What a Week!

I'm not really supposed to talk about what has been happening because
the PC has to stay unbiased. You all probably know just as much about
the situation here as I do because you get as much news as I did.
Truthfully, I don't know enough about what happened to make an
educated statement anyway. But, I can tell you what happened to me. I
went to school on Wednesday and right before my first class started, I
got a call from the PC telling me that there were riots in Talas and
that I should go home because we are on "standfast" and that I should
not leave my house until the Peace Corps called me back. So, I spent
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday stuck in my house.
Saturday they called and said that I could leave my house, but was
restricted to my village. Then, yesterday, we got the "all clear"
which means I can go back to work and life has returned to normal. I
think the experience of the volunteers in Kyrgyzstan kinda reflect the
experience of the country as a whole. Some of the volunteers were
"consolidated," which means they all got grouped together. Some got
taken out of their sites, to a "safe, undisclosed" location, and some
(like me) just got stuck in our respective villages with little news
for a few days. Some of the city volunteers saw some of the protests
and some would have had no idea that anything was going on if we
hadn't read about it. Like in my village, for example, it was super
quiet and business as usual. I was always safe and literally, nothing
happened in my town. Plus, our TV is Russian satellite, so the news
coming in, I didn't understand anyway. I did talk to my Apa about it.
She is not particularly loquacious, but me being stuck at home sparked
some conversation. She told me (I'm pretty sure this isn't violating
any making biased statement rules, more of stating the facts) anyways,
Apa told me that a lot of people had problems with the president
because he put his family members in positions of power. Then she told
me that for Kyrgyz people, if you get a position of power, you are
expected to help out your family. If you have money, or influence, you
have to help out your family. So, Apa explained that it is hard to
balance. I can sort of understand it. If you act according to cultural
norms, you are a "bad president." (not my opinion, I have no opinion,
this a stating of apa's words) but if you ignore the cultural norms,
you're a "bad person" according to Kyrgyz traditions, because it is
shameful to not help your family. So, there you go. The government
changes sometimes don't really affect the little villages at all;
whether it is changes in school rules, or a complete government
change. Life goes on. So, the past few days, I: made delicious
chocolate chip cookies, washed my hair, worked on my GRE prep- I
learned some big words. haha, practiced my guitar, read a few books,
took a banya, made brownies, drank way too much coffee (thanks mama)
did crossword puzzles, gave myself a manicure, watched some movies.
(the new star trek was sweet), and made lists. Yes, I made lists. It
was really scary for a while. Not knowing what was going to happen
with the rest of my PC service. I did realize that I am not quite
ready to come home for good yet. For one, it would totally throw off
my ten year plan haha. So, being my typical OCD self. I made ten year
plan C (I already have an A and a B haha) I made a list of stuff to
take back to American in July, and stuff in want to bring from
American. I edited my bucket list (I've been able to cross a few
things off here), I made an ABCs of my experience in Kyrgyzstan (this
is my favorite list of the last few days, so I'm gonna share)
A- anitbiotics
B- banyas
C- cows
D- dogs (like packs of wild, crazy dogs)
E- elocution
F- fat. (the cure all)
G- grade books
H- honey (fresh honey is SO much better)
I- insomnia
J- "jazgul" (my kyrgyz name, it means "spring flower)
K- knitting
L- the lake
M- mountains
N- nature
O- oddball (a.k.a. me haha)
P- pumpkin manti, pumpkin oromo, pumpkin samsa… mmmm, and peanut butter
Q- questions
R- recluse
S- school
T- tea, or tushucks
U- units (for my phone)
V- vest (I'm crocheting one and it is taking FOREVER)
W- wool
X- (I'm omitting this letter. Seriously, stupid letter.)
Y -yurts
Z- zoo park (the one here is really depressing, just animals in small cages)

Haha, I know. I am a total dork. Anyways. I'm gonna attempt to do
something productive since I haven't in a while.

Miss you
Love from Kyrgyzstan,
Jess