Last few pics

Last few photos

More fall pics

Even more pics

Fall pics 2

More pics

Pictures from Fall

Pictures from Istanbul

More pictures from Istanbul

More pictures from Istanbul

Pictures from Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey

Earlier this summer we visited Istanbul, Turkey for 9 beautiful, fun and relaxing days. Istanbul is a fascinating city and very easy to get around; between walking, ferry boats, trams and taxis, we were able to see most of the major sites in town. After landing at 6AM on July 28th we treated ourselves to two lattes at Starbucks. Normally a stop at Starbucks would not be noteworthy, but in our case after going 10 months without a Starbucks treat, we were ecstatic to find a cafe in the airport! We took the time to figure out how to get to our hostel and thoroughly enjoy our drinks. We filled our first day by taking a ferry ride over to the Asian side of the city (the Bosphorus waterway splits Istanbul on two continents – the European and the Asian side). We then took a city bus through the newer part of Istanbul and hiked up to the tallest point in the city. The views were terrific and we could get a great lay of the land from there. Our excursion to the Asian side took up a good part of the day and we ended our first day in Istanbul with delicious pizza in a little neighborhood street side café and also sat in front of the magnificent Blue Mosque and took in the evenings’ call to prayer and people watching.

Our second day was spent touring around the Archaeology and Ancient Orient Museums, lunching under the famous Galata Bridge and enjoying fresh fish sandwiches, taking Europe’s shortest underground tram to the new part of Istanbul (on the European side), visiting the Pera Palace Hotel (which is where Agatha Christie holed up for a awhile to work on “Murder on the Orient Express”) and walking through the beautiful Topkapi Palace Gardens. Later that night we met up with our old-time friends Tawnia, Rob and their two children, who had flown down from Amsterdam to spend a few days with us, and had a delicious room-service dinner consisting of steaks and hamburgers (items that don’t readily exist in Kyrgyzstan!)

On Day #3 we walked around Istanbul with our friends, taking in such sites as the old Hippodrome (horse arena) area, the Mosaic Museum, the Carpet Bazaar, the ancient underground Cistern (water catchment), and ending our day at an outdoor Turkish restaurant which featured a Whirling Dervish show.

July 31st was spent relaxing upon a yacht that took us up the Bosphorus, so we could see the outlying areas of Istanbul, and all the way out to the Black Sea. We enjoyed stopping periodically and diving into the warm waters of the Bosphorus and Black Sea and swimming around with Tawnia, Rob and the 2 kids.

On Day #5 we strolled around the Palace park again with our friends, shopped in the Grand Bazaar which is known to be one of the longest running outdoor bazaars in the world, visiting an ancient Turkish bath house (but has since been turned into a museum and carpet store) and relaxing at our friends hotel.

On August 2nd we said good-bye to our buddies after touring part of the Topkapi Palace and having lunch. It was a great visit with Tawnia, Rob and the kids and it also came at a great time during our service. One of our hardest challenges in being in Kyrgyzstan is not being near our dear friends & family back in the states. Spending such a wonderful amount of time with our friends sure did help ease our homesickness and we sure did appreciate them taking a break in their European Adventure to come see us!

Later in the afternoon on August 2nd we were lucky to have Mike’s Dad and Stepmom fly in from NC and also spend a few days in Istanbul with us. Having to adjust from some jetlag we took it easy during Tom and Kathy’s first day by relaxing in the Palace park and enjoying tea while looking out over the Bosphorus and taking in an early dinner complete with a Whirling Dervish and Hooka Bar.

The following day, August 3rd, was a huge touring day. First thing in the morning, the four of us went to the famous Aya Sophia (or Haggia Sofia) which over the course of history has been a church and a mosque and is now a museum. The building is beautiful from the outside and enormous on the inside. Afterwards we toured the inside of the Blue Mosque, walked through the grounds of Istanbul University, toured Suleymanieye Mosque (which is the largest mosque in Turkey) and finished our day with a fresh fish dinner on Galata Bridge and the most delicious baklava which was sold by a nearby street vendor.

On our last full day in Istanbul we went on the tour of the Harem of the Topkapi Palace and saw where sultans of times past lived and reigned from. We also took in some of the other areas of the Palace with Tom and Kathy before enjoying a delicious Turkish lunch at a nearby open air café. Our afternoon/evening were spent visiting the terminus of the Orient Express and relaxing on one of the many public ferry boats that cuts across the Bosphorus. It was a lovely way to take in a spectacular sunset over Istanbul. On our last night we walked along the Sea of Maramara, taking in the smells of the ocean and found a great café for dinner. We had a night cap consisting of Istanbul’s famous and tasty apple chai while listening to the call of prayer and looking again at the Blue Mosque (with a full moon rising overhead).

Before catching our flight back to Bishkek on August 5th we walked around the famous Spice Bazaar and purchased some apple chai to take home with us and also Mike worked with a vendor to create a fragrant and savory spice concoction. (Since then we have used this spice mixture to make one of the best chicken curry dishes we have cooked!)

For those of you who have traveled to Istanbul we hope that this blog entry conjures up the sites, smells, sounds and tastes of the city. And for those of you who have not made it to Istanbul, we hope you add it to your list of places to visit! The city is full of life and is quite modern, but it still retains its mystery and romance of times past. The food is incredible – by far one of the best cuisines in the world – full of fresh produce, flavorful spicing and delicious desserts. And the people of Istanbul were lovely to talk with, friendly and helpful and full of smiles. We hope to return to Turkey someday and travel throughout the other regions of the country.

Puppet shows are a success

After each 3 day program the children were able to keep their self created shadow puppets and our puppet masters donated marionette puppets to each group.

Pictures from our puppet workshop

We held a puppet workshop at two local orphanages in the first week of July. Take a look at these great kids and imagine the fun we had with them!

Cholpon Ata and Friends

Here are some shots taken around our home and with our friends

Mike's Birthday

Pictures from Mikes first birthday celebration in country

Summer update

Hello Everyone!

It seems to us as though time is flying by and we are quickly approaching the middle of summer already! How it got here so fast we don’t know, but looking back on the last 1-2 months we realize how full our schedules were. We hope you all are enjoying summer back in the States, whether that be working out in gardens, swimming in pools or oceans, camping, relaxing in parks, etc. Summer season is in full swing here and our quiet little town has exploded with tourists from all over the world. In fact, just this past week we met and hung out with 3 Americans and 1 Brit all traveling through China and Central Asia. It was fun exchanging stories, experiences and perspectives of the different cultures during our hikes and over a few beers while hanging out a beach campfire we made together. Though there are many tourists here we really do not find ourselves conversing with many of them. For the most part they are Russian or Kazak and speak Russian and therefore do not need the assistance of translators. But in the case above, our horse association friend also runs a B & B and these tourists were staying with her. Americans are still slightly novel here and when she learned they spoke English and 3 out of 4 came from America she immediately called us on our cell phone to come over to meet the other Americans in town! In other instances, confused taxi drivers will find us in town and bring us lost and also confused tourists (who speak at least some English) so that we can translate between the two parties to figure out where the tourist needs to go. Not exactly the most common work of a PC volunteer, but we sure are meeting quite a few people!

But this isn’t what really has been keeping us busy, so let us catch you all up on life in Cholpon Ata. With the coming of nicer weather, we have been able to go on quite a few day hikes. Unfortunately though this summer has been rainier than usual in our region so we have not been able to take our gear camping. But with at least half of the summer left we are hopeful! Also with nicer weather, comes other volunteers visiting. We have had quite a few gatherings at our apartment and we really enjoy hosting. At the beginning of June we hosted about 6 volunteers for a weekend and we took in some hikes and some time at our beach. The following weekend we hung out around town, going for a beach walk with our horse association friend and came across two different Kyrgyz families having beachside picnics. In traditional Kyrgyz custom, both parties were very open and gracious and invited to join them. It was great fun meeting new families, trying fried fish and homemade goods and listening to families sing and play along on an accordion! We became quite friendly with one family and were even given new Kyrgyz names - Maksat (meaning “goal” for Mike) and Bearmet (meaning “pearl” for Brenda). So now, depending on who we are with, we may introduce ourselves as Maksat and Bearmet!

The following weekend was filled hosting about 12 Volunteers for a large 3-way Birthday party weekend for Mike and our friends Dane and Jenn. In typical American fashion the party was potluck style and boy did we eat well! From hummus and bread to pizzas and tacos. Brenda was in charge of desserts and made a homemade chocolate birthday cake, cookies and brownies. Needless to say, no one went hungry that weekend!

The last weekend of the month was Mike’s true birthday. Though we normally camp for Mike’s birthday, this year we celebrated quite differently. Our friend was very kind and gave us 3 box seat tickets to the season opening of the local horse stadium. So the two of us, along with our friend and site mate Roselle, had a day at the races! Sitting above the crowd in cushy chairs, enjoying cool bottled water, while looking out over the horse track and beyond to the lake was quite a unique way to celebrate. The show lasted several hours, involved over 60 horses and riders and included various speed and endurance horse races and traditional national horse games. Following the races we went home briefly to meet up with our original host family who was in the area and wanted to give Mike a birthday present and share a champagne toast together. The day ended wonderfully with Roselle treating Mike to pork bar-b-que at a café that has opened for the summer.

And that brings us to the end of the month and the beginning of July. Our friends from Bishkek were able to get away from the big city and enjoy a weekend with us at the lake. We took in some good café meals (in the summer there are an assortment of cafes to choose from, compared to the 3 cafes that are open during off season months which is October-May) spent time at the beach and enjoyed catching up with one another. Though we did not really venture into the water, we did dip our feet and enjoyed the sites of the beach; such as strolling vendors selling everything from dried fish to vodka, children burying each other in the sand, para-sailers floating overhead, camels and boa constrictors being led by their owners along the beach while banana boats and jet skis zip by. Yes, we must admit, it is quite the site to be seen!

Soon after our buddies departed a group of 4 volunteers descended upon our apartment for a week-long puppet workshop, which we held at two different orphanages. One of our co-volunteers is actually a puppet master and had studied in Japan. Thinking that children can use puppets for fun or to express themselves either artistically or if they are shy, we thought introducing local kids to puppets would be fun. And fun it was! The kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves creating their own shadow puppets and creating a show together. Day one of each workshop entailed introducing ourselves to the children, explaining what the workshop was about and actually creating the puppets (following a predetermined story that they were previously familiar with). The second day was used to teach the kids how to work with the puppets, to split the group into two different teams and to rehearse the show. On the third and final day each group presented their puppet show to the other group of kids and to different audience members. At the end of the workshop each child was given the puppet they had created and each organization was also given two marionette puppets which our puppet master had created for them. It was a week filled with laughs, creativity and fun (and some relaxing moments at the beach…though the banana boat ride we all took was anything but relaxing as we sped across the lake behind a jet boat, turning and twisting every which way until eventually we all flipped off, climbed back on and did it all over again!)

Since then we have been working on various projects. Mike was asked by PC staff to conduct a training seminar to our new group of volunteers (who arrived about a 10 days ago) about how to give exams in Kyrgyz schools. So he has been working away at preparing handouts, a powerpoint presentation and group activity for the training session. Additionally we have both been helping our adopted host family here in town with their summer café. Mike created bi-lingual menus and we have both helped design a café logo to be used for the staff’s shirts. (On the side Mike has had a few cooking lessons from the chef and has learned to make the Russian dish, “pelmeni” which are meat filled tortellini type pastas and also Uzbek Plov) Not to be outdone by Mikes cooking, Brenda has been enjoying the fruit garden outside of our apartment and has recently made a raspberry pie using our handpicked raspberries and making her own crusts and canned 4 jars of raspberries for our enjoyment this winter

Also in these past few weeks Mike has begun creating lesson plans for the fall term, Brenda has gotten a copy of Microsoft program “FrontPage” and will soon begin teaching herself how to create websites so she can assist several community members with their website projects and she has begun researching grants and ideas for renovating the local horse stadium and other tourism projects. And speaking of tourism, we took a day excursion to the south side of the lake with a friend, met several tourism operators and also checked out the famous red rock formations known as Jeti-Oguz, or 7 Bulls. We sure do hope to make it back there for some hiking and possibly backpacking.

Looking ahead, our summer should be quite full. We have new volunteers visiting us later this week for their first “site visit” or trip out of Bishkek, to see what life as a volunteer is really like, quickly followed by our trip to Istanbul. August will be filled with visitors, a trip to a 3-day horse show spectacular and a 10-day Habitat for Humanity work project. September 1st marks our 10 year wedding anniversary (though we are not quite sure how we will celebrate, we may just celebrate early in Istanbul) and the middle of September marks our 1 year anniversary of living here. We will also have visitors in September and October.

Again, we hope your summers are going well and you are enjoying the long days, warm weather, vacations and time spent with friends and family. We think of you all and hope you are all doing well!
Until we post again (which may not be until September), take care and enjoy life!
Brenda and Mike

End of School and the beginning of Summer

As we update our blog we imagine many of you will be kicking off the beginning of summer with Memorial Day weekend….picnics, camping trips, family get-togethers, yardwork, etc.

We too have entered official summertime here in Cholpon Ata, as last week there were celebrations for the end of the school year and this coming week marks the start of summer break. Though we did not have the same rites of passage as you all are used to, we’d like to share with you some of the experiences we have recently had with the changing of the seasons.

First we have started noticing more and more tourists walking around our town; they tend to stand out with their maps and backpacks
In our town market we have started seeing fresh lettuce, cherries and strawberries appearing in sellers stands, a very welcome site
The nights are staying lighter longer, with nightfall coming as late as 8:30pm (though the sun sure is now bright at 5am!)
Our days are warm, filled with afternoon thunderstorms and cool evenings – perfect for sleeping (just like back home)
With such nice weather we have fashioned our very own window screens, made out of cheesecloth and a curtain for our front door, made from a shear, some thread and two pieces of string acting as curtain rods. The shear and cheesecloths make for great screens – allowing the breezes through and minimizing the bugs (which Brenda has noticed KG has quite a few bugs compared to Colorado, but still nothing compared to tropical places like Florida)
At the end of last week (Thursday), schools held “Last Bell” – or the last day of school with great festivities. Mike attended the celebrations at his own school while Brenda watched those of the other school in town with fellow volunteer, Roselle. At both schools the festivities took place outside on the schools front steps. Students in the graduating classes each were presented on the stairs for their graduation and sang a song to teachers, school administration and other students. In between graduating class presentations, other students performed dances or sang in honor of the graduating students. The mayor of our town also spoke at each school and many townspeople and parents turned out for the events. At the end of each festivity a small child went through the crowd ringing a bell, signifying the “Last Bell” of the school year.
Another tradition associated with “Last Bell” is the giving of gifts to teachers from students and parents for thanks to a great year of work. Mike received beautiful wild flowers, carnations and assortments of other flowers (which are currently beautifying our kitchen). More tenured teachers can receive items such as tea cup sets, towels, etc.
Additionally, Brenda was asked to accompany Roselle to two different “thank you” parties from Roselle’s school. The first was held in a school classroom, complete with cake and champagne toasts for the teachers, while the children presented their various teachers cards specific for their subject (i.e. language, science, etc). The second party was held at a local hotels small ballroom and consisted of a seated 4 course lunch, complete with vodka (or wine shots) and toasts. After eating salads, various breads, baked chicken legs/thighs, cold noodle dishes and soup, the main course, the National dish, of Besh Barmak (made with horse meat) was served in the traditional fashion. Each guest, including Brenda, was given a plate with a large chunk of horse meat, still on the bone. Each piece represents a different sign of respect – the eldest, most tenured teacher or school director receiving the largest portion. After the large chunks of meat are served, guests are expected to drink the accompanying bouillon/broth and eat a small bite off of the chunk. Then sliced pieces of the meat are tossed with ramen noodles and served as the true last course. Guests upon leaving are given small plastic “goodie bags” to take home filled with the large piece of meat/bone and breads, salads, etc. Needless to say, Brenda ate one small bite of meat out of respect (not to mention she was already stuffed to the gills), but ended up taking home much food and meat.
On Friday there were celebrations at Brenda’s kindergarten, with the 6 year old class “graduating” from kindergarten to primary school. Again there were dances, skits and songs and at the end of the program each child received a class picture and a new reading book. Additionally, all teachers, including Brenda, received flowers (such as white roses) as thank you gifts.
It should be mentioned that all of the graduating students completely dress up for “Last Bell”. From the high school students wearing high heels, short back skirts and fitted white tops and boys dressed in black and white suits, to the 6 year olds wearing miniature prom/cocktail dresses and 3 piece suits. Indeed it is quite a celebration!
On Saturday, teachers of our town and neighboring villages invited us and several other volunteers to a picnic at the beach, as a thank you for a seminar that PC volunteers presented and as a kick-off to summer time. We laid out the picnic under a beautiful shade tree and watched the waves lap up onto the beach – it is still a tad too cold to actually swim. We enjoyed Cabernet wine along with the other national dish of Plov – which is rice and carrot based (and delicious), breads, smoked sausage and cheese. We passed the time playing national running games, sharing stories and telling jokes (humor does not cross cultures very easily, but we managed to get a few across!)
Additionally on Saturday we attended an art showing at Mike’s school. The 9th grade art institute students were displaying the work they had created throughout the year, including sculptures, watercolors, oil paintings and sketches. These children too will be moving on, as they will begin a 3 year program at an art academy in Bishkek in the fall and new art students from the region will begin art classes at Mike’s school in the fall. There sure are some promising artists among these children and we feel fortunate to have gotten to know them and see their work!

So all in all we too had our rites of passage here in KG and feel like summer has truly kicked off! Mike will miss some of his students as many will move on to University and a new crop of art students will enter Osmonuv School. We are looking forward to new faces next year though.

We have also started noticing other differences in ourselves..acclimating to our new home. We truly recycle as much as possible..from ziplock bags we have been sent, to aluminum foil, jars and bottles are handy for many things as well. We take our trash bag to a nearby dumpster, dump out the trash and bring the bag back home for re-use whenever possible. We are also more conscientious of the energy we use, as we can watch the dial spin either slowly or very quickly depending on how many lights we have on, if we are using our water distiller or heating up water for a shower. Needless to say, showers are a twice a week treasure to us (and last about 10 minutes) and we do not leave lights on unnecessarily.

To give you a glimpse of how “Kyrgyz” we have become, on Friday Brenda used an old wine bottle to roll out flour tortillas she had made from scratch. We enjoyed our “Kyrgyz” taco’s using the horse meat from the previous days celebrations – spicing it with taco seasoning, and made refried beans from scratch – using black beans a volunteer had found. Though the meal did not taste like your typical Mexican taco night, it was still tasty and made from scratch and local ingredients!

Well, we ought to sign off for now and enjoy the long days of summer that are beginning!

We hope you all have a fabulous summer, filled with family and friend bar-b-ques, picnics and lazy summer days!

Love, Brenda and Mike

Random other pictures

Miscellaneous Pictures"
1. New York Pizza Joint in Bishkek - yummy!!
2. Mike and fellow teacher, Marlis, going over term grades
3. View of Mountains from friends place in Karakol, located at the East end of the lake
4. Mike with our Volunteer buddies (who all happen to be Asian) - Bohee, Xouhoa and Christabelle ("Team Asia")
5. Brenda working on a "clean up the town" project with Mikes fellow teacher, Marlis and Brenda's Eco-Center counterpart Elveera.

Photos from a sleepover at a Xouhoa's Village

Working on plans for a summer camp, making dinner together, colorful slumber party with Robyn, Bohee, Andy, Christabelle, Xouhoa and Us.

Photos from Issyk Kul Lake with Volunteer Buddies

Picture #1: Some of the Lake Region Volunteers: Megan, Xouhoa, Christabelle, Wilbur, Rich and Brenda - on the Beach of Cholpon Ata.

Picture #2: Looking back at Mountain Range form lake shore outside of nearby village

Picture #3: Hiking down to the lake with Rich, Roselle (who also lives in Cholpon Ata) and us

Picture #4: Frozen Lake landscape

Picture #5: Mike "Snowbowling" with Xouhoa, Bohee and Robyn

Photos from Kyrgyz wintery Mountains

View of a snowy river, Mike ontop of the mountain with Issyk Kul Lake in the background, Mike walking back down the valley, and Volunteer friend Rich and Mike at the top.

Hiking Photo Essay

Pictures from our snowy spring hike up to the mountains.

Photo Essay

Pictures of our current room; Mike studying on our bed - or the "Study", our wardrobe/changing area, which can turn into a bathing area, the piano that acts as our junk drawers, buffet table and "office", our electric heater that warms us and also can be used to make oatmeal and keep our food and dishes warm and finally our bedroom bed which can also be turned into a home movie theater!

Needless to say a little creativity can go a long way, but we are still very excited to move into our own 1 bedroom apartment soon!

Photo Essay

picture of us at lake with fellow Volunteers

A VILLAGE IN CONTRAST & OBSERVATIONS OF LIFE IN CHOLPON ATA

Upon stepping out of our house the other day, there was a sight to take in; the black soiled foothills were pressed against the taller majestic peaks which had recently been blanketed with a fresh new snowfall. The seen was quite beautiful but also made us pause as we took in the stark contrast between the black and the white. As the day unfolded other contrasts in this interesting country in transition were seen; many in the same black and white sense. Walking down the street we watched as a brand new Toyota Landcruiser pulled out from a neighboring housing compound, just as a donkey pulled a cart down our dirt road.

Further along in our day we watched as a group of young boys played the old game, “Chukar” in the dirt (similar to marbles, but using animal bones/knuckles). At the same time, in the internet café boys of the same age were tuned in, with headphones, and playing a war type video game. And the technological difference didn’t stop there. Many of our villagers do not know how to use a computer, let alone own one, but on any given day you can watch as a large portion of the population (including teenagers) make and receive calls on their cell phones.

We left the internet café which was playing traditional Kyrgyz acoustic guitar music and hopped into a cab that was playing the latest in Russian hip-hop music. Our destination was our friend’s apartment, which is in a 4-story Soviet style building. In stark contrast to this construction, across the street is a traditional style yurt where a family lives and also serves Kyrgyz meals to tourists, trying to make a living.

The day of contrasts ended with seeing an elderly woman walking through town wearing a traditional headscarf and skirt, an elderly gentleman dressed with his traditional kalpak (white tall hat) and dress clothes followed by teenagers dressed in the latest designs from Europe, strolling hand in hand in the park and a Russian running team all decked in Spandex.

Kyrgyzstan is truly a country in transition, but there is hope here and with open minds, perspective, and a sense of humor, anything is possible.

On a personal level we have been finding the above line of thought more true and important everyday. Since the last time we posted an entry we have overcome some challenges, made headway with our work and language and have had some fun times.

In mid-January our host brother and his wife moved into our house, making it a total 8 of us living here in our little compound. Their primary language is Russian so communicating with them has been quite challenging. We normally cook for ourselves these days and take turns in the kitchen with the family. At first this posed to be a huge challenge, with limited space in the kitchen, one burner to cook on, and an oven held together by paper. (Thank goodness for ramen noodles during that time!) But with some persistence and help from our Russian sister in law, we have made headway cooking pizzas, spaghetti, tacos, and rice dishes. Also, occasionally during the week we will pack up our foodstuffs and go to the other Volunteers apartment (who lives in Cholpon Ata) and cook with her, where there are two burners and more space.

During the winter months, incomes tend to decrease and this has had an adverse impact on our bathing options. For a while our banya wasn’t able to be fired up so we took to bucket bathing a couple of times a week in our room. For “Man’s Day”, a holiday in February celebrating the courage and hard work of the men of Kyrgyzstan, Brenda gave Mike two large red buckets, so that he’d have his own bathing buckets and would no longer have to wait to use the family’s buckets (which were used often for laundry).

With some self-empowerment and creativity we have essentially turned our 8*9 foot room into an entire “mini” house;
• The bedroom consists of our slightly than larger twin bed.
• If you turn on the electric teapot and roll the electric heater over to the bed and swing your legs over the edge we have turned that space into a dining room/kitchen. We can make soups, oatmeal, malt-o-meal and warm drinks with our teapot, enjoy our food on the heater – which acts as a heated dining room table and the bed turns into “chairs”.
• The piano and window sill have become our den/study and library and houses our books and paperwork.
• The corner with the wardrobe doubles as a closet and a bathing area. We bring in the 2 red buckets, fill them with warm water from our electric teapot, stand in a bucket and take a bucket bath, then open the wardrobe doors and get dressed.
• And lastly if we bring in a chair to the end of the bed, place our laptop on the chair and prop ourselves up against the wall, facing the chair, we have created a home theatre and can watch a movie.

It is on this note that we can say a sense of humor really helps one get through the days here sometimes. Our current lifestyle puts life into perspective though and makes us value and appreciate all of the conveniences and space we have back home. However, having experienced this lifestyle for 3-4 months now, we have decided to find a new place to live. We have a lead on an apartment that should be available later this month and if that does not work out we have befriended another family which has space for us to move into. We will be sure to keep you posted on our housing situation! (Our phone number and address will not change)

In addition to looking for a new place to live, we have been keeping busy working. Mike has made some headway with his students, but has faced challenges of teaching in a country which places great value on holidays. School was closed for half of January for holiday break (following New Years), many weeks in February were disrupted with holidays, such as “Man’s Day” and also quarantine, when the flu affected so many teachers it was not worth it for the school to be open for a week. In March we have experienced “Woman’s Day” and this week rings in the Muslim New Year. Just recently we learned the president declared March 24th to be a holiday to celebrate the anniversary of last year’s revolution, so all schools, offices, and banks will be closed again. Then it will be Spring Break! Mike hopes April thru the end of May have fewer holidays so he can get through the lessons he has already planned. (A quick word about holidays…even if it is a one-day holiday, it seems people start preparing or even celebrating a day before and need to recuperate for a day after. Thus a one-day holiday can turn into 3 days!) In his short time teaching though, he has been able to befriend a few students who actually have asked for more homework during the school breaks! Also his school houses the regions’ art institute for high school students and he has been able to see some incredible pieces of art, produced by his students (he has even been given a few watercolors to decorate our room with). Mike’s English classroom is coming along with more decorations set to be added. He has also received some great materials from the states ranging from lesson planning aids to arts and crafts supplies (thanks to all!). The students are getting used to the American accent and showed visible signs of progress in their last exam. Teaching can be truly gratifying and helping students learn makes everything worth it!

Brenda has experienced challenges of her own with regard to work. Her office at the women crisis center was closed for the month of January, however no one told her until January 23. So she spent a good part of the month walking to the office everyday to only find it closed! With the time off though she was able to extend her services to other organizations in our village. Every Tuesday she now teaches English to 4-6 year olds at the local orphanage, which also runs a community kindergarten. She was treated to a special “Woman’s Day” performance put on by the children earlier this month. The concert consisted of singing, dancing and competitions, such as children folding a scarf properly the fastest or making paper flowers the fastest. Also (just as in the states) the children gave homemade gifts to the mothers who attended the concert. (Mike took Brenda out for NY Style Pizza in the capital for Women’s Day) Brenda also now works with the staff at the eco-center and currently they are working on a trash clean-up test pilot project for the village, which they hope to expand throughout the region. The eco-center also hopes to start holding seminars to increase environmental awareness. Lastly, an adult training center is opening in town and has requested the help of a PC Volunteer, so she will be checking that out soon.

We have also been very busy working on secondary projects. We have collaborated with other Volunteers in working with a different orphanage located about 30 minutes from our town. A Russian couple started the orphanage about a year ago with their own funds, and a little help from their church. They currently house 20 children (one who was found living in a coffin at the bus station) and hope to someday expand to 40 children. Recently one of our Volunteers won a grant for building 2 indoor bathrooms for the children. Currently they walk across town to take a weekly banya and must use an outhouse and outdoor sink with cold water. This can be scary for a 4 year old late at night! The new bathrooms will provide 2 hot water showers, 3 sinks and 3 toilets for each sex – quite the improvement! So we will help with building these bathrooms once the materials arrive.

Mike also met with an international donor organization and has organized a potential program for getting sets of English textbooks sent from the states to Kyrgyzstan via shipping containers. Volunteers would then take these books from the capital to their local schools and help build up the supplies of books for teaching and for English resource centers. We will keep you posted on this project- if it works out, it sure would have a great impact. Currently, we get small donations of books as they are expensive to ship.

With summer soon approaching Volunteers are starting to organize camps for students. We will partake and help organize a week-long coed camp that will take place in June. The goal of the camp is to show students how they can create their own clubs, such as a drama club, or a football team in their own schools. Mike may also partake in an all-boys sports camp.

Brenda has teamed up with her long time girlfriend, Jenn, back in the states who will be traveling to Kyrgyzstan in September with her husband to lead the Habitat for Humanity Global Village project. On this side of the world, Brenda has been recruiting other PC Volunteers to partake in the project (Mike was the first to sign up!!). It should be an exciting time, partnering PC with Habitat for Humanity, in building new homes for locals in a village on the opposite side of the lake from us! (Not to mention how excited we are to see some friends from back home!!). Speaking of visits, we are super excited to host Mike’s folks from N.C. in August – we are so blessed to have visitors!! (We are starting to brainstorm fun things to do here in KG while they are visiting.)

Several evenings a week we also attend private Kyrgyz tutoring sessions. We are quite fortunate that we have met a superb Kyrgyz woman who speaks fluent Kyrgyz, Russian and English. As a result, our language has been improving. But more importantly we have made a terrific friend in Reema. We have a great time in class, not only learning, but also teaching her English idioms and sharing the news of the day. She appreciates having people to speak English with and we appreciate all of her patience with us, her discipline (we get homework every class), and the interest she has taken in teaching us. (We are also very excited for her as she is expecting and should deliver the baby sometime around Mike’s birthday!) Learning a new language within the actual culture and country is a great benefit of PC service and we are really trying to get this one mastered. We think that if we can master Kyrgyz, we might try Russian.

We have also been fortunate to fit in some fun activities during this time as well. In February we enjoyed a great day of skiing. The “ski resort” was located about 3 hours from our home. A group of us went in on a private taxi to take us up the valley to the ski resort, where we were able to rent good equipment and hit the slopes. A series of tow-ropes took us up the slopes and we enjoyed skiing down blue and black runs (OK…. Brenda skied blues and Mike skied blacks). At the base was a lodge which served up beers and food and was a good place to relax. Later that night we celebrated a friends birthday, went out for dinner, and had a small party. We do hope to fit in one more ski trip this season, but spring is upon us and we will have to see how conditions hold up.

Additionally we have taken a few winter hikes. We took a 3 hour hike out to a remote place on the lake, walked on the frozen lake, made snow angels and even created a snow bowling alley, complete with”pins”. Using snowballs, we were able to knock down quite a few “pins”! We also attempted climbing to the top of a mountain but at that time we encountered a portion of the trail which had become a slide of ice, several feet thick, so we had to turn back - but Mike went back 2 weeks later with a buddy and they made it to the top! And we also hiked to another point on the lakes shore line 2 weeks ago. (And as Brenda types this, Mike is out for another hike with “the guys”).

On weekends and some evenings we get together with Volunteers in neighboring villages to cook, play games, listen to music, watch movies and swap the latest vocab words we have learned. It is really nice to have an English speaking support group here! And since we are all going through the same trials and tribulations it is easy to get support and advice as to how to handle a particular situation.

We have also made a few trips into the capital city for research and also a week-long PC training conference. It was a nice break from the village life and we thoroughly enjoyed the hot showers and a comfy bed every night! We also really enjoyed seeing all of the other Volunteers from our training group (named “K-13” for being the 13th group to volunteer here), sharing stories and enjoying meals out in cafes together. We were able to enjoy some Lebanese food, Italian food, and NY Style Pizza! Not to mention a variety of local dishes at the hotel.

That about catches you all up on our life here in Cholpon Ata! Stayed tuned for more updates on our projects, housing situation and upcoming summer plans! (We hope to go on a horse trekking ride across the country!) And with that, we should sign off for now, as this is quite a lengthy entry. Sorry we have not updated the blog sooner, but we do appreciate your patience and continued support! Please continue to send us emails, postcards and letters! We think of you all often and hope you all are doing well and enjoying the coming of spring!

Much love, Brenda and Mike (who haven’t worn long johns in a month – yippee!)

Steinbrew- A German Beerhouse

Having beer and German food with Anne, Tricia and Tricia's staff - and in Kyrgyzstan of all places!

Another set of holiday pictures

These pictures include Brenda and her colleagues for a New Years party, Mike with a host aunt with his new traditional Kyrgyz hat, the Kalpak, Anne and Tricia and Us at the Turkish restaurant.

More holiday pics

Here are more pictures from Christmas Eve - passing out stockings and playing group Pictionary, and New Years Eve - our main dining table and Mike dancing with a host cousin!

Pictures from Christmas weekend

Christmas Eve Pictures, including the Christmas Eve dining table & group, our "stockings" which were traditional Russian and Kyrgyz fur hats, a store in Bishkek and a group photo.

Holidays in Kyrgyzstan

2006 is here and another holiday season has come to a close. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a wonderful New Years. Hopefully you were able to take some time this past week to recuperate from all of the joyous festivities. It has been a festive time of year here in Kyrgyzstan as well, complete with parties, too much food, alcoholic beverages and time spent with dear ones.

Our Christmas celebrations started earlier in the month of December as we created homemade Christmas decorations for our room, purchased a silver foil tree to hang from our curtain rod (it was cute at only 10 inches tall) and made a few Christmas cards for our friends here in country from scratch. The week before Christmas we had a small gathering of Volunteers who live nearby and we made pizzas from scratch. Not exactly traditional Christmas fare but yummy nonetheless!

Seeing as that we now live in a predominately Muslim society Christmas is not celebrated by most of the population (they have a lot of the secular parts of the holiday season including Santa and gift-giving but these are observed on New Years). Therefore our village was going to be fairly quiet on December 25th. So when we were invited to the capital, Bishkek, to spend the holiday with two friends we jumped at the opportunity. Anne and Tricia live in a very nice apartment and which we dubbed, “The Shangri La of Kyrgyzstan.” Much to our amazement their apartment is furnished with American furniture (including a real queen size bed, with down comforter for guests), a washing machine and a nice hot shower. Tricia has been involved with a microfinance project for the past two years and hence they are able to live at a slightly different level of comfort than volunteers. They both have a wonderful working knowledge of the country and it was fun swapping stories and cultural observations.

Tricia and Anne had a Christmas Eve party planned for Tricia’s staff, so Friday was spent shopping for all of the food and beverages. It was similar to preparing for a large Christmas feast back home! The stores in the capital have even taken to hanging some holiday decorations and there were live Santa’s positioned around the city. Seeing the city decorations and those in the apartment really helped us get in the mood for the holiday! On Saturday we had a few last minute items to buy and went to the newly re–opened “Beta” store, which was a small Christmas present in its own way! We saw items such as salsa, tobassco sauce, Heinz ketchup, etc! It was like walking into a dream. Once we were loaded up with goodies and our sleigh (OK…. grocery cart) could hold no more, we were on our way back home to prepare for the party. We had a wonderful evening meeting 12 of Tricia’s employees and their guests. All but two of the staff spoke English and/or Kyrgyz, so we were able to not only practice our Kyrgyz but have full conversations with our new friends. The evening consisted of eating tasty delights such as baked chicken marinated in a honey Dijon sauce and covered in walnuts, playing a group version of Pictionary and receiving stockings. In true Christmas tradition, stockings were given out to each of the guests by Tricia and Anne. Thinking that we probably own stockings back home our “stockings” were actually traditional Kyrgyz and Russian fur hats filled with wonderful gifts. It was quite fun watching the guests meticulously open each of their own stockings. And of course towards the end of the party there was dancing. We have yet to attend a party that did not end with most of the group dancing the night away! Tatiana performed a Russian dance for us while her husband sang and played guitar and afterwards Ilona mesmerized us all with her belly dancing. What a wonderful Christmas Eve party it was!

Christmas Day was a very relaxing and quiet day in the apartment. We enjoyed morning lattes, relaxing in the living room all decked out with Christmas decorations and music and watched the all-time classic, “Christmas Carol” with George C. Scott. Brenda attempted to make homemade eggnog as well. After a first attempt which became very sweet scrambled eggs, the second batch seemed to come out just right and tasted quite delicious.

The week between Dec. 25th and New Years was spent in our village and at various festivities. Brenda was invited by a new local friend to attend the New Years pageant at the local kindergarten. The children were all dressed in costumes (almost like our Halloween) and danced around a decorated Christmas tree while singing traditional Russian holiday songs. Later in the performance Santa arrived and gave out gifts to all of the children. In Russian and Kyrgyz tradition, the decorated tree at New Years time is called a “yolka”. Also during the week all of the schools conducted various performances and activities and Mike was able to view some artwork produced by his students for these end-of-the-year celebrations. Looks like he has some budding artists at his school! Also in accordance to Kyrgyz tradition there are many parties for the New Years holiday and they take place all week long. We attended one party at the home of one of Brenda’s colleagues and didn’t get home that night until 12:30!

Our New Years Eve was spent with our host family, entertaining friends and eating quite a bit of food. The main dining table, nicely decorated with delicious salads, breads, etc. also had an interesting centerpiece…..a boiled sheep’s head. (Luckily for us it was not the main dish, it truly was a centerpiece) Instead, the main dish consisted of sheep meat and fat chunks ground together into chilled cubes. So when placed before us in individual bowls, the chunks jiggled like jell-o salad. (Thank goodness for the delicious salads and breads!) Right about midnight we went outside to watch the local fireworks being set off and set off a few of our own! The fireworks here are incredible – items that can’t be found in the states were being lit by little village kids! We also enjoyed a champagne toast with our family and hugs all around! After midnight, there was more partying as we traveled around to family member’s houses; dancing, eating and drinking even more. (It is not an option of making it to midnight and going straight to bed, like we used to do back home!!) The family was very gracious and even bestowed New Years gifts upon us; Brenda received 2 new beautiful scarves and Mike received a dress shirt and a new Kalpak – traditional Kyrgyz top hat. So by 4:00 AM we were staggering into bed, mostly from exhaustion. As one might imagine, New Years Day was primarily spent resting and recuperating!

After New Years, we traveled to Bishkek to do some work and research for our volunteer assignments. Mike’s school is closed for winter break and Brenda’s office was closed for the holiday as well so we decided to make good use of our time in the capital. The city was still decorated with many Christmas trees, Santa’s on many corners and large stuffed animals and Santa thrones to have your picture taken with. During the week between New Years and Russian Christmas, many businesses are closed or on limited services and many people are still in a holiday, festive mood. Yesterday (January 7) was Christmas in the Russian Orthodox Church as historically it was the day the three Wise Men arrived to Bethlehem. Since we do not know many Russians yet, it was difficult to observe this holiday. From what we understand though, they celebrate by having a nice family dinner and giving gifts to one another.

We were thrilled to have another invitation to stay at Tricia and Anne’s apartment for the week. Their apartment is ideally situated in the center of the city and was a great home base for our work at the home office, Embassy, Tricia’s office, and various offices of current volunteers whom we visited. In between working we enjoyed a belated New Years meal with Tricia and Anne at a delicious Turkish restaurant, and also a dinner with Tricia’s employees at a German Beer house. There really is an amazing diversity of restaurants in the capital! All in all, we had a great and productive week.

Now the holiday season has come to an end here as it has back home. We have learned that the Kyrgyz people do not hold any parties in January so that people have time to recuperate (both in body and pocketbook)! It was a fun and interesting holiday season for us and we’d like to thank Anne and Tricia for taking us into their home and treating us like family. Even though we miss our family and friends back home, especially at this time of year, being part of a new and different tradition was really special. They really went above and beyond to make our first Christmas in Kyrgyzstan wonderful. THANK YOU!!!!

We are now gearing up to go back to work, as many of you are. We are motivated to get started with lesson plans, and project plans for our school and community and Kyrgyz tutoring lessons so that we can better assimilate and understand our new home. We expect our year will be fascinating and quite eventful.

We hope your upcoming year is filled with good times, excitement, success, special memories and most importantly love and happiness.

Thinking of you all,
Brenda and Mike