14. December, 2002
... I also wanted to write because I realize that lots of people are finding my letters interesting. I'm not feeling that I'm accomplishing a whole lot right now, but one thing I can do is tell about how things are here. Finally, I wanted to write because Dad told me you were worried about political disturbances reported in the news. Frankly, I've heard nothing here about this except what Dad has told me, and the article I received today from him. People don't seem interested in politics. Dad has also been sending me articles about human rights violations by the Kazak president- my apa had nothing to say about that. She thinks the Kazak president is good, because the pensioners are paid there. People are not interested in human rights, they want money for food.
We finished our teaching practicum last week. As I think I told you before, I was given a class of 3rd graders, because of scheduling difficulties. It was difficult, because not only have I never taught before, but it was difficult to keep the kids quiet and settled since we don't speak a common language.
Still, the experience was valuable, if only to see how classes here are run. When the director or the teacher was in the class, the kids were perfectly angelic, but as soon as they left, the situation deteriorated… There were small successes. The song "head, shoulders knees and toes" was a big hit.
It's really a crazy situation; in a few weeks I will be on my own, teaching 20 hours of classes, with no books, and more importantly no real teaching skills or experience, and that small detail that I speak Kyrgyz like a 3 year old. The teaching ethic is different. I can tell you the more shocking stories- today, Johanna's apa told us that some teachers tell students to bring food and presents to school, so that they will get good treatment and grades. Corporal punishment is common, and students are told they are stupid more than they are encouraged. The purpose of school is to get the right answer rather than actually learn. So when students answer a question, they are ashamed to give an answer unless they know it is correct. In the classes I've watched, the teacher gives the answer, often before the student has even tried. Students receive grades everyday for work in class, which are entered into a mysterious class journal. There is one journal for each class :7a, 7b, 7c, for example. As a teacher, I will have to find the journal for each class everyday and give each student a grade. These journals are written in ink, and mistakes are NOT permitted. I'm told that if you make a mistake, they rewrite the entire journal! It's crazy. These journals are then sent to Bishkek, or maybe Moscow (just kidding). Habits of bureaucracy still remain from Soviet times, even when it isn't logical.
I told you before about the still common practice of wife-stealing. I've been talking to other volunteers about it. The really disturbing thing is that even the educated elites (like the Kyrgyz who are on Peace Corps staff) don't really know what to say. They say that there is a legal recourse for women who are stolen, or they say not to get involved because we are outsiders who don't understand the culture, or they say that often, women are "stolen," but they knew about it before hand and freely consented to the marriage. These things are true, but it doesn't address the fact that people don't know about the laws, or the fact that many of these women don't want to be stolen. One of the volunteers in my training village has two sisters of marriageable age, who are terrified of being stolen. They study in Bishkek. The one heard from a friend that someone was going to steal her, so she left her studies for a few weeks to come home to be safe with her parents. Another story was from Johanna's Apa. Her daughter emailed a guy somehow (met him how?). He came to the house with flowers and told her he was going to take her to a dance, but instead kidnapped her. Something else in the story about her crying, and her Apa saying goodbye. Now they live in Bishkek. Her apa isn't worried about it now (it was high time for her to be married), and Johanna says the daughter seems happy now, but does that change the fact that she never consented to the marriage?
Today someone from the American Bar Association came to talk to us about legal issues in Kyrgyzstan, and what we should do if we had trouble with militzia. There is a lot of corruption among the militzia here, probably because they make about $10-30 dollars a month. Search warrants exist but are issued by the prosecutor (not a judge, as in the US) and most militzia don't know that they have to have a warrant.
This is something I'm not too worried about, because it's usually men who are targeted. Two weeks ago, we were told not to come to Bishkek, not because of political unrest, but because there had been a lot of assault/robberies on foreign men, in formerly "safe" areas. Foreigners are definitely targeted. Again, these violent crimes affect men more than women. People often get followed home from bars, and foreigners usually carry more money in their wallets than most people make in a month. So no going out for me.
Last weekend I visited my former LCF in Bishkek. We heard a concert in a hall that was a big auditorium. It was very Soviet feeling. It was dark and gloomy, everyone came in in their fur hats and long coats.
The singers were Kyrgyz and central Asian "stars." Some of them were great singers, and some seemed like recruits for a high school talent show. The music accompanying them was all pre-recorded. It was a mixture of Kyrgyz traditional music, and western pop.
Much of the western influence comes from Russia, so it's extra strange. Some of the costumes were ridiculously tacky and polyestery. One woman who just returned from France (I can't imagine!!!) wore a white short dress with white cowboy boots and lots of feathers and sang a song in French. It was rather painful. Another women wore a beautiful Kyrgyz costume, and sang beautifully while waltzing with a gruff rough-looking audience member. The concert we saw will be televised on new years day, so maybe I will see myself then.
I also went to a packed Christmas service at the international church in Bishkek. It was wonderful to sing Christmas songs, and it was shocking to see so many English speakers all at once. I had no idea there were so many of them in Bishkek, it made me wonder where I was.
Today was our weekly day in Kant with all the volunteers and training staff. It was a great day, because I got TWO packages. One from Anne, with the most delicious homemade cookies, two kinds. (Thank you Anne!!!!!!) She also sent tea, which I will enjoy because it is excellent tea. For future reference though, I drink about 92 cups of tea every day. It is the most fundamental element of hospitality in Kyrgyzstan. It is served in little bowls, and filled about halfway. I think it is more polite this way, because it makes your host refill your cup more often, thereby showing more concern for you. The other package was from Wilma McCann. It was DELIGHTFUL. You must thank her for me, I will send a letter soon. It had all kinds of useful things- fuzzy socks, long underwear, trail mix, cold medication, books about American history and a beautiful children's book. Really, I was overwhelmed.
Tomorrow we are going to Bishkek for a bath. Haha. It's exciting. Last night I did laundry (it was long overdue). Now that it's cold, I don't do it outside, I do it in the bathtub. Since it's cold outside, I hung it up and it turned into instant ice. This morning it was solid, with icicles and ice crystals. It's very funny.
I spoke with Johanna for a long time tonight. It's interesting how when there are few distractions in daily life, conversations are more meaningful, somehow. We talked about the Peace Corps, what it means to be here, how effective we will be. We talk about how we have certain ideas about the Soviet Union, and assume that our ways of teaching (for example) are better than Soviet ways. This is probably true, but on the other hand we are mostly a bunch of kids with no experience. Many of us notice how entrepreneurial tendencies are lacking, or how there is needless bureaucracy, how all of this has to do with the bad Soviet Union. But we were filled from childhood with anti-communist propaganda. It's hard to try to be objective. From my impressions, it's interesting and kind of perverse, that the end of communism spawned even more materialistic values in this society. I think people at the top in Kyrgyzstan talk about democratic values and human rights and diversity and creativity, but average people don't. They want life to be as good as it was before, and now they have the West via TV and all of Western things to aspire to possess.
One more thing- I talked a lot about how life is different here, with conveniences lacking, different roles for women, even different ways of valuing relatives on a mother's side- sometimes I tell you these things because they are what is different here, what you would notice right away if you were dropped here for a day. I also want to be able to tell you how life is OK, and that life ends up fitting together, anyway. I so enjoy going home to my family and working on dinner for 2 hours, and just talking. Even though wife-stealing is a major problem in my mind, and people struggle to make ends meet, people still have meaningful lives, worry, fight, gossip, party, just like anywhere. Pensioners don't get paid, but families help each other out. The average salary might be $20 per month, but I haven't seen any people lying in the street, like I do in NY, Philadelphia. But maybe I just haven't been here long enough.
I will probably go to Talas on January 2, now. PC says we can stay in our villages for New Year's, which will be nice. Travel will be a big headache. We (the Talas volunteers) need to hire marshrukas (vans) to get our enormous bags, plus new things like coats, PC issued radiators, water filters, and medical kits, and ourselves to our respective villages. We have to be able to give them directions, too, and hope that they won't decide to only take us as far as the oblast center. Then there is that border crossing, since the road goes through Kazakstan.
I think I will stop now, though I could ramble on for hours. I'm sorry if I was repetitive. Sometimes I can't remember what I've said in letters and what I've said in emails.
I will be in Bishkek only from the 22nd to the 25th. The 23rd is our swearing-in as volunteers. So far, no one has gone home, which is surprising, and good.
Originally, we were supposed to go to Bishkek from the 19th to the 25th, but they shortened the time. I suspect it may have been because some of the volunteers have been criticized, even in their training communities, for drinking to excess. There have been a few incidents where volunteers' behavior has been criticized. Some are not understanding how much we are the center of attention, how visible we are, and how our bad behavior can only undermine our effectiveness. I have a lot to say about this, but I'll save it for another time. Oof. Complicated.
I hope you are all well. I'll try to write some individual emails when I go to the internet café.
This was enormously long, almost as long as my most recent scarf, which is about 6 ft. long. Haha.
All my love,
Erika
... I also wanted to write because I realize that lots of people are finding my letters interesting. I'm not feeling that I'm accomplishing a whole lot right now, but one thing I can do is tell about how things are here. Finally, I wanted to write because Dad told me you were worried about political disturbances reported in the news. Frankly, I've heard nothing here about this except what Dad has told me, and the article I received today from him. People don't seem interested in politics. Dad has also been sending me articles about human rights violations by the Kazak president- my apa had nothing to say about that. She thinks the Kazak president is good, because the pensioners are paid there. People are not interested in human rights, they want money for food.
We finished our teaching practicum last week. As I think I told you before, I was given a class of 3rd graders, because of scheduling difficulties. It was difficult, because not only have I never taught before, but it was difficult to keep the kids quiet and settled since we don't speak a common language.
Still, the experience was valuable, if only to see how classes here are run. When the director or the teacher was in the class, the kids were perfectly angelic, but as soon as they left, the situation deteriorated… There were small successes. The song "head, shoulders knees and toes" was a big hit.
It's really a crazy situation; in a few weeks I will be on my own, teaching 20 hours of classes, with no books, and more importantly no real teaching skills or experience, and that small detail that I speak Kyrgyz like a 3 year old. The teaching ethic is different. I can tell you the more shocking stories- today, Johanna's apa told us that some teachers tell students to bring food and presents to school, so that they will get good treatment and grades. Corporal punishment is common, and students are told they are stupid more than they are encouraged. The purpose of school is to get the right answer rather than actually learn. So when students answer a question, they are ashamed to give an answer unless they know it is correct. In the classes I've watched, the teacher gives the answer, often before the student has even tried. Students receive grades everyday for work in class, which are entered into a mysterious class journal. There is one journal for each class :7a, 7b, 7c, for example. As a teacher, I will have to find the journal for each class everyday and give each student a grade. These journals are written in ink, and mistakes are NOT permitted. I'm told that if you make a mistake, they rewrite the entire journal! It's crazy. These journals are then sent to Bishkek, or maybe Moscow (just kidding). Habits of bureaucracy still remain from Soviet times, even when it isn't logical.
I told you before about the still common practice of wife-stealing. I've been talking to other volunteers about it. The really disturbing thing is that even the educated elites (like the Kyrgyz who are on Peace Corps staff) don't really know what to say. They say that there is a legal recourse for women who are stolen, or they say not to get involved because we are outsiders who don't understand the culture, or they say that often, women are "stolen," but they knew about it before hand and freely consented to the marriage. These things are true, but it doesn't address the fact that people don't know about the laws, or the fact that many of these women don't want to be stolen. One of the volunteers in my training village has two sisters of marriageable age, who are terrified of being stolen. They study in Bishkek. The one heard from a friend that someone was going to steal her, so she left her studies for a few weeks to come home to be safe with her parents. Another story was from Johanna's Apa. Her daughter emailed a guy somehow (met him how?). He came to the house with flowers and told her he was going to take her to a dance, but instead kidnapped her. Something else in the story about her crying, and her Apa saying goodbye. Now they live in Bishkek. Her apa isn't worried about it now (it was high time for her to be married), and Johanna says the daughter seems happy now, but does that change the fact that she never consented to the marriage?
Today someone from the American Bar Association came to talk to us about legal issues in Kyrgyzstan, and what we should do if we had trouble with militzia. There is a lot of corruption among the militzia here, probably because they make about $10-30 dollars a month. Search warrants exist but are issued by the prosecutor (not a judge, as in the US) and most militzia don't know that they have to have a warrant.
This is something I'm not too worried about, because it's usually men who are targeted. Two weeks ago, we were told not to come to Bishkek, not because of political unrest, but because there had been a lot of assault/robberies on foreign men, in formerly "safe" areas. Foreigners are definitely targeted. Again, these violent crimes affect men more than women. People often get followed home from bars, and foreigners usually carry more money in their wallets than most people make in a month. So no going out for me.
Last weekend I visited my former LCF in Bishkek. We heard a concert in a hall that was a big auditorium. It was very Soviet feeling. It was dark and gloomy, everyone came in in their fur hats and long coats.
The singers were Kyrgyz and central Asian "stars." Some of them were great singers, and some seemed like recruits for a high school talent show. The music accompanying them was all pre-recorded. It was a mixture of Kyrgyz traditional music, and western pop.
Much of the western influence comes from Russia, so it's extra strange. Some of the costumes were ridiculously tacky and polyestery. One woman who just returned from France (I can't imagine!!!) wore a white short dress with white cowboy boots and lots of feathers and sang a song in French. It was rather painful. Another women wore a beautiful Kyrgyz costume, and sang beautifully while waltzing with a gruff rough-looking audience member. The concert we saw will be televised on new years day, so maybe I will see myself then.
I also went to a packed Christmas service at the international church in Bishkek. It was wonderful to sing Christmas songs, and it was shocking to see so many English speakers all at once. I had no idea there were so many of them in Bishkek, it made me wonder where I was.
Today was our weekly day in Kant with all the volunteers and training staff. It was a great day, because I got TWO packages. One from Anne, with the most delicious homemade cookies, two kinds. (Thank you Anne!!!!!!) She also sent tea, which I will enjoy because it is excellent tea. For future reference though, I drink about 92 cups of tea every day. It is the most fundamental element of hospitality in Kyrgyzstan. It is served in little bowls, and filled about halfway. I think it is more polite this way, because it makes your host refill your cup more often, thereby showing more concern for you. The other package was from Wilma McCann. It was DELIGHTFUL. You must thank her for me, I will send a letter soon. It had all kinds of useful things- fuzzy socks, long underwear, trail mix, cold medication, books about American history and a beautiful children's book. Really, I was overwhelmed.
Tomorrow we are going to Bishkek for a bath. Haha. It's exciting. Last night I did laundry (it was long overdue). Now that it's cold, I don't do it outside, I do it in the bathtub. Since it's cold outside, I hung it up and it turned into instant ice. This morning it was solid, with icicles and ice crystals. It's very funny.
I spoke with Johanna for a long time tonight. It's interesting how when there are few distractions in daily life, conversations are more meaningful, somehow. We talked about the Peace Corps, what it means to be here, how effective we will be. We talk about how we have certain ideas about the Soviet Union, and assume that our ways of teaching (for example) are better than Soviet ways. This is probably true, but on the other hand we are mostly a bunch of kids with no experience. Many of us notice how entrepreneurial tendencies are lacking, or how there is needless bureaucracy, how all of this has to do with the bad Soviet Union. But we were filled from childhood with anti-communist propaganda. It's hard to try to be objective. From my impressions, it's interesting and kind of perverse, that the end of communism spawned even more materialistic values in this society. I think people at the top in Kyrgyzstan talk about democratic values and human rights and diversity and creativity, but average people don't. They want life to be as good as it was before, and now they have the West via TV and all of Western things to aspire to possess.
One more thing- I talked a lot about how life is different here, with conveniences lacking, different roles for women, even different ways of valuing relatives on a mother's side- sometimes I tell you these things because they are what is different here, what you would notice right away if you were dropped here for a day. I also want to be able to tell you how life is OK, and that life ends up fitting together, anyway. I so enjoy going home to my family and working on dinner for 2 hours, and just talking. Even though wife-stealing is a major problem in my mind, and people struggle to make ends meet, people still have meaningful lives, worry, fight, gossip, party, just like anywhere. Pensioners don't get paid, but families help each other out. The average salary might be $20 per month, but I haven't seen any people lying in the street, like I do in NY, Philadelphia. But maybe I just haven't been here long enough.
I will probably go to Talas on January 2, now. PC says we can stay in our villages for New Year's, which will be nice. Travel will be a big headache. We (the Talas volunteers) need to hire marshrukas (vans) to get our enormous bags, plus new things like coats, PC issued radiators, water filters, and medical kits, and ourselves to our respective villages. We have to be able to give them directions, too, and hope that they won't decide to only take us as far as the oblast center. Then there is that border crossing, since the road goes through Kazakstan.
I think I will stop now, though I could ramble on for hours. I'm sorry if I was repetitive. Sometimes I can't remember what I've said in letters and what I've said in emails.
I will be in Bishkek only from the 22nd to the 25th. The 23rd is our swearing-in as volunteers. So far, no one has gone home, which is surprising, and good.
Originally, we were supposed to go to Bishkek from the 19th to the 25th, but they shortened the time. I suspect it may have been because some of the volunteers have been criticized, even in their training communities, for drinking to excess. There have been a few incidents where volunteers' behavior has been criticized. Some are not understanding how much we are the center of attention, how visible we are, and how our bad behavior can only undermine our effectiveness. I have a lot to say about this, but I'll save it for another time. Oof. Complicated.
I hope you are all well. I'll try to write some individual emails when I go to the internet café.
This was enormously long, almost as long as my most recent scarf, which is about 6 ft. long. Haha.
All my love,
Erika
