Happy New Year, everybody!
I'm back from my journey to Almaty! The trip was really fun. Here's a list of things I did. Keep in mind that I'm excited about all of these:
Crossed the street without fearing for my life (they actually have and follow driving rules!)
Ate amazing pizza, KFC, and cheeseburgers (make that 5 shared pizzas, one KFC meal and two cheeseburgers)
Walked at night without turning on a flashlight (working streetlights!)
Didn't hear the phrase "hello baby" or get any harrassment of any sort. It's like people didn't even notice us.
Drank coffee
Used free wifi on my own computer while drinking coffee
Saw Americans I don't know
I'm sure there's more, but all of that is enough for now. Needless to say, I had a fantastic week in Almaty (aka civilization). Now I'm in the middle of another week-long vacation before I start my last semester of school here in Kyrgyzstan. We're also in the middle of the normal frealishly-warm week in January. I'm not wearing a coat! It's pretty nice.
I hope everyone is having a great winter!
1 comment:
Hello,
My name is Howard Cincotta, and I'm a writer with the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs in Washington
We're preparing an article on the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that will run on www.america.gov as early as next week, timed for Peace Corps week.
I've enjoyed your blog and wanted to know if you would like to offer, briefly, any thoughts or observations about your experiences and work there.
Or you could point to some previous discussions in your blog that you feel capture important points about your Peace Corps experience.
(I will not cite or quote anything from your blog without your permission, of course.)
If you would prefer to have this discussion off-line, I'd be happy to contact you through a separate e-mail address.
Here are a few questions that you could consider as suggestions if you found time to send me any responses:
1. Where are you from: home/school/work? Where are you working and what are you doing?
2. What has surprised you the most in your Peace Corps experience so far? Nature of work .. the people ... physical surroundings ... cultural adjustment ... camaraderie or isolation?
3. What’s been most rewarding in your work? What are the biggest challenges or problems?
4. Do you feel you’re making a difference in peoples’ lives?
5. Do you anticipate staying connected/active after your Peace Corps service?
Thanks for any time you can spare. And best wishes for your great Kyrgyz adventure!
Howard Cincotta
State Department
Bureau of International Information Programs
hcincotta@cox.net
703-573-0669
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