While I was in Issyk-Kul, Gina had a wonderful idea. This isn’t unusual, Gina has a lot of really amazing ideas. But this one is truly inspired! The idea is to write a list.
But not just any list.
A list of 101 Things in 27 Months. You see, Peace Corps service is 27 months – and I’m down by 4, so I have about 23 months of service left. But that’s beside the point. The idea is to make a list of 101 things – not just things, but actions, ideas, etc. Things that you want to accomplish. The deadline: by the end of our service, hence the 27 months.
SO! I have written said list and will of course share it with all of you. The point is not to simply cross things off but to motivate myself to experience as much as I possibly can during my time here. I honestly don’t know if its possible to do all these things but the point is, I’m going to try.
101 Things in 27 Months
1. Swim in Lake Issyk-Kul.
2. Camp in a tent.
3. Jar and make my own jam and preprava.
4. Go to Almaty.
5. Visit every oblast.
6. Live on my own.
7. Try bish barmauk.
8. Eat a sheep’s eyeball.
9. Read 50 books [maybe more]
10. Yoga 3 times a week.
11. Lose 10lbs.
12. Learn to make lagman.
13. Go to the National History Museum in Bishkek.
14. Go to the Philharmonic to see a concert.
15. Teach myself to cook.
16. Update my resume.
17. Run a successful photography & art camp/project.
18. Hike a mountain.
19. Buy a nice handmade scarf.
20. Take pictures in a field of sunflowers.
21. Write at least 3 grants.
22. Get my school textbooks [and maybe new blackboards]
23. Write a book/novel/short story.
24. Go out to dinner with a local friend.
25. Eat a meal and spend the night in a yurt.
26. Grow my hair out.
27. Host a dinner party.
28. Go to a Kyrgyz wedding.
29. Have a bonfire on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul.
30. Sit on a babooshuka’s lap on the marshuka
31. Learn to make curry.
32. Mend my own clothes [i.e. learn how to sew]
33. Go to Bishkek and NOT get lost for once.
34. Do to the Dour-Dour bazaar.
35. Collect local jewelry.
36. Milk a cow.
37. Ride a horse.
38. Try cummis.
39. Learn a Kyrgyz song.
40. Kill a bottle of vodka by myself without throwing up.
41. Christmas 2011! Travel somewhere amazing with Gina, Nahrae and Esther.
42. Have a travel plan for after PC.
43. Have a job lined up for after PC [and if not – extend]
44. Splurge on something at Zoom for my birthday [dress, makeup, whatever]
45. Curse someone in Russian.
46. Read a book in Russian.
47. Spend an entire month with no Internet.
48. Do a creative writing workshop.
49. Fast 1 day a month.
50. Wear dresses more. Own 6 dresses bought and made locally.
51. Jessica & Rita’s visit! [Istanbul?]
52. Hand write a letter to all my friends and family.
53. Learn all my student’s names.
54. Be given a Kyrgyz name.
55. Be a PCVT for 19s or 20s.
56. Learn to make cheese.
57. Picnic in a park somewhere in Bishkek.
58. Have a magical 22nd birthday.
59. Have a magical 23rd birthday.
60. Buy and wear headbands more often.
61. Have a snowball fight with kids from my village.
62. Watch and understand a Russian movie.
63. Ask someone for directions in Russian and understand where they tell me to go.
64. Go to a disco techa and dance the night away.
65. Learn a Kyrgyz dance.
66. Wear a headscarf all day.
67. Do a WID/GAD project.
68. Go to a party with my coworkers.
69. Buy a Kyrgyz pair of socks and gloves.
70. Outline a book.
71. Take pictures at Osh bazaar without getting mugged.
72. Go to the zoo in Bishkek.
73. Go to the underground gay club in Bishkek.
74. Give a gracious toast in Russian.
75. Eat at one of those gypsy camps/cafes on the side of the road.
76. Eat sushi in Bishkek as a treat.
77. Go to the Chocolatier in Bishkek.
78. Be a vegetarian at home.
79. Watch a movie with my students and have a good discussion afterwards.
80. Make an expat friend.
81. Stay close with Leyla. Visit once a month.
82. Buy a birthday present for my host sister [August 8th]
83. Make a pecan and/or apple pie for Thanksgiving.
84. Stay close with all my girls. Girl’s night once a month.
85. Make some sort of American food once a month [i.e. mac and cheese, cupcakes, etc.]
86. Spend New Years in Bishkek.
87. Hold a workshop for all my older students about going to university, resumes, time management.
88. Improve my counterpart’s English.
89. Make friends with my landlord and neighbors.
90. Get handed a small child while on the marshuka.
91. Teach my students a popular song in English [U2…Journey…?]
92. Try to get a tour of the human-rights-violating-ice-cream-factory with Gina so she can write a children’s book about it.
93. Eat at Gavia on one of the islands in the middle of the lake.
94. Go to the bazaar and only use Kyrgyz.
95. Devote 3 hours a week to studying Russian and/or Kyrgyz.
96. Find an alternative use for the Peace Corps issued mosquito net.
97. Get a cute Kyrgyz tea set.
98. Cumulate a nice collection of Kyrgyz music.
99. Go to that sketchy carnival in Bishkek.
100. Go ice-skating.
101. Call my great-grandparents once a month.
This blog will serve as sort of an accountability partner. I’ll keep it updated when a task is completed and hopefully, with a story to go along with it.
I love the list. It sounds like you guys are doing great. I need you, Esther, and Alyson to come up with a list of things you want in a care package! I'm sending one out to my counterpart this week, and then I'll put one together for you guys to hopefully send out in two or three weeks. You've already come so far since I left, you sound like a seasoned volunteer!
ReplyDelete-Amanda