The joys of guesting… Today my host mom knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to go to the mountains with them and there was something with a tree. Oh course I said yes, but not really knowing what was in store for me. Well, it was another guesting adventure. My host dad works at the place where they send out the TV signal. He showed me around the building and told me how it worked. From what I got from his explanation I guess the signal comes from Naryn City and then they send it out to the rayon (county) that I live in. I’m pretty sure he only works there during the winter because up until a month or so ago he didn’t work at all and he will be finished working there halfway through January. There are beds there and the men that work there just sleep there and come home once in a while. It is really close to where we live and going there was just another reminder of how different America is from Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan most people work in their own village and can walk to work. If you work in other village or city most of the time you either have two houses or you travel by taxi back and forth (and that is very uncommon). Here are some of the highlights of the night…
• Being forced to give a toast (this time they were impressed.
• Watching them pass around a bowl with broth in it and two apple slices and whenever it got passed to you, you had to sing. I was given it and I sang “Jingle Bells.”
• Being sung to by a drunk man and I didn’t have a clue what he was saying.
• Eating Beshbarmak (Kyrgyzstan’s national dish) with my besh barmak (five fingers).
• Accidently saying algalay when giving my toast which means drink it all… I was trying to avoid drinking as little of the super sweet wine they gave me and that didn’t help.
• Watching the VERY drunk man try to stay awake, sing, talk, eat… everything was pretty entertaining.
• Having the men at the party ask if they could guest in America and then come to find out they were saying only the men would come and they would leave the women here. Hmm…
• Taking picture after picture of every family there in front of the New Years tree.
• Watching a fuzzy TV after my host dad just told me we were in the place that sends the signal out for that… wouldn’t you think that the channels would come in better. HA.
• Experiencing a Kyrgyz New Years in all its glory!!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas recap
This has been a great Christmas. If I couldn’t be home with my family the people I spent it with were the next best choice. We had a southern meal including: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, mac and cheese, and meat balls. I made eggnog and we have been drinking that all weekend. I think the greatest part of this whole weekend though, was that I got to go skiing. It cost me about $40 for the ride up there and back, rentals, the lift ticket (there were 3 decent lifts), and food… a steak. What a deal!! We had a blast skiing and enjoying the views.
Yesterday after came home from skiing I made chicken potpie pockets. They were so good. My friend Heather made the pie crust and we put eggs and milk in the dough and it was the flakiest crust I have ever eaten. If I were to have made these in the America they would have been delicious, so making them here after being forced to drink the boiled sheep liquid was even more incredible. There is rumor that tonight we are going to make lasagna. I am in heaven. That makes it more like a normal Christmas for me too because my dad usually makes a Christmas lasagna.
Getting to Karakol (the city we are visiting now) was quite the experience though. My mom has told me that I should start writing my travel experiences down and write a book when I come home, and I’m starting to agree with her. I was going to go to travel with my friend Heather and we had to meet up in Naryn City and leave from there. I got into town pretty quickly but Heather has to stand on the side of the road for a car to drive by. She was lucky to catch the first taxi to go by after standing there 45 minutes. I just asked her how long the wait was and she said it was ONLY 45 minutes… at times it is up to 2 hours in temperature that are in the teens or lower. Anyway, she got into town and we waited in the taxi for about an hour for two more people to show up and ride with us. Once we got into the next town we had to find another taxi or mini bus to take us to our final destination. Well as soon as we walked up there was a mini bus leaving within 15 minutes and we were very excited. We set down our bags and went to find food. We were standing in a small store near by and were talking to a woman about how she thought it was amazing that we knew Kyrgyz because even Kyrgyz people don’t know the language very well. We looked out the window and we could no longer see our mini bus or our bags. I ran out and found out that there was a different mini bus that we were going to take and our bags were in that one… phew. We got in… got seats (not everyone did) and took off. Oh crap… we were going the wrong direction. Well we ended up taking the south shore mini bus that took a little longer. The good part is that that way is more scenic, but the bad part is it was so cold that the windows were frosted over and it was dark within an hour into our ride. We got into town about 10.5 hours after we started our trip but we got greeted by other volunteers who had made cookies and sushi. It was a good trip!
New Years will be with my host family and I’m sure pictures with come with that too. Stay warm and be jolly!
Brooke
Yesterday after came home from skiing I made chicken potpie pockets. They were so good. My friend Heather made the pie crust and we put eggs and milk in the dough and it was the flakiest crust I have ever eaten. If I were to have made these in the America they would have been delicious, so making them here after being forced to drink the boiled sheep liquid was even more incredible. There is rumor that tonight we are going to make lasagna. I am in heaven. That makes it more like a normal Christmas for me too because my dad usually makes a Christmas lasagna.
Getting to Karakol (the city we are visiting now) was quite the experience though. My mom has told me that I should start writing my travel experiences down and write a book when I come home, and I’m starting to agree with her. I was going to go to travel with my friend Heather and we had to meet up in Naryn City and leave from there. I got into town pretty quickly but Heather has to stand on the side of the road for a car to drive by. She was lucky to catch the first taxi to go by after standing there 45 minutes. I just asked her how long the wait was and she said it was ONLY 45 minutes… at times it is up to 2 hours in temperature that are in the teens or lower. Anyway, she got into town and we waited in the taxi for about an hour for two more people to show up and ride with us. Once we got into the next town we had to find another taxi or mini bus to take us to our final destination. Well as soon as we walked up there was a mini bus leaving within 15 minutes and we were very excited. We set down our bags and went to find food. We were standing in a small store near by and were talking to a woman about how she thought it was amazing that we knew Kyrgyz because even Kyrgyz people don’t know the language very well. We looked out the window and we could no longer see our mini bus or our bags. I ran out and found out that there was a different mini bus that we were going to take and our bags were in that one… phew. We got in… got seats (not everyone did) and took off. Oh crap… we were going the wrong direction. Well we ended up taking the south shore mini bus that took a little longer. The good part is that that way is more scenic, but the bad part is it was so cold that the windows were frosted over and it was dark within an hour into our ride. We got into town about 10.5 hours after we started our trip but we got greeted by other volunteers who had made cookies and sushi. It was a good trip!
New Years will be with my host family and I’m sure pictures with come with that too. Stay warm and be jolly!
Brooke
Thursday, December 23, 2010
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Since sending presents from Kyrgyzstan is a little difficult, I thought that I would post a really great blog for everyone to enjoy. Merry Christmas. This week I spent the week teaching my students about Christmas and how we celebrate it in America. I taught songs and videotaped a few (too bad my internet isn’t good enough to post those), we decorated a Christmas Tree (the kept calling it a yolka which is what they call their New Years Tree), we hung stockings over the fireplace, we ate cookies, and we made and gave cards to one another. All in all even though this is the farthest from a normal Christmas I have ever had, it has turned out to be a really great one. The students have been really interested in American holidays and I really enjoy teaching them about we are similar and different. I will be sending the actually holiday with some other volunteers. We are going to have a big feast and have a lot of fun. I am really excited to go skiing also!
This past week I my health has not been doing very well. It’s just a cold, but it’s a pretty bad one. My host family thinks that I got it because I don’t wear slippers, or because I don’t wear warm enough clothes, but in reality I’m sure it’s because my nieces have been really sick and cough all over all the food at every meal. Today I didn’t even go to school because when I got there I couldn’t even think. I think one of the hardest things to do when you are sick is to think in any way shape or form and it’s pretty hard to avoid when I have to think so hard just to speak in another language. I’ve been hiding in my room. OK enough of a pity party.
The other day when I came home my niece and host dad we standing in the driveway and she started telling me about a small lamb. I had no idea what else she was saying so I just nodded and went inside. Then there was this box with a coat over it sitting our porch for a few days. Then the box moved inside next to my bedroom door. It stayed there for a day or two. Still not knowing what it was I came home one day and the same niece opened the box and started petting a tiny lamb. It couldn’t have been more than a couple days old. I guess it was born and it was sick so they were keeping it inside to nurse it. The box isn’t there anymore (I think that it is outside in the barn). But it was so cute. Not the first thing I thought would be in a box outside my bedroom door, but at this point nothing surprises me anymore. Whenever something surprising happens I just think to myself, “Of course that’s happening now… why wouldn’t.”
My nieces with the lamb.
Tonight at dinner my host dad suggested for us to play the silent game (I guess that game is universal). I think that this is the first time in my life I have ever won that game. This is one of the few times that not knowing the language very well has come in handy. Every time someone talked they would start a new round and we ended up playing 9 rounds. At the end they voted who talked the least and I came in first. Congrats to me! The whole time I was thinking… wow you have no idea how difficult this game is for me when everyone is speaking English, but in Kyrgyz I have that game in the bag!
Anyway, I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season full of joy and family. I am doing everything I can to make sure that mine is a good one. I even had a tree (as my family knows I will not let Christmas happen without it).
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Brooke
PS we just got a dumping of snow and this is a picture of the view from my classroom window.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Food in the KG
While trying to help get through this time of year without being around my friends and family I am trying to educate the people around me about our holidays and what we do to celebrate. Tomorrow in my classes we will be having Christmas parties and I made cookies for them to eat. The problem about being in this country and trying to cook food that you we were so good at cooking when you were back in the states is the ingredients are different here. For example, the sugar they use here is beet sugar and not cane sugar. It reacts differently when you cook with it. I made sugar cookies (I wanted to make ones that we roll out and cut out shapes but I don’t have cookie cutters here and it’s not the same without frosting) and they taste good but they just didn’t turn out right. The best part about it though is that everyone who I’m feeding the cookies to have never had a sugar cookie in America. So to them they are amazing. My nieces really wanted to help me so I let them roll the dough into balls, roll them in sugar, and press a fork into them. They did really well. I also made chocolate chip cookie bars which actually turned out really well. I don’t have vanilla here because it is really hard to find and you can usually only find it in Bishkek and on the lake (they have everything). I think making cookies with my nieces is one of my favorite memories in country to date. I think I might try to cook with them more often. I know for New Years we will make more cookies and make pizza so that will be a lot of fun. They are so much fun. I hope you enjoy the pictures of my family. I enjoy living with them. I think that the best part is EVERY time I come home they come out of the main room and yell, “Brooke Ejay” (Ejay is what you call an older female). It’s so much fun to be loved so much for not doing anything.
This weekend I also made pizza. I think it is the best pizza I have ever made before. One had a butter garlic sauce with pepperoni (yes real pepperoni that another volunteer’s mom sent him from America), peppers, and cheese. That one was AMAZING. And the other pizza had a white garlic sauce with caramelized onions, chicken, and cheese. It was even better the next morning for breakfast. I do what I can to get by with the food. I love cooking and it is a huge destresser. It is also a really great way for me to learn new vocabulary!
Next weekend I will be in Karakol (a large city on the lake) skiing and cooking with friends. I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and is spending it with loved ones!
Brooke
This is Aichuruk pressing the cookies down with a fork
Aidana rolling the cookies in sugar
Me and my little monkeys
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Bathing is a luxury??
I never thought that I would think getting to bathe once a week by myself would be a luxury. It’s amazing how different your life can be from one year to the next. Last year I was living at home close to my family and friends. I could shower anytime I wanted to. I could eat just about any type of food I would ever want, whenever I would want it. I could drive my car and leave when I wanted to not when transportation permitted. I put all that together and realize that even though I don’t get those “luxuries” I am probably the happiest that I have ever been in my life. So many days I walk down the road and just smile because there is so much to be amazed by! I have met some of the greatest people I have ever met, I am constantly surrounded by nature’s beauty and I’m getting a real life view of how other parts of the world function without all the extras America has. It is so true that happiness comes in simplicity. I have found that there are times I have to remind myself to go take a banya now rather than just making it to the next banya. I don’t always smell good, but neither does anyone else. But it would be nice to be able to bathe and be the only person in there.
The most awkward moment to date during my service in the Peace Corps happened last week when I was in the banya. Usually I go in there and put on my tunnel vision because I just want to get in and out of there ASAP. Well last Friday I was in the changing room and halfway undressed when a woman started talking to me in English. She apparently teaches English at one of the schools in my village and she wants me to help her. We spoke in half English and half Kyrgyz about me helping her and then I gave her number so she could call me and we could set up a meeting. I would prefer to go back to being invisible. Every time something like that happens I just have to remind myself that it is getting me one step closer to being fearless and doing exactly what I want to do when I want to do it. How amazing would life be if we were controlled by our fears?
I think that one of the best parts about being here is that it is giving my ideas of what I want to do for the rest of my life. Well knowing me I doubt I will ever commit to rest of my life, but at least what I want to work towards when I finish my service. The amount of free time here to contemplate life and my purpose in it is sometimes good, but other times not so great.
Right now I’m looking at going into the medical field with some type of nursing. Mostly I would like to either do midwifery or nutrition. I have been researching online for different programs but mostly I have found programs that I need a lot of prerequisites that I have not fulfilled. If anyone knows of any programs that are geared toward non-science bachelor degree people that would help me out a lot.
The most awkward moment to date during my service in the Peace Corps happened last week when I was in the banya. Usually I go in there and put on my tunnel vision because I just want to get in and out of there ASAP. Well last Friday I was in the changing room and halfway undressed when a woman started talking to me in English. She apparently teaches English at one of the schools in my village and she wants me to help her. We spoke in half English and half Kyrgyz about me helping her and then I gave her number so she could call me and we could set up a meeting. I would prefer to go back to being invisible. Every time something like that happens I just have to remind myself that it is getting me one step closer to being fearless and doing exactly what I want to do when I want to do it. How amazing would life be if we were controlled by our fears?
I think that one of the best parts about being here is that it is giving my ideas of what I want to do for the rest of my life. Well knowing me I doubt I will ever commit to rest of my life, but at least what I want to work towards when I finish my service. The amount of free time here to contemplate life and my purpose in it is sometimes good, but other times not so great.
Right now I’m looking at going into the medical field with some type of nursing. Mostly I would like to either do midwifery or nutrition. I have been researching online for different programs but mostly I have found programs that I need a lot of prerequisites that I have not fulfilled. If anyone knows of any programs that are geared toward non-science bachelor degree people that would help me out a lot.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Kyrgyz know how to PARTY!!
I am lying in bed right now with headphones in because in the room right next to me they are singing (and very off key at that!). AND the speaker is against my wall. It is 1am and my family told me that I could go to bed. I kept saying no, but then decided that I saw enough of the party an didn’t need to stay awake until 4am when the party will be finished. There still are two more meals to be eaten. Let’s start from the beginning.
My host brother and his wife had a baby last August and my family is having a baby blessing party here was I write this. I woke up this morning and everyone kept telling me that I could help later. So I just went into my room and hid out. I helped out with making some salads and got to put my knife skills to use. Guests all showed up in a couple cars at the same time. My niece came pounding on my door telling me to come because the one big job that I was given for the whole night was to take pictures. That was a good thing because it gave me something to do and not have to sit awkwardly as people asked me questions that I don’t understand. After we ate it was present time. There were two sherdaks (traditional Kyrgyz rugs) and a lot of tushuks (padded mats that go on the floor to sit on). They were also a rocker, a hot water dispenser, long warm jackets for my host mom and sisters and probably a lot more. Then the bag of borsok (fried bread) and the box of a sheep were opened and all of the sudden we were eating again and giving more toasts.
After drinking tea, making toasts, and eating food the guests all went to a café in town. My host mom told me that I was going to go with them too. Two of my host sisters were already there. I watched as the second car crammed with over 10 people in drive away. So, I just put on my boots and started walking. As I was walking my host dad drove by and stopped so I could ride with him. At the café the only people there who were in my family were my two sisters. Everyone else stayed back at the house. We spent over 3 hours there singing, giving toasts, dancing, eating, and drinking a lot of vodka. My host dad’s brother kept trying to make me drink but I really didn’t want to. I made my first toast in Kyrgyz and let’s say they were less than impressed. It was so bad that my host sister who speaks English said that I could do it in English and she would translate. They tried to make me sing to, but they could only push me so far. Most people were giving a toast and then finishing it off with a song. For those of you who know me well know that I love to sing, but I never sing in front of a group of people with a microphone.
Then, after a couple of courses of food at the café we left and headed back to the house. When I got there no one came in the house with me. I was so confused, but later found out that the guests went to a neighbor’s house to eat more food there. Luckily I wasn’t forced to go there. My nieces wanted me to play a game with them so I played a game of candyland with my little nieces. It was actually pretty fun. Also while the guest were at the neighbor’s we began to make more food. All the guest then came back around 11pm and drank tea again. I went and hid in the kitchen with my sisters and helped make more food. Just like in America, I hid in the kitchen during a party because that is where I am most comfortable. That’s where it ended for me. They guests had started sing and dancing in the other room, but I managed to avoid that. I think right now they have finally started eating another round of food. I told my family that this is nothing like parties in America and that ours usually last 3-4 hours not 12. They said that in the south their parties last 3 days. That is so much work!
I think out of everything that has happened today the strangest part for me was that they people that the party was for never really interacted with the guests. My sister in law was cooking or cleaning the whole time, my host brother was in and out making sure everything was going alright. When we were at the café it was just my sisters there, when they went to the neighbor’s I think my host dad was the only one who went with the guests. I was expecting a blessing ceremony, but there wasn’t (that I saw). I’m not going to lie… they do know how to throw a party but it so much work. I am exhausted and I didn’t even do as much work as everyone else. Anyway… That’s my first big party experience.
Pictures to come!
My host brother and his wife had a baby last August and my family is having a baby blessing party here was I write this. I woke up this morning and everyone kept telling me that I could help later. So I just went into my room and hid out. I helped out with making some salads and got to put my knife skills to use. Guests all showed up in a couple cars at the same time. My niece came pounding on my door telling me to come because the one big job that I was given for the whole night was to take pictures. That was a good thing because it gave me something to do and not have to sit awkwardly as people asked me questions that I don’t understand. After we ate it was present time. There were two sherdaks (traditional Kyrgyz rugs) and a lot of tushuks (padded mats that go on the floor to sit on). They were also a rocker, a hot water dispenser, long warm jackets for my host mom and sisters and probably a lot more. Then the bag of borsok (fried bread) and the box of a sheep were opened and all of the sudden we were eating again and giving more toasts.
After drinking tea, making toasts, and eating food the guests all went to a café in town. My host mom told me that I was going to go with them too. Two of my host sisters were already there. I watched as the second car crammed with over 10 people in drive away. So, I just put on my boots and started walking. As I was walking my host dad drove by and stopped so I could ride with him. At the café the only people there who were in my family were my two sisters. Everyone else stayed back at the house. We spent over 3 hours there singing, giving toasts, dancing, eating, and drinking a lot of vodka. My host dad’s brother kept trying to make me drink but I really didn’t want to. I made my first toast in Kyrgyz and let’s say they were less than impressed. It was so bad that my host sister who speaks English said that I could do it in English and she would translate. They tried to make me sing to, but they could only push me so far. Most people were giving a toast and then finishing it off with a song. For those of you who know me well know that I love to sing, but I never sing in front of a group of people with a microphone.
Then, after a couple of courses of food at the café we left and headed back to the house. When I got there no one came in the house with me. I was so confused, but later found out that the guests went to a neighbor’s house to eat more food there. Luckily I wasn’t forced to go there. My nieces wanted me to play a game with them so I played a game of candyland with my little nieces. It was actually pretty fun. Also while the guest were at the neighbor’s we began to make more food. All the guest then came back around 11pm and drank tea again. I went and hid in the kitchen with my sisters and helped make more food. Just like in America, I hid in the kitchen during a party because that is where I am most comfortable. That’s where it ended for me. They guests had started sing and dancing in the other room, but I managed to avoid that. I think right now they have finally started eating another round of food. I told my family that this is nothing like parties in America and that ours usually last 3-4 hours not 12. They said that in the south their parties last 3 days. That is so much work!
I think out of everything that has happened today the strangest part for me was that they people that the party was for never really interacted with the guests. My sister in law was cooking or cleaning the whole time, my host brother was in and out making sure everything was going alright. When we were at the café it was just my sisters there, when they went to the neighbor’s I think my host dad was the only one who went with the guests. I was expecting a blessing ceremony, but there wasn’t (that I saw). I’m not going to lie… they do know how to throw a party but it so much work. I am exhausted and I didn’t even do as much work as everyone else. Anyway… That’s my first big party experience.
Pictures to come!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy early Thanksgiving!
Well I learned a word today that now looking back I never thought I would learn… earthquake. There was a short one while I was teaching today. I was teaching club with two 5th grade students and I just looked at them and they looked at me and we were very confused. It was very short… maybe 2-3 seconds but I heard it was a 5.0. The epicenter was a few hours from me in the same oblast. Anyway, another thing to put on the list of things I never thought I would experience here. I mean… I have experience them in America, but never in a developing country. Good thing it was not very big.
Life has been interesting lately. For the past month or so I have been bouncing around in several different directions and I am living a life that I never expected to live as a Peace Corps volunteer. I have way more luxuries than I ever thought would be possible. I see my American friends at least once a week, have a cell phone, my house is very warm even though it is very cold outside. This past week I had a site visit from a Peace Corps staff and it was really good to get feedback on what was going well and what areas I could work on to make my service more successful.
Last weekend I went to a friend’s village and it is always great to go out there because even though where I live is much less industrial and technologically advanced as most other places in this country it is even less out there. I waited for an hour for a taxi and when one finally showed up there was a crowd of several people waiting to go out there. I luckily pushed my way in (I was the second person waiting for the taxi so I didn’t cut and it would matter here anyway because there is no such thing as lines or cutting). I ended up with about 2 square inches of seat to rest a portion on a thigh on. I had one baby laying on my chest as she slept and the other almost laying on the floor. I was using the driver’s head rest as a pillow so I could try to forget the pain my legs were in trying to hold myself up during the 45 minute ride. With 10 people in a taxi it gets a little cramped. One guy tried to tell me that he wanted my seat but I wouldn’t get out, so he ended up sitting next to another man in the front seat. Two grown men shared the passenger seat of a car. That’s another thing I never thought I would see.
When I got out to his village I was greeted by my friend’s host mom and later his brother came in, shook my hand and kissed me on the cheek. I really love that if you make an effort to show that you care most of the time you will get that in return. Luckily his host parents were going back into town the next day and let us ride in their car with them. I didn’t have to pay for a taxi or have to cram into the corner. Oh the little things in life that make you happy!
This Saturday there is a group of volunteers who are going to get together and have Thanksgiving. I was planning on going because if I couldn’t be at home with my family I could at least have it with my Peace Corps family. Well, when I came home from visiting my friend my family told me that they were going to have a baby blessing party for my new nephew that was born in August on the same day. How could I turn that down? They looked so sad when I told them that I had plans to leave so I decided to have my first uncelebrated Thanksgiving at 27. I have been making up for it by teaching my students about Thanksgiving and having them make turkey hands and talk about what they are thankful for. That’ll do for now!
The party will be a trip. We will have 30 people at my little house for one night. I will help make food and watch them slaughter the sheep. We are going to make bozo tomorrow which is a fermented wheat drink. I don’t plan on drinking it but it will be interesting to watch how they make it.
Anyway, I’ll post pictures of the festivities later. I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving. I am thankful for such a great opportunity to experience a culture first hand and for the people who love me so much that they send me letters and packages!! :)
Have a good one!
Brooke
Life has been interesting lately. For the past month or so I have been bouncing around in several different directions and I am living a life that I never expected to live as a Peace Corps volunteer. I have way more luxuries than I ever thought would be possible. I see my American friends at least once a week, have a cell phone, my house is very warm even though it is very cold outside. This past week I had a site visit from a Peace Corps staff and it was really good to get feedback on what was going well and what areas I could work on to make my service more successful.
Last weekend I went to a friend’s village and it is always great to go out there because even though where I live is much less industrial and technologically advanced as most other places in this country it is even less out there. I waited for an hour for a taxi and when one finally showed up there was a crowd of several people waiting to go out there. I luckily pushed my way in (I was the second person waiting for the taxi so I didn’t cut and it would matter here anyway because there is no such thing as lines or cutting). I ended up with about 2 square inches of seat to rest a portion on a thigh on. I had one baby laying on my chest as she slept and the other almost laying on the floor. I was using the driver’s head rest as a pillow so I could try to forget the pain my legs were in trying to hold myself up during the 45 minute ride. With 10 people in a taxi it gets a little cramped. One guy tried to tell me that he wanted my seat but I wouldn’t get out, so he ended up sitting next to another man in the front seat. Two grown men shared the passenger seat of a car. That’s another thing I never thought I would see.
When I got out to his village I was greeted by my friend’s host mom and later his brother came in, shook my hand and kissed me on the cheek. I really love that if you make an effort to show that you care most of the time you will get that in return. Luckily his host parents were going back into town the next day and let us ride in their car with them. I didn’t have to pay for a taxi or have to cram into the corner. Oh the little things in life that make you happy!
This Saturday there is a group of volunteers who are going to get together and have Thanksgiving. I was planning on going because if I couldn’t be at home with my family I could at least have it with my Peace Corps family. Well, when I came home from visiting my friend my family told me that they were going to have a baby blessing party for my new nephew that was born in August on the same day. How could I turn that down? They looked so sad when I told them that I had plans to leave so I decided to have my first uncelebrated Thanksgiving at 27. I have been making up for it by teaching my students about Thanksgiving and having them make turkey hands and talk about what they are thankful for. That’ll do for now!
The party will be a trip. We will have 30 people at my little house for one night. I will help make food and watch them slaughter the sheep. We are going to make bozo tomorrow which is a fermented wheat drink. I don’t plan on drinking it but it will be interesting to watch how they make it.
Anyway, I’ll post pictures of the festivities later. I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving. I am thankful for such a great opportunity to experience a culture first hand and for the people who love me so much that they send me letters and packages!! :)
Have a good one!
Brooke
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Happy Veteran's Day
Happy Veteran’s Day and thank you to all of you who have spend time serving our country.
It’s been a long time since my last post. I guess it has been a little difficult to get back into work mode after being in vacation mode! Since we are only allowed to travel during school breaks I really try to take advantage of it when we have them. A group of four of us went to Almaty, Kazakhstan for 4 days. It was amazing. Almaty is only a 4 hour mini bus ride away from Bishkek and it only costs $6 to get there. Talk about a deal. The hard part of going there was that it is one of the top 50 most expensive cities in the world. More expensive than LA. My bank account really felt it, but it was totally worth it. And just like most of my vacations most of my money was spent on food. We went to many different restaurants that had food that I miss from America. There was actually a restaurant that we went to that was called American Bar and Grill and it lived up to its name. I had a bleu cheese burger! AWESOME! I think that the strangest part of the trip was one thing after another kept happening making the whole thing feel surreal. We started off by meeting a guy on the bus ride over to Almaty who used to live in America and he really helped us get over the border and got us a taxi to our hotel. He wanted to meet up with us to have drinks that night and after we had incredible Indian food (that was so good that one of the other volunteers I was traveling with almost cried) we walked around town and found an Irish pub called the Dublin. He joined us there… but sadly they didn’t have any Guinness so we had to go to another bar. This time we tried the Guinness bar, hoping that they wouldn’t fail us. They didn’t.
He also brought some friends who knew English too and it was really great to talk to them. I also heard before we left that Almaty had a Baskin Robbins so we were able to ask them where we could find it. :) That night as we were leaving we went to hail a taxi and a white LIMO stopped. The driver was so funny. After a little negotiating about the price we got in and had the most interesting taxi ride of our lives. He was speaking in English/Russian/Spanish and going off on rants that we could only partly understand. I was laughing so hard it was starting to hurt. He was so into what he was talking about he never actually dropped us off on the correct street. He got within a few blocks so we just got out, but it was hilarious.
The next day we went on a walking tour of the city and saw some incredible site that the city had to share. The city had some pretty interesting architecture but still had the old soviet feel to it that Bishkek has. At one point we were walking through a park and looked over and saw a huge building with bright colors. As we got closer we realized that it was a Russian Orthodox church. This church is very interesting because it is made completely out of wood including the nails that hold it together. It was magnificent inside and out. My friend Heather and I really wanted to go to a service but we were there an hour too early and then got distracted later in the day. Maybe next time I go to Almaty. We have already made plans because there was so many things we still want to see.
The third day we went to a museum and saw a lot of old Kazakh clothing and archeology. We also went to a mega center and found Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut, and KFC. It was so good. I have always been a person who will never eat American food when I am traveling, but after being away from American for seven months I really miss it a lot, sadly. We also found a large grocery store in that mall and bought peanut butter, tortillas, tonic water, AVACADOS, and many other goodies we can’t find in Bishkek. Did I tell you that this was an expensive trip? OOPS… oh well! I was able to eat everything that I have been craving!!
The last day as we were leaving the coffee shop that we ate breakfast at, there was a Rols Roice sitting out front with a driver waiting in it. This city has money! It was a much different world than what I have been living in for the past seven months.
All in all it was a great trip. Eating all that great food really helped my slight homesickness. Though it was a little difficult to readjust to my life here it has been good to be back and live a more simple life.
When I was in Bishkek I had a lot of fun with my friends. Before and after my trip to Almaty I spent hanging out with friends and making great memories. Halloween was great and I was a duck.
Well we had 3 nights of festivities and I started as a ninja (a throwback to teaching at Corbett), then I was ballerina, then I was a duck the third night. All were good costumes and fun was had in all. On the Friday before Halloween we had a party at an orphanage. That is one of the volunteer’s site and so he threw the party for the kids and a bunch of volunteers came and helped out. It was great. We each had to create an activity and mine was a potato sack race.
The idea came to me one morning when I was sleeping at a friend’s house and when we woke up I really had the urge to sleeping bag wrestle. I know… I will always be a child at heart. There was also bobbing for apples, face painting, pumpkin toss and other fun activities. It was great!
After my trip to Almaty I met with some (I guess you could call them) extended family who have lived here for 8 years. My cousin’s husband’s aunt and uncle live here and took me to lunch. (Thanks Gretchen for letting me know that they are here) I have the strangest connects to this country. Have you ever really felt like you are in the right place at the right time? I think that’s how my life has been since I came here seven months ago. I still can’t believe it has been that long. Anyway, it was a really great lunch and really great to meet them. They are also doing great things in their community near Bishkek.
Oh yay… My host mom just came home from being away for over a month. She had to have surgery on something. I’m not sure what, but she is home now and she is looking good. Not moving too quickly, but her spirits are good. I really missed her a lot!
Anyway, that is the update for now. I hope you are doing well and just remember care packages and letter are always welcome. If you need the address it is posted in a June blog post or email me and I’ll send you a word document of it.
It’s been a long time since my last post. I guess it has been a little difficult to get back into work mode after being in vacation mode! Since we are only allowed to travel during school breaks I really try to take advantage of it when we have them. A group of four of us went to Almaty, Kazakhstan for 4 days. It was amazing. Almaty is only a 4 hour mini bus ride away from Bishkek and it only costs $6 to get there. Talk about a deal. The hard part of going there was that it is one of the top 50 most expensive cities in the world. More expensive than LA. My bank account really felt it, but it was totally worth it. And just like most of my vacations most of my money was spent on food. We went to many different restaurants that had food that I miss from America. There was actually a restaurant that we went to that was called American Bar and Grill and it lived up to its name. I had a bleu cheese burger! AWESOME! I think that the strangest part of the trip was one thing after another kept happening making the whole thing feel surreal. We started off by meeting a guy on the bus ride over to Almaty who used to live in America and he really helped us get over the border and got us a taxi to our hotel. He wanted to meet up with us to have drinks that night and after we had incredible Indian food (that was so good that one of the other volunteers I was traveling with almost cried) we walked around town and found an Irish pub called the Dublin. He joined us there… but sadly they didn’t have any Guinness so we had to go to another bar. This time we tried the Guinness bar, hoping that they wouldn’t fail us. They didn’t.
He also brought some friends who knew English too and it was really great to talk to them. I also heard before we left that Almaty had a Baskin Robbins so we were able to ask them where we could find it. :) That night as we were leaving we went to hail a taxi and a white LIMO stopped. The driver was so funny. After a little negotiating about the price we got in and had the most interesting taxi ride of our lives. He was speaking in English/Russian/Spanish and going off on rants that we could only partly understand. I was laughing so hard it was starting to hurt. He was so into what he was talking about he never actually dropped us off on the correct street. He got within a few blocks so we just got out, but it was hilarious.
The next day we went on a walking tour of the city and saw some incredible site that the city had to share. The city had some pretty interesting architecture but still had the old soviet feel to it that Bishkek has. At one point we were walking through a park and looked over and saw a huge building with bright colors. As we got closer we realized that it was a Russian Orthodox church. This church is very interesting because it is made completely out of wood including the nails that hold it together. It was magnificent inside and out. My friend Heather and I really wanted to go to a service but we were there an hour too early and then got distracted later in the day. Maybe next time I go to Almaty. We have already made plans because there was so many things we still want to see.
The third day we went to a museum and saw a lot of old Kazakh clothing and archeology. We also went to a mega center and found Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut, and KFC. It was so good. I have always been a person who will never eat American food when I am traveling, but after being away from American for seven months I really miss it a lot, sadly. We also found a large grocery store in that mall and bought peanut butter, tortillas, tonic water, AVACADOS, and many other goodies we can’t find in Bishkek. Did I tell you that this was an expensive trip? OOPS… oh well! I was able to eat everything that I have been craving!!
The last day as we were leaving the coffee shop that we ate breakfast at, there was a Rols Roice sitting out front with a driver waiting in it. This city has money! It was a much different world than what I have been living in for the past seven months.
All in all it was a great trip. Eating all that great food really helped my slight homesickness. Though it was a little difficult to readjust to my life here it has been good to be back and live a more simple life.
When I was in Bishkek I had a lot of fun with my friends. Before and after my trip to Almaty I spent hanging out with friends and making great memories. Halloween was great and I was a duck.
Well we had 3 nights of festivities and I started as a ninja (a throwback to teaching at Corbett), then I was ballerina, then I was a duck the third night. All were good costumes and fun was had in all. On the Friday before Halloween we had a party at an orphanage. That is one of the volunteer’s site and so he threw the party for the kids and a bunch of volunteers came and helped out. It was great. We each had to create an activity and mine was a potato sack race.
The idea came to me one morning when I was sleeping at a friend’s house and when we woke up I really had the urge to sleeping bag wrestle. I know… I will always be a child at heart. There was also bobbing for apples, face painting, pumpkin toss and other fun activities. It was great!
After my trip to Almaty I met with some (I guess you could call them) extended family who have lived here for 8 years. My cousin’s husband’s aunt and uncle live here and took me to lunch. (Thanks Gretchen for letting me know that they are here) I have the strangest connects to this country. Have you ever really felt like you are in the right place at the right time? I think that’s how my life has been since I came here seven months ago. I still can’t believe it has been that long. Anyway, it was a really great lunch and really great to meet them. They are also doing great things in their community near Bishkek.
Oh yay… My host mom just came home from being away for over a month. She had to have surgery on something. I’m not sure what, but she is home now and she is looking good. Not moving too quickly, but her spirits are good. I really missed her a lot!
Anyway, that is the update for now. I hope you are doing well and just remember care packages and letter are always welcome. If you need the address it is posted in a June blog post or email me and I’ll send you a word document of it.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Just a normal day
I have been sitting at my computer trying to think of a good story or something interesting that has happened in the past week or so and I’m coming up with a blank. The strangest part of that would be that anyone back at home could have come up with a dozen or so anecdotes, but this is my life now and so much of what was not normal 6 months ago is very normal now. I’ll just tell my story of today and for me it’s normal, but if it happened in America I would be such a crazy story.
I had set up a meeting with a teacher yesterday. We were to meet at 3pm at the school so I could help her with her English and her lesson planning. Well when 3 o’clock rolled around I found her, but she was teaching a class until 4. Hmm… I just chalked it up to miscommunication because sometimes that easier. Then we set up a time to meet this morning. We were going to meet at 9am. That was the time she said would work best for her. Well I showed up at the school at 9am and she was nowhere to be found. I waited for 20 minutes and then sent her a text saying how long I waited and for her to let me know when would be a better time. She called me later to tell me she was at the school at 9am. Well, where were you in the school then, I asked her. “I was in the 9a class.” “How can we have a meeting if you have class at that time?” She didn’t have an answer for me. You know, surprisingly enough… it didn’t really bother me. I have gotten used to people not showing up to meetings. I then went to the new English resource center in my village to help log books. Then I went back to the school to teach the teachers at my school English. When I showed up the teachers said they were too tired to have class and asked if we could do it another day. That again, didn’t bother me. It actually invigorated me because I was able to communicate really well with the teachers and even though they went to get an English teacher to translate even though I never needed it. Everything that the teacher translated was what I understood and I only spoke in Kyrgyz. So we went home. Then, I gave my little niece, 10, an English lesson and it was so wonderful. We worked on the alphabet and sang the song together. I was able to explain the ending to her and she totally understood. I taught her words that started with each letter of the alphabet and she taught me the Russian words for them. All in all it was a really good day. I have noticed that my patients are getting better. I still have my days and problems, but there are a lot of things that I’m starting to let go. Six months in and I’m starting to feel different.
I just need to remember to hold on to these good days to help me get through the tough ones where everything seems to fall apart. Once I am able to do that I will be golden. (in 2 days I’ll have been here for 7 months… time flies!)
I had set up a meeting with a teacher yesterday. We were to meet at 3pm at the school so I could help her with her English and her lesson planning. Well when 3 o’clock rolled around I found her, but she was teaching a class until 4. Hmm… I just chalked it up to miscommunication because sometimes that easier. Then we set up a time to meet this morning. We were going to meet at 9am. That was the time she said would work best for her. Well I showed up at the school at 9am and she was nowhere to be found. I waited for 20 minutes and then sent her a text saying how long I waited and for her to let me know when would be a better time. She called me later to tell me she was at the school at 9am. Well, where were you in the school then, I asked her. “I was in the 9a class.” “How can we have a meeting if you have class at that time?” She didn’t have an answer for me. You know, surprisingly enough… it didn’t really bother me. I have gotten used to people not showing up to meetings. I then went to the new English resource center in my village to help log books. Then I went back to the school to teach the teachers at my school English. When I showed up the teachers said they were too tired to have class and asked if we could do it another day. That again, didn’t bother me. It actually invigorated me because I was able to communicate really well with the teachers and even though they went to get an English teacher to translate even though I never needed it. Everything that the teacher translated was what I understood and I only spoke in Kyrgyz. So we went home. Then, I gave my little niece, 10, an English lesson and it was so wonderful. We worked on the alphabet and sang the song together. I was able to explain the ending to her and she totally understood. I taught her words that started with each letter of the alphabet and she taught me the Russian words for them. All in all it was a really good day. I have noticed that my patients are getting better. I still have my days and problems, but there are a lot of things that I’m starting to let go. Six months in and I’m starting to feel different.
I just need to remember to hold on to these good days to help me get through the tough ones where everything seems to fall apart. Once I am able to do that I will be golden. (in 2 days I’ll have been here for 7 months… time flies!)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
My life in KG and everything my village has
As promised… Accommodations in my village:
• I live on one edge of town and where I live there aren’t any paved roads. It is bad most of the time because when the roads are dry the cars drive fast and dust goes everywhere. It’s really not good especially since I bathe once a week. My face and hair get gross. But when it rains it all turns into mud. The funny thing is that mud in Kyrgyz is a not a very good word (2 words) in English. It makes me giggle every time I hear it. During the winter it won’t be too bad because it will be covered in snow and all the pot holes will be filled in.
• My school (there are three secondary schools and one technical school in my village) is about a 5-10 minute walk. It matters how fast I’m walking. They call it the new school but it was build 20 years ago. There is a kindergarten that is right next to it. Students go there until they are ready to start secondary school. Kids usually start 1st grade around 5 or 6 years old. They go to school for 11 years. Then off to university, technical school, or to work. Some students will leave secondary school around 9th or 10th grade and start at a technical then. My first host brother did that. He went to a school to become an accountant.
• At the school electricity is rarely used and so when there is no power the only way that you can really know is because the bell that lets us know that class is over is a hand held bell that someone rings while walking up and down the hallways. Oh, but if there is electricity the school bell doesn’t ring itself. A teacher has to be on “duty” everyday and they are in charge of ringing the bell and the end and start of each class. The sound of the bell sounds like a fire alarm in America and scares me every time it goes off.
• In town there is one café that I usually go to with other volunteers about once a week. The food is pretty decent Kyrgyz food and the people know us there. There are also about 4-5 small cafes which are called ashkana. We go there when we want something different but they usually only have two or three dishes there. Sometimes they don’t have any food at all.
• We have 2 small bazaars during the weeks (Monday-Saturday). And on Sunday we have a very large bazaar called the mal bazaar or domestic animal bazaar. There they sell sheep, horses, cows, chickens, and sometimes yaks and camels. There is a man in At Bashy who trains falcons and sometimes he will be there with his falcons. At this bazaar we usually get shashlik which is kabobs. There is one guy we always go to because he always has beef. The others all have sheep and there is only so much sheep I can eat. This bazaar is on the other side of town than I live on. When I go to it I take a marshruka (a mini bus) and it costs 7 som (about 14 cents).
• The stores here are everywhere. We don’t have grocery stores in Naryn, but everywhere you go there will be small stores called dookon that sell juice, some food, and vodka. There are probably hundreds of them in just my village alone. I don’t know how they all stay in business with so many around but they do.
• There is a sport center in my village. The director is my neighbor said I could come anytime I wanted to play sports. He would just give me the key. I’m thinking of doing some clubs or camps there.
• There is a small stadium/field. That is there I play soccer with my little neighbor girls. It is pretty nice for a Kyrgyz field.
• In the public banya there is rarely lights on in there too. When you first walk in there is a small room with lockers to change and store your clothes. Then there is another room that is warm and you wash in there. There is also a sauna that attached to that room and sometimes women hold the door open and the washing room gets really hot. I really hate that a lot! I don’t like to be hot.
• Everywhere you walk in any city or village in this country there are animals that are everywhere. Stray dogs that wander around. My neighbors have a really mean dog and barks and snarls at me a lot. I really hate it because I have to pass it to get home. There are lots of other animals too. Like at 6 pm all the cows come home. I never truly understood the saying, “until the cows come home” until I moved to this country. They really do come home all walking together down the street. Ha ha.
• The way they keep their horses from running away is to tie their feet together. They are still able to move around and eat but they aren’t able to run. It actually makes me sad watching it.
• There is one gas station in my village. But if you go to any small village away from mine there are lots of houses that have a sign that say benzene and they sell gas in old bottles. Somehow they fill old water or pop or beer bottles with gas and sell to people who run out where there aren’t any gas stations. Somehow that is smart and very stupid at the same time.
• Since I am in the mountains there are lots of places to hike. It absolutely beautiful.
• One thing that I really miss about Portland is that it is so easy to get around because it is basically a grid and most streets are fairly straight and predictable. Here the roads aren’t straight and most of the time there is one rhyme or reason to where they go. I have gotten lost so many times and I just have to watch the mountains to make sure I can find my way home.
That’s quite a few things. I hope this gives you a little bit of a visual of where I live and what life is like for the Kyrgyz people in At Bashy.
• I live on one edge of town and where I live there aren’t any paved roads. It is bad most of the time because when the roads are dry the cars drive fast and dust goes everywhere. It’s really not good especially since I bathe once a week. My face and hair get gross. But when it rains it all turns into mud. The funny thing is that mud in Kyrgyz is a not a very good word (2 words) in English. It makes me giggle every time I hear it. During the winter it won’t be too bad because it will be covered in snow and all the pot holes will be filled in.
• My school (there are three secondary schools and one technical school in my village) is about a 5-10 minute walk. It matters how fast I’m walking. They call it the new school but it was build 20 years ago. There is a kindergarten that is right next to it. Students go there until they are ready to start secondary school. Kids usually start 1st grade around 5 or 6 years old. They go to school for 11 years. Then off to university, technical school, or to work. Some students will leave secondary school around 9th or 10th grade and start at a technical then. My first host brother did that. He went to a school to become an accountant.
• At the school electricity is rarely used and so when there is no power the only way that you can really know is because the bell that lets us know that class is over is a hand held bell that someone rings while walking up and down the hallways. Oh, but if there is electricity the school bell doesn’t ring itself. A teacher has to be on “duty” everyday and they are in charge of ringing the bell and the end and start of each class. The sound of the bell sounds like a fire alarm in America and scares me every time it goes off.
• In town there is one café that I usually go to with other volunteers about once a week. The food is pretty decent Kyrgyz food and the people know us there. There are also about 4-5 small cafes which are called ashkana. We go there when we want something different but they usually only have two or three dishes there. Sometimes they don’t have any food at all.
• We have 2 small bazaars during the weeks (Monday-Saturday). And on Sunday we have a very large bazaar called the mal bazaar or domestic animal bazaar. There they sell sheep, horses, cows, chickens, and sometimes yaks and camels. There is a man in At Bashy who trains falcons and sometimes he will be there with his falcons. At this bazaar we usually get shashlik which is kabobs. There is one guy we always go to because he always has beef. The others all have sheep and there is only so much sheep I can eat. This bazaar is on the other side of town than I live on. When I go to it I take a marshruka (a mini bus) and it costs 7 som (about 14 cents).
• The stores here are everywhere. We don’t have grocery stores in Naryn, but everywhere you go there will be small stores called dookon that sell juice, some food, and vodka. There are probably hundreds of them in just my village alone. I don’t know how they all stay in business with so many around but they do.
• There is a sport center in my village. The director is my neighbor said I could come anytime I wanted to play sports. He would just give me the key. I’m thinking of doing some clubs or camps there.
• There is a small stadium/field. That is there I play soccer with my little neighbor girls. It is pretty nice for a Kyrgyz field.
• In the public banya there is rarely lights on in there too. When you first walk in there is a small room with lockers to change and store your clothes. Then there is another room that is warm and you wash in there. There is also a sauna that attached to that room and sometimes women hold the door open and the washing room gets really hot. I really hate that a lot! I don’t like to be hot.
• Everywhere you walk in any city or village in this country there are animals that are everywhere. Stray dogs that wander around. My neighbors have a really mean dog and barks and snarls at me a lot. I really hate it because I have to pass it to get home. There are lots of other animals too. Like at 6 pm all the cows come home. I never truly understood the saying, “until the cows come home” until I moved to this country. They really do come home all walking together down the street. Ha ha.
• The way they keep their horses from running away is to tie their feet together. They are still able to move around and eat but they aren’t able to run. It actually makes me sad watching it.
• There is one gas station in my village. But if you go to any small village away from mine there are lots of houses that have a sign that say benzene and they sell gas in old bottles. Somehow they fill old water or pop or beer bottles with gas and sell to people who run out where there aren’t any gas stations. Somehow that is smart and very stupid at the same time.
• Since I am in the mountains there are lots of places to hike. It absolutely beautiful.
• One thing that I really miss about Portland is that it is so easy to get around because it is basically a grid and most streets are fairly straight and predictable. Here the roads aren’t straight and most of the time there is one rhyme or reason to where they go. I have gotten lost so many times and I just have to watch the mountains to make sure I can find my way home.
That’s quite a few things. I hope this gives you a little bit of a visual of where I live and what life is like for the Kyrgyz people in At Bashy.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Calm and Peaceful!
I’m slacking with the blog posts this month, I’m sorry. This country has been going through a lot these past few weeks and as volunteers we have too. The good news is everything is looking good for the government as of now and the people of Kyrgyzstan. It has been very difficult to witness many of the things that have happened to this country in the past six months that I have been here, but at the same time some great changes and leaps forward can come out of it. I’m a strong believer in everything happens for a reason and good can come out of anything! Right now I am sitting under several layers of blankets and still freezing. My heater in my room is on so far today I have gotten the temperature up to a blazing 61 degrees. I have a rough winter to come and the weather is just taunting me. There is another volunteer who lives near me and there are days when I am wearing shorts and she is wearing pants with long underwear. This is the start of her second year and that shows me that if she could make it through a winter year last year I can do it too. It’s kind of funny because I obviously want to do Peace Corps because I want to help people but also this challenge of the crazy winters is intriguing too. I will be able to go out the other side of it and tell stories that will be epic!
This past weekend many volunteers got to spend a lot of time together and do some fun things. One of the nights I made dinner for 22 people and it really brought back memories of cooking in the kitchen at Corbett. Granted I was cooking for 350+ but similar. We made homemade mac and cheese and a veggie salad. All the volunteers loved it and were so grateful to have American food. The cheese here is not so great, but one of the volunteers had pepper jack that was sent from the states and it really helped the flavor a lot. The host mom of the volunteer’s house we were at kept telling me that I need to come back and make food with her and spend more time over there. She said that I would make a great Kyrgyz wife. I take that as a compliment because from her it was intended to be that way. I know that I would make a horrible Kyrgyz wife.
Tonight at the dinner table it was just me and my two nieces eating dinner because everyone else was watching something on TV. They are so cute. They are 10 and 8. It is really amazing because the older one can tell when I don’t understand something and she will stop, thing, and then try to explain it in a different way for me to understand. Her mother is a teacher and I think she takes after her. Those girls make me laugh a lot and I am so happy that I got put with such a great family where everyone is so willing to talk to me.
My host mom went to Bishkek on Monday because she has been very ill for a while now. I’m not sure what she has, but my host sisters have been coming in shifts to take care of the house and the family. She finally went to Bishkek to see a good doctor. My host sister told me today that she will be having an operation sometime soon. Please send good thoughts her way. Her name is Alma (it means apple). I really hope that this helps and that she heals quickly! She is such a caring, loving, wonderful woman and it is so hard to see her in pain. Thanks!
People have been sending great care packages. It is so great to get something in the mail. It really looks like everything is going to be calm and no problems, so if you have been holding out because of a possibility of me leaving the country feel free to send the package now! :) They are much appreciated! Thanks,
Brooke
Here are some pictures of one of my attempts to teach girls to play soccer. :)
Me "playing" soccer with the neighbor girls. They were more interested in taking pictures. HA I remember that age!
My little niece loves to pose for pictures.
This niece doesn't live with me. I only get to see her once in a while. She is probably one of the cutest kids I have ever seen and she has the personality to match!
This past weekend many volunteers got to spend a lot of time together and do some fun things. One of the nights I made dinner for 22 people and it really brought back memories of cooking in the kitchen at Corbett. Granted I was cooking for 350+ but similar. We made homemade mac and cheese and a veggie salad. All the volunteers loved it and were so grateful to have American food. The cheese here is not so great, but one of the volunteers had pepper jack that was sent from the states and it really helped the flavor a lot. The host mom of the volunteer’s house we were at kept telling me that I need to come back and make food with her and spend more time over there. She said that I would make a great Kyrgyz wife. I take that as a compliment because from her it was intended to be that way. I know that I would make a horrible Kyrgyz wife.
Tonight at the dinner table it was just me and my two nieces eating dinner because everyone else was watching something on TV. They are so cute. They are 10 and 8. It is really amazing because the older one can tell when I don’t understand something and she will stop, thing, and then try to explain it in a different way for me to understand. Her mother is a teacher and I think she takes after her. Those girls make me laugh a lot and I am so happy that I got put with such a great family where everyone is so willing to talk to me.
My host mom went to Bishkek on Monday because she has been very ill for a while now. I’m not sure what she has, but my host sisters have been coming in shifts to take care of the house and the family. She finally went to Bishkek to see a good doctor. My host sister told me today that she will be having an operation sometime soon. Please send good thoughts her way. Her name is Alma (it means apple). I really hope that this helps and that she heals quickly! She is such a caring, loving, wonderful woman and it is so hard to see her in pain. Thanks!
People have been sending great care packages. It is so great to get something in the mail. It really looks like everything is going to be calm and no problems, so if you have been holding out because of a possibility of me leaving the country feel free to send the package now! :) They are much appreciated! Thanks,
Brooke
Here are some pictures of one of my attempts to teach girls to play soccer. :)
Me "playing" soccer with the neighbor girls. They were more interested in taking pictures. HA I remember that age!
My little niece loves to pose for pictures.
This niece doesn't live with me. I only get to see her once in a while. She is probably one of the cutest kids I have ever seen and she has the personality to match!
Friday, October 1, 2010
What is life like for Brooke in KG
It has been brought to my attention that it might be a good idea to have a blog entry solely dedicated to what life is like here on a day to day basis. Let’s start off with the amenities that I have at my house.
• We have an outhouse (which is conveniently called a toilet) that is going to be so cold come February. I am a little nervous to squat in the freezing cold. I have also heard rumors that there are these things we volunteers like to call “poop mountains” which are in the toilet hole. The feces in the toilet freezes because it is so cold outside and it begins to build upon itself. In the more shallow toilets the mountains begins to peak over the edge of the hole. Luckily (or not so luckily) my toilet is very shallow and I’m sure within a month of the ground freezing I will have a beautiful “poop mountain.” Don’t worry, there will be updates on this to come… but I will practice my tact and not post pictures. Even though I will be very temped to. For those of you who know me well know that I’m not lying about that!
• My family also has a banya (where the Kyrgyz people bathe and it is similar to a sauna), but since I’ve lived here I have only see it heated up three times. I go to the public one in town once a week. It’s really helped my self confidence. Next to our banya is our outdoor, summer kitchen. That is where my family makes our their jams, winter salads (salads full of veggies so they can get veggies in the winter) and can them. They also have their kazan out there. A kazan is a huge iron pot kind of like a wok that is heated below it. In these kazans they make lots of different foods. Mostly, they boil meat and make the traditional Beshbarmak which is boiled meat broth and noodles. Sometimes potatoes too. They also butcher sheep in there and dry their hide.
• Next to that is the garage where my host dad stores his 1983 Niva Lada. If you don’t know what that is look it up because it is an awesome old soviet car and I love this thing. It is mustard yellow and it looks like it is going to pass out at any moment. The really cool thing about the garage is that is has a middle section under where the car goes where he can climb down and work on the bottom part of the car like they do at some body shops in America.
• And then lastly attached to all of those things is a chicken coup. They are directly behind my window and I hear them all the time. Once the roosters woke me up at 4am. I was not happy about that. Usually I can sleep through it, but not that day.
• In front of all those things is where we grow potatoes raspberries and black currents. There is one cherry tree there too but this year’s summer was too cold and it only produced one apple. Our clothes line goes through all of that and after I wash my clothes by hand I hang them up there to dry. I have gotten used to hanging my personal items up out in the open for everyone to see because if not, they will not dry.
• That is everything that is on the left side of my house and on the right side is the stables for the animals to stay in during the winter. My family said that we have over 50 sheep and I’m not sure how many goats, cows, and horses. I think we probably have about 10 chickens. It sounds like we would have a large farm with lots of land, but the property that I live on is about the size of my parents property in Buckley which is only two city lots. We now have a covered area where some of the hay is stored and I think that some of the animals will live. I am lucky though because our whole front driveway area and area in front of the stables is all paved with cement. That is a luxury.
• We do not have indoor plumbing and that is very common living in a village. We do have a well in our yard and that isn’t very common. Many people have to go get their water from a communal pump. I am glad that I only have to walk outside and take a bucket and drop it down into the well to get water. Some of my friends who are volunteers here have to walk 10-15 minutes just to get water. Living in the cities it is much more common to have running water, but hot water is something everyone wants. There are maybe one or two volunteers in Naryn city (out of 10) that have a functioning regular hot shower. Many have to heat their water and bucket bathe.
• Inside my house we have an entrance that has a since that needs to be filled with water to work. It has a faucet and if you pour warm water in it, then it doesn’t freeze your hands.
• Then as you enter the rest of the house there are three doors. One goes to the kitchen. In our kitchen (this isn’t normal) we have an oven/stove that is half gas half electric. This is nice for when the power goes out. We also have a refrigerator/freezer which is bigger than the one I grew up with in America. There isn’t a sink. All dishes are washed in a large bowl with boiling hot water. The dining table is in here and this is where we have all our meals together.
• Across the hall is my room. It is very tiny, but that is good for the winter when I only have to heat a tiny room. I have a bed that is small than a twin, a desk with a chair, a wardrobe, and a coat rack. Not much, but perfect!
• The third door goes in to the family area which has a TV and couch. This is where many people in my family sleep. It matters on who is at my house at that time. Our door is a revolving one and people are moving in and out all the time. Any given day we can have anywhere from 3-10 people living here. There is one other bedroom in this house and it is connected to that room.
• The last room in our house is connected to the family area. This room is set up for guesting. There is a large table in there and when we have people over for a party this is where everyone eats. This has happened twice since I have been living here. It’s fun but at the same time very awkward because they all want to talk to you for about 5 minutes then they all have a conversation with each other.
That is everything that we have at our house and everything that my family needs to function on a daily basis. I have found that there is so much that I have in America that I don’t really need. It is nice to be here and enjoy the simple life. I know one day I will go back to America and back to my old ways just out of convenience, but I will never forget the rewards I have gotten from living a more simple life! There is something be said about the joys of having a neighbor just stop by to say hi and drink a cup of tea.
Next I will tell you about the amenities in my village.
• We have an outhouse (which is conveniently called a toilet) that is going to be so cold come February. I am a little nervous to squat in the freezing cold. I have also heard rumors that there are these things we volunteers like to call “poop mountains” which are in the toilet hole. The feces in the toilet freezes because it is so cold outside and it begins to build upon itself. In the more shallow toilets the mountains begins to peak over the edge of the hole. Luckily (or not so luckily) my toilet is very shallow and I’m sure within a month of the ground freezing I will have a beautiful “poop mountain.” Don’t worry, there will be updates on this to come… but I will practice my tact and not post pictures. Even though I will be very temped to. For those of you who know me well know that I’m not lying about that!
• My family also has a banya (where the Kyrgyz people bathe and it is similar to a sauna), but since I’ve lived here I have only see it heated up three times. I go to the public one in town once a week. It’s really helped my self confidence. Next to our banya is our outdoor, summer kitchen. That is where my family makes our their jams, winter salads (salads full of veggies so they can get veggies in the winter) and can them. They also have their kazan out there. A kazan is a huge iron pot kind of like a wok that is heated below it. In these kazans they make lots of different foods. Mostly, they boil meat and make the traditional Beshbarmak which is boiled meat broth and noodles. Sometimes potatoes too. They also butcher sheep in there and dry their hide.
• Next to that is the garage where my host dad stores his 1983 Niva Lada. If you don’t know what that is look it up because it is an awesome old soviet car and I love this thing. It is mustard yellow and it looks like it is going to pass out at any moment. The really cool thing about the garage is that is has a middle section under where the car goes where he can climb down and work on the bottom part of the car like they do at some body shops in America.
• And then lastly attached to all of those things is a chicken coup. They are directly behind my window and I hear them all the time. Once the roosters woke me up at 4am. I was not happy about that. Usually I can sleep through it, but not that day.
• In front of all those things is where we grow potatoes raspberries and black currents. There is one cherry tree there too but this year’s summer was too cold and it only produced one apple. Our clothes line goes through all of that and after I wash my clothes by hand I hang them up there to dry. I have gotten used to hanging my personal items up out in the open for everyone to see because if not, they will not dry.
• That is everything that is on the left side of my house and on the right side is the stables for the animals to stay in during the winter. My family said that we have over 50 sheep and I’m not sure how many goats, cows, and horses. I think we probably have about 10 chickens. It sounds like we would have a large farm with lots of land, but the property that I live on is about the size of my parents property in Buckley which is only two city lots. We now have a covered area where some of the hay is stored and I think that some of the animals will live. I am lucky though because our whole front driveway area and area in front of the stables is all paved with cement. That is a luxury.
• We do not have indoor plumbing and that is very common living in a village. We do have a well in our yard and that isn’t very common. Many people have to go get their water from a communal pump. I am glad that I only have to walk outside and take a bucket and drop it down into the well to get water. Some of my friends who are volunteers here have to walk 10-15 minutes just to get water. Living in the cities it is much more common to have running water, but hot water is something everyone wants. There are maybe one or two volunteers in Naryn city (out of 10) that have a functioning regular hot shower. Many have to heat their water and bucket bathe.
• Inside my house we have an entrance that has a since that needs to be filled with water to work. It has a faucet and if you pour warm water in it, then it doesn’t freeze your hands.
• Then as you enter the rest of the house there are three doors. One goes to the kitchen. In our kitchen (this isn’t normal) we have an oven/stove that is half gas half electric. This is nice for when the power goes out. We also have a refrigerator/freezer which is bigger than the one I grew up with in America. There isn’t a sink. All dishes are washed in a large bowl with boiling hot water. The dining table is in here and this is where we have all our meals together.
• Across the hall is my room. It is very tiny, but that is good for the winter when I only have to heat a tiny room. I have a bed that is small than a twin, a desk with a chair, a wardrobe, and a coat rack. Not much, but perfect!
• The third door goes in to the family area which has a TV and couch. This is where many people in my family sleep. It matters on who is at my house at that time. Our door is a revolving one and people are moving in and out all the time. Any given day we can have anywhere from 3-10 people living here. There is one other bedroom in this house and it is connected to that room.
• The last room in our house is connected to the family area. This room is set up for guesting. There is a large table in there and when we have people over for a party this is where everyone eats. This has happened twice since I have been living here. It’s fun but at the same time very awkward because they all want to talk to you for about 5 minutes then they all have a conversation with each other.
That is everything that we have at our house and everything that my family needs to function on a daily basis. I have found that there is so much that I have in America that I don’t really need. It is nice to be here and enjoy the simple life. I know one day I will go back to America and back to my old ways just out of convenience, but I will never forget the rewards I have gotten from living a more simple life! There is something be said about the joys of having a neighbor just stop by to say hi and drink a cup of tea.
Next I will tell you about the amenities in my village.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
One more thing that makes me happy!
Oh and also... having power when no one else has in my village. It has been out since Saturday and for some reason I have it at my house and my school is a 5 minute walk away and there isn't power there.
Things that make me smile:
1. My counterpart’s daughter (who is three) coming in the room that we were planning in eating a carrot that was the size of a baseball at the largest part. She had eaten the rest of it already. I was so sad that I didn’t have my camera with me that day.
2. The mountains full of snow!
3. A herd of sheep and goats (probably 50+) walking down the middle of the main road that goes from At Bashy to Naryn. I saw this three times in two days
4. Men painting the large welcome to At Bashy sign with regular sized paint brushes.
5. School being let out because of snow. No not because it is too dangerous for the school buses to drive in the snow (we don’t have those) but because the kids need to be home digging up potatoes and getting animals home from jailoo (the place where animals go for the summer). Winter came two months early this year.
6. Riding in a taxi with four grown men while listening to Pit Bull, Lady Gaga, MJ… Any pop music from America. They have no idea the song is about.
7. Being asked what a song is saying when it is really dirty. I usually lie and say that I don’t understand it when they are rapping. HA.
8. Going to a volunteer’s apartment who lives in the city and making American food! SO good! Roasted veggies, pasta, tomato sauce, and homemade garlic bread!
9. Going to the American Center in Naryn and getting 5 new books to read!
10. Reading a really good book and talking about with a friend! (East of Eden was so good!!!)
11. Being finished with washing my clothes. I hand washed my jeans for the first time in six months and now my body hurts from all of the wringing! Blah!
12. Eating peanut butter. I have always loved it, but for some reason it tastes so much better here… even if it is from America. Probably because it’s not sheep fat!
2. The mountains full of snow!
3. A herd of sheep and goats (probably 50+) walking down the middle of the main road that goes from At Bashy to Naryn. I saw this three times in two days
4. Men painting the large welcome to At Bashy sign with regular sized paint brushes.
5. School being let out because of snow. No not because it is too dangerous for the school buses to drive in the snow (we don’t have those) but because the kids need to be home digging up potatoes and getting animals home from jailoo (the place where animals go for the summer). Winter came two months early this year.
6. Riding in a taxi with four grown men while listening to Pit Bull, Lady Gaga, MJ… Any pop music from America. They have no idea the song is about.
7. Being asked what a song is saying when it is really dirty. I usually lie and say that I don’t understand it when they are rapping. HA.
8. Going to a volunteer’s apartment who lives in the city and making American food! SO good! Roasted veggies, pasta, tomato sauce, and homemade garlic bread!
9. Going to the American Center in Naryn and getting 5 new books to read!
10. Reading a really good book and talking about with a friend! (East of Eden was so good!!!)
11. Being finished with washing my clothes. I hand washed my jeans for the first time in six months and now my body hurts from all of the wringing! Blah!
12. Eating peanut butter. I have always loved it, but for some reason it tastes so much better here… even if it is from America. Probably because it’s not sheep fat!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Good thoughts!!
Hey all,
Life is good right now. Tonight at sundown is the end of Ramadan and that is awesome because that means parties. I’m excited for tomorrow and nervous because it is tradition here on the day after Ramadan ends that you go to neighbors’ houses and drink tea and eat lots of meat and plov (a rice dish that has carrots and meat in it… it’s actually one of the better foods here). I’m really excited for the cultural experience and to meet more neighbors but I’m nervous for the massive amounts of Kyrgyz that will be spoken at me. I hope that I understand at least some of it! The down part about Ramadan ending is that because of the religious importance that this month long holiday has it has held back some of the potential problems that may have happened here because of the unstableness of everything. Starting on Saturday there are rumors that things might start happening again and I ask that you send helpful peaceful thoughts for Kyrgyzstan and its people! I joined the Peace Corps because I wanted to help and get an awesome experience and that won’t be possible if we leave the country because of problems. I want to be able to stay here and I believe that the Peace Corps is needed here and is doing great things. Again please send good thought starting Saturday and all the way through the elections on Oct 10th and after. Thanks!
On a lighter note, on Saturday I’m going to Naryn with some students to take them to a test. This is the first test of a long process for students to be able to study in America in the FLEX (Foreign Language Exchange) program. I am very excited to introduce students to this opportunity. Diana (who lived with the Hodel’s, my best friend’s family) was a FLEX student and I got to see firsthand how much she affected their lives and the whole program affected hers. This program is funded by the US government and gives opportunities to students from other countries to study English and experience American life.
I hope everyone is well and it looks dark out now… so let the parties begin.
Life is good right now. Tonight at sundown is the end of Ramadan and that is awesome because that means parties. I’m excited for tomorrow and nervous because it is tradition here on the day after Ramadan ends that you go to neighbors’ houses and drink tea and eat lots of meat and plov (a rice dish that has carrots and meat in it… it’s actually one of the better foods here). I’m really excited for the cultural experience and to meet more neighbors but I’m nervous for the massive amounts of Kyrgyz that will be spoken at me. I hope that I understand at least some of it! The down part about Ramadan ending is that because of the religious importance that this month long holiday has it has held back some of the potential problems that may have happened here because of the unstableness of everything. Starting on Saturday there are rumors that things might start happening again and I ask that you send helpful peaceful thoughts for Kyrgyzstan and its people! I joined the Peace Corps because I wanted to help and get an awesome experience and that won’t be possible if we leave the country because of problems. I want to be able to stay here and I believe that the Peace Corps is needed here and is doing great things. Again please send good thought starting Saturday and all the way through the elections on Oct 10th and after. Thanks!
On a lighter note, on Saturday I’m going to Naryn with some students to take them to a test. This is the first test of a long process for students to be able to study in America in the FLEX (Foreign Language Exchange) program. I am very excited to introduce students to this opportunity. Diana (who lived with the Hodel’s, my best friend’s family) was a FLEX student and I got to see firsthand how much she affected their lives and the whole program affected hers. This program is funded by the US government and gives opportunities to students from other countries to study English and experience American life.
I hope everyone is well and it looks dark out now… so let the parties begin.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Just another day in the KG
Let’s just start with today because today was just one of those days. I started off heading to the post office because the lady who works there told me that I had a package there (she told me on Saturday so you can only imagine the excitement that I have had for the past few days). I get there at 9am when people told me it opened. Please explain to me why the front door would be open if there is no one in the office to help you. They aren’t post office boxes to get your mail yourself. I have to ask her if I have anything. Ugh. There were five other people there and I had class in 30 minutes so I left. I walked all the way back to school… at least a 20 minute walk. We had our first class, and then during the second class my counterpart left for about five minutes. When she came back she asked if I could teach a class because the teacher wasn’t there. I had no idea what I was supposed to teach. She said teach about America. Well that’s kind of a broad topic. So I just went in there and talked about myself and a little about where things were in America. After that class we went into the teacher’s room and about five minutes after being there we found out that there was another class that had no teacher, so we went there and taught. Since we had covered those other classes we didn’t have to teach our classes (I’m not exactly sure why but it’s was a nice surprise). It was lunch time and then we were to come back in two and half hours for the afternoon class. I decided that I had enough time to get to the post office and get my package and eat lunch. I went home, ate lunch and then headed out again back to the center of town. When I got to the post office there was only one girl there (not the normal girl) and she couldn’t find my package. She said that the normal girl would be back in 20 minutes but I didn’t have time to wait because I would have missed class. So I went over to fax something for a friend. After waiting for 10 minutes there and getting cut in front of two times (sometimes it’s really hard not being in America and not having lines) I faxed a paper. I then walked back to school. We taught our one class. My feet were hurting and I was really hot wearing my professional clothes so I walked home first and changed and then walked back to the post office. On the way out a huge truck drove up with the most amount of bales of hay on it that I have ever seen. And there were six people crammed into the front cab of the truck. They were delivering it to our house. Glad I missed that unload!! On my way I stopped and got a huge ice cream cone because I needed something to make me feel better. I got to the post office and finally the girl was there and I got my package. I opened it and some how… I’m not sure how, but I think something got stolen out of it. The outside of the package looks untouched, but there is something that was on the customs slip that wasn’t in the package. Grrrr!!! Anyway… on my way home I stopped at another store to get some water and there were three people in there. They tried talking to me in Russian and I told them that I speak a little Kyrgyz and no Russian. I talked to them for a little bit and then the guy offered me some of their disgusting fizzy pear pop that all Kyrgyz people love. I happen to despise it! I tried to politely decline and no dice. So I drank a cup of the disgusting pop just so I could leave. It was very nice of him to offer, but I hate the stuff. OK… then I went to the tiny store around the corner from my house to by units for my cell phone so I can call America and the units wouldn’t go on. It must be something to do with the system, but I gave here 300 som to put on my phone and nothing. Grr again. She said come back in an hour and kept my money. I really hope it works out and I’m not out 300 som. I went back after an hour and her father was there. He told me that the whole system is down and he will have to do it with the computer later. He told me he would call me when it went it, but the problem is that the simcard I’m putting units on is my international simcard and I don’t have that one in unless I’m calling America. Try explaining that one. I spend at least 5 minutes trying to tell him that. I think a little bit of that came across but having the random people on the street come up and try to help made matter worse because they all just started shouting random words at me in Russian and Kyrgyz and that just got confusing. Oh well. At least I know he knows who I am and I hope that he will give me my money back if it doesn’t work.
Sorry about the run on paragraph and many sentences… today has been that crazy!!
This is the huge truck with the massive amount of hay bales. There is more coming too! :)
I was at the bazaar with some friends and my friend Annie was taking a picture of us. These men wanted their picture taken too. It was too awesome not to include. They are eating shashlik. This is one of my favorite things in country.
Sorry about the run on paragraph and many sentences… today has been that crazy!!
This is the huge truck with the massive amount of hay bales. There is more coming too! :)
I was at the bazaar with some friends and my friend Annie was taking a picture of us. These men wanted their picture taken too. It was too awesome not to include. They are eating shashlik. This is one of my favorite things in country.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
First bell like no other!
I just finished my second day of school… Well technically my first day because the actual first day (they call it “the first bell”) is just a big all school meeting and then the ringing of the first bell. It is really cute because the new first grade class stands in front of everyone and they are wearing their little suits or black and white dresses. Girls have huge bows in their hair which are about the size of their heads. They are adorable. Then all the teacher gather in the zowich’s office and figure out what their schedule will be (the zowich is basically a step down from the principal and they are in charge of a certain group of teachers). It feels more like a student picking their college classes then high school. The teachers only teach certain classes and they don’t work the rest of the time. I don’t start until 9:40 in the morning because the teacher I work with didn’t want to start too early, but at the same time I don’t work on Friday or Saturday because she needs the time off to be with her children.
Today I just sat in the back of the classroom and observed my counterpart teach. I am going to just observe for the first week or so and then I’ll start team-teaching. It was a little nerve wracking for me today because my school is partly taught in Kyrgyz and partly in Russian. There are students who take all their classes in Russian and some that take them only in Kyrgyz. Such my luck, all the classes I will be teaching will be in Russian. Looks like I’ll be learning Russian more than I thought. All of the students know Kyrgyz and speak it in their homes. That’s the nice part about Naryn. But since I am white and they are at school, they will probably try to speak to me in Russian. I guess that’s not such a bad thing because Russian will be more useful back in America, but it will make things a little more difficult.
Cute story: After my morning classes today I was leaving the school and my little niece came out of her classroom. She said hello to me and I asked her how she was in English. She got a little confused and started answering other random questions like, “My name is Aidana” “I am 10 years old.” Then she finally figured out what I was saying and in Kyrgyz she just would only say “I’m not saying, I’m not saying.” Ha… so cute. She and her sister always run to me at school when they see me and all their friends follow along and want to talk to me too. I’m a freaking celebrity and they love it because they live with me half of the time.
School went pretty well today. There are some things that will be difficult to adjust to. The older the classes are the less respect is given to the teacher. Grading here is very different and doesn’t really reflect what the student does in class. You never know how many students will show up any given day. In a class of 30 today only 16 were there. But there are some things here that I really like. The students dress up for school and look really nice. They stand when a teacher walks in the room. I got flowers on the first day of school too. It was awesome!
Another funny story: Today I walked into the teacher’s lounge to meet with my counterpart and a teacher asked me why I carry such a big bag. I was only carrying my messenger bag. But I just told her because I am American. They all carry the really cute large purses, but I like my messenger bag because it is durable. I really like that I can use the American card anytime they want to know why I do something. Because I am American and Americans a weird. :) It’s a good way to get off the hook of doing something that they think is strange… which is most things I do. That’s ok, I’m getting used to being the one who stands out. I don’t really blend so much here… not that I usually do in America, but at least I can a little better than I can here.
This is an 11th grader carrying a 1st grader on his shoulder as she rings the first bell of the school year. So cute!
This is my little niece who is in 2nd grade now. Her name is Aichuruk. Her sister is the one who didn't want to tell me how she was doing. :)
This is a picture of my two counter parts on either side of me and two other teachers who wanted to be in the picture.
Today I just sat in the back of the classroom and observed my counterpart teach. I am going to just observe for the first week or so and then I’ll start team-teaching. It was a little nerve wracking for me today because my school is partly taught in Kyrgyz and partly in Russian. There are students who take all their classes in Russian and some that take them only in Kyrgyz. Such my luck, all the classes I will be teaching will be in Russian. Looks like I’ll be learning Russian more than I thought. All of the students know Kyrgyz and speak it in their homes. That’s the nice part about Naryn. But since I am white and they are at school, they will probably try to speak to me in Russian. I guess that’s not such a bad thing because Russian will be more useful back in America, but it will make things a little more difficult.
Cute story: After my morning classes today I was leaving the school and my little niece came out of her classroom. She said hello to me and I asked her how she was in English. She got a little confused and started answering other random questions like, “My name is Aidana” “I am 10 years old.” Then she finally figured out what I was saying and in Kyrgyz she just would only say “I’m not saying, I’m not saying.” Ha… so cute. She and her sister always run to me at school when they see me and all their friends follow along and want to talk to me too. I’m a freaking celebrity and they love it because they live with me half of the time.
School went pretty well today. There are some things that will be difficult to adjust to. The older the classes are the less respect is given to the teacher. Grading here is very different and doesn’t really reflect what the student does in class. You never know how many students will show up any given day. In a class of 30 today only 16 were there. But there are some things here that I really like. The students dress up for school and look really nice. They stand when a teacher walks in the room. I got flowers on the first day of school too. It was awesome!
Another funny story: Today I walked into the teacher’s lounge to meet with my counterpart and a teacher asked me why I carry such a big bag. I was only carrying my messenger bag. But I just told her because I am American. They all carry the really cute large purses, but I like my messenger bag because it is durable. I really like that I can use the American card anytime they want to know why I do something. Because I am American and Americans a weird. :) It’s a good way to get off the hook of doing something that they think is strange… which is most things I do. That’s ok, I’m getting used to being the one who stands out. I don’t really blend so much here… not that I usually do in America, but at least I can a little better than I can here.
This is an 11th grader carrying a 1st grader on his shoulder as she rings the first bell of the school year. So cute!
This is my little niece who is in 2nd grade now. Her name is Aichuruk. Her sister is the one who didn't want to tell me how she was doing. :)
This is a picture of my two counter parts on either side of me and two other teachers who wanted to be in the picture.
Friday, August 27, 2010
These are my beautiful At Bashy mountains that I get to see everyday. I am so lucky to enjoy such natural beauty! This is the At Bashy River... I come here to relax and think!
The sunsets here are amazing!
I was on my way to take pictures by the river and these girls wanted me to take their picture. They were so cute! I had to post it!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Pictures...
Preparing the food for canning. Working on knife skills!
Tav and Heather sterilizing the jars.
My host mom makes these rugs and is going to teach me how to make them! :)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
ugh... drunk men!
I am exhausted. I have been going nonstop for two weeks now. I started with a TEFL (my teaching English program) workshop where we started to plan a one year curriculum for the 8th grade. Then at the same hotel on the beach we had language and cultural training for a week. It was beautiful on the lake and the hotel was an amazing. There were many parts of it that were nicer that most hotels that I would stay at in America. While there I tried to get an updated antivirus on my computer and it deleted its ability to get on the internet. Luckily it happened when I was with someone who knew a lot about computers and was able to reinstall my operating system. Now my computer works better than ever and the battery life is so much longer.
After we finished all our training and planning and whatnot I needed to go to Bishkek to pick up money for a grant. It was passed down to me by a volunteer who has now left. While in Bishkek I took advantage of everything that is there. We went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. The food was amazing. We had sweet and sour chicken, a spicy tofu dish, something with beef in it… but I’m pretty sure it was intestines and a crispy chicken. It was so nice to not eat sheep and sheep fat. The best part was we ordered family style and split the bill and it only cost me a little over $3. I was also able to find a camera in Bishkek, which is so exciting because I have been living without one for over a month and that has been painful! I was also able to buy beans, dried peas, Pringles, and canned peppers. I am a happy girl.
The morning before I went home I went to the Peace Corps office. That was my first time there and I was amazed by how nice it is there. Free internet, fresh clean water to fill up my water bottle and not have to pay for, a shower if I need it… awesome! I got to the taxi station and got a taxi to go home and my taxi driver told me that he had a full car and that we were leaving right then. NO… I was the only passenger that he had and I had to wait for an hour for more people to come (an hour really isn’t that long, but I was meeting a friend and I just wanted to get home!). The worst part about being the first person to get into a taxi isn’t the waiting part is the not knowing who else is going to ride with you. This time it ended up being pretty bad because there was a guy sitting behind me who got into the car drunk and then proceeded to drink more on the five hour trip home. From what I saw in the car he drank at least 4.5 liters of beer. He proposed to me, offered me to drink with him, kept hitting my arm the whole way to get me to talk to him, he rambled off in Russian every time even though I kept telling him that I didn’t understand him. I really wish that other people in the car would have helped me out. They mostly just laughed at him. Very frustrating.
I finally got home and away from the crazy drunk man. I really missed my family because I hadn’t seen them in over a week and a half. The best part was though… I showed up with 18 large canning jars (about 2 liters each) and massive amounts of vegetables to can the next day oh and a friend. They had no idea… I just said, “maybe tomorrow we can can?” (in Kyrgyz) and that was that. Ha. That is one of the bet parts of Kyrgyzstan… you can just show up with people who need a place to stay and maybe even a project that will take all day and it doesn’t even phase them. It’s normal.
The next day we canned eight jars of tomato sauce, four jars of pickles, four jars of a pickled vegetable mix that we made up (carrots, cabbage, onion, garlic, green and red peppers, eggplant, and really hot tiny red peppers), and one jar of pickled beets and eggs (one lid got messed up and we didn’t put anything in that jar). It took 14 hours to can everything and we didn’t get to bed until 1am, but it was worth it. Now I’ll have some food for the winter. There is so much garlic in everything. I just hope that we were able to get the lids on correctly and that they sealed the way they should. Their lids here are very different. I guess we’ll see. I am so tired now and I’m going to sleep all day!
After we finished all our training and planning and whatnot I needed to go to Bishkek to pick up money for a grant. It was passed down to me by a volunteer who has now left. While in Bishkek I took advantage of everything that is there. We went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. The food was amazing. We had sweet and sour chicken, a spicy tofu dish, something with beef in it… but I’m pretty sure it was intestines and a crispy chicken. It was so nice to not eat sheep and sheep fat. The best part was we ordered family style and split the bill and it only cost me a little over $3. I was also able to find a camera in Bishkek, which is so exciting because I have been living without one for over a month and that has been painful! I was also able to buy beans, dried peas, Pringles, and canned peppers. I am a happy girl.
The morning before I went home I went to the Peace Corps office. That was my first time there and I was amazed by how nice it is there. Free internet, fresh clean water to fill up my water bottle and not have to pay for, a shower if I need it… awesome! I got to the taxi station and got a taxi to go home and my taxi driver told me that he had a full car and that we were leaving right then. NO… I was the only passenger that he had and I had to wait for an hour for more people to come (an hour really isn’t that long, but I was meeting a friend and I just wanted to get home!). The worst part about being the first person to get into a taxi isn’t the waiting part is the not knowing who else is going to ride with you. This time it ended up being pretty bad because there was a guy sitting behind me who got into the car drunk and then proceeded to drink more on the five hour trip home. From what I saw in the car he drank at least 4.5 liters of beer. He proposed to me, offered me to drink with him, kept hitting my arm the whole way to get me to talk to him, he rambled off in Russian every time even though I kept telling him that I didn’t understand him. I really wish that other people in the car would have helped me out. They mostly just laughed at him. Very frustrating.
I finally got home and away from the crazy drunk man. I really missed my family because I hadn’t seen them in over a week and a half. The best part was though… I showed up with 18 large canning jars (about 2 liters each) and massive amounts of vegetables to can the next day oh and a friend. They had no idea… I just said, “maybe tomorrow we can can?” (in Kyrgyz) and that was that. Ha. That is one of the bet parts of Kyrgyzstan… you can just show up with people who need a place to stay and maybe even a project that will take all day and it doesn’t even phase them. It’s normal.
The next day we canned eight jars of tomato sauce, four jars of pickles, four jars of a pickled vegetable mix that we made up (carrots, cabbage, onion, garlic, green and red peppers, eggplant, and really hot tiny red peppers), and one jar of pickled beets and eggs (one lid got messed up and we didn’t put anything in that jar). It took 14 hours to can everything and we didn’t get to bed until 1am, but it was worth it. Now I’ll have some food for the winter. There is so much garlic in everything. I just hope that we were able to get the lids on correctly and that they sealed the way they should. Their lids here are very different. I guess we’ll see. I am so tired now and I’m going to sleep all day!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
My students are published authors!
I just finished the greatest week to date in Kyrgyzstan. Along with a group of seven other volunteers we pulled off a journalism camp where the kids learned about lifeskills and journalism, researched a topic area and produced a story that has been published. The website where the articles were posted is www.gcekyrgyzstan.ning.com. They aren’t posted yet, but will be within the next 48 hours. Please comment on them because we are trying to show the importance of the internet and how they can be connected to people all over the world. We had 19 Kyrgyz high school aged students interview and research in the areas of Diversity, Women and Gender, Health, and Environment. The camp was an overnight camp that was six days long. One of the days we headed out to the city and one of the volunteers set up interviews for each of the groups to conduct. It was absolutely incredible what these students we able to accomplish. They all helped write an article in English. The thought, effort, and creativity that went into the entire week was astounding! I am so exhausted now and want to sleep forever, but knowing that we were able to pull this off with only being volunteers for two months is really encouraging for what we will be able to do in the next two years. Only one of the volunteers who was part of this has been here for a year, the rest of us all swore in as volunteers this past June.
Enough gloating…more about food… On our way home we had our driver stop on the side of the road to buy some honey. Everyone has been telling me that Kyrgyzstan has some of the best honey in the world. Every time I have tasted it, it really wasn’t anything special. The only honey that I ever saw in country was very different than any honey in America. It was crystallized and I really didn’t like the taste. I love honey so it really made me sad. But one day I was at a friend’s house we were having tea and bread and they pulled out a honey that looked a little more familiar. It was incredible. It tasted like wild flowers and was the best honey that I have ever tasted… I was eating it by the spoonful. We couldn’t really figure out where it came from because I felt like every time I asked, I got a different answer. All I know was it is delicious. Well while on my way to this camp we passed by several stands that were selling honey. I decided to take a chance because they had the non crystallized honey. Oh man, it was one of the best purchases I have made to date. I was a lot of money for one jar… $7.33 (more that I get paid in one day) but well worth it! I can’t wait to eat it with bread and butter… or make granola, or make… So many options.
This past week our camp was on the lake, so I got to experience what life is like in touristy Kyrgyzstan. Because of the recent events that have occurred over the past four months there are many less tourist than usual, but it was interesting to see how different the volunteers’ lives are who live in a place where they have more amenities. I found myself saying several times… “What you have that? I’m so jealous” but that more I thought about it I’m really not jealous at all because that’s not why I joined the Peace Corps. I joined the Peace Corps to experience a remote life, to understand what life is like in a developing country and to help as much as I can. I can see so much potential where I am and I am grateful that there isn’t a grocery store anywhere near where I live. There isn’t even one in my entire oblast. I love going to the bazaar and buying produce and fresh bread. And walking down the street and having people say “Hi” to me not because I’m a foreigner, but because they actually know me. I’m not just a white girl where I live; I’m the white girl who teaches English.
This past week was such a great experience for me. I already listed many of the accomplishments that we did as a group and how were able to encourage and teach the student. But one of the greatest things I believe that happened over the week was my connection with the local youth. There were students going up to other volunteers telling them that they really liked me because they thought I was funny and they don’t really see adult women act the way I do. I was a little nervous coming to a more conservative country because I am loud and very different than what they expect people to be. The nice part is that most people understand that I am American and don’t expect me to conform everything (I am still respectful, but I can’t lose myself). I am so happy to show the youth here that you can be yourself and that’s ok. We had a lot of fun dancing, singing, learning, and creating over this past week and it really pumps me up for more to come. I know that there will be hard times, but I will be able to look back on this and remember why we are here and what we are able to accomplish.
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I am teaching nutrition and health to Kyrgyz students
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I got to teach a group of girls how to make cinnamon rolls. They loved it. It was really different teaching them because they have been making bread most of their lives. I just had to tell them what to do and they did it. The cinnamon rolls turned out great!
.jpg)
Couldn't avoid playing on the beach!
Enough gloating…more about food… On our way home we had our driver stop on the side of the road to buy some honey. Everyone has been telling me that Kyrgyzstan has some of the best honey in the world. Every time I have tasted it, it really wasn’t anything special. The only honey that I ever saw in country was very different than any honey in America. It was crystallized and I really didn’t like the taste. I love honey so it really made me sad. But one day I was at a friend’s house we were having tea and bread and they pulled out a honey that looked a little more familiar. It was incredible. It tasted like wild flowers and was the best honey that I have ever tasted… I was eating it by the spoonful. We couldn’t really figure out where it came from because I felt like every time I asked, I got a different answer. All I know was it is delicious. Well while on my way to this camp we passed by several stands that were selling honey. I decided to take a chance because they had the non crystallized honey. Oh man, it was one of the best purchases I have made to date. I was a lot of money for one jar… $7.33 (more that I get paid in one day) but well worth it! I can’t wait to eat it with bread and butter… or make granola, or make… So many options.
This past week our camp was on the lake, so I got to experience what life is like in touristy Kyrgyzstan. Because of the recent events that have occurred over the past four months there are many less tourist than usual, but it was interesting to see how different the volunteers’ lives are who live in a place where they have more amenities. I found myself saying several times… “What you have that? I’m so jealous” but that more I thought about it I’m really not jealous at all because that’s not why I joined the Peace Corps. I joined the Peace Corps to experience a remote life, to understand what life is like in a developing country and to help as much as I can. I can see so much potential where I am and I am grateful that there isn’t a grocery store anywhere near where I live. There isn’t even one in my entire oblast. I love going to the bazaar and buying produce and fresh bread. And walking down the street and having people say “Hi” to me not because I’m a foreigner, but because they actually know me. I’m not just a white girl where I live; I’m the white girl who teaches English.
This past week was such a great experience for me. I already listed many of the accomplishments that we did as a group and how were able to encourage and teach the student. But one of the greatest things I believe that happened over the week was my connection with the local youth. There were students going up to other volunteers telling them that they really liked me because they thought I was funny and they don’t really see adult women act the way I do. I was a little nervous coming to a more conservative country because I am loud and very different than what they expect people to be. The nice part is that most people understand that I am American and don’t expect me to conform everything (I am still respectful, but I can’t lose myself). I am so happy to show the youth here that you can be yourself and that’s ok. We had a lot of fun dancing, singing, learning, and creating over this past week and it really pumps me up for more to come. I know that there will be hard times, but I will be able to look back on this and remember why we are here and what we are able to accomplish.
.jpg)
I am teaching nutrition and health to Kyrgyz students
.jpg)
I got to teach a group of girls how to make cinnamon rolls. They loved it. It was really different teaching them because they have been making bread most of their lives. I just had to tell them what to do and they did it. The cinnamon rolls turned out great!
.jpg)
Couldn't avoid playing on the beach!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
4 months down
Today I have been in country for exactly 4 months. Time sure is flying by. I’m sure there is so much that I could talk about, but all of this has become normal to me and there are so many things are no longer new. I am going to a camp that some volunteers are putting on near the lake next week. I am excited to leave my oblast and see something new. It is a journalism camp and the students are going to write articles about a topic that they are given. I believe this is going to be a great camp. Everything I have heard about the place where we are going to stay at is pretty awesome. It is right on the lake and when we aren’t doing sessions the kids (and we) can play in the water and play sports. AND… I think there are showers, so that is nice. It is weird to think about, but I’m getting used to not bathing everyday, but the thought of a hot shower sounds so great! The best part of it is that they worked it into the budget that we don’t have to pay for our own transportation. That’s really great since it is pretty expensive to get out there. I just figured it out that I get paid a little over $6 a day and that includes paying for EVERYTHING. I pay rent, food, utilities, transportation, entertainment… anything I want to do. And I get paid over twice as much as a normal teacher here. Teachers here (just like in most places) get paid so little. Actually, most service jobs here get paid very minimally. Doctors, teachers, cops… are all some of the least paid jobs. Being a taxi driver you make probably the most. It really makes me sad. Wow this paragraph took a huge detour!!
I have been eating watermelon so much lately. Living in America you don’t really thing about things being in season very much. There are a few foods that you usually only can get seasonally, but you can get most produce year-round. Here that is not the case at all. Right now there is a lot of produce at the bazaar including melon, apricots, plums, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers… I know that in the fall the squashes will come out. But come winter all there will be in the bazaar is potatoes, carrots, and onions. We will be working on my creativity on what I will be eating. Right now I eat most of my meals with my host family, but I might go insane in the winter only eating meat and potatoes. I don’t like either enough to only eat that. Even right now I’m not really getting enough protein because they just boil all the meat together in one pot and I have such a hard time with eating animal fat and all the gristle that sheep has in it I feel like I’m chewing for days. I do eat homemade yogurt everyday and my host mom will make me fried eggs sometimes, but it’s still hard. The other day I went to the local restaurant with another volunteer and I got a full meat platter (which for me is very uncommon) just because I was craving it so much. It was delicious. It was something that actually had flavor!
Everyday is a new experience and I learn so much about their culture but also about myself. As I write these blog updates I really want to paint a true picture of my life here. I’m going to be honest, some days it is really difficult and there are a lot of things from America that I miss terribly. But then, like today… I really was having a hard day and I was tired and I got a letter from home, and then I had a really great meeting with a counterpart and my host nieces started practicing English with me and were so excited to learn and, and, and. There is always something to pull me up and realize that this is very worth being here. I do get lonely, and tired, and frustrated, but the good outweighs the bad tenfold and I realize that I am lucky to be here.
So, if you want to make my days better you are more than welcome to write me letters and better yet send me packages. I do love getting packages. There are flat rate boxes at the postoffice and you can fit as much as you can into the box and send it off for one price. Here is my address again if you are inclined to send me something.
Brooke Huddleston
722600, Naryn Oblast
At-Bashy Rayon, At-Bashy Village
Ity Sylimanov St.
Kyrgyzstan
Кыргызстан
Ин. 722600, Hарын Oбл.
Aт–башы Pайону, Aт–башы Aйылы
yп. Aйты Cулайманов
Брук Хаддлстон
I have been eating watermelon so much lately. Living in America you don’t really thing about things being in season very much. There are a few foods that you usually only can get seasonally, but you can get most produce year-round. Here that is not the case at all. Right now there is a lot of produce at the bazaar including melon, apricots, plums, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers… I know that in the fall the squashes will come out. But come winter all there will be in the bazaar is potatoes, carrots, and onions. We will be working on my creativity on what I will be eating. Right now I eat most of my meals with my host family, but I might go insane in the winter only eating meat and potatoes. I don’t like either enough to only eat that. Even right now I’m not really getting enough protein because they just boil all the meat together in one pot and I have such a hard time with eating animal fat and all the gristle that sheep has in it I feel like I’m chewing for days. I do eat homemade yogurt everyday and my host mom will make me fried eggs sometimes, but it’s still hard. The other day I went to the local restaurant with another volunteer and I got a full meat platter (which for me is very uncommon) just because I was craving it so much. It was delicious. It was something that actually had flavor!
Everyday is a new experience and I learn so much about their culture but also about myself. As I write these blog updates I really want to paint a true picture of my life here. I’m going to be honest, some days it is really difficult and there are a lot of things from America that I miss terribly. But then, like today… I really was having a hard day and I was tired and I got a letter from home, and then I had a really great meeting with a counterpart and my host nieces started practicing English with me and were so excited to learn and, and, and. There is always something to pull me up and realize that this is very worth being here. I do get lonely, and tired, and frustrated, but the good outweighs the bad tenfold and I realize that I am lucky to be here.
So, if you want to make my days better you are more than welcome to write me letters and better yet send me packages. I do love getting packages. There are flat rate boxes at the postoffice and you can fit as much as you can into the box and send it off for one price. Here is my address again if you are inclined to send me something.
Brooke Huddleston
722600, Naryn Oblast
At-Bashy Rayon, At-Bashy Village
Ity Sylimanov St.
Kyrgyzstan
Кыргызстан
Ин. 722600, Hарын Oбл.
Aт–башы Pайону, Aт–башы Aйылы
yп. Aйты Cулайманов
Брук Хаддлстон
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