Happy late Thanksgiving

A quick note on boredom..

I often find myself wishing that I could be as easily amused as my young host siblings. The other day I watched Milan, the oldest boy, playing with a broom and a bottle cap.. He would repeatedly whack the bottle cap with the broom, until it got stuck in the bristles, then swing the broom like a baseball bat so that the cap flew across the yard. He would then walk over to where the bottle cap landed, and start the whole process over. He did this quite a few times, until the cap began refusing to stick in the broom's bristles. I also often see my two host brothers playing a game called "chuko", quite popular among young boys here. It is played with painted sheep's bones, the knee bones I believe, and involves drawing a large circle in the dirt. I don't know exactly how it works, but it appears that some bones are simply placed inside the circle and then the players try to hit the bones in the circle with more bones that are thrown from outside of the circle. They don't seem to get tired of this. Oh, to be young again..

While I can't see myself doing such things to pass the time, I will admit that I do enjoy watching their amusement. Sometimes I just observe my host siblings when I am bored. Maxat is definitely the most entertaining. I think he must fancy himself a ninja, as I often see him karate chopping and high kicking his way to the outhouse. I even saw him karate chop one of our cows once. I felt kinda bad for the cow, but it didn't look like a very powerful karate chop and I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

Have much more to say, but no time to say it. Maybe next time!

Hello avid (or not so avid) readers!

I am happy to say that things over here have been going well recently. I finally feel as though I'm getting into a routine. Classes have been fairly painless the last few weeks. November is "Language Month" at my school so all of the foreign language classes are preparing presentations for a party at the end of the month. This means that for the last week and a half I have been teaching half of my classes "This Land is your Land" by Woody Guthrie, and the other half of my classes "As Long As You Love Me" by the Backstreet Boys (at my counterpart's request). It has been very amusing.

Sorry for the super short post but I am actually in a bit of a hurry. I didn't realize it was getting so late and I have to go meet with my training family, who I will be staying with tonight! But before I go, here are some pictures from the Osh Bazaar. It is very big and these photos only cover a few sections of it but this is all I have for now. I'm sure I'll take more eventually..


The salad section. For the most part, Kyrgyz salads are quite delicious.


Rice and corn and various other grain type stuff



Nuts and dried fruits

Now into the meat house... (not for those with weak stomachs)


Rabbit, anyone? Comes with lucky feet, one still attached

Fish

I don't think I captured it very well, but this is supposed to be a picture of a butcher, with very bloody hands, scraping the last bits of meat from a cow skull

This is the fat section. All that white stuff is just roll after roll of animal fat. They love that stuff here, they say it's good for your heart.. I don't have the balls, or the language skills, to argue with them. My family, however, has accepted that I will not eat fat.

I'm not quite sure what these delicious looking things are. Intestines, maybe? Try not to drool all over your keyboards..

Anyway, thanks to everyone who continues to leave comments and words of support!

I suck at titles..

I know it's rather late, but a big congratulations to the first black president in American history! It was big talk among the volunteers last week, and (for the most part) everyone seemed pleased. I certainly am.. Not that I agree with all of his ideas, but I know he'll be a nice change from George Dubuhya. Hell, anyone would be..

Now that that's out of the way..

I just had another incredibly fun weekend. A BUNCH of volunteers from different oblasts came into Bishkek and it was good times. Nice to hang out, nice to share stories, just nice to see people again. It's been about a month and half now since we all separated, so there was a lot to catch up on. Oh! And it snowed on Saturday night! Just for one night, but it was enough to stick around for a couple days afterwards. Makes me extra glad I'm already stocked up on winter clothes..

School continues to have frustrating moments but I am slowly getting the hang of the "just roll with it" attitude. I gave a test last week on the verb 'to be', which I have been teaching for the last three weeks.. 90% of the students failed. It is incredibly discouraging to see this lack of progress, but after talking to some more experienced volunteers I realized that this is normal. Specifically, because there is no Kyrgyz equivalent.. It is hard for them to grasp because their language does not have this verb. In a broader sense, progress here is slow. The school system is different, there is a lack of motivation, and I am still more of a curiosity than a teacher to these students. But I have been assured that things do get better, and I will eventually start to see results. I just need to keep reminding myself that I am only one person. I am doing what I can with what's available to me, and that's all I can do.

I was recently surprised by class being canceled so that students could "insulate" the classrooms. By this I mean that one period was spent taping old, folded pieces of notebook paper into all the window cracks. I have yet to notice this making a difference..

I am happy to say that English Clubs are going well! I definitely enjoy the clubs more than class. I just teach vocabulary and then we play games with the new words! The younger kids definitely seem to be enjoying the games more than the older kids, so I could see things possibly getting boring for the upper classes. They're at that 'too cool for school' stage of adolescence.. But hopefully things will continue to be successful.

On a funny note, one of my 11th form students gave me a love letter yesterday... At least, I'm pretty sure that's what it was supposed to be. It reads:

"Zarina (my Kyrgyz/Russian name)
I like you. You are beautiful woman. You like me very much.
Marat - 11a form
You my Frend FOREVOR."

Cute. The funniest part is I kind of helped him write parts of it. He asked me how to translate a few things, so I did. Imagine my surprise when they ended up in this note, which was hastily handed to me at the end of class while his friends stood laughing at the door. Oh dear, boys will be boys.. Or something..

I wanted to include a few pictures from my most recent trip to the bazaar but the internet cafe I'm at is being incredibly uncooperative, so those will have to wait.

Bye for now. Thanks to everyone who continues to read my babbling!

A day in the life..

A couple of people have asked what my days consist of so I thought I would post a little schedule up here:

Monday
8:00 - 10:25 : I teach three different classes
10:30 - 11:25 : Short break
11:30 - 12:15 : One class
12:20 - 1:05 : Another break
1:10 - 1:55 : Another class
2:00 - 3:00 : English club for 5th, 6th, and 7th graders

Tuesday
No class. The school is lacking in space so a different teacher uses the English classroom on Tuesdays.

Wednesday
8:00 - 8:45 : Class
8:50 - 9:35 : Break
9:40 - 12:15 : Class
12:20 - 1:55 : Break
2:00 - 3:00 : English Club for 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders

Thursday
8:00 - 9:35 : Class
9:40 - 10:25 : Break
10:30 - 1:05 : Class
1:10 - 1:55 : Break
2:00 - 3:00 : English Club for advanced students

Friday
8:00 - 11:25: Class

Saturday and Sunday
No class

As you can all see, I have a lot of free time. Breaks at school are usually spent at my house, because I live only 3 minutes from the school, either drinking tea and eating with my host family, planning lessons, or reading. After class, and on my free days, my schedule, and what I do, varies a lot. Sometimes I will go into Kant or Bishkek to do some shopping at the bazaar, other city chores (like use the internet or go to the bank), or meet up with other volunteers. In the village I take walks (when weather permits), read, write lesson plans, study Kyrgyz (I should really be doing more of this), watch movies on my computer, play guitar (I recently bought a really cheap one), help/hang out with the fam, and pretty much anything else I can do to keep myself busy. I’ve recently been grabbing any magazines I can find in English and making collages. Life here isn’t very busy, though it can feel very overwhelming at times.

Last weekend was really nice. A bunch of volunteers in the Chui region, and a bunch of volunteers visiting from other regions, got together in Bishkek for a late Halloween celebration. I was surprised at the group’s creativity, many people were able to whip together some pretty simple, but fun, costumes. I ended up just putting my hair in a bun, borrowing someone’s glasses, and saying that I was a librarian. Not my most creative moment, but hey, it was something. And, what can I say? As the years go on I’m less and less enthralled by the concept of Halloween. But any excuse for a get together is much appreciated, and it was really nice to see other Americans. And a Dutch person! Shawn and Lee, two married Peace Corps volunteers, somehow met a volunteer from a Dutch organization who is in the city working with street kids. He has only been in the country for a week and speaks no Kyrgyz or Russian (but good English), so he was happy to accept when they invited him to hang out with us for the night. Talking to him made me very nostalgic, and I’ve been thinking a lot now about the semester I spent in Holland. I really need to try harder to stay in touch with everyone I met over there.. They were awesome people.

Anyway, we rented an apartment for the night and went out to a local club, where foreigners get in free. It was my first real taste of Kyrgyz night life and it was pretty fun, though the music choices were questionable at times. I also recognized one of my students at the club, so that was awkward. Imagine seeing one of your teachers at a crowded night club, slightly drunk and dancing with a big group of people who obviously don’t fit in, and this is what I imagine the night was like for him. Amusing, I’m sure.

Here’s a few pictures:


Bridgette, as an irresponsible, unwed mother-to-be. She's awesome




Irresponsible, unwed mother-to-be with the Devil, who appears to be anxiously waiting for her damaged baby. Devil played by Shawn, whose husband, Lee, was an angel. They made a cute pair.




Kelly and Alex. I'm still not sure if she was supposed to be a bunny or a cat. Either way it works, so you decide.



And Amanda, our local gypsy.


The night was incredibly fun, but, as tends to be the pattern with incredibly fun nights, the next day was kind of miserable. Lack of sleep, mixed with a slight hangover, left me out of it, to say the least. A bunch of us went out to a nice breakfast, so that helped a bit, but I was still feeling like crap. And it was raining. Luckily, I recently bought an umbrella, so walking to the bus stop and waiting for my bus was not as bad as it could've been. The bus, however, was worse than expected. You would think that when in a bus you're going to be safe from the rain.. This is not always the case in Kyrgyzstan. The roof was leaking all over the place. I liken this bus ride to a mild experience in Japanese water torture. On top of this, the drunk man sitting next to me kept falling asleep(/passing out) on my shoulder, and he smelled awful. Fortunately it was a short bus ride.

Quick note: There is no daylight savings time here which means that Kyrgyzstan is now 14 hours ahead of California, as opposed to the previous time difference of 13 hours. Just something to keep in mind if you're thinking about calling. (This also means that it's really dark in the morning, which sucks.. There's something unnerving about waking up when it's still dark outside. Makes me feel strange)

Happy Halloween!

Winter is approaching and we’re really starting to feel it here in Kyrgyzstan. What I mean is: IT’S GETTING COLD! My family has moved from the outdoor summer kitchen, which is where we were eating before, to the indoor winter kitchen. They have also started using the coal powered central heating system, which seems to be working pretty well so far. But I know that it’s going to get much colder, and I worry that the coal heating won’t be sufficient. I am from the California coast, after all, and I must admit that the thought of a snowy winter, especially a snowy winter without electricity, scares the hell out of me. How will I survive this? I may have to adopt the locally popular “warmth by vodka” approach. Time will tell. I went to Dordoi (BIG bazaar) this week with Ann, a neighboring volunteer, and we blew a lot of money on winter clothes, so that should help. The hippy side of me is actually a bit ashamed.. I bought leather boots! With fur! ::gasp:: But they’re sooo warm! And they smell really good.. And, as I say to myself almost everyday, this is Kyrgyzstan.. the standard rules don't apply!

I also spent the night with my training family this week. I miss them. They were (are) awesome. Here's a couple of pictures:

Me, Aliya (old host sister), and Gulnara (old host mom)

Amber (other volunteer in my area who visited with me), Aliya, Me

And just for the hell of it here's some pictures of a few key winter items that I purchased:

Jacket. On my bed.

Leather boots.

And these beautiful creations are very popular here. They are knitted sock booties for wearing around the house. I love them, they are awesome.

For those of you who didn’t get the e-mail about my address (because I inevitably forgot a bunch of people, and don’t think I have everyone’s correct e-mail address in the first place) it is as follows:

Kyrgyzstan

720000 Bishkek

Glavpochtamt

P.O. Box 1889

ATTN: Laura Hancock (c/o Serena Aisenman)

It will help to also write the address in cyrillic, if you are brave enough to try:

Кыргызстан

720000 г. Ъишкек

главпочтамт

а/я 1889

Ф.И. Hancock, Laura (Aisenman, Serena)

I am sharing the mailbox with Laura Hancock, another volunteer, and it is registered in her name, so that's why you should put her name in the attention space, and then mine in parentheses.

It was also recently brought to my attention that all of you can send me free text messages through the internet! Nifty! Of course, I won’t be able to respond to them, but it’s still neat! Here's how to do it:

1) Go to megacom.kg

2) I think the webpage will initially be in Russian, if it is no problem. On the left part of the screen, in the purple area underneath the MegaCom logo, there will be a little link that says "Eng". Click this and the page will be translated into English.

3) Now that you can actually read the webpage, look on the right side of the page and click "Send SMS"

4) This will take you to the text page, where it will ask you to enter my phone number and your message (and also some security code based on a picture that's on the page). For the telephone number there is two area code options. Mine is the second one, "+996 550". Then type in my phone number, 43 23 30, and then your message! Nice and simple!

5) OH! And don’t forget to include your name or I won’t know who the message is from!

Okay, well that's all for now. I've got to go catch my bus!

Hope everyone's doing well!