Check-In time yet again :-)

As usual I have no idea where to start. lol Ah ha!!!! I LOVE getting letters, recently I got three from my parents and it definately made my week. Its crazy how little things like a few words from home can make such a difference, but when everything I know is half a planet away, these things become treasures. :-)Also please bear with me if I am not responding to the various emails in a timely fashion, I typically only have a few moments to read and respond online and sometimes things just have to wait.
Life in KG goes on as usual with everyday bringing new experiences and surprises. Recently I had my first "round table" discussion about black people with a local who spoke excellent english. As I expected most of his opinions were formed from the media's representations of African-Americans. I patiently dispelled numerous myths such as is it true that 80% of black children do drugs and does every black person know how to rap. I am extremely pleased that I am able to represent African-Americans in a positive light here, its going to take a lot of effort to combat the negative sterotypes that the media portrays. Interestingly enough most people here think I am mixed? hahaha Probably because of the "lighter" skin and the green eyes. ;-)
On Wednesday I found out where and what I will be doing for the next two years! I will be placed in a orphange in Issyk-Kul Oblast(state), working as a health teacher/P.E. instructor/youth developer. I am super excited because I will be working with kids and near the lake and its gorgeous! If you want to google a town that I may be near, just search under - Karakol City, Kyrgyzstan. I can't wait to get started, even though my language is still in its infant stages (literally). lol
Also I figured that you guys might find this interesting, its a list of first that have occurred to me while I've been here.
1)Taking shots of jet fuel smelling vodka with my host family at dinner
2)Walking past intersections where herds of cows/sheep, people and cars are all trying to cross
3)Using a squatter toilet
4)Bathing once a week (thats a big maybe its been about 11 days since my last banya lol)
5)Using distilled water for EVERYTHING (teeth, drinking, etc)

I'm sure there are more, just wait.....

Anyways I'm pretty sure thats all I have for now, if you want to know anything about what life is like here just email me and I will give you a more indepth report. Finally I've posted some pics of me during a childrens day where we did some work around an orphanage and played with the kids afterwards.
-Peace