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Hello all, I have some big news today. This is my most recent log:

As I'm sitting here today, I can't help but feel contentment over how well my family treats me. Today (Sunday) is
my Дем-алыш, эс-ал кун (weekend, rest day) and after the week I've had and the week I'm going to have it feels
very good to just relax. But, this past week I've been the happiest I've been since my first day in-country; I had
my first actual conversation with my host family, received a package from home, am starting to fit in more with
the people around me, and can finally tune-out the nonsense that I haven't been able to for the past four weeks.
Overall things are good right now.

As for my family, they're really great. Some things are annoying, like today (or last week) when they told me to
let them do one thing, like vacuum my room or let them take my sheets so they can clean them, which results in
them completely cleaning everything in my room (I'm 22, I think I can do that by now), but still, that's part of
their hospitality. However, they're some of the nicest people I've ever met, and they don't push or shove anything
on me. They've taken good care of me and treat me so well, it's going to hurt when I have to leave them in a month
and a half.

Speaking of which, I find out this coming Wednesday where my permanant site will be in Kyrgyzstan. There's a lot
of anxiety from all the volunteers, and while I don't think I'm nearly as bad as most, I'm not excluded from that
description. My preferences are few and slim -- I'm basically willing to go anywhere, though would prefer the
north due to how hot summers can be here. Still, it's exciting to think that I'll be traveling outside the comfort
of this village and throwing myself into a completely Kyrgyz village -- finally I can get away from most of the
volunteers that annoy me, and will have to use Kyrgyz instead of having an English crutch to rely on.

I haven't been sick all week, which is a good sign. Yesterday we had a cultural event where we had to do things
like build а боз-уй (yurt), reenact a wedding ceremony, and wear cool Kyrgyz or Russian clothes. I got to wear an
amazing Kalpak and traditional clothing (got called Harry Potter so much because of how robe-ish the clothes are)
and completely loved it. Once I can immerse myself without having to deal with people complaining about how they
can't go into Bishkek every day, or how simple the language is, or how they shouldn't have to change because
they're American and don't need to adjust to living in a new environment, I think I will completely fall in love
with Kyrgyzstan. Right now I'm about halfway there.

Unfortunately my host-grandfather died on Friday, so my апа жана ата (mom and dad) went to Naryn, where they are
originally from, to go pay respects etc. Right now it's just my карандаш (name for younger sister, for
older brothers), ини (younger brother), my, uh... карандаш (cousin, extended family names get confusing) and
myself at home. They're playing music very loudly while going about chores around the house. It's amazing how the
family runs when no parent are around -- my sister makes all the food, cleans the house, esentially doing
everything (though she has help from her cousin), while my brother, being the typical Kyrgyz male, just kind of
plays all day. It's easier for me to help out when the parents aren't around (I literally got yelled at by my mom
for cleaning up plates after lunch), but these opportunities are few and far between.

Well, I'm sure there's plenty going on in the world for everyone else, so I'll sign off here. I hope everyone is
doing well and that life is good!

Chris

Today I found out where I'll be going for the next two months. I am going to Talas Oblast, in Northwestern Kyrgyzstan. I will be the first volunteer in my village and the only volunteer in my rayon (district). I will be roughly 45 minutes away from the nearest city (Talas), which isn't too bad at all. Talas is fairly cold in the winter and mild in the summer, has forests and beautiful scenery, and is the site for many of the tales from Manas, the Kyrgyz national epic poem.

I'm very excited because I wanted to go to Talas. My food there will primarily be potatoes, sweet beats, and beans during the winter. Summer throughout Kyrgyzstan has a plethora of fruits and vegetables. There will be one volunteer not too far from me, and several others scattered throughout the oblast. By taxi or marshurtka, it will take about 5 hours to travel to/from Talas City and Bishkek.

I wish I had more time to address everyone's emails, but time is not on my side. I have received mail and packages, and am very grateful for that. Currently things are going excellently. Sorry to everyone who got the impression my pictures were the correct ones -- they should be up on the blog at the moment.

I'm sorry for your loss Brother George, and will keep you in my heart and prayers.

Peace,

Chris