It's August and summer is coming to an end. I am having trouble believing that this is our 5th month in Kyrgyzstan! We have been quite busy this month so far because we helped with two camps in Talas. One was a HIV/AIDS awareness camp run by volunteers in Talas, the other a leadership camp run by 3 Flex program grads (the Flex program is a highly competitive program that takes exceptional Kyrgyz students to do a year of high school in America). Both camps were worthwhile and fun, though tiring. At the moment we are back in Bakai Ata for a few days before heading to Bishkek for a training on health education. I am pretty excited about it as I want to start a nutrition education program in our village.
We have started spending our settling in allowance and have purchased a few pots a pans, a cooktop, cutting boards, and wooden spoons. That said, we've started cooking more which is wonderful. I've also started preserving fruit for the winter. So far I have been drying sliced apples and apricot pulp (which will be FRUIT LEATHER) on the roof and drying a breaking open the apricot seeds in order to collect the delicious nuts that live inside. Mostly, I've been feeling a lot like a squirrel collecting for the winter. It's been a fun endeavor. Apricots are starting to dwindle, but the plum and apple trees are full. Eggplants are super cheap (15 com/kilo =30 cents/kilo) so we made some babaganouche---hmmm I spelled that kinda French like and I don't know how to fix it. We also stocked up on garlic since it is also quite reasonably priced right now. Everyone has been saying that September is the month in which the bazzar is full of the largest variety of food, so I'm excited. I hear that there will be another batch of strawberries, lots of pumpkin, and a variety of of beans. It is also the month when families do the bulk of their canning for the winter, so it should be busy since it is also when school starts!
I guess that's it for now. Love you guys!
