Well, after 5 days under “consolidated” status, we were FINALLY given
the go ahead to leave our centralized location and return to our
villages. Volunteers from the South are still unable to return due to
instability in the region. All trainees and volunteers from the North
were able to return to their respective villages and resume work. We
were given the news that we could return, and our excitement slowly
built as we hurried to pack, eat, and get in a last minute shower. We
packed 19 people into a marshrutka and drove down roads full of
potholes and reckless drivers, working our way through villages and
the real Kyrgyzstan until we reached our village. At first we were
very talkative and happy on the marshrutka, but we quieted down and
began to appreciate the village life and the mountains that we hadn't
seen in 5 days. The marshrutka dropped us off at our teacher's house,
and we formed a miniature parade as we dispersed throughout the
village to our own homes. I came up to my door as my little brother
was walking out. He lit up when he saw me, and he ran up to me and
shook my hand. I swear he asked me how I was at least 5 times! My
mom and sister came out, and we all expressed how happy we were that I
was back. They conveyed to me that they were sad that I was gone, and
they wondered everyday if I were coming back. I definitely felt very
appreciated! They heated up some tea and laghman (a kyrgyz food,
thick noodles with fried vegetables and meat. They make it vegetarian
for me!). I didn't even have time to unpack before class, we had tea
and chatted for about an hour. I left for language class for 2 hours,
came home and took a nap. I woke up to my apa knocking on my door and
asking me if I wanted a banya. So good! So I took a very relaxing
banya and shaved. When I came back in the house, there was food on
the table. We ate and I sat down with my apa to watch Russian
sitcoms. Anyhow, a perfect welcome back to my village – a nap, a
banya, delicious Kyrgyz food, and hanging out with the fam. I went to
bed early and woke up at 6 30 for my daily yoga and meditation routine
before class. I am so happy to be back! It is hard to believe that 2
or 3 days ago I was doubting if I would be able to come back to the
village. Today was great, after language class I studied with some
PCT friends, and then drew the mountains from our front yard. I ate
dinner and then went out to play soccer with some neighborhood boys.
The field was muddy and full of rocks, the goalposts were big chunks
of concrete, and it was so dark you could barely see the ball or other
players. It was a good time! Tomorrow we go to our hub, where we
will receive our last 4 shots (I will have received 13 in total since
I've been here!) and buy cell phones. We have only been apart for 2
days, but I already look forward to seeing other PCTs (Peace Corps
Trainees). Lastly, we will discover next week where our permanent
site placement is. There may be a bit of a delay, as they are
currently not sending any volunteers to the South. I am just excited
to find out where I am going! There are two areas in particular that
interest me:

–Naryn. It is the mountain oblast (province), very high altitude,
lots of snow, very epic. It is considered the most “Kyrgyz” oblast,
the home of traditional Kyrgyz culture. I am attracted to the
extremeness of the location and to the isolation. Plus, you don't
often get the chance to live in the second highest mountain range in
the world! Growing up in Ohio, riding my bike through -20 degree wind
chill, and living in a house with a thermostat set on 48 has really
primed me for the cold. The only turnoff for me is that there are
very few vegetables available in the winter, and people are known for
eating basically meat and potatoes throughout the winter. Ouch. The
capital of the oblast is Naryn city, which I believe has a population
of around 6 to 8,000.

–Talas. Talas is considered the most hospitable oblast. It is up in
the hills, but not as mountainous as Naryn. I am not sure how the
Kyrgyz of Talas could be any friendlier than the host families in our
village! They are so kind to us here. Talas also has very cold
winters and short summers, and I believe they may have a bit more
vegetables throughout the winter.

I have a feeling I will get placed in Naryn. Most volunteers try to
get placed by Ysyk Kol (the lake), and Naryn is considered a bit
daunting. Maybe I am shooting myself in the foot. Today in our
classwork we were reading the bus schedule between towns. One of the
towns was called Kara Balta, which translates to Black Hammer. I
totally wanna live in a town with a name like that!

4/22/2010 Ak Jol

Life in the village is good, and I feel happy to be here. Last week
we had elections for TAC (Trainee Advisory Committee), which is a
group of 7 that acts as a liaison between Peace Corps Trainees and
Peace Corps Staff. I wasn't going to run for the office, but someone
in my village nominated me, and I actually ended up getting the
position! I was really flattered and appreciative that someone
actually nominated me, and furthermore that I won. I will meet with
Peace Corps staff once a week to talk about ways to better PST (Pre
Service Training). Trainees apparently have a substantial voice in
PST, so I am excited to facilitate in this process. Other big news is
that next week we have our first LPI, which is some type of language
exam. There are a total of 3 levels (beginner, intermediate,
advanced) each with 3 tiers (low, medium, and high). A lot of host
families are really encouraging their trainees to get an advanced
score, which is apparently pretty difficult. I am shooting for it
though!

The schedule here is definitely intense, and the initial charm of
being here is starting to wear off. We generally have a combination
of language, technical, or cultural training about 8 hours a day, 6
days a week. The past few days have been long, with language
training, cultural session, TAC meetings, and technical sessions. It
is a bit daunting to think that I have 6 more weeks of this before I
am sworn in as a volunteer. Additionally, we will arrive to our
permanent sites in early summer, during summer break. We will need to
be very proactive in order to stay busy. It is a good time to get to
know our communities and local schools. I will be working as a
Teacher Trainer, or Team Teacher, in a rural village. I will
hopefully be integrating new teaching methods into schools, which is a
sustainable alternative to simply teaching myself. Every Team Teacher
has a counterpart, whom we will meet when we arrive to our permanent
sites. We can begin to work on strategies during the summer. I also
hope to start a free drawing workshop. I plan on having some type of
studio, with models and times to meet, as well as “homework”
assignments for people to work on outside of the workshop. Getting
back into drawing and painting has had a hugely positive effect on my
life in the past year, and I hope that I can share that passion with
others and hopefully inspire them in some way. I am thinking of other
projects, but for the time being my main focus is a drawing club. I
am sure that it will be plenty once school starts – teacher training,
classroom help, and drawing workshops. Plus we have to squeeze in
some social life there too!

Today we had our first “Active Practicum” (Peace Corps uses the
weirdest terminology. Does that really need to be in Latin?), where
our group of TEFL volunteers designed a lesson plan with a local
teacher, then taught to a class. We all taught in pairs to 8
different classes from 9 am to noon today. When we weren't teaching,
we observed others' teaching methods. Everyone did such a great job
today, I was so proud of my group! We have all been through a lot
together already – staging in Philadelphia, 22 hours of travel to
Kyrgyzstan, Ysyk Kol hotel, consolidation, language learning stress,
etc. Long story short, I feel very close to these people and I felt
so happy to be a part of this group. Today was definitely a really
exciting indicator of the future. We will continue teaching one class
a week for the next 6 weeks, while also focusing on classes and
technical training. My current challenge is to stay positive through
these long days. And to beat Q-Bert 3 on SNES.

One last note, a few of us volunteers shaved our beards before coming
to Kyrgyzstan. I saw an old picture of myself at my cousin's wedding.
I had a pretty decent beard, and I totally got nostalgiac. I talked
to a few guys here, and we are starting a beard pact. There are a
handful of us who are starting to grow beards again. It is going to
be epic when we all start showing up to meetings with our beautiful
bearded selves!

4/27/2010

This weekend we went hiking up the foothills of the Tien Shan
mountains. The foothills are really green, and most of the village
animals graze there during the day. We walked about a mile out of the
village and worked our way up the hills. There is a big graveyard
just outside of town that we walked past. It has Russian, German, and
Kyrgyz graves from the Soviet Union. A lot of the graves were from
the mid 1880's. The hills were really tall and steep, it was
definitely a bit tiresome to work through them. We could see all of
the local villages from the top, which was cool to see. Our town is a
lot smaller than we thought! I snuck off a bit from the group and
walked up a steep ridge. On the left side there was a big gorge with
water running through it. There were about 300 or 400 sheep and goats
grazing. Some of the goats had horns 10-12” long, and others were
jumping on rocks or across the gorge. Eventually I disappeared from
the sight of our supervisors, and it wasn't long before my cell phone
started ringing. We took our time going back down the hills, looking
at graveyards and talking to a few shepherds. I came home tired and a
bit sunburnt. I had a bite to eat with the family and passed out in
my bed.