ROSIE THE RIVETER: KYRGYZ STYLE
Monday started out as a fairly rough day. My host mother had suddenly lost her oldest brother in a car accident early in the morning. Unable to have the language skills to communicate my condolances, I could only stand and watch in silence as my host mother's world was turned upside down. Due to customs, my mother left for her hometown to help in the funeral preperations. This left me at home with my three younger host siblings. Fortunately, our famliy neighbor came over throughout the day to help out. My host mother returned after two days.
What I want to share with everyone is the incredible strength and hardwork that these Kyrgyz women go through, even at a very young age. In the two weeks that I have been here, I have watched my 11-year old host sister (Begemau) cook, clean, take care of our 1.5 year old baby sister (Nazbekye), do the laundry and in her spare time, play. With our mother having to read the Koran for the next 40 days as part of the ritual for when a loved one passes away, Begemau has had to stay at home and help out. Instead of playing and attending my little English club, she has had to sweep and vacuum the floors, make bread (24-year old me still can't do this..), do the laundry and keep an eye on Nazbekye. I couldn't help but think of what I was doing on a daily basis when I was 11 years old, which certainly was not any of the things that she has been doing for a majority of her life.
I am in awe of these girls who turn into such incredible women here and the things that they endure and encounter throughout their lives.
I AM NOT A TEACHER
This was what I found myself saying repeatedly this week. My counterpart helped organize a mini-English club within my village to help me integrate and practice my Kyrgyz, and because Phase II has proven to be very..... good for self-reflections. For those of you who know me very well, you know that patience is something I have been prayed for and worked on for a long time. Therefore, it was a big reason as to why I eventually gave up on my childhood dreams of being a teacher. However, as I've come to learn, teaching English is just a part of the Peace Corps. Even if it isn't your original job sector. So, Monday was also my first day of teaching English. Ever. It went pretty horribly and very quickly so. Four out of ten students showed up and all of different levels. Did I mention that the classes were two hours long? I don't think that two- hour long English classes in the middle of summer break is what these children had in mind. By Tuesday afternoon, I had thought about just quitting...
However, Thursday proved to be just the change I needed. Thanks to my fellow TEFL volunteer friends, I decided to turn my two hour classes into two, one-hour classes. They’re going much more smoothly now! I have one more week to go in my mini-English classes and will help work an English camp for a week in a nearby town. Despite not having any teaching background and not wanting to teach English, I have come to find it quite rewarding. When students come to class the next day and show what they’ve learned and practiced, it makes me extremely proud!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Yesterday was 4th of July here in Bishkek! All of us new Chui volunteers met up in Bishkek to commemorate the occasion with the majority of the seasoned Chui volunteers with a nice picnic at a local park. We had pasta salad (WITH ITALIAN DRESSING!!!), ranch dip (OH HOW I'VE MISSED RANCH. RANCH!!!! YUMMY!) and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
We then went to the infamous Obama Bar which is Obama themed. I, of course, had to take a selfie with Mr. President Obama (it's just a cardboard cutout but looks so real!). Afterwards, we hopped on down to the local BBQ joint for some delicious pulled pork and all the fixin's! While it wasn't quite what we had hoped... it was still delicious and a nice reminder of home and comfort food.
Until next time….
