calpreece

Day 33, July 28, 2009, Tuesday, Sheishembi Well, actually this entry is being written on the following day. There were some things that happened on Tuesday. And there are a couple of follow-ups for Monday. Monday: Ernes returned from a visit to Manas University where he went through a series of interviews and announced that he had been accepted and had enrolled there to begin in September with a plan to study business management. He also said that on Tuesday we would need to go to Ataturk-Ala-Too University to get some money back from them. I did not ask about it since I thought he knew the policies, but I did think it odd that any University would refund an application fee or an enrollment fee. Ernes and Timka spent Monday listening to rap music, Ernes ... read more

Day 32, July 27, 2009, Monday, Duishombu A nice surprise this morning, Ernes, one of Emil's cousin's from Kysyl-kia, arrived with his father Dushen from the south. I met Ernes and his younger brother Nursultan last summer. Ernes has the best command of English of any of the relatives. His little brother also has really good skills in English. He is here to look into universities for the Fall. He would like to go to Manas University, he says. He and I talked about this and that, then he and his father and Gulnara talked about two Universities in Bishkek, with a call to Emil in the US to ask his opinion about where Ernes should be attending, Manas or Ala-Too University. I will try to stay out of it. I failed to ask what he ... read more

Day 31, July 26, 2009, Sunday, Jekshembi I had planned a couple of middle of the night calls early this morning to the West Coast of the US to get some updates from my friends Ray and Tariq. I had given myself one of those auto suggestions that allow me to wake up at a specified time for 2 am. There is a thirteen hour difference and I thought that calling around that time would be best for both of them. But when I woke up, the phone was not where I left it. Timka had struck again. He is a good kid but he sometimes fails to check with me before he takes off with the phone. He is using the mp3 player in this Nokia N95 to listen to rap music. I don't mind ... read more

Day 30, July 25, 2009, Saturday, Ishembi The land of inshallah has really caught up with me. I am starting to lose my ambition to accomplish any meaningful tasks. I managed to sleep most of the day away again yesterday. My nose is in a mild cascade and I definitely have a sinus problem. I will try to find a couple of solutions at an Apoteka, pharmacy, today. I ran out of the Fluctinase spray, and have just taken the last of the Tylenol sinus caps I brought with me in case the dust and pollution proved too much. So far, I have had good luck finding local replacements for my medications, only the Singulair proved difficult, and I substituted Theophan and it does seem to be keeping my chest clear. Last night Marat shared my ... read more

Day 28, July 23, 2009, Beishembi It's election day in Kyrgyzstan. There is little question about the outcome. The current office holder has a lock on re-election. But the news today and tonight give the appearance of a contest. There have been a large number of man-on-the-street interviews and video of people going to the polls to cast a ballot. I woke up quite late for me this morning it was 9:30 when Timka came to the room and called me to breakfast. I managed to struggle through the well fried egg and a little more, but only one cup of coffee. Yesterday's adventure went pretty well. Gulnara gave me a ride to Ala-Too Square, where I took some daytime photographs of the new flowers. The fountains were not working. I got new photographs of the ... read more

Day 26, July 21, 2009, Tuesday, Sheishembi I was awakened at 6:20 this morning by a telephone call from Marat asking me who was at home here. Ainura, Orgungul, Gulnara, Timka, Asi and I were the only ones here. He asked me to tell Ainura to call him. Told me he was still in Osh but leaving this morning. Then he said goodbye. Then the house phone rang. Ainura answered. A few moments later, she came into my room to retrieve a military uniform from the closet saying that it was Marat's. And five minutes later in comes Marat, hair cut short, and carrying a small bag. He changes quickly into the uniform and says he has to go. And he is out the door without much explanation. Since I got to watch the news last ... read more

Day 24, July 19, 2009, Sunday, Jekshembi: So, the schedule did get worked out and we bought a ticket on Kyrgyz Airline to return me to Bishkek today. That meant that most of yesterday was full of goodbyes including a visit in the late afternoon to the home of Amariam for an afternoon meal including a sheep's head. Amariam and I talked about what it takes to get accepted at an American University. She is preparing to take the TOEFL here and the SAT exam as she graduates. Her English is very good, with only an occasional difficulty. She would like to work in an business where her abilities as a translator would be useful. In addition to the sheep's head, the meal consisted of a rib for each of us, a salad called mother's tongue ... read more