Turnaround

Salutations,

I'm feeling quite a bit better this week, especially after the horrendous happenings of last. Yesterday I talked with my school's director and I came away with promise: she'll put a notice up that I'm looking for a Kyrgyz tutor, took note that I'm interested in having a youth club, said that the school should have a copy of Manas and if it doesn't she has one that she'll lend me, and she said that we have free classrooms and will look into getting me one. A big plus! Everything is very early at this point, but just the prospect of something going well is such a turnaround from my past few months here. 

My host family and one friend of the oldest boy are interested in taking English lessons at home. I'm all for it. There's one trip, though. My host eje was giving me a 5 minute speal yesterday about the friend and how much money the course should be. She lectured me (ha! of all things) about how I can't take money because I'm a volunteer, and amid a torrent of words I'm either not accustomed to or are of a different dialect, I believe she said she would be taking money for said lessons. I was a bit caught up in the flurry of this facade, and couldn't properly reply until realization dawned upon me what the purpose of this talk was about -- a few minutes after the conversation had ended and we both went our ways for the day. Needless to say, her taking money on this account is not correct for several reasons. The only real argument in favor of taking money is that the classes are being held in the house, and that's flimsy. It's not just that I'm a volunteer and this whole scheme defeats the purpose of volunteer work, but I'm doing work so that someone else can get paid not having done or the capabilities of doing said work? How... irritating. The bottom line of money, while true to the real world, is very aggrivating. Once again, the very idea of volunteering has flown over heads and goes unappreciated.

Health-wise, things are going ok. My ear is doing better, especially after using a trick with vegetable oil. Still not 100%, but it's better. What's concerning me now is my weight, diet, and exercise routine. My weight has gone from loss to gain from my initial upon arrival to country. This is in part due to the standard diet here of grease, fat, and tons of carbs, packages with their tastes from heaven, and my non-existant exercise schedule. I meant to pick up a stretching dvd while in Bishkek, as PC provided a free cd from the 90s with Cindy Crawford conducting the lessons, but I was beat to that punch. The other day I was helping my host brother clean out a room of 6 month old apples, and saw that we have a barbell and bench, in addition to a pole for pullups and tree stumps for dips. It's not ideal now, particularly since today it's snowing out and this stuff is mostly all outside (save the bench), but come Spring when the weather clears up a bit I'd like to get back into the exercise scene. It's been a while, having not worked out since high school, but I remember most everything and can even help my host brother etc. because he was lifting improperly and in an unhealthy way. 

--

This has been a crazy week. Yesterday I went in to teach classes (my counterpart left me to go to it on my own for a good 20 minutes for each class, naturally) but the schedule was all mixed up. When I went in for my final class, I walked into my 11th G class to find the same dunderheads from my 11th B class sitting among the G's; as I brace myself to teach what would invariably be one of my worst sessions, the zavuch (vice-princ) comes in and informs me that he's conducting a Russian dictation test to the joint class -- my bacon is saved. As I walk out, my counterpart ambles on down from halway across the hall and asks me "Whats up?" Ha, you should have known. 

Yesterday I also got notice of three (!) packages arriving in town. Since the place is a bit far, and my host eje knows the taxi drivers, I asked her to call one so I could get them yesterday. With a typical "Sure, sure" that never got done, so I put on my 'if you want something done right you have to do it yourself' face today. After my morning clubs, I walked to the store (about 30-40 minutes) that's now handling my packages. When I get there, I'm first told my packages are in the rayon center (not my village), then that they're in the store but I can't take them because the proper person isn't there to take my signature. I got pretty heated at that, especially since the last time I took the packages and came back the next day to give my signature. But I got bolboited and so left empty-handed for the moment, and was told that said person would come at 5 pm. I go on to teach my afternoon clubs, having skipped lunch to (try to) get my packages, and afterwards I go back to the store. I arrive at 5, and talked a bit with some ladies from a different era who were remeniscing about how things were good and products were cheap back in Soviet times. They also were admonishing toward the woman who needed to come in order for me to get my packages ("In my day, if I needed to be somewhere at 5, I'd be there at 3!!") because she didn't show up until just under an hour after 5. When she did show up, it was with a rather large entourage. In one of the more perplexing situations I've been involved in, about 30-40 people packed into this shop thats about half the size of a small gas station store, and watch as they, who had been there a whole of 5 seconds, cut in front of me, who had been waiting for almost an hour. Kyrgyzstan has no sense of line or priority (in that sense) -- a store owner will halt his dealings with someone buying in bulk for quite a bit of money to get the person gawking at eggs to buy one for 7 som. Anyway, I was just dumbfounded by this scenario, and watched in awe as people kept pouring in. This was apparently pay day or something of the sort -- some people were giving this lady money, some people were taking it. I simply swam my way through the crowd to get to my packages -- this was going on in a back room, and I'm a bit irate that they decided to hold my packages in the same room with so many people, it would be so easy to steal one. I sat guarding them and watching the procession. After about half an hour, the crowd had diminished to about 10 or 15 people, and the eje finally called my name. I gave her my ID, signed a few slips of paper, and walked back home. What should have taken all of 2 minutes took almost two hours, not counting the time it took for me to travel. 

The packages, though, are worth it. Getting a package is so wonderful, I can't truly encapsulate what it means in mere words. In this batch, I got lots of food and candy -- much appreciated, especially since dinner (and I mean American dinner, not British dinner) tonight was a bowl of plain boiled elbow macaroni. As soon as I saw the bag with Hershey's Kisses in it, I thought I'd share them with my family. First I'd try one myself though; if I give my family 50 pieces of candy, and I only eat 1, they'll eat 49, so I literally have to divide how much I want and how much I want to give. I saw one with a strange wrapper and a green piece of paper sticking out of it. I thought it odd, I don't remember such Kisses. I put it in my mouth, and oh sweet lord! I never knew Kisses were made so good. Cordial Cherry Hershey Kisses -- it was so good, I immediately rescinded my offer of sharing most of the candy with my host family. Instead, I spent a couple minutes sorting through the almond and cherry variants, and opted to give them some of the former. Oi vey, my mind was blown with this particular deliciousness. 

American dinner vs British dinner. This is something I've been fighting with ever since I arrived at site. My counterparts both teach (or attempt to, in most cases) British English. This aggrivates me, immensely. It's not that I don't like British English and all, but they absolutely refuse to acknowledge that I don't use British English. I don't have a rest, my weekend isn't a holiday, I'm not going to the pillar box to post a letter, dinner is in the evening and isn't lunch, and for the love of Pete it's not a superior version of English. They constantly bug me for stuff I find somewhat ludicrous -- do you have information/pictures on/of Australia/New Zealand/Great Britain? Never of America, mind you. But oh, I absolutely must have pictures of aforementioned countries -- I'm giving a presentation on this country and you (the American) should have all these things! Oi. Time to implement the 2nd goal of Peace Corps -- teaching the host country about America. I don't consider myself to be super patriotic (or even mildly so) by any means, but my purpose here seems somewhat voided if all they're ever after is Brit English and non-American English speaking countries (of which they focus on 3). And I know next to nothing about Australia and *particularly* New Zealand. But I did recently finish the first season of Flight of the Concords -- love it!

--

Wow. Just wow. Things are actually, finally, for the first time in a long long time, starting to look good! I just got through with my first ever actual lesson planning with my good counterpart! Just the act alone has given me spirit I haven't had at site... ever, really. My other counterpart, while seemingly on the same page as always (particularly after a bout on Monday, where she refused my help snappishly and took to the book's guidance instead -- felt like quitting our partnership at that point), has seemingly been less uptight these past few days. My Kyrgyz language classes have started. The director of my school told me there's a classroom waiting for me (that makes me want to dance and frolic and just burst with glee!); the holdup is something I have no clue about, but it's there, I can taste it! Only thing left on my immediate goal list is to land my paws on a copy of Manas, that slippery epic...

With the classroom prospect, I have to start looking into things to equip it with. My first thought is "MAPS!" -- particularly world, US, CT, the UK, maybe Australia, New Zealand... but man oh man how I want maps. And posters! Bright big posters to put up around the classroom: posters for grammar, posters for vocabulary, posters for anything having to do with English! And books! Oh ho now I can finally ask for books and try starting up an English library; books for little kids, books for teenagers, books on grammar, books for fun, books books books! And not the crappy made-in-Russia English books, ohhhhhh no, good, real, correct, actual English books! And a good chalkboard (whiteboard doesn't seem so feasible with a lack of dry-erase markers out here, although it is quite tempting...), new desks, chairs, bookcases.... Ohhhhh I'm so excited for the classroom!! If anyone can help out with equipping it, whether through information or donation, it would be greatly appreciated! I have to look into things a bit more, but woweee!

The other day I decided to bust into my Hickory Farms food item gift box -- I wasn't having a good day. Stunned. Completely stunned. I hadn't realized it until I dug into the food. I had forgotten what flavor tastes like. It's sad, but true. When I tasted the hickory smoked cheddar cheese, I wanted to weep. When I put the cheese on a cracked wheat cracker, my tongue lept out of my mouth in joy. When I put sweet hot mustard on said cracker with cheese, my mind was completely and utterly blown. Amazing, simply amazing. I knew at that moment that I truly had began to conform to blandness. I must savor, cherish, and conserve -- taste is too scarce a bliss here to be wontonly flourished about and devoured. 

--

I have here a picture of myself with my recently won PC award. Surprise surprise at what it is, it's the same ol' thing I've been winning since high school. Nevertheless, I've taken the opportunity to take another ridiculous picture of myself-- this time with my favorite homework quote! One of our (volunteer's) favorite exchanges is happenings from the classroom. This one was a hit at the time, and has a special place with me. Enjoy!

Today is Valentine's Day, my most hated holiday of all. I'm taking the opportunity to escape to the city tonight and avoid anything that may happen in the village. I've already got preliminary threats of receiving hearts and cards, and that - the threat of said action - is quite enough. Time to flee this preposterous holiday!

After making pizza again, this time with my host sister, I realize that it's not too difficult. That is, if you have a professional with dough like most female Kyrgyz seem to be. Unfortunately, this time around, despite two pizzas being made, I only got to eat one slice before heading off to my afternoon classes. When I came back all the pizza was gone. That makes me feel not so bad about hording food -- I can't give anything to my fam that will last more than a couple hours at most. Subsequently my counterpart was kind of grilling me why I hadn't made her pizza yet. Aside from the obvious, I had a good fallback with the "it barely makes it out of the kitchen, let alone the house" line which is both true and convenient for this particular circumstance. 

Well, I think that's all for this update. Stay in touch and be safe everyone!

Peace,

Chris