Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Just over a week ago I returned from a visit to my permenant site. The whole thing was quite an ordeal. All the volunteers went back to the Issyk-Kul Hotel in Bishkek (where we had our 3 day orientation) and met up with our new host families. It felt very similar to our first matching ceremony 2 months ago. Anticipation and nerves were high but everyone was very excited dispite.
We walked in and immediately were handed a stack of paperwork and information, with family names addresses and lease information. We began by dividing up into groups by Oblast (kind of like states). The host mothers of each Oblast formed a small circle facing outward and we formed a larger circle facing in toward them. We were to ask their names and if it matched the name on our information sheet we had found our new Appa! Twice I asked "Sizden atonus kim?" before I found my Appa, who rushed up and gave me a big hug! After our matching icebreaker (Peace Corps LOVES their icebreakers) we sat down and started filling out our paperwork. About 30 minutes after we met our new host mothers we were once again thrust into taxis and sent on our way.
The drive was just over 6 hours, I rode with a volunteer Maddie, who until recently, was placed in a neighboring village. By neighboring I mean about 20 km away, as far as I can tell, I am one of the more isolated volunteers, but more on that later. Maddie is one of 3 Russian speaking volunteers, and was conveniently placed in a pure Kyrgyz village with a Kyrgyz speaking host site. Bad news bears (BNB hereafter) for her. We stopped for some produce in Tokmok about an hour out from Bishkek and again at a roadside cafe for lunch, where we bumped into some fellow PCTs on their way to Naryn (Oblast south of Issyk-kul). I ended up sleeping most of the way. We stretched our legs a couple of times once we got to the lake and again when we dropped Maddie off, by which time about 6 hours had passed. Apparently we were quite late. My new and very angry Atta called yelling at my Appa, after which he proceeded to yell at the taxi driver as well. Fast forward to my arrival, my first impression of Atta is that of a very angry Kyrgyz man running out of the gate and verbally assaulting everyone and their livestock for our lateness. But first impression aside, he is a very nice and actually quite funny man with whom I had several good conversations. Keep in mind a good conversation is anything more than, 'What is your name?' 'Where are you from?' and 'Do you like Plov?'. My new host family is Appa, Atta, a Karandash, and an Inni (thats mom, dad, little sister, and little brother) My host bother and sister are 6 and 10 and very helpful. Generally anyone between 5 and 10 are very patient and at about the same average level of education, i.e., what good is a college degree if you can't speak to anyone?
The next day my Appa took me around my village, Tasma, and introduced me to my NGO, a wool and handicraft organization, the village mayor, the local post office (I can finally get mail safely!!), and even had the sheriff over for tea! Even though I'm very close to Karakol, which is a major resort destination for Russians, getting in and out of my village is actually quite difficult. I'm 15 kilometers off the main through road to Bishkek, and another 15 kilometers down a dirt road. Taxis only leave the village between 7:30 and 8:00 am, and arrive again between 1:00 and 2:00 pm. So if I miss my window of opportunity to leave or come back, I'll be stuck overnight in Karakol. The village its self is super small, with 4 main 'roads' and 2000 people, the only other person who speaks a little English is actually a Japanese volunteer who works next door to my NGO. It's situated near some small hills and has a beautiful view of the mountains that form the border with Kazakhstan.
My NGO, Ak Shoola, is a handicraft organization and consists of 8 women and 2 men who work 6, 8 hour days a week. They have been fairly well established and have already received a grant for a wool separator (major accomplishment) and are currently exporting handicrafts to Japan, I think with help from the Japanese volunteer. So far as I can tell, my counterpart has told me that my primary project will be figuring out how to export to the United States. (Any help here would be HUGE!) The NGO buys the wool from all the villagers and sells the handicrafts to tourists in Karakol and to importers in Japan.
Most volunteers are excited about their sites and are looking forward to moving to permanent site and living like adults again. There is also a huge sense of separation anxiety among everyone. After spending everyday with fellow volunteers and families, many people are saddened to see each other go.
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