July
8, 2008
The Road to Bishkek
We sat at the gate for an hour before we finally
took off for Kyrgyzstan. Nine hours later we
touched down in Istanbul. The first leg of our journey was complete. Many
people were surprised that the airport was so modern. My roommate was surprised
his pint of beer cost him $15. After our 7 hour layover it was on to Bishkek.
About 30 minutes before landing, we hit some major turbulence. You could hear
the gasps and everybody was thinking, this really sucks. Well, since I'm
writing this you probably guessed that we survived. The biggest surprise,
though, was everybody’s luggage made it to Kyrgyzstan. We had heard horror
stories about lost/stolen luggage.
Safely tucked into our hotel (15 hours in the air and 11 time zones after leaving JFK), it took Lee and me 15 minutes to figure out how to work the lock on our door. Those ingenious Russians. As soon as I flipped the switch for the bathroom light, the bulb blew. Off to a great start, wasn't I?
Safely tucked into our hotel (15 hours in the air and 11 time zones after leaving JFK), it took Lee and me 15 minutes to figure out how to work the lock on our door. Those ingenious Russians. As soon as I flipped the switch for the bathroom light, the bulb blew. Off to a great start, wasn't I?
To no one's surprise, the one constant is that
every meal contains meat. Even the petit fors at break have a meat based option
among the muffins. To be fair, we've also eaten some wonderful fruits and
veggies. I drink my plain yogurt like milk and their oatmeal is the best I've
ever had.
Today we received our first immunization shots. The dogs are very dangerous in this country because they get treated like dirt by their owners. Hence, we will receive three separate rabies shots during the month.
Tomorrow we meet our host families. Mine is a couple with teenagers. They've never hosted a volunteer before, so we'll all be undergoing an adjustment period. I'll spend the next 11 weeks living with them in a village about 30 miles outside of Bishkek. It is at once exciting and scary as hell. This is where I finally feel I'm in the Peace Corps even though that doesn't officially happen until September.
Finally, I experienced my first major disappointment yesterday when I learned I would be studying Kyrgyz instead of Russian. I’ll get over it.
May only have internet access on Wednesdays, but will post more often if I can. Wish me luck.
Okay, I'm posting this from an internet cafe in Bishkek. We arrived here on a marshrutka (VW Bus-like vehicle). Who knew you could fit 20 people into one of them? The good news is it only cost 25 cents.
Today we received our first immunization shots. The dogs are very dangerous in this country because they get treated like dirt by their owners. Hence, we will receive three separate rabies shots during the month.
Tomorrow we meet our host families. Mine is a couple with teenagers. They've never hosted a volunteer before, so we'll all be undergoing an adjustment period. I'll spend the next 11 weeks living with them in a village about 30 miles outside of Bishkek. It is at once exciting and scary as hell. This is where I finally feel I'm in the Peace Corps even though that doesn't officially happen until September.
Finally, I experienced my first major disappointment yesterday when I learned I would be studying Kyrgyz instead of Russian. I’ll get over it.
May only have internet access on Wednesdays, but will post more often if I can. Wish me luck.
Okay, I'm posting this from an internet cafe in Bishkek. We arrived here on a marshrutka (VW Bus-like vehicle). Who knew you could fit 20 people into one of them? The good news is it only cost 25 cents.
In the book: The secret to unlocking the door. What to do when a dog
starts chasing you. First trainee left after only three days and why. Russian vs. Kyrgyz.
