A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

So, because a certain someone named Skippy requested it, I give you a day in my life in Kyzyl Jyldyz. With pictures and commentary. I should also give a disclaimer that some of this doesn’t happen daily, it just so happened to happen today when I had my camera with me and was on the mission of fulfilling this task. :)

This one’s pretty easy to figure out – it’s my bed. This is where I sleep. Obviously there’s Lumphy and Bobby. I get up sometimes with my alarm (yes, it is ‘Chelsea Dagger’ so I’m not quite leaving my Hawks to rot, although there’s going to be no one from the team left by the time I get home!) and sometimes just sleep until I can’t sleep anymore. Which is nowadays somewhere between 8.30 and 9 am. Crazy, huh?

After waking up, I come over to my dresser and get my toothbrush and green H2O bottle ready to head outside where I’m allowed to actually brush ‘em. Yeah, there’s a bunch of random stuff on my dresser – normal though, right?

Then I walk outside to the shoe ranch, whose name I just made up, to find some shoes to slip on before exiting the house. Easy on and off shoes are definitely the best, especially for summer time. It just takes too damn long to tie up trainers and Chucks. I need to think about getting some bazaar shoes (the giant blue sandals near the middle), they’re hella cheap and supes fashionable around the village.

Once outside I head to that little patch of yellow-y lookin’ grass. That’s my sink. Awesome, huh? As this picture was taken a while ago, there’s now a GIANT field of sunflowers near those trees in the background. I sincerely love brushing my teeth and starin’ at ‘em. They’re gorgeous. In fact, I’ll put in the picture I took of them just now!

After brushing my teeth, I usually head back to my room and sit at my desk for a while doing random shit. Mostly surfing Facey-B and checking email. There really isn’t much else to do on the internet when you can’t look at pictures, videos, or spend copious amounts of time on Tumblr ‘cause it’s far too expensive. I wonder what kind of interwebz nerd I’ll be (if at all) when I get back…

You can kind of see the edge of one of these at the top of the above picture, but since I didn’t have enough tape to hang up all my pictures individually like I have done since Edinburgh, I made a couple of collages. They were a nice creative outlet (and helped with the boredom) during my first month and it’s so awesome to wake up every morning and be able to say hi to you guys even though you’re so far away. It also helps remind me of all the swanky and crazy stuff I’ve gotten to do. Makes me miss you all too. If you want your picture to be hanging on my wall, I’m going to need you guys to send me some pictures. I’m in love with snail mail, especially when there’s silly stuff in it! 

This is also exactly what you’d think it is. That wooden box (God, why couldn’t it be the TARDIS?) in the background is my outhouse. It’s actually a surprisingly wonderful one ‘cause it’s so new. But even with others that I’ve used, my numerous camping experiences have helped prepare myself for whatever comes. And as for the tools that are in a semi-circle guarding said outhouse, I can’t really explain it. I assume it was the 3 year old who’s currently living with me. Kids.

Once I’m ready to leave my house and do something in the village, I head out along this road. It’s basically the only way I can get anywhere (I’m on the outer edge of anything). On the left side of this picture, that’s legit the edge of the village; there are only fields and crops over there. It’s an EPIC place to take pictures though. My friend Dave and I ventured out that way one weekend and got some amazing shots. Can’t wait to show everyone.

A little further past the picture above is the well where I sometimes get my water. Most of the time I’m lazy and just get it from the little creek/stream that’s right outside my house – hey, that’s what filters are for, right? – but when I’m feeling really ambitious I’ll come to this guy. It’s really actually kinda scary to use. The thing is about a billion years old and acts like it’s going to break down when you’re using it. Hence the creek. Haha.

This is getting closer to the heart of the village. For some reason I really like going past these few houses. 

Yes, that is a giant pile/stack/stockpile of cow chips that I get to walk by every day. Attractive, huh? But seriously though, they’re amazing for starting and maintaining fires, which is a godsend when you’re trying to banya and/or cook with the giant kazan thing (you’ll see that in a minute).

This is my school! There’s an almost-basketball court to the immediate left of this picture (you can see one of the ‘hoops’ in this pic). Wonder if we can get a real one? We’ve got about 450ish students at my school. My teachers are all awesome and funny – we all bonded pretty well when I got shithoused with them a month ago. Gotta love the ever-flowing araq (vodka).

Alright, so THIS is the playground. Crazy, huh? It’s literally just a bunch of metal structures that are supposed to be fun. And the one that looks like a gi-hugic smile? Yeah, those are monkey bars. That go up like 15 feet. No way in hell my kids are gonna be playin’ on this thing. What happened to good ol’ slides and little Tic-Tac-Toe boards?

This is a close-up of my school. My classroom is on the first floor, basically straight across the hall from the door that’s on the furthest right. There’s a gym type area on the second floor (on the left of this pic). Awesomely, that’s also right next to the cafeteria-kitchen place they’ve got. Cannot wait to get started here. :)

This is a really awful view of my counterpart’s house, but it works. She was cleaning the tushuks today which are those colourful things hanging on the line in the background. They’re basically giant, comfy sleeping mats that Kyrgyz use when housing guests. They’re my best friends.

This picture basically sums up my life in Kyrgyzstan – chai iching. Simply put, it’s where you go guesting at someone’s house and shove your face full of tea, bread, and jams. It’s slowly becoming one of my favourite things to do; I love just sitting and talking (or attempting to) with these people. Let’s just hope my language will get its shit together so I can be good at it.

And this handsome wee devil is my counterpart’s youngest son. I’m going to steal him. Like, legit. Pretty much my favourite kid in the village. Hands down. <3

If I want to go anywhere outside of my village – whether to go to the bigger bazaar in Kirovka or visit other volunteers in Talas or their villages – I’ve gotta pass this guy. It’s the dam that blocks Kirovka’s reservoir and I guess supplies water to the valley where I live? But anyway, yes, you are correct if you guessed that was Lenin. It is, in fact, the World’s Largest Lenin Head. Be jealous.

I swear water on this side of the dam shouldn’t be doing that. But it does and when the sun’s shining right, it makes for stunning rainbows.

Alright, so this is one side of the outside kitchen. The oven/stove on the left side is powered by electricity and the one on the right is powered by gas. I guess gas is super expensive and a pain in the ass to get from Kazakhstan, so most of the time we use the one of the left. Gotten really good at only having two pots goin’ at once.

In between the above picture and this one (which is the kazan) there’s a small table where we can prepare food and what not before using one of the cooking implements. Basically, this guy is a giant Russian oven type thing. You make a fire underneath – the cat we have likes to climb in the fire pit, so we have to double check before lighting up – and there are two holes where the two bowl things sit and heat up. The big one of is used mainly for plov (the fried rice dish I eat all the time) and other soups. I haven’t quiet mastered the kazan yet, but give me time! ;)

After consumption of and cleaning up of dinner, I head back to my room to either watch something on the good ol’ Mac (I’m now steadily working my way through Dexter; still waiting for HP7 and Transformers 3) or I’ll bust out one of these guys or my Kindle and read until I fall asleep. Which then brings you guys all back to that first picture where my bed is.

Hope you guys enjoyed the crazy day in the life of me while in the Peace Corps. I’m sure once school starts in September things’ll be super different. Same thing with winter. I’m actually stoked at the pictures I should be able to take during then. Now I’m off to hopefully banya (I will seriously shit myself if this actually happens, I’m so excited) and then attempt to make myself a curry.

<3

High kicks in Talawesome.

Holy God, it’s been almost a month since I’ve last written! Which puts me at almost four months since having left the States. Fuck, that’s crazy. Loads of stuff has happened and loads of stuff has not happened. Some of it is unimportant, some of it is important but of a slightly fragile nature, so I’m tryin’ to stay away from it and keep this entry as positive as possible!

This one is on a slightly similar note as the last one, but hopefully a bit more up than the last one and then there will probably be a shit ton of a babble, just updating everyone on how life’s been in Kyrgyzstan over the last month.

Ready for it?

So, in an attempt to start lesson planning for my sessions at the Talas English Camp at the beginning of August – I’m doing HIV/AIDs awareness-prevention-promotion through photography and promotion of diversity through theatre! – I’ve been looking through my iPhoto. Sometimes this is a really bad decision as I start getting super homesick and start missing experiences long-since gone. But for some reason today, it’s done the opposite. It has made me so excited and happy and reminded me how lucky I have been over the past five years of my life.

[I apologize in advance if the next few paragraphs make me sound entitled or arrogant, it is not meant to. It’s more a reflection on everything and the places it’s gotten me to today. Therefore, please don’t think I’m bragging or anything; I’m not.]

As much as I hated high school – let’s be honest, who didn’t? – I got to do a BUNCH of cool stuff. I mean, who starts a few made-up holidays that actually get continued for years after you’ve left?! Let’s reminisce, shall we? March 2^nd. Estrogen Day. Lupper. Emo Day. It’s crazy, looking back on it. The things that my friends and I did during high school just for shits and giggles have been passed down for years through other classes, mainly those within the drama department. And here I was thinking I didn’t make an impact during those awkward years between 16 and 18… Haha.

Very similar things can be said for the four years I spent in college. I fell in love with one of my favourite cities in the US – if you don’t know which one I’m talkin’ about, you do NOT know me – while meeting some of my favourite and closest friends on the planet. So many concerts. So many wonderful memories. And just looking back on all of the things we did when we were so young and stupid and now seeing where we all are today? It’s fucking crazy. During college I studied awesome subjects that have helped shaped the direction in which I’d like to go someday. British history, Islamic studies, Arabic, etc.

And to top it all off, studying in Scotland, where I fed my love for the UK (seriously, mark my words, I will live there for an extended period of time…), just added to all the aforementioned things. Plus, the little trips I got to do on the side. Celebrating JP’s 21^st 605-style in Bilbao, ordering drinks in Basque. Introducing Brits to a ‘real’ Thanksgiving and then throwing the turkey (RIP Fred) carcass, with juices, out of a 3^rd story window. London Twilight premiere with Kathryn, squealing (me, that is) over the fact we’re in the same room as Robert Pattinson. Spending Christmas in Paris with my mom and brother. Celebrating my 21^st with some of my best girlfriends in Inverness, riding a motor-trike around Loch Ness, drinking whisky. Going to the airport and literally getting on the next plane to wherever with Tif, ending up in Amsterdam and loving the whole spontaneous experience. St Patty’s Day in Dublin with Zini – literally no more should be said on that subject. Heading to London with Ri for our epic weekend of concerts and shows, ending up meeting Jamesy and Ingrid. My solo trip to Rome, ending in a HELLISH sunburn, but an intense love for that ancient city. And our goodbye party that cannot be described because of its awesomeness.

And obviously the rest of everything in Chicago, jobs, internships, trips – NZ and Africa – hockey, and life in general has shaped where I am now. I could not be happier about every single one of those experiences and people. I also could not feel more blessed/lucky/privileged to have been able to have all of those things. So, to every single one of you reading this, I thank you. I love you more than words can say and appreciate every single thing you have done for me over the past few years.

Alright, now to the little bit about Kyrgyzstan that’s been happening as of late. This past weekend was one of my favourite weekends thus far having been in country. Basically, a shit ton of K-19 vols from around the country all came to Talas for an epic weekend reunion as well as a music festival that one of the vols helped organize with his placement. Guys, it was amazing. Legit. So much fun. Amazing food was made (I’m seriously becoming SO surprised with some of the stuff that we’ve been able to make in-country). Hawaiian Polar Bear pancakes, for example. Think pancakes with bananas, Snickers bars, Mars bars, and Bounty bars all mixed in. My mouth died with happiness. Everyone who came – Steve, Casey, Ian, Sweens, Johnny D, etc. – had a blast. No drama. Just pure awesomeness. And it all came to a conclusion at the music festival which was just nuts. Johnny D and Alex, one of the Talas vols, were asked to perform ‘Chai Ich’ – ‘Have a Cuppa Tea’ by the Kinks translated into Kyrgyz – because a bunch of counterparts saw it at swearing-in and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Not only did the boys perform, but there was an epic disco where we all just danced around like silly Americans. So. Much. Fun. When we all got back to our hotel at around 1 am, all of a sudden the room and building started to shake. As we all were ‘in the area,’ as SRoot would say, it took us a few minutes to figure out what the hell was going on. I guess there was an earthquake last night? Haha. Apparently it was a rather big one down in the south (like a 7-ish on the Richter), but where we were it wasn’t that bad, only around a 1. Nuts, eh? My first feel-able earthquake. Thank you, Kyrgyzstan.

I can’t believe how much time has passed already. It’s almost the end of July, meaning I’ll have been in country for four months. When the hell did that happen?! We’re already getting emails about IST (In-service training)! Talas’ is near the end of September; can’t even think about the fact that THAT will be 6 months into my two year service. Ugh, brain can’t take that right now. Haha. I have no idea what IST’s going to be like, other than it’ll be a three-day adventure. My guess is that it’ll be a three-day long Hub Day like back in PST. Which will either be AWESOME or it’ll suck hardcore. We shall see. I’ll keep you updated.

Scored a few books on my Kindle today, but as usual, am ALWAYS up for recommendations! Oh, I also have about 10 actual books that I’ve borrowed from people I’ve gotta work through. Reading list is as follows:

-       The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden

-       Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

-       The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

-       Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

-       The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

-       Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (need to finish it)

-       On the Road to Kandahar by Jason Burke (need to finish it)

-       Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

-       Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden (need to finish it)

Then go ahead and include the other almost-90 items that are already on my Kindle to that list and you’ve got my reading material for the rest of the summer. Haha. Thing I’ve got enough to last? And again, if anyone has anything they’ve read recently that’s just FANTASTIC, tell me ASAP. :)

And because I know how much ALL of you are so interested in my television watching habits, I thought I’d update everyone on what I’m up to. I have magically acquired, thanks to Ms Keisha, the entirety of what has aired thus far of Doctor Who. Holy TARDIS as a human Batman! Lots of twists and turns have happened in only 7 episodes and I legit have no idea where they can go from here. LOVED Neil Gaiman’s epi, so much that I spent this morning trying to find some of his books for my Kindle. Ended up scoring Neverwhere and The Good Omen; wanted to get Stardust, ‘cause I heart the movie so much, but they don’t have it in Kindle format. Might have to somehow find an actual book copy somehow. Enough of the tangent though, back to Who. How is it that Matt Smith has so fucking quickly done so many wonderful things with Eleven and we’ve now already seen his ‘death’ – at least we’ve got 200+ more years with him, right? – since he can’t regenerate. And Karen Gillan crying over Rory after he almost drowned… Girl has gotten much better with the tears. And Arthur Darvill at the beginning of ‘When a Good Man Goes to War,’ oh holy God. Just stay like that forever and ever, will you? Do NOT get between The Last Centurion and his wife/kid. *z snaps* The thing I have with things now is this: is anyone really going to want to watch them have frivolous adventures when Amy’s baby (who’s identity I won’t reveal even though I’m the one who’s like a month late in finding it out) is still in the middle of some evil plot? Let’s be honest. As intrigued as I am about maybe killing Hitler, I want to see Eleven save the shit outta the kid and get rid of EyePatchLady. Any thoughts?

With the possibility that most of you saw it on Facebook (I assume that that’s how you’re reading this – you followed the link I put up there), I successfully made my first batch of granola from scratch. Words cannot describe how fucking tasty it is and how much of an accomplishment it felt like actually working out! I even splurged and went crazy adding peanuts, two different type of raisins and PEANUT BUTTER (Mel left me her Peter Pan when she left)! OhmyGod, is it good. Now the only problem is is that since I’m such a nice person – comments to yourself, please – I shared with a bunch of the people that came into Talas for the reunion/music festival weekend and now my stash is low. Hopefully, this afternoon, maybe even right after I post this, I’ll be able to make another batch. Fingers crossed for me, people. On the topic of food (wow, I just got THE biggest craving for Taco Bell, that’s no good!), I still need people to send me fun recipes that have relatively easy-to-find ingredients and don’t require magic to cook them! For example: Philly’s Shepherd’s Pie, Smoth’s pasta – there has to be SOME kind you can send me that’s easy – and anything anyone else has to offer.

I wish that I had more detailed things to say about how life has been for me in Kstan, but I haven’t been up to all that much. I’m helping with another camp in two weeks, so that’ll be a thing to add on the list, but it’s mostly been watchin’ TV/movies and reading books. Speaking of which: WHO IS BARNEY GETTING READY TO MARRY?! It better be Robin, the two of them are too perfect together! Still don’t want to hear about Harry Potter as I haven’t been able to find a copy of it yet. If anyone does, I WANT IT.

Please know that I love and miss you all. Wishing you the best of summers and hope that everything is treating you well.

<3

The last five years...

Today, despite the fact that I have strep for the first time that I can remember – seriously, Mom, when was the last time I had this? I know I’ve convinced myself I had it even when it was a virus, but still…  – I went to our school’s ‘goodbye’ ceremony for all of the 11^th formers. It was basically their graduation ceremony, where everyone receives their marks from their exams and gets flowers and they thank teachers and take tons of photos. I obviously sat in the front row, was a spectacle just ‘cause I’m American, and didn’t understand A WORD of what was said. To anyone. About anything. Next year’s ceremony’s gonna be interesting…

Oh, I should also mention that like a blundering American (or maybe just me – I don’t want to generalize/stereotype Americans too harshly), I completely janked up the dress code. Because of my two-day invalid-ism thanks to the grip – that’s read: flu – and then strep (yeah, it’s been a great week), I had no idea it was a formal/dress-up occasion. So, what did I wear? Yeah, that would be a John Mayer tour t-shirt, jeans, flip-flops, and my Hawks baseball hat. I didn’t stick out or anything at ALL. *facepalm*

While sitting through it, and watching my host-nephew get all of his stuff and my apa beaming with pride as he did so, I was seriously overcome with emotion. I don’t know why, maybe it’s ‘cause I am feeling so crappy, or I miss all of my friends and family back in the States, or if it’s ‘cause I miss that feeling of accomplishment from my own high school graduation. Honestly couldn’t tell you. There were numerous times when I had to swallow (which, trust me, hurt like a BITCH) back my tears and try to keep myself composed.

It’s been five years since my own high school graduation. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, but at the same time it feels like it’s been AGES since I was at that place. Both mentally and physically. Sure I’ve been back to visit a teacher or two since then, but to really be there? It’s obviously been five years. But there are so many memories, both good and bad, that are still so vivid in my head. Mr Williams – ew. Play Pro auditions. Jumping into my friend’s arms as he arrived mid-show because things were going terribly. Holding the hands of my best girlfriends’ hands after our first show of Steel Magnolias and coming out into the hallway to thunderous applause. [I bet no one can guess what kind of nerd I was in high school…]

The whole concept of time truly baffles me. In that five years, so fucking much as happened to me. Moving to Chicago. Starting and then finishing college. Getting my first taste of traveling abroad – living for a year in Scotland. Going to, working in, (and falling in love with) Africa. Getting into and actually doing the Peace Corps. Meeting fucking amazing people along the way. I’d like to think I’ve become a better person since then. At least someone who’s a little more sure of herself, knows a little bit better about what she’d like to do with her life, or at least just a little more fucking sensible with the choices she makes and things she does.

But who the hell really knows?

And yet there are moments, even now, when I still feel like that 18 year-old girl in high school. I DON’T know what I want to do with my life; that’s why I’m attempting to do this Peace Corps thing. Do I want to head back to my beautiful Jambiani and work there again? Or continue traveling while I’m still relatively young and don’t have anything tying me down? Or do I want to head back to school – get a Masters from some swanky school (maybe abroad?)? Or do I want to just settle down some place and find a job? Coming out of this at 25 I feel partly that I’ll have the world at my feet to do whatever, but there’s still that damn societal pressure to be doing and making something of yourself at that age…

I DON’T know where exactly I belong. I know I belong somewhere – everyone has to have a home, right? But where is that home? Back in Nebraska? Chicago? New York? Washington DC? Africa? Scotland? New Zealand? Kyrgyzstan? Or somewhere else entirely unexplored (for me at least) yet? It all frustrates and terrifies the shit out of me, but at the same time acts as one of the few surprises I have left in my life. It’s like when one of my best friends told me that she refused to find out the gender of her baby and out of frustration (‘cause let’s be honest, HOW DO YOU BUY NON-GENDERED BABY ITEMS?!) I asked her why, she told me just that: it was one of the only real surprises she had left and she wasn’t going to spoil it.

I think that what this nonsensical, drug-addled entry is trying to communicate is that my brain obviously thinks too much about the past and the future, but never the present. I think that’s one of the things that I need to work most on while I’m over here. It’s been a rough week (wow, it seriously feels like so much longer than that) since Mel left. Lots of things going through my head. Trying to work it all out in ‘safe’ places so I don’t drive my friend David (who’s become my new shoulder) absolutely crazy, only a month into my service.

Sorry for this one, guys. It was meant to be a bit more uplifting and philosophical or whatever the hell you want to call it, but obviously turned out a bit differently. Haha. Know that I love you all and am missing you like crazy. Haven’t received any mail or packages yet, but since I am out in the boonies, I’m just chalking it up to a slow taxi or something happened in the mountains and it’ll get here eventually. Gotta maintain that optimism, right?

John, Chanelle, guys, I am seriously GUTTED I cannot be with you all this weekend. Know that I am thinking about you and loving you from here, ok? I’m sure my mom will convey as much when she sees you, but just want you to hear/read it from me, too. Congratulations to you both. So excited for you. Wishing you the best fucking luck on the planet. All my love to you guys.

And to everyone else.

<3

Jange post!

I feel like a fucking yo-yo. I can’t decide what I make of all of this. Some days I’m literally curled into a ball sobbing my eyes out (Fuck you, Glee, for doing ‘For Good’…) and some moments, like just now when I’m walking home from eating dinner at my counterpart’s house and the weather outside is stunning and she makes me feel at home (finally), I’m so glad I’m here. I feel that that’s probably what the next two years are going to be all about. Lots of bad moments, but the good moments work their asses off to outweigh them.

I honestly didn’t think that the adjustment into permanent site would be this difficult. I’ve lived away from home before, been in foreign countries alone for extended periods of time, and have taught – albeit not this formal – and yet for some reason this is just kicking my ass. I haven’t quite figured out how to dig my feet in and set up shop here. My language has suffered a severe blow in the past week ‘cause of the extensive amount of time I’ve spent with Americans. I’m constantly grasping at straws and have become a genius with miming, but still can’t quite make the mark. I think that as soon as I get more confident with my language and start meeting people in the village that things won’t be as daunting, but for now, put up with the silliness and complaining you’re more than likely getting from me.

Also, before I forget, what kind of stupid jerkface decides to text me at silly o’clock in the morning to tell me that SHE KNOWS WHO RIVER SONG IS?! Seriously. COME. ON. Haha. I mean, I know that I’m doing pretty well in regards with missing TV shows and movies, but that bit of information is one you can’t just dangle in front of my face like that! That’s like saying (and I hope at least some of you get this reference) ‘Found out what the numbers mean and why Walt is so special…’ when the person on the receiving end of information is in outer space. Not cool. ;) If you don’t have an immediate way for me to find out said information on my own, then just steer clear of saying things like that. Haha.

Starting an English club tomorrow. Absolutely scared shitless. Didn’t really think I’d be starting work less than a week after moving here permanently. But I guess I am. My counterpart Rahat Eje and I are thinking about starting a dance club, an American cooking club – which will be abdan interesting since no one here likes the majority of American food! – and maybe even a movie club. We’ll see how any and/or all of those work out. Also, if you (Amy and other theatre people, this is for you!) know of any good shows to do for young people, or at least with an ok English ability, PLEASE send me the scripts. Either by post or by email. I’m hoping to start a theatre troupe in the next two years and any and all help would be greatly appreciated.  

Rahat Eje asked me today while we were walking around the village, ‘Do you have any ideas for your secondary project?’ and I literally just blanked. I have no idea what to do. I know I don’t have to decide right this second what I’d like to work on while I’m here, but most people at least have an inkling as to theirs. I guess only time will tell on this one. Who the hell knows what I’ll end up doing?

Another request for you friends out there: Do people want to email me some of their favourite recipes from home? I seriously want to do a bit of cooking for myself while in country and try new things – I’m already amazed at how much my taste buds are changing out of necessity – but my cookbook is a bit limited. Send me your favourites that you think I could make here in country, or if they’re THAT amazing and there are ingredients you don’t think I can get my hands on… Care packages! Haha. Tamashaw (‘just kidding’ in Kyrgyz). But only kind of.

How’s everyone doing with life? How are B’s fightin’ against the ‘Nucks? Last time I checked they were 0-2. Still the same? To my babes in Boston, seriously wishing them ALL THE LUCK in the world. How’s BabySkip faring during her first summer? Lose enough sleep yet? How was the new X Men movie? Decent? James McAvoy gorgeous as ever? How does it feel being finished with your first year of grad school? Epic? Only how many more to go? ;) Who has some really awesomely epic book recommendations for me? Also, does anyone know who was officially cast as Peeta for The Hunger Games movie? It wasn’t that kid from Weeds, was it?

I feel that this entry’s going to be a short one ‘cause my brain is completely jumbled with far too many feelings, emotions, languages, logistics, plans, etc. and can’t think properly. I also have kichene homework to prepare for tomorrow’s English club.

Missing you all and hoping that your summer is off to an amazing start. Love you.

<3

Random quote I'm diggin'.

This is going to be a short and sweet one, but I just have to get this out before I literally go insane. Just left Steve’s house where we watched this incredible surf documentary. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking ‘A surfing documentary, are you havin’ a giraffe? How’d you take it seriously?’ But let me tell you – it’s stunning. It is a beautiful amalgamation of insight into the culture of a bunch of different countries as well as an IMMENSE display of cinematography. Photogasm right here on that one. And the only words in the film were absolutely incredible that I can’t get over them. They’re so true and accurate.

‘Someone who is now long dead once wrote: “The world is a book and those who don’t travel only read one page.” What no one tells you is that the book is no easy read. There is one thing that I can say: Whatever it is you’re looking for – beauty, salvation, enlightenment, danger, or just to disappear – this will only be a fraction of what you’ll find… I’m only trying to read the whole book.’

-       Taylor Steele’s Sipping Jetstreams

And that’s honestly enough said. I want to read the whole book. Now. I want to take pictures. I want to experience. I want to see. I want to do. I want to be. Are my two years up yet?

I come bearing a permanent address!

Саламасыэдарбы!

Holy shenanigans on a stick. Not only has it been forever and a day since I’ve updated, but I’ve also finally arrived (at least for a short visit) at permanent site! I am currently sitting in my new room in the boonies of Talas in a village called Kyzyl Jyldyz. When I say I’m in the boonies, I MEAN IT. In the amount of time it took me to get about 300ish miles (I’m totally guestimating on that number, btw), I could’ve gotten from Omaha to Chi-town. Or from NYC to Edinburgh. Or from LA halfway to NZ. Yes, you heard me correctly folks, it took about 7.5 hours (a marshrutka and two taxis) for me to reach my site. The traveling here was an experience in itself. OMG. And THANK GOD Mel C was with me for it. I am not entirely sure I would’ve been able to handle it by myself or with anyone other than her. Haha.

The following is the exciting tale of my first adventure into the wiles of Talas oblast. Nothing is fictional. There may be slight exaggerations for the story factor, otherwise it’s the truth, the whole truth, so help me God.

So, this morning, I wasn’t quite feelin’ the vibe for what was supposed to be a really epic day: the day we meet our permanent site host families. Had to be in Kant by 8 am, which means I had to be up by 6 (which really means I adjusted my alarm twice to get up somewhere thirty minutes past) and out of the house by like 7.15. NOT a fan. Still the same ol’ Sarah – hate getting up early. Even after the 6 months of constant ‘Rise and shine’ in Africa, I still loathe getting up in the morning. I guess it really is an inherent, genetic trait. :p But I did it anyways if not only because I absolutely had to.

Anyway, all the trainees then head back to the Issyk-Kul hotel (everyone remember that place from the first few days in-country?!) for the matching ceremony and for the signing of our leasing contract thingies. Blah, blah, blah, we go through all the logistics of what’s about to go down, then we all get into circles based on oblast: volunteers on the outside, family members on the inside. We’re then supposed to go around the circle and USE OUR LANGUAGE (read: epic failure) to find out who our host families are. I can hear each and everyone of you laughing right now. And don’t worry, so were we.

Once we get into our circles, I see this adorable little old lady [OMG, Grandma, she is SO like you in so many ways! She’s honestly about less than 5 ft tall and has so much enthusiasm for life. Also, she’s a doctor, pretty sure she works in an ob-gyn? Not makin’ this up.] standing in front of me with this huge grin on her face. And because she’s standing in front of me, I ask her the designated question, she answers and then BAM! She’s my apa. The cute part of this whole story is that supposedly, the second I walked into the room and she saw me her ‘motherly instincts’ kicked in and she knew that I was her ‘daughter.’ She has since told numerous people about this feeling and experience in the time that I’ve known her, including the head of the local government, my director at school, and everyone else to whom she can tell the story. The crazy life in K-stan continues.

After signing our contracts (dear LORD was that a nightmare!), Mel, her apa, my apa, and I all head out on our way to Talas. We walk out of the hotel where I’m expecting there to be a taxi or something to take us home. Oh, how wrong we were. Despite the fact that Melis and I had shit tons of luggage – we were supposed to bring about half our stuff with us so that way we don’t have to carry twice as much when we move back here in three weeks – we head toward the main road. Trying to take deep breaths, Mel and I try to convince ourselves we’re waiting for a hired car or a taxi to show up. Wrong again.

I would like to take this opportunity to try as best as I can to describe what it’s like to ride on a marshrutka… Alright, everyone needs to picture themselves those little short, mini-bus lookin’ things; the ones that have like about 12-14 seats in them. Now, for those of you who have ridden on a dala dala, imagine the number of people on a full one of those, but then switch it to the mini-bus. It’s madness and 99% of the time, extremely packed. And to finish off the mental picture to continue the story, I’d like you to add me with a giant roller duffel and then Melissa with another one into a full marshrutka. Everyone get it? Yeah, needless to say, we were NOT liked on that ride.

A part of me would like to say that the ride was relatively short and that we didn’t have to go very far. But that would be a lie and I promised I’d tell the truth. We rode the marshrut for about… oh, like 45-50 minutes. And THEN after we got off, we had to lug everything and then walk about a mile and a half-ish in order to get to the bus/taxi station place. Elapsed time thus far: ~1 hour and 30 minutes. But once we got there, was it easy-peazy lemon squeezy from then on? Жок! [that’s ‘no’ in Kyrgyz]. We found a taxi, but he wanted to find another passenger that was headed our way so he could fill his little mini-van to capacity. Therefore, the apas, Mel, and I were forced to wait inside the taxi for roughly an hour before he found someone. When the other passenger showed up, I knew it was karma comin’ to kick my ass: a woman with two small children (like, under the age of 3). Luckily, she turned out to be lovely and the kids were really well-behaved. Thank goodness for small miracles, eh?

So, two and a half hours after we set off to go ‘home,’ we finally head in the direction of Talas. However, Melis and I are soon to find out that our driver pretty much HATES US. Or at least, that’s what it seemed like with the number of sudden stops, incredibly sharp turns, and numerous near-death experiences. And this was all before we even got close to the two mountain passes we had to go through in order to get where we were going. Let me tell you about the mountain passes – they’re gorgeous, but scary as shit when you feel your life is in the hands of a chain-smoking speed racer. The first mountain pass takes us about an hour and a half (my whole concept of time is just fucked nowadays; thank God for watches) to traverse. We text a bunch of people over the course of the drive with silly things like: ‘Well, it’s been good knowin’ you. See you on Saturday… if we make it.’ Mountain range 1 conquered. We stop for lunch and then are on our way again.

I would like to stop at this point and make a small interjection as to the quality of the ride we had. Our driver, as kind as he was, provided us with a few tunes for our journey. However, it just so happened that the CD only had SIX BLOODY SONGS ON IT. I kid you not we listened to that blasted thing about 3218012 times. If I were in need of having a Kyrgyz song repertoire, I’d definitely be 5 songs ahead of the game (the last one was ‘Grenade’ by Bruno Mars). If I never hear those songs again, it’ll be too soon. Now back to your regularly scheduled storytelling…

For some reason, Mel C and I were naïve enough to think that Mountain Range Uno was the divider between the Chui and Talas oblasts, but we were wrong (like we were a lot over the course of the trip). We drove for another few hours before finally getting to the swanky ‘gate’ alerting us that we were entering the Land of Manas. Another hour or so before we arrive in Talas ‘City’ (that’s what they call it, but it’s so unlike any other ‘city’ I’ve ever seen…) where our driver stops on the side of the road and says ‘Alright, that’s it; you guys have gotta get out.’ The apas were not havin’ it, saying that they paid for him to take us all the way to our villages, but he was adamant that he wasn’t going to. Mel’s apa even called him a jaman bala (which translates to ‘bad boy’). Hilarious high point of the day. We finally get out of the taxi and lug our bags to another one. This guy takes us to Mel’s house, drops her off, and then heads in the direction of my house. However, about 20ish minutes after we’re on our way, HE stops and starts tryin’ to find us another car to take us the rest of the way. My life, right? Finally he comes back and starts talkin’ with the apa who convinces him we’ll pay him a bit more to take us the rest of the way, yet when we start off, two of his buddies ask for a lift and then get in. That puts us at 4 passengers (plus my insane amounts of shit) in a VW GOLF. Yeah, itty bitty living space.

But in the end, I guess everything worked out for the best as I’m currently snuggled in my new bed typing this. And while typing it out, I noticed that it by no means conveys the insanity and silliness of the day. I guess we’ll just chalk it up to being lost in translation. :) We’ll see how the next few days go with heading to school for the first time, teaching a lesson with a random teacher (my counterpart isn’t here for the week!), meeting numerous head honchos in the village, getting my lay of the land, and meeting some of the nearby K-18s. Madness. I’m going to be knackered when I get back to Kengesh on Saturday! Fo’ sho’!

Today (12 May), I was introduced to most of the ‘important’ people around the village and went to work for the first time. Since my counterpart is still in Bishkek for Peace Corps stuff, she wasn’t around to help introduce me to everyone at my school. However, we had discussed things before I left and decided that I would work with the other English teacher and observe his classes instead. He is seriously a great guy. His language skills are pretty awesome, so I’m considering myself incredibly lucky to have two amazing English speakers as my coworkers!

Watched one of his classes – so bloody different to the system I’m used to; let’s hope they’ll be open to switching things up once I’m here for good! – and then was set to watch another one when he was told he had to teach two classes at once!  Get ready for Adaptable Sarah, guys. Not only did I have to take a class on my own (it wasn’t super formal, but daunting in itself!) but for some reason, I taught an English class IN KYRGYZ. *facepalm* What was I thinking? Luckily the kids weren’t too judgmental and I think they learned a little bit, even if it was just the Kyrgyz equivalent for interrogative words (Who? What? How many?, etc.). So excited, yet fucking terrified about what’s to come in the next two years. Wish me the best.

How is everyone? Haven’t heard from a bunch of you. Some of you are in Rio and Peru, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one, but the rest of you? Were you swept away by the hundreds of tornadoes ranging across the country? Or just bogged down in almost being with finished with school? No matter the case, I hope you’re doing amazing things with life and that things are going well. What’s everyone planning to do over the course of the summer? Who’s the ‘main’ headliner at Lolla this year? Who’s going on special trips? Any wild and crazy adventures planned?

Mom and Dad – I mailed letters to you yesterday (Tuesday, 10 May). Be prepared to get them some time in August or September. Haha. Grandma and Grandpa – I’m working on yours! Been crazy busy and only have time to send about one or two letters at a time. Yours should be on the way soon! Let me know who else (other than you, Nat, I’m workin’ on yours too!) is in the mood for some snail mail!

Miss and love you all so much.

<3

PS – I have discovered my permanent address (or at least what they told me to write down today at the post office). It is as follows. I’ll put it in both English and Kyrgyz so that way if you want to make labels to ensure it gets to me, you’ll be able to!

                                                  

Talas Oblast                                                   Талас Облусу

Manas Rayon                                                 Манас Району

Kyzyl Jyldyz Village                                     Кызыл Жылдыз Айылы

30 Bokonbaev St                                          30 Боконбаев Кочосу

Hippity Hop                                                   Сара Хопкинс

724002                                                            724002
Kyrgyzstan                                                     Кыргызстан   

That seriously took almost 30 minutes to work out, thanks to the Russian language button on my comp. Problem was havin’ to find all the letters on the keyboard! Only thing is (AND THIS IN IMPORTANT): with the word Кочосу, you must put a line through the Os, so it kind of looks like… Oh, what’s it called? A circle with the line through it. Θ That! Haha. Does that make sense? Since I’m using the Russian function and the necessary Os are Kyrgyz letters only, I can’t type it out. But you all get it, right?

The reappearance of regurgitated socks.

Yet another cow update: I found the regurgitated sock in our lawn this morning. It was manky. Now I know it happened as opposed to just inferring. I brought this fact up at dinner a few minutes ago and my jenge (host sister-in-law) lost her shit when it fully registered. Oh well, I guess I’m officially initiated into the Kyrgyz way of life. Didn’t take long, did it? Only a month. In hindsight, it’s pretty hysterical. Another act of initiation: while I was peeling potatoes, carrots, and onions earlier, I sliced my finger with a gi-hugic knife. My jenge saw it, did a little gasp, and then just laughed at me. I was laughing at me too, so it wasn’t that bad. Then she told my apa who laughed at me as well. I really am just a bundle of laughs in this country.

It’s starting to heat up here in good ol’ Kengesh. Now I wish that I had prepared more for summer clothing as opposed to the winter stuff. Let’s hope that wherever I’m put for my permanent site will be a bit cooler than this (sometimes I don’t know where I get off saying this – I lived in Africa for six months during their summer, this should be a piece of cake!) or at least can get myself adjusted to things rather quickly. I seriously dominated at packing for this adventure. NOT. In desperate need of more of my t-shirts and cooler dress/business clothes. Basically, I should’ve packed an entirely different wardrobe than I did. Isn’t that always the case? And remember me in Africa? Same thing now – totally already tired of these clothes; wish I had ways of flaring up the same outfits over and over again. Thoughts? I have to mix things up, but also maintain a level of professionalism.

This coming Wednesday, the trainees are having a giant disco (it’s really like a ‘dance,’ but we love calling it a ‘disco’ so much that it’s just stuck). Not to toot my own horn, but the only reason we’re having it is ‘cause I brought it up in a trainee advisory committee meeting – yeah, I somehow managed to get myself on a board like that, thousands of miles away from home; some things never change… ;) I had said that despite the fact that while most of the time everyone loves their language groups within the villages, most of the trainees absolutely LIVE for the days when we’re all allowed to be together on our Hub Days. Also, since this coming week is supposedly the ‘toughest week out of PST,’ I thought that it would be good if we had a complete brain-dead event where we could all be together and blow off some steam. I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time am not. Dances have never really been my thing. Don’t get me wrong – I am PUMPED to be able to bust a move [OMG, can I please be back at Kendwa Rocks or Paje By Night shaking my ass to ‘The Waka Waka Song’?!], I just worry that it’ll be another one of those times where I think it’ll be awesome, but then somehow end up on the sidelines the whole time. *shrugs* Better not overanalyze it before it happens, otherwise I’ll ruin it!

Was TOTALLY in a zombie mood yesterday. Was a complete waste of life and watched Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days Later (for the first time – LOVED it; Cillian Murphy’s Irish accent?! YES PLEASE!) and then finally started Max Brooks’ World War Z. The book itself is really, really good. Ben was right: if you were to replace zombies with another ‘real’ epidemic such as Ebola or something equally as scary and fast-spreading, the story itself is an incredibly telling tale about how international politics and organizations work with one another. I guess we all need those moments/days when we bust out the completely unordinary and weird to get away from everything in real life. And for me, yesterday, that was the zombie apocalypse. That’s just the way it goes, right?

Totally random thought of the day: I’ve been thinkin’ a lot about tattoos recently. Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t come back with another one! :p But just thinking about what I’d like to get when I return home. Either, an add on to one I already have, or a completely new one to kind of symbolize what the next two years of my life are going to bring. One of the chicks in my village (she’s from Chi-town, so amazing to have around!) is this amazing artist and we’ve all kind of commissioned her to make a K-19 tat for us once we’re all finished. I’m really excited to see what she has to come up with, ‘cause if it’s awesome (which I’m sure it will be), I’ll be getting it. Although, I’ve also been thinking about tweaking one or two of the ones I have now. First – my peace symbol. I really do think that I want to either add the word ‘Peace’ (in my handwriting) in Cyrillic, Arabic, English, and maybe Swahili? Or somehow incorporate the PC into it. Or, my other thought is to have the lyric from JM’s ‘Wheel’ (‘I believe that my life’s gonna see the love I give returned to me…’) circling my right wrist ala the cuz’s tat. Again, these are just things I’m batting around at the moment. Who knows? I could have a bomb-ass epiphany within the next 26 months and completely change my mind.

Someone needs to help a sister out (mainly Tif and everyone I’ve ever known that has gone or worked at a summer camp). WHY CAN I NOT REMEMBER ANY GAMES OR ACTIVITIES WE DID TO ENTERTAIN THOSE GIRLS?! I have seriously racked my brain for weeks trying to remember any sort of ice-breaker or energizer, but cannot think of any! For example, all the trainees went to an orphanage yesterday (on Saturday) to clean and play with the kids. Someone asked if anyone had any other games that we could start up, and I knew that somewhere in the back of my head was a plethora of games, but I could NOT recall any of them. It’s seriously starting to piss me off. My memory of anything in the past is just shocking these days! I mean, those were such huge parts of my summers for so many years and I can’t recall any of them? Are you havin’ a giraffe?! Anyone want to email or FB message one or two? I’d very much be in your debt.

I must take this time to extend an apology to my Chicago Blackhawks. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you have made it to game 6 in this round against the ‘Nucks. That’s DEFINITELY a relief; I honestly thought it was going to be a four-game-and-we’re-out kind of playoffs. BUT, you’re proving me wrong and I am sending you ALL MY BEST VIBES for your game tonight/tomorrow early morning for me. Force them into a game 7. We’ll be on home turf for this game, you KNOW the UC will definitely be a fucking Madhouse on Madison this time around. Don’t let ‘em down. Wishing you seriously the biggest amount of luck. [OH. I thought everyone who knows hockey would appreciate this: I was watching Russian MTV today and this music video came on where the dude looked like a cross between Matthew Morrison and PATRICK KANE. I nearly lost my shit and instantly thought of his silly mullet and all his craziness. Life, right? Also, for those of you who were worried, I am pleased to report that even in Russia there is the Teen Mom/16 and Pregnant program on MTV. Yes, you can be immensely relieved at this news.] Ri, Theresa, and Kristen: I hope your boys are doing better than mine. Have they already made it through to round 2? Update: WE FORCED THEM INTO GAME 7! OMG. YESSSSSSSSSSS! Words cannot describe. BRB – DYING. And in OT, too?! If I had been watching, I legit would’ve been having a heart attack. Maybe it’s better for my health that I’m not in the States to watch them go through all of this…

Turns out that I find out where my permanent site will be on 4 May. That’s INCREDIBLY soon. Like ‘a week from Wednesday’ soon. And then like the week (or is it two weeks?), after I get to spend a week at my new host-family’s house getting the lay of the village and working with my counterpart and all. Let’s all hope that placement goes well (I’m so gunning for Talas at the moment, to work with my language teacher, but am not hedging my bets yet) and that the current PCVs have summer camps that I’ll want to help with to ease my transition into things. I’m sure it will. :) It’s all happening incredibly fast, ‘cause then after that, we’ve got two weeks until swearing in. Then we’re on our own. Two years starts 1 June. Crazy as, right? None of this really seems real. I feel like in a few weeks I’ll be done with this adventure and be coming home. But then I realize that I’ve only been gone for like a month and that the two years is just beginning.

I was talking to the Kengesh Mafia – yes, we are that lame; it seriously makes sense with our personalities and the way we’ve interacted with the other groups – about this earlier and we are all SO PUMPED for the stuff that we’re planning on doing together after our service. Penthouse in Vegas. Hangin’ at The Rat on the University of Miami campus. The Reservoir in NYC. Hangin’ with Brycey B and MC in Chi-town. Road tripping to see everyone. But then we all have to stop and remind ourselves that we’ve still got a shit ton of time left before we’re able to do any of those things. I guess it’s good to have goals and exciting things in mind to keep us all going, right?

So, I heard through the grapevine that DW was sodding amazing. [Poor Elisabeth Sladen, btw! Seriously, who would’ve thunk that that would’ve happened to Sarah Jane?! Who’s going to watch after K-9?!] Speaking of the whole sci-fi, Russell T Davies brainchild family, what’s the latest update/air date for the new TW mini-series? Any more news on what it’s going to be, who’s going to be in it (Freema and/or Mickey, maybe?), and why the hell Gwen’s going to be bringing her CHILD to help her fight aliens? These are the silly things that plague my mind while I’m supposed to be paying attention to tech session on the art of teaching vocab to non-English speakers. Great way to spend my time, eh? Haha.

Dad and/or G’pa: why are you not here to play Milles Bornes with me? I’ve been itching to play it for MONTHS, but don’t have the patience to teach it to anyone. I want somebody whose ass I can kick – with them actually trying – but know of no one. Sigh. Why doesn’t everyone on the planet know how to play French, car-racing card games from the 60s?

Well, team, I think that’s all my brain can handle at the moment. It’s about half 9 in the evening and I’m slowly fading, but have yet to eat dinner. Gotta love when your brain has completely shut off and yet you have to struggle through another language before you can hole yourself up in your room and either a) do your homework or b) read a zombie book and fall asleep. Btw, I’m sure you all know which one I’ll be doing this evening, right? Haha. UGH, my hair SO needs to be washed, but highly doubt it will be tonight. Maybe tomorrow after class? Fingers crossed for me, folks. Sending you all my love from this mingin’ girl in K-stan.

<3

PS – Before I go, this lyric from ‘Awake My Soul’ by Mumford & Sons (I SODDING LOVE THEM!) has been on a constant loop in my head: ‘As bodies we will live, as bodies we will die, where you invest your love, you invest your life…’