she's where?

2007-02-22T02:28:00.000-08:00

Nyrizat won the Valentines competition with her dress and her salad!

some seniors

2007-02-22T02:22:00.000-08:00

these girls cut class to have some fun.....10 minutes later the boys came and destroyed it!

This is my pup, but he's all grown up now!

For Valentines we make cards.....

2006-08-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

some pics from summer camp

2006-06-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

1. 11th grade girls in their school uniforms and they HATE wearing them, but really who can blame them
2. my school
3. our schools teacher womans volleyball team, they came in 2nd this year

2006-06-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

1. Betsey another volunteer and i headed to Bishkek this past week for a little r&r. We met a lot of americans who were either coming home from afganistan or were just on vacation. We gave jeremy a tour of all of Bk's hot spots and got our portrait taken (the photographer told us to come back an hour later to get our photos, but he was nowhere to be found....such a scammer!)
2. dont let their looks fool you, these 7th graders are not as sweet as they may look
3. spring brought all sorts of new fragrances 4. not sure who this kid is or why he's dressed like that, kind of cool though

2006-06-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

1. Edu and Ata planting beans
2. our little house
3. so all of these students should be in school right now, but we needed help sorting out all of our potatoes...child labor laws just arent the same!

2006-06-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

2006-03-25T00:08:00.000-08:00

So lately there has been some issues about volunteers keeping blogs. There is tension around where to draw the line between free speach and what would be harmful to pc's or the host country's reputation. One volunteer has already had to resign because of these issues. In order to just avoid this situation all together im going to go with the mass email route, though not ideal it just seems easier. If I dont have your email address go ahead and send it to me at frischm@gmail.com (Corri Ayne that means you!).

2006-03-12T02:51:00.000-08:00

my host brother and i have been going hiking a lot in the hills, running into herds is pretty typical!

2006-03-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

this is my street, quaint huh!
Edu (host bro and new years dinner!
this is my host mom and her grandaughter...she's a trouble maker I tell ya!

2006-01-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

and you though going to the super market
was a pain...this guy is coming back from the
well with his trusty pal!

the other photo is me and some of my students. its my b-day so that means i can do whatever i want......at least thats what i told them!

2006-01-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, life in kr, definetely not one of convenience....
For instance only about 10% of the households here have a car and if they do have a car its a beater that needs to be worked on everyday. Now considering most people live in villages that are usually not big enough to contain most of the necessary things (a store, internet, post office) and there just isnt enough money to fund mass public transportation, they needed to get creative and so was born the marshruka. At times they are the bain of my existence and at other times they are my best friend. They basically are the public transportation of kr, but they are privately owned by individuals or 'companies'. they look like a VW bus with a camper top (do you know what i mean?) and they hold about 12 people. they run a specific route and pick up and drop off folks along the way, not at specific stops, but really wherever you want. this is nice if you dont want to walk any further than you have to, but the time really adds up after awhile. Last week I was on a marshruka headed from bakia-ata to talas and we picked up a fella on the road, 10 sec someone wanted to get off, 8 sec later someone else wanted to get off, 8 sec. later we picked up someone else. I timed it, in 1.5 minutes we stopped 7 times. the other thing about about marshrukas is that they are all about making a buck. 10-12 people can sit relatively comfortable but they will cram that thing so tightly that you are literally embracing the person standing next to you for support and to allow the 7 new people to get on. but hey its better that walking!
then there's laundry. I assumed that once the temperature dropped as it has that we would make a makeshift clothes line inside in order to dry our clothes....makes perfect sense to me. well, that's where im wrong. i did my laundry 4 days ago and no more than 2 minutes after I brought them outside, they were frozen solid....my pants are still able to stand on their own.
outhouse, freezing temperatures - enough said.
Technically, my house has running water (we have one sink that is hooked up to a hose and we only get cold water). But for some reason it has not been working for awhile and no one can explain to me why. So yesterday Edu (host bro) and i drove 16 kilometers to the river and bucket-by-bucket filled up two five gallon jugs that would last us until the next day. Some have wondered why it had been 20 days since i had bathed and the reason is that it is such a pain in the neck to get the water!
but i'm not complaining, as the coat of dirt grows so does my character....right?

2006-01-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!
I hope that the holidays have been great, wish I could of been there, but I have not been disappointed in KR! Is there snow at home? Most of the volunteers in Talas got together in a nearby village on the 23rd. We attempted to make mac-n-cheese, but failed miserably. we didnt let some bad mac-n-cheese get the best of us so to lift our spirits we went to the disco (which consisted of a volunteer hooking up his Ipod to some speakers) at the local school and got funky with a bunch of middle schoolers to crazy russian techno/pop. it's ridiculous how much fun I had!
Christmas Eve we brought out the classics and sang carols, made cookies and fried chicken, and had a gift exchange. I received pepper spray and pasta seasoning (not bad, one girl got old Neil Diamond cassettes!). we then moved the get together to another village for Christmas in KR part II. This second part involved a few more bottles of alchohol, a sled, two santa hats and a frisbie.....good times!
My birthday was fabulous, I had lessons, but i told the kids that i didnt want to work that day. Instead I had them teach me Kr games which were all a lot of fun, though i think that they were being easy on me. One student, this really quiet boy that sits in the back, made me a card that had a drawing of me and said 'my fond of teacher', sweet huh? Probably 14 times that day i had random groups of students come
up to me and sing me happy b-day (in english too) and I got twice as many kisses from all of the teachers - they're a very affectionate bunch! Later on my pal lisa (she lives in a village about an hour away) came out for lunch and we caught up on all the local Kr gossip. It was also my host dads b-day and he and some of his pals got into a bottle of vodka while the ladies shared some wine (this wine though is super sweet and super strong, you actually have to take shots, yuck). It seems like they got te hint that i miss my pups at home because muliple folks gave me stuffed puppies.
Kr being an Islam country and all, they dont really celebrate Christmas (there is a significant group of russians here and a lot of russian influence so some people do celebrate). Instead the big winter holiday is new years and its just about as big of a deal here as Christmas is at home, though they dont quite get going as soon as the day after thanksgiving because 1) they dont celebrate thanksgiving here,
i'm working on that one 2) they arent quite as neurotic as we are! There is a New Years tree though and Santa does come so i didnt miss out on some of the crucial Christmas Hub-bub. A few weeks before the hype started to grow and all anybody would talk about was janga jil! All the students decorated their classrooms and brought in radios so they could dance inbetween class. They really weren't in the mood to talk about simple present tense which was just fine with me since I was all caught up in the excitement! The last day before winter break the school put on a New Years performance. the younger kids went first and and they dressed up like their favorite magical creatures or in formal, prom-esque get ups....it was super cute. santa also came and they sang songs, and performed skits all around the christmas...i mean new year tree. I was really impressed by some of the singers. they all sang very traditional songs and some even played music to accompany. during the performances the rest of the kids would attempt at a box step. one of my students in the seventh grade (who's short for his age anyways) asked me to dance and really how could i say know! we had a great time and showed off to all the other kids. then it was time for the big kids to go. all of the students looked like they had stepped out of a cheesy 80s prom film. the girls wore big poofy dresses with the big sleeves and tacky colors, the guys actually looked pretty slick. there was a talent show and i have to give it to these kids for their nerves of steel. most of the 'talent' involved lip syncing to american pop songs and chorographing dances to go along with. oh it was so bad that it was so funny. After the formalities were out of the way the disco began. During school hours the relationship between the students is very formal and proper so I expected most of the teachers to keep to themselves. boy was i surprised when my apa, this chubby old woman with quite a bite, grabbed the first boy she saw and started getting jiggy!
So as you can see there was a lot of build up towards new years and unfortunately i was disappointed. the day started off good, i was able to bathe (yeah, it had been 20 days folks). then edu (host bro) and i left home with a burlap bag and a empty water bottle and headed to the neighbors where we got some milk (straight from the cow) and a turkey (still flapping). when we got back to house edu left the bird in the bad outside to run inside and get a knife. when we headed back out the turkey had escaped from its bag and was checking out the yard. Our attempt to corner it backfired because the darn thing ended up on the roof. One of the funniest images I have is edu on the roof squaking and flapping like a turkey and chasing the bird (which he finally got and took care of) instead of a nice stuffed turkey with mashed potatoes and stuffing we had the turkey over noodles and ate with our hands. not only was it bland as dirt, but also really messy. then i was expecting lots of people and dancing and just merriment, but the night of i hung out in my room till 11;30, then had a glass of champagne with the fam and called it a night. maybe it's because my host parents are a bit older and they are all partied out, but i'll know better next time!
So the holidays might not of been ideal, but they will be ones that i never forget!
~machalla

2005-12-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

This is Dustan and our cow. every morning he takes the cow out to the fields where it hangs out all day with the other cows. These are the folks from my village and the neighboring village. The boys are all wearing Kalpacs which is the traditional hat that the men wear. pretty slick huh? Hey grandpa, if I got you one would you wear it?
Some kids from school. The ones who look like they're trying for the french maid look are actually in their school uniform. It really doesnt get much cuter than this folks!

2005-12-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

December 1
I officially became a PC volunteer! It was such a great feeling to be done with training and to know that my two year service has finally started. It was also a nice thought to know that this will be the last major adjustment and hopefully the last time I will have to pack up my stuff. I haven't purchased anything big, yet I have twice as many bags, go figure. It was really a site the day we brought out luggage into the city in preparation of moving - the van was so full of people and stuff that folks were carefully wedged between the luggage and the ceiling.

The actual ceremony took place in a big theater. All the important PC officials were there, along with our families, some KR official, and the US ambassador. There were a few speeches, a lot of thank yous, we sang the national anthems, and lastly took an oath. The whole process took a long time because everything had to be translated into Kyrgyz and Russian. Even worse, the theater wasnt heated and it was a cold day. Everyone made this big effort to look nice (and all that means is that we washed up and wore something other than the one outfit we wear for weeks on end) but if one were to look at the people on the stage and then the audience, all they would see is people hidden in their big coats and furry hats.

At the end of the ceremony we had to say good by to our families and that was a lot harder than I thought it would be. There were a lot tears and hugs and kisses. It is nice to know that I will always be able to go back and visit and it's somewhere that I would like to go back to.
After the ceremony we made our way to Bishkek (the capital) and stayed in a hotel for one last hoop-la while we were all still together. That night we were also invited to the ambassadors house for dinner. Even by American standards, her house was amazing. It looked like a mini fortress with the walls and the guards, but once we got inside she was waiting for us in jeans and a sweatshirt. The best part was the food. She served pizza, hamburgers, tuna fish sandwiches, chips n salsa - really anything that doesnt consist of sheep fat or potatoes is amazing! oh, and she had real toilets - also very exciting! It was almost a little embarrassing the way we swarmed the caters, but we figured (hoped) that they understood.

The next day we said more good byes and made our way across KR. To get to my region one has to eithergo through the mountains or through Kazahkstan (yah, that's how isolated it is, you have to leave the country in order to get there). The road through the mountains is not paved and pretty narrow, so using it during the winter is out of the question. Crossing the borders into and out of KR was a pain in the neck and the whole trip took about 7 hours, but I finally made it to Bakia-Ata. Let the good times role!

December 8
Ive been in Bakia-Ata for just about a week now and I have to say that i'm pretty content. The house is comfortable enough (that doesnt mean there's running water or indoor plumbing though) and I have a nice room all to myself. Oh, and they have sattelite..I know, can you believe it? I cant understand a damn thing because it's all in Russian, but it's so strange how they dont have things that I would consider a neccessity and they do have things that are just excessive...I really cant complain though, Russian MTV, though not quite the same as American MTV, is still pretty entertaining!

I like the family alot, the parents are a bit older and they have a 14 yr. old boy still at home. The son has made it his mission to teach me Kyrgyz, so we've spent a lot of time huddled over the dictioanary, or resorting to drawings, to talk to eachother. I even got him to teach me the bad words though he made me promise not to tell his mom! The family is incredibly attentive, to the point where they are just spoiling me...I feel a little bad, but there's really nothing I can do about it!

My first week of teaching has been interesting if nothing else. Everyone from the director, assistant director, my host mom and brother has threatened the students to an inch of their life if they do not behave. Their threatsmore or less role off of the students backs, these kids are no amatuers. They're not bad kids, just noisy and active and I dont think they quite take me seriously yet. I'm teaching all of the 5,6,7 and 8 graders, which is about 120 students. Though they've been studying English since they were about 9, most of them could only tell me their names and that they were pupils that live in Bakia-Ata. It seems that they have been taught how to read English, but there isn't any comprehension to go along with it. Not quite sure yet how im going to go about this whole teaching thing....

The school itself is a piece of work. It's this big block left over from the soviets. If they have lights they certainly dont use them. It's cold, damp and dark. The director is making a big effort to get heat, but it's still nothing like im used to. Ive requested to have my own classroom (typically the teachers move from room to room) and it looks like i'll be getting one soon. The school system in Kyrgyzstan has a reputation of being corrupt and it is not an uncommon thing for students to buy their grades from their teachers throughout their whole school career. Also school directors are known for taking a lot of money away from the schools for themselves. I have a good impression of my director, I think that she is sincere and wants the best for the school. When we first met she told me that she wanted me to focus more on organizing clubs for the kids than writing grants.
*******
Some people have asked what is the best way to send stuff. The mail system here isnt as reliable as the States and we do have to worry about things being stolen. One girl had a big box of Godiva chocolate sent and all they left her was one piece. Besides letters, dont send anything in a big envelope, they're just really easy to break into. Also, make sure that you send things by air instead of by boat,since KR is landlocked getting parcels here by land just gets complicated. And when you are writing down contents of package be as vague and uninteresting as possible, lie if youneed to. Oh and if you insure it for even a few dollars they are less likely to touchyour stuff. Out of the packages that ive received Ive only had one problem with a big envelope filled with chocolate and I never got the chocolate.
things that would always be good to get; food, drink mix, classroom supplies (construction paper), magazines etc
Also my address has changed. here's the new one

Kyrgyzstan
Talas Oblast
Bakia-Ata Rayon
Bakia-Ata 722726
Cagimbek uulu Kanibek Street #5
Machalla Frisch

and heres my cell phone number996-502-169-279

all the best, machalla

2005-11-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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

2005-11-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

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

2005-11-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

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...

2005-10-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

and in my neck of the woods...

Ramadam began at the beginning of the month, and from what I understand, it is an Islam
tradition that seems similar to the Catholic Lent. For basically a month a person is
supposed to fast from impure thoughts and vices and the way that this is symbolized is
that the person does not eat or drink (even water) while the sun is up...this description
is coming entirely from observation, so I might be way off! As with most
religions and traditions there are varying degrees of commitment and as far as I can tell
only a few folks in my village are fasting and they typically tend to be the older
generations. One part of the tradition that everyone seems to get really into is Orozo,
or the time when the fast is broken at the end of each day. It's really just a big party
and people just take turns hosting. I got home the other night and there were about
20 people sitting around a table that was just covered with food....and I mean there
wasn't one spare inch of room. I soon found out that this was just tea, the real meal hadn't
even started yet! Dinner soon follows, though, and basically an entire sheep is
brought out on platters and portions (or more accurately, parts) are handed out depending
on how you rank in the family. The grandmas got the brain, the older men got some intestine
and I got some of the tongue. At this point I'm starting to wonder if they purposely try
and gross me out for their own amusement. I think that they got a real kick out of
watching me take a bite, gag, and then tell them how good it was. I think that they know
when I'm just being polite, but that didn't stop them from offering me the butt fat!

Though I'm not always crazy about their food preferences, I can't deny that they Kyrgyz
are incredibly gracious hosts. They go out of their way every time in order to serve
and cater to their guests, for instance, they will only fill the tea cup half way
in order to show that they are being attentive to the needs of their guests (Of course,
most of this responsibility falls onto the daughter-in-law, who we like to call Cinderella).
It's almost impossible that anyone will ever leave a Kyrgyz home not stuffed to the max
and even if the family doesn't have much they will put whatever they have onto the table.
As much work as it takes to be a host, I'm finding that being a guest also its work.
Saying no to food is sort of taken as a personal insult so trying a bite of everything is
mandatory (hence the sheeps tongue) and just stopping by someones house usually takes
at least an hour because they insist that you have tea with them (and it's never just
tea). Part of the PC survival guide is how to deal with pressure to eat and drink too
much...my favorite is "my kidnies are tired".

This past week and then next week, we are testing out our teaching skills in the local
schools in our village. It really is one of those situations where you either sink or learn
how to swim real fast! We have basically no resources to help us out besides some chalk
and a Kyrgyz dictionary. As my host brother kindly informed me, it's really an impossible task.
The first week wasn't as frightening
as I thought it would be. Being an American automatically gives us celebrity status, yes
I even signed autographs, and the kids are more intersted in knowing about life in
America rather then how to congugate verbs (I know they must be crazy, verbs are my
favorite). It's hard to take these classes seriously when the students show up when they
want to, if they show up at all that is, and English is not something that they study
normally so chances are pretty good that it will not be retained. I've given it a good
shot, we've done greetings (yah, I taught them 'what up' and 'see ya'...im going to have
some hip kids) and numbers, but we've also played games. I'm trying to make it as
entertaining as possible, otherwise they just wont come back!

Part of the deal in being a teacher with PC is that they want you to bring in American
ideas and styles of teaching. The school curriculum here is left over from the
Soviet era so they really encourage perfection and conformity rather than creativity.
Even the text books that the students use are few and way out of date. For instance,
I was looking through one and found titles such as, "Lenin's Modesty" and "Study as
Lenin studied". There was also a description of American politics, "There are two main
political parties in the USA, the Democrats and the Republicans. They are both
parties of capitalists and the American people do not see any difference between them."
I know that we're not perfect, but come on! There is also very little money going to
the schools and things that we would consider mandatory, like text books or desks,
are either in poor condition or they just dont exist. The class that I'm teaching is
full of 16 year olds and they have to sit in desks that were made for 10 year olds...
I have to say thats it is a bit entertaining watching them fumble their way in and
out of them!

My days are getting really routine and soon I will be low on stories, let me know
if there is anything specific that you want to know about!

all the best,
machalla

2005-10-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

on a side note....
meals here so far have been pretty mild, nothing to exciting and have not required a lot of guess work. In my family we basically rotate between 5 standarddishes which always include bread and usually pasta or potatoes. Boring, but it gets the job done. I go in tonight and on the table is a big platter with a sheeps stomach which has been stuffed, tied at both ends and boiled. Folks, it really doesnt get much more graphic then that. I pointed to the gut and they assured me that wasn't what we were eating, or maybe i'm trying to make myself believe that's what they were telling me...usually, neitherone of us has any idea what the other is saying. Refusing food is sort of a big social no-no and they werent serving anything else, so I had to dig in. It reminded me of mom's meatloaf....and mom i'm not trying to say that your meatloaf tastes like it was just reguritated by a sheep,but it just had similar texture, flavor and mysteriousness. Definitely a situation where I was almost thankful for the language barrier. I have a feelingthat I really just don't want to know what I ate!
~machalla
the photo is of my host mom, Erland (the 2 year old) and Iziza. they are in the kitchin/dining room.
The other is from my trip to the lake
PS. Dad will you let me know if the photos posted alright...

2005-10-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

On tuesday all of the trainees hit the road to all corners of Kyrgyzstan to visit current volunteers. It was our big chance to leave the nest and see what life is really like in the Peace Corps. Considering how little we have actually been able to do on our own, it was a bit surprising when the directors gave us a map and some written directions and wished us luck on getting to where we needed to be. It's nice that they have so much confidence in us, but remember we just got to verbs in our language lessons...not too helpful on the road. I ended up being really lucky though, the volunteer that I was goingto be staying with, Rich, was giving a talk to our whole group the day before we were to leave. He just stayed an extra night and took us the whole wayto the lake. I really cant believe that PC doesn't require some sort of excort. the transportation services here are not corporate or standardized at alland people who look like they dont know what is going on get taken advantage of a lot. And it's not like you can tell the driver to take a hike...i can tell him that he's wearing a sweater, but that's about it.
This might be a bit boring, but a little about how Kyrgyzstan is set up. It is divided into different oblasts, or districts. there's Osh and Jalalabad in the south and they are known for being a lot more conservative and traditional. It's supposed to be really hot there during the summer, which is a downside, but on the upside, they have more fruits and veggies. Naryn is considered the most isolated oblast. It's located in a valley that's way up in the mountains so it gets frigid cold and the mountains make leaving almost impossible 6 monthes out of the year. One has to wonder why anyone would choose to settle there and I hear that it was a result of the Russians invading and the Kyrgyz hiding out somewhere where no one would be crazy enough to follow. Desperate times call for desperate measures. As for the North of Kyrgyzstan, I dont know a whole lot of details, except that it's where Bishkek is located, which is the capitol and the biggest city. Then there's Issyk-kul, which is where the lake it and is where I went on my visit.
So about the lake. It's called Lake Issyk-kul which means warm lake. Because of it's size (its really huge), depth, saltiness (i dont know where the salt comes from)and some thermal activity it never freezes. It's actually insulting if you feel the water and say that it's cold, though it's really not any warmer than the Puget Sound. This is really a pretty area and is a big tourist hot spot - a lot of Russians and Kazaks as well as Kyrgyz come for the summer. Thepeople that live here make about 80% of their income just during the summer months and off of tourism. The recent revolutions have really impacted folkscoming around and a lot of people are worried that they wont have enough money to make it through the winter.The water is super clean and crystal blue, there's only like six boats on the entire lake and surprisingly it's not being polluted. Two big mountain ranges border both sides of the lake and the North Shore where I was, is in the foot hills of smaller, green mountains.
On the North Shore there are 4 volunteers that are spread out between 4 different villages and they are all within a half hours ride from eachother. It wasa really nice set up because each volunteer was having one or two trainees staying with them and we all got together pretty much every day. Alex, anothertrainee, and I stayed with Rich, who is probably the closest thing to a frat boy that we are going to see in Kyrgyzstan! He was an awesome host and the familythat he lives with were really nice. The daughter, who is about 16, speaks english really well, so between her and Rich, Alex and I were able to keep up. Heeven made us pizza and starbucks coffee! After three weeks of bread and noodles, it was amazing! I wasn't able to sleep all night from the coffee, but itwas a sacrafice that I would make 10 times over!
We went with Rich to his classes, which was so good because at this point I'm really wondering how I will be equipped to teach anything in just a few months. Alex and I really stood out, so a majority of the time was spent playing twenty questions. There were the usual, where are you from, how old are you, what'syour name and then there was, do you have a husband, why dont you have a husband, when are you going to get a husband, oh, and what are my goals and aspirations.It was a little uncomfortable at times, but coming out of this, I'm feeling a lot better about teaching. I'm not trying to kid myself into thinking that it will be easy,but they are really starting from the basics and there's no set curriculum so you can spend as much time as you need to on the lessons. Most volunteersteach between 2-4 hours a day and also run clubs. Most clubs are centered around speaking English, but really you can make up a club around whatever you are interested in. For instance, Rich has a sports club, so twice a week he heads out to the soccer field with ball and a frisbee and plays for a few hours.A lot of the boys are a bit 'too-cool-for-school' so it usualy ends up being just rich and 15 girls! I think that they are all hoping to score themselvesan American boy!
The volunteers really showed us a good time. We spent some time at the beach, just hanging out and playing cards. We also went on this amazing hike. It wasa path that followed a river through the foothills. There were a lot of trees, which is rare for this country, the mountains, grazing horses...really justthe works. There was one mishap though. A couple of the girls were approached by a mountain man with a few horses. Due to lack of communicationskills (and it probably didnt help that the dude had been drinking) - wanting to just take a photo on the horse ended up turning into a ride on the horse. The gear ended up being pretty shotty and both girls fell off, one of them hurt her leg pretty bad. Fortunatley, and really randomly, a big work truckfull of Russian teenagers pulled up and gave us all a ride back to our taxis. We still dont know what they were doing out there, but in some situations itsbetter to not ask questions. From what I hear, child labor laws aren't the same as they are in the states. For instance one day at the school a few classeswere packed into the back of a big truck to go and spend the day digging potatoes and it is doubtful that furthering their education was the purpose - this is justwhat happens duing harvest season. It doesn't sound like it's the same as going to the pumpkin patch...when they came back at the end of the day they had a huge load of potatoes. I hear that they get payed for it, but I doubt that it really amounts to anything.
Overall, it was a great trip and I am really hoping that I will get placed somewhere in the area for my permanent site. It doesn't sound like I have anysay in the decision at all, but I will try my best!
hope all is well,~machalla

2005-10-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our introduction to KR culture and really the more I see, the stranger this culture gets. Our KR coordinators put on a festival for usat a holy monument, or a 25 meter tower in the middle of nowhere. To start things off, we of course had to slaughter a sheep and drain its blood...you knowthe usual. Later on I find out its going to be lunch. Honestly, it wasnt that horrible and was very ceremonial. There was a prayer and song before and thewhole thing was over really quick.
but, then they bring around a goat and they wont tell us what's for.....it's a surprise.
We got an introduction to traditional KR sports. One game involves two men on horses trying to wrestle the other off his horse. Another, is yourtypical guy-chases-girl game, except that its on horses and the guys have to try and get the girl and kiss her. The best part is though, is that if theguy misses the girl she gets to chase him with a whip and beat him up! The other game was sort of like polo, there were two teams on horses, wrestling overwhat we thought was a burlap bag. Ha, we were wrong- wondering what happened to that goat....well it was also slaughtered beheaded and it became the "ball". You've just got to wonder, out of all the things that could of been used as the ball, how a headless goat was chosen. I mean if you really want to get messy, one could always bust out a watermelon.....

The rest of the day was filled with lots of music, dancing and food, including chunks of sheep fat (which I politely declined)....apparently it's a real treat. But my favorite was the fermented mares milk. In the slight chance you ever get offered fermented mares milk I would highly recommend that you pass it up...it tastedlike carbonated spoiled milk. I suppose that if one was really desperate for an alchoholic drink it would do, but what a price to pay for a buzz!
Since we're on the subject of food anyways, I just have to say that I am quickly getting tired of the food here. Fruits and veggies are scarce, and in the winter I hear that it's even worse. On a typical day I will have bread with butter and tea for breakfast, for lunch bread with some salami and cucumbers and an apple or two, then dinner its bread, some noodle soup or fried potatoes, and some cucumbers and tomatoes. Seeing a trend? I know thatI need to get used to it, and it's not that it tastes bad, but it all tastes the same! I am hoping that once I get to my permanent site that I willbe able to cook for myself....or attempt to cook for myself.

the photo is my house....will try and post more later
k

2005-09-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

so last night i washed my laundry, by hand and by myself! it took a good hour and a half to do two pairs of pants, a skirt, a few shirts and my undies. i will be so much more careful now and try to not make any messes...it's just too much effort! the entire family just watched and laughed as i took a bar of soap to my undies....i guess im just clumsy-that bar of soap was just going everywhere!

language lessons are intense. im learning all about sentence structure and tenses, but not conversational techniques. everyday when i get home, my fam wants to know about all the new words i learned. i attempt to explain that i can show them what happens to a verb when i use it in the past vs the present, but they get bored before im finished. the other night i had an anatomy lesson with them and learned probably more than i needed to! it was entertaining so say the least.....remember what i said about the grandma, yah, she doesnt hold anything back!

next week we are all going out into the country to stay with a volunteer thats been in country for at least a year. im going to lake isakuyl (its huge, you should look it up) along with another trainee to stay with a fella named rick. im really excited to get away for awhile... im feeling very confined at the moment since i really cant do anything on my own-my host mom still walks me to the bus stop!

that's all for now....oh, i officially cant read the comments so email me!
machalla

2005-09-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was the big day when we met our host families. Everyone met at a bigrestraunt and the host families were already there waiting for us when we arrived. Talk about nervous! Each host family had a name of a volunteer so it was sort of a who's-who game as soon as we unloaded. My Apa found me, gave me a big hug and kiss and a dozen roses....not too shabby. After theinitial greetings though neither of us could really talk to eachother...we made a few feeble attempts to find out info. but it usually ended in both of us just shrugging.The Kyrgyz people are really big on being good hosts. I think that during our45 minutes together she offered me tea 12 times and twice as often with all the food! All during this lunch, though, I'm freaking out that she doesnt realize how much stuff I actually have. Not only do I have my two huge bags, but PC gave us a duffel full of medical stuff as well as a space heater. We were both pretty shocked when the time came to load up becausenot only was the car the size of a small toyota, but that was the transportaion for not one,but two volunteers and all of our crap! It was such a sight when we got everything sorted out, I felt that I had just stepped into a cartoon. there were suitcases, heaters, arms and legs sticking out all over the place. But we did manage to get all the luggage and people crammed in. but didall the people and luggage stop the driver from getting to where he needed to be in a timely manner....certainlynot. The Kyrgyz roads are interesting. they havent been worked on since the soviet timeso they are just falling apart...there's an urban legend among the PC crew that a volunteer fell into a pothole and was never seen again! there's also no lines to guide traffic. everyone more or less stays to their sides, but the middle is fair game, you just haveto be quick!
my new house is simple...and i mean really simple, but it's clean. it is divided among two seperate buildings. one is the bedrooms and the formal living room. my room isnt bad. plenty of space, a dresser, twotwin beds, a table and a big window with lace curtains. its not the Hilton, but i can't complain.
to get to the rest of the house you have to do a hop, skip and a jump outside to the next building.there's a makeshiftkitchen with a small burner and a small fridge. there's no running water at all, but they do have a sort of bucket with a stopper that you can control for washing up. the dining room table is about a foot off the ground and yes they have a tv. UsuallyRussian soap operas are on, but they do have a version of MTV...thank goodness forpop culture!
attached to the kitchen house are the stables, and yes the smell is unpleasant. they have a lot of sheep, a couple of cows, a horse, a dog (who i think is always caged and this is not a big cage) and a little kitten. every morning all of the sheep in the village are herded up by a couple of boys on horses and taken to graze. Then every evening the oldest son meets the herd at the end of the driveway and calls his sheep. it was the strangest thing that I've ever seen. out of this ball of cotton a stream of about a dozen sheep went down the driveway and right into their stalls.
oh, yes ive saved the best for last. the toilet is way out behind the stalls in the back-40. Now everone imagine an outhouse, take away the entire seat, add a hole in the floor and that what ive got. its not the best situation, but my aim has gotten really good!
so now the family. as soon as i arrived they all greeted me with a big hug and a kiss. there are three kids, two boys-ages 2 and 13, and a girl who's 15. then mom and dad (whoi have not actually met yet...he's around but sort of allusive) and then grandmawho is just adorable and a lot of fun. they have been nothing but nice and justseem like really good people. the first day they just showed methe ropes then the daughter (Iziza) and I played frisbee for awhile.
and that's when it all went down hill....right before dinner i just got hit with this wave of nausea and knew that i was going tohurl. so i had to decide pretty quick whether i was just going to let it go right outsidewhich is also the walkway between houses or try to make it way out to the toilet. i decided that the embarrassment of having to watch my host mom clean up after me wasenough motivation to get me out into the fields. i will spare you the details, but i didmake it and spent some quality time out there. when i got back in i tried to explainthat i was sick, and i think that they got it, but they insisted that i eat some potatoes andhave some tea. i was back out in the field in no time. so the first day was a bit tough.
The next day all the volunteers met up in a bigger city for some safely/culture lessons. i wasfeeling sorry for myself the whole ride there, but when we reached the school there were atleast a dozen people in worse shape than me. apparantly, we contracted food poison atlunch and about 20 people were up all night with the runs and nausea. they had to bring inIVs for some folks. we were a sorry sight! our topic for that day's lesson was what all about diarreaha...fitting.
One girl, who is my closest friend here, decided today that she was going to go home. she hasa boy at home that she has missed a lot and she was one who got really, really sick. i think that today was just the final straw. there's another volunteer, Christian, who hasalso become a good friend, who is thinking about going home. his experience with the host familywas really bad and tonight he is staying in a hotel and trying to get in with another
family....i guess we'll see.
so all in all things are good. i 'm going to have to take it just one day at a time;when i start thinking about staying here for two years i really question whether this is something that I want. It's really just a different world out here and its notcomfortable yet....obviously I just got here and I figure that the first months, at least,will be the hardest. I think the big test will be when i have to go to the toilet inthe middle of winter brrrrrr!

Saturday september 24
Ive been in my village for a few days now and each day I feel more and more comfortable...oh and im feeling a lot better. hopefully, the worst is over! My family is so great. they are so good to me and are just a happy and loving family. sometimes i feel just like an infant, not really able to do much on my own or even say anything. Erland, thetwo year old, and I are buds. I think that we have an understanding.
Iziza is the 15 yr. girl. She is at school during the day, but they finish up at 1:00, then she'shome and doing chores. they work so hard around here it's ridiculous, but i think that theyare preparing for the long winter. they have been canning a lot and drying corn (maybe for the animals) and shearing the sheep etc. Iziza is so sweet and really happy...and she helps me with my homework!
Dustan is 12 and the oldest son. He's really the man around the house. as soon as he get's homefrom school he's grazing the sheep, fixing the saddle...ya know the man stuff.
did i mention that all the kids are ridiculously cute?
the dad drives a water truck and i've never actually met him. he leaves before I wake up and comes backin the evening for an hour or so, then he's gone again and gets back after im asleep. i dontknow how to ask yet what's up.
mom is great. she does it all and takes really good care of her family and tries to teach me kyrgyz.every morning she packs me a lunch and walks me to class...it's cute.
grandma is my favorite. she is so friendly and affectionate and really animated. if any of youhave met my grandpa, she reminds me a lot of him!
the gender roles are really defined here. girls take care of the house and the kids and the boyswork outside. it's not just habit though, but in seems strictly enforced. the other nightDustan was going to take his bowl to the kitchen and the mom told him not to and Iziza picked it up.
My village is about 20 minutes away from the nearest town and most folks dont have cars here. the public transportation is called a marshuka, its really just a glorified mini van, and it's parkedit one of my neighbors yard. I dont know yet if they run whenever, or if you ask him to take you places.there really arent bus stops, so whenever you go somewhere you just pick up folks along the way. the marshuka drivers are all about making that extra dollar and they will use any extra space for anotherbody. it get's a little cozy!
today I had my first shower (or banya). Yah, it's been a few days, but this was so worththe wait, it was awesome! the banya is another building all it's own and it a big concretebox thats divided into a dressing room and then the bathing room. it's just like walkinginto a sauna except that theres a tank that dispenses hot water which you mix with cold water in a big pot. then you just pour water over yourself, wash up, and rinse off. simpleenough. the best part though is that this big kettle sits on a bed of rocks so it'seasy to make a lot of steam. so there ya go, you can bathe, then sit down and relax for a bit. this whole thing is heated by a little stove imbedded in the wall thatsits underneath the kettle. looks like im only going to be getting one about once a week, but my Apa said that if i wanted to wash up with just some hot water from the stovemore often that would be ok.
I finally had dinner with the dad today. we didnt talk at all. it's not that he's mean, but i guess just not interested. not a big deal though, since he's really never here....
alright, this nonsense has gone on long enough!
mac

ps. sorry about the combined words...there's been some formatting issues

also, i have not been able to access my email yet so this is the best way to get ahold of me

2005-09-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

September 15
And so it begins...a crew of 66 folks from around the country met up in philly today to get this whole ball rolling. the whole idea of "Staging" is give an introduction to theprogram and to get us all in one place so that there arent 66 lost americans trying to make their way to Kyrgyzstan. there are people from 36 different states with ages ranging from 21 to 59. needless to say it is a pretty diverse group! our group doesnt really fit the stereotypic picture of peacecorps volenteers. theres no long dread locks or pseudo hippies and ive had to dress a lot nicer here than i ever had to at home.
the meaty part of staging has not been very exciting. its basically been cheesy get-to-know you games and infomation meetings....except that none of the facilitators have ever been to Kyrgyzstan so you can imagine how helpful they are. but we did bond and we shared what are goals and aspirations are and what scares us the most. we were all able to agree that we want to buy fuzzy hats and we are all terrified of fermented mares milk and being eaten by giant toxic fish. i plan on buying a fishing pole and eating the fish before it eats me!

September 20
After 16 hours of flight and 6 hours of lay over in Istanbul we finally arrived in Bishkek airport at 1am this morning. there wasnt much time for cheers though,because almost immediatly we were herded onto a couple of buses and taken to our hotel. Our hotel is this huge, concrete, soviet style compound that must of been incredible during its prime, but has long since seen better days.
the past couple of days has pretty much been a repeat of staging except that it's been country specific and we've been able to meet all of the big honchosthat run the show over here. the mass of 66 of us were broken up into smaller groups which will be our training group for the next 3 months. each groupis given a language/culture facilitator and they will be the one who, you guessed it, will be teaching us the language and culture! each group with their LCFis leaving the hotel this morning and moving to our own village, which means that we will all meet our host families! there are 4 people in my group and ourLCF is Astr.
Im a bit nervous about meeting the host family, there's always that fear of ending up with the Adam's family, but in the end it will be nice to be able to unpack and to stop wondering what exactly im getting myself into.
wish me luck!machalla

2005-09-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

so just in case you havent heard, as of september 13 i will begin my treck to the kyrgyz republic (aka kyrgyzstan)with the peace corps. don't worry, i had to look it up as well. turns out that there is really such a country way out in the middle of asia...who would of thought!

this is a 27 month stint where i will be teaching english in a secondary school. basically at this point everything is a mystery to me. i dont know the language, the people, anything about the culture or way of life, how to do my job, where i will be living...and the list goes on! most of this is because we will all be figuring it out as we go...really it's a pain - do i use the little bit of extra room to bring a few more pairs of clean underwear or should i instead pack my french press and a bag of coffee? what i do know is that i will be going with other americans, i will have three months of INTENSIVE training where i will hopefully gain enough knowledge in the above areas to make it on my own, im going to living with a host family, i will not shower regularly, the toilets will most likely be outside, electricity is not a guarantee all the time, i will wash my clothes by hand, and i have to get used to wearing a skirt. i know, a bloody skirt...i couldnt believe it when i heard!

at this point im getting anxious to go. it seems like ive been getting ready for so long that i just want to get this show on the road. of course im nervous, but it's mainly because i just dont know what to expect. im a pretty adaptable person and im pretty sure that i will be able to handle whatever they throw at me (and thanks to my dad i have about 10lbs of vitamins so there is no way im getting sick).

a lot of people have asked me why i decided to join...and it usually comes across that they think that im a little nuts for doing so. one reason is that im just not ready to grow up. i just graduated from the uw and i felt that the next productive step was to either get a real job, continue on with school or join the peace corps....and obviously the last one was the most attractive to me! the peace corps really attracted me because put such a strong emphasis on the volunteer becoming a part of a community and adopting their way of life as well as sharing amerian culture. they they go to the parts of the world that are unknown or forgotten by the rest of the world. they go to the places where no one else wants to go. i really want to see a new culture that hasn't been 'americanized', where people aren't so caught up in money, consumerism and technology, becuase they really dont have any. im not trying to be anti-usa, but for me it is important to get a glimpse of how the rest of the world lives, because most dont live like we do. i know that this is going to be a challenge and that at times it will be too hard, but the potential rewards that may come of the experience are enough to make me want to go. i want to see how rugged i really am!

anyways, i will update this whenever i can and i would love to be caught up in news from home!
here's my address until mid december...just in case *wink*

97 Lenina Street, RUPS
Mailbox #23
722140, Kant City
Kyrgyz Republic
Machalla Frisch

all the best,
machalla