Summer Time:-)

Hey all!!!! Okie dokie lets begin with the explaination of culture day/the wedding misunderstanding
Culture Day
Culture Day is an event sponsored and held by PCT's to show aspects of other cultures in KG. (ie Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkish, etc)Many groups sang traditional songs in the respective national dress. My group in Dmitrievka presented a Russian wedding. It is a very elaborate process, and the entire ceremony was done in Russian;-) First the groom and family memebers get into a line and approach the bride singing, the bride is sitting with another female friend/family member. When I, the groom reached a predeterminded spot I was stopped and asked playful questions on why I was there (to get married clearly) and I then had to pick out my brides lips from a poster of different peoples lips. Once I picked the correct lips I was able to move one space closer. The I was given an apple with matches sticking out of it. As I picked out a match I had to say a tender word, there were five words and the last match that I needed to pick out needed to be the shortest or else I couldn't get married. After this I was able again to move one more step. Now I was given a plate which I threw on the ground and members of my entourage placed money on the shattered pieces. When this was done my "best man" (Jared) collected all the money and presented it to the bride. Luckily my plate had shattered into enough pieces that I was able to "purchase" my wife lol At this point I was able to sit next to my wife, I kissed her on the cheek and the deed was done..... but wait!!! My host father took my new brides shoe and my best man was made to get it back for her. (I think this part was supposed to represent her purity or honor I think) After the shoe was returned everyone got into a big circle and we danced the waltz, I never thought my social dance skills would come in handy ever again lol After the dance me and my bride walked hand in hand down the path with our entourages singing us farewell. The whole process took about 20 minutes and resembled a musical, it was extremely fun!!! Thanks to Freckers for being my fake bride ;-)
Note: I have no idea if this is a Russian wedding in KG or in all Russian tradition as such this is only what I experienced.
Site Visit
After culture day we went to visit our permanant sites. My perm. site is really cool and I finally met my orphans! My counter part doesn't speak english, well no one at my orphange speaks english which is good for my language but stressful and frustrating sometimes. They are all really cool and meeting with my new host family (the one that I will live with for two years) was great. My father is a retired Akrana, which I am still trying to figure out, its something between a hunter, police officer and soldier, but really cool nonetheless bc he still goes out for romps with his old Akrana buddies. Both my mom(Chinara) and 26 yr old sister(Aidai) are doctors which is cool and my 16 yr old brother(Salamat) wants to be an economist. I have another sister in who lives in Bishkek but I haven't met her yet. My new place is also really cool. I essentially live in compound housing. My room and the kitchen are connected and the rest of the house is separated by a mud room/reception area. My new host fam is a good mix of wanteing to talk to me and also giving me my space. I think the nex two years are going to be SWEET!
My Birthday
As most of you know my birthday was on June 1st, it was my first birthday away from home and a tad sad to start off with. I was super excited that my parents called me right before I headed to language. I was nice to hear their voices and speak with them, you guys just don't realize how much it means to volunteers when we get communications from home, be it letters, emails, or phone calls. Anyways the day went on like usual until after language. My family threw me a big party with music, dancing, and my favorite Kyrgz dish, Plov! It was one of the best but also saddest Bdays that I've ever had, such is life right.
Swearing In
For our Swearing-In ceremony I was asked to give a speech. Now normally I would have done this without a thought, but the US Ambassador attended and I had never spoken in front of a government offical, as such I was nervous as sin! Luckily I got through it without a hitch. Afterwards we were invited to the Ambassador's house to have American food (burgers, fries, DORITOS!!!), we also got to meet some famous singers and rising youth in Kyrgyzstan. Its so nice to be done with PST I didn't realize how rough it was until it was over. I will miss my friends and host family in Dtown, but I am super excited to be starting my work with the Orphanage!!!!
Well thats all I have for you guys now, expect another post and maybe more pics next week!
oh and sorry this one took so long, lifes been a whirlwind the past few weeks
-Peace