Chui, Chui, Chui

Today was the big site announcement day! When I arrived at hub site this morning, I was very nervous. So nervous in fact, I had hardly slept the night before and had a dream that I was going to an oblast that I didn't want to go to. Funny how dreams work sometimes.... 

I will be staying in Chui Oblast (when I say oblast, think states as an equivilant) in the small village of Epkin. Epkin is home to approximately 1,300 and has the basic corner stores and schools. It is located in the foothills with plenty of hiking trails and beautiful scenery! I will be working with an NGO that works to empower the women and youth population in rural villages around our oblast. This is usually done through business and basic computer training. A fellow volunteer and I are hoping to start secondary projects involving health/fitness in the area! While the location may not have been my first choice, I am extremely excited about my organization and new projects!

To be perfectly honest, I was somewhat hoping to get any other oblasts but Chui because it is where we have been for the last month during our language training. I wanted to get placed somewhere different and new in the Krygyz Republic. However, as I read about my job description and learned more about my host family, I became more and more excited. I think that it will take some time before I completely accept the fact that I will not be near Issyk-Kul, Naryn or even the newly opened and intriguing Jalala-bad. At the same time, I know that my experience will be what I make of it and I couldn't be more excited to get one of my top job choices. Besides, I'll be very close to the capital city of Bishkek and even get to eat fresh fruit year round. 

The one thing Peace Corps is definitely teaching me is to be more patient. With patience and perserverance, I know that I can make the next two years some of the best years of my life! We have two more weeks of language training before the Language Proficiency Exam (LPE). Hopefully I'll be able to pass it.... especially since I'll need to achieve an advanced level of Kyrgyz to be able to live and work effectively. After the LPE, we have one week of preparations and training for our jobs before we actually leave for our permanent sites for six weeks. After six weeks, we will then return to our training villages for three more weeks of language training before we finally complete Pre-Service Training (PST) and our 2 years service officially begins!