Scenery: Take 3

At the base of Mount Suleiman.


City overview.

High-dive at the 'Big Fish'

Cannonball!

Kyrgyz pools are the craziest place for people watching. They keep you on your toes too. There’s a lack of rules that leads to many slips and falls along the poolside. There’s also the Kyrgyz national water sport of throwing your friends into the pool. And it doesn’t matter how hard he may try to resist and how many other friends it takes, they will throw him in the pool.

Kyrgyz fashion is taken to the next level at the pool. The boys run around in their flimsy underwear like they own the place. They also may jump from the roof of a neighboring building into the rather shallow pool, but that has nothing to do with fashion. The young ladies, who dare wear bikinis, sling a sheer scarf around their bodies to maintain their modesty.

The most egregious fashion mishaps were one time sightings, though we do go to the pool quite often. Spotted on a hot July day: young girl, maybe 8, wearing a string thong…and only a thong. This same hot day: teenage girl wearing the most unflattering one-piece ever designed - with the focal point being a giant dolphin on its front. Another slightly hotter day in August: young woman wearing yellow bikini designed with the illusion of ants crawling on it. Why? I am the last person on earth who would claim to understand international fashion trends. I'm just a casual observer who enjoys every moment of casual observation.

Beyond fashion, let’s say – deeper than fashion, the Kyrgyz pool has even more to offer. There’s the adrenaline that runs through your veins as you sit on the side of the pool and realize that 80% percent of the children swimming in front of you CANNOT SWIM. Then there’s the confusing that comes with watching children set a large stone next to the pool off of which to jump, because those extra 6 inches are 6 times more exciting. Then there’s the disgust that comes from noticing bursting boils upon the skin of those swimming next to you in the definitely not chlorinated water (really, the boil thing happened only once...but it was scary!).

All that being said, the pool is the place you’ll find me on a hot summer day. We have several, which are refilled on different days of the week and it’s a constant struggle to know the schedule well enough to follow the clean water. The 3 hours I may spend at the pool stand out as the ONLY 3 hours of the day during which I am not dripping sweat. That’s why I go. The people watching is just an added bonus.

Summer Scenery Cont'd

There's a cave on the side of the mountain that houses a historical/cultural museum. This shot is looking out from the museum.


Base of the mountain. These steps lead to the holy site at the top of the mountain.


Looking down on the city from the lookout point on the top of the mountain.

Wish List?

I am a low maintenance person and so life here in Kyrgyzstan goes smoothly for me. But, like anything, there are ups and downs. For those down moments, a taste of home is soothing. I compiled this Wish List for that reason, but please don’t feel obligated to send me anything. Shipping can be super expensive.

Coffee (ground for a French Press)
Energy/Protein Bars or Granola Bars of any kind
Chapstick with sunscreen
Hot Sauce
Maple Syrup
Ranch seasoning packet
Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter Pretzels
Butterfingers
Reeses Pieces
Dijon Mustard
Blueberries (dried or canned? if that exists)
Spicy Seasonings
Hand/Foot Cream
Pumus Stone
Face Wash
Face Lotion with sunscreen
Aloe lotion/After-sun lotion
Glide or Satin Floss
Emergen-C or Airborne
Nyquil
Magazines, CDs, DVDs
Pictures of y’all
Craft materials to entertain me over the winter
Books (re: Prostitution, Democratization, Human Trafficking, Russian Grammar, Gender in Development, Studying for FSOT, something you think I might find interesting)

Please note that for anything remotely valuable, some safety precautions should be taken. Wrapping the entire box (like in that brown package paper) seems to help with tampering, as does drawing/taping the Islamic symbol on the exterior of the package. If you want to hide something within the package, it’s recommended that you put it into an empty tampon box or something similar. Should safely arrive in about a month. If you’ve forgotten my mailing address, please email me or comment on this post. It’s safer if I email you the address directly.

Check out the scenery

I have lots of photos from around town, so here's the first in a series of scenery. I'm climbing around on top of Mount Suleiman. This photo is from June. It's way too hot to do this during the middle of the day right now. We went up the mountain late at night last week. Scary, but we didn't melt.

Photos from Swearing-In

I'm catching up on all the old photos from training, but I promise some new ones soon. I've been having a good time this summer...though business is slowest at this time. Understandably so...we've definitely broken 100 degrees already and it's only getting hotter. The work/projects will pick up again in September, so I'm not worried.

I taught my host family about California's official sport (no, not surfing). They think I am a Frisbee genius even though they think it's just a giant plate that they've seen dogs catch in their mouths in the movies.

I'm eating lots of delicious local fruits and vegetables. Most American agriculture, whether imported or not, seems to be engineered for durability and transit. Since the transit of produce is so limited here (we get dozens of varieties that people living only a few hours north never have access to) freshness and flavor are paramount. As an admirer of fine produce, I love this quirk.

Enough about produce, here's photos from the day we became official Peace Corps Volunteers:

The Health Promotion group after our Swearing-In Ceremony.


My training village group after Swearing-In, with our wonderful teacher Albina.

Going Away Party in Dmitrievka

All the host families of Dmitrievka.


More of the same. Such a welcoming community...I miss them.

Misc PST photos

Giant monument/park dedicated to the epic hero Manas. This is right behind the hotel we often stay at and is the coolest park in Kyrgyzstan.


We used a giant chalk map of Kyrgyzstan to announce where we would be sent. I love maps.


Sometimes Peace Corps Volunteers take bored photos of themselves. And by sometimes, I mean very often.

Mount Suleiman in the News

Well, probably not international news, but nonetheless. Osh's central mountain was chosen by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

“Now the Suleiman Too Sacred Mountain will receive the world recognition under the aegis of the international organization. Tourists from all parts of the world will visit the mountain and the flowof investments will rise. Besides, UNESCO will allocate funds annually for maintenance and preservation of cultural and historical values of the Sulaiman Too,” Osh mayor Melisbek Myrzakmatov said.

Osh City Tour

Mount Suleiman lies in the center of the city. Atop sits a previous residence of a babur, which has been reconstructed and remains a sacred place to Muslims.


The center of the old bazaar in Osh has a peace symbol that caught my eye. This bazaar is supposed to be the oldest open-air bazaar in Central Asia. It's so large that I haven't even begun to see the half of it.


We have a nice park running alongside the river. It's defintely a city park with lots of attractions and food stands. But it's still a nice relief from the hustle and bustle of the city's roads.

Hiking in Issyk Ata

Right before training ended, we took a day trip into the mountains just South of Bishkek to a resort town called Issyk Ata. We didn't partake in any of the resort's ammenities, but instead chose to hike up though hills.


Traditional Kyrgyz yurts used a temporary residence for bringing livestock to the mountains during the summer.


Sasha and I hiking in Issyk Ata.


Beautiful grazing horses in the mountains. I know we speculated before I left for Kyrgyzstan, what would Kyrgyz horses look like?

Osh Site Visit

I visited my site back in May to meet with my organization and my new host family. It was such a pleasant trip that I did not want to return to training. Osh is an awesome city.

My new host mother Gavhar, sister Nigora, and I in front of our house.


My new host parents, Gavhar and Kadir.


My new host brother Aibek was visiting from the army and we all wanted to take pictures together. The younger brother is named Atabek.


We went rollerblading at the square, where little Asel had the hardest time!


Nigora and my new friends Umut and Asel.

Celebrating Easter with the Family

Back in my training village, we celebrated Russian Orthodox Easter as a family. I cannot remember whether or not I explained this tradition already, but I want to show the pictures.

An important part of the day was visiting the grave sites of those family members who cannot be present physically to celebrate with us. Many families brough picnics and set up tables next to the grave stones. Everyone brings flowers, candies, and gifts to lay on the graves. It was a festive environment, yet still quite sad.

Then we had guests over and ate a delicious lunch at the outside table. All of the guests came bearing gifts and colored eggs. It's as if the eggs are colored only to present to other families. So, by the end of the day, we had many colored eggs, but none of which we dyed ourselves.

Mama Luba and Veka as they prepare to dye the eggs using old panty hose. The dye is made from the skins of red onions and the designs are made using weeds/leaves from the garden.


Sasha and I - displaying the beautiful eggs that we helped dye.

Keepin busy in spite of the heat...

My first week at work went really well. I still anticipate a long adjustment period before I really get my hands dirty. Yesterday I did get to tag along on some outreach work, which was really interesting. The whole office participated in a training on Friday on Outreach Work and Consultation on HIV. It was challenging for me linguistically, but I enjoyed connecting with my coworkers. Now I'm pouring most of my time into a grant that has a quickly approaching deadline. I don't want to jinx it, so I'll tell more about it if I get it.

But don't worry! There's fun to be had. Our city has several cool beer gardens, excellent ice cream, and a gigantic public pool. Long story short, this summer is starting off nicely.

Orphanages

Several orphanages hosted us during the first few months for various trainings. We are greatly indebted to them for their hospitality. Luckily, we had lots of time to play!


Teaching and playing with the children from the Dmitrievka orphanage.


More Dmitievka orphanage fun.


Carnival games and such at Kirgshelk orphanage.


Letting the orphans get hold of the facepaint was one of the funniest mistakes of training.

Way Off Topic

I know this is off topic, but I feel out of the loop as to what is cool right now in America. Let me know what you're enjoying right now, here's the dish on my current tastes:

When it was still gloomy this Spring I was diggin Bon Iver's latest EP, specifically the title track Blood Bank. Check it out. But now that it's sunny and hot, hot, hot in Osh, I'm liking the poppy stuff that you can hear in every bar/restaurant in town. Most of all they love Akon (crazy, I know). I will admit he has some catchy tunes.

Also, speaking summer, please tell me that you've checked out Summer Heights High. It's a hilarious mockumentary orignally aired on Australian TV. It makes me laugh after I've had a long day in Kyrgyzstan.

First Host Family

I had to say goodbye to my great host family in my northern Kyrgyzstani village. I'm excited to call the South my home now, but I wanted to share some pics from the family that I will miss.


My adorable host neices, Nastia and Veka, playing with our newest baby kitten. Spring in the village means lots of babies (chickens, lambs, bunnies, and puppies too).


Mama Luba and I in her garden. PC made us pose for this one, she's not fond of being photographed so I have to thank them for making her.


Nastia and Veka again, this time at our Going Away party.


Mama Maria gracefully hosted us for all of our language lessons, while Albina (the younger woman) taught us from the very beginning. We were certainly difficult to communicate with at the time, but they did their best! This photo is from Sasha's birthday party.

More from Culture Day

Luxembourg volunteers performing the ceremony of a Kyrgyz baby's first crib.



Young Kyrgyz kids tired after a long day of performances.



Bride and groom celebrating their "Russian Wedding."


All of the host families and participants of our village's cultural presentation. We were very proud.

Kyrgyz Kindness

So far the Kyrgyz people have treated me with such kindness. My training host mother is a prime example and it's hard to say how much I've been able to give back. I know that I've definitely listened to her more than most of her family. Unfortunately, many of those one-sided conversations involved me feigning understanding (I am way too good at this!). But the night before I would be leaving her house to move to the south, we really had a nice heart-to-heart. We talked about life and love and how difficult it is to make decisions that affect other people.

My language skills are slowly improving to the point that I can address more complex topics, but I think this conversation was more special than that. After living with her everyday for the past 11 weeks, she and I have developed our own communication methods. She knows when to gesture to bring the point across and what vocabulary I am most familiar with. Vice versely, she can understand my misnomers and poorly constructed sentences more than anyone. The heart-to-heart conversation made it more difficult to say goodbye. She shed some tears as we parted ways on Wednesday, and for me, reflecting back on it right now evokes a similar emotion.

I just can't get over how human beings overcome so many obstacles to communicate with one another. It's fascinating and inspiring. I'm also at that point where I wonder: Did I really need another person to miss? I have plenty on the other side of the planet!

Kind marshrutka drivers, kind local children, and many more kind hearted community members have given me a warm impression of this country. Everything about this country is so different than I expected, but I somehow feel exactly like I expected I would.