This morning I walked outside, it was still dark and frigid cold, but it ended up being a great moment. On one side of me the sun was rising and painting the sky a deep purple and blue and just lighting up the mountains. On the other side of me there was a full moon and it was so bright and crisp. Just as I stepped out the call to prayer began, which is this beautiful chant that carries across the village. I felt so lucky to of walked out at that very moment and the feeling just carried over to me feeling very content to be in KR and very hopeful that my future experiences will be filled with as much wonder.
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In KR the five o'clock traffic jam has a whole new meaning. That's about the time all the cows, sheepand horses come in from the fields. Almost daily our car has to fight its way through one sort of herd or another and sometimes it takes some quick thinking on the the part of our driver to avoid a nasty collision. The presence of animals in this country is something that I'm still not used to. I can be in the city and there will be cows wandering in the streets, or a donkey cart waiting at a stop light, or man with a live sheep sitting across from me in the bus.
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Last night I had a great talk with my host family, granted it was in broken Kyrgyz and took an incredible amount of effort. We talked about the differences in our lives and they shared with me what life was like for them during the Soviet period (because PC is monitoring all of our blogs, I'm actually not allowed to share what we specifically talkedabout). They wanted to know about the places that I've visited and why, after seeing so many beautiful places, would I want to live in Kyrgyzstan. That was probably the hardest thing to explain and I did resort to drawing a few pictures and in the end my pictures were probably harder to understand than my Kyrgyz. Whatever they understood, it must of been good because would like me to live here for many years, marry a KR man, have 5 kids (yeah, they got a bit specific) and live to be an old chung-apa (grandma). I told them that I wouldn't make a good KR wife because I dont cook, I refuse to clean up after my husband and I will never be satisfied with an outdoor toilet. That pretty much settled it for them.
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Last week in my village a 19 year old girl was 'kidnapped' by a 29 year old man from a near by village. By now she is probably his wife and trying her best to play the part. I am having a really hard time understanding this tradition. There's a few different ways that a woman can be kidnapped. The first is a staged kidnapping, or basically an arranged marriage. The other happens when the parents dont approve of a couple getting married so the groom 'kidnaps'the bride (though she is willing), the third kind is when the man sees a woman and literally kidnaps her. Automatically, we would think that she should get away as fast as she can and get help, but it doesnt work that way here. It is her duty and their tradition that she submits and marries the man. Even her family will tell her to stay, that it is what she needs to do. If she leaves she will bring shame onto herself and her family and that is more serious than any consequence breaking the law can bring. On one side I hear that it is technically illegal, though that really doesnt mean a whole lot since it happens all the time without anyone facing legal consequences, and no one does anything to help the girl. I keep hearing over and over, 'that is our tradition'. I was trying to talk to my mom about this and how awful I thought it was. Her response was a rite of passage for the woman (at least thats what I thought she was saying) and it turns out that she herself was kidnapped at 16 and she has been very happy for 13 years. It's a difficult position for me to be in because I personally dont agree with the practice at all, tradition or not. A girls life is decided for her without any consideration for what she wants or who she is - all she can do is hope that she gets stolen by a decent man.
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Happy Thanksgiving!!! Even though it was sad not being at home for the holiday, I had a fabulous day and it will be a Thanksgiving that I never forget. The trainees in my village decided that we would bring a bit of American tradition to the village and cook up a great feast complete with our favorite Thanksgiving dishes. We spent a day running around town gathering the goods (which took awhile because grocery stores are still a foreign concept around here), then the morning of we started bright and early on our hamburgers, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and of course pumpkin and apple pie. Not 20 minutes later it became really apparent that none of us really knew the first thing about cooking, let alone cooking in KR where modern conveniences(?) just arent available. We had the receipes and just had to cross our fingers and hope for the best and by the time 4 o'clock rolled around we were set, everything was prepared and just needed to be cooked. Wouldn't you know it, that was the exact point the power decided to go out! But hey, if our ancestors could pull off a Thanksgiving meal without electricity, then why shouldnt we be able to! We had to get a bit creative with a couple of pans and a wood stove, but in no time our burgers were cooking (turns out they werent beef though, minor detail). I felt just like a pilgram as I was bent over the stove, flipping burgers and cursing as the grease spit at me. Not two minutes after we were done cooking on the wood stove, did the power turn back on (of course). The dinner was for us as well as our host families, though none of the dads showed up (go figure). Our food was a big hit and surprisingly it tasted amazing! We got a kick out of watching all of them figure out how to put the hamburgers together, and I dont know if we were able to fully explain stuffing - but all in all it was a success. There was plenty of vodka going around and all of the moms made nice toasts, and then, either because no one knew what else to say, we ended up singing the KR national anthem, I know a bit random, but fun all the same. We had just started the second verse when my little grandma lets out the loudest belch. It was one of those moments where everything just goes silent and you can hear crickest in the background - then hysteria broke out! We never did end up finishing the song. Now either because they didnt think that we could really pull off a complete dinner by ourself, or as a cruel joke, towards the end of our meal they let us know that they have also prepared food. They all come filing out of the kitchen with plates and plates of food and we almost cry because the last thing any of us want is more food. It took a bit of craftiness and a couple innocent trips to the kitchen, but we were able to avoid the second dinner! So all in all, it was a great evening and a really nice way for us all to get together before we leave for our new sites.

As for the phone cards, if you use union tele card, all you want to do is designate that you are calling from the us and calling to a kyrgyz mobile. A bunch of different options for cards should come up and all you need to do is select the one that sounds the best. You just want to make sure that there is no connection fee. I havent used this particular company, but you should get an 800 number to call as well as a password and you should be set from there. My phone will just be a regular cell phone, but new phone towers are going up all the time so apparently getting ahold of people is no problem. nice huh!

here's my number

996-502-169-279

hope to here from ya soon!
machalla

this is attempt number 2 at the besh barmak shot.......

November 13
Well, I just got back from my visit to Talas and my new village Bakai-Ata and though it is by no means a bad place I didn't fall in love with it.A lot of it had to do with communication issues with the folks at the school and that led to a lot of frustrations. I am beginning to realize the importance in being able to stand on my own two feet and taking the initiative to get what I want. Obviously, the language barrier is a huge hinderance and things will get easier as I progress with Kyrgyz, but some things are just part of the culture; for instance never being on time, not thinking it neccessary to let me know when plans concerning me change and just really not having any personal boundaries.
But there were some really good things. I really like the family that I will be living with. It's a smaller family, the parents and a fourteen year old son. They have four older daughters that have moved out. The mom, Adil, is a vice principal at my school and I think that she is in charge of discipline. At home she's a lot of fun and has a very loud and outgoing personality, but at school she is a drill sergant. The dad is a bit more mellow, a nice contrast to his wife. I havent been able to figure out too much about him, but he is very kind and attentive which is a nice change from the host dad that I have now. The son is the pride and joy of his parents because he is a sportsman. Really nice kid, showed me the ropes around the village and we spent a lot of time hanging out listening to rap music and watching boxing...neither of which I am interested in, but if he's willing to show an interest in me, the least I can do is return the favor!
The 'village' has 7,000 people and all of the basic things that I need. I have no doubt that this will eventually be a great place and somewhere that I could eventually call home. Attitude really dictates everything here and right now PC feels like another job because everything is being done out of obligation . My hope is that as I get to know the community better and invest more of myself, then I will have a passion for the village and the people in it. Being an English teacher is just what got me to the village and allows me to stay there, but it is important that I find tasks/services to pursue out of want and not because I'm told to. PC is good in that it encourages and really requires you to find secondary projects and there very little guidelines as to what those need to be.


all the best, machalla
ive been trying to upload photos, can anyone tell me if you can view them

Calam!
news from around the village....The volunteers here in Taldybulak (population 300) are slowly beginning to make our presence known. As I am getting more comfortable with the culture and the peopleI am not so concerned with trying to fade into the woodwork, but am making moreof an effort to make a life and a routine here. As a group We've started spending more time with the kids by organizing play days after school. Remember all of those horrible games that you used to play in P.E....well it's basically hours of that. We were at a slight advantage by acutally knowing how to play the games and I have to admit we use it to our full advantage. The kids get their revenge though by teaching us some of their games and I have to say ours don't have nearly the same amount of public humilation as theirs do. For instance they have one that entails jumping on one foot, singing and chasing someone else....it's just mean. Now, it's not all fun and games. We are trying whole heartedly to teach everyone we meet English with the hope that we wont have to learn Kyrgyz. So far we have the kids saying 'hey' and 'good bye', though a few of them know 'I love you American girl,' not quite sure who taught them that, but will be sure to mangle them as soon as I find out!
Orozo ended last week and it reminded me of a mix between Halloween and Thanksgiving. The kids go door to door getting treats and the grown ups spend ALL day eating...it's really the best of both holidays, maybe the Kyrgyz are on to something. Traditionally,people go to eachothers houses to eat and have tea and you have to go to at least 7 otherwise you will have an unlucky year. Folks go around to the houses in groups, so all of the grandmas will go together, then the grandpas, then the moms and so on. Everyone goes all out and try to upshow their neighbor. Ok I know that it sounds like all fun and games, but being a guest in this country is hard work, there was a point when I tried to flee, but grandma was too quick!
We finally found out where our permanent sites will be. Some folks laughed, others jumped for joy, still others cried. I dont feel too strongly either way about my site. I am going to the far North West corner of the country to a region called Talas. I dont know much about the place, except that it's pretty isolated due to all of the mountains. there are about 7 other trainees going to the same region and there are already 8 people over there now, so at least I wont be alone and that was my biggest concern. We are going on a visit soon so I will let you know how much I love/hate it. Some say that they only send the strongest volunteers to Talas and though that is most likely not the case, it's still nice to think it might be true! All I had to tell them was how my mom used to force me to weed and pick up rocks and PC said that nothing I would have to endure in KR would be as difficult as that!
There was a big party in the village ane it was basically the baby's one year birthday, but they celebrate it's first steps. There was the usual food and merriement, but then there was also a series of races that involved running after a baby who had it's feet tied together with scissors. I'm sure that was something my first grade teacher told me not to do! The deal is that whoever wins the race cuts the rope and passes on good luck and blessings to the child. The men raced first and the two volunteers were under the impression that it would be a shortersprint to the finish line....it was more like a mile! A volunteer won and received a huge rug and he is known throughout the village as the sportsman. Then it was time for the woman. We had a short sprint and I was feeling pretty confident, until my host mom left me in the dust...what makes it even worse was that she wasnt even wearing shoes!
That's all for now, hope that all is well,machalla

Sorry I havent been updating lately, i've been running around all over the place... i dont have the chance to give you all the details now, but i will give you a full update soon!

Photos:

one is of my host brother and sister at school. Iziza is 14 and a doll, Dustan is 11 and a trouble maker!

the second is me at a big party eating Besh barmak. Traditional Kyrgyz dish of noodles topped with assorted sheep parts....and you eat it with your hands! mmmm, my favorite...