PST training is coming to a close. 8 long weeks of language,
culture and technical trainings have given me the tools to start working.
We found out our permanent sites a few weeks ago. Everyone
had their envelopes, opened them at the same time and, to my surprise, mine
read:
Oblast-Chui
Village-International
It turns out the village I have been living in will be my
home for the next two years! I’m glad I haven’t embarrassed myself too much
yet. My host family was so happy that I will be staying near them, though I
will be moving in with a different family. I have already met my counterpart,
an English teacher at the local school named Meerim. I will be leading a summer
English Club for the students to continue their skills and create some kind of
relationship before the school year starts. The village is larger, and very
close to the county center, a city named Kant. I’m lucky to have a lot of
recourses close by and the capitol city is only an hour away. I can probably
get coffee, clothes and chicken burgers once a month. I already feel spoiled.
All the other volunteers in my village now are leaving for
different parts of the country, so my goal is to see each Oblast at least once.
Travel around Kyrgyzstan for the next two years sounds pretty amazing, I must
say.
Last weekend was Culture Day, where we dress in traditional
Kyrgyz clothing and either dance, sing or act out pieces of their culture. I have
a feeling it’s more fun for our host families than it is for us. At the end, my
Apa asked me if we “won” culture day, and she didn’t quite understand that it
was just for fun.
Next stop: Language Test and Swearing in!!
