I just passed a big milestone in my service. IST (in-service training) has been that far-off thing to look forward to since PST (pre-service training). Now that it’s over, I feel like I’ve accomplished something and that I’ve actually made a dent in my time here. The end of IST also came with the ¼ of my service mark. Less than 20 months until COS (close of service. Peace Corps (PC) uses a lot of abbreviations. I’m losing the ability to speak in full words…). It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day stuff and sometimes life here feels like I’m never leaving here (which is either positive or negative, depending on the time and place), but every once in a while, the little things hit me and remind me that this is a very temporary thing that I’m doing.
There are several big things to say. First, last Saturday (Jan 10th), a bunch of us were hanging out in the city, watching a movie, when Ariel’s phone rang. All I heard was “Hey Fritz! Oh god, we’ll be right there”. She then said “guys, Fritz thinks Ginger just had a stroke” and we all jumped up, got our coats and shoes on, and ran out the door. It turned out Ginger had been in the banya (sauna) and had gotten heatstroke and was severely dehydrated. When she passed out, she hurt her ankle, scraped her knee, and banged her head on the door frame. Luckily for all of us, Ariel is a licensed EMT, so she knew exactly what to do. She got her hydrated, bandaged up, and we left to let her rest. The next day we all flew to Bishkek for IST. While there, Ginger got an MRI that showed that her foot was broken, so she and Fritz are being medevaced (medical evacuation… I warned you) to DC for her to have surgery. They’ll be gone for probably about a month, for the surgery and PT. I’m really going to miss having them around – this city is going to be lonely with just me and Martha.
Also, my program manager may have found an apartment for me to live in soon! She knows someone (a former PC employee) who owns an apartment in the center of the city that should be free soon, and Maria wants me to have it, which would be amazing!
The big news is IST itself. I flew out last Sunday (January 11) and just got home this Sunday (January 18). The first two days of the conference were with our counterparts , so we talked about team-teaching and the importance of working together and stuff. The other three days were language, culture, and technical (teaching) training. It was pretty intense (going from 8:00- 5 or 6:00 every day), but a lot of fun. It was especially great to see all of the other volunteers who I hadn’t seen since September. We all hung out every night until late and talked between sessions and during meals. Jalalabad won so many people over as the best oblast to live in (because it is…). We even won (with a little scandal worked in) a traditional oblast competition (thanks in part to me!). It was funny how much we still clung to each other, despite the fact that everyone else was around and we see each other all the time. That’s testament to how much we actually like each other. We formed our own dance parties most nights, rocking side ponytails that we became known and loved for. Besides training and partying, I also had a chance to have amazing (for being in Kyrgyzstan for so long) food. Most notably: bacon cheeseburger and nachos one night, Chinese food (eaten with my hands out of plastic bags on Lorenzo’s bed, but still amazing), pepperoni pizza, falafel and hummus, and amazing cheese. No one can really understand how amazing that is, but it’s the highlight of my month…
We also found a little piece of America in Bishkek – we somehow stumbled upon a ridiculously nice mall in the middle of Bishkek that had United Colors of Benetton, Levis, Columbia Sportswear, and other really really nice stores (that I couldn’t afford a single thing from…). The highlight, however, was the grocery store with an amazing cheese selection and anything else I could ever want. It’s amazing how comforting those little pieces of home can be after over six months away. And how much I miss good cheese…
Otherwise, the new semester starts tomorrow, and my first time actually working with my counterpart. She and Ginger had been working on a big teacher training seminar that’s this week, but it didn’t get the funding they were expecting, and then Ginger had to go to the US, so it’s been dropped down to a one-day thing and Lorenzo (a K15 from Karakol who’s visiting for the week for the training and to visit us in the best oblast ever) and I have taken over with Aliya (my counterpart). We worked for a while on Monday to get it straightened out, and have some more to get done in the next few days. The training is on Friday, but it should run smoothly. On Saturday, my counterpart is having minor surgery (on her foot too – we’re not doing well here in with feet), but after she’s recovered from that, we should be able to focus on classes and other related projects.
One of my favorite parts of IST was the Uzbek language classes we had with an Uzbek woman who teaches Russian during training. We (people from the South – Osh and Jalalabad) had confronted the staff that we thought more attention should be paid to Uzbeks during trainings, especially for people going to the South, so they gave us classes with Malika, the tutor. She was an amazing teacher, and it was really great to have the differences I’ve been hearing and trying to figure out for so long explained in an organized way. One of the best parts about her was also her explanation of some Uzbek cultural things and especially about the war in Uzgen (northern Osh – 30 or 40 minutes from here) in 1990. There was a war between Kyrgyz people and Uzbek people that’s left the area still highly segregated (there are 3 volunteers in the village where the Kyrgyz people fled, leaving the city of Uzgen mostly Uzbek). I knew the war had happened, but I had no idea how bad it was, and her description was really depressing but amazing to hear. I’m going to try to do something here about the relationship between the two cultures, but I’m not sure what yet since it’s such a divisive issue.
Also exciting news: My friend Sarah and I are planning a hardcore vacation for this summer. Our plan is to fly to Moscow and then take the Trans-Mongolian Railway from Moscow to Beijing, through Mongolia and spend 3-4 weeks, getting off the train a few times to spend time in Russia, Mongolia, and China, and then to stay with Sarah’s good friend in Beijing for a while and fly back to Kyrgyzstan from there. I’m really excited because this is really the only time I can ever do anything nearly this exciting and it’s going to be amazing! Plus, we’re going to ride double humped camels.





Doing the Kyrgyz squat on the streets of Jbad











So happy to be home from IST! At the Jbad airport...











Our warm welcome home (notce the poster)















This woul be the Jbad airport. High-tec all the way.











Team J-bad: Fritz, me, Martha (head cheerleader), Ian, Sarah, and Joe.













Me, Lorenzo,and Sarah, doing IST in style.












Fitting multiple people into one person's clothes is always fun.

















Me, Sarah, and Anthony overwhelmed by the Americness of the mall


















Check out this mall. Seriously.


















Spices in the Jalalabad bazaar















Vegetable in the Jalalabad bazaar. And this is the winter!












Fruit!




















Fruit!













Me and New Year's Santa. Also notice that my dream of owning a red coat has finally come true, thanks to Kyrgyzstan.