After a 2 hour drive from Philadelphia to the JFK Airport in New York, a three hour wait in line to check in, a 10 hour flight to Turkey, a 6 hour layover in the Istanbul airport, and a 5 hour flight to Bishkek, I have finally arrived in the Kyrgyz Republic! The past few days we have been staying in a Soviet-style hotel in Bishkek, but today we will be meeting our host families and moving in with them, where we will be living for the next 3 months. I must admit that after 2.5 days in a hotel in Philly, 2.5 days of travel, and 2.5 days in the hotel here, I’m looking forward to settling in to one place for a while and unpacking my suitcases.
Before the flight out here, I felt like I was getting ready to step off the edge of a cliff into ??? (what had I gotten myself into?). I was anxious about how I’d feel upon arrival here, knowing this will be my home for the next 2+ years. But even though I was exhausted when we arrived at 1am on Sunday, I easily found my baggage, walked through customs without anyone even looking at me, much less checking any of my luggage, and exited the airport into a clear, cool, quiet night (what? Aren’t all foreign countries hot and humid when you arrive??), and on the bus ride to the hotel, I felt a peace and a rightness—this is where I am supposed to be and I am happy to be here. I definitely feel a covering of God’s grace for this adjustment so far, because I haven’t yet been unbearably homesick.
Today we began our language classes! Most of you know I was hoping & praying that I would be learning Russian. So when they made the announcement this morning that I was in a Kyrgyz group, I must admit I was a little disappointed. I’m not sure how they made the decision about who would be learning which language, since, in talking to other volunteers, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with previous knowledge or preference. But as I asked God to open doors to allow me to learn Russian, I also knew that while the situation was out of my control, it was well within His. And I knew I could trust Him no matter the outcome. So my disappointment in the morning slowly switched to excitement as the day wore on. I realized this is an opportunity, not only to learn an obscure language and develop a highly specialized skill, but for me to return to the States in 2 years trilingual! Many volunteers learn both languages during their service, and the Peace Corps will actually pay for me to hire a Russian tutor after my 3 months of Pre-Service Training. If I had been placed in a Russian group, I know I wouldn’t have put effort into learning Kyrgyz after training, but this way, I can use my training in Kyrgyz and my motivation to learn Russian to help me learn 2 languages. I also think knowing Kyrgyz will help me to gain respect from the local people, and to assimilate into the culture. So I see the outcome here as God tabling my personal request to give me what is actually best for me, because He knows I have given Him permission to override my desires when they will not actually accomplish His highest. Now I can see the benefits of this (and the challenges!), even though it wasn’t what I would have chosen for myself. So for the next 3 months, I devote myself to Kyrgyz! J Monolingual-Lisa is about to triple her language skills…
Ok, well I think this is more than enough information for now. Sorry there are no pictures yet. I haven’t taken too many (even though this is a beautiful country), and it’s difficult to post them from another computer in the Internet café. I’ll work on figuring out how to do that… I don’t think we will have much time or freedom to email or use the Internet during training, but I will do the best I can. If you want to write me real letters, I might have more time to respond that way. But please keep in touch! Even if I can’t check my email or write back regularly, it is always so wonderful to receive notes from all of you. Alright, until next time…
3 comments:
I'm glad you are excited about Kyrgyz. One of my big regrets about my service in Uzbekistan was that I put too much emphasis on using Russian (though it was much more useful in my city) than on Uzbek even though I was taught the latter. (I'd had some prior Russian training.) If you need Russian later, you'll learn it. But I find it's much harder to pick up the local language if you're using the lingua franca most of the time.
Hey! I found a link to your site via Registan.net. I lived in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan from August 2002-March 2003 with Campus Crusade and I wish I would have learned Kyrgyz! Russian is much more useful, but if you learn Kyrgyz the older generations of the Krygyz will give you a lot of respect and take you seriously. You will also pick up Kyrgyz much more quickly than Russian. I will be visiting Kyrgyzstan again in June 2006 and I can't wait. Enjoy your time there!
Lisa!
Take care out there! It sounds awesome. I know you'll love it. :)I'll be in touch. You know me.
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