So, the past few weeks have been full of drama. I had a normal, full week of classes and everything, but it was all done in a sort of daze, since I kept being constantly updated about drama going on within Peace Corps. Though it doesn't directly effect me, it has effected some of my good friends and my confidence in my position and security here has taken a huge hit. I can't say what happened (security measures...), but needless to say, four (five actually, but one is from an unrelated incident) volunteers are leaving on Friday to go back home, because they're getting kicked out of Peace Corps. The frustrating part for me is the futility of the whole thing -- three of the four getting sent home were not at all in the wrong for anything that happened. One of them was my good friend and Oblast-mate, so it's going to be hard with him gone. He came into town yesterday to say his final goodbyes, and we saw him off this morning. The political situation here is on shaky ground, and we're all just hoping that the political problems don't mean more problems for us and our service here.
In better news, I'm on spring break here, and getting excited for a joint 3 person birthday party (Mexican dinner/"NOW... That's What I Call Music"/Enrique themed...) this weekend. So, I'm pretty much floating at the moment, but hopefully this will pass and everything should be more secure soon.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
So, we've invented a word that often summerizes our lives here. The word is CAWA (pronounced kah wah). It stands for "central asia wins again". It's part of the "embrace the chaos" theory that is the only way to survive and thrive in this country sometimes.
This week is PDM (project design and managment), a PC training in Bishkek. It's the last time our whole group will be together until COS (close of service) conference in May 2010. Or, that is, it's supposed to be a group thing. Yesterday was the travel day to get to Bishkek, so Sarah, Ariel and I left Sarah's house at 7 AM to drive to Bishkek. The Jalalabad airport only flys on Wednesday and Sunday, so to fly, we would have had to drive to Osh and take a flight from there. In all, it would have taken longer and cost a lot more to fly than it would have to drive, and the drive is beautiful. It's supposed to be a great way to see the mountains. Sarah did the drive to and back within the last month, and said it was great.
We had driven over half-way there, admiring the mountains, the gorgeous teal water of the Naryn river, and just the spectacular scenery, when we stopped at a random stop thingy about 150 kilometers from Bishkek. We sat there for about an hour, when our driver finally told us that there had been an avalanche (in which seven people had died) so we wouldn't be able to get through for 3-5 days. We talked with the police there, some Peace Corps people, and the driver, until we finally decided that our only option was to turn around and drive all the way to Osh. We were speeding down the windy mountian roads, coming in and out of cell phone reception, obviously, trying to organize our flight. Bryan, another volunteer, was in Osh trying to find flights for all of us (there were 8 volunteers and 5 counterparts all driving at the same time). Somehow, all of the flights were full until Thursday, so we finally realized that we are literally stuck in the South. After finishing rewatching the fourth season of LOST, I have strong theories that we're not meant to leave the South. There are strong forces at work here.
So now, I'm back in Jalalabad, about to head to Osh. On Thursday, the people who are wardens are flying out for warden training, and I'll head back home. We're not sure what's really going to happen, but PC claims they're going to probably have a mini PDM down here for the 8 of us and our counterparts to take part in since we need the training.
Now we have an unexpectedly free week, so we're going to discuss grants and projects in Osh, in an attempt to put on our own PDM without Peace Corps's help. CAWA is all I can say. Just CAWA.
This week is PDM (project design and managment), a PC training in Bishkek. It's the last time our whole group will be together until COS (close of service) conference in May 2010. Or, that is, it's supposed to be a group thing. Yesterday was the travel day to get to Bishkek, so Sarah, Ariel and I left Sarah's house at 7 AM to drive to Bishkek. The Jalalabad airport only flys on Wednesday and Sunday, so to fly, we would have had to drive to Osh and take a flight from there. In all, it would have taken longer and cost a lot more to fly than it would have to drive, and the drive is beautiful. It's supposed to be a great way to see the mountains. Sarah did the drive to and back within the last month, and said it was great.
We had driven over half-way there, admiring the mountains, the gorgeous teal water of the Naryn river, and just the spectacular scenery, when we stopped at a random stop thingy about 150 kilometers from Bishkek. We sat there for about an hour, when our driver finally told us that there had been an avalanche (in which seven people had died) so we wouldn't be able to get through for 3-5 days. We talked with the police there, some Peace Corps people, and the driver, until we finally decided that our only option was to turn around and drive all the way to Osh. We were speeding down the windy mountian roads, coming in and out of cell phone reception, obviously, trying to organize our flight. Bryan, another volunteer, was in Osh trying to find flights for all of us (there were 8 volunteers and 5 counterparts all driving at the same time). Somehow, all of the flights were full until Thursday, so we finally realized that we are literally stuck in the South. After finishing rewatching the fourth season of LOST, I have strong theories that we're not meant to leave the South. There are strong forces at work here.
So now, I'm back in Jalalabad, about to head to Osh. On Thursday, the people who are wardens are flying out for warden training, and I'll head back home. We're not sure what's really going to happen, but PC claims they're going to probably have a mini PDM down here for the 8 of us and our counterparts to take part in since we need the training.
Now we have an unexpectedly free week, so we're going to discuss grants and projects in Osh, in an attempt to put on our own PDM without Peace Corps's help. CAWA is all I can say. Just CAWA.
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