In-Service Training (IST)

If you hadn’t bathed in 10 days and hadn’t had a real shower in 3 months, and arrived at a hotel where one was available, how long would it take you to strip down and jump in? Well, my sense of normalcy on these things is completely messed up by now. We arrived at the Issik-Kul Hotel (Issik Kul literally translates “hot lake”) on the afternoon of Thursday, March 9th, and I didn’t actually get myself into the shower until Friday night. Ha! However, despite my delayed reaction, having three real showers in one week was FABULOUS! :-). I think I officially ridded myself of all the accumulated dead skin, and effectively attacked the forest that had built up on my legs after 5 months of not shaving. Now, isn’t this a pleasant way to start off this post?

Let me backtrack and explain a little… Last week all the K-13s (volunteers who arrived at the same time as me; we are the 13th group of PCVs in Kyrgyzstan, thus, the name “K-13”) traveled to Bishkek (the capitol) for a week of training, titled “In-Service Training” or IST. It was a great time! In addition to the aforementioned shower situation, we also had flushing toilets and running hot water! Plumbing is wonderful!

I was also able to partake of some great food. Being the capitol, Bishkek is the home of many treasures, one of which is a bona fide American café! So the first thing I did upon arrival on Thursday was NOT, as we know, taking a shower, but eating onion rings and a grilled chicken club sandwich—my first sandwich in 6 months! It was heavenly. Other meals in Bishkek included real pizza, a chicken burrito, potato gnocchi, a huge chocolate brownie, and chocolate chip cookies. In addition to the eating out, we also found the hotel food to be spectacular. We’d stayed in this hotel a few times before, and we all found ourselves asking each other, “Was the food this good last time we were here??” The joke was that we’d all lost about 15 pounds over the last three months at site, and then gained 10 at IST. I definitely feasted, and unashamedly. To top it all off, Bishkek is also the home to actual SUPERMARKETS! I made several trips, stocking up on some groceries you can’t find in Talas. The prize for most notable purchase is a close one between peanut butter and cocoa puffs…

It was also fun to meet up with all the other volunteers and catch up with each other after 3 months of separation. It was great to exchange stories, compare situations, and share teaching tips. In addition to the volunteers, I was also able to meet up with some other Americans in Bishkek, going out to dinner and even being invited to a home-cooked meal (the source of the chocolate chip cookies). These connections proved to be the best overall part of my week in Bishkek. It was so fun and encouraging to sit around a dinner table chatting about culture, language, struggles, and victories with people who have been living here for 8 years. What a blessing!

Other highlights: staying out past dark, talking to Steve on an internet phone, chatting with Kristen over instant messenger, going to church, watching DVDs at the hotel, having awesome Kyrgyz language classes, a seller at the bazaar asking me if I was Turkish (Kyrgyz and Turkish languages are similar) and telling me I spoke Kyrgyz very well!

It was a packed week, but a great one. The change of pace and scenery was nice, and now it’s nice to be back “home” in Talas. And nice to know Bishkek is always there when I need a club sandwich…