Very Andrew Paul-esque....Too many bullet points!

July 23, 2006

Happy Birthday Casey!

Casey, I know this post will come a few days after your actual birth date, but I figured your 21st deserved a shout out. Whoever is reading this now, and has yet to wish Casey a happy birthday, be sure to do so (belated birthday wishes feel good too!). Hopefully Casey has recovered from his birthday by now, so drop him a line. Happy Birthday lil’ brother!

So on that note, I want to say a hello to everyone back home. I have been getting tons of wonderful emails (from family and friends alike) and I thank you all. It may take me a while to respond, but I will get to them all. Every message is like a short conversation that allows me to stay a part of all of your lives, keep them coming!

A quick note to those who have emailed me and not received a response back yet: my internet connection/availability is, and will be for the next few years, sporadic. My system right now is to write my emails at home (on my laptop), save them to a jump-drive, and them bring the jump-drive to the internet café. Once at the café I then send all of my emails off quickly and then save all of my emails on my jump-drive. I then complete the cycle by bringing the emails home and reading all of them on my laptop. It’s a lengthy process, but it’s all I have; it seems to be working pretty well for now, so expect much more of the same!

Ok, now to the meat of life here in Kyrgyzstan, what you all want to here about and what I want to tell you all about:

But before I move on to that, I will introduce you to the “You know you’re in Kyrgyzstan when…” section (we have a huge list going now between the volunteers). One of my favorites so far:

“You know you’re in Kyrgyzstan when…
…you’ve had seven meals since lunch, and none of them was dinner”
*This refers to the intentional and unintentional guesting that is very frequent here. A phenomenon that I will explain in a later blog.

1. The Food
A lot of what I read about before I came to Kyrgyzstan stated that meat and potatoes were a large staple of the diet here. This is entirely true, but this statement does a great amount of injustice if you think that this is all the Kyrgyz cuisine consists of. I’ve been told that food changes a lot once the winter roles around and different vegetables are available, so for now I will be explaining what I have been able to take part in since I’ve been here. One more warning about my explanations of the food, most (if not all) of my meals so far have been cooked or packed by my host Apa (Apa = Mother), so I may lack some knowledge or be bias towards a few of her best dishes.
Noodles, rice, meat, and cabbage are part of, in some combination, every meal I’ve had. The meat is usually fried or grilled on the stove and then combined with a noodle soup, fried rice, or in dumplings. There is always the Central Asian salad (diced up tomatoes and cucumbers) on the table for ever meal along with a version of bread (there has been wheat and white bread, fried dough, and we even had a cinnamon bread for a few days). Fruit spread is in abundance now (a summer perk in Kyrgyzstan); Watermelons are everywhere and I have also had honeydew, grapes, apples, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries. With all of this fruit, there is also always at least two different kinds of jams/jellies (I have had strawberry, raspberry, grape, cherry, apple, and I’ve been told there is a watermelon jam also, but I’ve yet to see any) on the table at all times.
Along with all of this food, there is also the wonderful world of tea. The beverage for every meal, no matter if it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or guesting, is tea (a light green tea, chai, or grey). The tea is usually made with fresh leaves and can be mixed with sugar or dried milk. I usually go with a small amount of sugar and have set my average cups to per dinner to three.
Other than that, ice cream and Fanta are huge hits with all of the PST (Pre-Service Trainees) in * K-14 * because of one very important trait they both share: coldness. I have never been a big pop drinker or ice cream junkie, but that seems to be changing quickly.

2. The Scenery
You can never go wrong with snow-capped mountains, ever (they seem to be the backdrop to all of my fantasies). In the village where I am at just outside of Kant, my entire view south is of mountains so perfect sometimes you wonder if they are real. Surrounding the mountains are seemingly endless fields of farmland strewn with various fruits and vegetables. In my travels last weekend (see point # 5), I saw some of the most breathtaking mountains views ever in the Issyk-Kul Oblast (Kyrgyz version of a state). With the second highest (by elevation) lake in the world—Lake Issyk-Kul—snuggled into a valley, there is not a view lacking in breath-taking ability in the Issyk-Kul Oblast.

3. The Weather
Overall, it has not been bad here. The temperature changes, climate shifts, and time of day fluctuation are eerily similar to Aspen summers. During the day we have reached the high 80s, low 90s; at night it can drop to the 60s. I love it, we are in a valley just outside of Kant and we get the random 10 minutes down pours followed by gorgeous sunshine and a light breeze. My body is still trying to get used to the altitude (I am not sure exact height, but I know we are much higher than Chicago) in regards to blood-flow and also my allergies.

4. Daily Schedule:
With exception of out-of-site trips (like the one I we all took this weekend, see below # 5), we have a pretty secure schedule for the next three months. On Monday, Thursday, and Friday we have our language classes. Class starts at 8:00 am, break from 10:30-11:00, lunch from Noon-1:00 pm and we finish at 2:30. The language classes are very intensive and are set up in a way to give a ton of information in bursts and then allow you to digest it throughout the remainder of the day. I love the language lessons and I love our teacher (called an LCF—Language and Cultural Facilitator—by Peace Corps), Ratbu; she is a very caring woman who takes a lot of pride in being a teacher. Kyrgyz is a fun language to learn and it seems that knowing Kyrgyz will be very pivotal in gaining respect from many of the people of this country.
After class on Mondays and Fridays I have begun to run a half-hour English language club (all TEFL volunteers are required to do this during PST—Pre-Service Training). I have 8th, 9th, and 10th graders, which is really cool because of the amount of English they already know. We basically run educational games for a half hour and then say our goodbyes. It is kind of rough to be a “teacher” with so little Kyrgyz knowledge at this point, but I definitely think that doing this will help my Kyrgyz out along with giving me some teaching experience.
On the in-between days, Tuesday and Wednesday, we head into Kant for training. Tuesdays’ are called “Hub Day” and it is for cultural, medical, and safety training; then on Wednesday we have TEFL teacher training. The training in Kant usually ends up being a very long day with all of the travel involved, but so far they have had some very useful information. Still, one of the biggest perks of heading into Kant for these two days is that it allows our entire group (All 60 K-14s) to gather in one spot and have some fun. Breaks and Lunch are when we really get to hang out and there are always stories to be told, Frisbees to be thrown, and rumors to be spread/confirmed/created/squashed. Kant is always a crazy mix of emotion because we have a ton of information thrown at us all day and then we stir all of it up with tons of laughter and the cementing of lifelong friendships.

5. * K-14 *
K-14 is our respective group number (simply meaning we are the 14th Peace Corps group to be in Kyrgyzstan) and it will be the lovely number that will forever define our Peace Corps legacy. There are some amazing people in our group, people that will forever be a part of my life. For the rest of my life, I will have 59 other people that will have shared every emotion, language fumble, and sickness with me; I have 59 friends in this group that will endlessly understand. And after this past weekend’s travels, I am even more excited about the bonds and friendships that I am solidifying.

6. In-country travel!
This past weekend (July 20 – 23) all PSTs were spread throughout Kyrgyzstan to go out and meet current volunteers. Many PCVs and PSTs alike thought that we were sent out too early in our training, but I loved it. We were finally able to get out see, feel, hear, smell, and touch this beautiful country we will be living in for the next two years. It felt so good to get out and meet people (Americans, Europeans, Russians, and Kyrgyz alike) and take in all they had to offer. Some volunteers went solo, and others went out in groups; I was with one other volunteer.
We took off on Thursday morning in a Marshuka (mini-bus—APL, think South Africa, but with smaller speakers).

**Tangent** So far on in my Marshuka experiences I’ve heard the following: Craig David circa 2000 (“…we were making love by Wednesday, and on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, we chill on Sunday”), Jennifer Lopez (a Kyrgyz favorite), Abba (Super-trooper dance remix), and tons of Russian techno. ** Tangent **

We left from Bishkek with a PCV and headed East towards Issky-Kul. Along the way, we had to drive through a moderately steep mountain pass that opened up to a Lake Shore Drive-esque highway ride alongside Lake Issyk-Kul. Along the way we dropped off PSTs at with their respective PCV visit sites and eventually we made it to Kermentu, the village I would be spending a few days in.
For three days we hung out, cooked (it felt so good to get my hands on some kitchen utensils and make some food!), swam in the Lake, and talked about Peace Corps life. For three days we spent our time in a village snuggled up against the base of a mountain. If you closed your eyes you could hear the chorus of mountain streams from all sides. To the North of the village, mountains, to the South, Lake Issyk-Kul accented with mountains behind it. Do I need to say more? Breath-taking is an understatement; I loved the location and I loved the area. While we were there we met a few other PCVs and were able to finally get some real-life experience opinions and stories of Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan.
Overall, this past weekend really got my blood flowing. By the time I returned to Kant, I was a giddy school boy. From TEFL to learning Kyrgyz, PC friends to the Kyrgyz people, I returned home really excited about what lies in store for the next two years. Every PCV I met told me PST is rough, but fight through it all, the rewards are incredible. This past weekend really lit the fire inside of me; I know I made the right decision to be here and I know that all of the hardships along the way will lead to the phenomenal.

7. The Stars
Holy sweet mother of Venus, if you thought the stars were in abundance in the States, come to the good ol’ Kyrgyz Republic. The only night sky I’ve seen compare was in the middle of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is the same night sky we see in Chicago (the big dipper is within grabbing distance) but there are about 90% more stars visible. If I were to ever choose a time to become a star gazer, the next two years seems to be a wonderful starting point.


Peace and One Love.

I love you all,

Jason