I just found out my permanent site today!!! I’m in a large town called “Kizul-Adyr” which translates to “red-something…” No, something isn’t the last word, but I can’t find “Adyr” in my dictionary so as far as I know I’m going to be living in “red-something” for the next two years in the Talas Oblast (“Oblast” is basically what they call each respective “state” here, so Talas is the name of the “state” I’m in and Kizul-Adyr is name of the city). Anyway, I’m stoked! Not only is it in the Northern part of the country, but because for all of my IST’s (In-Service-Training’s) that take place in the capitol city of Bishkek various times throughout the year I have to travel through Kazakhstan on the main highway, I’m given a “travel” Visa for Kazakhstan that doesn’t expire until I leave the country. That means that on school vacations and summer break I can travel throughout Kazakhstan and visit other PCV’s there! This is a privilege only extended to Talas volunteers, and only out of necessity, which makes my site placement all the more UNBELIVEABLY AWESOME!!!
Also, not to brag, but taken verbatim from my site description in the packet I received today Kizul-Adyr’s details boast that “near the large Kizul-Adyr water reservoir…people swim and hang out. You can also rent Jet-Skis and Catamarans by the day, there is also the most exciting water slide in The Kyrgyz Republic”. More and more it’s looking like The Kyrgyz Republic is where I was meant to be placed. As excited as I was for SE Asia when I was initially nominated I just can’t imagine being anywhere but here, right now, with these people. I’ve also started dating a girl in my training class; she and I have both been placed in sites that, although far from one another, are each only 5 hours from Bishkek respectively…which means many weekend trips to the big city are already in the works!
Life here is going great! I’ve met some amazing people (as well as one particularly attractive one:)) and I just found out that I’m going to be spending my next two years of service in paradise! From what I’ve read Talas is beautiful, mountainous, and possesses a comparatively more liberal Kyrgyz culture from what one might experience in the southern regions. Today I also found out that my really good friend Kristen, whom I’ve had the pleasure of being neighbors with throughout PST, has also been placed in Talas! We’re about 30 minutes away from each other, so these next two years are going to be an absolute blast!
Sometimes I still wake up and look at the beautiful hand-woven carpet hanging on the wall next to my bed, I hear the train rattle by in the distance while my cow moos at the rooster to stop crowing and it feels so unreal…almost like a dream, but I’m living it. I guess it still hasn’t fully sunk in yet that this is where I’m living now, this is what I’m doing now, and for the next two years as I slowly perfect my Kyrgyz and more fully integrate myself into my respective community—this is my life. It’s just a bit crazy. You know, but in a really ridiculously good way:)
21 August 2008
07 August 2008
More tips on sending packages (if you are so inclined)
Just a quick add-on to package sending (of course, only for interested parties):
My friend Adam sent me a package with two magazines, a package of playing cards including UNO and a T-shirt. The T-shirt was stolen out of the box. He did everything right, he put the crescent moon and star all over the package and taped it up really good, but a desperate worker at the Kyrgyz post office still ripped it open and took what was probably a cheap and funny T-shirt that I really would have liked to have received. From this first (of hopefully not many) stolen items I have learned the following about sending packages from the US to Kyrgyzstan:
1) Tape the box with dark colored tape, preferably duct tape as it is easier to see any possible tampering thereby acting as a built-in deterrent.
2) Put the crescent moon and star over the space that the box’s flaps come together so that whomever decides to try to steal any contents has to actually cut through it. Adam did that on the top of the box, but on the bottom he put it on one of the flaps individually, letting whichever thief that stole my shirt have less on his conscience…which very well could have made my box an easy target. In general, I think it’s a good rule to make desperate thieves have to work a little harder than that and deal with the spiritual consequences laterJ
3) Pack all of the items in the box under copious amounts of popcorn packing material and put the most valuable items in the middle of the box (preferably in their own box, so they can’t be quickly identified…though what use a Kyrgyz man has for a funny and ‘inside-joke’ sort of shirt I have no idea)…also it’s best to declare a shit-ton less value than the contents may actually be worth. Adam did a stellar job of this, but evidently there’s a hot black-market for funny shirts in Kyrgyzstan that I’ve yet to encounter…until now, unfortunately.
4) Pack items in a bigger box than necessary. I think they ship by weight and not so much by size, and the bigger the box the less easy it’ll be to quickly open and close without a supervisor seeing.
5) DO NOT WRITE “USA” ANYWHERE ON THE RETURN ADDRESS!!! I know this might sound dangerous, but if it needs to be “returned to sender” for any reason it will eventually get back to you. Having USA on the return address is the easiest way for any scummy-bastard-T-shirt-stealing-goat-fucker to see that the box’s contents might be worth pilfering. Just write your return address like you would if you were sending it within the US and it’ll be just fine.
This is of course assuming that anyone wants to send me anything…however, although Adam’s box had only current editions of Time and Popular Science magazines, some pictures and a nice letter (a T-shirt too, but that’s a bit of a sore subject so please don’t bring it up again) I really, really, really appreciated it. Not to guilt trip anyone, but if you see a trinket, a funny game, an interesting magazine…fuck…anything that’s American and you think that I’d like then I can’t stress enough how welcome that sort of gift would be. Plus, my birthday is October 12. I’ll be at my permanent site by then and will post the address as soon as I receive it, but for the next 30 days the address I posted in my previous blog will work great. Also, FYI, Adam sent the package on 7/21/08 and I received it on 8/04/08…not a bad turn-aroundJ
Thank you to all, and I promise many more stories to come…
My friend Adam sent me a package with two magazines, a package of playing cards including UNO and a T-shirt. The T-shirt was stolen out of the box. He did everything right, he put the crescent moon and star all over the package and taped it up really good, but a desperate worker at the Kyrgyz post office still ripped it open and took what was probably a cheap and funny T-shirt that I really would have liked to have received. From this first (of hopefully not many) stolen items I have learned the following about sending packages from the US to Kyrgyzstan:
1) Tape the box with dark colored tape, preferably duct tape as it is easier to see any possible tampering thereby acting as a built-in deterrent.
2) Put the crescent moon and star over the space that the box’s flaps come together so that whomever decides to try to steal any contents has to actually cut through it. Adam did that on the top of the box, but on the bottom he put it on one of the flaps individually, letting whichever thief that stole my shirt have less on his conscience…which very well could have made my box an easy target. In general, I think it’s a good rule to make desperate thieves have to work a little harder than that and deal with the spiritual consequences laterJ
3) Pack all of the items in the box under copious amounts of popcorn packing material and put the most valuable items in the middle of the box (preferably in their own box, so they can’t be quickly identified…though what use a Kyrgyz man has for a funny and ‘inside-joke’ sort of shirt I have no idea)…also it’s best to declare a shit-ton less value than the contents may actually be worth. Adam did a stellar job of this, but evidently there’s a hot black-market for funny shirts in Kyrgyzstan that I’ve yet to encounter…until now, unfortunately.
4) Pack items in a bigger box than necessary. I think they ship by weight and not so much by size, and the bigger the box the less easy it’ll be to quickly open and close without a supervisor seeing.
5) DO NOT WRITE “USA” ANYWHERE ON THE RETURN ADDRESS!!! I know this might sound dangerous, but if it needs to be “returned to sender” for any reason it will eventually get back to you. Having USA on the return address is the easiest way for any scummy-bastard-T-shirt-stealing-goat-fucker to see that the box’s contents might be worth pilfering. Just write your return address like you would if you were sending it within the US and it’ll be just fine.
This is of course assuming that anyone wants to send me anything…however, although Adam’s box had only current editions of Time and Popular Science magazines, some pictures and a nice letter (a T-shirt too, but that’s a bit of a sore subject so please don’t bring it up again) I really, really, really appreciated it. Not to guilt trip anyone, but if you see a trinket, a funny game, an interesting magazine…fuck…anything that’s American and you think that I’d like then I can’t stress enough how welcome that sort of gift would be. Plus, my birthday is October 12. I’ll be at my permanent site by then and will post the address as soon as I receive it, but for the next 30 days the address I posted in my previous blog will work great. Also, FYI, Adam sent the package on 7/21/08 and I received it on 8/04/08…not a bad turn-aroundJ
Thank you to all, and I promise many more stories to come…
What is Kyrgyzstan like?
What is Kyrgyzstan like? It’s certainly a country of great wealth disparity, that’s the most striking observation one can make upon exiting the capital city of Bishkek. It’s beautiful. Beyond words beautiful sometimes. There are days that I’m walking to my language lessons and pass an entire herd of goats and cows against a backdrop of the largest towering mountains I’ve ever seen. That’s another thing, the goat/cow herding. Kyrgyzstan is extremely community orientated so people take turns herding everyone else’s goats/cows…the crazy part is they don’t even herd them directly back to the house they came from—they’ll just walk them down the main street, stopping traffic the entire time and the cows and goats will veer off to their own house without any prodding. Which is strange considering the way they treat their animals here. It’s strange how they treat their animals only because I come from a country that actually has “animal rights activists” and people that treat their animals better than their own children on occasion. Here, they treat their animals as humans have since the dawn of civilized man—as tools to keep the house running, safe, and effective. It’s quite interesting, but tough to get used to. Their treatment of dogs especially. I grew up with a wonderful dog (some of you might have met Panda…she was greatJ) and my parents currently have Cookie, who’s about as tough as her name implies. My host-family has two dogs as well but they’re mean, not allowed in the house under ANY circumstances and barely fed scraps off the table. Actually I don’t know that for certain because I’ve never actually seen them be fed. However, because they’re starving and mean they are the best deterrent to any would-be robber and/or stray animal that might want to gain access to the house. From a sensible security standpoint they are excellent guard-dogs. It’s just tough for me because I grew up with a sense that the dog is a member of the family, whereas here they are basically slaves of a different species. Terrible reference, I know…but entirely accurate.
The towns are beautiful in their simplicity. Station Ivanovka, where I currently reside has no running water, intermittent electricity and the only toilets available are outhouses. Oh yeah, as my buddy Joe found out yesterday, once the outhouse gets full (use your imagination), you just cover it up and build a new one right next to it. And so it goes, the circle of life completely explained with a single reference to outhouses. I’m a genius.
Kyrgyzstan is an emerging country economically and with specific detail to modernity. It’s a country that has more broken and abandoned factories than running ones, but everyone that wants a job has one. The cities are modern, they have running water and electricity and rude people on the streets. The towns, however, operate in much the same way America did in the 1800’s…everyone looks out for everyone else, children are raised by their parents and the community and you shit outside regardless of the weather…yeah, I’m still on that subject;)
The community aspect of Kyrgyzstan is the most striking and evident in my daily activities though. If I’m on a Marshuka (tiny public transport VW van/bus thing) and an old lady gets on, every single young man will stand and offer their seat to her. If a 12 year old punk kid is too busy listening to his iPod everyone is within their right to slap his face and make him move. Seriously. In America parenting seems to be a pride issue. A proud mentality that holds that ‘this is my kid, I’ll raise them how I want’, whereas in Kyrgyzstan people look at the younger generation as future Kyrgyz community members so everyone has a say in how to raise them. I can’t quite make an argument for the merits of either method…it’s just different here.
In Bishkek you can find popular restaurants, hot night clubs, great bars, huge malls and nice paved roads (the difference between nice and not-nice paved roads is another HUGE striking difference here…in America one or two pot-holes is ‘not-nice’, in Kyrgyzstan one giant pot-hole that requires evasive maneuvering every 2 feet is ‘not nice’…’nice’ is slightly better than that) and girls that are wearing the latest short skirt, tiny tank-top fashion that MTV says is cool. In the towns women dress much more conservatively and are judged more harshly by their neighbors and peer groups than the latest chick-flick-high-school-gossip movie would have you believe is the norm in America. Bishkek is beautiful, and it comes with all the big city pluses and minuses that big cities the world over come with. Yes, Drew…they have McDonald’s in Bishkek—but the fries taste completely different!
Kyrgyzstan is a predominately Muslim country, but the men drink, smoke, and sleep with prostitutes…except the one’s that don’t, yet they seem to be few and far between. The women have traditional roles in the home. Some have jobs, but they are still responsible for all the cooking and cleaning. The men work, eat and do the hard labor that every house in every village requires as standard upkeep. The family’s live together for a very long time too…If a family has four sons, when the eldest marries he and his wife will live at his parent’s home until the second eldest marries, then they’ll move out. This will continue until the youngest son marries and he will live with his parents and his new wife until the parents die; he will then inherit their home and the tradition will continue anew.
Overall, Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country, with beautiful people and a beautiful way of life. The cities are fast-paced and fun, and the towns are so slow it’s hard to move sometimes…days like that though I just get together with my friends here (there’s 10 PCT’s in Station Ivanovka), buy a 1.5 liter bottle of piva (beer) for 40 som (about $1.05) and sit in the park drinking and talking while children run around. It’s amazing. The kids are also ridiculously good at soccer here. We play pick-up games about twice a week (well, me and three other guys here) and the kids are just phenomenal! That’s a whole other story though, and I’m getting tired.
Hopefully this blog post gave you a simple idea of what Kyrgyzstan is like. I’ll be trying to post some pictures soon (maybe next month, when I save up the som to spend the time on the internet they’d require), but in the meantime please keep posting comments with any questions or thoughts you might have. As this is really my only means of communication with my friends back home I ALWAYS love hearing from you!!!
The towns are beautiful in their simplicity. Station Ivanovka, where I currently reside has no running water, intermittent electricity and the only toilets available are outhouses. Oh yeah, as my buddy Joe found out yesterday, once the outhouse gets full (use your imagination), you just cover it up and build a new one right next to it. And so it goes, the circle of life completely explained with a single reference to outhouses. I’m a genius.
Kyrgyzstan is an emerging country economically and with specific detail to modernity. It’s a country that has more broken and abandoned factories than running ones, but everyone that wants a job has one. The cities are modern, they have running water and electricity and rude people on the streets. The towns, however, operate in much the same way America did in the 1800’s…everyone looks out for everyone else, children are raised by their parents and the community and you shit outside regardless of the weather…yeah, I’m still on that subject;)
The community aspect of Kyrgyzstan is the most striking and evident in my daily activities though. If I’m on a Marshuka (tiny public transport VW van/bus thing) and an old lady gets on, every single young man will stand and offer their seat to her. If a 12 year old punk kid is too busy listening to his iPod everyone is within their right to slap his face and make him move. Seriously. In America parenting seems to be a pride issue. A proud mentality that holds that ‘this is my kid, I’ll raise them how I want’, whereas in Kyrgyzstan people look at the younger generation as future Kyrgyz community members so everyone has a say in how to raise them. I can’t quite make an argument for the merits of either method…it’s just different here.
In Bishkek you can find popular restaurants, hot night clubs, great bars, huge malls and nice paved roads (the difference between nice and not-nice paved roads is another HUGE striking difference here…in America one or two pot-holes is ‘not-nice’, in Kyrgyzstan one giant pot-hole that requires evasive maneuvering every 2 feet is ‘not nice’…’nice’ is slightly better than that) and girls that are wearing the latest short skirt, tiny tank-top fashion that MTV says is cool. In the towns women dress much more conservatively and are judged more harshly by their neighbors and peer groups than the latest chick-flick-high-school-gossip movie would have you believe is the norm in America. Bishkek is beautiful, and it comes with all the big city pluses and minuses that big cities the world over come with. Yes, Drew…they have McDonald’s in Bishkek—but the fries taste completely different!
Kyrgyzstan is a predominately Muslim country, but the men drink, smoke, and sleep with prostitutes…except the one’s that don’t, yet they seem to be few and far between. The women have traditional roles in the home. Some have jobs, but they are still responsible for all the cooking and cleaning. The men work, eat and do the hard labor that every house in every village requires as standard upkeep. The family’s live together for a very long time too…If a family has four sons, when the eldest marries he and his wife will live at his parent’s home until the second eldest marries, then they’ll move out. This will continue until the youngest son marries and he will live with his parents and his new wife until the parents die; he will then inherit their home and the tradition will continue anew.
Overall, Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country, with beautiful people and a beautiful way of life. The cities are fast-paced and fun, and the towns are so slow it’s hard to move sometimes…days like that though I just get together with my friends here (there’s 10 PCT’s in Station Ivanovka), buy a 1.5 liter bottle of piva (beer) for 40 som (about $1.05) and sit in the park drinking and talking while children run around. It’s amazing. The kids are also ridiculously good at soccer here. We play pick-up games about twice a week (well, me and three other guys here) and the kids are just phenomenal! That’s a whole other story though, and I’m getting tired.
Hopefully this blog post gave you a simple idea of what Kyrgyzstan is like. I’ll be trying to post some pictures soon (maybe next month, when I save up the som to spend the time on the internet they’d require), but in the meantime please keep posting comments with any questions or thoughts you might have. As this is really my only means of communication with my friends back home I ALWAYS love hearing from you!!!
31 July 2008
Settling in to Kyrgyz life...
Well, I am definitely settled in to my PST site! Three days ago I was recovering from the worst bowl malfunction that I’ve ever experienced. The after-effects alone dictated the necessity of a roll of toilet paper and hand sanitizer as constant companions wherever I decided to go; school, training, the kitchen, etc. As such I decided the best idea was to have a roll and bottle in my backpack at all times, as well as some in my room. But I digress. On Wednesday I was coming back via ‘marshuka’ from our ‘HUB’ day (it’s a day when every PCT gets together for long lectures on obvious things [safety, health, how Peace Corps still hasn’t gotten our ID’s ready yet, etc.] that waste a majority of the day…but it’s a great chance to socialize with people other than the folks at my training site whom I see every damn day, so it’s pretty cool:) when one of my friends recognized my Apa (host-mother) in the back. Evidently she was coming back from a shopping excursion in Kant, the same place where we have HUB day, and offered to pay the taxi fare for me and two other people that live near me to get back home.
--note: I live in Station Ivanovka, Ivanovka is the main town that has the marshuka connection to ‘the big city’ Kant. It costs 10 com (about 33 cents) to get from Station Ivanovka (it’s a town around a train station) to Ivanovka via taxi, then another 20 com (about 70 cents) to get from Ivanovka to Kant via marshuka. Then the same back, but in reverse.
Once we got back to Station Ivanovka my Apa insisted that all three of us accompany her to a local ‘magazine’ (shop). There she made it clear that we were all to drink vodka to my health. Keep in mind this local magazine is like 1/8th the size of a small 7-11 back home, and individually owned/operated. She then proceeded to buy a 1/5 of vodka, a giant can of mackerel, and four giant pieces of pita bread, then she asked the ladies behind the counter for a knife to open the can with and cups for our vodka. She was also so kind as to get my friends and me some juice-boxes because we’re weak Americans and have a hard time drinking our vodka straight. Meanwhile old lady’s are coming in and buying their vodka and pita bread while trying to work their way around us…we were honestly taking up over half the available customer space, but no one seemed to care! Over the next twenty minutes (she was pouring double shots for everyone…it’s the only way they drink their vodka here!) we finished the bottle of vodka, ate mackerel and pita bread sandwiches, chased our drinks with juice boxes and gave many toasts in broken Kyrgyz. We were in this tiny shop the entire time, with the shop ladies smiling kindly from the other side of the drink cooler my Apa was using as a cutting board/bar!
The weather here has been a little crazy over the past week and has alternated between raining at 55 degrees and sunny with no clouds at around 100 degrees. In the time we were in the shop it went from being slightly cloudy (you know, Seattle year-round) to a torrential downpour! Well, my Apa wasn’t about to let our heads get wet on our walk home, so she asked the shop ladies for some plastic bags, which she cut open with the knife she used on the mackerel to make little hats for us to wear on our walk back in the rain. Unbelievable. Here I am, trying my damn hardest not to shit my pants, I’m full of mackerel and vodka (roughly 6+ shots worth in 20 minutes…so I’m definitely drunk) and I’m walking home with my Apa and two of my friends wearing plastic bags on our heads. These plastic bags are so thin, however, that the only purpose they really serve is as water soakers that condense the rain into pools that then drop in full force straight down my shirt collar. What a sight!
Luckily after a night of gut-wrenching lack of sleep, I actually did recover and am doing just fine as of the writing of this blog. This is just one of countless stories that seem to happen out of nowhere here!
I’ve had a great time at Ivanovka Station thus far and between swimming in the river, collecting water on my host brother’s motorcycle, and playing pick-up games of soccer with the neighborhood kids I’m really going to miss it when it does come time for me to leave for my permanent site. Luckily I can take solace in the fact that I’ve got two more months of what will surely be more random local happenings to keep things interesting and you, my loyal reader, ever the more intrigued.
--note: I live in Station Ivanovka, Ivanovka is the main town that has the marshuka connection to ‘the big city’ Kant. It costs 10 com (about 33 cents) to get from Station Ivanovka (it’s a town around a train station) to Ivanovka via taxi, then another 20 com (about 70 cents) to get from Ivanovka to Kant via marshuka. Then the same back, but in reverse.
Once we got back to Station Ivanovka my Apa insisted that all three of us accompany her to a local ‘magazine’ (shop). There she made it clear that we were all to drink vodka to my health. Keep in mind this local magazine is like 1/8th the size of a small 7-11 back home, and individually owned/operated. She then proceeded to buy a 1/5 of vodka, a giant can of mackerel, and four giant pieces of pita bread, then she asked the ladies behind the counter for a knife to open the can with and cups for our vodka. She was also so kind as to get my friends and me some juice-boxes because we’re weak Americans and have a hard time drinking our vodka straight. Meanwhile old lady’s are coming in and buying their vodka and pita bread while trying to work their way around us…we were honestly taking up over half the available customer space, but no one seemed to care! Over the next twenty minutes (she was pouring double shots for everyone…it’s the only way they drink their vodka here!) we finished the bottle of vodka, ate mackerel and pita bread sandwiches, chased our drinks with juice boxes and gave many toasts in broken Kyrgyz. We were in this tiny shop the entire time, with the shop ladies smiling kindly from the other side of the drink cooler my Apa was using as a cutting board/bar!
The weather here has been a little crazy over the past week and has alternated between raining at 55 degrees and sunny with no clouds at around 100 degrees. In the time we were in the shop it went from being slightly cloudy (you know, Seattle year-round) to a torrential downpour! Well, my Apa wasn’t about to let our heads get wet on our walk home, so she asked the shop ladies for some plastic bags, which she cut open with the knife she used on the mackerel to make little hats for us to wear on our walk back in the rain. Unbelievable. Here I am, trying my damn hardest not to shit my pants, I’m full of mackerel and vodka (roughly 6+ shots worth in 20 minutes…so I’m definitely drunk) and I’m walking home with my Apa and two of my friends wearing plastic bags on our heads. These plastic bags are so thin, however, that the only purpose they really serve is as water soakers that condense the rain into pools that then drop in full force straight down my shirt collar. What a sight!
Luckily after a night of gut-wrenching lack of sleep, I actually did recover and am doing just fine as of the writing of this blog. This is just one of countless stories that seem to happen out of nowhere here!
I’ve had a great time at Ivanovka Station thus far and between swimming in the river, collecting water on my host brother’s motorcycle, and playing pick-up games of soccer with the neighborhood kids I’m really going to miss it when it does come time for me to leave for my permanent site. Luckily I can take solace in the fact that I’ve got two more months of what will surely be more random local happenings to keep things interesting and you, my loyal reader, ever the more intrigued.
18 July 2008
How to send me letters, packages, gossip magazines, candy, porn...etc.
This is taken from an e-mail sent by my "country desk" officer. It details exactly how to send letters and packages to me DURING MY THREE MONTHS OF TRAINING (after training--end of September--I'll have a completely different address, and it takes a little over a month for anything to get to me--FYI)
At the post office: The U.S. Postal Service uses the name Kyrgyzstan. The country names “Kyrgyz Republic” and “Kyrgyzstan” are interchangeable and are equally recognized. You may need to clarify to the postal clerk that the package is to be sent to Kyrgyzstan. Airmail delivery of letters and packages generally take between 4-10 days. Your post office will be able to assist in determining a reliable and cost-effective way of shipping items to the Trainee.
A note on sending packages: Please be sure to seal all packages with strong packing tape. Insuring the package may discourage tampering and pilfering. Unfortunately, from time to time Peace Corps Trainees and Volunteers have found that their packages have been tampered with, opened, and/or pilfered of the items inside. PC/Kyrgyz Republic cannot be held responsible for damaged or open packages.
For example: A letter to Trainee James Swift would have the following address (but instead of being one on top of the other, they should be clearly divided next to each other--English on the left, Cyrillic on the right--I just can't figure out how to format them like that for this blog posting...sorry)
KYRGYZSTAN
722140 Kant City
Lenina 97, RUPS
P.O. Box 22
ATTN: JAMES SWIFT
Кыргызстан
722140 г. Кант
ул. Ленина 97, РУПС
а/я 22
Please remember to put the Trainee’s name on the envelope or package to ensure delivery.
ALSO! BECAUSE CORRUPTION IS SO RAMPANT, THE ONLY WAY TO POSSIBLY ENSURE DELIVERY WITHOUT TAMPERING IS TO PUT THE MUSLIM CRESCENT MOON AND STAR ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVELOPE/PACKAGE. DISPLAY IT PROMINENTLY!!! --Just do a Google image search for "muslim crescent moon and star" and you'll see what to put on there:)
This is, of course, assuming you have any interest in sending me anything other than your well wishes and good karma...which is CERTAINLY appreciated:)
Thanks!
At the post office: The U.S. Postal Service uses the name Kyrgyzstan. The country names “Kyrgyz Republic” and “Kyrgyzstan” are interchangeable and are equally recognized. You may need to clarify to the postal clerk that the package is to be sent to Kyrgyzstan. Airmail delivery of letters and packages generally take between 4-10 days. Your post office will be able to assist in determining a reliable and cost-effective way of shipping items to the Trainee.
A note on sending packages: Please be sure to seal all packages with strong packing tape. Insuring the package may discourage tampering and pilfering. Unfortunately, from time to time Peace Corps Trainees and Volunteers have found that their packages have been tampered with, opened, and/or pilfered of the items inside. PC/Kyrgyz Republic cannot be held responsible for damaged or open packages.
For example: A letter to Trainee James Swift would have the following address (but instead of being one on top of the other, they should be clearly divided next to each other--English on the left, Cyrillic on the right--I just can't figure out how to format them like that for this blog posting...sorry)
KYRGYZSTAN
722140 Kant City
Lenina 97, RUPS
P.O. Box 22
ATTN: JAMES SWIFT
Кыргызстан
722140 г. Кант
ул. Ленина 97, РУПС
а/я 22
Please remember to put the Trainee’s name on the envelope or package to ensure delivery.
ALSO! BECAUSE CORRUPTION IS SO RAMPANT, THE ONLY WAY TO POSSIBLY ENSURE DELIVERY WITHOUT TAMPERING IS TO PUT THE MUSLIM CRESCENT MOON AND STAR ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVELOPE/PACKAGE. DISPLAY IT PROMINENTLY!!! --Just do a Google image search for "muslim crescent moon and star" and you'll see what to put on there:)
This is, of course, assuming you have any interest in sending me anything other than your well wishes and good karma...which is CERTAINLY appreciated:)
Thanks!
PST placement and host family adventures...
Well, I’ve been living in Станция Ивановка (Ivanovka Station) now for about a week and am still having a blast! My Kyrgyz language lessons are coming along quite well when I have my books in front of me, but when speaking I’m still limited to жакшы, рахмат, and каечиресиз (good/hello [jakshay], thank you [rakchmat], and sorry [catch-er-isis) but I feel like with the progress I’ve made in my understanding of Kyrgyz grammar the speaking will come along soon enoughJ Ivanovka Station is by far the least scenic of the various PST (pre-service training) stations in the area, but with that said it is still incredibly beautiful! The people here are so warm and friendly and the Kyrgyz mountains that I can see every day I walk to class are so big (honestly they put the Cascades to shame) they take over the sky in front of me even though they’re about 10km away! It’s extremely hot here right now. Every day has averaged about 95+ of dry heat, but there are a few signs that it might be letting up. Last night Kristen’s host mother, or ‘apa’ as we call them all (‘ata’ for host fathers) invited my apa and me over for “guesting” at her place. Guesting basically means you’re treated like a king with more food than you can possibly eat forced upon you and more vodka served than you thought humanely (yes, humanely) possible; then about mid-way though our four hour guesting it rained. Granted, it rained for about 20 seconds but there hasn’t even been a single cloud in the sky since I’ve been here so hopefully the weather will be cooling down a bit soon.
PST is coming along well…though I can’t wait to be done with it and it’s only the second week. They do too much hand-holding for my taste. Those of you that know me know that I am by nature extremely independent (too much so, according to my mother) and being required to dress a certain way, do certain things and have permission for everything is tiresome to say the least. But, I was speaking to a K-14 (I’m K-16) who’s service is up in September about it and he said that once I’m placed at my permanent site not only does the hand-holding stop but they pretty much leave you alone altogether…just 10 more weeks…just 10 more weeks…
I know I mentioned something similar in my last blog posting, but I am still surprised at how adjusted to this I already feel. I know that I’m still experiencing the ‘high’ that comes with travel and living in another culture—I experienced the same thing when I studied abroad in Perugia, Italy, and I know this will be followed by a ‘down-turn’ so to speak. However, after working in a law firm for the past 2 ½ years, and for 8 years before that being so focused on “the future”, finally being thrust into a situation where I’m literally living day-to-day with nothing to concern me except day-to-day activities is incredibly liberating! When I was working at Williams Kastner I was constantly reminded of what day it was, what time it was, and what I had to get done by when. Not that it was necessarily a ‘bad’ thing, but I feel that my daily personal life was sacrificed at the expense of a generous pay check. Now, I’ve decided to sacrifice the generous pay check for the ability to live my personal life day-to-day…not a bad deal, in my opinionJ
Kyrgyzstan is amazing. I’m reminded of that fact every single day I’ve been here. The weather is great (though too hot right now), the people are beautiful, the scenery is gorgeous and the food is amazing! Also, outhouses are not nearly as bad as I feared, and already everyone in my group is becoming somewhat of an outhouse connoisseur. For instance, mine has a wobbly board on the left and is just a big hole, whereas Jonathan’s is brand new, has solid footing and a very nice discrete hole. Though Kristen’s is not as nice as mine she at least has a door that closes properly, and Jenna’s has more open air at the top. I think I definitely drew the short straw with my outhouse, but even still it’s really no different than squatting in the woods. I think that when I’m done with this I’m going to write a definitive piece of literature on the topic of outhousesJ Also, the sun-shower is still the most amazing part of this whole experience. Showering outside is incredible, and with the sun on your face it’s almost heavenly…honestly, if you can get away with it, I sincerely recommend trying it!
My host family is awesome! It’s me, Apa, Erchayim (she’s 22), Tonya (she’s 20) and Adi (he’s 17). On Sunday I helped Adi with some yard work, and then we drove his motorcycle with side-cart up to the water-pump station to fill up three giant jugs of water for use at home. Unfortunately they don’t have running water in Ivanovka so we have to get it from a pump about 4 miles away…but that just means I get to ride on the back of a motorcycle that was probably built in the 1950’s, whipping around turns with a side-cart that’s always threatening to tip us over, while holding on to my host brother who’s ultimately only trying to show off how fast he can go without killing both of us. I love the Peace CorpsJ
Also, the beer here is phenomenal! They don’t have the same quality control that America has, so they can get away with so much more! For instance, they’ve got this beer called “Baltica” that ranges from #1 - #11…#1 is practically non-alcoholic, while #11 will knock your teeth out (it’s roughly 17%)! After much experimentation with Jonathan and Joe (yeah, Jonathan, Joe and James…it’s a sitcom waiting to happen) we’ve concluded that Baltica 8 is the best and actually better tasting than ANY major American brand. They’ve also got this beer called Piva, that’s about 5% but comes in a 2 liter plastic bottle (that’s about four beers in one) and only costs 53c (Som) which is roughly $1.25…Baltica 8 is 35c which is about $1 for a 22oz. glass bottle. The vodka is amazing too. I was really worried about it before I got here because I’ve never really liked vodka, but what they’ve got here is amazing! Take the top shelf Vodka in any American bar and you’ll likely get something that would be considered mid to low range here. Seriously, I’m completely convertedJ
That basically sums up what I’ve got going on right now. Today is “HUB” day, which means ALL the Peace Corps trainees get together in Kant (in Kyrgyz it’s pronounced ‘cunt’…I think I have way too much fun with that oneJ) for medical and technical training. HUB days are every Wednesday in Kant (ha ha ha) and it’s really just a great excuse to see everyone again. All 62 of us got really close during Staging in Philadelphia and Orientation in Bishkek, so now that we’re in our smaller groups (about 5-8 people per location) everyone really misses everyone else. I can already tell that HUB days are probably what I’m going to be looking forward to the most during these next 10 weeks.
That’s it for now…again, I’m actually paying to use the internet so I’ve got to keep this short and sweet. Rest assured o loyal reader, more stories are yet to comeJ
PST is coming along well…though I can’t wait to be done with it and it’s only the second week. They do too much hand-holding for my taste. Those of you that know me know that I am by nature extremely independent (too much so, according to my mother) and being required to dress a certain way, do certain things and have permission for everything is tiresome to say the least. But, I was speaking to a K-14 (I’m K-16) who’s service is up in September about it and he said that once I’m placed at my permanent site not only does the hand-holding stop but they pretty much leave you alone altogether…just 10 more weeks…just 10 more weeks…
I know I mentioned something similar in my last blog posting, but I am still surprised at how adjusted to this I already feel. I know that I’m still experiencing the ‘high’ that comes with travel and living in another culture—I experienced the same thing when I studied abroad in Perugia, Italy, and I know this will be followed by a ‘down-turn’ so to speak. However, after working in a law firm for the past 2 ½ years, and for 8 years before that being so focused on “the future”, finally being thrust into a situation where I’m literally living day-to-day with nothing to concern me except day-to-day activities is incredibly liberating! When I was working at Williams Kastner I was constantly reminded of what day it was, what time it was, and what I had to get done by when. Not that it was necessarily a ‘bad’ thing, but I feel that my daily personal life was sacrificed at the expense of a generous pay check. Now, I’ve decided to sacrifice the generous pay check for the ability to live my personal life day-to-day…not a bad deal, in my opinionJ
Kyrgyzstan is amazing. I’m reminded of that fact every single day I’ve been here. The weather is great (though too hot right now), the people are beautiful, the scenery is gorgeous and the food is amazing! Also, outhouses are not nearly as bad as I feared, and already everyone in my group is becoming somewhat of an outhouse connoisseur. For instance, mine has a wobbly board on the left and is just a big hole, whereas Jonathan’s is brand new, has solid footing and a very nice discrete hole. Though Kristen’s is not as nice as mine she at least has a door that closes properly, and Jenna’s has more open air at the top. I think I definitely drew the short straw with my outhouse, but even still it’s really no different than squatting in the woods. I think that when I’m done with this I’m going to write a definitive piece of literature on the topic of outhousesJ Also, the sun-shower is still the most amazing part of this whole experience. Showering outside is incredible, and with the sun on your face it’s almost heavenly…honestly, if you can get away with it, I sincerely recommend trying it!
My host family is awesome! It’s me, Apa, Erchayim (she’s 22), Tonya (she’s 20) and Adi (he’s 17). On Sunday I helped Adi with some yard work, and then we drove his motorcycle with side-cart up to the water-pump station to fill up three giant jugs of water for use at home. Unfortunately they don’t have running water in Ivanovka so we have to get it from a pump about 4 miles away…but that just means I get to ride on the back of a motorcycle that was probably built in the 1950’s, whipping around turns with a side-cart that’s always threatening to tip us over, while holding on to my host brother who’s ultimately only trying to show off how fast he can go without killing both of us. I love the Peace CorpsJ
Also, the beer here is phenomenal! They don’t have the same quality control that America has, so they can get away with so much more! For instance, they’ve got this beer called “Baltica” that ranges from #1 - #11…#1 is practically non-alcoholic, while #11 will knock your teeth out (it’s roughly 17%)! After much experimentation with Jonathan and Joe (yeah, Jonathan, Joe and James…it’s a sitcom waiting to happen) we’ve concluded that Baltica 8 is the best and actually better tasting than ANY major American brand. They’ve also got this beer called Piva, that’s about 5% but comes in a 2 liter plastic bottle (that’s about four beers in one) and only costs 53c (Som) which is roughly $1.25…Baltica 8 is 35c which is about $1 for a 22oz. glass bottle. The vodka is amazing too. I was really worried about it before I got here because I’ve never really liked vodka, but what they’ve got here is amazing! Take the top shelf Vodka in any American bar and you’ll likely get something that would be considered mid to low range here. Seriously, I’m completely convertedJ
That basically sums up what I’ve got going on right now. Today is “HUB” day, which means ALL the Peace Corps trainees get together in Kant (in Kyrgyz it’s pronounced ‘cunt’…I think I have way too much fun with that oneJ) for medical and technical training. HUB days are every Wednesday in Kant (ha ha ha) and it’s really just a great excuse to see everyone again. All 62 of us got really close during Staging in Philadelphia and Orientation in Bishkek, so now that we’re in our smaller groups (about 5-8 people per location) everyone really misses everyone else. I can already tell that HUB days are probably what I’m going to be looking forward to the most during these next 10 weeks.
That’s it for now…again, I’m actually paying to use the internet so I’ve got to keep this short and sweet. Rest assured o loyal reader, more stories are yet to comeJ
08 July 2008
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?;)
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?;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
