Joined the Peace Corps. BRB.

Jul 29: Novelty

Summer here in Kyrgyzstan has been two things: slow and hot. Hot as in around 110F (supposedly hotter in a few weeks, awesome) and slow as in just studying and finishing up work on a few grants. It hasn’t been without its own excitement and visitors, but summer has definitely been a time to relax and let my mind wander.

I reread a few old emails today. It’s amazing the energy and curiosity that they exude, each person fascinated by this strange trip to Central Asia. Even my replies and early blog entries were laced with this almost childish perkiness and idealism for what the other side of the world held. Recent emails (and my own notes) have lost that electric feeling:

“Yeah things are fine.”
“Same old same old.”
“Nothing new.”
“Meh.”

These are what I read these days haha. Certainly, the novelty for living in Kyrgyzstan has worn off for myself, but it’s funny to realize that it’s lost its newness among friends and family as well. I guess I could spice things up by talking about green giraffes in the streets, the gorilla who delivers my mail, or the brontosaurus I ride to school every day, but then I wouldn’t be telling the truth.

Would it matter?

Well, Korea was great, but now the fun really begins. Peace Corps Year 2! I'll toast to that, Larry 3.

Jul 15: Transition game (have to stop the basketball terms)

Not to begin my return to this blog with songs of gloom and doom, but these are somber times in Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan. Within a week of my return, three volunteers are heading home for various reasons. More disheartening is that all three are from my training village, Kegeti. It’s been a harsh welcome back to the country due to their departure, but we’ll survive.

As we hurtle past the 10 month mark in our service, it’s really the turning point for K13s in our service here in Kyrgyzstan. The new group of K14s just arrived this week and will be scattering across the country on the 20th for their PCV visit (I’m hosting two!). Even more than their arrival though, this is our transition period from Year 1 to Year 2.

Not to belittle our significance here, but the first year of Peace Corps really boils down to opening yourself up and learning as much as you can. That entails integrating yourself into the community, learning the language, and finding a comfort zone in a foreign country. It took me nearly 6 months at my site to achieve this. Our second year will be our legacy year. What programs will we enact? What changes will we make? What difference will we make? There’s a world of difference between simply surviving the Peace Corps and actually being useful to the program.

Watching the K12s slowly detach themselves from life here and prepare for their return to the States has been an eye-opening experience. You realize that even as they prepare to have K14s take over at their workplaces, it’s impossible to replace some of them. I look at volunteers like Larry, Dan, and Vanessa and I feel terrible for the volunteers that are faced with the monstrous task of replacing them. The gap between useless and useful is wide, but the difference between useful and irreplaceable is a canyon of epic proportions. What a way to go out.

One way to approach our second year is to use Peace Corps itself. Many times during my first year, I felt cut off and burdened by the pressure to succeed. It’s easy to forget that there are 100 other volunteers in the country experiencing the same things day in and day out. Applying this support network to the workplace is sure to produce powerful results and lasting change.

Every time I visit Korea, I am struck by the patriotism and optimism of everyone. I have never heard someone call Korea by its name, but instead everyone says “Our land.” It’s amazing. The sense of unity and shared strength/pain/success is clearly pronounced. In the same way, I can’t think of Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan as my personal endeavor anymore.

It’s our experience and, more importantly, our opportunity.

Jul 17: Times two

Our training manager called me today to let me know that I’ll be hosting four trainees instead of the original two. Supposedly K12s and K13s around the country aren’t too keen on hosting trainees so Peace Corps needs those of us who are hosting to host more. It shouldn’t be a problem; I just hope they all get along.

I move out tomorrow, but in the mean time I’ve had way too much time on my hands. I’ve done just about everything to keep myself entertained until the move: packed and repacked my bags, made pyramids out of juice boxes, locked the cat in the outhouse, written up basic information for Osh for the site invitation pack, listened to ridiculous amounts of music, etc. I even had time to reread a book. Remember the Kite Runner? I talked briefly about it back in January. It’s just an amazing book that I believe everyone should read. I’m not someone who just devours books by the dozens, but this one is definitely one that will stand out in my mind forever.

It’s beautiful.

Hi there. Been awhile.

Guess this means I'm back from Korea. I posted a lot of pictures over on Facebook, so check it out if you have an account. On the Central Asian front, we just got a bunch of fresh K14s that flew in this morning, so things are definitely going to be changing here in Kyrgyzstan. Fun times.

More as it happens, friends, family, and stalkers.

Oh, and I saw a box in Korea.