Me and a couple of my students/relatives who came to my party.Thursday, September 28, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Happy Birthday to Me!!
On September 13th, I celebrated not only my 26th birthday, but my one year anniversary of leaving home for Kyrgyzstan. Needless to say, it was quite a milestone! So in the grand tradition of Lisa & Birthdays, I threw myself a party! This one was Kyrgyz-style, which basically means having a ridiculous amount of food and working all day to prepare J.
I should mention that my day started with a phone call from home, where my mom had gathered almost my whole family together (cousins, aunts, grandparents, etc.) for a birthday dinner in my honor (the morning of the 13th here was the evening of the 12th back home). She even prepared one of my favorite meals, the fine dining cuisine of tater tots and smoked sausage. Everyone sang to me (which made me cry), and then I got to talk to everyone individually (which also made me cry…). But despite all the crying, it was a wonderful way to start my birthday.
After a couple classes in the morning, it was time to get ready for the party!! I tried to make pizza (Michaela’s comment was, “I’ve had better.” It’s a good thing everything’s good with onion dip!), and my host mom made my favorite Kyrgyz food, perojkies. Yum! Plus, of course, the general spread, which you can see in the pictures. A few of my volunteer friends came out, and I also invited a few local friends as well. It was great to have everyone over to help me celebrate. I even got gifts! In addition to the ones people brought, I also received 2 packages that day! One from my Grandpa Freeman and another from Road Trip partner and all around fantastic friend, Gloria. Quite impressive timing for both of them to arrive ON my actual birthday! Gloria’s package even included a package of birthday candles, which we were able to use right away on my cake. What a blessing!
And probably one of the best birthday presents was the phone call I got from Kristen that evening, which enabled me to totally skip out on the cleaning! I just HAD to take that call from America, you know. I couldn’t help it if all the dishes happened to be washed by the time we finished our conversation J. I also got a birthday call that evening from Kristen’s parents—my second family. And then I was absolutely exhausted and slept like a rock. The only way it should be after a birthday, right?
I was woken from the dead sleep the next morning (my birthday evening in the States) by a phone call from my dad and step-mom, who had tried to call me several times the night before, but couldn't get through because I was just so popular!
Thanks to everyone who called, sent emails, and sent packages that I know will be coming soon! I should also mention that the party was made possible my money left over from what was given to me for my time in Bishkek last month, so thanks again to everyone who gave towards that! So my first Kyrgyzstan birthday was a huge success. Here’s to a great 26!
p.s. For some reason I'm having trouble posting pictures today. Hope to get some up soon!
I should mention that my day started with a phone call from home, where my mom had gathered almost my whole family together (cousins, aunts, grandparents, etc.) for a birthday dinner in my honor (the morning of the 13th here was the evening of the 12th back home). She even prepared one of my favorite meals, the fine dining cuisine of tater tots and smoked sausage. Everyone sang to me (which made me cry), and then I got to talk to everyone individually (which also made me cry…). But despite all the crying, it was a wonderful way to start my birthday.
After a couple classes in the morning, it was time to get ready for the party!! I tried to make pizza (Michaela’s comment was, “I’ve had better.” It’s a good thing everything’s good with onion dip!), and my host mom made my favorite Kyrgyz food, perojkies. Yum! Plus, of course, the general spread, which you can see in the pictures. A few of my volunteer friends came out, and I also invited a few local friends as well. It was great to have everyone over to help me celebrate. I even got gifts! In addition to the ones people brought, I also received 2 packages that day! One from my Grandpa Freeman and another from Road Trip partner and all around fantastic friend, Gloria. Quite impressive timing for both of them to arrive ON my actual birthday! Gloria’s package even included a package of birthday candles, which we were able to use right away on my cake. What a blessing!
And probably one of the best birthday presents was the phone call I got from Kristen that evening, which enabled me to totally skip out on the cleaning! I just HAD to take that call from America, you know. I couldn’t help it if all the dishes happened to be washed by the time we finished our conversation J. I also got a birthday call that evening from Kristen’s parents—my second family. And then I was absolutely exhausted and slept like a rock. The only way it should be after a birthday, right?
I was woken from the dead sleep the next morning (my birthday evening in the States) by a phone call from my dad and step-mom, who had tried to call me several times the night before, but couldn't get through because I was just so popular!
Thanks to everyone who called, sent emails, and sent packages that I know will be coming soon! I should also mention that the party was made possible my money left over from what was given to me for my time in Bishkek last month, so thanks again to everyone who gave towards that! So my first Kyrgyzstan birthday was a huge success. Here’s to a great 26!
p.s. For some reason I'm having trouble posting pictures today. Hope to get some up soon!
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Posh Corps
In a couple weeks, I’ll celebrate not only my 26th birthday, but my one year anniversary of leaving home for Kyrgyzstan! In honor of this momentous occasion, many of YOU, my wonderful friends and family, pitched in to give me the best early birthday present: a week of luxury and fine dining with my first visitor! In addition, I was able to get a lot of official PC stuff taken care of (the non-exciting part I won't bore you with). In all, it was simply a spectacular way to end my first year, and kick off the new one.
On August 23rd, I headed out to Lake Issik-Kul to meet Krista, a friend of mine from my DTS way back in ’99. As we’ve kept in touch over the years, she has become a treasured friend, and I was so excited to see her… in Kyrgyzstan! We joked about how we wouldn’t have believed it if 7 years ago someone had told us we would be together in Central Asia, in a country neither of us had ever heard of at the time!
We spent about 4 days on the lake in a very nice hotel room… with a very nice shower! I took more showers in the last week than I think I’ve taken in the past 2 or 3 months combined, and it was wonderful! I realized that I’d forgotten what it was like to be clean all the time. By mid-week I just couldn’t believe how smooth my skin was—dead skin and dirt-free! By the end of the week, I found myself marveling at the cleanliness of my own feet :-). I’m quite sure my feet hadn’t been that clean in a year!
After a few days at the lake, we headed into Bishkek, where the real pampering began… We stayed at an adorable bed & breakfast, which, of course, also had a very nice shower and flushing toilet—two things one would expect, but which are still very exciting luxuries for me! It was the perfect place for us—small and quaint, unpretentious and friendly.
We had originally planned to spend a couple nights at the Hyatt, but with the money we saved by staying at the bed & breakfast, we were able to really take advantage of the perks of the Hyatt without actually having to pay for a room there! I could hardly contain my excitement in anticipation of the Sunday Brunch, which did not fail to meet my expectations. For one, it was simply amazing to be in an environment where people call you “Miss Freeman” and say things like, “Let me escort you to your table,” and “May I offer you a welcome beverage?” I mean, this would have been a treat in America, much less after a year in Central Asia! And the food, of course, was delectable. The brunch was from 11:30 until 3, and it’s a good thing Peace Corps hasn’t done anything to rid me of my shamelessness, or we wouldn’t have been able to do what we did—arrive at noon and stay until 2:45! I mean, c’mon, this was a $30 meal and I was going to get my money’s worth!
The big surprise came later that afternoon when I got an email from Kristen (the BEST friend in the WHOLE world), informing me that several friends had gone together to pay for a day’s membership for both Krista and I to the Hyatt’s health club, including massages! This was a total surprise, and a total blessing! We spent Monday being completely pampered—receiving massages, showering in the locker room, enjoying the Jacuzzi, and lounging at the pristine outdoor pool. I was particularly excited by the fact that we were given white terry cloth robes and slippers to walk around in. And I think my favorite moment was having lunch delivered to us at the pool, rolled out on a cart by a fully-uniformed hotel waiter, and drinking iced tea in my robe under the sun umbrella. Talk about being spoiled! This was like an episode out of the Twilight Zone. Krista and I decided that even though it might be nice to live like this all the time, it’s really the contrast with normal life that makes it special and exciting. So thanks SO much to those of you who made us queens for a day!
The rest of our time together was spent eating delicious food, talking, spending money like an American tourist and not like a Peace Corps Volunteer, watching movies, talking, sleeping, showering, talking, did I mention talking? It was such a wonderful, restful, refreshing week together, full of blessings and being spoiled by our Heavenly Father.
Now it’s back to the Peace Corps, but I always have the memory of Posh Corps to keep me going :-). One year down, one year to go! Signing off from the halfway point...
On August 23rd, I headed out to Lake Issik-Kul to meet Krista, a friend of mine from my DTS way back in ’99. As we’ve kept in touch over the years, she has become a treasured friend, and I was so excited to see her… in Kyrgyzstan! We joked about how we wouldn’t have believed it if 7 years ago someone had told us we would be together in Central Asia, in a country neither of us had ever heard of at the time!
We spent about 4 days on the lake in a very nice hotel room… with a very nice shower! I took more showers in the last week than I think I’ve taken in the past 2 or 3 months combined, and it was wonderful! I realized that I’d forgotten what it was like to be clean all the time. By mid-week I just couldn’t believe how smooth my skin was—dead skin and dirt-free! By the end of the week, I found myself marveling at the cleanliness of my own feet :-). I’m quite sure my feet hadn’t been that clean in a year!
After a few days at the lake, we headed into Bishkek, where the real pampering began… We stayed at an adorable bed & breakfast, which, of course, also had a very nice shower and flushing toilet—two things one would expect, but which are still very exciting luxuries for me! It was the perfect place for us—small and quaint, unpretentious and friendly.
We had originally planned to spend a couple nights at the Hyatt, but with the money we saved by staying at the bed & breakfast, we were able to really take advantage of the perks of the Hyatt without actually having to pay for a room there! I could hardly contain my excitement in anticipation of the Sunday Brunch, which did not fail to meet my expectations. For one, it was simply amazing to be in an environment where people call you “Miss Freeman” and say things like, “Let me escort you to your table,” and “May I offer you a welcome beverage?” I mean, this would have been a treat in America, much less after a year in Central Asia! And the food, of course, was delectable. The brunch was from 11:30 until 3, and it’s a good thing Peace Corps hasn’t done anything to rid me of my shamelessness, or we wouldn’t have been able to do what we did—arrive at noon and stay until 2:45! I mean, c’mon, this was a $30 meal and I was going to get my money’s worth!
The big surprise came later that afternoon when I got an email from Kristen (the BEST friend in the WHOLE world), informing me that several friends had gone together to pay for a day’s membership for both Krista and I to the Hyatt’s health club, including massages! This was a total surprise, and a total blessing! We spent Monday being completely pampered—receiving massages, showering in the locker room, enjoying the Jacuzzi, and lounging at the pristine outdoor pool. I was particularly excited by the fact that we were given white terry cloth robes and slippers to walk around in. And I think my favorite moment was having lunch delivered to us at the pool, rolled out on a cart by a fully-uniformed hotel waiter, and drinking iced tea in my robe under the sun umbrella. Talk about being spoiled! This was like an episode out of the Twilight Zone. Krista and I decided that even though it might be nice to live like this all the time, it’s really the contrast with normal life that makes it special and exciting. So thanks SO much to those of you who made us queens for a day!
The rest of our time together was spent eating delicious food, talking, spending money like an American tourist and not like a Peace Corps Volunteer, watching movies, talking, sleeping, showering, talking, did I mention talking? It was such a wonderful, restful, refreshing week together, full of blessings and being spoiled by our Heavenly Father.
Now it’s back to the Peace Corps, but I always have the memory of Posh Corps to keep me going :-). One year down, one year to go! Signing off from the halfway point...
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