In Kyrgyzstan!!!

I am writing this in an internet cafe in Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan. So far, this has been an amazing experience. All 62 people in my group are amazing! In such a short while (about a week) we've all really bonded, and there's quite a few people that I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life. That's an odd statement to make after such a brief period of time, but there's something about being thrown into the fire together that really brings people together immediately:)

Training is intense and long, but very very good. I found out that I'll be learning the Kyrgyz language, and have already made quite a bit of progress in it which is encouraging. Also, today (Wednesday 7/9/08) I meet and move in with my host family! I'm going to be in Ivanaka Station in the south about an hour long Marshuka ride from the big city of Kant. Marshuka's are crazy by the way...the drivers are nuts and everyone stands. Imagine an old VW bus with all of the seats ripped out and you'll get the right image. So much fun though:)

I'll be starting my PST (pre-service training) tomorrow and will go through it for the next three months while living with my PST host family. After training I'll move in with a different host family at my permenant site and start working!

Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country. It's got high green mountains and low valleys. Every day so far it's been sunny and about 90+ degrees outside, so it's a little tough for my British skin to get used to but I'm managing:)

Behind me in this internet cafe is a crazy Russian dude listening to Michael Jackson loudly and on shuffle...where else in the world would that be going on!!?? I miss all of my friends back home, but now that I'm actually doing what I've talked about for the past few years I really don't think I'll be home in Seattle for a very long time. Some of my friends here have already been talking about post COS (close of service...everything is in acronyms here) we're going to take a massive trip (no planes) through Mongolia, China, Thailand, Cambodia, The Phillipines and India. Sorry;)

For those of you that are reading this, thank you. I miss everyone but trust that I'm having the absolute time of my life! All of the stress of leaving is just a distant memory and I'm living in the present moment for the first time in my life. It feels amazing. I know now beyond a shadow of a doubt that I made the right decision and I know that this is going to be the start of some more crazy adventures!

As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I'll post all of the crazy pictures of my staging event in Philadelphia (we all partied every night...what better way to bond?), the crazy layover in Istanbul, Turkey and all of the shinanigans we've been getting into here in Kyrgyzstan. The people here are incredible. They're beautiful and warm, friendly and genuine. Honestly it's a bit of a shock at first, but once you get used to it there really is no better way to be.

Hopefully when I do make it back to America I'll be able to take some of that with me.

Sorry for such a short post but it's 35 som per hour and I'm quickly running out of time. Also, as soon as I get a cell phone over here I'll post my cell phone number so you can text me and/or call me (it's expensive, but how cool would that be?;)