Things in Massy are going great. I can't believe how fast the time is going. I had new K-13 visitors last week who stayed for 4 days. I showed them the village
and took them to Jalal-Abad and we had a good time together. I held my spelling bee/sock puppet show while they were there and it was a smashing success. The spelling bee went to 11 rounds with 6th graders spelling 'mathematics' and 'Wednesday--complete with 'capital W'' correctly. Lots of teachers came to
watch which was nice. The spelling bee was followed by a sock puppet show with dialogues written by the students. It was hilarious. There was even a Ms.
Jenna character that stopped some foxes from eating a bunny and demanded that the students 'must be friendly.' My Peace Corps program manager Akylbek was
in the South and came to see the Spelling Bee. He related a funny story to me: Some students asked him if he was going to be the new volunteer at the school.
He said no, he was Kyrgyz, he wasn't going to be the new Peace Corps volunteer. My students didn't believe at first and so he said again, "I'm Kyrgyz, I speak
Kyrgyz" to which they responded, 'so does Ms. Jenna.' This whole conversation was happening in Kyrgyz and then Akylbek asked, so who speaks better?, and my students said we were about the same. How's that for loyalty. :)

On Saturday, right after the trainees visited, we had another regional teacher's conference that I organized at my school. I'd almost completely lost my voice
from a cold so giving my presentation was hard but the seminar went great. We had a turnout of 55 teachers which was the most we were hoping for and especially good considering cotton isn't yet finished and Ramadan
has begun. I was glad I was able to squeeze in another conference this fall.

I’m in Jalal-Abad for the first time in over a month—since I’ve been away traveling so much lately. I got back from the Girls State camp on Saturday and
am still recovering from it. There were 75 9,10, and 11th grade girls and they all had a great time. The campsite was pretty rustic and after the first night on my metal hammock bed without a pillow, I was wondering if I’d be able to make it all 6 nights, but I soon adjusted. Kyrgyz kids aren’t big complainers though so they enjoyed their time there even though we had them do lots of educational activities and seminars which is unlike any of the normal camps they go to where you just lay around and have unstructured free time all day. The only bathing opportunities for them was when we took them down to this ice-cold river twice during the week to wash clothes and wash up. Washing my hair was freezing and my soap got sucked downriver early in the week but we did manage to stay reasonable clean. We did some fun activities like dodge Frisbee, a bonfire, and the cheesy Olympics for which I dressed up as the Greek torchbearer, complete with leaf halo and flaming oil-drenched torch.
It’s a bit of a shocker being back in hot Massy since the camp was 2 hours away up in the mountains and nice and cool at night and in the mornings. It was great to have to walk around in a fleece and to be cold at night. I’m going to be around in the village this week and then go help out at a camp in Kok-Jangak on the 8th just for a few days. It looks like I’ll go up to Bishkek for two weeks again in mid-August. We have the ‘close of service’ conference at the end of August, and I think I’m going to take a trip to Almaty for a few days with some other volunteers since we have Kazahk visas and it’s only a 5-hour trip from Bishkek. One friend invited me up for a wedding on the 16th for a K-10 volunteer and a woman that used to work for Peace Corps. So it looks like I’ll head up for that, and then stay up north almost until the end of August. My friend got roped into best man duty (apparently best men are hard to find in Kyrgyzstan), so I’m really going up to do reconnasaince work for the wedding, you know check out what maid of honor duties I have, like if I’m the one to slaughter the horse or not.

9/17/04

I realize it's been far too long since I last emailed out an update on life in Kyrgyzstan. My apologies--it's not that I haven't wanted to email--or
thought about it plenty--it's just that every time I finally get to the Internet, writing out a big email summing up the past few months seems to be too exhausting a task. But I'm finally getting around to it, and better late than never, right?

School here always starts on September 1st, so after a relaxing summer break, I'm back to teaching. I definitely feel more prepared this year, just by knowing all the teachers, most of the students, and having a better handle on my Kyrgyz. I'm also prepared for the unexpected, which is always a difficult task given Kyrgyz standards for organization. But after being here awhile, I'm not at all surprised that the schedule is still being drafted on a day-to-day basis with classes being erased and switched around all day long. I've been assured, though, that in a few weeks it will all settle down into more of the controlled confusion that I'm used to (teacher meetings interfering with class time, kids being dragged out of class to participate in subbotnicks--community work days, etc.). After a summer's break from teaching (I held English clubs in August), I feel refreshed and ready to tackle some new projects for the school year. I'm hoping to open a wider variety of clubs, like art and science, it addition to English, and sponsor more school wide
activities and contests. Organizing stuff is still a challenge based not only on the language gap, but on a fundamentally different approach to the way of
organizing simple things like tests, meetings, even holidays--but I'm doing my best.
My summer vacation here went really well (I know I'm fortunate to still enjoy such a term :)). It was hotter than I ever imagined in my village, so a lot of
my time in Massy was just spent trying to deal with the heat and stay sane. I was fortunate to have several visitors make the trek to Kyrgyzstan. My dad braved a trip in May and my mom, sister, and brother visited for a week in June. It was fantastic to see them and even though they weren't such fans of the outhouses, summer heat, and 5 hour dinners spoken in Kyrgyz, they endured it all like champs and enjoyed getting to experience a different culture and get to
see where I'm living. My mom also put up lots of pictures from the visits on the website so check them out.
Aside from their visits, I split my time between travelling around Kyrgyzstan and being in my village. I got to catch up with a lot of volunteers who I
hadnt seen in awhile, as well as visit a mountai village (snowing in July!), see a wedding between a volunteer from the year before and a local girl, and
help out at an orientation for Afghan high school students about the study abroad in the US. Wherever I went the weather was cooler than Massy, and while I
maximized my travel opportunities, I still tried to be around in the village a lot. So in the cooler evenings, I took lots of slow walks meeting more neighbors, was a guest at many dinners eaten outside, and even played a little soccer with a bunch of Uzbek boys who were a bit shocked to see the local teacher running around in shorts kicking a soccer ball. While the summer heat has been rough, its also been great to be able to see all the produce coming to life. This week Ive eaten grapes off of several neighbors vines, tasted fresh walnuts from the schools trees, and seen the seeds from beautiful sunflower patches turned into cooking oil right before my eyes.
In other news, on the 31st of August, without fireworks, but with plenty of Russian pop and Kyrgyz vodka, the village celebrated Kyrgyzstans Independence Day. It was the 13th anniversary, so I suppose the country just entered its teenage years. Its interesting to think that Ive now been here
for all 4 seasons and how different theyve all been. The contrast between the winter where I never took my coat off for two months and all you could find at the bazaar was carrots and potatoes, and the summer with the markets teeming with fruits and vegetable in the broiling sun, is unbelievable. But even though Ive
been in Kyrgyzstan for a year (Sunday is a year to the day I came), Im still learning new things and trying to improve my language each day. For instance, today I learned that a popular girls name here (Burulai), coming from the word burul (to turn) is often applied to the most recent baby in a line of girls
when you are hoping for a change of luck, by the way of a boy. So if you meet a Burulai, you can be pretty sure her parents were hoping shed be followed by a
younger brother.
Thats about it for now. Thanks for all the letters and emails. Ive been diligent with my snail mail letters but my letters out have mysteriously been taking several months longer. I guess the summer heat has even taken its toll on the Kyrgyz Post. I miss you all, and promise to write again sooner.
Jenna

I made it to Bishkek safe and sound. The ride took over 10 hours and rained the whole time. I was squished and didn't get enjoy any of the nice scenery. But let me tell you when I arrived in the Hyatt I was in a state of shock. It is so nice! I didn't know what to do with myself. But I had a 11pm late night meal of french fries and a club sandwich, chased down by a white russian and margarita, all while I sat I a bar nicer than any I generally frequent in the US. There was a whole crowd of some Ameican men sitting in the back of the bar that were all making jokes about 'another Friday night in Bishkek.' I just felt so "fresh out of the village" sitting there taking in all the expensive alcohol bottles and bartenders that spoke perfect English. I had a bath last night and a shower this morning which I realize is 2 in less than 24 hours so I've probably already surpased my bathing quotient for May.
Walking around today, I'm just now realizing how exactly posh and international Bishkek is. You can get most all you want here (if you got the money) and my Kyrgyz is useless here. I'm at the Peace Corps office right now emailing in the resource center and will spend the rest of the day stocking up on Bishkek
commodities and trying to find a taxi to take me to the airport at 3:30 am. There probably will be another White Russian or two involved. :)

On Friday a bunch of young teachers are coming over to my house for a mini get-together. They kind of invited themsleves over which means I have to go buy
lots of food and make a table and stuff. Of course I have to serve ash but they said they'd help me cook so I just have to go to the bazaar and buy a bunch of
kilos of rice, carrots, and meat and such. It will be my first experience picking meat out of the stalls hanging in huge chunks out in the sun with flys
roaming around. Haven't yet decided if I'll go sheep or cow. :) Shopping is actually hard here because the Massy bazaar is a long walk from my house and I can't carry that many kilos back so maybe I'll make a trip both tomorrow and Friday. I'm a little nervous about having people over but hopefully, I can just play the dumb foreigner and all my mistakes will be forgiven.

Last night I went to the otrush (it's like this dinner group where people take turns hosting at their house once a month) I've been taking part in with Aptoo and
a few older teachers at my school. It was pretty fun--there was massive amounts of food but it was actually really good. I was worried because this was
my first time at the otrush with my new 'no vodka in Massy' pledge (actually I already broke this pledge with a half-shot at lunchtime this week, but it's a
long story) but I surprisingly managed to get away without drinking a drop. I used the excuse that I had started my malaria medicine and I got plenty of
ragging about it but held my ground. However, when the topic of life in America came up, I had to get scorned with, 'of course it's easy, see they even have a pill for malaria!' But still, I didn't have to drink anything which here in Kyrgyzstan is a huge accomplishment.

"Things in Massy are going really well. The weather is turning spring-like (I could have safely said that last week but it did snow all of Tuesday!), more people are out on the street, and everyone is getting the fields ready for planting. I feel like I've settled in a lot more and everything seems more comfortable as I get used to teaching at school, my living situation, the language and culture in general, and get to know more and more people in town."

"Routines here are definitely starting to feel more normal yet there's still so much to learn. Some cultural differences are obviously apparent, yet almost everyday I'm struck by new realizations. Things on the surface don't bother me as much--I don't think it weird to call up my school director (principal) to ask if he's firing up the banya and invite myself over for weekly bath. Yet learning to live and be seen as a comparative millionaire in such an impoverished country is an ongoing challenge.

"All the students (as well as everybody in town) are fascinated by the American teacher working in the school and as a result my door often gets opened during lessons by students just wanting to ogle at me or shout "Ha-Lo" and run away."

Today I had a interesting day (as almost every day in Kyrgyzstan has the potential to be) where I went to a seminar for English teachers in the rayon with my counterpart. It was at a school a few Ks away and about 10 teachers came to watch a model lesson and supposedly trade ideas. Of course, at first I had to go through all the awkward questions and everyone being obsessed and intrigued with the American. The lesson was such a weird thing to watch--these 7th grade Kyrgyz students answering questions in these rapid-fire robotic English responses so quick even I can't understand and undoubtedly memorized months before in preparation.

After such a morning seminar in the US, what would follow next..maybe some freshening up in the bathroom and then box lunches all around? Well, in Kyrgyzstan we all head out in the snow to wait in line for the
outhouse--seniority rules and older teachers go first but as the foreigner I suppose I could have skipped ahead. Then we go in for a little "chai break" which is of course massive amounts of food prepared by the teachers in the school while students dance and since for us in some kind of dinner theater type event. But every time there was a break in the acts (ie. most of the students were outside) the director would refill the shot glasses and we'd make toasts to the model lesson, the coming new year, the upcoming American Christmas, and anything else you can use to make an excuse for a vodka toast. How weird it is, though I suppose a hell of a lot more interesting than a normal day of teaching. At the next seminar I'll probably give a presentation myself too.

"We had our official language exams last week and I was one of a handful of volunteers that reached the Intermediate High level (whatever that means). I definitely feel like I've learned a ton of language these past few months and at least competent enough in Kyrgyz to get around okay in my new village. I won't start teaching actual classes at the school until the next semester starts in January, but I'll lead English clubs in the meantime. My first secondary project will be building a door for my outhouse (haha)."