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Published: August 8th 2007
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Hello all. I'm sitting in another, cheaper internet cafe (although the difference between 50 and 55 cents is minimal) while I wait to meet with someone from the American School who will get me set up teaching English. Given that I'm not certified, hopefully he'll accept me as a native speaker who is currently in grad school; if not, I'm sure that I'll find some other way to fill my days.
So, plenty of stuff to catch up on. I am including the rest of the pictures from Europe in this one. First off, there's Tiphaine and myself enjoying the beautiful Rouen sun (yes, it does come out sometime), and then the whole family (once we figured out how to work the delay on my camera). The last picture from France is of Amelie in her beautifully small apartment in a very old house near the Eiffel Tower; it is so cute and tiny.
Next come the pics from visiting Julia and Paul and Abby. There's Julia and Abby, myself and Abby, Paul's birthday dinner, and Abby by herself. She's so much fun! And I can't wait to see you all in Ontario in September...
The next five
pictures are from Almaty, Kazakhstan. I arrived at about 5 in the morning, having had a wonderful flight on British Airways. They still serve good food as well as having a free bar - I felt like I was in first class! I got a very nice taxi driver who took me back to his home for tea with his wife, and then they gave me a very abbreviated tour of the city. So I have a few pictures of monuments, and I'm not sure what the monuments are for. Hopefully I'll have a chance to figure that out before leaving Almaty in August. The lady with me in the second picture is the wife of my taxi driver, Aima. It was a very long drive to Bishkek, with me exhausted and trying not to sleep. Also very hot.
Lastly, the pics I have so far from Kyrgyzstan. The first picture is of Nazgul, the woman I am living with, and her sister, Damira. They are both very kind, and have already taken me on a ferris wheel (where the picture was taken, my first evening, though you can't see that), to their family farm (the rest of the
pictures), and to a Kyrgyz birthday party. I don't have any pictures of that. Sorry.
The farm was quite an experience, and I really enjoyed it. The set table is surrounded by hand-made rugs, absolutely beautiful. And the fruits and veggies that we ate were from their gardens. You can kind of see the mountains in the distance, but they seem to have a perpetual fog around them that doesn't make for good photos. Very beautiful, however. The one picture is of Nazgul and her 10-year old son, Asad. He is very fun, and I won his admiration for my knowledge of cars; this consisted of how to open the hood, the fact that I own a Jetta, and my ability to get the key to turn in the ignition by pulling on the wheel; thank you Joseph, your sharing of that knowledge has brought joy to a small Kyrgyz farm 😊 They swim in the canal outside their house. Most of the grandchildren live there with their grandparents during the summer so they can enjoy the water and being away from the city; that little baby was fascinated by my glasses (otchki) and the camera.
Lastly, I
must tell you about the birthday party. It was for Nazgul's brother-in-law, and took place at the Fiesta cafe. There was tons of food and drink, and I did try the fermented mare's milk. One taste was enough; the American missionary I met at church told me it was an acquired taste, but I think I'll try to avoid acquiring it. The vodka wasn't so bad, but the problem is that they expect you to empty your glass every time a toast is made (about every two minutes) and they refill it to the top. I avoided this by dancing, but once it started to rain I was stuck. Nazgul helped me out, and I was able to keep from insulting them by telling them it was my first time drinking vodka and that I was only able to drink a small sip at every toast. It was lots of fun, what with everyone wanting to try to speak English with me, and I got into one conversation with an older man who thought it inconceivable that I'm not married; he promised to introduce me to appropriate boys on a trip to the mountains to shoot automatic weapons at wolves
and bears. At least that's what I understood; he was probably a bit drunk at the time, so he might not be serious.
Next morning, I went to the International Church and met a few friends of Nazgul who want to immigrate to Toronto and two Americans, Rick and Sue. We went to lunch at a great Chinese restaurant with Rick and Sue, and they gave me some good hints about life in Kyrgyzstan.
Today was the American Embassy and going to see about teaching English and learning Kyrgyz.
Sorry this was so long, I'll keep it shorter later. I hope you are all doing well, and again, love to hear from you. The culture shock thing is still happening, although it is getting better. And I'm trying out my Russian, when I can persuade Nazgul to stop translating for me. I really am so glad to be living with her, as I don't know how I'd negotiate the city without a guide!
So take care, ttyl!
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