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!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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!
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