Well, we are currently all packing to get ready to leave for our three day journey home. I already have tears in my eyes after typing that sentence. Ok, more than just tears in my eyes. So the past month has been the best experience of my life. It's been life changing beyond comprehension for me. It's made me realize that I want to spend a lot of time traveling throughout my life. I'm so thankful that I've had this experience, and I really hope that I am able to see the friends I've made here again in life. I think I will. I certainly plan to.
So the past few days have been really busy and crazy. One of the girls on the trip has been really sick for a long time, so while we traveled to Khujand from Dushanbe and back she stayed in Dushanbe. We left Dushanbe on Thursday morning to go to Khujand. We went there to visit three sites and to learn more about the CAPs that our partners are working on there. We flew, get this, on an old Soviet 48 passenger plane. It was insane and scary! It was definitely from the 1950s-ish. Maybe early, but no later than the 1960s. Matluba said the 50s though, and she knows her shit. I think she secretly runs the country. Seriously! She makes things happen that no one else could make. And she makes them happen fast. VERY FAST. I called her out on it one day and she said she's part of the mafia. I know she was joking, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was running the whole damn country!
So last night was our last night here, and we went to dinner at the hotel across the street -- the Hyatt. It was fancy and nice. And I bought the best bottle of sparkling chardonnay that I've EVER had. I shared it with one of our translators -- Farukh. He's really sweet and nice and we became friends throughout the week. So I dropped a lot on the bottle, but it was totally worth it. It was the best I've ever had. And I was tipsy from just one glass. Then we found out that the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was staying at the Hyatt that night! And we saw her motorcade pull up! She got out, Usame photo-bombed her! It was hilarious. I didn't see it happen, but it was pretty funny to hear about. I adore her, so I wish I could have met her. Especially since we're here on a grant from the US State Department. AND Olga, one of our hosts, got to meet her today! I was so super jealous! Matluba got invited but sent Olga instead, because she said that we were more important. It was very endearing and sweet, but I probably would have gone with Hillary! I'm selfish, huh? But last night was great. The whole stinkin' trip was great! And I don't want to leave! We've flown for the past two days -- from Dushanbe to Khujand and back the next day. Today we fly from Dushanbe to UFA, Russia. From there we fly to Moscow where we have an eight hour overnight layover. I would die to go out and see the city, but we don't have Russian visas. So, SO VERY SAD! So after our overnight layover, tomorrow morning we fly from Moscow to Paris. We spend the day in Paris. Yes, we actually get to go out into the city and enjoy ourselves! Then we stay at a hotel in Paris tomorrow night. And then Monday morning we leave to go home! We fly straight from Paris to Pittsburgh! It's perfect! I couldn't be happier knowing that I fly straight from Paris to home. There are other things that I want to write about on here, but I need to get ready to leave for lunch then the airport. I will finish writing either in Moscow tonight or Paris or at home. If you all don't hear from me for a few days, it's only because I'm on the road without wifi access. So until I have wifi access again, I love you all and will finish talking about my trip when I return! Two days! YAY!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
I heart Tajikistan, Part dwa (2)
So this is kind of a continuation of my last entry but not really. I will continue with some random thoughts and ramblings below. But I first want to talk about yesterday. We traveled from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Vakhsh and Kurgan-Tyube (Bokhtar). In Vakhsh we visited Mirsaid's organization -- he was not there, however, because he had to travel to Russia to work to pay for his wife's surgery. It's a tragic story really. The site visit was kind of scary, because there were tons of wasps swarming around us the entire time. We were all pretty freaked out. I was exceptionally freaked out because my dad and I are both allergic. One time when I was in high school I got stung on my face, and my entire face swelled up like a balloon! A really huge balloon! So, anyway, after Vakhsh we went to see Boymat -- my Tajik brother -- in Kurgan-Tyube. It was a very emotional site visit for a lot of us, as we were especially close to Boymat. He is SUCH a sweetheart! He says the kindest things and has the gentlest demeanor. His project is on interethnic tolerance and preventing radicalism and extremism. He is doing great things, and it is truly and honor for me to know him. I started to cry when he was speaking in the room and telling everyone how much he cared for all of us. I fully expect to stay in close contact with him! I cried again when we hugged goodbye -- which I hope wasn't goodbye for good! That would be too sad! I feel like he's family!
The drive to those places was quite beautiful. We drove up and down hills, through mountains and valleys, saw amazing scenery and people and animals and things. It's strikingly gorgeous here. So simply and untouched unlike America. I know that it takes a lot to appreciate the simple things in life, but I think that everyone on this trip does appreciate those things. That's part of the reason why we're here in the first place!
Ok, so the random thoughts part is up:
As we were driving yesterday I noticed cows and goats and sheep and donkeys tied up like dogs on leashes. It's just so different from what I'm used to. Oh! And I saw a guy whipping a donkey because the donkey wouldn't walk. I was furious! If I had been on my own, I would have stopped the mini van, gotten out, and kicked the guys ass! I HATE seeing animal abuse! The donkey is NOT on this earth to pull your shit! Respect him or her and it will work better! Maybe it won't move because you beat it! Ever think of that. Look, I realize that this is a completely different culture, but animal abuse is ANY form is still animal abuse, and it still pisses me the eff off! Try being kinder and see where that gets you. You'd be surprised! Sorry, had to rant about that for a second! I also saw a kid pointing a gun at a dog the other day. I don't know if it was real or fake or loaded or not, but I was pretty upset. I hid it from the others though -- I've learned to become good at that.
Our hotel has a very lovely garden. There is a lot of land and even more flowers! The roses in the garden are the most perfect looking roses that I've ever seen! And they smell divine! It's awesome to walk through at night -- or during the day -- and enjoy the serenity of the surroundings.
Yesterday we had a group doctor visit. I guess I have some sort of bacteria and need to get tested when I get home. In the meantime I just need to take some meds and should be ok. All of us have been sick at some point, and it's probably from the water. We're in a developing country, and the water and sanitation systems here are no where near as developed as what we're used to. We're not exposed to a lot of these bacterias, so our bodies cannot prevent disease and infection. So I'll go to the doctor when I get home. EXCITING STUFF LET ME TELL YOU!
Something strange that I've noticed is that every day there are people out in the streets with these HUGE brooms just sweeping away. I can't imagine these brooms doing TOO much good, as they're just kind of making the dust and dirt go up into the air and land either nearby or in the same spot. I don't get it, I will never get it, and I don't want to ask about it because I don't want to offend anyone. It's just weird. I don't think broom are too terribly efficient most of the time -- especially if you're not sweeping up the dirt and dust with a dustpan or something!
I want to talk about fashion soon but just not today. Sorry, Sarah! I just want to have enough time to write a lot about it and I don't right now. Hopefully later or tomorrow! Cheers to all my friends and family at home! I'll see you next week I hope!
The drive to those places was quite beautiful. We drove up and down hills, through mountains and valleys, saw amazing scenery and people and animals and things. It's strikingly gorgeous here. So simply and untouched unlike America. I know that it takes a lot to appreciate the simple things in life, but I think that everyone on this trip does appreciate those things. That's part of the reason why we're here in the first place!
Ok, so the random thoughts part is up:
As we were driving yesterday I noticed cows and goats and sheep and donkeys tied up like dogs on leashes. It's just so different from what I'm used to. Oh! And I saw a guy whipping a donkey because the donkey wouldn't walk. I was furious! If I had been on my own, I would have stopped the mini van, gotten out, and kicked the guys ass! I HATE seeing animal abuse! The donkey is NOT on this earth to pull your shit! Respect him or her and it will work better! Maybe it won't move because you beat it! Ever think of that. Look, I realize that this is a completely different culture, but animal abuse is ANY form is still animal abuse, and it still pisses me the eff off! Try being kinder and see where that gets you. You'd be surprised! Sorry, had to rant about that for a second! I also saw a kid pointing a gun at a dog the other day. I don't know if it was real or fake or loaded or not, but I was pretty upset. I hid it from the others though -- I've learned to become good at that.
Our hotel has a very lovely garden. There is a lot of land and even more flowers! The roses in the garden are the most perfect looking roses that I've ever seen! And they smell divine! It's awesome to walk through at night -- or during the day -- and enjoy the serenity of the surroundings.
Yesterday we had a group doctor visit. I guess I have some sort of bacteria and need to get tested when I get home. In the meantime I just need to take some meds and should be ok. All of us have been sick at some point, and it's probably from the water. We're in a developing country, and the water and sanitation systems here are no where near as developed as what we're used to. We're not exposed to a lot of these bacterias, so our bodies cannot prevent disease and infection. So I'll go to the doctor when I get home. EXCITING STUFF LET ME TELL YOU!
Something strange that I've noticed is that every day there are people out in the streets with these HUGE brooms just sweeping away. I can't imagine these brooms doing TOO much good, as they're just kind of making the dust and dirt go up into the air and land either nearby or in the same spot. I don't get it, I will never get it, and I don't want to ask about it because I don't want to offend anyone. It's just weird. I don't think broom are too terribly efficient most of the time -- especially if you're not sweeping up the dirt and dust with a dustpan or something!
I want to talk about fashion soon but just not today. Sorry, Sarah! I just want to have enough time to write a lot about it and I don't right now. Hopefully later or tomorrow! Cheers to all my friends and family at home! I'll see you next week I hope!
I heart Tajikistan
We're about three weeks into the trip with about one week left. It's been great so far and continues to impress me daily. There is so much beauty here, so much beauty that the rest of the world doesn't know about or acknowledge. I definitely plan to come back when I am not on a trip with the US State Department. I am forever grateful to them for giving me this opportunity, but I want to come back when I can do the things that I cannot due as per their restrictions -- like go back to Kyrgyzstan and visit the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad. And go to Tajikistan and go out into the city and have me some fun at night! But, really, the past few days during which I have not written have been GREAT! Here's the rundown……
Saturday we went on our first site visits. We went first to Alisher's NGO, and we were all very impressed with the work that he's been doing there. He's working with children to educate them. It's fantastic! Then we went to Firuza's site. She's a member of the Scout Association of Tajikistan, and we were working on making a compost pile -- which is totally awesome to me since I love the environment so much! I met some great people this day -- a really nice guy named Mirzo and two young women who were very sweet. I hope to stay in contact with them.
After the site visits we walked around the big park in the middle of Dushanbe. We saw a huge library that looked like an office building that you would see in downtown American cities. And we FINALLY got to go to the largest flag in the world with the longest, tallest flag pole! SO COOL! It's pretty amazing to see, despite the fact that it's controversial. It's controversial because this country is very poor, and the president has spent millions of dollars on this flag and flag pole. Supposedly he's supposed to be building the world's largest mosque next. I mean, that's cool and all, but if a lot of the people in your country are starving, don't you think you should address that first? Before paying for the biggest, baddest flag and mosque in the world? Just sayin'!
So yesterday, Sunday, we had a 'free day'. That means that we still had stuff to do, just not site visits or conference time. We went on a lovely picnic and hike at Varzob Gorge. We got to relax a lot there. I went down to the stream and sat on a rock by myself for a long time. I just wanted to sit and be pensive for a bit alone. During trips like this it's easy to get caught up in the group mentality. I wanted to take some time to make sure not to lose sight of myself, my needs, who I am, where I am, what I am, etc. I just wanted, no, NEEDED, to sit and ponder life. I have a lot on my mind, so it was VERY refreshing! I loved it!
Today was pretty fantastic too! We went to Gissar (pronounced Hissar)(the work Hissar/Gissar means 'fortress' in Arab) to see Parvez and to visit his site and to met with the local government there. We are trying to link Gissar and Pittsburgh as Sister Cities. It's pretty cool to be a part of the process and to watch it all unfold. Parvez is doing his CAP on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and IV drug use. He's doing a great job! After the site visit we had lunch at a quaint place in the country in Gissar. But after lunch was the best part of the day! We went to tour the old fortress of Gissar. This fortress is from the 15th or 16th century, and the road on which it lies was a part of the Silk Road! What a magical place and piece of history! I never thought I'd visit part of the Silk Road! It was a big part of the trade routes from East to West and vice versa! So amazing! Caravans and travelers would stop and stay for the night. It as absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous! I will never forget that place as long as I live! I have some beautiful photos to post soonlyish -- probably not tonight, but probably tomorrow. So totally loved the past two days!
Onto some random thoughts and ramblings……
So today while we were driving to Gissar in the mini vans, we got stopped by the authorities. Let me just say that it is VERY different here than back in America. There are authorities (police) standing on the side of the road with an orange light saberish looking thing and they just wave to you to pull over. So we pull over, the driver gets out with his papers to show the authorities, and we go on our merry way. Yes, it's not bad, but it's just weird! I'm not sure I like the system very well. It's rather, just, strange to me.
One of the really neat customs here that I've actually started to pick up is when people see or meet you, they put their right hand on their chest/heart area. This means 'I respect you' or 'I have great respect for you' or 'with great respect', etc. I love it -- I think it's great -- I'm going to continue doing it. It's just much nicer than a handshake in my opinion! Groups of people do it to our group every time we walk into a site visit or restaurant or somewhere! It makes me feel really important! Another thing that's interesting is that almost all of the people here say that it is their dream to go to the USA! Well, damn, it's my dream to get out! So why don't we switch places?!? Seriously, I don't get why they want to come to the USA so badly when they have such beautiful things in their own back yards! Lunatics! I tell ya! (KIDDING!)
Ok, I have other stuff to write about, but I think that Nicole wants to go to sleep, so I'll write more tomorrow! LOVES to you all!!!!
Saturday we went on our first site visits. We went first to Alisher's NGO, and we were all very impressed with the work that he's been doing there. He's working with children to educate them. It's fantastic! Then we went to Firuza's site. She's a member of the Scout Association of Tajikistan, and we were working on making a compost pile -- which is totally awesome to me since I love the environment so much! I met some great people this day -- a really nice guy named Mirzo and two young women who were very sweet. I hope to stay in contact with them.
After the site visits we walked around the big park in the middle of Dushanbe. We saw a huge library that looked like an office building that you would see in downtown American cities. And we FINALLY got to go to the largest flag in the world with the longest, tallest flag pole! SO COOL! It's pretty amazing to see, despite the fact that it's controversial. It's controversial because this country is very poor, and the president has spent millions of dollars on this flag and flag pole. Supposedly he's supposed to be building the world's largest mosque next. I mean, that's cool and all, but if a lot of the people in your country are starving, don't you think you should address that first? Before paying for the biggest, baddest flag and mosque in the world? Just sayin'!
So yesterday, Sunday, we had a 'free day'. That means that we still had stuff to do, just not site visits or conference time. We went on a lovely picnic and hike at Varzob Gorge. We got to relax a lot there. I went down to the stream and sat on a rock by myself for a long time. I just wanted to sit and be pensive for a bit alone. During trips like this it's easy to get caught up in the group mentality. I wanted to take some time to make sure not to lose sight of myself, my needs, who I am, where I am, what I am, etc. I just wanted, no, NEEDED, to sit and ponder life. I have a lot on my mind, so it was VERY refreshing! I loved it!
Today was pretty fantastic too! We went to Gissar (pronounced Hissar)(the work Hissar/Gissar means 'fortress' in Arab) to see Parvez and to visit his site and to met with the local government there. We are trying to link Gissar and Pittsburgh as Sister Cities. It's pretty cool to be a part of the process and to watch it all unfold. Parvez is doing his CAP on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and IV drug use. He's doing a great job! After the site visit we had lunch at a quaint place in the country in Gissar. But after lunch was the best part of the day! We went to tour the old fortress of Gissar. This fortress is from the 15th or 16th century, and the road on which it lies was a part of the Silk Road! What a magical place and piece of history! I never thought I'd visit part of the Silk Road! It was a big part of the trade routes from East to West and vice versa! So amazing! Caravans and travelers would stop and stay for the night. It as absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous! I will never forget that place as long as I live! I have some beautiful photos to post soonlyish -- probably not tonight, but probably tomorrow. So totally loved the past two days!
Onto some random thoughts and ramblings……
So today while we were driving to Gissar in the mini vans, we got stopped by the authorities. Let me just say that it is VERY different here than back in America. There are authorities (police) standing on the side of the road with an orange light saberish looking thing and they just wave to you to pull over. So we pull over, the driver gets out with his papers to show the authorities, and we go on our merry way. Yes, it's not bad, but it's just weird! I'm not sure I like the system very well. It's rather, just, strange to me.
One of the really neat customs here that I've actually started to pick up is when people see or meet you, they put their right hand on their chest/heart area. This means 'I respect you' or 'I have great respect for you' or 'with great respect', etc. I love it -- I think it's great -- I'm going to continue doing it. It's just much nicer than a handshake in my opinion! Groups of people do it to our group every time we walk into a site visit or restaurant or somewhere! It makes me feel really important! Another thing that's interesting is that almost all of the people here say that it is their dream to go to the USA! Well, damn, it's my dream to get out! So why don't we switch places?!? Seriously, I don't get why they want to come to the USA so badly when they have such beautiful things in their own back yards! Lunatics! I tell ya! (KIDDING!)
Ok, I have other stuff to write about, but I think that Nicole wants to go to sleep, so I'll write more tomorrow! LOVES to you all!!!!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Goodbye Kyrgyzstan, Hello Tajikistan, PART TWO
Ooooookkkkkk. So things are going well for the most part. I want to continue where I left off last time…… I say that things are going well for the most part because Ginny -- one of the young ladies on the trip with me -- has a parasite! We're all kind of concerned because we've all had varying degrees of the same symptoms that she's had -- just not as bad. I've been having a pretty rough time with my stomach actually. Every time I ate for 6-10 days I would feel as though someone was stabbing me with a knife over and over and over in the stomach area. She felt the same way. We had some other similar issues too -- as did most of the others. So it may or may not be a parasite that is in me. It might just be that my stomach isn't used to the food here. It might be that something I ate isn't sitting right with me. My symptoms did subside for the first two days here, but they started back up again today. Today was actually so bad after lunch that I went to my hotel room to lay down for an hour. It was pretty bad and pretty painful. But I'm ok. I'm just really hoping that I don't have a parasite. But I probably do. I will keep everyone posted.
So people don't waste any meat products here. In fact, they even eat the intestines and the tongues of animals. I'm not gonna lie -- it kinda grosses me out. BUT I COMPLETELY RESPECT THEIR CULTURE! It's just not for me -- as I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian! So it's truly not my cup of tea. But, as I said before, I respect other people and their cultures wholeheartedly. Just kinda blows my mind I guess. To each his own, eh?
I feel like I've been making lifelong connections while on this trip. When we were saying our final goodbyes to the Kyrgyz delegates after our last dinner there I kept getting teary eyed -- especially with Luiza and Aida and Botogoz. It was so sad to say what might be goodbye! It was painful. It reminded me of being at my friend Andy's funeral back in May. It was so hard to say goodbye to him. It broke my heart into millions of little pieces. I didn't want to let him go -- I didn't want to think about never seeing him again. And not a day goes by during which I don't think of him. He was such a good friend, such a great person. It kills me to think that he's not with me now and that I'll never see him again. I know he's always with me as my guardian angel, but it's sad that we cannot communicate. Man, this world is tough sometimes! So, I was just so sad because I didn't want to be saying goodbye to them for the last time ever! I told them all to come visit and that they're always welcome at my house in America! And I meant it so very much!
I am also making lifelong connections in Tajikistan! Firuza and I have been getting closer by the day! And Nazarbagim and Nisora and Usama and I are always together. I've also been talking a lot with one of the translators. He's funny and fun and sweet, so hopefully we will be able to stay friends too! He's the stepson of one of our in-country hosts/partners, so I don't see why we wouldn't. His name is Dilshod, and he is absolutely adorable. And he's the number one ranked tennis player in the country! I wonder if he thinks he's hot stuff. I usually am fairly good at reading people, but he's hard to get a good read on. Anyway, for me it's going to be even more difficult to leave Tajikistan than it was to leave Kyrgyzstan because I feel closer to the people here.
So there are some stark differences between the two countries that I've noticed in just the past three days of being in Tajikistan. The first difference is something that I noticed on the way from the airport to the hotel -- there are A LOT more conservative Muslins here than in Kyrgyzstan. Most of the women here wear head scarves, and many of the men wear the hat things. They also dress more conservatively for the most part. I also noticed that the younger people here are, for the most part, more attractive. I think it's because Kyrgyzstan has more Asian influence, whereas Tajikistan has more Middle Eastern and Slavic influence. There were certainly attractive people in Kyrgyzstan, I just feel like there are more of them in Tajikistan. Another difference is that while everyone says that Tajikistan is less developed culturally, I feel as though it's more developed (from what I've seen) infra-structurally (maybe I just made up a word?). I noticed a lot of newer buildings than those in Kyrgyzstan. And I also noticed more current construction going on. Someone likened Dushanbe as the 'City of Synthesis Between the East and the West', The more I thought about that, the more I can see that as being VERY true. I really like that, so that's how I will describe it from now on! So those are the main differences so far. Oh, and there are more vegetarian options here! YAY FOR ME!
Also, I wanted to talk about the flag here. There is an IMMENSE flag in the center of the city (in Dushanbe that is). It's actually the LARGEST flag in the entire world with the tallest flag pole. From what I understand, it's rather controversial. I'm not sure why exactly that is the case, but I do know that only two months ago the title of 'world's largest flag' belonged to Azerbaijan. Perhaps that is why there's controversy. All I know is the the flag alone weighs between 800 and 1,000 pounds! That's a pretty huge effing flag, huh?
I also wanted to point out that yesterday I was watching the news while dining for lunch. I looked up to see something going on in Ukraine. Ukraine interests me because my family comes from that region. Well something was going on in Kiev -- something to do with a trial held against the former President or Prime Minister. Well, anyway, there were boobs on the news during that story, and I made a comment about it. Someone said that they're really open with that here. Actually, no. They are not. They are open with that in many places in Europe -- which perhaps that is what she meant. But here, in Tajikistan, they actually are very much NOT ok with that. I think she meant the former. But I still couldn't help just thinking about the latter for a minute.
One last thing -- some people on the trip with me are VERY sick. One went to the doctor and has a parasite -- to which we all might have been exposed. I have been having some stomach troubles, so I fear that I will have to address it either here or at home. Then just today two other girls got violently ill. We think it's food poisoning, but there is no real way to tell. We just have to hope for the best tomorrow and take it step by step for now. My stomach hurts about 60percent of the time when I eat, maybe up to 70percent. But I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I know I don't have food poisoning. If anything, it's a parasite that I can address when home. I am trying not to think about or worry about it. Ok, enough for now! More tomorrow!
So people don't waste any meat products here. In fact, they even eat the intestines and the tongues of animals. I'm not gonna lie -- it kinda grosses me out. BUT I COMPLETELY RESPECT THEIR CULTURE! It's just not for me -- as I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian! So it's truly not my cup of tea. But, as I said before, I respect other people and their cultures wholeheartedly. Just kinda blows my mind I guess. To each his own, eh?
I feel like I've been making lifelong connections while on this trip. When we were saying our final goodbyes to the Kyrgyz delegates after our last dinner there I kept getting teary eyed -- especially with Luiza and Aida and Botogoz. It was so sad to say what might be goodbye! It was painful. It reminded me of being at my friend Andy's funeral back in May. It was so hard to say goodbye to him. It broke my heart into millions of little pieces. I didn't want to let him go -- I didn't want to think about never seeing him again. And not a day goes by during which I don't think of him. He was such a good friend, such a great person. It kills me to think that he's not with me now and that I'll never see him again. I know he's always with me as my guardian angel, but it's sad that we cannot communicate. Man, this world is tough sometimes! So, I was just so sad because I didn't want to be saying goodbye to them for the last time ever! I told them all to come visit and that they're always welcome at my house in America! And I meant it so very much!
I am also making lifelong connections in Tajikistan! Firuza and I have been getting closer by the day! And Nazarbagim and Nisora and Usama and I are always together. I've also been talking a lot with one of the translators. He's funny and fun and sweet, so hopefully we will be able to stay friends too! He's the stepson of one of our in-country hosts/partners, so I don't see why we wouldn't. His name is Dilshod, and he is absolutely adorable. And he's the number one ranked tennis player in the country! I wonder if he thinks he's hot stuff. I usually am fairly good at reading people, but he's hard to get a good read on. Anyway, for me it's going to be even more difficult to leave Tajikistan than it was to leave Kyrgyzstan because I feel closer to the people here.
So there are some stark differences between the two countries that I've noticed in just the past three days of being in Tajikistan. The first difference is something that I noticed on the way from the airport to the hotel -- there are A LOT more conservative Muslins here than in Kyrgyzstan. Most of the women here wear head scarves, and many of the men wear the hat things. They also dress more conservatively for the most part. I also noticed that the younger people here are, for the most part, more attractive. I think it's because Kyrgyzstan has more Asian influence, whereas Tajikistan has more Middle Eastern and Slavic influence. There were certainly attractive people in Kyrgyzstan, I just feel like there are more of them in Tajikistan. Another difference is that while everyone says that Tajikistan is less developed culturally, I feel as though it's more developed (from what I've seen) infra-structurally (maybe I just made up a word?). I noticed a lot of newer buildings than those in Kyrgyzstan. And I also noticed more current construction going on. Someone likened Dushanbe as the 'City of Synthesis Between the East and the West', The more I thought about that, the more I can see that as being VERY true. I really like that, so that's how I will describe it from now on! So those are the main differences so far. Oh, and there are more vegetarian options here! YAY FOR ME!
Also, I wanted to talk about the flag here. There is an IMMENSE flag in the center of the city (in Dushanbe that is). It's actually the LARGEST flag in the entire world with the tallest flag pole. From what I understand, it's rather controversial. I'm not sure why exactly that is the case, but I do know that only two months ago the title of 'world's largest flag' belonged to Azerbaijan. Perhaps that is why there's controversy. All I know is the the flag alone weighs between 800 and 1,000 pounds! That's a pretty huge effing flag, huh?
I also wanted to point out that yesterday I was watching the news while dining for lunch. I looked up to see something going on in Ukraine. Ukraine interests me because my family comes from that region. Well something was going on in Kiev -- something to do with a trial held against the former President or Prime Minister. Well, anyway, there were boobs on the news during that story, and I made a comment about it. Someone said that they're really open with that here. Actually, no. They are not. They are open with that in many places in Europe -- which perhaps that is what she meant. But here, in Tajikistan, they actually are very much NOT ok with that. I think she meant the former. But I still couldn't help just thinking about the latter for a minute.
One last thing -- some people on the trip with me are VERY sick. One went to the doctor and has a parasite -- to which we all might have been exposed. I have been having some stomach troubles, so I fear that I will have to address it either here or at home. Then just today two other girls got violently ill. We think it's food poisoning, but there is no real way to tell. We just have to hope for the best tomorrow and take it step by step for now. My stomach hurts about 60percent of the time when I eat, maybe up to 70percent. But I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I know I don't have food poisoning. If anything, it's a parasite that I can address when home. I am trying not to think about or worry about it. Ok, enough for now! More tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Goodbye Kyrgyzstan, Hello Tajikistan!!!!
So it's Wednesday now, and yesterday we left Kyrgyzstan to depart for Tajikistan. I woke up around 5am, left the hotel around 6.30am, and got to the airport a little after 7am -- only to find out that our flight was delayed by one hour to 9.45am. Tajikistan is one hour behind Kyrgyzstan, so it wasn't a big deal. We arrived in Dushanbe just fine. So the first half of our trip is over, and the second half began yesterday. I feel like I've been gone for much longer than fifteen days!
So let me first sum up my last few days in Kyrgyzstan…… On Saturday, October 8th, we went to the ballet. It was an old Soviet theater -- one thing I would like to point out and talk more about in a bit is that A LOT of the buildings in Kyrgyzstan are old Soviet buildings. As a Sovietologist, this is VERY neat to me! I've always been voraciously interested in that rich history, so to see it was amazing. The ballet we saw was Don Quixote -- which I was able to guess about halfway through the first act. I was proud that I remembered the story and could place it to the ballet, as ballets and books/movies/stories are often fairly different. The ballet was very exciting! It was the premier night! Not many people can say that they've seen a ballet in an old Soviet theater in Kyrgyz Republic! Actually, not many people say that they've been in an old Soviet theater period! Or to the Kyrgyz Republic for that matter! So it was definitely a highlight of the trip! The theater was what you would expect from that time. It has been relatively well maintained, and it has a beautiful chandelier hanging in the center. I took photos, so if you'd like to see the inside of the theater and the actual dancers, you may see them on Facebook. If you do not have Facebook, just let me know. I need to put them up on a Flicker site or somewhere! Perhaps someone can privately email me and let me know a good site where I might be able to post hundreds of photos? Thanks in advance!
So, as I mentioned above, a lot of the buildings in Kyrgyzstan are old Soviet buildings. This was the case not just in Bishkek -- the largest city in the country, with 1million people out of 5million in the entire country -- but also in Karakol. We weren't in and didn't see enough buildings in Balykchy for me to be able to say with any certainly what it was like there. But in Bishkek and Karakol, many of the site visits that we were on with our NGO/nonprofit partners were in old Soviet buildings. For example, we visit several NGO/nonprofits where their offices and work spaces were in old Soviet buildings. Many of these buildings look EXACTLY the same on the inside and out! So the floors were stone and cement. The rooms were the same size. They were maybe five or six floors tall. The outsides were light in color and very faded. They buildings weren't well maintained, but they all definitely served their purposes. Another thing that I would like to comment on is that when we went to the site where Zhanna is implementing her CAP -- she and the volunteers at Y-Peer are painting the only free student hospital/clinic in Bishkek -- I noticed that the hospital building was also an old Soviet building. I kept thinking to myself that I would be very interested to know what all of the buildings that we had been in that were like that used to be. I wondered if the clinic/hospital really used to be a hospital. At one point we went to a school that was in an old Soviet building -- this was Luiza's site -- to watch her organization teach students about tolerance among interethnic groups. It was a VERY fascinating lesson, and the kids LOVED it! We did too! We all participated together! Oh! And one of the little boys gave me a candy that was to resemble an eye that meant that he would like to see more of me. It was really sweet. We really connected with these kids. They loved learning, and you could just see it in the way that acted in our presence. So, anyway, I often wondered for what these old buildings that are now used to house nonprofits, schools, hospitals, clinics, etc. were used.
I did, however, find out that some -- but not all -- of the buildings were owned by the government, which is VERY corrupt. I assume this is why they are no longer maintained. I could be very wrong though. Actually, I remember reading a while back, when I was first asked to go on this trip, that the government in that country is so corrupt that the police take drugs from drug dealers and deal the drugs themselves. I don' t know if this is still accurate, but I believe the article was dated in 2010 or 2009. But I'm like 90% sure that it was 2010. I had googled -- funny that we use the word google as a verb now BTW -- anyway, I had googled 'political situation in Kyrgyzstan', and I believe that was one of the articles that came up. Either that, or it was an article that was linked to a link that had popped up. I cannot remember, as this was early this year. So there's a lot of dirty monies floating around in that country.
Something else that floats around in massive quantities there are toilets that are just holes in the ground. I managed to sneak out of the country without using one! I am 100% certain that I am the ONLY person on the trip who NEVER used one! I was pretty stoked, let me tell you! They just freak me out. Yes, maybe I'm ignorant, but I can't help it that I like to sit down to go to the bathroom! It's what I'm used to; It's what I'm comfortable doing! Watch, now that I've said something, I'll end up having to use a hole in Tajikistan! I do promise to keep you all posted on that! Hehe!
Oh, Friday night, the night before the ballet, we went to Promzona -- a night club with dancing. It was the only night that I've drank on this trip so far. I had something to the tune of two bottles of champagne. I figured if I was gonna drink, that I should probably drink something expensive, tasty, and that I love! I danced and drank and enjoyed myself, but, honestly, I just wasn't feeling it! I don't know why, but I really think it was the other people on the trip. For some reason, they don't seem to like me very much. And it's pretty obvious. I've NEVER done anything to any of them. In fact, I've been nothing but nice to everyone! But, whatever, I'm here to have fun, and dammit, that's what I'm gonna continue to do! I didn't come on this trip to make them happy, I came to help NGOs and nonprofits in these countries learn how to better run their volunteer programs and how to implement better and more effective policies and practices! So, yeah! OH! But! After my champagne, I ordered a beer. It didn't taste right after the champagne, and I really just wanted to go home. Errrrrr, by home I mean hotel. That's what we've all been saying ironically. So Artur called a cab for me and sent me back to the hotel. BUT the cab driver pulled into an alley that I had never seen before and started looking at me. He turned off the car. I got really freaked out. He spoke Russian. I speak poor Russian. We didn't understand each other. I kept thinking 'please don't let me get murdered or trafficked or raped or something'. And he just kept turning around and looking at me. Finally he pulled out an atlas and started looking at it with a magnifying glass. It was then that I realized that he was lost or expected me to get the eff out! So I sat there quietly wondered where we were in a dark alley alone with a strange man. I saw a cat that looked like SoxMan and wondered if I was already dead and was meeting up with SoxMan in heaven or something. My pulse was racing and I smelled like sweat and cigarettes from the club. I was singing songs from the musical Wicked in my head. I don't know why, but I do really love that musical! And I had just seen it less than two weeks before. Anyway, he finally grunted and muttered something that I imagined to be 'oh, I see what I did wrong', and he proceeded to turn the car back on and drive down two more alleys to the front of the hotel. I'm sure you can understand why I let out a huge sigh of relief!
Anyway, I have a lot to do for now so I will continue this later!
So let me first sum up my last few days in Kyrgyzstan…… On Saturday, October 8th, we went to the ballet. It was an old Soviet theater -- one thing I would like to point out and talk more about in a bit is that A LOT of the buildings in Kyrgyzstan are old Soviet buildings. As a Sovietologist, this is VERY neat to me! I've always been voraciously interested in that rich history, so to see it was amazing. The ballet we saw was Don Quixote -- which I was able to guess about halfway through the first act. I was proud that I remembered the story and could place it to the ballet, as ballets and books/movies/stories are often fairly different. The ballet was very exciting! It was the premier night! Not many people can say that they've seen a ballet in an old Soviet theater in Kyrgyz Republic! Actually, not many people say that they've been in an old Soviet theater period! Or to the Kyrgyz Republic for that matter! So it was definitely a highlight of the trip! The theater was what you would expect from that time. It has been relatively well maintained, and it has a beautiful chandelier hanging in the center. I took photos, so if you'd like to see the inside of the theater and the actual dancers, you may see them on Facebook. If you do not have Facebook, just let me know. I need to put them up on a Flicker site or somewhere! Perhaps someone can privately email me and let me know a good site where I might be able to post hundreds of photos? Thanks in advance!
So, as I mentioned above, a lot of the buildings in Kyrgyzstan are old Soviet buildings. This was the case not just in Bishkek -- the largest city in the country, with 1million people out of 5million in the entire country -- but also in Karakol. We weren't in and didn't see enough buildings in Balykchy for me to be able to say with any certainly what it was like there. But in Bishkek and Karakol, many of the site visits that we were on with our NGO/nonprofit partners were in old Soviet buildings. For example, we visit several NGO/nonprofits where their offices and work spaces were in old Soviet buildings. Many of these buildings look EXACTLY the same on the inside and out! So the floors were stone and cement. The rooms were the same size. They were maybe five or six floors tall. The outsides were light in color and very faded. They buildings weren't well maintained, but they all definitely served their purposes. Another thing that I would like to comment on is that when we went to the site where Zhanna is implementing her CAP -- she and the volunteers at Y-Peer are painting the only free student hospital/clinic in Bishkek -- I noticed that the hospital building was also an old Soviet building. I kept thinking to myself that I would be very interested to know what all of the buildings that we had been in that were like that used to be. I wondered if the clinic/hospital really used to be a hospital. At one point we went to a school that was in an old Soviet building -- this was Luiza's site -- to watch her organization teach students about tolerance among interethnic groups. It was a VERY fascinating lesson, and the kids LOVED it! We did too! We all participated together! Oh! And one of the little boys gave me a candy that was to resemble an eye that meant that he would like to see more of me. It was really sweet. We really connected with these kids. They loved learning, and you could just see it in the way that acted in our presence. So, anyway, I often wondered for what these old buildings that are now used to house nonprofits, schools, hospitals, clinics, etc. were used.
I did, however, find out that some -- but not all -- of the buildings were owned by the government, which is VERY corrupt. I assume this is why they are no longer maintained. I could be very wrong though. Actually, I remember reading a while back, when I was first asked to go on this trip, that the government in that country is so corrupt that the police take drugs from drug dealers and deal the drugs themselves. I don' t know if this is still accurate, but I believe the article was dated in 2010 or 2009. But I'm like 90% sure that it was 2010. I had googled -- funny that we use the word google as a verb now BTW -- anyway, I had googled 'political situation in Kyrgyzstan', and I believe that was one of the articles that came up. Either that, or it was an article that was linked to a link that had popped up. I cannot remember, as this was early this year. So there's a lot of dirty monies floating around in that country.
Something else that floats around in massive quantities there are toilets that are just holes in the ground. I managed to sneak out of the country without using one! I am 100% certain that I am the ONLY person on the trip who NEVER used one! I was pretty stoked, let me tell you! They just freak me out. Yes, maybe I'm ignorant, but I can't help it that I like to sit down to go to the bathroom! It's what I'm used to; It's what I'm comfortable doing! Watch, now that I've said something, I'll end up having to use a hole in Tajikistan! I do promise to keep you all posted on that! Hehe!
Oh, Friday night, the night before the ballet, we went to Promzona -- a night club with dancing. It was the only night that I've drank on this trip so far. I had something to the tune of two bottles of champagne. I figured if I was gonna drink, that I should probably drink something expensive, tasty, and that I love! I danced and drank and enjoyed myself, but, honestly, I just wasn't feeling it! I don't know why, but I really think it was the other people on the trip. For some reason, they don't seem to like me very much. And it's pretty obvious. I've NEVER done anything to any of them. In fact, I've been nothing but nice to everyone! But, whatever, I'm here to have fun, and dammit, that's what I'm gonna continue to do! I didn't come on this trip to make them happy, I came to help NGOs and nonprofits in these countries learn how to better run their volunteer programs and how to implement better and more effective policies and practices! So, yeah! OH! But! After my champagne, I ordered a beer. It didn't taste right after the champagne, and I really just wanted to go home. Errrrrr, by home I mean hotel. That's what we've all been saying ironically. So Artur called a cab for me and sent me back to the hotel. BUT the cab driver pulled into an alley that I had never seen before and started looking at me. He turned off the car. I got really freaked out. He spoke Russian. I speak poor Russian. We didn't understand each other. I kept thinking 'please don't let me get murdered or trafficked or raped or something'. And he just kept turning around and looking at me. Finally he pulled out an atlas and started looking at it with a magnifying glass. It was then that I realized that he was lost or expected me to get the eff out! So I sat there quietly wondered where we were in a dark alley alone with a strange man. I saw a cat that looked like SoxMan and wondered if I was already dead and was meeting up with SoxMan in heaven or something. My pulse was racing and I smelled like sweat and cigarettes from the club. I was singing songs from the musical Wicked in my head. I don't know why, but I do really love that musical! And I had just seen it less than two weeks before. Anyway, he finally grunted and muttered something that I imagined to be 'oh, I see what I did wrong', and he proceeded to turn the car back on and drive down two more alleys to the front of the hotel. I'm sure you can understand why I let out a huge sigh of relief!
Anyway, I have a lot to do for now so I will continue this later!
Friday, October 7, 2011
More Random Ramblings -- October 8th -- Back in Bishkek
So we got back to Bishkek last night. We had been gone for two and a half days traveling around the northern part of the country. We first went to Karakol, then to Lake Issyk=Kul, and finally to Balykchy before returning to Bishkek. I learned some interesting things while I was gone, and we visited some great sites where the delegates are doing outstanding work. I drank some champagne last night, so this might not be the most organized entry, so I apologize in advance. I haven't drank in a loooooong time. I don't feel TOO bad today, but it's a good thing we have a free day, as breakfast made my tummy a little queasy. So here are some random ramblings and observations……
While we were traveling, people kept saying that Bishkek isn't Kyrgyzstan -- it's like it's only little place where people speak Russian and not Kyrgy, and the people there are very different apparently. I didn't notice this TOO much, but i'm not interacting with tons of locals or anything either. Well, let me clarify, I'm interacting with them, but through a translator. It's a really interesting dynamic here. I notice the difference between the city and the little villages. And I really appreciate those differences and the culture here.
Yesterday we went on a site visit to an elderly day care center -- the only one in the ENTIRE COUNTRY -- where we were actually able to meet the elderly folks who go there. They are VERY active -- they even have a workout room! They grow a garden, make pasta noodles to sell, sew and make other stuff. They're amazing! They learn about health and wellness, how to use computers, and so on. They were all REALLY sweet and REALLY excited to have us there! They even prepared a couple songs for us. It was really sweet. There were mostly old ladies there, but there were two men. And the director of the center is a man. The items that they sew and make were for sale to profit the center, and a bunch of us bought some stuff. I bought something for my mother in law (I know she's reading this, so I can't say what), because she's always helping the ladies at her mom's facility. I just thought she'd have a great appreciation for what went into it. I can say that I bought myself a small pillow with an authentic Kyrgy pattern. The dollar goes SO FAR here. It keeps amazing me. Speaking of which……
that brings me to my next point -- the price of water, beer, etc. are VERY drastic. For example, a bottle of water might cost 10som, which is the equivalent to approximately 20cents! That's INSANE! Of course that's a lot here, but for Westerners that's pretty cheap! It extends into other things as well. My bad really hurts (the beds here are hard, REALLY, REALLY HARD), so I was going to get a treatment but decided to try to hold out. Well, it would have been like 20-25US$! In the US, it would cost at least 70US$ -- and up to a couple hundred dollars! And some of the ladies on the trip are getting manis and pedis today (not me, I can do that at home any day. I have a free day and want to relax until we leave for the market this afternoon.). The pedis cost 600som, which is about 12US$. The manis are 400som, so total they is 1000som -- approximately 20$. That would cost about 60$ in the US.
Ok, here is something that I've wanted to talk about for days but keep forgetting! So we're on this trip on a grant from the US State Department. This is a touchy subject here, but I've found that people are generally willing to and interested in talking about it…… so last year there were political conflicts/uprisings/revolutions (everyone calls them something different, which I think might be in the different ways to translate the exact words they're saying here) in Kyrgyzstan, and during those conflicts some Kyrgys kidnapped some US ex-pats in order to try to get ransom monies from the US government. This happened mostly in Osh and Jalal-abad -- two of the four largest 'cities' in Kyrgyzstan. I say 'cities' because Zhanna says that they're more like suburban areas, more spread out, and have smaller buildings. I guess Bishkek is the only 'real city' in the entire country. Osh is the second largest, followed by Jalal-abad, then Karakol is fourth. I'm REALLY bummed about not being able to travel to Osh and Jalal-abad, because they are historic and cultural centers in this part of the world. We're really missing out by not going there. But we aren't allowed because we're on a State Department funded trip. It's a HUGE bummer, but the only way I could go would be to come back another time on a trip that is NOT funded by the State Department. Le sigh!
The other issue is that foreigners are NOT allowed to travel BETWEEN cities at night -- pretty much for the same reason. We're allowed to travel within the city we're in at night, but not between cities. I guess the State Department is afraid we would get looted or kidnapped or something. B-U-M-M-E-R to the max! Not so much traveling at night, but not getting to visit Osh and Jalal-abad. Supposedly it's safe now, but this all happened just last year…… so I guess I understand. Kinda. Sorta. Eh, not really actually. Whatevs!
While we were traveling, people kept saying that Bishkek isn't Kyrgyzstan -- it's like it's only little place where people speak Russian and not Kyrgy, and the people there are very different apparently. I didn't notice this TOO much, but i'm not interacting with tons of locals or anything either. Well, let me clarify, I'm interacting with them, but through a translator. It's a really interesting dynamic here. I notice the difference between the city and the little villages. And I really appreciate those differences and the culture here.
Yesterday we went on a site visit to an elderly day care center -- the only one in the ENTIRE COUNTRY -- where we were actually able to meet the elderly folks who go there. They are VERY active -- they even have a workout room! They grow a garden, make pasta noodles to sell, sew and make other stuff. They're amazing! They learn about health and wellness, how to use computers, and so on. They were all REALLY sweet and REALLY excited to have us there! They even prepared a couple songs for us. It was really sweet. There were mostly old ladies there, but there were two men. And the director of the center is a man. The items that they sew and make were for sale to profit the center, and a bunch of us bought some stuff. I bought something for my mother in law (I know she's reading this, so I can't say what), because she's always helping the ladies at her mom's facility. I just thought she'd have a great appreciation for what went into it. I can say that I bought myself a small pillow with an authentic Kyrgy pattern. The dollar goes SO FAR here. It keeps amazing me. Speaking of which……
that brings me to my next point -- the price of water, beer, etc. are VERY drastic. For example, a bottle of water might cost 10som, which is the equivalent to approximately 20cents! That's INSANE! Of course that's a lot here, but for Westerners that's pretty cheap! It extends into other things as well. My bad really hurts (the beds here are hard, REALLY, REALLY HARD), so I was going to get a treatment but decided to try to hold out. Well, it would have been like 20-25US$! In the US, it would cost at least 70US$ -- and up to a couple hundred dollars! And some of the ladies on the trip are getting manis and pedis today (not me, I can do that at home any day. I have a free day and want to relax until we leave for the market this afternoon.). The pedis cost 600som, which is about 12US$. The manis are 400som, so total they is 1000som -- approximately 20$. That would cost about 60$ in the US.
Ok, here is something that I've wanted to talk about for days but keep forgetting! So we're on this trip on a grant from the US State Department. This is a touchy subject here, but I've found that people are generally willing to and interested in talking about it…… so last year there were political conflicts/uprisings/revolutions (everyone calls them something different, which I think might be in the different ways to translate the exact words they're saying here) in Kyrgyzstan, and during those conflicts some Kyrgys kidnapped some US ex-pats in order to try to get ransom monies from the US government. This happened mostly in Osh and Jalal-abad -- two of the four largest 'cities' in Kyrgyzstan. I say 'cities' because Zhanna says that they're more like suburban areas, more spread out, and have smaller buildings. I guess Bishkek is the only 'real city' in the entire country. Osh is the second largest, followed by Jalal-abad, then Karakol is fourth. I'm REALLY bummed about not being able to travel to Osh and Jalal-abad, because they are historic and cultural centers in this part of the world. We're really missing out by not going there. But we aren't allowed because we're on a State Department funded trip. It's a HUGE bummer, but the only way I could go would be to come back another time on a trip that is NOT funded by the State Department. Le sigh!
The other issue is that foreigners are NOT allowed to travel BETWEEN cities at night -- pretty much for the same reason. We're allowed to travel within the city we're in at night, but not between cities. I guess the State Department is afraid we would get looted or kidnapped or something. B-U-M-M-E-R to the max! Not so much traveling at night, but not getting to visit Osh and Jalal-abad. Supposedly it's safe now, but this all happened just last year…… so I guess I understand. Kinda. Sorta. Eh, not really actually. Whatevs!
Site Vite to AP3, Lake Issyk-Kul
Today has been a really great day -- I guess that’s a pattern that’s forming. It started off with my heart pounding out of my chest, because our alarm clock didn’t go off at 8am as it was supposed to. Alyssa jumped up and yelled that our alarm hadn’t gone off, which woke me out of a very deep sleep, thereby alarming me. So it took over an hour to calm down. But it ended up being fine, as other people were behind as well. I got down to breakfast this morning, and I just want to take a few minutes to talk about all of the fantastic food that we’ve had here. Every day we are presented with these amazing jams and jellies -- today I put some into a kefir like drink to make it raspberry flavored. It was delicious - just like the kefir I buy at home only better and probably healthier because it comes straight from the cows here. Then I was given a steamy bowl of porridge, and I don’t mean oatmeal, I mean authentic porridge. It was perfect. I could eat it every single day. It made me think about how, in the US, we tend to eat a great deal of processed cereals that have a lot of sugar, but the whole foods that we’re eating here are so much more filling and satisfying. I could really get used to eating like this. I also had three different types of eggs -- an egg that was cooked well done, an egg pancake (this was very thin and almost like a crepe), and a ball of egg and cottage cheese that seemed as though it had been lightly fried. They were all good, but the last one was outstanding. I couldn’t get over how great it tasted in all of its fluffy goodness. I had breakfast at 9am, and it’s now after 1pm and the last thing I want is more food. The jams are one of my favorites though -- blueberry, raspberry, apple, gooseberry, etc. They’re so good on anything -- muffins, biscuits, crepes, eggs, in yogurt/kefir/milk, etc. All of the food here has been amazing, but breakfast seems to be a really big deal. I have been eating a lot of fresh tomatoes too. They’re served with almost ever meal -- including breakfast. Some days when I feel like having something small for breakfast, I will grab three tomato slices with three small pieces of cheese and eat just that. It’s still really satisfying. Oh, we ate a restaurant called Moscow (Moskba) one evening -- and no, it did NOT serve Russian food -- where I got a cheese plate and a salad. The cheese plate had a cheese that looked like pieces of string, and it was very flavorful and pungent. It was called ‘cherchil’. Supposedly you can buy it at the market, and, if so, I plan to buy some for myself and some friends.
Something that I’ve been noticing more and more as we’re here longer is that there are TONS of fruit trees all over and in everyones’ yard. There are mostly apple trees, but there are also other types. So far two people have given us fresh apples. They’ve been very tasty both times and haven’t had the normal waxiness of apples that you typically eaten in the US. Most of the produce here is organic, as it costs more to use pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, etc. It’s funny because in the US organic food tends to be more expensive. Zhanna has a bad that says ‘I <3 Organic’, which I just love!
So we had a site visit this morning at AP3 -- an organization that promotes sexual awareness and reproductive health among youth. Let’s just say that they are doing AMAZING work, and that I’m very pleased to have been able to meet them and talk to them. One of their programs is called Dance For Life, and through this program they teach about HIV by using music and dancing to convey info to youth. Most of their volunteers are school age kids and university students. We were told that they have trouble retaining volunteers after the 11form (11th grade), because that’s when students begin to think about and focus on college. But they have over 120 volunteers. It’s really interesting and great to see organizations in the developing world working so hard to do such great things and to be so successful in what they’re doing.
One of the things we talked about was the culture here and how it reacts to abortion, and I was VERY surprised to find out that, unlike in the Western world, abortion is a much more open and accepted concept. Obviously if it can be avoided that is preferable, but you would think in a predominantly Muslim society that people would be very against it. We were told by one of the PeaceCorps volunteers that is working with AP3 that the Muslim society and culture here are not like the Christianity of the West and that Muslin extremist groups are actually banned in Kyrgyzstan. AP3 helps to provide safe abortions to young girls and women who need them, and they also provide free contraception to anyone who wants it. Something else that I found to be really interesting is that condoms are hard to come by here, as they’re in incredibly high demand. The sad part is that they’re cheap by our standards -- they’re only about 10com, which is the equivalent to about 20cents in the US! Obviously 10com is a lot to the people here. I asked about sending condoms to them, but customs is very difficult for sending packages from what I understood.
So, the AP3 clinic started only 4 years ago, but they’ve already made a great deal of progress and have done so much. They were established under the Safe Abortion Project in order to promote women’s rights and reproductive safety. They’re not government funded, but they’re not entirely private either. They’re open to the public, and they serve about 5 clients a day. They have a full time psychologist on site that is able to provide counseling services. They’re largely funded by the IPPF, a European Family Planning Network) and other donors. The clinician told us that, unfortunately, abortion is the PRIMARY family planning tool, but they are trying to change that by offering contraception and condoms. That really made me sad to hear.
So we were all very excited for our day at Issyk-Kul Lake, but when we got to the resort, we all had a funny feeling upon entering the main entrance/reception area. There was a weird smell and an even weirder vibe -- everyone likened it to the movie The Shining. Keep in mind that we were told that we were going to a nice resort where there would be various different mineral baths and spa services. So we all planned on splurging and doing some spa treatments. So we find out our room numbers -- only after Zhanna and Sasha fought with the receptionist about the mini bus. Come on, we are on a mini bus, not a charter bus! I just thought that it was COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS, especially considering that this is their off season! Grrrrrr! Ok, so we head up to our rooms and the elevator smells just as bad as the main entrance hallway and reception area. Then we enter our room and -- ewwwwww -- we pretty much entered the exact opposite of what we were expecting. Alyssa and I decided that we will NOT shower here. We probably won’t sleep under the covers either. Yes, it’s that bad. I mean, I have stayed in some not so nice places (Hey Vicki, Steve, Ya -- remember Boston last year???). But we were all pretty much in shock. I don’t know who dropped the ball with this, and maybe no one did, maybe the language and cultural barrier was the cause. So I can’t even use the wifi because the guy who knows how to use the wifi isn’t here, and you have to pay 2USD per hour, which I’d be willing to do just to be able to email my family and have something to do while I sit in my room with stomach pains while everyone else is at the lake. I left the lake to come back to the room because I kept having these feelings in my stomach like someone kept stabbing me over and over and over with a knife! Nicole has been sick for two days, and she said that’s how she felt. So hopefully I’m not getting that! Hopefully I’m not getting anything except for a minor case of the number twos!
OK ENOUGH ABOUT THAT! So back to the hotel -- the walls are paper thin. The beds are tiny and are very springy and have weird blankets. The walls are like a seafoam greenish-blue. The carpet is that thin dark green that you see from the 60s. The ceiling is falling down in places from what appears to be water damage though it could be something else. The bathroom is downright nasty. I could cry right now. BUT! The lake more than makes up for it. I will likely go down in a bit, but I just want to relax and reflect for a bit alone. As I said before, I like to spend some time by myself each day to reflect on the trip, my values and beliefs, the lifestyle here and how it’s so different from that which I’m accustomed to in the West. The cafeteria at the resort is pretty fantastic -- it’s very art decor! I kinda love it actually! I’ll have to take some photos. I’ll take photos of the whole place. There are some arcade games, pool tables, kid rides -- the ones at the malls in the West that you put quarters in that run for a minute or whatevskis. Oh, and the other fantastic thing is the light fixture in our room It’s gold and blue and looks like a lotus flower. I love that too. The stands and closet appear to be made from thin particle board, which is fine. That’s not a complaint but rather an observation. None of this is really complaining, because, frankly, we’re lucky to be on this trip and to be enjoying this experience. I’m just shocked because the first two hotels were stellar. And we all wanted to get spa treatments, and it’s off season so no one is here to do anything except maybe massages tomorrow morning and maybe manicures and pedicures. But we leave in the morning so there is no real time for that tomorrow. I really promise that I’m not complaining; I’m just shocked. The shock is wearing off now that I’m talking about it. I’m typing this up on my laptop to post to my blog later since the wifi doesn’t work.
Tomorrow we head back to Bishkek, and on the way back we stop in Balykchy for another site visit. The site visit will be at the Center of Old Age with Aida. After we get back to the hotel in Bishkek and go to dinner, we walk to a nightclub. I’ve been saving my energy up to be able to drink tomorrow night since I don’t drink very often anymore. Then the following day we get to go to the market! It’s pretty much a whole free day! No traveling, nothing! Just breakfast, free time, lunch, shopping, dinner, and maybe the opera and ballet that we were supposed to go to the other day. I think that Zhanna said we go on the 8th, which is Saturday. Then the following two days are more site visits and then we leave on Tuesday of next week to travel to Dushanbe. I’m really going to miss Zhanna and Artur! They’ve been so fantastic to us while we’ve been here! Artur, sadly, did not come to the lake with us, but he’s still been one of our main in-country hosts and had been there for anything that we need.
Speaking of being there when we need something -- I’m concerned about something that is going on with Usama, one of the US delegates. He came on this trip with us, but he’s been very aloof and elusive. And very evasive when anyone tries to talk to him about it. Since the first day we arrived he’s been going off on his own and doing something, but he won’t say what. He left Karakol this morning to go back to Bishkek via taxi! A 6-7 hour taxi ride? And the only people that know are Nicole and maybe Sara. And MAYBE his roommate, Anthony. But I don’t even know if Sara and Anthony know. I know that Artur knows because he’s helping him. Now let me just start by saying that I don’t care at all, because it’s obviously something personal. The only reason I am talking about it is because I’m worried that something is wrong with his visa or health wise. On the other hand, perhaps he’s trying to get a job. I know that Artur just got a job with the United Nations here in Bishkek, so maybe Artur is trying to help Usama get a job here too. Or maybe Usama is trying to attend school here. I don’t know. I just hope it’s nothing bad, because I really like Usama. I know that some people are upset because we’re here as a group and he’s constantly leaving or not going places at all. Sure, I didn’t go to the bar the one night and skipped out on dinner last night and am at the hotel by myself now, but I’m still here with the group. It’s not like I’m in a different city. Like I said, I personally don’t care. But other people do. I’m just worried. So I hope that everything is ok and, if not, that it gets worked out asap!
One of our last site visits is hopefully going to be with parliament. How cool is that?!? Who gets to go to the Kyrgy parliarment! I would be SO thrilled to go there! One of our Kyrgy delegates -- Shamil -- works for parliament. He’s the one whose CAP is to implement the law on volunteerism. I think I wrote about all the CAPs yesterday. He’s also a volunteer with the Scout Movement. One of the Tajik delegates is a volunteer with the Tajik Scout Movement, so Nicole thought it would be perfect to have one scout from each country, but I guess when Shamil got to Pittsburgh he kept talking about parliament and not the Scout Movement. It all worked out though, as Shamil always had (and still has) great input. He’s very lively and intelligent. He actually brought Nicole ROSES to the hotel the morning we arrived! I thought it was because he had a thing for her, but I guess it’s just because they became good friends after getting off on the wrong foot. And he’s married. So he was just being sweet. From what I understand the men here give lots of flowers. I mean, Artur brought all of us US ladies roses the other night. I just can’t get over how sweet and cute he is. And smart! Yes, I know, I’m married, and I love my husband, but I can certainly say that someone is cute. I mean, hell, like Steve doesn’t check out women all the time! What guy doesn’t, after all? We talk about people who we think are attractive all of the time. So it’s not unusual at all. I just wanted to clarify that just because I think someone is cute doesn’t mean anything like I don’t love my husband or anything!
I can’t believe we still have 18 days left! It’s INSANE! I feel like time is flying, but it’s really not! Well, it is but it isn’t too. I feel like we’ve already done a lot, but we have SOOOOOO much left to do too! It’s crazy! I am definitely going to be homesick by the time we leave for home. Well, maybe not. I haven’t felt too bad so far about being away from home. One day I was really bummed and missed Steve and the kitties and my family and had to fight tears, but it didn’t last long -- the crying part didn’t last long, the missing part will last the entire time! Mostly the kitties, because it’s not like I can email or call them. And it’s not like they understand that I haven’t left for good and that I’ll be back in less than three weeks. Oh! I got to talk to Kathie, my stepsister, on Facebook the other day, so that was really nice. I haven’t heard from my dad yet, so I just wanted to have her let him know that I’m doing just fine. Welp, that’s enough for now. I’m going to read for a bit and then walk down to the lake. More later or tomorrow!!!!!!
Ok, it’s later! Since I cannot post these due to a lack of wifi, I am typing this up in advance to post later. So after I read for a little bit everyone came for dinner. The food at this resort has been the least appealing of the entire trip thus far. For both lunch and dinner they just gave us patties of meat on a plate with potatoes. For lunch they gave us tomatoes to start. Then they brought bread that was kinda stale. Then came the entree -- a meat patty with soggy fries! Yum! For a vegetarian, that’s not the most appealing meal. Actually, several people didn’t eat the meat! Later I realized that I should have taken the meat out to the adorable stray dogs -- one in particular followed us to the beach. She then made friends with other people and did’t follow us back. I keep worrying about her and hoping that she hasn’t gotten lost and that she knows her way back. At dinner I said that I was going to take my meat out to the dogs -- they gave us not one, but TWO meat patties for dinner, and, again, several people didn’t eat them --but everyone at my table seemed displeased by this. I really should not have said anything and should have just done it, but they were there the entire time so I couldn’t. They just said that it wouldn’t make any difference in the life of the dogs. I didn’t really agree -- kindness makes a world of difference, and all creatures deserve kindness. The whole situation makes me really sad. So dinner wasn’t as bad as lunch. For dinner we had assorted veggies with a spicy-ish dressing, bread (which I didn’t have that time but everyone seemed to like it better than the bread at lunch, so perhaps it was fresher), yogurt with that delicious fresh blueberry jam that I just adore, a cheese type cake (but not cheesecake!) that was decent with a drizzle of some orange sauce, and two meat patties with home fry type potatoes with onions and some other veggies. I felt so bad wasting the food that I didn’t eat. I didn’t want to waste it; what I really wanted to do was take it to the pups, but everyone at my table was so against it for some reason. I work with animals all the time, so to me it’s just second nature. Le sigh!
After dinner we played games at the arcade area. Some people played some type of fooseball (sp?) game, and some of us played a game with a ball that bounced around when you pushed the number for the space that it landed in. Each player had 15 numbered buttons, and each button had two numbers -- one blue and one red. Each player was either blue or red, and when the ball bounced into the space with the numbers, you had to push that number to get the ball to go into the opposite players goal area. It was pretty awesome, I’m not gonna lie! I wanted to play a lot more! And then some people played ping pong. It was lotsa fun! No mineral bath or spa service, that’s for sure, but it was still very fun nonetheless! After that I just came up to my room to read and reflect. Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little bit. Actually I think the next two days I think we get to sleep in! Yay for sleeping in! Perhaps I’ll stay up later reading tonight! Ok, more later or tomorrow!
Something that I’ve been noticing more and more as we’re here longer is that there are TONS of fruit trees all over and in everyones’ yard. There are mostly apple trees, but there are also other types. So far two people have given us fresh apples. They’ve been very tasty both times and haven’t had the normal waxiness of apples that you typically eaten in the US. Most of the produce here is organic, as it costs more to use pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, etc. It’s funny because in the US organic food tends to be more expensive. Zhanna has a bad that says ‘I <3 Organic’, which I just love!
So we had a site visit this morning at AP3 -- an organization that promotes sexual awareness and reproductive health among youth. Let’s just say that they are doing AMAZING work, and that I’m very pleased to have been able to meet them and talk to them. One of their programs is called Dance For Life, and through this program they teach about HIV by using music and dancing to convey info to youth. Most of their volunteers are school age kids and university students. We were told that they have trouble retaining volunteers after the 11form (11th grade), because that’s when students begin to think about and focus on college. But they have over 120 volunteers. It’s really interesting and great to see organizations in the developing world working so hard to do such great things and to be so successful in what they’re doing.
One of the things we talked about was the culture here and how it reacts to abortion, and I was VERY surprised to find out that, unlike in the Western world, abortion is a much more open and accepted concept. Obviously if it can be avoided that is preferable, but you would think in a predominantly Muslim society that people would be very against it. We were told by one of the PeaceCorps volunteers that is working with AP3 that the Muslim society and culture here are not like the Christianity of the West and that Muslin extremist groups are actually banned in Kyrgyzstan. AP3 helps to provide safe abortions to young girls and women who need them, and they also provide free contraception to anyone who wants it. Something else that I found to be really interesting is that condoms are hard to come by here, as they’re in incredibly high demand. The sad part is that they’re cheap by our standards -- they’re only about 10com, which is the equivalent to about 20cents in the US! Obviously 10com is a lot to the people here. I asked about sending condoms to them, but customs is very difficult for sending packages from what I understood.
So, the AP3 clinic started only 4 years ago, but they’ve already made a great deal of progress and have done so much. They were established under the Safe Abortion Project in order to promote women’s rights and reproductive safety. They’re not government funded, but they’re not entirely private either. They’re open to the public, and they serve about 5 clients a day. They have a full time psychologist on site that is able to provide counseling services. They’re largely funded by the IPPF, a European Family Planning Network) and other donors. The clinician told us that, unfortunately, abortion is the PRIMARY family planning tool, but they are trying to change that by offering contraception and condoms. That really made me sad to hear.
So we were all very excited for our day at Issyk-Kul Lake, but when we got to the resort, we all had a funny feeling upon entering the main entrance/reception area. There was a weird smell and an even weirder vibe -- everyone likened it to the movie The Shining. Keep in mind that we were told that we were going to a nice resort where there would be various different mineral baths and spa services. So we all planned on splurging and doing some spa treatments. So we find out our room numbers -- only after Zhanna and Sasha fought with the receptionist about the mini bus. Come on, we are on a mini bus, not a charter bus! I just thought that it was COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS, especially considering that this is their off season! Grrrrrr! Ok, so we head up to our rooms and the elevator smells just as bad as the main entrance hallway and reception area. Then we enter our room and -- ewwwwww -- we pretty much entered the exact opposite of what we were expecting. Alyssa and I decided that we will NOT shower here. We probably won’t sleep under the covers either. Yes, it’s that bad. I mean, I have stayed in some not so nice places (Hey Vicki, Steve, Ya -- remember Boston last year???). But we were all pretty much in shock. I don’t know who dropped the ball with this, and maybe no one did, maybe the language and cultural barrier was the cause. So I can’t even use the wifi because the guy who knows how to use the wifi isn’t here, and you have to pay 2USD per hour, which I’d be willing to do just to be able to email my family and have something to do while I sit in my room with stomach pains while everyone else is at the lake. I left the lake to come back to the room because I kept having these feelings in my stomach like someone kept stabbing me over and over and over with a knife! Nicole has been sick for two days, and she said that’s how she felt. So hopefully I’m not getting that! Hopefully I’m not getting anything except for a minor case of the number twos!
OK ENOUGH ABOUT THAT! So back to the hotel -- the walls are paper thin. The beds are tiny and are very springy and have weird blankets. The walls are like a seafoam greenish-blue. The carpet is that thin dark green that you see from the 60s. The ceiling is falling down in places from what appears to be water damage though it could be something else. The bathroom is downright nasty. I could cry right now. BUT! The lake more than makes up for it. I will likely go down in a bit, but I just want to relax and reflect for a bit alone. As I said before, I like to spend some time by myself each day to reflect on the trip, my values and beliefs, the lifestyle here and how it’s so different from that which I’m accustomed to in the West. The cafeteria at the resort is pretty fantastic -- it’s very art decor! I kinda love it actually! I’ll have to take some photos. I’ll take photos of the whole place. There are some arcade games, pool tables, kid rides -- the ones at the malls in the West that you put quarters in that run for a minute or whatevskis. Oh, and the other fantastic thing is the light fixture in our room It’s gold and blue and looks like a lotus flower. I love that too. The stands and closet appear to be made from thin particle board, which is fine. That’s not a complaint but rather an observation. None of this is really complaining, because, frankly, we’re lucky to be on this trip and to be enjoying this experience. I’m just shocked because the first two hotels were stellar. And we all wanted to get spa treatments, and it’s off season so no one is here to do anything except maybe massages tomorrow morning and maybe manicures and pedicures. But we leave in the morning so there is no real time for that tomorrow. I really promise that I’m not complaining; I’m just shocked. The shock is wearing off now that I’m talking about it. I’m typing this up on my laptop to post to my blog later since the wifi doesn’t work.
Tomorrow we head back to Bishkek, and on the way back we stop in Balykchy for another site visit. The site visit will be at the Center of Old Age with Aida. After we get back to the hotel in Bishkek and go to dinner, we walk to a nightclub. I’ve been saving my energy up to be able to drink tomorrow night since I don’t drink very often anymore. Then the following day we get to go to the market! It’s pretty much a whole free day! No traveling, nothing! Just breakfast, free time, lunch, shopping, dinner, and maybe the opera and ballet that we were supposed to go to the other day. I think that Zhanna said we go on the 8th, which is Saturday. Then the following two days are more site visits and then we leave on Tuesday of next week to travel to Dushanbe. I’m really going to miss Zhanna and Artur! They’ve been so fantastic to us while we’ve been here! Artur, sadly, did not come to the lake with us, but he’s still been one of our main in-country hosts and had been there for anything that we need.
Speaking of being there when we need something -- I’m concerned about something that is going on with Usama, one of the US delegates. He came on this trip with us, but he’s been very aloof and elusive. And very evasive when anyone tries to talk to him about it. Since the first day we arrived he’s been going off on his own and doing something, but he won’t say what. He left Karakol this morning to go back to Bishkek via taxi! A 6-7 hour taxi ride? And the only people that know are Nicole and maybe Sara. And MAYBE his roommate, Anthony. But I don’t even know if Sara and Anthony know. I know that Artur knows because he’s helping him. Now let me just start by saying that I don’t care at all, because it’s obviously something personal. The only reason I am talking about it is because I’m worried that something is wrong with his visa or health wise. On the other hand, perhaps he’s trying to get a job. I know that Artur just got a job with the United Nations here in Bishkek, so maybe Artur is trying to help Usama get a job here too. Or maybe Usama is trying to attend school here. I don’t know. I just hope it’s nothing bad, because I really like Usama. I know that some people are upset because we’re here as a group and he’s constantly leaving or not going places at all. Sure, I didn’t go to the bar the one night and skipped out on dinner last night and am at the hotel by myself now, but I’m still here with the group. It’s not like I’m in a different city. Like I said, I personally don’t care. But other people do. I’m just worried. So I hope that everything is ok and, if not, that it gets worked out asap!
One of our last site visits is hopefully going to be with parliament. How cool is that?!? Who gets to go to the Kyrgy parliarment! I would be SO thrilled to go there! One of our Kyrgy delegates -- Shamil -- works for parliament. He’s the one whose CAP is to implement the law on volunteerism. I think I wrote about all the CAPs yesterday. He’s also a volunteer with the Scout Movement. One of the Tajik delegates is a volunteer with the Tajik Scout Movement, so Nicole thought it would be perfect to have one scout from each country, but I guess when Shamil got to Pittsburgh he kept talking about parliament and not the Scout Movement. It all worked out though, as Shamil always had (and still has) great input. He’s very lively and intelligent. He actually brought Nicole ROSES to the hotel the morning we arrived! I thought it was because he had a thing for her, but I guess it’s just because they became good friends after getting off on the wrong foot. And he’s married. So he was just being sweet. From what I understand the men here give lots of flowers. I mean, Artur brought all of us US ladies roses the other night. I just can’t get over how sweet and cute he is. And smart! Yes, I know, I’m married, and I love my husband, but I can certainly say that someone is cute. I mean, hell, like Steve doesn’t check out women all the time! What guy doesn’t, after all? We talk about people who we think are attractive all of the time. So it’s not unusual at all. I just wanted to clarify that just because I think someone is cute doesn’t mean anything like I don’t love my husband or anything!
I can’t believe we still have 18 days left! It’s INSANE! I feel like time is flying, but it’s really not! Well, it is but it isn’t too. I feel like we’ve already done a lot, but we have SOOOOOO much left to do too! It’s crazy! I am definitely going to be homesick by the time we leave for home. Well, maybe not. I haven’t felt too bad so far about being away from home. One day I was really bummed and missed Steve and the kitties and my family and had to fight tears, but it didn’t last long -- the crying part didn’t last long, the missing part will last the entire time! Mostly the kitties, because it’s not like I can email or call them. And it’s not like they understand that I haven’t left for good and that I’ll be back in less than three weeks. Oh! I got to talk to Kathie, my stepsister, on Facebook the other day, so that was really nice. I haven’t heard from my dad yet, so I just wanted to have her let him know that I’m doing just fine. Welp, that’s enough for now. I’m going to read for a bit and then walk down to the lake. More later or tomorrow!!!!!!
Ok, it’s later! Since I cannot post these due to a lack of wifi, I am typing this up in advance to post later. So after I read for a little bit everyone came for dinner. The food at this resort has been the least appealing of the entire trip thus far. For both lunch and dinner they just gave us patties of meat on a plate with potatoes. For lunch they gave us tomatoes to start. Then they brought bread that was kinda stale. Then came the entree -- a meat patty with soggy fries! Yum! For a vegetarian, that’s not the most appealing meal. Actually, several people didn’t eat the meat! Later I realized that I should have taken the meat out to the adorable stray dogs -- one in particular followed us to the beach. She then made friends with other people and did’t follow us back. I keep worrying about her and hoping that she hasn’t gotten lost and that she knows her way back. At dinner I said that I was going to take my meat out to the dogs -- they gave us not one, but TWO meat patties for dinner, and, again, several people didn’t eat them --but everyone at my table seemed displeased by this. I really should not have said anything and should have just done it, but they were there the entire time so I couldn’t. They just said that it wouldn’t make any difference in the life of the dogs. I didn’t really agree -- kindness makes a world of difference, and all creatures deserve kindness. The whole situation makes me really sad. So dinner wasn’t as bad as lunch. For dinner we had assorted veggies with a spicy-ish dressing, bread (which I didn’t have that time but everyone seemed to like it better than the bread at lunch, so perhaps it was fresher), yogurt with that delicious fresh blueberry jam that I just adore, a cheese type cake (but not cheesecake!) that was decent with a drizzle of some orange sauce, and two meat patties with home fry type potatoes with onions and some other veggies. I felt so bad wasting the food that I didn’t eat. I didn’t want to waste it; what I really wanted to do was take it to the pups, but everyone at my table was so against it for some reason. I work with animals all the time, so to me it’s just second nature. Le sigh!
After dinner we played games at the arcade area. Some people played some type of fooseball (sp?) game, and some of us played a game with a ball that bounced around when you pushed the number for the space that it landed in. Each player had 15 numbered buttons, and each button had two numbers -- one blue and one red. Each player was either blue or red, and when the ball bounced into the space with the numbers, you had to push that number to get the ball to go into the opposite players goal area. It was pretty awesome, I’m not gonna lie! I wanted to play a lot more! And then some people played ping pong. It was lotsa fun! No mineral bath or spa service, that’s for sure, but it was still very fun nonetheless! After that I just came up to my room to read and reflect. Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little bit. Actually I think the next two days I think we get to sleep in! Yay for sleeping in! Perhaps I’ll stay up later reading tonight! Ok, more later or tomorrow!
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