I just discovered a site with many, many beautiful photos of Kyrgyzstan, taken by a former Peace Corps Volunteer.
Click here for photos of the land.
and here for photos of people.
-Susan
Click here for photos of the land.
and here for photos of people.
-Susan
greetings from Talas!
8. January, 2003
Thank you for your emails!
This past few days have been difficult, but each day gets a little easier. I'm learning so much about patience! Getting here was absolutely awful. I had arranged a marshruka (van) through my family in Telman. it arrived 4 hours late. We picked up all 10 volunteers. The van was cold and WAY overloaded, and there was some uglyish haggling about price and whether it would actually take us to our different sites. The luggage was an avalanche risk. We couldn't sit properly. We only left Bishkek at 3, the militsia stopped us a lot (maybe we looked like rich americans?) and the driver's license was expired, so the problem with bribes was more than usual. i knew we were definitely in trouble when the van door feel off on closing. crossing into kazakstan we waited for an hour, then waited again coming back into kyrgyzstan. i arrived at my village, at 5 am, but couldn't find my house in the dark, so slept at the nearest volunteer's... it was just awful.
this family is very kind, but not as devoted to my education as my first family was, so it's harder to not feel invisible. my counterpart wasn't here for the first 3 days, so i was constantly asking myself "why am i here?" and it's permanent now, you know? it's not like i'm just here for 3 months. it's hard to imagine how i will construct a life here, how i will make friends, gain some degree of independence.
everyday gets better though. my counterpart came back, so i can kind of work with her to make plans for teaching. i'll start on monday. i will plan a few lessons, but eventually i'll have to make a whole curriculum.
now that i know how to get to Talas, i know i have a way to protect my sanity when i need to. i ran into another volunteer at the post office. we spoke a huge amount of concentrated babble for a half hour. it was good to see we're in the same boat. she said she cried a lot.
at my village, there's no way for people to phone me, though i can phone out. i felt very isolated. my sister nargeeza, who is nice but SO quiet, came with me to Talas. Although this is the only "city" around, she actually doesn't know it very well. it's strange. i will come here by myself and explore more.
an activity i plan to do with my family is make pizza. i spend so much time in my room reading or writing, i don't want to become a complete hermit. my other option is sitting in the common room and drinking tea or watching tv as they speak kyrgyz way to fast for me to understand.
i had a banya last night, which always makes everything better. the toilet outside is much grosser here, and the sanitation standards are lower with this family, which will take some getting used to. we also have no indoor running water.
this letter was a mess. i now have a crowd of people waiting behind me, possibly reading this?!? oh well.
i would love to hear from you... I think of you all the time, and am hanging in there. what an adventure. i didn't know how much of this adventure would be internal, having to do with keeping my sanity, you know? i think it's because of the being mute thing.
all my love,
erika
Thank you for your emails!
This past few days have been difficult, but each day gets a little easier. I'm learning so much about patience! Getting here was absolutely awful. I had arranged a marshruka (van) through my family in Telman. it arrived 4 hours late. We picked up all 10 volunteers. The van was cold and WAY overloaded, and there was some uglyish haggling about price and whether it would actually take us to our different sites. The luggage was an avalanche risk. We couldn't sit properly. We only left Bishkek at 3, the militsia stopped us a lot (maybe we looked like rich americans?) and the driver's license was expired, so the problem with bribes was more than usual. i knew we were definitely in trouble when the van door feel off on closing. crossing into kazakstan we waited for an hour, then waited again coming back into kyrgyzstan. i arrived at my village, at 5 am, but couldn't find my house in the dark, so slept at the nearest volunteer's... it was just awful.
this family is very kind, but not as devoted to my education as my first family was, so it's harder to not feel invisible. my counterpart wasn't here for the first 3 days, so i was constantly asking myself "why am i here?" and it's permanent now, you know? it's not like i'm just here for 3 months. it's hard to imagine how i will construct a life here, how i will make friends, gain some degree of independence.
everyday gets better though. my counterpart came back, so i can kind of work with her to make plans for teaching. i'll start on monday. i will plan a few lessons, but eventually i'll have to make a whole curriculum.
now that i know how to get to Talas, i know i have a way to protect my sanity when i need to. i ran into another volunteer at the post office. we spoke a huge amount of concentrated babble for a half hour. it was good to see we're in the same boat. she said she cried a lot.
at my village, there's no way for people to phone me, though i can phone out. i felt very isolated. my sister nargeeza, who is nice but SO quiet, came with me to Talas. Although this is the only "city" around, she actually doesn't know it very well. it's strange. i will come here by myself and explore more.
an activity i plan to do with my family is make pizza. i spend so much time in my room reading or writing, i don't want to become a complete hermit. my other option is sitting in the common room and drinking tea or watching tv as they speak kyrgyz way to fast for me to understand.
i had a banya last night, which always makes everything better. the toilet outside is much grosser here, and the sanitation standards are lower with this family, which will take some getting used to. we also have no indoor running water.
this letter was a mess. i now have a crowd of people waiting behind me, possibly reading this?!? oh well.
i would love to hear from you... I think of you all the time, and am hanging in there. what an adventure. i didn't know how much of this adventure would be internal, having to do with keeping my sanity, you know? i think it's because of the being mute thing.
all my love,
erika
December 24th, 2002
I am writing again with Johanna’s laptop. This time I am very cozily sitting in the Issy-Kol hotel. Later today there will be a party in a German restaurant, and we have the morning free to be lazy and enjoy things like showers and reading in bed. Again I noticed how having routine things like cleanliness and indoor toilets and the safety and warmth of the hotel help me regain my sense of self and well-being.
Where to begin? Yesterday I and 62 other trainees were sworn in as PC volunteers. The ceremony took place at the Philharmonia. This building is another soviet relic- harsh, square, geometrical fixtures and angles, red chairs. President Akayev, the U.S. ambassador, the minister of education, and a few other ministers attended. The auditorium was filled mostly with host family members, and some embassy people. My apa from Telman came, along with my sister Dinara, her husband, and her daughter who studies in Bishkek. I had very low expectations for the event, thought it would be boring speeches that went on for hours. There was a painfully long run-through in the morning. In the end though, it turned out to be meaningful.
Our families were very excited and emotional, and it was good for us and for them to put some closure on our 3 months here, to say thank you. Three volunteers gave speeches in Kyrgyz, Russian, and English. The rest of the speeches were in Russian or English and then translated into the other language. The funny thing is that I’m told the event was televised on the news last night for 15 minutes, and again later in the night and this morning. It was because the President came that the event got so much attention. Joseph Curtain told us today that this is good media attention. Apparently, Russia is now saying that PC got kicked out because volunteers were actually CIA spies. If the President welcomed us personally, it will be harder for such allegations to be made here.
At the reception, a buffet with small sandwiches and pastries was served, snooty food. My apa, and most of the apas, filled their plates with enough to feed 8, and then filled plastic bags with food to take home. That’s what people do here when they go “guesting.”
Imagine people doing that at home!
Afterwards, I went with Johanna, Megan, and Susan (the volunteer who taught me to knit), to a little bar. I hesitate to tell you about this, because you will wonder whether I am actually in the PC- the walls were a rosish red, the tables and chairs were silver, and we were all wearing red. It was very classy, though like all restaurants I’ve seen here, it was also almost empty. We drank green drinks out of martini glasses, and were quite delighted with ourselves and the brightness of the colors and atmosphere and the garishly gaudy “New Year’s Tree outside.” We had dinner at an Indian restaurant, which was also wonderful.
Two volunteers left, one of the married couples. It is a big loss for the PC program here, and for us, because we will miss their leadership. Unlike most of us, they were people with real skills and life experience. She was an experienced teacher, he had been a hotel manager. I think it was mostly she who was unhappy, and disappointed in the inadequate TEFL training PC has provided. Strangely, PC didn’t say anything about their leaving, and apparently they weren’t allowed to come to the hotel or the swearing-in. Fortunately, many of the volunteers were able to meet them to say goodbye.
We spend a lot of time talking about the PC- why we came, how we feel about PST (preservice training), whether we’ll do any good at all. The consensus is generally pretty cynical. PST has helped us get acclimated to the country, but it has hardly prepared us to be effective English teachers. Someone said that only two goals of the PC (1. people in other countries learn about the U.S., and 2. people in the U.S. learn about other people) are really important, and the third goal, which is to pass on technical skills – the only “development” goal – is really just a way for us to pass our time here. It’s cynical, but it’s not untrue. The 3 volunteers who came back after the evacuation say that now that PST is over, nothing the PC says about what they expect from you matters. It’s all up to you. The PST director said that yesterday, too, that PC is what you make of it. Isn’t this true for all life experiences! I don’t want to be cynical, or to become cynical. I have been disillusioned a little bit by some of our bad public behavior, but yesterday at the ceremony I realized that good intentions have to count for something. At a minimal level, even the people who came for the most “selfish” reasons, like career moves or because they had nothing better to do… even these people gave up much better living conditions and familiarity in order to attempt something different and good.
Maybe I’ll stop ruminating for a while to report some more- we made pizza the last night in our village for our families. It was tasty, but it’s hard to cook pizza for 20 people in a toaster oven. I think they were really disoriented and maybe a little embarrassed for us by the fact that not all of the food was set out on the table at once for a big feeding frenzy. Oh well, they learned something about American culture, right? They were very appreciative anyway. I got complimented for the dough, which means a lot coming from bread experts. Johanna made DIVINE chocolate chip peanut oatmeal cookies. Complicated sweets, as she calls them, don’t exist here, mostly just sugarish
cookies.
I’m glad I’ll be going back to Telman for New Year’s, and I’m nervous about going to my permanent site. I’m so anxious, I don’t even want to talk about it.
There’s nothing to say really, I will just dive in and do it. I don’t know what the email situation will be in Talas, so don’t freak out if you don’t hear from me right away.
Megan just ran in to tell us that we are on TV again. I saw shots of the different speeches and all the volunteers singing a Kyrgyz song, badly. The news was in Russian, so I couldn’t understand what was said. It’s definitely the first time that I’ve been part of the featured news item for 24 hours though.
All my love, and merry Christmas,
Erika
I am writing again with Johanna’s laptop. This time I am very cozily sitting in the Issy-Kol hotel. Later today there will be a party in a German restaurant, and we have the morning free to be lazy and enjoy things like showers and reading in bed. Again I noticed how having routine things like cleanliness and indoor toilets and the safety and warmth of the hotel help me regain my sense of self and well-being.
Where to begin? Yesterday I and 62 other trainees were sworn in as PC volunteers. The ceremony took place at the Philharmonia. This building is another soviet relic- harsh, square, geometrical fixtures and angles, red chairs. President Akayev, the U.S. ambassador, the minister of education, and a few other ministers attended. The auditorium was filled mostly with host family members, and some embassy people. My apa from Telman came, along with my sister Dinara, her husband, and her daughter who studies in Bishkek. I had very low expectations for the event, thought it would be boring speeches that went on for hours. There was a painfully long run-through in the morning. In the end though, it turned out to be meaningful.
Our families were very excited and emotional, and it was good for us and for them to put some closure on our 3 months here, to say thank you. Three volunteers gave speeches in Kyrgyz, Russian, and English. The rest of the speeches were in Russian or English and then translated into the other language. The funny thing is that I’m told the event was televised on the news last night for 15 minutes, and again later in the night and this morning. It was because the President came that the event got so much attention. Joseph Curtain told us today that this is good media attention. Apparently, Russia is now saying that PC got kicked out because volunteers were actually CIA spies. If the President welcomed us personally, it will be harder for such allegations to be made here.
At the reception, a buffet with small sandwiches and pastries was served, snooty food. My apa, and most of the apas, filled their plates with enough to feed 8, and then filled plastic bags with food to take home. That’s what people do here when they go “guesting.”
Imagine people doing that at home!
Afterwards, I went with Johanna, Megan, and Susan (the volunteer who taught me to knit), to a little bar. I hesitate to tell you about this, because you will wonder whether I am actually in the PC- the walls were a rosish red, the tables and chairs were silver, and we were all wearing red. It was very classy, though like all restaurants I’ve seen here, it was also almost empty. We drank green drinks out of martini glasses, and were quite delighted with ourselves and the brightness of the colors and atmosphere and the garishly gaudy “New Year’s Tree outside.” We had dinner at an Indian restaurant, which was also wonderful.
Two volunteers left, one of the married couples. It is a big loss for the PC program here, and for us, because we will miss their leadership. Unlike most of us, they were people with real skills and life experience. She was an experienced teacher, he had been a hotel manager. I think it was mostly she who was unhappy, and disappointed in the inadequate TEFL training PC has provided. Strangely, PC didn’t say anything about their leaving, and apparently they weren’t allowed to come to the hotel or the swearing-in. Fortunately, many of the volunteers were able to meet them to say goodbye.
We spend a lot of time talking about the PC- why we came, how we feel about PST (preservice training), whether we’ll do any good at all. The consensus is generally pretty cynical. PST has helped us get acclimated to the country, but it has hardly prepared us to be effective English teachers. Someone said that only two goals of the PC (1. people in other countries learn about the U.S., and 2. people in the U.S. learn about other people) are really important, and the third goal, which is to pass on technical skills – the only “development” goal – is really just a way for us to pass our time here. It’s cynical, but it’s not untrue. The 3 volunteers who came back after the evacuation say that now that PST is over, nothing the PC says about what they expect from you matters. It’s all up to you. The PST director said that yesterday, too, that PC is what you make of it. Isn’t this true for all life experiences! I don’t want to be cynical, or to become cynical. I have been disillusioned a little bit by some of our bad public behavior, but yesterday at the ceremony I realized that good intentions have to count for something. At a minimal level, even the people who came for the most “selfish” reasons, like career moves or because they had nothing better to do… even these people gave up much better living conditions and familiarity in order to attempt something different and good.
Maybe I’ll stop ruminating for a while to report some more- we made pizza the last night in our village for our families. It was tasty, but it’s hard to cook pizza for 20 people in a toaster oven. I think they were really disoriented and maybe a little embarrassed for us by the fact that not all of the food was set out on the table at once for a big feeding frenzy. Oh well, they learned something about American culture, right? They were very appreciative anyway. I got complimented for the dough, which means a lot coming from bread experts. Johanna made DIVINE chocolate chip peanut oatmeal cookies. Complicated sweets, as she calls them, don’t exist here, mostly just sugarish
cookies.
I’m glad I’ll be going back to Telman for New Year’s, and I’m nervous about going to my permanent site. I’m so anxious, I don’t even want to talk about it.
There’s nothing to say really, I will just dive in and do it. I don’t know what the email situation will be in Talas, so don’t freak out if you don’t hear from me right away.
Megan just ran in to tell us that we are on TV again. I saw shots of the different speeches and all the volunteers singing a Kyrgyz song, badly. The news was in Russian, so I couldn’t understand what was said. It’s definitely the first time that I’ve been part of the featured news item for 24 hours though.
All my love, and merry Christmas,
Erika
