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