With a house this cold, who needs a refrigerator?

Hello from chilly Kyrgyzstan. The winter is upon us, and although I am faring far better than many of my fellow volunteers (who are living in the middle of mountains instead of next to a climate-moderating lake) it’s sure no Atlanta winter. As my 8-yr-old sister says, “Scold!” (That’s her imitation of me saying “It’s cold.”) I have a space-heater in my bedroom and with the help of my neighbors I moved my bed away from the window, hung thicker curtains and put up a new door. But in the other rooms of my house it’s, um, chilly. If I use the kitchen I put on my winter coat, hat and scarf while cooking. My olive oil is frozen. And I wear as many layers as possible just as a general rule. My family lives in another separate room that’s coal-heated so I go over there to eat dinner and soak in the warmth. Really, though, my room is warm, so don’t worry.

It took me a while to get into a groove at school but I’m really starting to enjoy teaching now. The frustrations are never-ending but I’m trying to be flexible. My classes get cancelled for various reasons which, depending on my mood, are entertaining or absurd. Example:
Me: Where’s my tenth grade class?
Another teacher: Oh, they had to clean a classroom last period and then they decided they wanted to go home.

I teach in my own classroom as of last week (instead of switching rooms every period) so that’s a nice change. I’ve starting to bling it out (thanks, Mare, for the world map and planet window clings) so if someone can send me the “Hang in There” poster of the cat hanging from a tree branch, that would be sweet (just kidding). My students are pretty good for the most part. They’re really cute and they get really excited when I write a dialogue on the board and they get to speak to each other in English. Though realistically most of them will never need to use English in their lives, I hope I’m teaching them to think for themselves at least a little bit. I mean, of course many of them are improving but I have to set low goals for myself in order to stay sane. The education system here is still a work in progress, but I have to remember that no so long ago students in the USSR were taught that Americans had red eyes and horns (my partner teacher told me that she literally believed this while she was growing up, and she’s only in her late 30s now). Anyways, I can at least tell you that some of my students now say “oops!” instead of “oy!” I think I’ve made my mark here.

I started English clubs after school and had my students fill out an info card on the first day. I asked them to write what they want to learn about, and their answers made me laugh (ex: Zoo and wolf; Ameryca and wondirful).

The change of seasons is tough and I think many volunteers are struggling, mentally and emotionally. We’ve been here for almost 8 months now and just came together to complete a week-long training in the capital city (technical and language training, medical and cultural lectures, admin info). I’m feeling pretty good though, and really looking forward to traveling in Dec/Jan. Some volunteers from my oblast (region) are getting together the Saturday after Thanksgiving for a big dinner. But I don’t think we’re making my mom’s chocolate chip cheesecake. :(

In a nutshell, I’m enjoying the beautiful snow-covered mountains that greet me each day when I walk out my door. I’m trying to avoid the sickness that knocked out 85% of my ninth-grade class yesterday. I’m settling in for a lot of potato soup and working on my Kyrgyz.

Thanks for the phone calls, letters, emails and treats from home – they’re appreciated more than I can say and make me feel so spoiled. Opening a package with face cleansing cloths and peanut butter might as well be finding gold nuggets. I love to receive email updates (especially with pictures attached) and if I don’t respond in a timely fashion, I’m sorry!

Happy Thanksgiving. Some pics below:

The first snowfall at our training in Bishkek



Some of my sixth grade students and Marcia (who I teach with)



A few fellow teachers: Bedel (librarian), Marcia (English), Jazgul (art & sewing), Nurjan (Kyrgyz language), Gulmira (geography)



Little dudes hanging out at my house. Kyrgyz people learn to squat at a ridiculously young age. They never need chairs. My legs won’t bend like theirs do.



Cousin Dinara and my host sister Beggai



Dinara is filling up my buckets for me.



Some of my students performing at our fall concert



An army of neighbors making tushuks (bed pads) for my host sister’s wedding gift




Burgers and beer with other volunteers. American-style food is hard to come by. I haven’t ever seen a chain restaurant here; Kyrgyzstan doesn’t even have a McDonald’s.