Well, the past month and a half have been crazy busy! I never expected summer “vacation” to be so full, yet it seems that things have been going non-stop ever since school got out. On one hand, it’s been great—time has been flying by and now I’m just about 3 months from coming home! On the other hand, I’ve been really bad at communicating despite the fact that there’s been lots to communicate about! So to remedy that while trying not to overwhelm you with one gargantuan blog post, over the next couple weeks, I’m going to write three posts about the biggest events of the summer so far—even though it’s almost all old news by now! (1) Goodbye Chris & Malinda, (2) Summer Camp, and (3) Gloria’s Visit. So to begin… Goodbye Chris & Malinda!
On June 19, Talas said goodbye to two of its most loved volunteers—Chris & Malinda. Over the past year or so, they had become my closest Peace Corps friends, and it was really hard to see them go. I really value the relationship I’ve developed with them, the great, open conversations we had, and the fun times we shared. I didn’t quite realize how close we’d become until I tried to imagine Talas without them. So the first half of June was largely consumed with taking advantage of our last weeks together and saying goodbye. The good news is that they’re moving to San Francisco where Malinda will be attending grad school, so they’ll be my neighbors again soon :-).
So, in true Talas style (Talas is really special because the volunteers actually do things together and we all like each other!), we had a fabulous going away party the weekend before they left. It started with a kickball game out at the stadium (Team Discovery started strong, but Team Oxygen had a late surge and won in the end), and then dinner at Koktom—our favorite Talas café. After dinner we played a rousing game of “What You Don’t Know May Kill You”—a trivia game where we each submitted questions about ourselves in different categories, and the girls answered questions about the guys and vice versa. A game full of fun facts, like which volunteer has wiped with snow, who came home from his childhood babysitter’s house smelling like curry, and who cried the first time she used an outhouse. The boys won, but it was close!
After our time at Koktom, we went back to Jess & Joe’s apartment for the highlight of the evening—the 1st Annual Talasticle Awards Ceremony (modeled after The Office’s Dundies)! Jess & Joe and Chris & Malinda had worked hard putting together awards for each Talas Volunteer. Most of the awards were based on inside jokes that would require a bit of explanation for them to be funny to anyone else… so I won’t bore you with those J. But I assure you, it was one of the funniest hours I’ve ever spent in Kyrgyzstan! I received the “Wanna Get It On With Sayeed” Award because of LOST and a Sayeed dream I once had… All I have to say about that is, You, too, Malinda! You, too!
It was a great celebration not just of Chris & Malinda, but of Talas. We have some really great volunteers in this oblast and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!
I was also fortunate to be able to accompany C&M to Bishkek three days before they left the country and spend those last few days with them. We enjoyed our time together right to the end when they got in the taxi to the airport at 1am. I’m really grateful for all the great memories and for our friendship that began in Kyrgyzstan, but will continue long after. Here’s to San Francisco in a few months!
Next… Talas Summer Camp!
P.S. I'm in the process of responding to lots of emails. If you've written me, I will write you back eventually! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment