It has been one of those days… all week long. Haha
Those of you who know me pretty well know that I’ve been pretty much going non-stop for as long as I can remember. Hopefully, by the end of this two year experience, I’ll be able to deal with down time a little bit better, because right now, I’m not doing so hot in that department.
I’m not meeting with my counterpart to discuss doing our English clubs until Thursday, which means I have several days with nothing really to do… le sigh.
Yesterday was great for taking up time, though. I went on what translates as an “excursion” with the teaching staff from my school. We left home at like 8:30-9ish and didn’t get home until almost after 10. For being a day of “rest,” I was exhausted!
We drove about an hour or so into the mountains and picnicked. I ended up inadvertently hiking… I wore a skirt and flats. 8-\ Lesson learned: assume nothing and be sure to find out the day’s plans before making wardrobe decisions.
Kyrgyz people know how to picnic. I can say that without any inkling of doubt. They spread tushuks out, which are like really long seat cushions, and then put a tablecloth in the middle. Bread and borsok covers the entire thing. A first round of salad is served. And “salad” here is pretty much just any uncooked combo of vegetables. The first salad we had was a vinegary noodly type thing. Water, chai, and vodka are poured for those who want it, and everyone toasts.
I’ve heard horror stories about some volunteers, who have a hard time dealing with the pressure to drink here, but since my host mom doesn’t drink either, she helps me out. Having a local person tell others that you don’t drink translates that you really don’t, whereas if I say it, they think I’m just being polite. And if you never drink, you never have to, but if you do it once, they assume that you will always do it. Also, drinking a little bit is not really an option. If you drink, you drink. And since they Kyrgyz tradition dictates that if you open a bottle of vodka, you finish said bottle, whether it be two people, or ten, and since it is okay to drink here, but never okay to be drunk, and you’re looked at better if you don’t drink, I’m gonna put vodka in its own separate file on the “List of Things Jessika Doesn’t Understand.”
Then, the younger teachers, (except for me because I’m kinda like still in honorable guest mode) prepared another salad. The next salad however, as per usual tradition, was covered in mayonnaise. I know I eat it sometimes at home, but I haven’t eaten here because it gets put on everything and I’m not a huge fan and it’s easier to never eat it than to sometimes eat it. (kinda like the vodka situation) It goes in soup, on salads, on bread. You name it- it is eaten with mayonnaise. And considering how bad it is for you, and how poor my diet has been since I got here, and the lack of refrigeration… It is getting added to the “List of Things Jessika Doesn’t Eat.” Haha
I had a pretty good time attempting to talk to the members of the staff. They’re all really nice. I got the standard, “do you have a boyfriend?” question. And then in response to my “no” I got the “I have a son- he’s in university and speaks English” hookup proposal. Then I got told that I could just be bride kidnapped… jokingly (I hope. Haha) ;-)
After the second round of food, we went for a walk, which turned into a nature photo shoot / mountain hike / nap time / singing time.
Then, we played games. Several different games. Volleyball, a sort of similar to duck duck goose game, and an interesting version of dodge ball. Considering the state of sobriety or lack thereof of some of the teachers, these were a lot of fun to watch and participate in. haha
The next round of food came around dusk. The Kyrgyz standard of a party: besh barmak. If you’ve read the entry about food that I posted before, you’ll know what it is. If not, I recommend that you read it. First, the shorpa was served. My host mom tries to look out for me (like with the vodka) and tells them that I don’t like really greasy food, so they gave me a cup of “less greasy” shorpa. Yeah, wasn’t drinking that one either. Haha I did “osti” to be polite (which means taste), but really just put it to my lips. (sshhh.. don’t tell haha) The concept of vegetarianism goes over like a lead balloon here, and trying to explain that I don’t drink shorpa because I don’t eat meat, and it is just the meat broth didn’t really translate. In response to “I’m a vegetarian.” I got – from different teachers, all in a row- “what do you mean you don’t eat meat?” “you don’t eat meat- how are you alive?” “if you don’t eat meat, you’ll die.” and, my personal favorite… “if you eat a little meat everyday, you’ll learn to like it.” Haha It was kinda weird tho, we definitely didn’t have a sheep with us when we left, but they definitely cooked the WHOLE sheep. I’m guessing (and hoping) that they just bought it from the people’s whose house we were near. Another thing to add to the “List of Things Jessika Doesn’t Know.”
My host mom gets them to serve me a plate of just noodles, which I really do appreciate, but since it’s cooked in the shorpa… don’t really eat that either. I know the people here have to think that I’m super weird and picky, but so does my family back home, and I’m okay with that.
So to sum it up, I ate a lot of bread, drank a bunch of chai, played some cool games, and had some fun conversation with my new staff, and added a whole bushel of topic to my series of “List of Things Jessika Doesn’t …” lists. Haha. Yes, i’m fully aware: I’m a dork.
Well, I’m going to attempt to go kill the fly that is buzzing around my room (I hate them), try to figure out what I’m going to do tomorrow to fill up the down time, and try to get some sleep (haven’t been having a lot of luck in that department, either).
Wish me better luck for the days ahead! It’s gonna be a long summer here in lovely Kyrgyzstan.
Miss you more than ever!
Love from over here,
Jess
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