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.