My host brother and sister--I love them!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
First Snow
This is my house (barely distinguishable behind the trees) after the first snow in Taldy-Bulak.
First Course...
This was just part of the food we ate at Thanksgiving. This only shows about half of the food we made and none of the food the Kyrgyz made!
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner
Michaela chopping garlic, Matt chopping butter (??), and Nick rolling pie dough.
The Best Thanksgiving Ever!
Are my posts getting longer?? Enjoy!
Thanksgiving in Kyrgyzstan—what could be more of an adventure?? If that’s what we were looking for, we were not disappointed. From the perspective of 10:30pm, I’m so thankful for what was quite possibly one of the best days of my Peace Corps experience thus far.
The day began at 9:30am, when Matt, Michaela & Nick came over to my house to prepare food for our Thanksgiving feast-extravaganza at 6pm. We’d decided to be adventurous and try to cook for the first time in Kyrgyzstan, and prepare an American Thanksgiving meal for our host families. Kyrgyz don’t have Thanksgiving, but because our families have hosted Trainees in the past, they are familiar with the holiday, and decided to combine it with a going away “toy” (feast) for us.
We started by peeling potatoes (for mashed potatoes) and apples (for apple pie), as well as baking a pumpkin (for pumpkin pie, of course). It was quite a site to see the four of us crammed inside my family’s eating room, peeling potatoes and apples with knives. I don’t think my apa was quite confident that we knew what we were doing (and to be honest, neither were we!). But by lunchtime, our apple pie (for which Nick insisted on making a “lattice” top—what a beauty) and pumpkin pie were ready to be baked! We were limited to one small convection oven, so we started the pumpkin, and it only took a mere 3 hours to bake! Everything takes just a little bit longer in Kyrgyzstan…
We took a break for lunch, eating some fabulous food at our LCF’s house. Then we returned to our work, starting to slice bread for the stuffing and make patties for hamburgers! We opted not to do a turkey because we would have had to purchase it alive, kill it, pluck its feathers, etc. Hamburgers were much easier, and oh so damduu (tasty). Around 3pm, we had just finished the initial baking of the bread cubes for the stuffing, and were right on schedule putting the apple pie in the oven, when all of a sudden: CVET JOK!! English translation: no electricity. This happens every once in a while here, and the electricity has stayed off for anywhere from 2 minutes to 24 hours. But we couldn’t think of a worse time for the electricity to go out than right in the middle of Thanksgiving baking!
But we are Peace Corps Volunteers, meaning we are trained to be resourceful. After about an hour of wondering if the lights would come back on so we could continue as we’d planned, we decided to transition to plan B. The stuffing and the beautiful lattice-topped apple pie might have to be forgone for that night. But the potatoes had been boiled and mashed already, and we could still salvage the burgers… Matt and Michaela took the 8 pounds of meat to Matt’s house, where they fried the burgers over extreme heat (fire) by flashlight. Awesome job, guys! Around 5pm, the craziest thing happened, and wind started blowing so hard the house was shaking. The sky was grey, but there was no rain, just dust. I felt like I was right in the middle of the Wizard of Oz before Dorothy’s house blew away. It seemed unlikely that we’d be getting power back anytime soon in these conditions…
At 6pm, still, svet jok, so we started taking the food we had over to Michaela’s house by flashlight, were the toy would be held. On the second trip, we decided to take the stuffing, just in case the power came on and we could bake it at Michaela’s house. Just as we were about to leave—voila! Light! Oh, we were so excited! We put the apple pie in the convection oven at my house (because it was the only oven in the village that could hold this enormous pie), grabbed the stuffing, and hurried to Michaela’s, where we started baking it. Perfect! We were so excited that everything was working out!
We started eating around 7pm, with a demonstration for our apas of how to make a hamburger. The Kyrgyz love meat, so we think they were quite pleased with the burger idea, albeit a little confused as to why you had to put it between 2 slices of bread. After the hamburger first course, Matt and I had to leave to check on the apple pie. So we took the 10 minute walk to my house in the dark, and by this time in the rain… but it was all worth it when we arrived to behold the most beautiful apple pie we’d ever seen in our lives. This was Nick’s baby, and I was so thrilled at the perfect golden-brown lattice crust and the slightly bubbling apple juice around the edges. Yes, this was a great Thanksgiving.
Upon returning to Michaela’s, we ate more burgers, mashed potatoes (also quite a hit with the Kyrgyz people), and stuffing. I was so stuffed, and then our apas brought out the entire meal they’d prepared! We should have known, but we had no idea that was coming, and it totally caught us off guard. This time it was chicken, their own mashed potatoes, and buckwheat—normally a fantastic meal, but I couldn’t eat more than a few bites (partly also because I was trying to save at least a smidgen of room for the pies…)
And then it was finally time: the pies were cut and served. What would the verdict be? Would they be as tasty as they were gorgeous? Would our attempt to bake in Kyrgyzstan—with ingredients purchased at the local bazaar, in a language we still don’t quite understand—be successful? I took the first bite of the pumpkin pie, and it was just like heaven! Quite possibly the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had in my life! The apple was right up there as well. When I finished eating my 2 huge pieces, I really thought I might explode, and I didn’t want to move from my spot at the dinner table. I think we all felt the same way… but is there any other more appropriate way to feel after Thanksgiving dinner?
Today has been great. Cooking with my friends was so much fun, and overcoming the various obstacles of not having the proper cooking utensils and not having electricity was quite an adventure. Yes, we laughed a lot today. A more Kyrgyz American holiday, I’ve never experienced. As I look back on the day, I am completely satisfied. I’m happy to be here in Kyrgyzstan. I love it here. I love my friends in my language group; I love my village; I love my host family. Of course, I miss spending the holiday with my family back home, but I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience a Kyrgyz Thanksgiving—and quite a success it was.
Thanksgiving in Kyrgyzstan—what could be more of an adventure?? If that’s what we were looking for, we were not disappointed. From the perspective of 10:30pm, I’m so thankful for what was quite possibly one of the best days of my Peace Corps experience thus far.
The day began at 9:30am, when Matt, Michaela & Nick came over to my house to prepare food for our Thanksgiving feast-extravaganza at 6pm. We’d decided to be adventurous and try to cook for the first time in Kyrgyzstan, and prepare an American Thanksgiving meal for our host families. Kyrgyz don’t have Thanksgiving, but because our families have hosted Trainees in the past, they are familiar with the holiday, and decided to combine it with a going away “toy” (feast) for us.
We started by peeling potatoes (for mashed potatoes) and apples (for apple pie), as well as baking a pumpkin (for pumpkin pie, of course). It was quite a site to see the four of us crammed inside my family’s eating room, peeling potatoes and apples with knives. I don’t think my apa was quite confident that we knew what we were doing (and to be honest, neither were we!). But by lunchtime, our apple pie (for which Nick insisted on making a “lattice” top—what a beauty) and pumpkin pie were ready to be baked! We were limited to one small convection oven, so we started the pumpkin, and it only took a mere 3 hours to bake! Everything takes just a little bit longer in Kyrgyzstan…
We took a break for lunch, eating some fabulous food at our LCF’s house. Then we returned to our work, starting to slice bread for the stuffing and make patties for hamburgers! We opted not to do a turkey because we would have had to purchase it alive, kill it, pluck its feathers, etc. Hamburgers were much easier, and oh so damduu (tasty). Around 3pm, we had just finished the initial baking of the bread cubes for the stuffing, and were right on schedule putting the apple pie in the oven, when all of a sudden: CVET JOK!! English translation: no electricity. This happens every once in a while here, and the electricity has stayed off for anywhere from 2 minutes to 24 hours. But we couldn’t think of a worse time for the electricity to go out than right in the middle of Thanksgiving baking!
But we are Peace Corps Volunteers, meaning we are trained to be resourceful. After about an hour of wondering if the lights would come back on so we could continue as we’d planned, we decided to transition to plan B. The stuffing and the beautiful lattice-topped apple pie might have to be forgone for that night. But the potatoes had been boiled and mashed already, and we could still salvage the burgers… Matt and Michaela took the 8 pounds of meat to Matt’s house, where they fried the burgers over extreme heat (fire) by flashlight. Awesome job, guys! Around 5pm, the craziest thing happened, and wind started blowing so hard the house was shaking. The sky was grey, but there was no rain, just dust. I felt like I was right in the middle of the Wizard of Oz before Dorothy’s house blew away. It seemed unlikely that we’d be getting power back anytime soon in these conditions…
At 6pm, still, svet jok, so we started taking the food we had over to Michaela’s house by flashlight, were the toy would be held. On the second trip, we decided to take the stuffing, just in case the power came on and we could bake it at Michaela’s house. Just as we were about to leave—voila! Light! Oh, we were so excited! We put the apple pie in the convection oven at my house (because it was the only oven in the village that could hold this enormous pie), grabbed the stuffing, and hurried to Michaela’s, where we started baking it. Perfect! We were so excited that everything was working out!
We started eating around 7pm, with a demonstration for our apas of how to make a hamburger. The Kyrgyz love meat, so we think they were quite pleased with the burger idea, albeit a little confused as to why you had to put it between 2 slices of bread. After the hamburger first course, Matt and I had to leave to check on the apple pie. So we took the 10 minute walk to my house in the dark, and by this time in the rain… but it was all worth it when we arrived to behold the most beautiful apple pie we’d ever seen in our lives. This was Nick’s baby, and I was so thrilled at the perfect golden-brown lattice crust and the slightly bubbling apple juice around the edges. Yes, this was a great Thanksgiving.
Upon returning to Michaela’s, we ate more burgers, mashed potatoes (also quite a hit with the Kyrgyz people), and stuffing. I was so stuffed, and then our apas brought out the entire meal they’d prepared! We should have known, but we had no idea that was coming, and it totally caught us off guard. This time it was chicken, their own mashed potatoes, and buckwheat—normally a fantastic meal, but I couldn’t eat more than a few bites (partly also because I was trying to save at least a smidgen of room for the pies…)
And then it was finally time: the pies were cut and served. What would the verdict be? Would they be as tasty as they were gorgeous? Would our attempt to bake in Kyrgyzstan—with ingredients purchased at the local bazaar, in a language we still don’t quite understand—be successful? I took the first bite of the pumpkin pie, and it was just like heaven! Quite possibly the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had in my life! The apple was right up there as well. When I finished eating my 2 huge pieces, I really thought I might explode, and I didn’t want to move from my spot at the dinner table. I think we all felt the same way… but is there any other more appropriate way to feel after Thanksgiving dinner?
Today has been great. Cooking with my friends was so much fun, and overcoming the various obstacles of not having the proper cooking utensils and not having electricity was quite an adventure. Yes, we laughed a lot today. A more Kyrgyz American holiday, I’ve never experienced. As I look back on the day, I am completely satisfied. I’m happy to be here in Kyrgyzstan. I love it here. I love my friends in my language group; I love my village; I love my host family. Of course, I miss spending the holiday with my family back home, but I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience a Kyrgyz Thanksgiving—and quite a success it was.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Permanent Site Address
I've updated my profile (on the right) to reflect my address at my permanent site, but I'll write it here as well!
Kyrgyz Republic
Talas Oblast, Talas Rayon
Jon-Aryk Village, 724104
Tuloberdiev Street
A. Nurganov School
Lisa Freeman
Also, I'm breaking down and buying a cell phone next week, so as soon as I get that, I'll post my new number. Right now the numbers at the right are for my host family in Taldy-Bulak.
Kyrgyz Republic
Talas Oblast, Talas Rayon
Jon-Aryk Village, 724104
Tuloberdiev Street
A. Nurganov School
Lisa Freeman
Also, I'm breaking down and buying a cell phone next week, so as soon as I get that, I'll post my new number. Right now the numbers at the right are for my host family in Taldy-Bulak.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Correction
It was pointed out to me (thanks Steve E.!) that I said my new village in Talas was a "small village of 5 million people." What an error! Especially considering the entire population of Kyrgyzstan is about 5 million people. Jon-Aryk is actually a small village of 5 thousand people. Sorry for the mistake! And enjoy some of the photos I've finally been able to post...
Finally, a picture of my host family! This is the whole family at dinner. Clockwise around the table, starting from the bottom left: Chong Ata (Grandfather), Adilet (my little brother), Nuriza (a cousin who doesn't actually live with us, but was visiting for a few weeks at the time), Apa (mom), Aigerim (my little sister), Aiturgan (my other little sister, otherwise known as "tentek mimal"--troublemaking monkey), and Ata (dad).
Friday, November 04, 2005
Permanent Site Announcements!
Well, after a year of waiting and unknowns associated with the Peace Corps (What will you be doing as a PCV [unknown until Nov 2004]? What country will you be serving in [unknown until May 2005]? What language will you be learning [unknown until arrival in country Sept 2005]?), the last of the major unknowns was revealed on Wednesday with permanent site announcements! Now, finally, I feel like I have a little better idea of what the next 2 years will look like…
Of course, all the volunteers have been anxious to find out where we will be living for our 2 years of our service. A few weeks ago, we had interviews with some of the staff to make known our preferences, and since then we have been waiting in eager expectation as other people seemingly determined our fates. A couple weeks ago, a peace came over my waiting when I realized there wasn’t a place I could be sent with which I would be hugely disappointment. Then I was able to look forward to Site Placement Announcements with excitement, rather than nervousness or worry. Later, last Friday, as I was praying about my placement, God spoke to me through some verses in Psalm 33 that though the placement decision was out of my control, it was completely within His:
“For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation” (v. 9-11).
I could have confidence that He was the One placing me, and was able to give Him freedom to put me in the place that would accomplish His highest for both me and for Kyrgyzstan, even if it meant learning Uzbek and not Russian!
As it turns out, that will not be the case :-). On Wednesday, at the end of a long day of training sessions, we all gathered outside around a huge map of Kyrgyzstan while staff handed out envelopes to each person containing their fate… Of course, we had to wait until each of the 61 Trainees had received his or her envelope before we could open them. Can you sense the tension?? I’ve been making you wait to find out my placement for 5 paragraphs, and you’re already going crazy, aren’t you? :-)
So where is this mystery location?? On December 2, after being sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer, I’ll be moving to a village called Jon-Aryk in the oblast of Talas. Talas is the most northwestern oblast in Kyrgyzstan, bordering Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It is the birthplace of the national hero, Manas, as well another national hero, Kyrgyz writer Chinghiz Aitamov. It’s also the site of a famous battle in 751 when Arabs conquered the Chinese and brought Islam to the region, changing the course of Central Asian history. Despite the region’s claim to fame, however, Talas is one of the oblasts that most Trainees don’t want to be placed, because it has a reputation for being a bit isolated from the rest of the country. But for many various reasons, I am super excited about my placement!
First of all, Jon-Aryk is a small village of about 5 million people, but it is only 6 km (a 15 minute bus ride) from Talas City, which is the largest city in Talas. So I will be able to retain the experience of village-life (which I’ve come to love living here in Taldy-Bulak), while also having all the benefits of a city (Internet, bazaar, cafes, etc.) almost within walking-distance. I’m sure Mom was praying hard that I’d be near Internet, so I guess it worked J. Also, even though Talas itself (the oblast) is a very Kyrgyz region, Russian is used more in Talas City (as with any major city in the KR). So I think if it’s at all possible for me to learn 2 languages in 2 years, Talas City is as good a place as any! Thirdly, Jon-Aryk is a new Peace Corps site, meaning I will be the first volunteer in this village and at my school! While there are both pluses and minuses to being the first volunteer at a new site, I’m very excited about it! I will be able to blaze my own trail without being in the shadow of any previous volunteers. I’ll also be laying the foundation for this community’s perception of both Peace Corps and Americans, which is a huge task, but I’m up for it. I’m excited to break this new ground and pave the way for future Volunteers at this site.
Finally—though definitely not the least of the factors causing my excitement about my placement—my friend Michaela (the other girl in my language group and my closest friend in the Peace Corps so far) was placed in Talas also, just 50 km west of me! That means for 2 years, we will be a mere 30 minute taxi drive from each other. Just as I believe God divinely put us together in a language group, I know He has divinely placed us together in Talas. Even Michaela remarked that she just knew it was going to work out this way. I’m excited to see what God does with our friendship in the years ahead, and it’s comforting to have such a good friend nearby as we embark on the next phase of our journey!
Next week, I will visit my site for the first time with my “counterpart”—a local English teacher at my school who has been assigned to kind of mentor me throughout my service. I’ll meet my new host family, get acquainted with the layout of the village, visit my school, meet the school’s director, and even my students! This will be the first time I’ll really be kind of on my own here, but I’m eager to get on with the real thing. Training has been great, but I’m glad I only have a month left! And so, excitement builds as the adventure continues!
Of course, all the volunteers have been anxious to find out where we will be living for our 2 years of our service. A few weeks ago, we had interviews with some of the staff to make known our preferences, and since then we have been waiting in eager expectation as other people seemingly determined our fates. A couple weeks ago, a peace came over my waiting when I realized there wasn’t a place I could be sent with which I would be hugely disappointment. Then I was able to look forward to Site Placement Announcements with excitement, rather than nervousness or worry. Later, last Friday, as I was praying about my placement, God spoke to me through some verses in Psalm 33 that though the placement decision was out of my control, it was completely within His:
“For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation” (v. 9-11).
I could have confidence that He was the One placing me, and was able to give Him freedom to put me in the place that would accomplish His highest for both me and for Kyrgyzstan, even if it meant learning Uzbek and not Russian!
As it turns out, that will not be the case :-). On Wednesday, at the end of a long day of training sessions, we all gathered outside around a huge map of Kyrgyzstan while staff handed out envelopes to each person containing their fate… Of course, we had to wait until each of the 61 Trainees had received his or her envelope before we could open them. Can you sense the tension?? I’ve been making you wait to find out my placement for 5 paragraphs, and you’re already going crazy, aren’t you? :-)
So where is this mystery location?? On December 2, after being sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer, I’ll be moving to a village called Jon-Aryk in the oblast of Talas. Talas is the most northwestern oblast in Kyrgyzstan, bordering Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It is the birthplace of the national hero, Manas, as well another national hero, Kyrgyz writer Chinghiz Aitamov. It’s also the site of a famous battle in 751 when Arabs conquered the Chinese and brought Islam to the region, changing the course of Central Asian history. Despite the region’s claim to fame, however, Talas is one of the oblasts that most Trainees don’t want to be placed, because it has a reputation for being a bit isolated from the rest of the country. But for many various reasons, I am super excited about my placement!
First of all, Jon-Aryk is a small village of about 5 million people, but it is only 6 km (a 15 minute bus ride) from Talas City, which is the largest city in Talas. So I will be able to retain the experience of village-life (which I’ve come to love living here in Taldy-Bulak), while also having all the benefits of a city (Internet, bazaar, cafes, etc.) almost within walking-distance. I’m sure Mom was praying hard that I’d be near Internet, so I guess it worked J. Also, even though Talas itself (the oblast) is a very Kyrgyz region, Russian is used more in Talas City (as with any major city in the KR). So I think if it’s at all possible for me to learn 2 languages in 2 years, Talas City is as good a place as any! Thirdly, Jon-Aryk is a new Peace Corps site, meaning I will be the first volunteer in this village and at my school! While there are both pluses and minuses to being the first volunteer at a new site, I’m very excited about it! I will be able to blaze my own trail without being in the shadow of any previous volunteers. I’ll also be laying the foundation for this community’s perception of both Peace Corps and Americans, which is a huge task, but I’m up for it. I’m excited to break this new ground and pave the way for future Volunteers at this site.
Finally—though definitely not the least of the factors causing my excitement about my placement—my friend Michaela (the other girl in my language group and my closest friend in the Peace Corps so far) was placed in Talas also, just 50 km west of me! That means for 2 years, we will be a mere 30 minute taxi drive from each other. Just as I believe God divinely put us together in a language group, I know He has divinely placed us together in Talas. Even Michaela remarked that she just knew it was going to work out this way. I’m excited to see what God does with our friendship in the years ahead, and it’s comforting to have such a good friend nearby as we embark on the next phase of our journey!
Next week, I will visit my site for the first time with my “counterpart”—a local English teacher at my school who has been assigned to kind of mentor me throughout my service. I’ll meet my new host family, get acquainted with the layout of the village, visit my school, meet the school’s director, and even my students! This will be the first time I’ll really be kind of on my own here, but I’m eager to get on with the real thing. Training has been great, but I’m glad I only have a month left! And so, excitement builds as the adventure continues!
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