December 21, 2008
Oh, To Be 22 Again—Not!
My
senior year in college was the perfectly written script. I had a
cool apartment; an eclectic group of friends; our basketball team won the
national championship; the star player was my roommate; and I loved a woman who
has yet to have an equal in my life. I used to say, only
half-jokingly, that I wished I could be 22 forever. That was before
I joined the Peace Corps. I am watching me be 22 all over
again. And it's not pretty. It wasn't back then either,
but I was too blind to see. At times, literally. (Remember the
Notre Dame game, dad? I don't.) It's not that they're bad
kids, they're not. They just like to enjoy themselves. Problem
was, they did it when the rest of the hotel guests were
sleeping. Hey, some of the rowdiest ones are the best volunteers we
have. But...
During
our training in Bishkek this past week, a guy I really like a lot had a few too
many one night. Now, I don't know what he was doing in the hotel lobby
at 1:30am because there ain't nothing down there, but he was and when
he left to go to his room, he left his jacket behind. The next
morning it was given back to him by the front desk attendant, minus 2000 soms
(about $50) and a digital camera that were in the pockets. Guess you
never know when you'll want to capture a Kodak moment in the lobby of the
Issy-Kul Hotel. He knew he screwed up and I said it was just another
in a long line of life lessons we all have to learn. I think he felt
better when I told them it took me 'til I was about 35 before I began to take
heed.
Yes,
after all these years, youth is still wasted on the young.
Also in the book, my advice to my young friend that went unheeded and the pros and cons of being an older volunteer explained.
Designer Footwear—Kyrgyz
Style
Shoes
are not worn in Kyrgyz households. Most of the time I wear socks but now that
winter is nigh, I was told it's okay to wear house slippers. So, off to the
bazaar I went. Finding a pair in my size was no easy task. When I finally did I
was surprised to see they were a brand I knew, complete with the logo. PUMA.
And what a deal. About $3. So, I put them in my bag and went home. Later that
evening I thought I'd wear them. That's when I saw they weren't exactly what I
thought they were. Seems I had purchased PUMA's Central Asian line of designer
footwear. POMA. (See Photo) But, they keep my feet warm and that's what really
matters.
