An Average Day

As I was walking around my village today it occurred to me that a lot of people back home might not have any idea what Peace Corps is like. They know that I am here, that it’s beautiful and that I love my host family, but what of my day? What of my life in Pre-Service Training (PST)? To start with, Peace Corps is very obviously part of the U.S. government. For everything there is a rule, process and an acronym. During our first three months in country we intensively study the language and sit through technical sessions regarding our responsibilities as TEFL volunteers. We have a 9pm curfew and are not allowed to leave our village unaccompanied. We are not yet Peace Corps Volunteers(PCV); we are Peace Corps Trainees(PCT). At the end of PST we will attend a swearing in ceremony in Bishkek and our real service will begin.

Currently all 60 Krygyz PCTs are living in 4-6 person clusters in separate villages surrounding around a mid-sized town, Kaht, the Hub center. We have language sessions in our clusters everyday (Monday thru Saturday) from 8am-noon, followed by technical or cultural training sessions. Once a week the entire group meets for medical and safety sessions in Kaht (I’ve had 8 vaccinations since arrival and we have another ‘round’ of shots in August). The schedule and rules are frequently exasperating and I’m beginning to crave more independence.

Most evenings I help my sister cook dinner, which usually takes us a couple of hours, chat with her in English, eat at about 10pm, and then go to bed. I’m always planning to walk around town, but I never find the time to do it during daylight hours. Studying is also neglected as other chores and activities fill up the evenings. Yesterday I helped weed the strawberry patch and then we went to the family’s sunflower fields just outside of town. It's life in the country...city life is more complex and exciting, country life is more tranquil. There's more to it, of course, but that's my experience so far.

Meet the (Host) Family 16/07/08

So I’ve had a chance to “interact with the locals” as I described it in my last blog-post. I’ve been with my host family a week and I couldn’t imagine being with a better one. My parents have 5 children, 4 daughters and a son. Only the youngest two (a daughter and the son) are still at home. The oldest daughters are married and live in Bishkek and the middle daughter is currently in Virginia. Ulkensin (“Ulicka”) is 18 years old and somehow manages a lot of household responsibility while maintaining her humor and energy. Samat, my little brother, is 16 and enjoys scaring the family with his while driving. The men are the only ones who know how to drive.

It IS very beautiful here. The mountains roll away from our village into snow covered peaks. Sunflowers are in bloom and there are strawberries hide in the garden. The less “romantic” aspects involve the outhouse situation... The most difficult thing so far has been the language classes. Kyrgyz is an agglomerative language ( subject, tense, interrogation, negation, etc. are all added to the verb stem in very complex ways). Ugg! I never imagined a language like this! But it is lovely to hear and I’ll feel great when I begin to master it.

Everything reminds me a little of somewhere else (Nicaragua, Ecuador, the U.S.) but belongs to none of those places.

Krygyz customs:

Women greet women with a kiss on each cheek, they greet men with a handshake. Shoes come off before entering a house.

Greet older people with “Salamatsisbi” and younger people with “salamatchilik.”

The streets are shared by all types of man and beast.

There is no limit to the number of people you can fit into a cab.

It’s never too hot for 3-5 cups of chai at every meal.

....

Busy in Bishkek 07-07-08

This has been such a strange trip. Time has been flying by and my head is spinning. I’m waiting for the world to catch up. We left Philadelphia 3 days ago, traveled through Istanbul, and are now held captive in a “fancy” Soviet hotel in Bishkek. I took the most frigid shower yesterday morning, I thought by skull would simply turn into ice and shatter. The toilet paper looks like brown crate-paper and is oddly stretchy. It goes into the trash after use. Strange but not particularly troubling…J

Let me back up a bit…

Istanbul was amazing. It’s so full of ancient sites (the walls were built around the city over a thousand years ago and were destroyed by the Turks in the 15^th century), but the streets are full of cars and the men and women walk the streets in modern clothing. Mosques are everywhere and prayers are said on loud-speakers frequently. It is such a fascinating place. We rode the metro light-rail from the airport into town, drank Turkish coffee, went crazy with pictures, and immensely enjoyed everything. Istanbul reminded me of Ecuador. Simply because it was so similar to the US and yet so different. It’s always so fascinating to see new places and have new experiences.

There is little that I can say about Krygyzstan yet. We haven’t had the chance to interact with the people here or see the countryside. The view from our balcony is lovely. There are bare, softly sloped hills next to the city and snow covered peaks in the distance. It’s amazing that there could possibly still be snow there when the days here can be hotter than 110F. The base of the trees that line the road are painted white. There were people gathered in clusters on the sidewalks at 3am when we drove in.

Part of me still doubts that I’ll be able to do it. Apparently the challenges that we’ll face are often overwhelming for the PC volunteers. Kyrgyzstan has one of the highest PCV drop-out rates of any country in the world. Nearly 2/3 of PC Krygyz trainees chose “early termination” and leave before their service term is up. But the fear of failure is slowly being replaced by the excitement the experience. What I will gain will be much more than what I will give up.

Our group is fabulous, very creative and adventurous. Everyone has so many great travel stories, I could happily listen to them talk about them for hours. Many of my first impressions of them have changed a lot. I’m not sure what brought each of us here and I don’t know which of us will succeed in making this place our home, but I hope that I will be able to develop some close friendships while I’m here, both with PCVs and with people in my communities.

Tomorrow marks our first step toward independence; tomorrow we meet our host families. We will live with them for the next 3 months while we’re in training. I know the first few days (weeks) with my family will be awkward with my very limited language skills, but I’m prepared for that. Hopefully the integration into the culture proceeds smoothly and my language skills progress rapidly. First month’s strategy: limit vodka intake.

I’m attaching some of the more interesting photos from the trip. If they stay in order after I upload them, they are: 1) the city walls of Istanbul, 2) more walls, 3) market in Istanbul, 4) mosque in Istanbul- either the Haga Sofia or the Blue Mosque?, 5) Turkish coffee on roof-top café, 6) Istanbul from the plane, 7) Bishkek sunset from hotel, 8) Soviet bus in parking lot