The First WEEK
This is my journal from the past week, most recent is last….
But its all pretty damn funny
Oh my god. Lets just leave it at that. If I have ever thought that I have had it rough before, I lied. I am damn spoiled rotten. Today was probably the most difficult day of my life. Nothing even compares. Nothing. There is nothing like the feeling you get when you meet people 100% different from you that you cannot communicate with.
We left the hotel today at 8 to head into the city of Bishkek (I am not in Russia for those of you who think so. I am in Kyrgyzstan which is its own country), to buy flowers for our host families and to call home and check our email. We took a Marchuka or a big taxi. To me it looks somewhat like a VW Van. Honestly, we had more than 20 people stuffed into the van. It cost 5 som each way, or about seven cents for the ride. The Marchuka dropped our group; Xouhoa, (Sou-a), Rebecca, Jessica and I off with our language coordinator, Bakyet in town. We had good Internet but really crappy phone lines, which Dad can probably agree. All the girls immediately cried together while checking our emails. We each spent around 80 som to check email and make calls, or about $2. And that’s at 4 som per minute which is not bad. It cost me 80 som to talk to Dad, but only 5 for a ride all the way into the city. Crazy…
We bought all our flowers from a lady selling flowers on the street. She had a busy day today. We then took a Marchuka back to the hotel, where we had to re-load all of our gear to take to Tokmok, our hub site. This time, the Peace Corps rented a moving van. We arrived at Tokmok after an hour-long bus ride. Our families were waiting for us at a café. They clapped and greeted us with flowers. We all had nametags with our names and our host parents names to get matched up. Myriam found me right away. She and her husband were extremely excited and introduced me to all of the neighbors picking up other volunteers. We all sat and had a meal. Our host mothers or apas dished our plates for us. Xouhoa is a very small Chinese/Laocian girl and her Ata, (host father) insisted she eat, eat, eat. Lunch is the main meal here. Dinner is usually just something simple, but lunch is a three-course meal. We had scones stuffed with meat, rice with meat and veggies, bread, tea, watermelon, grapes, apples, salad and water. We all just kind of pick at our meals, we really try to portionize.
After lunch we headed off, and it was a damn circus. Our luggage had been unloaded for us, we just had to find it. Myriam and her husband who’s name I don’t know, have a car to take me to their home in a village about 15 minutes away. Not many people do. We all loaded my two huge bags, my massive backpack and my new electrical heater and medical kit into an old Audi. On the drive we passed donkeys pulling carts in the street (there is no right side of the road, you just pick one), horses, cows in the road, dogs, children playing in the street (So dad, next time you tell someone to go play in the street, think about it), garbage and chickens.
We arrived at a bright blue house with stars on it, I don’t know what they symbolize and I certainly can’t ask, keep in mind I don’t even have a Kyrgyz dictionary, as they are pretty hard to come by in the states. THEY DO NOT SPEAK RUSSIAN HERE!!! I think that between all 66 of us we have 2. The Peace Corps will issue them tomorrow though. Myriam has 2 sons that I know of so far, and they unloaded my bags for me. She made me unpack immediately in my room. My room is three times bigger than my room in my apartment in Moscow. I have an armoire and lots of shelves and they all are lock and key. We unpacked together as Myriam stays by my side all the time. I think she was overwhelmed by my clothing, but what can you do?
My room is covered in huge rugs. On the floor and the walls. I have a table and two chairs in the center to study at, and a full-length mirror as well. The houses here are split in half. I must take my shoes off when I enter my side of the house, which also contains the formal dining room and another bedroom. I don’t know who sleeps in it. The other side of the house is the kitchen and living room area, where they have a color TV.
After unpacking, it was immediately time for tea, of course. And Myriam set up a feast. I tried to eat a small amount of bread but if you read above I have bronchitis and its bad today. No voice, not even a little bit. So even if I could communicate, I couldn’t. Myriam understands this though and gives me lots of tea. She put out, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, cookies, candies, bread, raisins, dried fruit, butter, tea, jam that goes in the tea, walnuts (which I have no idea how they crack, I’m assuming with their teeth, since most of them are gold), raw meat and apples. I tried some fruit and had more tea, but all this food is just not inviting. We watched It could Happen To You in Russian on the TV, and she set up my water purifier as well. After a bit she showed me the toilet. From now on when all of you sit down on your cozy, plush toilets, don’t take it for granted. I have an outdoor stall, all wood, with a hole in the ground. You squat to use it, and of course, Myriam goes with me outside, But the best part, to get to the outhouse, you have to walk through about 5,000 chickens, three cows, a donkey and some sheep. And of course all the neighbors stare at me as well.
After that Myriam let me go and take a nap. She woke me up an hour later, holding a baby. I think it is her granddaughter and after some cognitive process of elimination, I figured out that one of her sons is married and this was his child – Emoot. Here when you get married you move in with your husband’s family. I took the baby, and we went into the kitchen/living room area for more tea (called Chai here). Unfortunately, something triggered me and I lost my nerve, Tears poured. And poured, Couldn’t hold them back at all. So, Myriam of course had no clue what to do. I went back to my room and pointed to a picture of my real apa (Mom), and of Katie and she got the idea. Thankfully at that exact moment Bakyet showed up at the house and explained what was wrong with me and suggested that I keep on walking with him to the closest volunteer’s house to visit. So I did. Had to take off my socks though, as I forget to say, Myriam insists that I wear socks at all times, which is a real pain in the ass since my house shoes are flip flops. Plus, everyone knows how much I hate socks.
So Bak and I headed down to see Rebecca. It was about a 10-minute walk through a cornfield but I felt so much better. I got to stay until 9 with her. We visited and talked about everything for a while. She has two young children in her house, both grandchildren. We were served dinner while I was there, but it isn’t a very important meal and the men didn’t join us. We ate with Amilia, who is five and laughs constantly but is adorable. We had meat and potatoes and since I was the guest, Rebecca’s apa served me. More tea and bread as well. I ate a few potatoes, but am trying to give my stomach a rest.
We visited for a while, and now I am doing much better, especially knowing Rebecca is so close to me. She and I will walk to the bus stop together in the mornings at 7. Just on Wednesdays and Thursdays and then the rest of the time we will walk all the way to town for language classes with Bak. Myriam drove and picked me up. When we got back though, she made me eat again!!! Noodles with veggies this time. She lets me just pick at it though, but makes me drink at least 3 cups of tea. I also met the baby’s mother. And came to the realization that they don’t have diapers here. So you can imagine. They just change the baby’s clothes a lot.
I finally got to go to bed, after Myriam followed me outside to the outhouse. She gave me a lock for the door, and let me be for a while. Funny to think when I wake up it will be my birthday and no one really knows.
So now here I am. In my small bed, only about enough room for someone 5’5.” My feet almost touch. But it is warm and has plenty of blankets and I have a whole bottle of Tylenol pm so I will be okay. I made it through the day. At least tomorrow I can look words up and try to communicate better.
So that’s that. Sorry if this is too much information, but it makes me feel better to write it all. I mailed letters to the states today, and bought water for about 20 cents. Still not used to things being so inexpensive.
I better hit the sack, after all, tomorrow is my birthday. No mail arrived yet, We get mail on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The only things I need so far are slippers, a USB stick, vitamins and conditioner. Might be able to get those things here. And if someone wants to get me an international Glamour subscription, they do send them here….!
Will leave you with my thought for the day… coming from Chris LeDoux…
Sit tall in the saddle,
Hold your head up high.
Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky.
And live like you ain’t afraid to die,
Don’t be scared, just enjoy your ride.
September 21, My birthday
I woke up this morning to a rooster at about 4 am. The plan was to walk to the Marchuka stop by 7:30, with Myriam. Hopefully, after today I will be allowed to walk by myself. The walk is about a mile each way, as I am the farthest one away. Myriam woke me up at about 7:10, so not much time to get ready. After today I plan to wake myself up. Anyway, she cooked fried eggs for breakfast and I ate one. Then we rushed off to the town to catch my ride. I wasn’t the last one. But, most of the group wasn’t feeling very well. After the 20 minute ride into Tokmok for training I found out that no one was feeling well. Food poisoning and stomach problems for just about everyone. Three people passed out within minutes of arriving. Three had to be put on IV’s. Dehydration and serious stomach problems have plagued just about everyone. Add to that vomiting and fevers, and it didn’t make for a great day.
And on top of it all, Jessica went back to the states. (One of my group members, from Vegas --- she has a hot rock star boyfriend in the states so I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same in her situation!!!)
We spent the day doing problem solving cause/effect exercises in teams. And by the way, I still had not washed my hair, which makes me an unhappy person. But, I opened my card from mom and dad on the ride to the training center, and that made things go a lot better – Thanks!!! I have wonderful parents… that sent me with a birthday gift, as mail here takes about a month to receive no matter how you send it. And the smaller it is, the faster I get it.
When we went outside for fresh air, as half of our group spent the morning in a makeshift infirmary, we were greeted by lots of small children who said hello and wanted to shake our hands. They were adorable, and some asked our names. They followed us around the playground all day. We had a couple of sessions outside, as it was stuffy, hot and smelly inside the building. But, latrines as they call the squat toilets are outside and with all the vomiters, it wasn’t a pretty site.
Three people dropped out of the program today, We are down from 66 to 63.
Oh yeah, I forgot, on the way to the school this morning, we had to stop and let the cattle herds pass through the street. Actually the Marchuka driver just honked and drove right through them. Probably like 200 cows in the main road. And some donkeys mixed in. people drive up and down the streets in carts pulled by donkeys and mules.
Today in cultural class we learned that here it is normal to belch at the dinner table. It is also okay to through rocks at dogs. And, men are not expected to do a single household chore. This was demonstrated today as my tea cup was empty and my host father just gives it to his wife to refill even though she is holding a baby and trying to eat.
When I got home from training I walked home by myself. Three men in an old blue car circled the village road over and over until they saw me go into a house. Little kids outside the school or Meptek waved and said hello. It is a pleasant walk home. Myriam had found out it was my birthday and had a huge feast set up in the formal dining room. She had bread and fruit and salads and tea as well as a birthday cake she had bought. She also gave me a bottle of champagne as a gift. Bak came and had supper with us, rice and veggies, and then I made him explain to Myriam that I must wash my hair after dinner.
So she washed it for me in the Banya. The banya is a system they use to bathe every 6 days. I tried to tell her that was fine, but I needed to be able to rinse in the mornings. The banya is like a sauna that is heated with wood and hot and cold water to rinse with.
As long as I can wash my hair, I’m happy. I can’t use any appliances or anything, and once my computer battery runs out, I am not sure if I will be able to charge it here, as the electricity is not stable enough to charge anything. After dinner Myriam’s husband showed me family pictures, and then took 10 minutes to look up the word tired in the dictionary and sent me to bed. I wanted to use the outhouse before bed, as I think I had 56 cups of tea with dinner, and made my first trip alone. Xouhoa told me there were rats in her outhouse, so I was extremely scared and ran there and back with my flashlight. I like to think it will only get better, but who am I kidding.
Bak, is quite the man. I noticed on my Kyrgyz dictionary that he wrote it. Oh yeah, we finally got dictionaries, but they aren’t phonetic and my understanding of the alphabet is not what one would call good. But language lessons begin again on Friday.
I looked in the mirror today. Wow. Pretty beat up. My forearms are covered in bruises and so are my thighs. I think its from all of the luggage. My bronchitis is much better, I just have to fight the stomach problems that are getting everyone.
Hope all is well in America. Sleeping to Dierks Bentley tonight on the ipod.
Thursday evening Sept. 22.
It‘s funny to think that as I write this and get ready for bed, everyone is just waking up there.
This morning at 4 am, I woke up to the roosters and layed in bed until 6:30. Because I had clean hair for the first time this week, I was able to break out the propane curling iron and do some work to my hair. Curly today. So whenever I am able to curl my hair, I know its going to be a great day…plus the power IS stable enough to charge my electronics!
This morning Myriam gave me some kind of yogurt for breakfast and sent me on my way, alone. It’s such a nice walk in the morning. No one is awake, except for the random cows in the street.
Today we had lesson plan training, as well as training on conducting clubs in local schools. We were assigned to a local village school or Mektep, to visit and observe in the next couple weeks too. We came to the realization that here, people choose whether they want to speak Kyrgyz or Russian, and pretty much just mix the two languages together as they see fit. Helpful to us poor foreigners just trying to get by.
Also I found out that the average family here has a monthly income of 1200 som, or $30 per month. A teacher is not allowed to be paid more than 1000 som per month. When you retire, the government gives you 900 som per month to live on. More than 30% of the people in the country live in conditions of EXTREME POVERTY. More than 50% of the citizens live BEYOND POVERTY. But, somehow they manage to maintain a 90% literacy rate.
Three peace corps volunteers came to visit today and filled me with lots of valuable information. Things to look forward to, basically. They all three (females) live up north near the lake. One had her nails done, and all three had cell phones. The way cell phones work is that they buy them here, or if they are prepared like me they brought their own with sim cards, and then their families buy international phone cards, usually found cheapest at Asian food stores for some reason. A good price is 10-15$ for an hour. So I hope some of you will start STOCKING UP on those, because in October I will have a cell phone, and you can call me, but I can’t call you. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CALL WHEN I GET THE PHONE!!!!
You also will be able to go online and type a text message to me that will go to my cell. But not until next month, when I have a little more freedom.
The girls also said that they get paid almost 5000 som per month, which is a lot more than I expected. They have apartments by themselves in their villages, and one lives in a city. One did say that when she jogged kids have thrown rocks at her though.
So today at lunch we interacted with children at school. They speak some English and we speak some Kyrgyz, so we found out that they have an English teacher from Chicago. Not affiliated with any kind of program like us, she just lives in Kyrgyzstan. I took pictures of the kids, as they are absolutely adorable.
Oh yeah, someone installed a light in the outhouse, so I am not as scared in the dark anymore. And all that’s left of my bronchitis is a cough, and I don’t seem to have gotten the massive stomach problems that most people have. So things are going well. I am actually pretty damn happy. If only I had wireless internet so I could use my Itunes giftcard I got for my birthday. I’ll find it in the city sometime though.
Just to mention, the level of professional training that we are receiving is great. I think the program is very admirable and the staff here is incredible. I learned of a program called darienbookaid.com that will ship books to my classrooms for free, if someone could look that up for me, that would be wonderful. (Maybe my father….)
And mom if this makes you happy – I know longer know what a comfort zone is. When I wake up and hope for the water to drip out of the faucet and for the electricity to come on steady, any chance of finding a comfort zone is completely gone.
I did have fun today after classes. I managed to communicate somehow with Myriam that I was meeting friend in the school yard to play catch, and go jogging, as among my 175 pounds of luggage (seriously) I brought baseball mitts for two and running shoes. Sometimes my daddy has such good ideas. We jogged around the village (Don Aryuk) as a group. Unfortunately at Rebecca’s we got sucked in and had to eat, something we all try to avoid as we know we will be fed at our own houses later on.
I walk home in a separate direction from everyone else, and it was strange to have this cow walking toward me on the street. Also, three young boys on bikes followed me to the school, riding in circles around me. The only English they know is “Hi, what is your name.”
I get that a lot.
I am really doing well though. I am happy and I have made such amazing friends. The girls in the village and I get along wonderfully. We share our experiences and support each other well. Tomorrow night everyone is going to sleep over here, as I think I have the most stable electricity and we plan to watch DVDS on my computer. I knew the 15 inch screen would come in handy. (In our local village, I live near Xouhoa, Christabelle, Crystal, Laurie, Rebecca and Glenn and Linda, a married couple from Utah. We have training in the city on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and then spend the rest of the time in language sessions with Bak in the village. Saturday we will go to our first open market).
The worst part of the day was dinner; we had meat. I thought I had given Myriam a hint that I don’t particularly like it, but we had hot dogs. Only they weren’t hot, and I think they really were dog.
I can say I tried it. But after I gagged she didn’t force it on me.
I am worn out tonight. I think I will be for a while.
Tonight on the ipod: Gary Allan. For reasons only one person knows.
I Love everyone. Miss you Katie and Edie. (Letters should be coming Edie, for you to pass on to Grandma).
Betsy
September 23, 2005
I guess I spoke too soon last night. This morning I was violently ill. In every way imaginable. Hit me at about 4 AM. It is absolutely horrible to be sick and have no plumbing system whatsoever. Thank your lucky stars you live where you do. Anyone ever had to puke in a squat toilet hole before? Think about it.
So, not a great start to the day. We stayed in the village today for language classes and we visited a school where we will be student teaching later on. I will someday have a chance to put pictures on my blog, I hope so that you can see these conditions that surround me. The school has no playground and is lucky to have electricity. In the winter there is no heat, and the student have a wooden outhouse outside the building.
We worked more on the alphabet and had grammar lessons at Bak’s house. After that we all had lunch at Rebecca’s and then had a field trip around town. We saw the post office, the store and ummm that’s all. There is nothing else. Also we bought Russian popsicles at the store, which are really just frozen whipped cream. After classes the girls and I all walked and walked and walked. We explored the entire community, and visited each others’s houses. We walked to the edges of town to better see the mountains and then headed back, as we were going to go to a Disco Tech at the school, but our host mothers won’t let us out after dark.
Rebecca and I went to my Uoy or home, and decided to both stay at her house. So I packed some stuff and a DVD and we headed off. At night the cows run, as well as the coy or sheep, which I was fed for dinner. We made it through the herds and fought off another dinner at her house. Lucky for me, I can pull the stomach illness card and take it easy with meals. They just force chai (tea) on you all the time, which we hate, as we don’t particularly enjoy outhouse trips.
Tomorrow Rebecca’s host brothers, who go to school in Bishkek, are going to take us into the city to call home and email. We all can’t wait. During training we don’t get access to email like we will when we are officially sworn in. Then we can travel and do as we please. But, the hardest part will be the time. We can only got to internet cafes at certain times, and here I am sick and homesick too, and worried about upsetting people back home for calling at bad times. So if I do catch anyone at a bad time, I’m sorry in advance, but really I can’t get to the city at times that work well for America.
I had another rough experience today. I saw a dog that was clearly malnourished and starving. It is chained up, so it can’t hunt for its own food, and has no water. I fed it my lunch and brought water, but here that is insulting to the Kyrgyz. Dogs are not people, they have no value except to guard the home, and they are treated like flies. People throw rocks at them and starve them as well. It got to me. I cried. But everyone knows about me and animals. I think I helped this one, and it lives near Crystal, so she promised to feed it from now on. But, really. That’s hard for me to deal with. Animal abuse is never easy,
Moving on from that, I am still doing well, fighting through this sickness that slowly gets to everyone trying to digest new bacteria. Food is left out and uncovered here, and there is absolutely NO way we can drink the water. Fridges are uncommon. So are showers. I washed my hair on Wednesday night, and it is Friday night. And I don’t get to wash it tonight. So you can imagine my attitude at this moment. But I’ll survive as some volunteers have to wait until Sunday. And I plan to have mine washed again tomorrow. After this, I have to develop a more regular schedule for shampooing. This is just not workin’ for me….
Otherwise I’m okay. Happy to get to read emails tomorrow. That brings the morale of the group way up.
Listening to Simple Plan --- Addicted to You.
September 24, 2005
What a day!!!!
For a day that started out pretty shitty, it turned out to be an awesome day filled with all sorts of new experiences….
I started out at Rebecca’s and her outhouse unfortunately is the worst of them all. I really feel for her. We went out this morning when we woke up, and the smell coming from her squatter as I like to call them, was so nasuating that I immediately yakked in the yard. What a way to start the day….
Then we went to wash her hair, as she has not had that priveledge yet this week, and we first ran out of water, and then got in trouble for using cold water, as we might catch colds. Even though its in the 90s here. So then we walked to school, definitely lacking energy. We were told that we were emailing today, like I said before, but we had that ripped out from under us as we were told that we must have special permission from the director to go outside of our village. I’m holding back expletives here, as I feel a little like a 10th grader on a school field trip. We can’t leave our village to go to an Internet café in Tokmok, a 15 minute ride from our village. Our village has some stores and a local post office but nothing else. Apparently, you know five adults, ranging in age from 22 to 30, cannot take a day trip without official escorts. Isolation. Complete isolation, is not my forte. So that was the rough patch of the day. A few girls had tears in their eyes, me included, when we found out no phone privileges until next week. Pretty devastating news to a bunch of technological dependent recent college grads. So anyway, we decided to go to our homes, rest for an hour then go for a long walk together to blow off steam. We walked for close to two hours, went as far as we could before we hit a canal that is un-crossable. We took one of Xouhoa’s little brothers with us as well. So cute, The children here are wonderful and speak more English than the adults. I love it. Between the puppies and the kids, I am in heaven. Except when I think about how long its been since I washed my hair, emailed, etc…..
After our walk we all came back to my Eoy (home) for chai. We probably get sucked into chai at least 3 times a day at some ones house whether we want to or not. It’s a game we play, see who can get away with having the least tea in a day. I only had to have it once this afternoon, but all six of us were together speaking our broken Kyrgyz to my apa (host mom).
Then I found out that Saturday is banya day. Myriam heated up the fire in the sauna for me, and we banyed together. Apparently that’s normal. She started stripping down and told me to do so as well. They have to burn a lot of wood to get the coals and stones in the sauna going, so two people usually share a banya. Next we took our loofas and soap and started scrubbing. Hot water is plentiful and the steam is great, especially when you haven’t showered all week. We spent about an hour, rinsing, scrubbing and washing our hair. I also shaved my legs, which was nice. She looked at me a little funny at first, but was okay with it after a minute. At the end you dump massive tubs of hot water over yourself and you are ready to go for a week. I still sneak in and rinse with a bucket in the mornings, but this was great, especially after such a sad day.
So for dinner we had soup made on an open wok outside over a fire, mixed with potatoes and coy (sheep). I had a small amount and then went to my room. I have put pictures of family and friends on my wall and my postcards as well. They like to come in and read the postcard that says Montana. For the first time since I have been here, I had fun. Everyone is hanging out in my room, and a niece or younger sister came home for the weekend. She is hanging out with me, listening to my ipod. She loves 50 cent and Eminem, as well as Beyonce and the Black Eyed Peas. She is trying to read my Cosmopolitan magazine as well. I gave gifts tonight to the family. Alkazbet (father) really likes the Red Sox hat I got for him, as I couldn’t have him becoming a Yankees fan. We actually spent about an hour, just going through all my stuff. I had my computer out typing in my journal, so it was extremely fascinating to everyone. I gave Myriam her gifts, and the rest of the things I brought were for small children, but otherwise I was okay. We all read out of my dictionary, and they went over all my vocabulary words from language class today. It was extremely helpful. We recited the Kyrgyz alphabet and went over personal pronouns and everything. They really helped me today and I even found out that tomorrow is laundry day. I had cleaned my room spotlessly today, as I am instructing all the girls in Tae-bo tomorrow morning, and I have pretty big room. Crystal has weights in an empty room at her house though so we might do it their instead. I am putting together a tae-bo mix on my computer now, and already planned out tomorrow’s work out so I can run it just like it would be in a regular class.
Spending time with the family tonight really made things a lot less tense for me, I guess banyaing with someone will do that to you!!! I think finally having time to put up my pictures from home helped too. We took family pictures today too. But my camera batteries died, so I couldn’t load them on to my computer. I will soon. I have to get a converter for my small appliances first, as my computer converter only works on my Ipod and my computer accessories. Xouhoa has an extra. Plus I use her USB stick everyday, just to be prepared in case we ever make it to the Internet.
Even one of the brothers came into my room and was singing along with the music on my computer. What a day…. First sick, then sad, then clean (finally), then content with what I accomplished today with my family.
I miss my own though. Things I think I might need: Still vitamins, USB stick,
Maybe a couple of ideas for Christmas??? Old navy fleece zip up, perfume, (Este Lauder pleasures, exotic) A knot ring, (like a silver ring, tied in a knot and make up. NEW GRETCHEN WILSON FOR SURE!!!!!! (Can’t download from here yet, so I will have to get the CD) Whenever anyone sends anything, please send cover girl aqua smooth in buff beige. I can’t get it here at all. Mail is running at about one month for a package. Smaller packages are better. Only one person has got a box so far out of 63 people. Still haven’t got my birthday package, but oh well. It makes it that much better when I do get it. Christmas will probably be the roughest time for me.
Lindsy, Katie or Holli, could you do me a favor and try to get into touch with Matt Smith for me somehow? I would like to write to him, but don’t have any kind of address or email. (Katie, Linds, Vandalmail, UI directory) Holli maybe around Moscow somewhere?
I also got my first bug bite and dog bite, but thankfully I had a malaria shot as well as a rabies shot. Guess those come in handy for those silly girls who play with any kind of animal in the street,,,,
Better hit the sack, tomorrow is laundry day, (hand washing with a scrubby washboard thing) and you know I have a lot to wash. I’m already lending out my clothes, its funny how that always happens with me….
If Crystal’s dad is reading this, she is doing great and I’m helping her set up her own blog. She loves you.
Miss everyone a lot a lot.
Ipod tonight: I believe in love, and I believe in you (classic country) Give dad three Hefeweisen’s and he’ll sing it to ya!
September 25, 2005
What a day. I say that a lot I know, but really, Sunday is quite the day around here. First of all, I got to sleep in. For me that meant about 8 am, and then I read a book until 10. That was about all Myriam could handle, so she came looking for me and told me to bring my laundry with me. (Keep in mind NO ONE here speaks a word of English). I was totally wrong about the washboard. We have a plug in circular thing that washes clothes for us. I put in a small amount of clothing and turn it on, and it mixes the clothes around in hot water. Then I drop them in another bucket and then ring them out before hanging them on a line outside of the barn.
So all of my clothes got washed, I of course got funny looks from neighbors, as my clothes are so colorful and bright. And definitely plentiful. But I have been traveling for two weeks now, so that’s 14 pairs of underwear, socks, and so on…
After laundry she sent me to my room to change out of my sweat pants. I didn’t know we were going anywhere but in Kyrgyzstan, guesting is a huge thing! We stopped at random friends’ houses (could have been relatives, but how would I know). At every stop you must take at least a bite of bread. After that we arrived at our final destination. We had broth from whatever kind of animal cooking in the huge outdoor wok. I SPILLED THE TEA!!! I can’t believe they didn’t send me back to America, since tea is like vodka here. But they laughed and gave me a bib. There were about a dozen small children running around the house, and I was given an English textbook from a school. The next thing I knew, every kid in the family was crowded around, and I gave my first English lesson. We went over the ABC’s and numbers and they taught me to count in Kyrgyz. This lasted for at least an hour. I can’t believe how well they picked up English words, and how excited they were to learn. Eventually the women were crowded around as well, wanting to learn as much English as possible.
We were taken inside, and the women were separated from the men. (I will find out more about this at cultural lessons this week). First we went into a room with a long table filled with so much bread, that Dr. Atkins would have passed out. Every kind of pastry and bread you can imagine. It was actually a disgusting amount of bread. Then add in tea, fruit and cookies. I tried to explain in my broken Kyrgyz that – In America, no bread, bread bad – they didn’t force me to eat it. But I started to notice that something was wrong with the women, they didn’t seem to be interested in America or anything like that, and a lot were fighting tears. Little did I know that the party I thought was for me, was really somewhat of a funeral for an uncle. Leave it to me to misinterpret things.
Apparently at these kind of gatherings a sheep is sacrificed and everyone takes some of the organs home. So you can imagine my surprise when we went into yet another room, still only women, to eat sheep and noodles. I was given the biggest piece of straight fat, (a delicacy here) and noodles. (oh yeah, just to clarify, we eat on the floor as well). This is when I put everything taking place together. THE HEAD OF THE SHEEP WAS ON THE TABLE. I pretty much refused to touch another thing. And the great grandmother sat next to me, screaming EICH EICH EICH which is what they say when they want me to eat. Eat? I was trying not to yak all over the table that is the floor. (Does that make sense, I’m saying the table, but really we eat on the floor).
Then some kind of priest came in and sang and said words I don’t understand. He went to the women’s room first and then the men’s. By the way, you don’t show affection here toward anyone but children, so I have no idea who is married to whom and if they even like each other. Marriages are arranged. So mom and dad, if you want to arrange me a marriage to someone like Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Everett’s little brother (ha ha ha), I’ll probably be okay with it.
After the sheep, we wash our hands, take our ‘goody’ bag, and head home. Myriam gave me the bad of bread and sheep organs to carry in my nice, almost new purse, on the walk.
Since then I have been resting, folding my now clean clothes, and reading Maeve Binchy’s Night of Rain and Stars.
I guess since the Peace Corps has had so many problems with drinking and vodka abuse, host families are strictly prohibited from offering it to us. But, you can buy it anywhere and with no limitations. So what I’m saying is that I can buy it, and so can Rebecca’s 5-year old host sister.
Tomorrow we have language lessons in the village, and Tuesday we were promised Internet access. So hopefully that will come true…..
Tonight, Ipod – George Strait, Love Without End, Amen
Wishlist? Headwraps or scrarves, I hear the Gap makes head wraps that can be worn as belts… multitasking… another one of my many skills… kind of like milking a cow, handwashing clothes, avoiding eating coy, and running with the bulls in the street….
I’m so well accomplished thus far…..
Love Betsy or Elizabeta as they call me here.
September 26, 2005
The mountains were unbelievable this morning at 7 am. The snow level has dropped and the peaks are covered with snow and ice. This morning the fog had lifted and I had a clear view of all of them as I walked with a young neighbor girl to lessons. Absolutely gorgeous views. No light poles, power lines or things like that to obstruct the view.
A new week. And I have a problem. I only brought two books and finished them in two days. I saved them both, and suffered through the plane rides without books, but broke down and spent the past two nights reading. And now I’m finished. I read a 600 page Lisa Jackson thriller this evening and am still bored. Not much to do at night. I have one DVD, St. Elmo’s Fire, that I borrowed from Rick, a frat boy from the University of North Carolina, who lives in a nearby village. I need to return it tomorrow when we go into the city. Maybe he’ll let me trade it for a different one…
So more of the same today, language lessons until noon, and then a group lunch. Lunch will be held at my house on Thursday. We start lessons around 8 and go until one usually. On Tuesday s and Wednesdays we head into Tokmok, as we will in the morning. On those days I have to be at the Marchuka stop by 7:20.
We are learning personal pronouns, the simple tense, present and past tense right now in Kyrgyz. I don’t know that I could explain all of these in English let alone Kyrgyz. Oh well. I’m trying my hardest at learning the language but its tough. Ten more weeks of lessons before I start my big adventure. One note of excitement, I will most likely come home in September rather than December of 2007, so I won’t have to go through another harsh winter in the mountains. They so most people can’t survive the winter here, but I figure if I am going to live in Montana eventually with my cowboy husband, I better get used it now.
Tonight instead of the usual no one at the dinner table, we had company. Two little children probably ages 3 and 1, joined Myriam and I. No idea whose kids they are but they kept referring to me as ‘Eje’ which means big sister. I don’t really understand much about our family here. I just thought there was one son, and he doesn’t seem to be married, as he sleeps on the floor by himself at night. But these babies just keep showing up… with women, I just can’t find any husbands around here.
By the way mom, I’m flossing, so pass that message on to Dr. Forsberg. (When the entire population of a country has gold teeth, it has an affect on a person). I got to wash my hair today, some woman washed it for me. I am not sure why I am not allowed to do it for myself.
Going to sleep now, busy day tomorrow, and was promised email and phone calls, but am not getting my hopes up like before.
Ipod: Green Day
Sept 27, 2005
Was I really seriously thinking that I would get to check my email today? Ha. What a joke. Not an option. As Bak took off and was no where to be found today. So our marchuka just came at the regularly scheduled time and took us back to the village. What a let down. Maybe tomorrow.
We had a current volunteer come and talk to us today, Daniel. He said things will get better, and soon we will have freedom. Soon. He gave me a website www.uniontelecard.com, where families and friends should purchase calling cards to call our cell phones. They are the cheapest available. He also said that he is flying home in December for Christmas for about $900. After training and then three more months, we can start to use our vacation days I guess. His girlfriend came and stayed with him for an entire month. Peace corps had no problem with this, apparently visitors are suggested. So Linds, I’ll see you in June right?
We went to the city today and spent the morning with Carol, an American woman in Kyrgyzstan, working as a teacher trainer at one of Universities. She is on a United States treasury fellowship that has been renewed for her third year. She taught as verb tenses today (In English) as we are told to emphasize grammar in our classrooms. How can we emphasize grammar when these kids can say Hello (but more like Hallo) and What is your name? Also we have been told over and over, that the education system is corrupt here, so no matter what grades we give our students, they will be changed. No matter what.
A couple more people got packages today. So far we have found that the ones done with the following formula seem to be the ones that come un-opened and not tampered with.
If sending individual packaged things, wrap them in brown shipping paper and then cover with clear packaging tape. Then on the outside of the box, re-wrap with brown packaging paper and then wrap the entire box with layer upon layer of clear tape. And I am dead serious. Mom, I know you, you just do things your own way, but this HAS TO BE DONE THIS WAY. Otherwise your stuff gets stolen. We are already missing items. So that’s the best way to ship. And it takes a month or so on average. Letters are different. They come faster and are not tampered with. I know no one would do this, but never ever send money in anything. And mom, you have to put a list inside of what was in the package, so I can file a claim if things are stolen. YOU HAVE TO !!!!! Hoping to get my point across here, not sound snotty, but seriously things are missing from our boxes.
The other Betsy got a 15 pound box today. It was filled with peanut butter, crackers, candy and fruit snacks. All junk food. Pretty funny, but you really can’t get any of it over here. Especially peanut butter, and most of us have given up meat, so we lack protein. So I’m adding peanut butter to my wish list as well as BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!!!!! I have nothing to read. Absolutely nothing. I don’t care Mom if you don’t send me anything but books for Christmas, honestly. I am so depressed already with no reading materials. I do have Legally Blonde the book, but I can only read it so many times. I brought three books, but should have thought it out better, as they are finished.
Tomorrow is shot day… And we lost another volunteer this weekend so we are down to 62. Or something like that. But someone got a cell phone. She was on the phone with her boyfriend at lunch in America. Totally jealous and bitter. Its funny, I would say more than 50% of the people have significant others back home that they are continuing to date from here.
We start teaching in our villages this week, The kids are pretty well behaved, all though there is one that I run into walking home everyday. He thinks he is Harry Potter, and rides a broomstick all around the village at high speeds. Yesterday he ran into me and laughed. I think his name is At too or something close to that. Oh yeah, the local English teacher, doesn’t really speak much English, so that’s another challenge here. She is our counterpart and is supposed to help us…
I am very tired, it was a long day, when you have to commute in the mornings. Its about 6:30 here, but I left the house a 7 am, and was basically in school all day. Only 9 and half more weeks of this. Then I will be a full Mugalim (teacher).
I think one of the harder things here is not knowing what is going on in America. We have heard rumors of a hurricane in Florida, but we don’t know anything else. Protests in D.C.? But no official news. No American TV or radio anywhere near. Can’t read the papers, and we don’t get USA Today. That’s damn hard, when you are trained as a journalist. Eventually we get subscriptions to Newsweek, but they will still run 5 weeks behind. Eventually I will be able to use the Internet three times a week too, so I can read online. I hate being so isolated. Sorry if I repeated things in this mass blog entry. If you made it this far, hey thanks!
Miss everyone.
(Guns and Roses, November Rain)
Betsy
But its all pretty damn funny
Oh my god. Lets just leave it at that. If I have ever thought that I have had it rough before, I lied. I am damn spoiled rotten. Today was probably the most difficult day of my life. Nothing even compares. Nothing. There is nothing like the feeling you get when you meet people 100% different from you that you cannot communicate with.
We left the hotel today at 8 to head into the city of Bishkek (I am not in Russia for those of you who think so. I am in Kyrgyzstan which is its own country), to buy flowers for our host families and to call home and check our email. We took a Marchuka or a big taxi. To me it looks somewhat like a VW Van. Honestly, we had more than 20 people stuffed into the van. It cost 5 som each way, or about seven cents for the ride. The Marchuka dropped our group; Xouhoa, (Sou-a), Rebecca, Jessica and I off with our language coordinator, Bakyet in town. We had good Internet but really crappy phone lines, which Dad can probably agree. All the girls immediately cried together while checking our emails. We each spent around 80 som to check email and make calls, or about $2. And that’s at 4 som per minute which is not bad. It cost me 80 som to talk to Dad, but only 5 for a ride all the way into the city. Crazy…
We bought all our flowers from a lady selling flowers on the street. She had a busy day today. We then took a Marchuka back to the hotel, where we had to re-load all of our gear to take to Tokmok, our hub site. This time, the Peace Corps rented a moving van. We arrived at Tokmok after an hour-long bus ride. Our families were waiting for us at a café. They clapped and greeted us with flowers. We all had nametags with our names and our host parents names to get matched up. Myriam found me right away. She and her husband were extremely excited and introduced me to all of the neighbors picking up other volunteers. We all sat and had a meal. Our host mothers or apas dished our plates for us. Xouhoa is a very small Chinese/Laocian girl and her Ata, (host father) insisted she eat, eat, eat. Lunch is the main meal here. Dinner is usually just something simple, but lunch is a three-course meal. We had scones stuffed with meat, rice with meat and veggies, bread, tea, watermelon, grapes, apples, salad and water. We all just kind of pick at our meals, we really try to portionize.
After lunch we headed off, and it was a damn circus. Our luggage had been unloaded for us, we just had to find it. Myriam and her husband who’s name I don’t know, have a car to take me to their home in a village about 15 minutes away. Not many people do. We all loaded my two huge bags, my massive backpack and my new electrical heater and medical kit into an old Audi. On the drive we passed donkeys pulling carts in the street (there is no right side of the road, you just pick one), horses, cows in the road, dogs, children playing in the street (So dad, next time you tell someone to go play in the street, think about it), garbage and chickens.
We arrived at a bright blue house with stars on it, I don’t know what they symbolize and I certainly can’t ask, keep in mind I don’t even have a Kyrgyz dictionary, as they are pretty hard to come by in the states. THEY DO NOT SPEAK RUSSIAN HERE!!! I think that between all 66 of us we have 2. The Peace Corps will issue them tomorrow though. Myriam has 2 sons that I know of so far, and they unloaded my bags for me. She made me unpack immediately in my room. My room is three times bigger than my room in my apartment in Moscow. I have an armoire and lots of shelves and they all are lock and key. We unpacked together as Myriam stays by my side all the time. I think she was overwhelmed by my clothing, but what can you do?
My room is covered in huge rugs. On the floor and the walls. I have a table and two chairs in the center to study at, and a full-length mirror as well. The houses here are split in half. I must take my shoes off when I enter my side of the house, which also contains the formal dining room and another bedroom. I don’t know who sleeps in it. The other side of the house is the kitchen and living room area, where they have a color TV.
After unpacking, it was immediately time for tea, of course. And Myriam set up a feast. I tried to eat a small amount of bread but if you read above I have bronchitis and its bad today. No voice, not even a little bit. So even if I could communicate, I couldn’t. Myriam understands this though and gives me lots of tea. She put out, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, cookies, candies, bread, raisins, dried fruit, butter, tea, jam that goes in the tea, walnuts (which I have no idea how they crack, I’m assuming with their teeth, since most of them are gold), raw meat and apples. I tried some fruit and had more tea, but all this food is just not inviting. We watched It could Happen To You in Russian on the TV, and she set up my water purifier as well. After a bit she showed me the toilet. From now on when all of you sit down on your cozy, plush toilets, don’t take it for granted. I have an outdoor stall, all wood, with a hole in the ground. You squat to use it, and of course, Myriam goes with me outside, But the best part, to get to the outhouse, you have to walk through about 5,000 chickens, three cows, a donkey and some sheep. And of course all the neighbors stare at me as well.
After that Myriam let me go and take a nap. She woke me up an hour later, holding a baby. I think it is her granddaughter and after some cognitive process of elimination, I figured out that one of her sons is married and this was his child – Emoot. Here when you get married you move in with your husband’s family. I took the baby, and we went into the kitchen/living room area for more tea (called Chai here). Unfortunately, something triggered me and I lost my nerve, Tears poured. And poured, Couldn’t hold them back at all. So, Myriam of course had no clue what to do. I went back to my room and pointed to a picture of my real apa (Mom), and of Katie and she got the idea. Thankfully at that exact moment Bakyet showed up at the house and explained what was wrong with me and suggested that I keep on walking with him to the closest volunteer’s house to visit. So I did. Had to take off my socks though, as I forget to say, Myriam insists that I wear socks at all times, which is a real pain in the ass since my house shoes are flip flops. Plus, everyone knows how much I hate socks.
So Bak and I headed down to see Rebecca. It was about a 10-minute walk through a cornfield but I felt so much better. I got to stay until 9 with her. We visited and talked about everything for a while. She has two young children in her house, both grandchildren. We were served dinner while I was there, but it isn’t a very important meal and the men didn’t join us. We ate with Amilia, who is five and laughs constantly but is adorable. We had meat and potatoes and since I was the guest, Rebecca’s apa served me. More tea and bread as well. I ate a few potatoes, but am trying to give my stomach a rest.
We visited for a while, and now I am doing much better, especially knowing Rebecca is so close to me. She and I will walk to the bus stop together in the mornings at 7. Just on Wednesdays and Thursdays and then the rest of the time we will walk all the way to town for language classes with Bak. Myriam drove and picked me up. When we got back though, she made me eat again!!! Noodles with veggies this time. She lets me just pick at it though, but makes me drink at least 3 cups of tea. I also met the baby’s mother. And came to the realization that they don’t have diapers here. So you can imagine. They just change the baby’s clothes a lot.
I finally got to go to bed, after Myriam followed me outside to the outhouse. She gave me a lock for the door, and let me be for a while. Funny to think when I wake up it will be my birthday and no one really knows.
So now here I am. In my small bed, only about enough room for someone 5’5.” My feet almost touch. But it is warm and has plenty of blankets and I have a whole bottle of Tylenol pm so I will be okay. I made it through the day. At least tomorrow I can look words up and try to communicate better.
So that’s that. Sorry if this is too much information, but it makes me feel better to write it all. I mailed letters to the states today, and bought water for about 20 cents. Still not used to things being so inexpensive.
I better hit the sack, after all, tomorrow is my birthday. No mail arrived yet, We get mail on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The only things I need so far are slippers, a USB stick, vitamins and conditioner. Might be able to get those things here. And if someone wants to get me an international Glamour subscription, they do send them here….!
Will leave you with my thought for the day… coming from Chris LeDoux…
Sit tall in the saddle,
Hold your head up high.
Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky.
And live like you ain’t afraid to die,
Don’t be scared, just enjoy your ride.
September 21, My birthday
I woke up this morning to a rooster at about 4 am. The plan was to walk to the Marchuka stop by 7:30, with Myriam. Hopefully, after today I will be allowed to walk by myself. The walk is about a mile each way, as I am the farthest one away. Myriam woke me up at about 7:10, so not much time to get ready. After today I plan to wake myself up. Anyway, she cooked fried eggs for breakfast and I ate one. Then we rushed off to the town to catch my ride. I wasn’t the last one. But, most of the group wasn’t feeling very well. After the 20 minute ride into Tokmok for training I found out that no one was feeling well. Food poisoning and stomach problems for just about everyone. Three people passed out within minutes of arriving. Three had to be put on IV’s. Dehydration and serious stomach problems have plagued just about everyone. Add to that vomiting and fevers, and it didn’t make for a great day.
And on top of it all, Jessica went back to the states. (One of my group members, from Vegas --- she has a hot rock star boyfriend in the states so I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same in her situation!!!)
We spent the day doing problem solving cause/effect exercises in teams. And by the way, I still had not washed my hair, which makes me an unhappy person. But, I opened my card from mom and dad on the ride to the training center, and that made things go a lot better – Thanks!!! I have wonderful parents… that sent me with a birthday gift, as mail here takes about a month to receive no matter how you send it. And the smaller it is, the faster I get it.
When we went outside for fresh air, as half of our group spent the morning in a makeshift infirmary, we were greeted by lots of small children who said hello and wanted to shake our hands. They were adorable, and some asked our names. They followed us around the playground all day. We had a couple of sessions outside, as it was stuffy, hot and smelly inside the building. But, latrines as they call the squat toilets are outside and with all the vomiters, it wasn’t a pretty site.
Three people dropped out of the program today, We are down from 66 to 63.
Oh yeah, I forgot, on the way to the school this morning, we had to stop and let the cattle herds pass through the street. Actually the Marchuka driver just honked and drove right through them. Probably like 200 cows in the main road. And some donkeys mixed in. people drive up and down the streets in carts pulled by donkeys and mules.
Today in cultural class we learned that here it is normal to belch at the dinner table. It is also okay to through rocks at dogs. And, men are not expected to do a single household chore. This was demonstrated today as my tea cup was empty and my host father just gives it to his wife to refill even though she is holding a baby and trying to eat.
When I got home from training I walked home by myself. Three men in an old blue car circled the village road over and over until they saw me go into a house. Little kids outside the school or Meptek waved and said hello. It is a pleasant walk home. Myriam had found out it was my birthday and had a huge feast set up in the formal dining room. She had bread and fruit and salads and tea as well as a birthday cake she had bought. She also gave me a bottle of champagne as a gift. Bak came and had supper with us, rice and veggies, and then I made him explain to Myriam that I must wash my hair after dinner.
So she washed it for me in the Banya. The banya is a system they use to bathe every 6 days. I tried to tell her that was fine, but I needed to be able to rinse in the mornings. The banya is like a sauna that is heated with wood and hot and cold water to rinse with.
As long as I can wash my hair, I’m happy. I can’t use any appliances or anything, and once my computer battery runs out, I am not sure if I will be able to charge it here, as the electricity is not stable enough to charge anything. After dinner Myriam’s husband showed me family pictures, and then took 10 minutes to look up the word tired in the dictionary and sent me to bed. I wanted to use the outhouse before bed, as I think I had 56 cups of tea with dinner, and made my first trip alone. Xouhoa told me there were rats in her outhouse, so I was extremely scared and ran there and back with my flashlight. I like to think it will only get better, but who am I kidding.
Bak, is quite the man. I noticed on my Kyrgyz dictionary that he wrote it. Oh yeah, we finally got dictionaries, but they aren’t phonetic and my understanding of the alphabet is not what one would call good. But language lessons begin again on Friday.
I looked in the mirror today. Wow. Pretty beat up. My forearms are covered in bruises and so are my thighs. I think its from all of the luggage. My bronchitis is much better, I just have to fight the stomach problems that are getting everyone.
Hope all is well in America. Sleeping to Dierks Bentley tonight on the ipod.
Thursday evening Sept. 22.
It‘s funny to think that as I write this and get ready for bed, everyone is just waking up there.
This morning at 4 am, I woke up to the roosters and layed in bed until 6:30. Because I had clean hair for the first time this week, I was able to break out the propane curling iron and do some work to my hair. Curly today. So whenever I am able to curl my hair, I know its going to be a great day…plus the power IS stable enough to charge my electronics!
This morning Myriam gave me some kind of yogurt for breakfast and sent me on my way, alone. It’s such a nice walk in the morning. No one is awake, except for the random cows in the street.
Today we had lesson plan training, as well as training on conducting clubs in local schools. We were assigned to a local village school or Mektep, to visit and observe in the next couple weeks too. We came to the realization that here, people choose whether they want to speak Kyrgyz or Russian, and pretty much just mix the two languages together as they see fit. Helpful to us poor foreigners just trying to get by.
Also I found out that the average family here has a monthly income of 1200 som, or $30 per month. A teacher is not allowed to be paid more than 1000 som per month. When you retire, the government gives you 900 som per month to live on. More than 30% of the people in the country live in conditions of EXTREME POVERTY. More than 50% of the citizens live BEYOND POVERTY. But, somehow they manage to maintain a 90% literacy rate.
Three peace corps volunteers came to visit today and filled me with lots of valuable information. Things to look forward to, basically. They all three (females) live up north near the lake. One had her nails done, and all three had cell phones. The way cell phones work is that they buy them here, or if they are prepared like me they brought their own with sim cards, and then their families buy international phone cards, usually found cheapest at Asian food stores for some reason. A good price is 10-15$ for an hour. So I hope some of you will start STOCKING UP on those, because in October I will have a cell phone, and you can call me, but I can’t call you. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CALL WHEN I GET THE PHONE!!!!
You also will be able to go online and type a text message to me that will go to my cell. But not until next month, when I have a little more freedom.
The girls also said that they get paid almost 5000 som per month, which is a lot more than I expected. They have apartments by themselves in their villages, and one lives in a city. One did say that when she jogged kids have thrown rocks at her though.
So today at lunch we interacted with children at school. They speak some English and we speak some Kyrgyz, so we found out that they have an English teacher from Chicago. Not affiliated with any kind of program like us, she just lives in Kyrgyzstan. I took pictures of the kids, as they are absolutely adorable.
Oh yeah, someone installed a light in the outhouse, so I am not as scared in the dark anymore. And all that’s left of my bronchitis is a cough, and I don’t seem to have gotten the massive stomach problems that most people have. So things are going well. I am actually pretty damn happy. If only I had wireless internet so I could use my Itunes giftcard I got for my birthday. I’ll find it in the city sometime though.
Just to mention, the level of professional training that we are receiving is great. I think the program is very admirable and the staff here is incredible. I learned of a program called darienbookaid.com that will ship books to my classrooms for free, if someone could look that up for me, that would be wonderful. (Maybe my father….)
And mom if this makes you happy – I know longer know what a comfort zone is. When I wake up and hope for the water to drip out of the faucet and for the electricity to come on steady, any chance of finding a comfort zone is completely gone.
I did have fun today after classes. I managed to communicate somehow with Myriam that I was meeting friend in the school yard to play catch, and go jogging, as among my 175 pounds of luggage (seriously) I brought baseball mitts for two and running shoes. Sometimes my daddy has such good ideas. We jogged around the village (Don Aryuk) as a group. Unfortunately at Rebecca’s we got sucked in and had to eat, something we all try to avoid as we know we will be fed at our own houses later on.
I walk home in a separate direction from everyone else, and it was strange to have this cow walking toward me on the street. Also, three young boys on bikes followed me to the school, riding in circles around me. The only English they know is “Hi, what is your name.”
I get that a lot.
I am really doing well though. I am happy and I have made such amazing friends. The girls in the village and I get along wonderfully. We share our experiences and support each other well. Tomorrow night everyone is going to sleep over here, as I think I have the most stable electricity and we plan to watch DVDS on my computer. I knew the 15 inch screen would come in handy. (In our local village, I live near Xouhoa, Christabelle, Crystal, Laurie, Rebecca and Glenn and Linda, a married couple from Utah. We have training in the city on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and then spend the rest of the time in language sessions with Bak in the village. Saturday we will go to our first open market).
The worst part of the day was dinner; we had meat. I thought I had given Myriam a hint that I don’t particularly like it, but we had hot dogs. Only they weren’t hot, and I think they really were dog.
I can say I tried it. But after I gagged she didn’t force it on me.
I am worn out tonight. I think I will be for a while.
Tonight on the ipod: Gary Allan. For reasons only one person knows.
I Love everyone. Miss you Katie and Edie. (Letters should be coming Edie, for you to pass on to Grandma).
Betsy
September 23, 2005
I guess I spoke too soon last night. This morning I was violently ill. In every way imaginable. Hit me at about 4 AM. It is absolutely horrible to be sick and have no plumbing system whatsoever. Thank your lucky stars you live where you do. Anyone ever had to puke in a squat toilet hole before? Think about it.
So, not a great start to the day. We stayed in the village today for language classes and we visited a school where we will be student teaching later on. I will someday have a chance to put pictures on my blog, I hope so that you can see these conditions that surround me. The school has no playground and is lucky to have electricity. In the winter there is no heat, and the student have a wooden outhouse outside the building.
We worked more on the alphabet and had grammar lessons at Bak’s house. After that we all had lunch at Rebecca’s and then had a field trip around town. We saw the post office, the store and ummm that’s all. There is nothing else. Also we bought Russian popsicles at the store, which are really just frozen whipped cream. After classes the girls and I all walked and walked and walked. We explored the entire community, and visited each others’s houses. We walked to the edges of town to better see the mountains and then headed back, as we were going to go to a Disco Tech at the school, but our host mothers won’t let us out after dark.
Rebecca and I went to my Uoy or home, and decided to both stay at her house. So I packed some stuff and a DVD and we headed off. At night the cows run, as well as the coy or sheep, which I was fed for dinner. We made it through the herds and fought off another dinner at her house. Lucky for me, I can pull the stomach illness card and take it easy with meals. They just force chai (tea) on you all the time, which we hate, as we don’t particularly enjoy outhouse trips.
Tomorrow Rebecca’s host brothers, who go to school in Bishkek, are going to take us into the city to call home and email. We all can’t wait. During training we don’t get access to email like we will when we are officially sworn in. Then we can travel and do as we please. But, the hardest part will be the time. We can only got to internet cafes at certain times, and here I am sick and homesick too, and worried about upsetting people back home for calling at bad times. So if I do catch anyone at a bad time, I’m sorry in advance, but really I can’t get to the city at times that work well for America.
I had another rough experience today. I saw a dog that was clearly malnourished and starving. It is chained up, so it can’t hunt for its own food, and has no water. I fed it my lunch and brought water, but here that is insulting to the Kyrgyz. Dogs are not people, they have no value except to guard the home, and they are treated like flies. People throw rocks at them and starve them as well. It got to me. I cried. But everyone knows about me and animals. I think I helped this one, and it lives near Crystal, so she promised to feed it from now on. But, really. That’s hard for me to deal with. Animal abuse is never easy,
Moving on from that, I am still doing well, fighting through this sickness that slowly gets to everyone trying to digest new bacteria. Food is left out and uncovered here, and there is absolutely NO way we can drink the water. Fridges are uncommon. So are showers. I washed my hair on Wednesday night, and it is Friday night. And I don’t get to wash it tonight. So you can imagine my attitude at this moment. But I’ll survive as some volunteers have to wait until Sunday. And I plan to have mine washed again tomorrow. After this, I have to develop a more regular schedule for shampooing. This is just not workin’ for me….
Otherwise I’m okay. Happy to get to read emails tomorrow. That brings the morale of the group way up.
Listening to Simple Plan --- Addicted to You.
September 24, 2005
What a day!!!!
For a day that started out pretty shitty, it turned out to be an awesome day filled with all sorts of new experiences….
I started out at Rebecca’s and her outhouse unfortunately is the worst of them all. I really feel for her. We went out this morning when we woke up, and the smell coming from her squatter as I like to call them, was so nasuating that I immediately yakked in the yard. What a way to start the day….
Then we went to wash her hair, as she has not had that priveledge yet this week, and we first ran out of water, and then got in trouble for using cold water, as we might catch colds. Even though its in the 90s here. So then we walked to school, definitely lacking energy. We were told that we were emailing today, like I said before, but we had that ripped out from under us as we were told that we must have special permission from the director to go outside of our village. I’m holding back expletives here, as I feel a little like a 10th grader on a school field trip. We can’t leave our village to go to an Internet café in Tokmok, a 15 minute ride from our village. Our village has some stores and a local post office but nothing else. Apparently, you know five adults, ranging in age from 22 to 30, cannot take a day trip without official escorts. Isolation. Complete isolation, is not my forte. So that was the rough patch of the day. A few girls had tears in their eyes, me included, when we found out no phone privileges until next week. Pretty devastating news to a bunch of technological dependent recent college grads. So anyway, we decided to go to our homes, rest for an hour then go for a long walk together to blow off steam. We walked for close to two hours, went as far as we could before we hit a canal that is un-crossable. We took one of Xouhoa’s little brothers with us as well. So cute, The children here are wonderful and speak more English than the adults. I love it. Between the puppies and the kids, I am in heaven. Except when I think about how long its been since I washed my hair, emailed, etc…..
After our walk we all came back to my Eoy (home) for chai. We probably get sucked into chai at least 3 times a day at some ones house whether we want to or not. It’s a game we play, see who can get away with having the least tea in a day. I only had to have it once this afternoon, but all six of us were together speaking our broken Kyrgyz to my apa (host mom).
Then I found out that Saturday is banya day. Myriam heated up the fire in the sauna for me, and we banyed together. Apparently that’s normal. She started stripping down and told me to do so as well. They have to burn a lot of wood to get the coals and stones in the sauna going, so two people usually share a banya. Next we took our loofas and soap and started scrubbing. Hot water is plentiful and the steam is great, especially when you haven’t showered all week. We spent about an hour, rinsing, scrubbing and washing our hair. I also shaved my legs, which was nice. She looked at me a little funny at first, but was okay with it after a minute. At the end you dump massive tubs of hot water over yourself and you are ready to go for a week. I still sneak in and rinse with a bucket in the mornings, but this was great, especially after such a sad day.
So for dinner we had soup made on an open wok outside over a fire, mixed with potatoes and coy (sheep). I had a small amount and then went to my room. I have put pictures of family and friends on my wall and my postcards as well. They like to come in and read the postcard that says Montana. For the first time since I have been here, I had fun. Everyone is hanging out in my room, and a niece or younger sister came home for the weekend. She is hanging out with me, listening to my ipod. She loves 50 cent and Eminem, as well as Beyonce and the Black Eyed Peas. She is trying to read my Cosmopolitan magazine as well. I gave gifts tonight to the family. Alkazbet (father) really likes the Red Sox hat I got for him, as I couldn’t have him becoming a Yankees fan. We actually spent about an hour, just going through all my stuff. I had my computer out typing in my journal, so it was extremely fascinating to everyone. I gave Myriam her gifts, and the rest of the things I brought were for small children, but otherwise I was okay. We all read out of my dictionary, and they went over all my vocabulary words from language class today. It was extremely helpful. We recited the Kyrgyz alphabet and went over personal pronouns and everything. They really helped me today and I even found out that tomorrow is laundry day. I had cleaned my room spotlessly today, as I am instructing all the girls in Tae-bo tomorrow morning, and I have pretty big room. Crystal has weights in an empty room at her house though so we might do it their instead. I am putting together a tae-bo mix on my computer now, and already planned out tomorrow’s work out so I can run it just like it would be in a regular class.
Spending time with the family tonight really made things a lot less tense for me, I guess banyaing with someone will do that to you!!! I think finally having time to put up my pictures from home helped too. We took family pictures today too. But my camera batteries died, so I couldn’t load them on to my computer. I will soon. I have to get a converter for my small appliances first, as my computer converter only works on my Ipod and my computer accessories. Xouhoa has an extra. Plus I use her USB stick everyday, just to be prepared in case we ever make it to the Internet.
Even one of the brothers came into my room and was singing along with the music on my computer. What a day…. First sick, then sad, then clean (finally), then content with what I accomplished today with my family.
I miss my own though. Things I think I might need: Still vitamins, USB stick,
Maybe a couple of ideas for Christmas??? Old navy fleece zip up, perfume, (Este Lauder pleasures, exotic) A knot ring, (like a silver ring, tied in a knot and make up. NEW GRETCHEN WILSON FOR SURE!!!!!! (Can’t download from here yet, so I will have to get the CD) Whenever anyone sends anything, please send cover girl aqua smooth in buff beige. I can’t get it here at all. Mail is running at about one month for a package. Smaller packages are better. Only one person has got a box so far out of 63 people. Still haven’t got my birthday package, but oh well. It makes it that much better when I do get it. Christmas will probably be the roughest time for me.
Lindsy, Katie or Holli, could you do me a favor and try to get into touch with Matt Smith for me somehow? I would like to write to him, but don’t have any kind of address or email. (Katie, Linds, Vandalmail, UI directory) Holli maybe around Moscow somewhere?
I also got my first bug bite and dog bite, but thankfully I had a malaria shot as well as a rabies shot. Guess those come in handy for those silly girls who play with any kind of animal in the street,,,,
Better hit the sack, tomorrow is laundry day, (hand washing with a scrubby washboard thing) and you know I have a lot to wash. I’m already lending out my clothes, its funny how that always happens with me….
If Crystal’s dad is reading this, she is doing great and I’m helping her set up her own blog. She loves you.
Miss everyone a lot a lot.
Ipod tonight: I believe in love, and I believe in you (classic country) Give dad three Hefeweisen’s and he’ll sing it to ya!
September 25, 2005
What a day. I say that a lot I know, but really, Sunday is quite the day around here. First of all, I got to sleep in. For me that meant about 8 am, and then I read a book until 10. That was about all Myriam could handle, so she came looking for me and told me to bring my laundry with me. (Keep in mind NO ONE here speaks a word of English). I was totally wrong about the washboard. We have a plug in circular thing that washes clothes for us. I put in a small amount of clothing and turn it on, and it mixes the clothes around in hot water. Then I drop them in another bucket and then ring them out before hanging them on a line outside of the barn.
So all of my clothes got washed, I of course got funny looks from neighbors, as my clothes are so colorful and bright. And definitely plentiful. But I have been traveling for two weeks now, so that’s 14 pairs of underwear, socks, and so on…
After laundry she sent me to my room to change out of my sweat pants. I didn’t know we were going anywhere but in Kyrgyzstan, guesting is a huge thing! We stopped at random friends’ houses (could have been relatives, but how would I know). At every stop you must take at least a bite of bread. After that we arrived at our final destination. We had broth from whatever kind of animal cooking in the huge outdoor wok. I SPILLED THE TEA!!! I can’t believe they didn’t send me back to America, since tea is like vodka here. But they laughed and gave me a bib. There were about a dozen small children running around the house, and I was given an English textbook from a school. The next thing I knew, every kid in the family was crowded around, and I gave my first English lesson. We went over the ABC’s and numbers and they taught me to count in Kyrgyz. This lasted for at least an hour. I can’t believe how well they picked up English words, and how excited they were to learn. Eventually the women were crowded around as well, wanting to learn as much English as possible.
We were taken inside, and the women were separated from the men. (I will find out more about this at cultural lessons this week). First we went into a room with a long table filled with so much bread, that Dr. Atkins would have passed out. Every kind of pastry and bread you can imagine. It was actually a disgusting amount of bread. Then add in tea, fruit and cookies. I tried to explain in my broken Kyrgyz that – In America, no bread, bread bad – they didn’t force me to eat it. But I started to notice that something was wrong with the women, they didn’t seem to be interested in America or anything like that, and a lot were fighting tears. Little did I know that the party I thought was for me, was really somewhat of a funeral for an uncle. Leave it to me to misinterpret things.
Apparently at these kind of gatherings a sheep is sacrificed and everyone takes some of the organs home. So you can imagine my surprise when we went into yet another room, still only women, to eat sheep and noodles. I was given the biggest piece of straight fat, (a delicacy here) and noodles. (oh yeah, just to clarify, we eat on the floor as well). This is when I put everything taking place together. THE HEAD OF THE SHEEP WAS ON THE TABLE. I pretty much refused to touch another thing. And the great grandmother sat next to me, screaming EICH EICH EICH which is what they say when they want me to eat. Eat? I was trying not to yak all over the table that is the floor. (Does that make sense, I’m saying the table, but really we eat on the floor).
Then some kind of priest came in and sang and said words I don’t understand. He went to the women’s room first and then the men’s. By the way, you don’t show affection here toward anyone but children, so I have no idea who is married to whom and if they even like each other. Marriages are arranged. So mom and dad, if you want to arrange me a marriage to someone like Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Everett’s little brother (ha ha ha), I’ll probably be okay with it.
After the sheep, we wash our hands, take our ‘goody’ bag, and head home. Myriam gave me the bad of bread and sheep organs to carry in my nice, almost new purse, on the walk.
Since then I have been resting, folding my now clean clothes, and reading Maeve Binchy’s Night of Rain and Stars.
I guess since the Peace Corps has had so many problems with drinking and vodka abuse, host families are strictly prohibited from offering it to us. But, you can buy it anywhere and with no limitations. So what I’m saying is that I can buy it, and so can Rebecca’s 5-year old host sister.
Tomorrow we have language lessons in the village, and Tuesday we were promised Internet access. So hopefully that will come true…..
Tonight, Ipod – George Strait, Love Without End, Amen
Wishlist? Headwraps or scrarves, I hear the Gap makes head wraps that can be worn as belts… multitasking… another one of my many skills… kind of like milking a cow, handwashing clothes, avoiding eating coy, and running with the bulls in the street….
I’m so well accomplished thus far…..
Love Betsy or Elizabeta as they call me here.
September 26, 2005
The mountains were unbelievable this morning at 7 am. The snow level has dropped and the peaks are covered with snow and ice. This morning the fog had lifted and I had a clear view of all of them as I walked with a young neighbor girl to lessons. Absolutely gorgeous views. No light poles, power lines or things like that to obstruct the view.
A new week. And I have a problem. I only brought two books and finished them in two days. I saved them both, and suffered through the plane rides without books, but broke down and spent the past two nights reading. And now I’m finished. I read a 600 page Lisa Jackson thriller this evening and am still bored. Not much to do at night. I have one DVD, St. Elmo’s Fire, that I borrowed from Rick, a frat boy from the University of North Carolina, who lives in a nearby village. I need to return it tomorrow when we go into the city. Maybe he’ll let me trade it for a different one…
So more of the same today, language lessons until noon, and then a group lunch. Lunch will be held at my house on Thursday. We start lessons around 8 and go until one usually. On Tuesday s and Wednesdays we head into Tokmok, as we will in the morning. On those days I have to be at the Marchuka stop by 7:20.
We are learning personal pronouns, the simple tense, present and past tense right now in Kyrgyz. I don’t know that I could explain all of these in English let alone Kyrgyz. Oh well. I’m trying my hardest at learning the language but its tough. Ten more weeks of lessons before I start my big adventure. One note of excitement, I will most likely come home in September rather than December of 2007, so I won’t have to go through another harsh winter in the mountains. They so most people can’t survive the winter here, but I figure if I am going to live in Montana eventually with my cowboy husband, I better get used it now.
Tonight instead of the usual no one at the dinner table, we had company. Two little children probably ages 3 and 1, joined Myriam and I. No idea whose kids they are but they kept referring to me as ‘Eje’ which means big sister. I don’t really understand much about our family here. I just thought there was one son, and he doesn’t seem to be married, as he sleeps on the floor by himself at night. But these babies just keep showing up… with women, I just can’t find any husbands around here.
By the way mom, I’m flossing, so pass that message on to Dr. Forsberg. (When the entire population of a country has gold teeth, it has an affect on a person). I got to wash my hair today, some woman washed it for me. I am not sure why I am not allowed to do it for myself.
Going to sleep now, busy day tomorrow, and was promised email and phone calls, but am not getting my hopes up like before.
Ipod: Green Day
Sept 27, 2005
Was I really seriously thinking that I would get to check my email today? Ha. What a joke. Not an option. As Bak took off and was no where to be found today. So our marchuka just came at the regularly scheduled time and took us back to the village. What a let down. Maybe tomorrow.
We had a current volunteer come and talk to us today, Daniel. He said things will get better, and soon we will have freedom. Soon. He gave me a website www.uniontelecard.com, where families and friends should purchase calling cards to call our cell phones. They are the cheapest available. He also said that he is flying home in December for Christmas for about $900. After training and then three more months, we can start to use our vacation days I guess. His girlfriend came and stayed with him for an entire month. Peace corps had no problem with this, apparently visitors are suggested. So Linds, I’ll see you in June right?
We went to the city today and spent the morning with Carol, an American woman in Kyrgyzstan, working as a teacher trainer at one of Universities. She is on a United States treasury fellowship that has been renewed for her third year. She taught as verb tenses today (In English) as we are told to emphasize grammar in our classrooms. How can we emphasize grammar when these kids can say Hello (but more like Hallo) and What is your name? Also we have been told over and over, that the education system is corrupt here, so no matter what grades we give our students, they will be changed. No matter what.
A couple more people got packages today. So far we have found that the ones done with the following formula seem to be the ones that come un-opened and not tampered with.
If sending individual packaged things, wrap them in brown shipping paper and then cover with clear packaging tape. Then on the outside of the box, re-wrap with brown packaging paper and then wrap the entire box with layer upon layer of clear tape. And I am dead serious. Mom, I know you, you just do things your own way, but this HAS TO BE DONE THIS WAY. Otherwise your stuff gets stolen. We are already missing items. So that’s the best way to ship. And it takes a month or so on average. Letters are different. They come faster and are not tampered with. I know no one would do this, but never ever send money in anything. And mom, you have to put a list inside of what was in the package, so I can file a claim if things are stolen. YOU HAVE TO !!!!! Hoping to get my point across here, not sound snotty, but seriously things are missing from our boxes.
The other Betsy got a 15 pound box today. It was filled with peanut butter, crackers, candy and fruit snacks. All junk food. Pretty funny, but you really can’t get any of it over here. Especially peanut butter, and most of us have given up meat, so we lack protein. So I’m adding peanut butter to my wish list as well as BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!!!!! I have nothing to read. Absolutely nothing. I don’t care Mom if you don’t send me anything but books for Christmas, honestly. I am so depressed already with no reading materials. I do have Legally Blonde the book, but I can only read it so many times. I brought three books, but should have thought it out better, as they are finished.
Tomorrow is shot day… And we lost another volunteer this weekend so we are down to 62. Or something like that. But someone got a cell phone. She was on the phone with her boyfriend at lunch in America. Totally jealous and bitter. Its funny, I would say more than 50% of the people have significant others back home that they are continuing to date from here.
We start teaching in our villages this week, The kids are pretty well behaved, all though there is one that I run into walking home everyday. He thinks he is Harry Potter, and rides a broomstick all around the village at high speeds. Yesterday he ran into me and laughed. I think his name is At too or something close to that. Oh yeah, the local English teacher, doesn’t really speak much English, so that’s another challenge here. She is our counterpart and is supposed to help us…
I am very tired, it was a long day, when you have to commute in the mornings. Its about 6:30 here, but I left the house a 7 am, and was basically in school all day. Only 9 and half more weeks of this. Then I will be a full Mugalim (teacher).
I think one of the harder things here is not knowing what is going on in America. We have heard rumors of a hurricane in Florida, but we don’t know anything else. Protests in D.C.? But no official news. No American TV or radio anywhere near. Can’t read the papers, and we don’t get USA Today. That’s damn hard, when you are trained as a journalist. Eventually we get subscriptions to Newsweek, but they will still run 5 weeks behind. Eventually I will be able to use the Internet three times a week too, so I can read online. I hate being so isolated. Sorry if I repeated things in this mass blog entry. If you made it this far, hey thanks!
Miss everyone.
(Guns and Roses, November Rain)
Betsy
posted by Betsy Dalessio at 2:49 AM
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