today! I was even able to upload a few pictures in a decent amount of time. So I think that will no longer be a problem. We plan on going back in 2 days and I will post some more pics on Facebook.... and maybe on this blog, it just depends on how long it takes.
We are now settling in fairly well. We have started to cook for ourselves a bit. We made pancakes, using muffin mix, the other day (thanks Christina!) and our family loved them. So we made them again for lunch today and again they were a big hit. We also found eggplant at the market so we cooked some up for dinner! It's so much better being able to cook for ourselves. It takes the pressure off guessing if they will cook a meal we hate and if we will have to pretend we like it.
On Saturday I went to a picnic in the mountains with my host sister and host mother. In Kyrgyzstan whatever students you start with in your class in first grade, you stay with until the end of high school. So the students in the same classes here are very close, even into adulthood. So we went to the picnic with my host mom's late husband's classmates. They are all in their 40's now and still friends. It was a blast. Thomas didn't go so it was a good chance for me to have a "Kyrgyz only" day. (A day where I speak no English). We got there at 9:30am and stayed until 9:00pm... long day... full of every Kyrgyz tradition I could possibly experience in one day.... I will explain.....
So the three of (mom, sister and me) leave the house to meet the car full of friends that are picking us up. As we approach the car I think to myself "there is no way my tiny sister will fit in that car, much less all three of us" then I ate my words as the three of us packed in the tiny car totalling nine people. We then drove into the mountains to meet the other people picniking with us. We find a nice spot to gather at and then people and food start coming out of nowhere. I mean first there were 9 of us, I blinked once and then 20 people appeared with bags of carrots, tomatoes, fruit, onions, etc. And one person was hauling a live sheep. In Kyrgyzstan for any big even a sheep is usually slaughtered and eaten. And sure enough they took it out of eyesight and cut it up. We ate so much food that day... all consisting of sheep. We also drank coomooz, which is fermented mares milk... mmmm... not my favorite. So after a hot day of eating sheep and drinking coomooz, we headed home, while I proceeded to vomit in the car. But overall it really was a fun day. I had a lot of time to chat with my sister, which was really great. She's so helpful and patient with my broken Kyrgyz chatter.
Today was my last day of English circle for a while. The school is being painted right now and therefor cannot be used. But we will start again on July 25.... in between then Thomas and I are going to help some other volunteers with a camp. It is a "sleep away" camp. So we will stay overnight for 5 days with Kyrgyz students, playing sports and discussing subjects like nutrition, health, self esteem, etc. It should be a good opportunity to get to know other volunteers.
Hopefully since I can now upload photos, you guys can get a bit of an idea of how beautiful Kyrgyzstan is and what life is like here. Also we have a new address now that I will email out, but if you would like it and don't get it, just let me know!
Peace
Monday, June 22, 2009
what a roller coaster!
June 16, 2009
sorry for not posting in a while.... It has been a difficult week and a half. Last week was packed with last minute training and preparation for us to leave for our permanent sites and live on our own. Let's see... so much happened. We were "sworn in" as official volunteers! Finally! We have moved from our training village and into our permanent sites. It was so hard saying goodbye to our family there. They were pretty awesome. But so far they have called us twice since we have been here! So nice! Speaking Kyrgyz face to face is hard but it is even harder on the phone! I was able to say I missed them a lot and that we would visit soon.
After swearing in and saying goodbye to our family, we got to go to a pretty rockin party. The United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan invited us to her house on Wednesday (immediately after we were sworn in a official volunteers) for a celebration party and to meet some young Kyrgyz people, most of whom spoke English. It was a lot of fun! They made American food just for us... hamburgers, french fries, potato salad, doritos! All of the volunteers were completely silent for the first 30 minutes of the party because we were stuffing our faces with the food we haven't had in 3 months! Eventually we started mingling... I met a famous Kyrgyz pop star... anytime I tell any of the young girls here that I met him they freak out... I also met the Kyrgyz gold medal winner in wrestling from the last Olympics, a counselor for one of the few (if not only) battered women's shelter in Kyrgyzstan. The best part was the super models. There were 3 Russian super models that were there and all of the male volunteers were joking about who would get a date first... only to find out (after I asked) that they were 15 and 16 years old...oops!
After that we had a meeting with our counterparts (local co-teachers from our schools) to discuss the terms of our service... basically the rules Peace Corps has for us teaching with them... like if our counterpart doesn't show up for class then there will be no class. They are trying to cut down on volunteers being used a substitute teachers, since the point is to be teaching together.
Then we stayed overnight at our regular hotel... a soviet style, sort of creepy hotel. It would make a great location for filming a scary movie. Then finally the next day we made the 7 hour drive to Talas, where we will live for the next 2 years. It has been a rough transition. Our family is great but new. It's hard moving from a family who understood us, knew what we liked, knew our schedule, etc... to a family who has no idea. It's not anything that is their fault, it will just take time for us all to become familiar with each other. We had gotten so comfortable in our training village... we knew all of our neighboors, the shopkeepers, taxi drivers... and here we know no one. I even got ripped off buying strawberries at the market. It's hard to understand how difficult it is here without experiencing it.... nothing is easy. There is no such thing as a quick meal. Every food takes time and preperation... no box of mac and cheese on a night when you don't feel like cooking. We don't have a fridge so we can't buy milk or cheese or meat if we don't use it immediately. We wash our clothes by hand.... always. It takes atleast an hour for a small load.... There is also no running water. To get water we take a 10 minute walk down the road to the community pump. Then we pump the water and then hall the huge basin back to the house. We bathe about once a week. If there is enough water and sometimes wash our hair in the middle of the week,
And it's especially hard having an animal here. Thomas and I found a puppy that someone had thrown in a ditch so we brought her home with us. But there is no where in Talas to buy dog food, bones, flea meds, dewormer, a leash or collar, etc. The nearest vet is in bishkek (a 7 hour drive). So in 3 months I have to figure out how to get her there to get her fixed and vaccinated. Hopefully I can find a sypathetic taxi driver that will be willing to give us a ride. So if there are any animal lovers out there who would wanna supply a few things you know we would love it!!!
I had my first English club today at my new school... about 19 students came! Which is A LOT for a club. I'm sure that the numbers will start to dwindle very soon though. I think most of them just came to see "the new volunteer". It went well for the first time. We just practiced greeting each other and then played a game where the students interviewed each other to find out who had a sister, a brother, a dog, a cow, etc. They decided that they would like to meet three times a week for one hour... so I'm starting off at a run. I don't think most of the other volunteers have even visited the school yet, much less started clubs. Here I was thinking I would have nothing to do all summer....
Anyways that has been my life here so far. I have yet to find an internet cafe here but I have heard that there are three in the city. I will try to get to the internet at least once a week.
I miss you all.... especially now.
sorry for not posting in a while.... It has been a difficult week and a half. Last week was packed with last minute training and preparation for us to leave for our permanent sites and live on our own. Let's see... so much happened. We were "sworn in" as official volunteers! Finally! We have moved from our training village and into our permanent sites. It was so hard saying goodbye to our family there. They were pretty awesome. But so far they have called us twice since we have been here! So nice! Speaking Kyrgyz face to face is hard but it is even harder on the phone! I was able to say I missed them a lot and that we would visit soon.
After swearing in and saying goodbye to our family, we got to go to a pretty rockin party. The United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan invited us to her house on Wednesday (immediately after we were sworn in a official volunteers) for a celebration party and to meet some young Kyrgyz people, most of whom spoke English. It was a lot of fun! They made American food just for us... hamburgers, french fries, potato salad, doritos! All of the volunteers were completely silent for the first 30 minutes of the party because we were stuffing our faces with the food we haven't had in 3 months! Eventually we started mingling... I met a famous Kyrgyz pop star... anytime I tell any of the young girls here that I met him they freak out... I also met the Kyrgyz gold medal winner in wrestling from the last Olympics, a counselor for one of the few (if not only) battered women's shelter in Kyrgyzstan. The best part was the super models. There were 3 Russian super models that were there and all of the male volunteers were joking about who would get a date first... only to find out (after I asked) that they were 15 and 16 years old...oops!
After that we had a meeting with our counterparts (local co-teachers from our schools) to discuss the terms of our service... basically the rules Peace Corps has for us teaching with them... like if our counterpart doesn't show up for class then there will be no class. They are trying to cut down on volunteers being used a substitute teachers, since the point is to be teaching together.
Then we stayed overnight at our regular hotel... a soviet style, sort of creepy hotel. It would make a great location for filming a scary movie. Then finally the next day we made the 7 hour drive to Talas, where we will live for the next 2 years. It has been a rough transition. Our family is great but new. It's hard moving from a family who understood us, knew what we liked, knew our schedule, etc... to a family who has no idea. It's not anything that is their fault, it will just take time for us all to become familiar with each other. We had gotten so comfortable in our training village... we knew all of our neighboors, the shopkeepers, taxi drivers... and here we know no one. I even got ripped off buying strawberries at the market. It's hard to understand how difficult it is here without experiencing it.... nothing is easy. There is no such thing as a quick meal. Every food takes time and preperation... no box of mac and cheese on a night when you don't feel like cooking. We don't have a fridge so we can't buy milk or cheese or meat if we don't use it immediately. We wash our clothes by hand.... always. It takes atleast an hour for a small load.... There is also no running water. To get water we take a 10 minute walk down the road to the community pump. Then we pump the water and then hall the huge basin back to the house. We bathe about once a week. If there is enough water and sometimes wash our hair in the middle of the week,
And it's especially hard having an animal here. Thomas and I found a puppy that someone had thrown in a ditch so we brought her home with us. But there is no where in Talas to buy dog food, bones, flea meds, dewormer, a leash or collar, etc. The nearest vet is in bishkek (a 7 hour drive). So in 3 months I have to figure out how to get her there to get her fixed and vaccinated. Hopefully I can find a sypathetic taxi driver that will be willing to give us a ride. So if there are any animal lovers out there who would wanna supply a few things you know we would love it!!!
I had my first English club today at my new school... about 19 students came! Which is A LOT for a club. I'm sure that the numbers will start to dwindle very soon though. I think most of them just came to see "the new volunteer". It went well for the first time. We just practiced greeting each other and then played a game where the students interviewed each other to find out who had a sister, a brother, a dog, a cow, etc. They decided that they would like to meet three times a week for one hour... so I'm starting off at a run. I don't think most of the other volunteers have even visited the school yet, much less started clubs. Here I was thinking I would have nothing to do all summer....
Anyways that has been my life here so far. I have yet to find an internet cafe here but I have heard that there are three in the city. I will try to get to the internet at least once a week.
I miss you all.... especially now.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
I'm almost a real volunteer!
So we are down to the last 4 days before we leave our training villages for good... We have today and tomorrow off to pack, rest and get ready to leave. On Wednesday we will be sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers... following the swearing in will be a rockin party at the ambassadors house... and then on thursday we will depart for our permanant sites. I think everyone is really ready to go....
We will be getting a new address. So if you have something that you haven't mailed yet just wait until you get our new address... I will email it out at the end of next week. We are going to set up a P.O Box in the city to hopefully avoid our mail being tampered with. I appreciate the generosity of all my friends! It's been awesome getting things from the states! It's all stuff that I have really missed! So thanks to everyone! More to come after the rockin party!
We will be getting a new address. So if you have something that you haven't mailed yet just wait until you get our new address... I will email it out at the end of next week. We are going to set up a P.O Box in the city to hopefully avoid our mail being tampered with. I appreciate the generosity of all my friends! It's been awesome getting things from the states! It's all stuff that I have really missed! So thanks to everyone! More to come after the rockin party!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
here they are
I
am going to attempt to add pics now...
This is my host sister, Aiturgan. Host sister and cousin Cehzim.
She is five.
It looks like the other pics are taking a long time to load... I am going to try Facebook.... if that doesn't work, I will try another day!
am going to attempt to add pics now...
This is my host sister, Aiturgan. Host sister and cousin Cehzim.
She is five.
It looks like the other pics are taking a long time to load... I am going to try Facebook.... if that doesn't work, I will try another day!
Are you sure you're ready?
May 27, 2009
We now have exactly 2 weeks before we are officially Peace Corps volunteers. Right now we are considered "Peace Corps Trainees". In 2 weeks there will be a swearing in ceremony and we will take an oath and then "tadaa" there we are... shiny, new volunteers. I'm excited to get to my site and to get a bit of freedom. It's very frustrating to not be able to make any decisions for myself. Other people decide where I am allowed to go, what I am allowed to do, even what I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The structure of training has been really great right up until now... now I am ready to go... atleast I think I am.
We now have exactly 2 weeks before we are officially Peace Corps volunteers. Right now we are considered "Peace Corps Trainees". In 2 weeks there will be a swearing in ceremony and we will take an oath and then "tadaa" there we are... shiny, new volunteers. I'm excited to get to my site and to get a bit of freedom. It's very frustrating to not be able to make any decisions for myself. Other people decide where I am allowed to go, what I am allowed to do, even what I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The structure of training has been really great right up until now... now I am ready to go... atleast I think I am.
Get ready for pics
May 26, 2009
Back in my training village. Nothing much has changed. My little sister is off visiting relatives so it has been very quiet around the house lately. Yesterday Thomas, me and a few other volunteers decided to go into the city to use the internet. We are supposed to call our Kyrgyz teachers before we leave our village just to inform them we are going... but after a week of being in Talas and not having to call, we forgot. We and called right when we got into the city. Our teacher reminded us to be sure to call when we got back in our village (always the rule). But again we got back home and forgot. Our curfew is 9pm. And sure enough our teacher calls frantically at 8:45 wondering where we are and if we made it back. I felt awful... especially since we had been home since 6:30! Then today we accidentally left both teachers in the village when they were supposed to accompany us to our training session. We all felt horrible... again! So we invited them to go out with us on Friday. We are going to hit up this local Georgian resturaunt... they have great food, a bar, music and dancing. When we invited them one of our teachers responded, "Yes I will go get down and boogie!" I love that she knows phrases like that. Our two teachers are the most awesome women ever! I really admire them.
Today we got together at a local school and led an English Club. English Clubs are really popular here. It's basically a time for students who want extra help learning English get together with a teacher and play games to improve their language. So we led a club about animals.... animal vocabulary, animal sounds, then we tried to play pictionary with drawing animals. It didn't turn out so well. Half the time the student would read the word out loud and a third of the time they drew the wrong animal. One girl drew a monkey that looked a lot like a penguin. Then I accidentally told the club that a zebra didn't make a sound, because I couldn't remember that a zebra sounded like a horse.... duh! It was fun even with all of the oddities.
Our family has been very busy lately. Both parents come home from work around 7pm. And now it's planting time so they spend about 2 hours in the garden planting onions, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. So we eat dinner pretty late every night. Tonight we ate at 10pm. Hmm.... I want to kick my brother in the butt and get him to get out there and help. He doesn't work or go to school... or help his parents... but that complaint is for another venue.
I expected to get the package my mom sent today... but I didn't. It was a bummer. Mail is a big deal for all of the volunteers because we all have so little contact with anything familiar. Even a package with a volunteers favorite magazine is a huge deal. We're starved for the familiarities we left in America. Especially the familiar voices...
I got a nice comment from Catherine the other day. I spent the rest of the day reminising about the amazing times I had in Gretna with her family. That led to thinking about Love At Work and the past 2 summers. Sometimes I feel like I'm coming out of fog. Like I've just been in a routine where I don't think to much about the time that is going by... then it's like I wake up and all of a sudden I realize how much I miss people I knew.... It's a wierd cycle that keeps going around and around.
I am so exicted to finally get to post pictures! I have been wanting to share this place with everyone.... it's such a beautiful country!
Back in my training village. Nothing much has changed. My little sister is off visiting relatives so it has been very quiet around the house lately. Yesterday Thomas, me and a few other volunteers decided to go into the city to use the internet. We are supposed to call our Kyrgyz teachers before we leave our village just to inform them we are going... but after a week of being in Talas and not having to call, we forgot. We and called right when we got into the city. Our teacher reminded us to be sure to call when we got back in our village (always the rule). But again we got back home and forgot. Our curfew is 9pm. And sure enough our teacher calls frantically at 8:45 wondering where we are and if we made it back. I felt awful... especially since we had been home since 6:30! Then today we accidentally left both teachers in the village when they were supposed to accompany us to our training session. We all felt horrible... again! So we invited them to go out with us on Friday. We are going to hit up this local Georgian resturaunt... they have great food, a bar, music and dancing. When we invited them one of our teachers responded, "Yes I will go get down and boogie!" I love that she knows phrases like that. Our two teachers are the most awesome women ever! I really admire them.
Today we got together at a local school and led an English Club. English Clubs are really popular here. It's basically a time for students who want extra help learning English get together with a teacher and play games to improve their language. So we led a club about animals.... animal vocabulary, animal sounds, then we tried to play pictionary with drawing animals. It didn't turn out so well. Half the time the student would read the word out loud and a third of the time they drew the wrong animal. One girl drew a monkey that looked a lot like a penguin. Then I accidentally told the club that a zebra didn't make a sound, because I couldn't remember that a zebra sounded like a horse.... duh! It was fun even with all of the oddities.
Our family has been very busy lately. Both parents come home from work around 7pm. And now it's planting time so they spend about 2 hours in the garden planting onions, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. So we eat dinner pretty late every night. Tonight we ate at 10pm. Hmm.... I want to kick my brother in the butt and get him to get out there and help. He doesn't work or go to school... or help his parents... but that complaint is for another venue.
I expected to get the package my mom sent today... but I didn't. It was a bummer. Mail is a big deal for all of the volunteers because we all have so little contact with anything familiar. Even a package with a volunteers favorite magazine is a huge deal. We're starved for the familiarities we left in America. Especially the familiar voices...
I got a nice comment from Catherine the other day. I spent the rest of the day reminising about the amazing times I had in Gretna with her family. That led to thinking about Love At Work and the past 2 summers. Sometimes I feel like I'm coming out of fog. Like I've just been in a routine where I don't think to much about the time that is going by... then it's like I wake up and all of a sudden I realize how much I miss people I knew.... It's a wierd cycle that keeps going around and around.
I am so exicted to finally get to post pictures! I have been wanting to share this place with everyone.... it's such a beautiful country!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Talas Update 3
May 23, 2009
Today is our last day visiting Talas. I was supposed to visit my school again this morning but I had a killer stomach ache and some accompaning diarhea... so I stayed home. There is nothing worse than having diarhea at school, in an outhouse built for 2, squatting beside one of your students... No thanks.
Thomas and I get to banya today! Banya'ing is an adventure I wish I could bring back to the states. Our family does not have a banya but the neighbor does and we get to use it for 1 hour for a whopping 40 som. That's a pretty fantastic price.
My mom called yesterday, which was awesome. I got to tell her all about our permanent site, our family, getting sick etc. Yesterday we met up with some of the volunteers for lunch. They planned a picnic in this really beautiful park nearby. We made shiskababs and grilled them over a fire. There was salad, cherries, hummus, bread and best of all blueberry muffins. Someone's mom mailed them a care package with a bunch of Jiffy Muffin Mix in it. They were amazing. We spent about 5 hours at the beautiful park trying to get a fire going and getting to know everyone. It was a nice day.
The day before yesterday, two of the volunteers took us on a tour of the city. We discovered that there are a huge variety of beans to choose from, chick peas and chicken hot dogs. Wahhooo!!! I think that I will enjoy cooking for myself occasionally.
Today is our last day visiting Talas. I was supposed to visit my school again this morning but I had a killer stomach ache and some accompaning diarhea... so I stayed home. There is nothing worse than having diarhea at school, in an outhouse built for 2, squatting beside one of your students... No thanks.
Thomas and I get to banya today! Banya'ing is an adventure I wish I could bring back to the states. Our family does not have a banya but the neighbor does and we get to use it for 1 hour for a whopping 40 som. That's a pretty fantastic price.
My mom called yesterday, which was awesome. I got to tell her all about our permanent site, our family, getting sick etc. Yesterday we met up with some of the volunteers for lunch. They planned a picnic in this really beautiful park nearby. We made shiskababs and grilled them over a fire. There was salad, cherries, hummus, bread and best of all blueberry muffins. Someone's mom mailed them a care package with a bunch of Jiffy Muffin Mix in it. They were amazing. We spent about 5 hours at the beautiful park trying to get a fire going and getting to know everyone. It was a nice day.
The day before yesterday, two of the volunteers took us on a tour of the city. We discovered that there are a huge variety of beans to choose from, chick peas and chicken hot dogs. Wahhooo!!! I think that I will enjoy cooking for myself occasionally.
Talas Update 2
May 20, 2009
Today was my first official day visiting Talas. It was one of the most overwhelming days I have had since coming here. First off, the accent in Talas is different and hard for me to understand. Before coming here I thought my language was progressing so well and I was really proud of my communication skills. But now I am not so sure that I am as good as I thought. I visited the school I will be working at. It is a secondary school (1st-11th grade) with about 300 students and 20 teachers. My host mom walked Thomas and I both to the school and then introduced us to EVERY teacher. I met my co-teacher who is incredibly nice and speaks some English. There are 2 English teachers at the school so I will probably end up teaching with both of them. The other English teacher was absent today because her daughter was sick. After we met all of the teachers, my co-teacher had 3 of her best English students show us around the school. They also showed us the small museum in the school that is dedicated to the man the school is named after. There was one boy in the group of students who had fantastic English and told us he wanted to study to be a doctor. He asked us if we knew Kyrgyz and we told him we were learning. He responded "we will learn together". It was nice. I think I see the makings of an English club with those 3 students. After visiting my school, we all (me, thomas, host mom, and co-teacher) walked down to the boarding school that Thomas will work at. My co-teacher was nice enough to come along and help translate what we didn't understand. The Director of the boarding school was out sick and no one else seemed to know what Thomas' exact job would be. They kept asking us what he would be doing. He was like "I guess that is up to the Director but I am supposed to be teaching about health." It was a little wierd that they didn't know. There was a volunteer that worked at the boarding school before Thomas and they told us that he only taught the kids one day a week and spent the rest of the time with the teachers. Also a little wierd. It was a nice school though. It is a state run facility for children with developmental disabilities. Their parents send them to study and live at the school and they go home on holidays. While they are there they learn skills like farming and handi- craft making. Tomorrow we will go back on our own. I will observe a few classes taught by my English teacher and draw a map of the school. Thomas will hopefully meet his Director and find out what he is expected to do. Then we have to go into the city to open a bank account. One of the current volunteers here is going to help us.
We went to the bazaar (open market) with our family today. It was rather large and had everything I could possibly think to buy.... food, clothes, pots, pans etc. When we come back to live permanently I will probably buy a few skirts for the summer so I can blend in and not be too hot. Our family has been very accomodating so far. They always ask us what we want to eat before they cook a meal, even though we keep telling them we will eat anything. Today they bought us some apples, apricots, an ice cream and a blanket for our bed. They also refused to let us pay our portion of the taxi, even though we are supposed to. We are not allowed to help cook dinner or clean up either... they told us that right now we are visiting and we are guests but when we come back to live permanently we wil be family and then we can help. Talk about serious hospitality! The only thing I can see being more difficult here than our training site is that there is no water in or around the house. There is a pump about 5 minutes down the road that we will have to walk to to get water. And with the host son moving to Bishkek soon, I am sure we will be fetching a lot of our own water. I think we got a little spoiled in our training village.
Today was overwhelming but I think it can only get better now!
I miss familiarity!
Today was my first official day visiting Talas. It was one of the most overwhelming days I have had since coming here. First off, the accent in Talas is different and hard for me to understand. Before coming here I thought my language was progressing so well and I was really proud of my communication skills. But now I am not so sure that I am as good as I thought. I visited the school I will be working at. It is a secondary school (1st-11th grade) with about 300 students and 20 teachers. My host mom walked Thomas and I both to the school and then introduced us to EVERY teacher. I met my co-teacher who is incredibly nice and speaks some English. There are 2 English teachers at the school so I will probably end up teaching with both of them. The other English teacher was absent today because her daughter was sick. After we met all of the teachers, my co-teacher had 3 of her best English students show us around the school. They also showed us the small museum in the school that is dedicated to the man the school is named after. There was one boy in the group of students who had fantastic English and told us he wanted to study to be a doctor. He asked us if we knew Kyrgyz and we told him we were learning. He responded "we will learn together". It was nice. I think I see the makings of an English club with those 3 students. After visiting my school, we all (me, thomas, host mom, and co-teacher) walked down to the boarding school that Thomas will work at. My co-teacher was nice enough to come along and help translate what we didn't understand. The Director of the boarding school was out sick and no one else seemed to know what Thomas' exact job would be. They kept asking us what he would be doing. He was like "I guess that is up to the Director but I am supposed to be teaching about health." It was a little wierd that they didn't know. There was a volunteer that worked at the boarding school before Thomas and they told us that he only taught the kids one day a week and spent the rest of the time with the teachers. Also a little wierd. It was a nice school though. It is a state run facility for children with developmental disabilities. Their parents send them to study and live at the school and they go home on holidays. While they are there they learn skills like farming and handi- craft making. Tomorrow we will go back on our own. I will observe a few classes taught by my English teacher and draw a map of the school. Thomas will hopefully meet his Director and find out what he is expected to do. Then we have to go into the city to open a bank account. One of the current volunteers here is going to help us.
We went to the bazaar (open market) with our family today. It was rather large and had everything I could possibly think to buy.... food, clothes, pots, pans etc. When we come back to live permanently I will probably buy a few skirts for the summer so I can blend in and not be too hot. Our family has been very accomodating so far. They always ask us what we want to eat before they cook a meal, even though we keep telling them we will eat anything. Today they bought us some apples, apricots, an ice cream and a blanket for our bed. They also refused to let us pay our portion of the taxi, even though we are supposed to. We are not allowed to help cook dinner or clean up either... they told us that right now we are visiting and we are guests but when we come back to live permanently we wil be family and then we can help. Talk about serious hospitality! The only thing I can see being more difficult here than our training site is that there is no water in or around the house. There is a pump about 5 minutes down the road that we will have to walk to to get water. And with the host son moving to Bishkek soon, I am sure we will be fetching a lot of our own water. I think we got a little spoiled in our training village.
Today was overwhelming but I think it can only get better now!
I miss familiarity!
Talas Update 1
May 19, 2009
Thomas and I just got to our permanent site for our 5 day visit. We had a 6 hour drive through the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. The mountain pass twists and turns up into the very top of the mountain peaks. We were basically driving in the clouds! It was amazing. There was snow everywhere! Towards the end of the pass we stopped at "rest stop"... LOL! A Kyrgyz rest stop... there was a decent outhouse and a resturaunt. It was wierd because it was in the middle of nowhere. We also passed a few yurts, which are traditional Kyrgyz houses. Back in the day when the Kyrgyz people traveled with their animals into the mountains, they constructed yurts to stay in. It was a really amazing drive.
Our family seems really nice. It is a mother with 2 sons and 1 daughter. One of the sons lives in Bishkek and the second son will graduate from secondary school in a week and move to Bishkek also. The daughter is 13 and goes to the school I will teach at. The mom is the Russian teacher at the school... it's a family affair.... So when we come back to live here permanently it will just be the mom, daughter, me and Thomas... nice and cozy and quiet.
Their house is really nice. It's a bigger house and incredibly clean! Our room is small and cozy and the bed is super comfortable. The family has 1 cow, a few chickens and a 17 year old dog named Mars, who cannot see or hear. He looks a lot like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. They have a pretty big garden where they grow a lot of their own vegetables.
When we got here I immediately realized how much I am going to miss my PST family. I put a lot into getting to know them and being a true part of their family. I already miss my host mom and it has only been one day. I know it's going to be really, really hard to leave them. It's just that starting over and gaining that same level of understanding with another family is going to be difficult. Our PST family always understood us, it was like we had our own special Kyrgyz dialect and even when we weren't saying things correctly they still understood. And we understood them well. But this new family has a different accent and Talas has a different speech pattern and I can't understand ANYTHING! They're really nice, it's just difficult to have finally grown comfortable in a place and then have to move.
Tomorrow I will visit the school I am going to teach at. I will meet my co-teacher, students and I get to make a lovely speech. I also have to observe 3 classes taught by my co-teacher and 2 taught by another. I think I will observe my new host mom's Russian class. The gravity of my decision to come here is starting to hit me. PST was nice because it was very structured, routine and someone else was always responsible for whatever was planned. Now I have to create the routine and be responsible for everything myself, in a place where I barely speak the language. It's a little overwhelming. But I look at the volunteers that are already here and I know if they can do it I can as well. I just want to get past the awkward first few weeks.
Thomas and I just got to our permanent site for our 5 day visit. We had a 6 hour drive through the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. The mountain pass twists and turns up into the very top of the mountain peaks. We were basically driving in the clouds! It was amazing. There was snow everywhere! Towards the end of the pass we stopped at "rest stop"... LOL! A Kyrgyz rest stop... there was a decent outhouse and a resturaunt. It was wierd because it was in the middle of nowhere. We also passed a few yurts, which are traditional Kyrgyz houses. Back in the day when the Kyrgyz people traveled with their animals into the mountains, they constructed yurts to stay in. It was a really amazing drive.
Our family seems really nice. It is a mother with 2 sons and 1 daughter. One of the sons lives in Bishkek and the second son will graduate from secondary school in a week and move to Bishkek also. The daughter is 13 and goes to the school I will teach at. The mom is the Russian teacher at the school... it's a family affair.... So when we come back to live here permanently it will just be the mom, daughter, me and Thomas... nice and cozy and quiet.
Their house is really nice. It's a bigger house and incredibly clean! Our room is small and cozy and the bed is super comfortable. The family has 1 cow, a few chickens and a 17 year old dog named Mars, who cannot see or hear. He looks a lot like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. They have a pretty big garden where they grow a lot of their own vegetables.
When we got here I immediately realized how much I am going to miss my PST family. I put a lot into getting to know them and being a true part of their family. I already miss my host mom and it has only been one day. I know it's going to be really, really hard to leave them. It's just that starting over and gaining that same level of understanding with another family is going to be difficult. Our PST family always understood us, it was like we had our own special Kyrgyz dialect and even when we weren't saying things correctly they still understood. And we understood them well. But this new family has a different accent and Talas has a different speech pattern and I can't understand ANYTHING! They're really nice, it's just difficult to have finally grown comfortable in a place and then have to move.
Tomorrow I will visit the school I am going to teach at. I will meet my co-teacher, students and I get to make a lovely speech. I also have to observe 3 classes taught by my co-teacher and 2 taught by another. I think I will observe my new host mom's Russian class. The gravity of my decision to come here is starting to hit me. PST was nice because it was very structured, routine and someone else was always responsible for whatever was planned. Now I have to create the routine and be responsible for everything myself, in a place where I barely speak the language. It's a little overwhelming. But I look at the volunteers that are already here and I know if they can do it I can as well. I just want to get past the awkward first few weeks.
Monday, May 11, 2009
I love you all!
I've gotten multiple request recently for my address to send packages to.... and I just have to say I LOVE YOU ALL!! Thanks so much for thinking of me! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! In order to make sure all goods arrive safely I stole some shipping info from another volunteers blog. It's really helpful info and might help save you some money on shipping as well....
The US Postal Service is going to be your best option for shipping packages internationally. There are two options for USPS. If your package is heavy but compact, the best option is probably to send it using the flat rate box. Go to a post office and ask for an international flat-rate box. You can then put the box together and mail it with up to 20 or 25 pounds (I forget which) of stuff and the cost will be $37 for the small size, and more (but better value) for the bigger size. If your package is light, it might be cheaper to have it shipped at the variable rate, but you'll have to check with a post office clerk.
Tape things really well. Seal up all of the openings on the box, then wrap tape lengthwise all the way underneath and around the package on either side of the main opening. This makes the box much stronger. It also may keep it from being opened by someone other than myself!
This week we have are midterm Language Proficiency Interview. We have to have a 20 minute conversation in Kyrgyz with a staff member and they score our language proficiency. This time it is just a "practice".... it is just to get us familiar with the format. But in 5 weeks we will another "real" LPI and we have to be considered "intermediate low" in order to continue on unhindered as a volunteer. After the LPI this week I'll know whether or not I need to be worried about the final LPI.
Next Tuesday we take a trip to visit our permanent sites. We will spend five days in our permanent home, getting to know our family, coworkers and students. I'm hoping for a nice relaxing break from PST but I've heard a rumor that the staff has prepared all sorts of assigments to occupy our time there. I'll let you know how it goes! I'm pretty excited about it!
The US Postal Service is going to be your best option for shipping packages internationally. There are two options for USPS. If your package is heavy but compact, the best option is probably to send it using the flat rate box. Go to a post office and ask for an international flat-rate box. You can then put the box together and mail it with up to 20 or 25 pounds (I forget which) of stuff and the cost will be $37 for the small size, and more (but better value) for the bigger size. If your package is light, it might be cheaper to have it shipped at the variable rate, but you'll have to check with a post office clerk.
Tape things really well. Seal up all of the openings on the box, then wrap tape lengthwise all the way underneath and around the package on either side of the main opening. This makes the box much stronger. It also may keep it from being opened by someone other than myself!
This week we have are midterm Language Proficiency Interview. We have to have a 20 minute conversation in Kyrgyz with a staff member and they score our language proficiency. This time it is just a "practice".... it is just to get us familiar with the format. But in 5 weeks we will another "real" LPI and we have to be considered "intermediate low" in order to continue on unhindered as a volunteer. After the LPI this week I'll know whether or not I need to be worried about the final LPI.
Next Tuesday we take a trip to visit our permanent sites. We will spend five days in our permanent home, getting to know our family, coworkers and students. I'm hoping for a nice relaxing break from PST but I've heard a rumor that the staff has prepared all sorts of assigments to occupy our time there. I'll let you know how it goes! I'm pretty excited about it!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
We know where we are going!
Thomas and I got our location for our permanant site!!! After training, in 6 weeks. we will be heading to the wonderful region of Talas! It's about a 5-6 hour ride from where we are now. We get to go through Kazakstan to get there, which means we get free Kazak visas.... which means we can go to Kazakstan for day trips on the weekend! I'm very excited about that. We got a small but of information on the family we will live with. It is a mother, a 15 year old daughter and a son who does not live at home, he goes to college in the capital. They sound very nice and are preparing two adjoining rooms for us. So we should have plenty of privacy.
We will live in a village only 5 minutes from a larger city, so we should have fairly regular internet access. I will be teaching English at a small secondary school. It only has about 320 students and 25 staff. Thomas will be teaching Health at an Orphanage for mentally and developmentally challenged kids.
There are other volunteers already there who live only minutes from where we will be living. And a few volunteers from our current group will be close as well.
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch with us and keeping us updated on how things are going! I miss you all!!
We will live in a village only 5 minutes from a larger city, so we should have fairly regular internet access. I will be teaching English at a small secondary school. It only has about 320 students and 25 staff. Thomas will be teaching Health at an Orphanage for mentally and developmentally challenged kids.
There are other volunteers already there who live only minutes from where we will be living. And a few volunteers from our current group will be close as well.
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch with us and keeping us updated on how things are going! I miss you all!!
bazaars and house shoes
April 20th, 2009
Today I exercised for the first time in 4 weeks! There is a soccer field at the school in our village that is almost a perfect third of a mile. So I did about a mile and 1/3 before I was dying! 4 weeks of not running and I lost everything I had built up. Not to mention Tricia was not there to keep me going.... sad. Then I played a little "keep away" the soccer ball with my host brother, Scott, Diego and a few school boys. For a while I wasn't "allowed" in the midde... as the person trying to get the ball back... even though it was obviously my turn. I told my host brother it was unfair and he was like "we're just trying to be gentlemen".... oh! That was nice. I told him I wanted to be in the middle and then I threw myself in the middle the next time.... only to get the ball kicked straight to me... *sighs*
My family called this weekend!! But for some reason my phone disconnects after 30 minutes of a call. it's happened 3 times now. I'm not sure what the deal is...Tricia and Mary An called today!!!!! It was the best morning EVER!!! It was so awesome to talk to them. I haven't really gotten homesick yet but I do miss my friends and family.
Thomas is sick today. He's got a bit of a cold and has been feeling bad since Friday... so today he skipped class to rest. It was a good day to miss. We just reviewed some vocab and got out early. Tomorrow we have Tech Day so we travel to another village for teacher training. Our language teachers announced today that they are not going with us. This will be the first time our group has traveled anywhere without them... I hope we make it back! :)
On Saturday the volunteers in our village all got together and went into the city. We checked out the Bazaar (a huge open air market) and I got some rockin house shoes. House shoes are a big thing here... you gotta get a pair or your whole family will ask you about them everyday! I also picked up some coloring books for our host sister and 2 cousins... they were a big hit!
Being here is starting to feel more and more comfortable... it gets more comfortable as the language becomes more natural. Although I still cannot understand about 85% of what is being said to me. That is the only frustrating part.. everything else I can roll with. But the language barrier is hard because there is so much I want to say. It was almost easier when I couldn't say anything because nothing was expected of me. Now I am expected to have conversations and there is so much I can't say! Grrr.....
Today I exercised for the first time in 4 weeks! There is a soccer field at the school in our village that is almost a perfect third of a mile. So I did about a mile and 1/3 before I was dying! 4 weeks of not running and I lost everything I had built up. Not to mention Tricia was not there to keep me going.... sad. Then I played a little "keep away" the soccer ball with my host brother, Scott, Diego and a few school boys. For a while I wasn't "allowed" in the midde... as the person trying to get the ball back... even though it was obviously my turn. I told my host brother it was unfair and he was like "we're just trying to be gentlemen".... oh! That was nice. I told him I wanted to be in the middle and then I threw myself in the middle the next time.... only to get the ball kicked straight to me... *sighs*
My family called this weekend!! But for some reason my phone disconnects after 30 minutes of a call. it's happened 3 times now. I'm not sure what the deal is...Tricia and Mary An called today!!!!! It was the best morning EVER!!! It was so awesome to talk to them. I haven't really gotten homesick yet but I do miss my friends and family.
Thomas is sick today. He's got a bit of a cold and has been feeling bad since Friday... so today he skipped class to rest. It was a good day to miss. We just reviewed some vocab and got out early. Tomorrow we have Tech Day so we travel to another village for teacher training. Our language teachers announced today that they are not going with us. This will be the first time our group has traveled anywhere without them... I hope we make it back! :)
On Saturday the volunteers in our village all got together and went into the city. We checked out the Bazaar (a huge open air market) and I got some rockin house shoes. House shoes are a big thing here... you gotta get a pair or your whole family will ask you about them everyday! I also picked up some coloring books for our host sister and 2 cousins... they were a big hit!
Being here is starting to feel more and more comfortable... it gets more comfortable as the language becomes more natural. Although I still cannot understand about 85% of what is being said to me. That is the only frustrating part.. everything else I can roll with. But the language barrier is hard because there is so much I want to say. It was almost easier when I couldn't say anything because nothing was expected of me. Now I am expected to have conversations and there is so much I can't say! Grrr.....
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