5 Months Mark

If you couldn't guess from the title, it has officially been 5 months since I left home and began my journey in the KG! It's crazy how fast time has passed and now it's already fall and soon enough, winter will be here. 

There's been several ups and downs since I last wrote. It's normal, I think. 

I've started with my computer trainings which have really turned into FLEX clubs. FLEX stands for Future Leaders Exchange program. It provides secondary school students from Eurasia a scholarship and opportunity to study in the US for one year. I work with students from the 8,9,10 and 11th grades to help improve their English language and help prepare them for their upcoming FLEX exams. I visit 4 rural villages and therefore, wind up running around Chui quite a bit. Sometimes, this can be somewhat exhausting. Marshrutkas after marshrutkas, day in and day out. Y'all know how much I love those things. 

Aside from running around Chui, I just completed a 2-day grant writing training with my counterpart in Issyk-Kyl. I think I can confidently say that I will finally get to start on projects that does not include teaching. Don't get me wrong, I've accepted my teaching fate here and have actually come to enjoy it much more than I originally thought I would. I just also wanted to actually begin working with my organization. So, I'm pleased to announce that we will begin writing a grant for a business training for women entrepreneurship this fall.

Then in January, we hope to apply for another grant to buy solar fruit dryers for the women that are partnered with our organization. Through these dryers, these women will be able to sell the fruit, herbs and vegetables that they grow and earn money. Additionally, the products will also be given to the schools for the students as snacks during the wintertime when good and nutritious snacks are harder to find and more expensive. We will be able to train women and men on how to maintain the dryers as well as training the community and children healthier and nutritious alternative lifestyles.

I'm extremely lucky to have a counterpart who is truly dedicated to helping Kyrgyz people. She has many ideas and projects that I hope to help either at least pave the path for success or accomplish during my 2-year service here. While it may seem like a somewhat long time, it really isn't. Rather, it's too short of an amount of time. 

I think that even in the past month, I've been able to see growth in myself and in my faith. I truly appreciate all the support and prayers from loved ones back home. It has meant so much to me and most certainly, a fuel to keep on working in the KG. 

Til next time,

Lida

There's No Place Like Home

I am going to get straight to the point. Today, I miss home. 

For those of you who know me, my feelings about home has always been more on the negative side. It was never really easy growing up in a small Southern town as an Asian American. I never truly felt like I belonged in the Delph and always had these conflicting opinions and values. 

However, as I ride on the overcrowded marshrutkas and walk through the underground tunnels in Bishkek, I can't help but feel nostalgic about home. This morning, I fell asleep on the marshrutka with country music playing on my iPod and then woke up to traditional Kyrgyz music blaring as I nearly flew out of my seat from the bumpy roads. I felt distorted and it took me a few seconds to remember where I was. 

90% of the time, I really do love being in the Kyrgyz Republic and feel so humble to be able to work and live here. It's just that there are a few days (ok... maybe a little more than a few days) when I want nothing more than to fly back home for the day. The "honeymoon" phase has definitely begun to wear off as I constantly battle the infamous "D". I have a handful of close friends and fellow volunteers here, who are wonderful, but sometimes I just miss my besties from home. I miss familiarity. I miss not having to try so hard with speaking two foreign languages and often failing miserably. I miss my mom. I miss my baby dog, "Happy" (although she's not much of a baby anymore). I miss being able to drive and not having to wait over an hour for a taxi or a marshrutka. I miss that infamous "Southern hospitality". I miss my BBQ and sweet iced tea. I miss the days when life was simple and all you had to do was sit back and relax with the hot summer wind blowing in the sweltering and humid Southern nights (that's right, I even miss that).

I came into the Peace Corps knowing that it wouldn't be easy. I just didn't know how hard it could be sometimes. 

My schedule has been filling up since training finally ended. I have begun computer trainings and English language/ FLEX trainings in a few villages. I also started my Kyrgyz and Russian tutoring and hopefully I will be able to speak more understandable "Krussian". Really, anything to get my points across. Throw in some Krussian, a little English and some gestures. I should be be an expert in Gestures by the end of two years. With life becoming more busy, I have less time to miss home. It's just every now and then, it hits me. Today, was one of those days. 

So, really, today's post isn't anything special. Rather, it's just a post of me whining. All in all though, life really is good here! I just miss my Southern roots today. :) 

Love, 

Lida

PS, I had 2-3 unfinished posts from 1-2 months ago that I will eventually post. Be sure to look for those in the coming week! 

Little Victories

It’s now the final countdown in Phase 2. Since my last post, I have visited Issyk-Kul (Hot Lake) and am adjusting to life in Epkin. 

ISSYK-KUL

Issyk-Kul is the neighboring oblast (province) and the name of the actual lake itself. According to Wikipedia, the lake is the tenth largest lake in the world by volume, and the second largest saline lake. It gets its name due to the fact that despite being surrounded by snowcapped mountains, the lake never freezes as a result of the high saline content. 

I went with my host family to the their family home in the city of Balykchy, which is about a 2.5 hour marshrutka (minivan) ride away. It was beautiful. For a lake, the water was very clear. Much clearer than Lake Degray (for all my homies in the Delph). There are little snack vendors and yurts/small restaurants that line the sidewalks near the beaches. The weather is perfect. Not too hot with a nice breeze. I also got to visit with a few fellow volunteers! Yes, it was the perfect remedy to homesickness and escaping the ridiculous hot Chui weather. While we were in Balykchy and enjoying weather in the mid-to-upper 80’s, Chui was in the 100’s. 

This is the yurt/restaurant we snacked in. It was pretty cool!

My host "mom" and the youngest munkin' of the family.

Sit back and relax... 

The top of the yurt, which I finally realized is also on the Kyrgyz flag....

Another view of inside the yurt. Pretty spacious eh?

Took a little cruise out into the middle of the lake. 

KG flag waving proud!

One of the cousins in the family... he's a twin! They were absolutely precious!

And of course, you have to have camel at the lake.

Balykchy itself was quite beautiful. Lake Issyk-Kul was pristine and it honestly felt more like an ocean than a lake. I enjoyed spending time with my host family and their extended family at the beach. We would go all day and just relax. It was interesting because, having been a part of a swim team for most of my youth, I was able to impress my host family. They didn’t expect me to be able to swim in the deep end for long periods of time, and they certainly didn’t expect to dive off the boardwalk. I really liked proving them that girls can be athletic and daring sometimes. We also enjoyed a nice little boat tour of the Balykchy lake area, as well as a spin on a jet-ski. I really thought that I was going to fly off of it, but miraculously, I survived. Seriously, you try going full speed and making sharp turns without having anything to hold onto but the sides of a jet-ski. 

I can’t stress how much needed this trip was. The few weeks prior, I had seriously considered waving my white flag. I was getting more and more homesick, physically ill and isolated. However, I ended up bonding with my family more. The extended host family was wonderful. There were so many cute little kids. 

BACK TO REALITY

After my short trip, I had to come back home. Renewed in spirit and re-energized, life has lately gotten better and better everyday. I now know more about what my organization does and what role I will be playing in the next coming months. I will be visiting nearby villages and rayon centers to train the village activists and leaders basic computer skills. From learning how to turn on and off a computer, using software such as Microsoft, to utilizing the internet and use an email account. It will be a challenge, but one that I certainly look forward to! 

As I soon learned after the two weeks in Phase 2, daily trips to Bishkek from my village would not be wise. The trip itself to the city soon grows expensive, and just a day alone in Bishkek is expensive. Therefore, I have been staying home more often. This has allowed me to play with my host siblings and neighborhood kids more. They actually come running and work out with me sometimes! They help correct my Kyrgyz, while I help teach a little day-to-day English. I actually leave my room now. While I previously locked myself in my room all day, I now actually go out in the village more. Last weekend, I even went on a mini-hike by myself. I've also learned how to can homemade jams, muffins/cupcakes, bread and compote! These will prove to be quite handy when I come home in two years, I'm sure. 

So, I can confidently say, I look forward to the next two years in the KG. I really, really do. Life is good. It’s as simple as that. 

I'll Make A Man Out of You

now have officiallly finished my second week of Phase II at my permanent site and the past few days have been very eye opening.

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…. 

Just A Meager Volunteer

Disclaimer: this was actually written 4 days ago....

It’s been 4 days since I was officially sworn in as  K23 Peace Corps Kyrgyz Republic Volunteer. Life has certainly slowed down a bit since Phase 1. I have settled into my new home for the next two years. My mother is a 30 year old widow with 3 children. We live in the small Kyrgyz village of Epkin, which is about an hour marshrutka ride from the capital city of Bishkek. Since my big move, I have gone into Bishkek 2 out of the 4 days. The foodie in me needed some comforting and familiar foods. Never have I been so happy to eat a Caesar salad in my life. The past two days were full of muffins, salads, burritos, and Korean food. As much as I like the Kyrgyz food here, sometimes I just need a short break from the goat meat and potatoes. If any of you end up visiting Bishkek… don’t worry, I’ll find all the best places to eat. Story of my life…

 Yesterday was my first day of “work” with my organization. They had a “conference” with the activists from the oblast. So, my organization works with women in rural villages around the “state” by teaching them better farming techniques and business skills. Each of the villages that a part of the organization are represented by a local activist. These women met yesterday to discuss and evaluate the pros and cons that had been occurring in their villages. I look forward to working with these amazing women for the next two years. 

1 Phase Down, 2 More to Go!

Clarification: I actually wrote this post a week ago, but was never able to post it online…

Let me start by apologizing for not posting or updating blogs lately. Life in Kyrgyzstan has been pretty busy… We had our Language Proficiency Interviews this past Friday and language classes had taken up most of my time. Good news! I passed my interview/exam! To continue where I last left off:

I believe my last post was about my new permanent site, Epkin. Since then, I have hiked a beautiful mountain (only 40 minutes away from my new site btw), met my permanent host mother, passed my language interview and climbed a historic minaret.

ISSYK-ATA:

About two weeks ago, I hiked Issyk-Ata (which literally translates to “Hot Father”) with some fellow volunteers/friends. It’s about an hour and a half marshrutka ride from our Rayon Center (village center?). Famous for its natural hot springs, springs and waterfalls, it was certainly a memorable and wonderful trip! We started the day with a 40-minute hike to a little nice natural spring. With green rolling hills surrounding us, a soothing river below us and gray-ish snow-capped mountains in the background, I was just in awe of Kyrgyzstan’s beauty.

Often, we see glimpses of these mountains and hills in the distance from our current villages, but once there, I was just dumbfounded by God’s beautiful creations. I couldn’t help but think and be reminded of how insignificant we are on this Earth. We, as humans, live and die… however, God’s creations live on for generations and generations. Moments like these remind me that the world doesn’t revolve around me and this world is certainly more than what I want and aspire to be. I was just a tiny little humble creature in the midst of such beauty that at the moment, seemed so large and majestic. However, even then, my surroundings were just another tiny part of a puzzle. 

Once we reached the spring, we saw a handful of people climbing near us to capture a better view. The adventurous side of me who has missed climbing decided that it would be fun to follow suit. After climbing approximately 30 feet of steep and loose gravel, we finally reached a beautiful viewpoint. Climbing down was even scarier than climbing up… but I made it back down safe and sound! When we reached the bottom, we were surrounded by a group of junior high school aged students. Most of the time, the Kyrgyz people ignore me because I tend to fit in due to my Asian physical appearance. However, when you have a few other volunteers with you who look as Caucasian as possible, we were taking countless selfies all the way back. After this hike, I don’t think the life of the rich and famous is one I’d like to pursue if it involves paparazzi. 

A NEW FAMILY:

This past Thursday, we volunteers, met our new permanent host families in Bishkek! It was exciting and nerve-wrecking all at the same time. My new host mother is 30 years old. Her name is Nargiza and she is the widowed mother of 3 children: 2 girls (11 and 1.5) and 1 boy (9). More to come on my new family once I meet them….

THE DREADED LANGUAGE INTERVIEW:

Last Friday, we all had the dreaded Language Proficiency Interviews. It is an oral exam to test our language levels and in order to continue our training, we needed at least a Novice High to pass. Well… I PASSED! Since I’ve never had an oral exam before and was being recorded, I completely blanked out and basically forgot everything I had learned. It was quite embarrassing and terrifying. BUT I PASSED!!!! YAY! 

A LOST TOWER:

So, it’s not really a lost tower, but it made you interested right? Right? A volunteer and I went to visit a nearby minaret that is a remaining minaret of a former mosque and fortress from the ancient city of Balasagun. The city was established by the Karakhanids and was once part of the great Mongul empire. The tower itself is now only half the original size due to several major earthquakes and was rebuilt as a result. However, once we made it to the top after climbing a tiny, dark, slippery and steep staircase, the view it offered was breathtaking. As usual… oh how thankful I am to be a volunteer in this beautiful country. 

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!