The Mile

The saying goes that you can’t really understand a person until you walk a mile in their shoes. I think we can all appreciate the value of having someone with whom to share life’s experiences, someone who can identify with the road we’re walking because they’ve walked it themselves. I’m so grateful to be blessed with a friend who flew 13 thousand miles across the world to walk that mile with me!

Just as a refresher for some of you who may not know, Gloria and I met about 4 years ago when we were placed together as roommates during our semester studying in Washington, D.C. Following graduation, we embarked together on the Great North American Road Trip—2 months of driving through the United States and Canada. So we’ve had our share of adventures, and our time in Kyrgyzstan together was quite another notable one!

Gloria arrived in Bishkek early in the morning (after 4 days of traveling and 10 hours in the Moscow airport) on Friday, July 13th. That first day was so exciting, and so long (waking up at 4am will do that to a day)! We spent hours just talking, only to look at the clock and find that while we thought it had to be early afternoon it was still only 10am. The next couple days were filled with Bishkek adventures—eating at my favorite restaurants, meeting a few volunteers and other Bishkek friends, visiting the Peace Corps office, and seeing the biggest bazaar in Kyrgyzstan. I think the most “Kyrgyzstan” thing that happened was while we were walking through an underground shop area that was being whitewashed. The man who was whitewashing wasn’t paying us (or anyone) much attention and accidentally sprayed Gloria with some of the paint he was using. Of course, this didn’t phase him at all! He went right on whitewashing as if nothing had happened while Gloria stood gawking at her now white-speckled clothes, shoes, and arm. Ah, Kyrgyzstan—you gotta love it!

On Sunday we headed out on the real adventure to Talas. On the way, we stopped at one of the many yurts in the mountains so Gloria could experience the national drink kymyz (fermented mares’ milk—yum!). Ironically, though we were still 3 hours from my village, it just so happened that we stopped at the yurt where my host grandmother was vacationing. So we had a nice little family reunion as we sat in the yurt and sipped our bowls of mares’ milk.

Then we had a week in Talas of village life. Things like outhouses, pumping water from our well, cooking with just one pot and pan, washing dishes in a big blue basin, and the highlight—watching the cows come home in the evening. Gloria was able to meet my precious girls and help me with English clubs. We spent a night with Jess & Joe in Talas city and did all the important city things like riding the famous Talas rollercoaster! We went out to another village where Gloria was able to meet almost all the Talas volunteers, take pictures with the Lenin dam, and see the Kirovka reservoir. Later in the week, we visited the most famous Talas landmark—Manas Ordo, where the national hero Manas is said to be buried. We had lunch with my wonderful British friends Duncan & Helen, and finally, we visited Besh Tash, a Kyrgyz national park. Basically, we did Talas!

Then, all too soon, it was time to head back to Bishkek and say goodbye. I’m so thankful for the huge blessing it was to share Kyrgyzstan, Talas, Jon-Aryk, my Peace Corps life with Gloria. For her willingness to walk with me, to see the sights, smell the smells, hear the sounds. It’s hard to put it all in one short blog post, but her visit was a significantly meaningful part of my experience here. Now there is someone from home who can truly identify with my life these past 2 years. And just one person—that’s all I really needed. Now when I go home, I will have someone to assure me that it wasn’t all a dream :-). Gloria, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can’t wait for the next adventure!