Happy Halloween!!! My deepest apologies to my fan club!! According to my calculations it has been 3+ months since I posted. If report cards were to come out today, definitely I would be staring down the barrel of an "F". I am sitting in my kind of cold apartment right now not handing out any candy but trying to replay some of the most significant events that have occured between July something and now. I have already mentioned the fact that I have an apartment, all to myself. Much of its contents and furnishings I inherited from the the previous volunteer at my site. Currently I have served 6+ months and what a ride it has been, filled with ups, downs, smiles, laughs, frustrations, an occasional surprise and a ton of self reflection. Never have I been asked to be so independent and I would only be lying if I said I have not struggled, but the volunteers around me have not wavered with their continual support and guidance. I am enternally in debt to them.
My traveling has seen a major reduction, however I did catch a glimpse of the "North Shore" in mid July. It definitely had a much different feel and everything typically cost a lot, especially in the summer. It is as beautiful as advertised though. A group of us celebrated 2 volunteers birthdays with a nice dinner at a Korean resturaunt and some dancing afterwards. The next day was spent on the beach, relaxing, witnessing my first camel in country just hanging out peacefully on the beach.
In July I accepted an invitation to teach an English conversation club. The opportunity could really not have come at a better time. Here I was able to be myself and speak freely and relatively mistake free. Currently I am still doing it once a week and love all of my students. And just recently I added another session. As many of you already know I my primary focus is on health and not on teaching English, therefore I have had to learn a lot on the fly and trust my instincts. Also observing TEFL volunteers showcase their own lessons and talking with them about their own strategies has been helpful. I have tried to steer away from the book and substitute in hands on learning with interesting and fun activities (making wallets, bracelets, games, holiday parties etc.) that are engage the students.
Over the summer I only got involved with one major camp, but it was a really good one and would do it again in a heartbeat. In the first week of August I and a bunch of volunteers mainly from the Chui oblast hosted a camp outside of Tokomok that focused on providing information to teens about a variety of topics (effective communication, sexual reproduction, HIV/AIDS, etc.). All 32 campers from throughout the oblast were wonderful. The sessions were led by locals who were either PC interns, TOEFL prep., or FLEX alumni, and NOT by volunteers. The campers were definitely busy activities but not overloaded with facts and information. I completely forgot how fun tie dye is. We played lots of sports, had a slip n' slide, obstacle course, wallet and bracelet making sessions, skits, and many disco parties, not to mention delicious and nutritious food. Bring on the southern plof and mac coffee. All campers were awarded certificates and some goodies for their hard work and accomplishments. The conclusion was a poignant moment when I saw campers with tears in their eyes saying they did not want to go home. The ride home with all of my gear was when physical exhaustion really set in.
Later that month I also attended a Training of Trainers (TOT) on Health. This was important becasue it gave me some extra training in a field that I stil understand very little of. I came away feeling that executing and commitment to the actual behavior change itself is a giant hurdle. Stay tuned for updates! Early September marked the start of a new academic year here. It also marked for me my first real stomach bout. Yikes! For a few days there I was in trouble and my outhouse and I became best friends. I had my first Indian food experience shortly after too. Whoa! Chick pea soup with Curry is bomb town! Since then I have eaten a different color curry a few other times and I just cannot believe I had gone so long without trying it. I was missing out. In late September is when I finally got the green light and was able to officially move into my apartment. Cooking has been quite a learning experience. I have a rice cooker which I am still trying to master. Luckily my site mates are quite established in making good food and if I have problems I just call them. I don't have measuring cups so I just use a tea cup, nalgene bottle, or eye ball it. I atteneded my first Kyrgyz wedding and it was a big fancy one . I think about 350 people were also there and I felt pretty bad because I was so casually dressed (Saucony racing flats, jeans, and a red polo), but it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. It was a great thing to be apart of. I have been able to continue one of my great passions here. That's right FANTASY FOOTBALL, hey oh! I am currently .500 and haven't watched a single game. And did you hear, them kitties up in Mowtown are taking the league by surprise and no longer the cellar dwellers and free win. No, no those cardiac cats are going to the playoffs! MSU, Michigan State University that is, I have also been following and are doing quite well although they just lost to Nebraska, but they did beat MICHIGAN. I had no doubts! Sparty on, HAHA! As for the other MSU, the one I graduated from, I hear is actaully doing well themselves this year too. As long as we beat the Grizzlies it's a successful year.
I got hooked on the show "Weeds" for a bit but I haven't been watching it lately. Gotta get back on that. I had a bet with another volunteer on who could watch 6 seasons the fastest. I lost, but haven't had to relinquish anything yet. Oh and of course there is Jersey Shore, which I have been doing a much better job of keeping up on. Only two episodes behind. Also this show called Modern Society I really like too.
This month I helped procter the FLEX exam in Bishkek. Close to 1,000 students which is down from last year's number flocked to the Bishkek for an opportunity to study in America for a year. Only about 60 slots are alotted for all students in Kyrgyzstan. There are 3 rounds of tests. It was neat to see so many students with such a deep interest in the English language with aspirations of studying abroad but it was also sad to see so many hopes and dreams damaged and disappointed.
Surprisingly I have met a couple people outside of the pool of volunteers that have spent an extended amount of time in Montana. And even one local I met knew the capital of the state. It was just brought to my attention that a few volunteers couldn't name any cities in Motnana. Possible secondary project I think.
I have not been running at all. There has been a postponement of the Run for FUN(ds) race out in Talas with the standfast in order. Two weekends ago I played soccer with a few of the volunteers against some of the club teams from Universities around Bishkek. Teams were 7 players each and we only brought 4. The three players we picked up were quite the find though. They ended up scoring all 8 of our goals and instead of getting stomped into the turf we got a "W". This past week has been crazy. I made 3 batches of Brownies, had a bunch of English clubs, Halloween Party, made 2 costumes, and watched the original Tron. It is getting cold here and it snowed hard on Saturday. I have been wearing long underwear religiously lately. Today, as I have already mentioned is Halloween but I could not leave my site with standfast order and elections still occuring. I did eat a snickers with almonds and some Andes mints and drank a ton of hot apple cider. I hope all of you are all warm, dressed in costumes, and stuffing your face with candy!! Miss ya
