Winter is coming to an end...

The sun is coming up early and setting after five. I definitely feel like spring will come sometime in the future and that's exciting. As you can probably tell-- the cold has been a bit difficult. Definitely not built for cold, long winters, but it feels really nice to have survived it! I now know I can heat a house through a whole winter with coal, that at low enough temperatures glass jars of food will explode, that sleds are the best way to transport water in the winter, and that hats are super awesome.

So as for things that have happened... after vacation we have about two weeks off of school for flu quarantine. That was a super productive time period that I used to work through the details of a lot of projects I want to do. After that we had some school and regular stuff. This weekend we decided to do some research in Naryn City and visit some friends. Turns out, Naryn City is wonderful. Everyone is really excited to hear you speak Kyrgyz, nobody seems all that surprised that there's an Indian in Kyrgyzstan, and the streets are clean-ish and well lit. The road to Naryn was long. We decided to go from Talas to Naryn in one day (two six hour drives) which was kind of crazy but fun. Naryn looks a lot like Talas but the mountains are closer and people seem to take more pride in their houses appearance (matching fences and stuff). Through their mountain pass there are random statues of painted women and silver colored statues of various mountain animals perched atop the mountains. One of the most amazing moments was actually driving into Naryn City, you basically drive towards this huge orange clay cliff and as you get close you see a path winding into it. You drive with cliff towering on either side, curve to the right and see the little city appear in front of you. This city itself is between two mountain ranges with a river running near it.

So things are going we right now. We are more than 10 months in to service and that feels good. New volunteers will be coming in the Spring and I have applied to be a trainer for them, so that might be a cool thing in the future. As usual, I miss you all and look forward to seeing you again.

Athena

Here's a picture of my 5th form...

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, we're gonna have some fun.

Does anybody know that song? I have had it on my mind for a few days now. If you haven't guessed Alex and I are on vacation. We are spending Christmas and New Year with our family in Italy/Spain. So far it has been wonderful. It has been amazing to spend time with our families in such a beautiful, developed place. Not to knock Kyrgyzstan; but running water, refrigeration, heat that happens without work on my part, and complicated food has been a really nice break for me.

We have been busy since we have arrived. Mostly, catching up with family and traveling. We first spend a action packed day in Rome and saw most of the major sites in a very leisurely manner. It was really nice being there in December without crowds. My absolute favorite site was the Sistine Chapel, absolutely amazing. It made me cry. We've also visited Parma which is a wonderful place to eat. I mean, they invented parmigian cheese and prosciutto. Also, you can buy a great bottle of wine for 3 Euro. Today we went to Florence which is also amazing. I feel like I should generally be telling you more about these places but, I think I'm still taking it all in. I guess the things making me happy are my family, the Sistine Chapel, cheese, and red wine. Thanks Italy! Here's a little bit more detail in the form of images.

http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=7606386

Кыш келди—Winter has come

I just walked to the outhouse in the rain. When I opened the door to leave the outhouse it had begun to snow---quite surprising. Anyway, its winter. I wear thermals everyday and we are regularly using our coal stove to warm our house.

This is the first week in a few in which I feel that things are going really well. I have been talking to my friend Roxanna about a health secondary project which I am getting excited about; we're doing a training for Vice Principals on Thursday to get started. I'm also working on talking to the local government about starting weekly teacher trainings for English teachers next year. I am also working on getting a regional resource center in our village and a possible solar heating project. Anyway, it now seems that I'm hitting a stride. For some reason, when Peace Corps told us it would be a while before we truly adjusted and became productive I didn't really understand what they meant. Well, now I do. Anyway, things are starting to move forward---Yay for progress!

Oh---here's a tangent---I ate horse! Can you believe that? It was tasty but not better than other meats I think. It may be that it wasn't especially good as it was cold and not spiced at all (most meat is cooked in Kyrgyzstan by putting it in a giant pot of water and boiling it). A friend of mine actually at wolf which was a bit of a mind trip to think about.

In not work or strange meat related news, I went to a party for a teacher's birthday this past weekend which was really fun. It was the first gathering of Kyrgyz people that I really felt comfortable at which was nice. I think its that I know have gotten to know the staff a bit and that my Kyrgyz is good enough that I'm not entirely confused by most conversation. I've also begun to start learning Russian. Its been a good way to give my brain some exercise. And....its almost Thanksgiving! We're having a big Talas volunteer thanksgiving in Talas city which promises to be delicious and fun. I've gotten close with the Talas crew and am always exciting to spend time with them all. I can definitely see how people have lifelong friendships after doing Peace Corps together. You experience an amazing strange two years in which you and your perceptions change on a daily basis. Pretty crazy/scary/wonderful.

On the 12th of December we will be heading to Bishkek for Program Management & Design conference. Should be interesting. I'm excited that the whole thing will be in Kyrgyz—there's never enough language practice. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm familiar with the information and would be bored in English. I'll try to upload more picture while I'm in the city so keep an eye out for that. We're also getting ready for our trip to Italy/Spain with our families which is more exciting than I can describe. Wine, cheese, vegetables... I can barely imagine it

I have really bad internet!

If you're reading this thank Adora...

because she posted this for me! We are about to have elections and there's a fair amount of blocks on news and the sorts. Whatever is going on, I can't update from here. Anyway, I decided to let you guys know a little about various parts of Kyrgyz culture that has been greatly changed by the long Soviet presence in the country. Anyway, I hope its interesting.

Vodka

Before the Russian arrival in Kyrgyzstan the only form of alcoholic beverage was Kumuz, a fermented mares milk drink. Sounds weird, but it's delicious once you get used to it. Once vodka (or arak as it is called locally) was introduced it became a major part of culture. At any party or gathering there are many bottles of vodka (I mean a lot... like 5 bottles for 7 people). Alcoholism has become a big problem in the area. Anyway, this relates to us in that we have come up with some very innovative excuses to leave parties early! It's been pretty silly and sometimes frustrating.

Farming

Back in the day, Kyrgyz people were nomadic herders. When the Soviets came they introduced farming techniques and required the Kyrgyz people to settle and farm. This aspect of Soviet influence is huge in Bakai Ata as most people are farmers, specifically bean and potato farmers. Our family had 16 hectares (aka. A lot) of land most of which is bean farm. The rest is potato farm and some assorted vegetables for home use. Their spring, summer, and fall are consumed by work on their land. Last weekend we helped harvest 5 tons of potatoes and 2 tons of carrots. It was a ton of work but it was really nice to be able to help out the family. Unfortunately, most of the harvest was ruined by an early frost. This has been tough for our (and many other) family. Of what was salvageable, we purchased 80 kilos (175 lbs) of potatoes and carrots for the winter for about $20. Crazy right?

Critical thinking

One of the things we talk about in training is the lack of critical thinking skills taught here in Kyrgyzstan. I didn't really understand how this effective life until recently. For example, when I garden or really do anything I'm always thinking about how to do things better or more efficiently. Some of that is just me being weird, but most Americans are taught to think a few steps ahead. That is definitely not the case here. Farming styles have not changed at all since the Soviets have left. Things just mostly go on the same way. The biggest and most frustrating example came when we were painting our house, to me it made sense to clean everything before we painted the house white, but evidently people always paint first so that's what we did. That said, it isn't necessarily bad that things aren't constantly evolving. It's mostly just different from what I know.

Here's where I put a summary right? Today from what I have understood, people are working really hard to find what makes them Kyrgyz. There's an increased pride in Kyrygz language, Kyrygz food, and Kyrgyz music. The elections are coming up and everyone is talking about what Kyrgyzstan is and what it stands for. All and all, its an interesting time.

We have officially passed the 6 month mark...

October is on it's way and the winds have gotten cold here in Bakai-ata. School is starting (again) after the apple/potato/bean harvest break and we are finished with most of our canning! Right now we are making chutneys and kim-chee to add some flavor to the winter. Thanks to our families we have a nice array of spices to work with and our food is starting to get spicy again. We've also stocked up on a lot of dry ingredients for the winter which has been interesting. Its strange to see 50 kilograms of anything in a place other than Costco.

Last week we had our in-service training for Peace Corps. A lot was review, but we had some really great language lessons. We also had a chance to meet with some of the US Embassy staff as the visited the American corner (resource center in Talas city). They have asked me to start a monthly club for some Talas city students about volunteerism and community service; I think it will be really interesting. In other work related new, I am going to start teaching a yoga class in our village and am working on a grant to buy textbooks for our village schools and do a two day teacher training for the English teachers. Finally, Alex and I are are working with 4 other volunteers to conduct reproductive health trainings for students all over the oblast. What I am saying is, I am finally starting to feel productive!

Alex and I have been doing quite well over all. We are settled into our home and now have a regular work schedule. We've been watching the show “The Wire” which, as everyone has been telling me for years, is amazing. We both are really looking forward to seeing our families in Italy (I cannot wait to taste red wine again!) Right now we are in Bishkek for a few days, after we head back to the village to start school again.

Well, I know the next thing I normally attach are pictures but---I didn't take any! I've been obsessed with trying to get a picture of this super pretty woodpecker and have failed to take other pictures. I promise extra picture s next time I update.