MedEvac and other updates.

Sorry guys, I’m such a lazy blogger.

I’ve been working at the American Corner (sort of like a resource center funded by the US Embassy, dedicated to promoting American culture and English learning) here in Kant for a while now, and I’m surprisingly busy. I have several clubs that I teach during the week and I help out with projects or events that the A.C. puts on. I have a lot more freedom here than I did at school. Not to mention, the kids that come to the A.C. actually want to learn (major plus).

All in all, it’s been a pretty busy summer thus far.

Back in April I went to Naryn for the first time and loved it! People in Naryn are so nice and helpful. Plus, it’s absolutely beautiful.

However, life in Naryn isn’t without its drawbacks. For example…

I was leaving At-Bashy to go to Kochkor, normally a 3 hour trip by taxi. I got to the bus station by 10am and got in a taxi with 3 bikays (older guys). They were super cool and nice. They asked me a ton of questions about America and were just generally curious about what I was doing here. About an hour into our trip, right outside Naryn City, they discovered that I didn’t know how to milk a cow; obviously, an unforgivable oversight in my upbringing. They immediately pull the car over and pick a cow out of some random field and ‘forced’ me to try and milk it.

Central Asia wins again.

This incident in and of itself would have been amusing enough, but wait, it gets better.

After rather unsuccessfully completing the cow-milking lesson, we got back in the car only to discover that it would not turn on. Figures. After hanging out on the side of the road for a few hours, the bikays pushed the car into Naryn City and found a mechanic. Then, after another couple hours, the car was finally fixed and we went on our merry way. I did make it to Kochkor…at 9:30pm. 11 ½ hours after I started out. After living here for over a year, nothing surprises me anymore.

In more recent news…

As some of you might know, I’ve spent the past year+ being sick on and off. I’ve had strep 4 times and tonsillitis twice. Not to mention ear and sinus infections and food poisoning too many times to count.

So after talking with our PC doctor and a trip to a local hospital to see a specialist (which was sort of like going back in time 50 years – outdated medical equipment, abysmal standards, zero privacy, and doctors with those shiny round things on their heads), I’m being MedEvac’d to Thailand next week to have my tonsils removed.

If everything goes well, I’ll be in Bangkok for 10 days. Medical tourism there is apparently a big deal, so the hospitals and medical staff are top notch.

I’m actually sort of excited. I mean, how many people can say they’ve had surgery in a third-world country? But seriously, I think I’m more excited for a break from Kyrgyzstan than anything else. And hopefully, if all goes well, I can even squeeze in a little sight-seeing.

Updates post-Thailand to come! I promise...

winter wonderla...blah blah blah

January is such a depressing month.

Just when I think it can’t possibly get any colder, January shows up and laughs in my face. Its actually snowing as I type this. Big, fat, fluffy things falling from the sky…This awful month needs to be over. I’m not used to wearing so many pairs of socks at the same time. I’m beginning to forget what my own feet look like. Weird, right? I miss flip flops…

Speaking of feet…my trusty black YakTraks broke (well...one of them broke and I somehow lost one on a marshuka…I’m still unclear as to how that actually happened). Peace Corps gave me another pair but this time, they’re florescent orange (think traffic cone). Fantastic. Unfortunately, they don’t glow in the dark but they are, however, light reflective. People can see me coming a mile away. All I’m missing is a matching helmet and wrist guards. Somehow I don’t think this is increasing my cool factor. I’m pretty sure I heard a Kyrgyz kid yell ‘look at the crazy lady,’ in the bazaar the other day.

In addition, my iPod tragically died. Which makes marshuka rides in general more painful. I’m having my family put a new one in the next package they send, which will be strategically hidden in a tampon box. Hopefully it makes it.

In other news… my English classes at school don’t actually start until the end of this month but I’ve been keeping busy with clubs and such. I just started teaching a conversational class at a school in Bishkek called Linga. It’s a lot of fun since the kids are really motivated to learn.

Those are pretty much the only updates for now. As you can tell I lead a very…thrilling life here in Kyrgyzstan. Yesterday I even got crazy with my ramon dinner. I added carrots AND a fried egg. I’m like the poster child for livin’ life on the edge.