rworo

I have been at my permanent site for nearly a month. It is in the mountainous oblast of Naryn, about 75 minutes from a major city (partly on a dirt road). I live in a house with two parents, twin 14 year old girls, and a 2 year old granddaughter, who I think will be going back to Bishkek soon. There are several other men here as well, working on building new winter enclosures for the animals. I am not sure how many animals (or what kind) will be returning from summer pastures. The house opens to a cold cement floor area which has the TV and eating area. If I go up the two steps there is a kitchen (electric stove, refrigerator), one bedroom and a large 'dining room', which is used as a sleeping area. The bathroom has a sink, bathtub, washing machine and toilet, but the toilet is only to be used in the winter. Outdoor shoes are not allowed in this area, only on the cement floor area. My room is connected to the main house, but off to the side. Except for the sofa in the dining room, I have the only bed in the house. (Peace Corps requires provision of a bed, a desk and a wardrobe).

My school is a 10 minute walk from my house, on dirt roads. It is about 2 years old, 2 stories. It has wifi and printers, so I am fortunate about that. I work with 3 counterparts in the English Department. It is nice to have three people to converse with in English. My host-mom also works at the school. She teaches Kyrgyz. (Students learn Kyrgyz, Russian, and English.) I continue to work on learning Kyrgyz, but I realize now that, no matter how hard I try, I will never become fluent. I have about 120 students, grades 5-8. In general, their English skills are very poor. The curriculum has focused on reading and writing, rather than speaking. I am excited to see their improvement in the next two years.

My house is on the edge of the village. After a 10-minute walk I am truly alone in the mountains. There are no trees, only grass covered rocks. I sometimes see tourists, who go on horse-back treks to the large lake--it is a 2-3 day trek, too far for me to walk. The tourist industry is expected to really pick up in this part of the country, giving students a reason for learning English, as English speaking guides make substantially more money than non-English speaking guides.


I have been invited to several feasts (Toys). I went to one at a neighbor's house with my host mom. There were about a dozen women, all wearing headscarves, sitting on the floor for the first course. This consisted of carrot and cabbage salad, tea, and sweets. After about a half hour, we all moved to another room for the second course. We again sat on the floor, a table-cloth was spread on the floor and rice (plov) and meat (not sure what kind) was served. Most of the women ate with their hands. After about 40 minutes, this was quickly cleared away, and it was time for games. Kids did races for some prizes (money or plastic toys). Before my host-mom and I left, one of the young men appeared with a sheep in his arms. I know it was to be killed and eaten, but thankfully we left before this occurred. My counterpart teacher has invited me to a toy on Friday, this one in honor of her late father-in-law who died 9 years ago.

I am wondering how the winter will be here. I requested this part of the country because I prefer cool weather--I hope I don't regret it...
I love to hear from everyone--let me know I am not forgotten! Please comment here or on my FB post.

This content is mine alone and does not reflect the opinion of the US government or the Peace Corps.

It has been 8 weeks since I left home! Hard to believe. I have completed 8 of 11 weeks of pre-service training. I continue to live in Kenesh, a small village about 45 minutes west of the capital, Bishkek. The village has mostly dirt roads. There are very few lawns--most houses have a brick wall around the property, which helps to contain the animals. Most families in the village have some animals, either cows, sheep, goats, or chickens. Most of the dogs are 'guard dogs'--they don't receive much loving attention, which is a difficult concept to accept. My house has an indoor shower(I am lucky!) and a toilet for nighttime use (during the day I use the outhouse). The meals are very communal--everyone reaches with their fork to one salad (usually tomatoes and cucumbers) plate. Leftovers are either fed to animals or put into a communal left over pot for the next day's use. There is a microwave and a hot water heating machine--used frequently for tea.

I started my teaching practicum last week. About 25-30 kids from the village came to the school for free English lessons from American students. (That's how we advertised our classes). They are from 5-10th grade, so quite a variety of ages and abilities. We start very easy grammar and vocabulary, such as 'I play soccer' or "I like to dance". The students seem to enjoy the lessons, as they readily participate. Lesson planning can take a bit of time. Teaching English is not as easy as I thought!

I have been to the capital city, Bishkek, several times. The Peace Corp provides us with transportation there every Sunday. Tomorrow I will visit the historical museum, buy some school supplies, and find a nice airconditioned spot to read! Last week, I brought my skates to the city and went to the skating rink. At first I didn't think I'd be able to skate, as the arena was hosting the Tai Kwan Do World Championships, but someone kindly pointed me toward the rink. There were only about 10 of us on the ice--it felt great to do some laps and feel the cold air. I hope to skate again next week.....

In three weeks, my life will change dramatically, as I will move to my permanent Peace Corps location. We will have a week to explore the community before classes start on September 1. We were all interviewed about the type of village we prefer. I said a mountainous village (cooler--it has been 95 all summer here), with a smaller family. I hope to have access to a Kyrgyz teacher in the village, so I can continue to work on my language skills. (There is a large Kyrgyz community in Chicago--there is a school and a community center--perhaps I will get involved with these groups when I return...). I also asked for a part of the country that does not speak much Russian. Some parts of the country are heavy in Russian speakers--some volunteers come to this country for that very reason--to improve their Russian. I prefer a village that speaks Kyrgyz nearly exclusively. I know that my requests may lead to a very remote location with a very cold winter--I might regret what I said in a few months....Stay tuned!

This content is mine alone and does not reflect the opinion of the US government or the Peace Corps.

Hello,
Welcome to my first post about my Peace Corps journey! I am new to blogging, so please forgive my rambling or lack of rambling posts. Many people have asked me how to keep up with my adventures, so this is my attempt to inform everyone who might be interested. I think you can bookmark this post and check in with it periodically if you'd like.

I have been in Kyrgyzstan (also called Kyrgyz Republic) for 3 weeks. My group of Peace Corps volunteers consists of 26 fellow trainees. Getting here, we spent two nights on a plane, one from Philadelphia to Istanbul, the second from Istanbul to Bishkek, the capital of the country. They we drove for two hours to a lovely remote guest house (Ashu), where we did lots of 'get to know you' type activities.

After the first week, we had a 'Matching ceremony', where we met the host family we will be staying with for the next 10 weeks. I am staying with an older couple, who have a 19 year old granddaughter who helps out quite a bit. It is very rural here. My family has sheep. Walking around the town, I see cows, chicken, more sheep, and horses. The family has a small store, which means that their dinner is often interrupted by a buzzer, when someone wants to enter the store. I help out with washing dishes and peeling potatoes, which I like, as it gives me something to do, besides study Kyrgyz.

Learning the language is difficult for me, but I think I am keeping up so far. Every night I review the grammar we learned, as well as a list of new vocabulary words. My language group consists of 3 other students and one teacher. My classroom is in the teacher's guest house, which is across the road from where I stay. Twice a week we have 'tech sessions' which are actually lessons in 'how to teach'. For example, how to give proper instructions, how to create a lesson plan, classroom management, etc.

I am very excited about this new phase of life! Look for another post in a week or so.....
Please comment any questions, or email me at ruthworoch@hotmail.com.
I will try to answer questions in my next post.

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government
or the Peace Corps."