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

Here we go!

This time tomorrow we will be on a plane to our staging event in Philadelphia. From there we will fly to Istanbul and then to Bishkek. We will spend a few days in Bishkek for training and will then proceed to a village near Kant City. Alex and I will then spend our first 3 months living with a host family and participating in professional and language training, after which we will be placed in our final location (TBD). Before we leave, I would like to share two things with all of you.

First, our mailing address for the first few months of our service will be...

Kyrgyzstan,
722140, Kant city
97 Lenina Street, RUPS
Mailbox # 22
Athena Parker/Alex Huss

The second thing is a poem of sorts. Last month we went to see Girl Talk in Philly with Jonathan and Emily. One the way in I took a nap. When I woke up we were right outside of the city and I had a silly poem in my head. Anyway, it seems mildly relevant now.

Driving through the city of zeppelins
as if being lifted by a puff of air
an airplane drifts gracefully upward.
Thus begins the journey.

Departing in 5...

We're leaving in 5 days, seriously--- this Friday. We've packed our suitcases and backpacks, wrestled with sleeping bags and compression sacks, and double checked lists. I now know more than I ever expected to about crazy science fabrics and ratings on sleeping bags.

Over the past month, Alex and I have been touring the East coast attempting to visit as many friends and family members as we could before we leave. It has been tiring and amazing. Our family cult now has a symbol and a saying---T-shirts are imminent. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your support and for taking the time to hang out with us!

Talk to you all after we travel through space and time and arrive in Kyrgyzstan.

P.S. It's SPRING TIME---Go play in the dirt! This robin is...