Normalcy---or something close to it.

I have finally reached a point in this adventure at which I mostly know what to expect. This is quite exciting. That is not to say that I am not still constantly surprised by things, like why Kyrgyz people say the grass is blue (even though it's obviously green), but I have started to have somewhat of a stable schedule. Right now Alex and I teach Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced English clubs 2 days a week at my school and at his. We also teach an adult class on Thursdays and Fridays. Additionally, I've also been tutoring a few advanced students individually. So far it has been good.

At this point most of the kids in our village yell “Hello” or “Good Morning Teacher” whenever they see me which is quite silly. Most people in the village are aware of our presence and know why we are in Bakai-Ata which is a bit of a relief. People don't seem so surprised to see a white guy and an Indian girl walking down the street. We have also started to go guesting. In Kyrgyzstan guesting is when you are invited to someone's house for copious amounts of Chai, dinner, and general merry making. It has been interesting to meet so many new people and it has been really good Kyrgyz language practice. I think my language has improved quite a bit since we have arrived.

At home we have begun to spend more time with our family as they seem slightly less busy (the first round of farm work is complete). Over the weekend we spend half a day working in the fields with our sister and cousins. It was tremendously hard work. I now truely understand why farm machinery was invented. That said, the drive home was gorgeous. Wide fields bordered with wild flowers and mountains reaching for the sky in all directions. We also worked on cleaning up the area in front of our new little home. Yesterday we made a cake entitled “Day and Night” or “Half Moon” and made a salad with American dressing (in Kyrgyzstan their dressing is either a lot of salt or mayonnaise---yuck!). Tomorrow, my school's staff are going to go on an excursion for a day which I am very excited about. After that we will visit our friend Thomas's village on his Birthday. Then upon our return, we will begin painting our new house. Exciting huh?

Well, that's the news for now. I am attempting to attach a picture of our backyard, a picture from a party we went to, and a picture of our future home.

Athena

The road to Talas

Upon entering the mountain pass between Chui and Talas purple stone walls rise up on either side, patches of blue/green grasses grow where the rock is most friendly. Amongst the grass are a yellow plants that looks sort of like tiny, yellow evergreen trees (Mom, Dad, Adora---think that elf place in WoW). After a while the rockface turns to blue slate, then dark grey and red as the road continues to follow the icy blue river. As the colors change the grass dissapears. After about 30 minutes the road starts snaking up one of the mountains toward the taller snow covered peaks. Once the road is nearing the peak it veers off into a several kilometer long tunnel through the mountain. On the other side is the Jailoo of Talas, a large grassy plain surronded by mountains. In the summer, families from villages all around Talas take their livestock (or send them with a herder) to the Jailoo to feed for the summer. Herders live in yerts and take care of the live stock until fall.

Alright, I'm certainly not a poet so I'll stop there. I think that somewhat descripes the beautiful drive to my new home, Talas. After becoming official Peace Corps volunteers on the 1^st (Yay!) we headed to Bakai Ata and moved in at our final site. After a long night of wonderful sleep, we were surprised to find that our family has already began fixing up a small house on their property for us to live in. We peeked in yesterday and found it is PERFECT. There will be a small mud room/enterance, that enters into a kitchen/dining room. Off of the kitchen are two small rooms, a bedroom and a living room. In the center of the house is a cast iron coal stove that is used for cooking and heat in the winter. The front looks out to the apple orchard and is shaded by a huge apple tree. At this point the walls are being plastered and painting will start soon. Amazing, right?

This weekend, we ate some delicious homemade food with most of the Talas volunteers and enjoyed some cocktails and the game Apples to Apples (Nena, I know your laughing right now). This afternoon we spent about 7 hours at a party with our new extended family (like 60 people). The party was to celebrate one of relatives being pregnant for the first time. We had a huge feast and talked a lot to a group of genuinely interested and interesting people. I even somehow explained how tea grows and the difference between the growing of white, green, and black tea. It was tiring and wonderful. Tomorrow Alex and I both have our first days of work. Wish us luck!

Love you all,

Athena

Bakai Ata, our new home

We visited our permanent village (Also new address, don't use the old one anymore!)

Since I last updated you all, a lot has happened. We have completed our mid-training language assessment and two active teaching practicums, all of which went quite well. In celebration of May Day my family slaughtered a sheep which we helped butcher and clean (Ok, we helped a little). Overall, the last few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster. Lots of learning and excitement sprinkled with a bit of homesickness---I miss you guys! It seems the fact that we now live in Kyrgyzstan is just starting to sink in.

That said, we also received the exciting news that our final placement will be in Talas Oblast in the village of Bakay Ata. Bakay Ata is a village of 8,000 at the edge of the mountains in Talas. Last week we visited and met our new host families, counterparts, and schools. I will be teaching in a small Humanitarian Lyceum that has 150 students. Alex will be teaching at a large Seondary School that serves 800 students. It is about 45 minutes from Talas City, much more of a town than a city, and fairly close to Kazakstan. There is a hospital, a few small stores (that mostly sell candy), an internet cafe, tiny library, 3 schools, a music school, a public banya, a militsia station, a local government building, and a post office. Pretty Detailed huh? (Peace Corps had us make a map)

Visiting was absolutely wonderful, it was exactly what we needed to remember why we came here in the first place. Our host family has a wonderful garden with berry bushes, an apple orchard, vegetables, and chickens---pretty much the mini-farm of my dreams. Our host mother is a pharmacist, host father is a fireman, two younger brothers study/work in Bishkek, two youger sisters go to Alex's school, and little (4 years old) brother runs around a lot. The are friendly, easy-going and incredibily helpful. We have a great room with a stellar view of the garden and a grouping of lily of the valley flowers outside the window. My school is a compound with 4 small buildings in it, that contain 5-6 classrooms and a teachers room. There's a small playground and a 16 friendly teachers. This summer Alex and I will be running an English club 2-3 days a week and, with our friend Jesse, hopefully doing a week long summer camp. All in all, it's exciting. Well, that enough for now.... Here's our address in cyrillic—it will be much more likely to find us written like this---and a picture (or two depending on how long load time takes).

Кыргызстан,

ин. 723800, г. бакай ата раяон

бакай ата айылы

Кыргыз почтасы

атена Parker

Kyrgyzstan

723800 Bakai Ata Rayon

Bakay Ata Village

Kyrgyz Post Office

Athena Parker

A month in Kyrgyzstan (sorry I don't have a creative title)

We've been in Kyrgyzstan for a month and it feels, simultaneously, like we have been here forever and like we have just arrived. I've learned so much about the country and its language but have also just started to figure things out. Language classes have been wonderful and difficult. I can know give crude directions, ask how much something is, take transportation, and have basic conversations with my family. The atmosphere here is distinctly spring-like. The apricot tree (Ooryt Bak) in front of our house is in full bloom and we spend the weekend tilling, planting, and weeding our mini-farm behind the house. I've learned to fold Matbl (dumplings filled with green onion and potato..mmmmm) which is super fun. I'm also starting to help my Genge (sister-in-law) learn some basic English phrases.

I'd like to thank everyone who has sent letters, we have received the ones sent the week we left. It has been really nice to read them. I'll be sending some your way when I figure out the postal system. Our post office doesnt actually carry stamps, nor do they accept letters. From what I understand the postal system is barely used and is run quite arbitrarily.

Anyway, Alex and I are doing well and are enjoying Kyrgyzstan. We are drinking a lot of tea and are surrounded by wonderful people. I hope all of you are in the same situation on your side of the world.

Until next time,

Athena

Hello from Kyrgyzstan...

At the moment I have just finished doing yoga and am studying/writing to you guys. My host siblings are in the other room watching the TV show 24 (dubbed in Russian) and my world seems vaguely familiar to the one I left. Anyway, we've made it! After 20+ hours of flight time, a delicious meal on Turkish Airlines, and a few jet-lag ridden days in Bishkek; we are now settled in to our home for the next two months. We will be living with our wonderful new host family for the duration of our Pre-Service Training in which we attend language, culture, safety, and health classes from 8-5. Thus far, the training is intense but extremely useful and practical. The staff and current Peace Corps volunteers are informative, pragmatic, and fun. Alex and I are in a group of 6 trainees for most of our classes. I couldn't ask for a more interesting, chill group of people. All in all, life is good!
Now a little about Kyrgyzstan. The weather has been nice so far as it is springtime. The Kyrgyz people are actually quite familiar with Indian people; the comparison between tradition Indian culture and Kyrgyz culture has been a popular topic of conversation which has been nice. My host mom showed me all her Bollywood movies and my host sister were really excited to see pictures of me in a sari. The rest of my family consists of my host father, older brother and his two little people (5 & 2), younger brother, 11 sheep (one adorable baby), 3 cows, and 2 dogs. The food has consisted of mostly mutton and chicken with vegetables including cabbage, carrots, potatoes, beets, radishes, onions, tomatoes, and pickles. As for starches; there are a wide variety of breads, noodles, and rice. We also have been eating various fresh farm cheeses, butter, and cold vegetable salads. It's been tasty. The country is sparsely filled with Soviet style buildings peppered with a mosque every once in awhile. Even near the city, you can see that the plains and mountains go on forever.
Well, that's all I've got for now. I'm going to spend the next two months trying to learn Kyrgyz and figure out the intricacies of the culture here. I'll get back to you when I have more to share. I love you all and miss you very muchly.

Athena