Now that life here is almost feeling normal, I'm starting to think more in terms of topic for these updates. This week's topic is gendered space/activity. Can you tell I miss being in school sometimes? Anyways, in the past week, I have seen both men and women's space firsthand. As for the men: I'd heard about these places but, as a woman, I thought I would possibly go through these two years without ever really seeing one. Last weekend, we had a bunch of people in town for the teacher training (more on this later), and just for fun. Some of the boys decided we should go for "man ash" at an ashkana (ash being rice and carrots and meat, an ashkana being a place that serves that). The restaurant itself was a bit of a hike from Martha' apartment, and is right next to the largest mosque in Jalalabad. Another thing about this ashkana (which Tristan claims serves the best ash in the city) is that you have to order in advance. Some of the boys had gone to order 2.5 kilos (5.5 pounds) of ash. That's a lot of food! They had also gone ahead of us to get a room in the restaurant. When we finally got there, as a group of mostly girls, we walked into a huge room. There were a few raised platforms covered in men lounging and smoking, drinking (tea and vodka), playing cards, and eating. There were also curtained-off platform/tables full of men. When we walked in, they all instantly stopped and stared at us. Not only were we the only women besides the waitresses, but we're also Americans. We're really weird. It was fascinating to see this place, because it's something so foreign to my life here. It seemed more like Dad's experience in Iran than my own experience so far. Luckily, we were in a whole seperate room with doors and walls, so once we were in our room, we were away from the stares. We also managed to devour 5 of the 6 plates of ash and an entire chocolate cake Martha had made. It turned out to be a really great night, for the reasons of the food, the experience,and the company.
As a complete opposite, I also saw the closest thing women have to that in this society (though it is in no way the same). The boy volunteers here have a tradition they call "manya", which is when a bunch of them go together to a fancy male-only banya in the city. In retaliation, us girls started the "vaganya". I went to my first vaganya on Wednsday in Bazarkorgon (the area I used to live in -- I was there for camp training with Sarah and Joni and others). We went to the public banya and spent about an hour washing and enjoying the heat. Most of the Kyrgyz women were completely naked, which I've heard is unusual, but were enjoying themselves. The girls who went in together helped each other wash and brush their hair and everything. It was nice to see a group of only women relaxing and lounging, almost like the men in the ashkana.
Otherwise, this week, the big new was the teacher training workshop we had last weekend. Of the 50 teahcers we invited, 47 showed up, which is a really great turnout. The sessions (teachig reading, teaching writing, and teaching listening and speaking)went really well, and the teachers seemed very into it and interested in what the presenters had to say. Overall, a huge success!
Next week is the Bazarkorgon winter camp. I'm leaving on Sunday to spend 5 days there with 40 7th and 8th graders. The focus of the camp is "life skills", so I'm teaching a session on self-esteem and one on community service/volunteerism. I'm also teaching two hours of dance every night. I already choreographed an awesome dance to NSYNC "Here we go" for my students to perform at the talent show on the last night. It should be a lot of fun. We also have 6 older kids (11th form or university students) who are going to be the councilers, and they'll be helping with the teaching and activities and everything. It should be pretty intense (especially since I'm coming down with a pretty nasty cold right now), but it should be a lot of fun.
I'll be pretty out of touch from Sunday until Friday, so don't be surprised when I don't respond you any messages.
Happy almost February!