My new Hobby

Date: 12/23/08

I have a new hobby. Yes, that’s right ladies and gentlemen. After three months of brainstorming possible ways to entertain myself this summer, an idea fell from the sky and landed under my feet. It is such a perfect fit that I cannot believe I had not thought of it sooner. Are you ready to hear what it is? Brace yourselves! I am learning to ice skate. 

I mean, I thought I had come up with every possible solution. I was going to become a fashion designer and create a whole summer collection. I was going to relearn the piano or maybe even give the guitar a try. I had put pen to paper to practice writing, note I did not say spelling. Sorry guys, I feel like that mountain is just too giant to attempt to climb while in Kyrgyzstan.  

Now, I do not mean to get your hopes up. I am not going to be the next Oksana Biule. In fact, I do know if I will ever even see the inside of a skating rink. 

The other day it began to snow again. Naturally, I was super psyched to wake up and the white fluffy powder floating from the sky. Then I was bitterly upset to walk in the inch on sludge on the road. Little did I know that sludge would soon become my friend. 

You see, Kyrgyzstan is a tad bit different than America. For instance, in America we have these wonderful machines called snowplows. I mean I have never seen one in person but whenever the news shows footage of life up north, there are machines scooping snow off the road. In Kyrgyzstan, only the main roads are snow free. In fact, I have learned that you can tell how many cars drive on the road based on how early in the day you can see the cement. The more cars drive on the snow the more it melts away or swept to the side of the road. 

I almost feel sorry for the snow on the major roads. I mean at least on all of the other streets the sun is not instant death. The snow starts to melt a little and then the cars smash it into its snow friends. All these snow friends refreeze together into giant sheets of ice friends. It is like natures prank on mankind. “I see you humanoid. You think you want to play in snow. Ha Ha! I am not snow. I am snow’s evil twin, Iceman.” Lesson learned: Just because something LOOKS like snow does not mean it is snow. 

I have learned a great deal about different types of ice in the past week. Here, most ice looks like snow or at least that is the mistake I made a few days ago. Now I’m an expert at spotting the difference. How did I become such an expert? I got to walk over a mile to work one day, the day after a “heavy” snowfall. Primarily there are two different types of ice. One looks like snow. The other is so transparent you can see the cement through it and consequently, do not often spot it before you step on it. 

My favorite are the hills on the road. I never noticed how bumpy, uneven, downright hilly our streets are until the ice came. It is like learning to drive a standard all over again. You see that three-inch rise in the pavement and the heart starts racing a little faster. You begin to strategize. “Well, if I walk a little more to that side I can put at least one foot in the snow and that should help me brace myself.” But as some scientist proved long ago, whatever goes up must come back down. Going downhill is the worst; falling is almost guaranteed. It gives me flashbacks to my driving lessons. Only, instead of screaming, “Oh no, please don’t stall. Please just don’t stall,” to myself, I have a broken record whimpering, “Please don’t fall. Oh please just don’t fall.” Of course, once it’s all over I allow myself a silent sigh of relief. 

In Texas, and I assume the rest of the United States, we put salt (or sand) on the road. In Kyrgyzstan, they use coal ashes. By they I mean the train station. I have to cross the train tracks on my way home everyday. I was incredibly worried about this because crossing the tracks includes walking down a two-foot high ramp. Needless to say, I have great appreciation for the ingenuous use of coal ash. 

Thankfully, I have not completely whipped out yet (knock on wood). I’ve come very close but like all true professional ice skaters, I manage to save myself at the last minute when all hope seems lost. Plus, I learned to never leave home without my Peace Corps issues glow-in-the-dark neon green Yak Trax. 

Work Update:
Since I now have my computer, I might actually manage to write these blogs a bit more regularly unless we loose the electricity needed to power the computer. Right now we are preparing for IST, which is the week of training that takes place in January (3 months after you get to site). I will be co-giving a lecture on effective communication. In February, fellow Chui Oblast volunteers, Bridgette, Francis and myself, will be putting on Winter Camps. We will be doing Life Skills and HIV/AIDS training. Since we just had our camp training last week, we are still planning the details of the camp. Also, I have started an English conversation club with a few university students. 

World AIDS Day

Date: 12/1/08

I cannot report on everything that is going on in my town let alone country wide today because it would take too much time but...

To give you an update on my work:
Today is World AIDS Day. My counterpart and I hosted a training for the children at our NGO. At first, I did not know how to approach the topic because our children range in age from 8 to 14. Lucky for me, my fearless counterpart already had a book she had prepared with different activities. Last week we planned out the activities for the day; however, since my counterpart speaks Russian a little better than myself, she did all of the talking today.

We had 4 boys and 5 girls show up. Before we did anything, we had the children take a 10 question test about AIDS. My counterpart read fake letters written by a mother and a teenage girl, and explained some facts about AIDS. My director told a personal story about meeting someone who was HIV positive. We played two different games with the children. The first was more of a role play to teach them about how to interact with people who were HIV positive. We had one kid sit in a chair wearing a hat that said “ВИЧ +”. The first three children all reacted poorly to the “HIV positive” child. They said insults or ran away to wash their hands, etc. The last child sat down next to the “HIV positive” child and had a conversation while holding hands. The second game taught the children about how AIDS affects the immune system. Three children attempted to protect the “HIV positive” child from different diseases like tuberculosis, pneumonia, and flu. The “immune system” formed a barricade around the “HIV positive” child and pushed away the different diseases. The “diseases” were trying to tag the “HIV positive” child. At the end, we allowed the children to ask questions and then gave them the same test again to measure what they learned.

Coming up on the work agenda:
Later this week we will have Volunteer’s Day. I have volunteered to help with a cultural training by teaching line dancing and the Texas Two-step to a group of street children/orphans. Right now I am working to set up a TOEFL preparation class and an English conversation hour with various university students. Later I hope to get involved with the dance school in my town. I a working on getting my NGO an anaerobic digester, and I am also looking into research to make the technology more available to Kyrgyzstan. My director and counterpart have asked that I help them learn how to use Powerpoint and other programs on the computer in our office. They also want me to make a film about the organization but this will have to wait until we can find a camera. I am looking into getting balls for the children in our soccer training. Thankfully, work has finally picked up and I am no longer lacking things to do.

Thanksgiving

Date: 11/29/08

At first I was going to describe how, since we did not have Thursday off of work, the volunteers gathered together for a Kyrgyz style pot luck Thanksgiving feast on Saturday. A feast complete with rotisserie chickens, mashed potatoes, hashbrown casserole, carrots, tuna salad, stove-top stuffing from the states, several homemade pumpkin pies, rice pudding, and an apple pie. But as we ate, someone jokingly asked “Is this the time we go around and say what we are thankful for?” We all laughed but it made me think.

I want to say thank you to my friends and family. As I sat there in a room filled with other volunteers, I realized that I have an amazing support system back in the states. I have a family that calls every Sunday morning and sends me anything I can imagine in the mail. I have friends who call almost like clockwork to remind me that I am not forgotten just because I live on the other side of the world. I know that if I ever have a problem over here, I have several people to help talk me through it. I know that I have people back in the states who will do anything they can to help me out. It is an amazing network that is easy to take for granted. Honestly, I don’t think that anyone will ever be able to completely understand how much easier my life is because of their tireless support. So this thanksgiving, I would like to make a very public announcement and tell all of my friends and family that what I am most thankful for is their support. I would not be able to do this work with out you guys. THANK YOU!!!

Let it snow...

Date: 11/9/08

We had our first and second snow fall in my region. I SAW SNOW!!! I know that this may seem like a minor event in the life of an average person but for someone who has never lived farther north than Waco, Texas, snow is a huge ordeal. As in, it was my first time to see snow.

It could not have come at a better time. After a few tough weeks, I had been looking forward to seeing other volunteers that weekend. On Saturday night, walking back to the apartment after dinner the temperature began to drop. It had been raining all day and there is nothing better than being in wet clothes as the temperature drops below freezing. The guys had stopped to run an errand. When they came back, they entered flicking snow off their coats and announced that it had snowed. As intelligent as I am, I jumped up and raced for the balcony forgetting that I was not wearing a coat or socks. They attempted to thwart my excitement by telling me it was too warm and the snow wasn’t sticking to the ground. After the initial shock of watching the snow fall wore off, I realized how cold it was and ran back inside. Since my clothes were drying on the heating pipes,* I crawled inside my mummy sleeping bag and quite literally inched my way back out to the balcony.

The next morning I woke up a littler earlier than the rest of the people. Chris told me that I should look outside. And what did I see? A blanket of white over all of the ground. There was not much snow on the window seal, maybe 2 cm, but I still managed to make a tiny snowball. It is great fun being with people from states like Alaska, Oregon, Connecticut and Vermont when you see snow for the first time. As I am mesmerized by the crunching sound beneath my feet, they keep warning me to watch out for ice. None of the attempts to explain why nearly ankle deep snow is no fun registered with me. On the way to breakfast, Annie made a softball sized snowball for me to throw at Nick. It was a fantastic idea…

…Two days later it snowed again. I came up with a brilliant plan. All the way to work I had been practicing making snowballs but I only had inanimate objects like trees and walls to throw them at. Through a text message, my friend Micah pointed out that “humans make much better targets.” I already had plans to meet my site mate, John, and a volunteer from a nearby village, Serena, later that afternoon. When I got off work 30 minutes early, I called Serena and told her to meet me in the park. I filled a plastic sack with handmade snowballs. Snowballs made by hand without gloves, a mistake I will never again make. I made her hide in the bushes with me and wait for John to show up. The brilliant plan for the surprise attack would have worked better if John had not showed up late, come up the pathway behind us, and if the bag filled with snowballs had not broken when I went to throw one. Nevertheless, it was still an amusing seen to witness.


*note: Buildings in Kyrgyzstan are heated by pipes filled with hot water. And in a land without dryers, these pipes dry clothing with amazing speed.

The Earthquake

I just wanted to let everyone know that the volunteers here are all fine. I honestly do not have much information about the earthquake. I know that it was in a remote area near the border with China in the south of KG. I DO know that none of the volunteers were majorly effected in anyway.

Fast Pace Life of KG

I realize that I have not written much for a while. Honestly, between our swearing in and moving to our permanent sites, life has been a bit hectic. Now there is so much to write about. I know if I do not sit down and write it all out I will never get around to it… or I will forget all of the juicy details.

1. Trip to the Lake
The NGO that I work for decided that it was time to go visit a few other NGOs to get project ideas. At least, that was my understanding of why we took a trip out to lake Issyk-kul. Making the arrangements for the trip was taxing with my limited language skills. I have discovered that I am able to understand a good deal of Russian but I still sound like a three year old when I try to speak.
The first NGO we visited dealt mostly with elderly. The second works with at-risk children and families in the city. It was nice to get out and see the work other people are doing. I am anxious to see what project ideas my counterpart and director got from the trip.
The lake itself if absolutely gorgeous! To get there we drive through the mountains. I was exhausted because I had just recently been at my previous host brother’s wedding. I was hoping to get some sleep on the taxi ride. However, my director and counterpart were so excited about me seeing a new part of the country, they woke me up every 10 minutes to show me something new along the way.

2. The Wedding
*Note: If this is NOT descriptive enough or you don’t understand, just go on You-Tube, type in Turkish Wedding and watch whatever pops up. There is bound to be footage on one on the internet somewhere.
I went to a Turkish wedding. I do not even know where to begin describing the wedding. I did over eagerly think that I would have a ton of fun since I was finally able to understand a good deal of Russian. What I had forgotten was that Turkish people, when they get together in mass groups like a wedding, speak Turkish to each other. The entire night was entirely in Turkish unless someone was specifically addressing me.
I arrived at my old host family and had greetings screamed as I walked up the street. It was a rather exciting feeling. I jumped right in helping cut tomatoes, putting napkins on tables and later stuffing more napkins into cups to decorate the tables. Each table was covered with platters of fruit, candy, nuts, bread, soda and several different types of salad. The main course and tea were to come later.
Because of our culture day presentation, I had some understanding of what to expect as far as the “ceremony” goes. However, when I saw my brother and his two men (like best men) climbing onto our roof with a riffle and a bag, I was genuinely curious/concerned. I decided that something major was about to happen and I should change into my wedding outfit quickly. Shortly after I went into change my clothes, I heard these loud pipes and drums start outside. I nearly fell down the front steps trying to get outside fast enough.
The bride arrived with her family and her two girls (like bridesmaids). They played the pipes from the time the car arrived until the bride had been walked inside the house. The minute she was out of the car, one of my brothers friends shot off the riffle. Torn money came floating down. That’s right. They shot off rounds stuffed with money. The other friend began to throw candy from the bag. This continued as we all danced the bride towards the house. Meaning, we dance around her while she is lead into the house where women gather around her to dance and sing some more.
A bit about costuming- it is important to understand that in Turkish weddings the bride is veiled until the ceremony is over. She wears a white wedding dress (just like brides in America), both hands are covered with fancy white handkerchiefs, the two veils are placed on her head: one is white, the one on top bright red. Her two girls literally guide her everywhere because while the veil maybe partially see-through, she still cannot entirely see. Also, the bride never smiles.
After the singing, dancing and picture taking inside the house, the bride is left inside until later in the evening. Everyone arrives to the massively huge tent that took over half a block’s worth of our street. In the center of the tent was a stage for dancing and where the bride & groom and their friends sit. On either side of the stage are the long bench-like tables that we had so carefully decorated. The men sit on one side and the women on the other.
A few more hours pass and it is time for the bride to be unveiled. As before, the pipers and drummer followed by a slew of dancing female relatives bring the bride from the house to the stage. However, this time my brother and his men are also walking with the chorus. Underneath the sash on her waste are now tucked two loaves of bread. One of my brother’s men carries two knives with him. After the bride is seated in a chair, he dances around her making a slicing motion with the knives above his head. At the completion of each circle, he lifts part of the veil and repeats some phrase. I tried to have it translated but all I could understand was “if she speaks, may he cut her tongue out.” Going from Turkish to Russian and then into English… I know I lost something somewhere. Once the veil is off, the guy with the knives and my brother’s other man do a dance. This was followed by the women dancing again, which was followed by my host brother doing a dance. The bride and groom are then walked to their table where their friends sit on either side of them.
After the unveiling ceremony, the real dancing begins. Friends and family take turns going up onto the stage to make a toast to the young couple. After the toast, my host parents danced with whomever had just toasted their son and new daughter-in-law, and people sitting at the tables got up to hand all of the dancers money. This went on for a few hours. A family toasts. Everyone dances. People hand out money. Repeat. The bride and groom had to stand for every toast. I knew the bride did not get to smile during the unveiling ceremony but I thought that she would be able to relax during the celebration. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. She remained starring at the ground with a blank expression on her face through the entire night.
Once the toasting was over. The bride and groom where danced back to the house with the pipes and drum, just like before. It is kind of like being sent off for your honeymoon but they don’t actually leave to go anywhere.
Until about 2 in the morning we continued to dance outside. I had forgotten how fun Turkish dancing is. Apparently I was a good student during training because I had several women come ask me who taught me to dance. And at the end of the night, I think I had received four different proposals.

a "quick" update

Warning: This blog is going to contain more details about what I have been up to over the past few weeks.

1. Culture Day:
Culture Day is exactly what it sounds like, a day of Kyrgyz Culture. For training, all of the volunteers are split up into different villages. On Culture Day, each village arrived to a field in front of the school in my village with a “cultural skit” prepared. My village re-enacted a Turkish wedding; another town re-enacted the ceremony for a baby’s first steps. One town re-enacted the ceremony for the first time a baby is put in the craddle. Others portrayed both Russian and Kyrgyz wedding rituals. Etc, and so forth.
To start the day off, we all got together and built a yurt. I had been told that yurt building was a community effort. But it wasn’t until I saw how many people were necessary just to old the structure together in the beginning that I fully began to understand all the energy that goes into building a yurt. I do not even know how to go about beginning to explain yurt buildingover the internet. Maybe if you google it you can find more information.
My host aunt made 40 kg of plov plus tomatoe & cucumber salad to feed all of the trainees and their host families. After all of the skits and lunch, my host cousin and myself started a giant turkish dancing party which quickly turned into classic american tunes from the 80s and 90s. Overall, it was a very exciting day and the first time all of us were able to hang out with out having some form of training envloved.

2. Site Placement & Site Visit:
Site placement was the “ceremony” that took place a few weeks ago at which point all of the volunteers We walked into training the Wednesday of our site announcement to find a giant map of Kyrgyzstan drawn on the cement. As we got our placements, we had to stand on our part of the map. It was a very entertaining process filled with much excitement and anticipation. I really enjoyed getting to visualize the distance between myself and my new friends, as well as who would be closest to me. My site partner used to be a pastry chef and has already promised to teach me how to make mozzerella cheese. I think we will get a long just fine after that.
My new family is all over the place. My host mom is from the Caucus, dad is Uigur (part of China), brother-in-law is Tartar… In my house there lives a mother, a father, a sister, her husband and child, a brother and his son AND NOW me. I joke that I will get to live with every minority in Kyrgyzstan and never have the full on experience of living with an actual Kyrgyz family. I am really looking forward to living with them. They have been a training family for years, which means they understand the “odd” things about Americans.

3. My Permanent NGO
My new NGO is amazing. It is called “Delight and Consolation.” I have no idea how to sum it up other than saying it works in various areas of welfare. The NGO started with a Dairy Farm which now pays the salary of 8 workers. The NGO is run by a Director (who was schooled in partially in Denmark), an accountant, a social worker, and another lady who runs all the farm business. They have started Self Help Groups in Kant, some of which down as a mini microfiancing group. They work with pensioners and other people who cannot make enough money to live above the poverty line. They started a chicken breding group to help generate income for the adults and pensioners struggling to survive. People get chickens and sell the eggs/meat for more money. Each year a certain percentage of eggs and baby chickens are given to the NGO to be redistibuted to new families. For the children of these families, they have started life skills training programs, sports programs and health education classes to help keep them off the streets. Everyone keeps a long of their daily activities which is turned into the director at least once a month and the director writes a report to fianancers at the end of each year. The organization is incredibly organized from what I can tell so far. I am very excited about getting to work with them.

4. NGO Practicum Projects:
For our community project, my ngo helped organize a clean-up of the NGO’s facilities. We having been using the building for Peace Corps training and were originally going to have a Field Day there back at the beginning of August. The best part, after the crazy Americans took to the bushes with the hos and axes, and after the trash had been piled up, out came the matches. In Kyrgyzstan fashion, all of the trash and rubbish was burned at the end of the event. Several of the PC Volunteers were taken aback because they thought it was a safety and health risk to burn everything.
Our NGO had asked us (the three of us helping out there during training) to put on a flag football tournament. We will start the morning by teaching the locals how to play flag football. It will be very interesting since none of us have extremely amazing Russian. We have decided to just have several small 15-20 minute games so that everyone will get a chance to play. And for those of use who are less sporty, we will have field day games inbetween each event. I am very excited. Several of the volunteers have said they will come so it might turn into a rather BIG event.

a day in kyrgyzstan

If the light shinning through my window does not wake me up, I arise to the sound of a crackling whip. The cow parade has begun. Every morning at approximately 6:30, after milking, the cows are let loose from the barn to be herded to a grazing field. The entire scenario is reversed at approximately 7:00 PM when the cows come home to be milked and tethered to their stale for the night. It is quite an amazing feat to sit outside on the side of the road as cows surround you on all sides. Each cow walks to her own house and will “moo” incessantly until the gate is magically opened by one of the sons. It is a rural rush hour.
Despite the seemingly slower pace to life, it is easy to get lost in the weekly schedule of language school and training. The routine varies little each day. Even my host family forgets which day is which. However, like life anywhere else, the little things each day make the biggest differences. Today, another volunteer from my program went home. Needless to say, school was rather depressing. I came home to find that all the women had just come home from the market with enough fruit to feed a small army. We sat for a few hours plucking stems off the sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted. We cleaned plums, apricots and peaches. We cored and sliced apples. It looked like a Hallmark greeting card with 6 local ladies and 6 volunteers sitting on milking stools and tree stumps in a circle, knives in hand and buckets in the middle. The fruit was placed into clear jars filled with boiling water and sugar and then capped for storage until winter.
That is right. I help preserve fruit. My host aunt let me take a bowl full of apples to make a pie. I am pretty sure that this was partly to amuse me with something to do and to amuse her as the silly American girl cooked. In America, I cook pies all the time how hard could it be to throw one together in Kyrgyzstan… especially when they use a completely different measurement system. I can now say I accomplished making a pie by eyeballing the ingredients for the crust. AND it was edible too!
I keep getting emails asking what the people are like “over here.” They are just like people everywhere else. Meaning that, while the customs may be slightly different from America, they still love to laugh and interact with one another. I live with a Turkish family in a community of jokesters. There is never a dull moment with any member of my host family. One of the volunteers has compared my house to a college apartment because we always have so many people over. They love to dance and sing also. It is not uncommon for me to roll over at 1 AM and here music still playing outside.

In the news:
-My host brother is going to be getting married. There will be a “small wedding,” which I think roughly translates as an engagement party. The actual wedding will be held in October and I am supposed to come back if I live close enough by.
-This week we will be finding out our permanent assignments.
-The Trainee Culture Day was a successful event. All of the other villages came to my village and put on skits about different cultural traditions. We had a giant picnic with plov, melon and watermelon. We build a yurt! Then after lunch, along side the Turkish host mothers, I helped start a giant dance party. It was quite a blast.

The hardest part about writing a blog is finding something thing witty and entertaining to share. The second hardest part is finding internet often enough.

I left the United States of America almost two weeks ago but so much has happened it feels like two months have past. I spent my first few days as a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT) in Philadelphia new faces and being overwhelmed with information. It was a crash course on making new life friends for the journey ahead of us. Exhausted we pressed on to Kyrgyzstan where we spent three more days learning about the people and the culture of our new home.

Being in Kyrgyzstan was a surreal feeling. The new faces signal a new land but we were trapped inside the hotel with our fellow country men. The application process was finally over and the realization that we had become PCT was setting in. We had said good-bye to loved ones and were carefully handed new friends and family. Our third day in here we were finally given a few hours of freedom. With our Language and Culture Facilitators (LCF), we went to the supermarket, the flower shop and an internet café. I felt like such a child being marched through the city with my babysitter helping me find what I needed. I was introduced to Kyrgyz mass transportation… the marshuka. The marshuka is approximately the size of a 15 passenger van only tall enough for people to stand up. On either side there are a few seats but most people stand pressed so closely to another person you could feel their heart beat. It is a rather exhilarating way travel.

Our first day in country, the U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan took a break to come welcome us to Kyrgyzstan. No worries Mom, I was dressed appropriately. She talked to us for a while about our role in Kyrgyzstan. According to the director, she is a strong supporter of the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan.

The culture lessons were by far the most entertaining part of our stay. Kyrgyzstan is made up of two main people groups--Russians and Kyrgyz-- but lacks not in variety of immigrants. Our sessions focused mainly on life in a Kyrgyz family since the majority of PCT would be living with one. The first topic of discussion… drinking. As an ex-soviet country, vodka is prevalent. Our trainers gave us a host of excuses to use in order to politely abstain from vodka. “I don’t drink.” “I am on medication.” “I am sick.” “I am allergic.” “The Peace Corps director told me I couldn’t.” “I am a recovering alcoholic.” And my personal favorite--“I’m Baptist.” The second topic of discussion… using an outhouse. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory so I will spare you the enthralling details. Moving on, I learned about the Krygyz banya. Once a week, families enter the banya to bathe. Basically, it is a two room building (one for clothes, one for bath) that transforms into a sauna to sit in anywhere from 1-3 hours. You have buckets of cold water to bathe with and to dip your towel in. You use the wet towel to beat the sweat off yourself. I have not had a chance to banya yet but I have taken full advantage of the summer shower--an outdoor shower. If I continue to mention every little detail this blog will become ten pages long.

Now, onto the most important stuff… my host family. After all of the hoo-ray in Bishkek, we were all anxious to meet our new family. We were hustled into a giant ceremony where each town was called up onto stage individually and PCT had to find the person with the matching slip of paper. Each paper had our name and the name of our host mother on it. It was quite literally a MATCHING ceremony. My host brother and host mother speak a little English which helped make the first night a hundred times easier. All the members of my host family--mother, father and brother-- are very lively, entertaining people. They have welcomed me with open arms and are egar to help me learn to speak Russian properly. They have had good practice since I am not their first volunteer. I really enjoy spending time with them. In three days, I have gone from knowing one word of Russian to being able to speak a few three word sentences. My host father’s niece lives next door. She also is hosting a PCT and has three little boys (ages 6,8,10). I spend a lot of time trying to play games with her boys when I am not studying.

Both houses are small farms. From what I can tell we grow pears, raspberries, apples, cucumbers, and other vegetables. We also have a roster that laughs instead of crowing, chickens, sheep and cows. Next door they have ducks. Needless to say, I run around the lawn saying “Goosey Goosey” (phonetic Russian for ducks) much to the chagrin of my neighbor. We have a dog named Kiki and an unnamed cat that are the family pets. The cat thinks Kiki is its mother which is hilarious to watch. Apparently, one of the last volunteers spoiled Kiki so now Kiki LOVES foreigners. The instant I come outside, the little thing will run over and within inches of my feet, roll onto its back for me to rub its belly. If I do not do a good enough job, she then follows me around outside jumping at my leg until I pet her some more.

Ten other volunteers live in the same city. So, I am not completely cut off from English as originally imagined. Despite our curfew, we still manage to hang out some. We are all in the same program which means that we do training together ever afternoon. In the morning, we are split into groups of five for our language classes.

I fear this blog has gone on too long and I am beginning to monopolize the internet. Thus, I bit you farewell and hope that I have given you enough stories to keep you entertained until next time. Sorry this was so long!

Cheers.

I made it to KYRGYZSTAN

Ok, so I figured I should check in. I do not have time to say much now, just enough to let you know I made it here. I promise later I will give more details. I hope all is well. Take care!!

The next two years of my life...

Dear Friends & Family, 

Let me start by saying that I promise to keep this blog as up-to-date as humanly possible, despite the fact that I probably will not have internet on a regular basis. 

"So... what will you be doing now?"

That question could win an award for being the question I hear most often but then, I guess I did just graduate from Baylor. 

I have joined the Peace Corps and on July 3 will be moving to Kyrgyzstan for the next two years and three months. I do not know yet where in the country I will be living or exactly what I will be doing. I do know that my first three months will be a super intense immersion language training in country. I am supposed to be working with the Sustainable Organization and Community Development Program. My understanding is that I will be assigned to a few different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations but what I will be doing for them EXACTLY is the part that is unknown. 

Right now I am incredibly excited and nervous, especially since this has all happened in the past week and a half. So that is it! That is my life for the next two years. 

First Post Ever

Eventually this will say something interesting... but for now, just deal.