In the PC world early termination is known as ETing. When someone ETs you feel like you lost a part of yourself. These people have gone through so much with you and when they leave country you may never see them again. You constantly ask yourself "is there something I could have done to make them happier in country?!". We've lost five in Issyk-Kul Oblast (where I live), as a matter of fact all of the ET's post PST have been from here. Sometimes its pretty lonely and depressing when you think about it. Thats why when someone ET's its best to move on as soon as possible, because to dwell on their loss would drive anyone crazy. People leave for different reasons, all of them good, but it still stings and leaves a hole in your heart when one of your family decides to go home.
-Peace
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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
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
Friday, May 29, 2009
Gotta love Euro bathing suits ;-)
Heres just a lil something to whet your appitite about my permanent site ;-)
oh and further explaination about Culture Day, ie the whole wedding misunderstanding lol COMING SOON!!!!!
-Peace
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wowo!!! I didnt think that would generate such a response lol
Let me clear up the air with the whole marriage thing. It was meant as a joke in which I was going to explain in a subsequent blog, but knowing KG the power went out at the internet cafe that I was using and this is the first time that I was able to get back to the internet. With that said, that picture was from culture day which I'll explain later on, if there are any hurt feelings I apologize and it really wasnt meant to be a big deal. So chill out ;-)
-Peace
-Peace
Monday, May 25, 2009
Lots to catch up on:-)
Ok then with the whole marriage thingy out of my system I have a lot to catch you guys up on. Since there is sooooo much to write on I split up the topics.
Jared's Birthday
Jared (one of my training village mates) had his 25th birthday earlier this month and his host family threw him a party. It was a pretty calm affair with just the rest of Dtown (Dmitrievka)and our lanugage tutor. It was nice to have celebrate his birthday bc we're surrounded by so many new things that when an occasion arises that makes you feel at home again you snatch it. Not to say that people in KG don't have or celebrate birthdays, but it was nice to do something that I did in the states often. During the party we sang songs in russian, danced, ate our fill and Jared's host brother played the accordion. For some reason dancing with the locals here is great fun and really innocent. They all dance in a group with ample space between you and your partner using wavy arm movements and simple steps to the music. Suffice to say it was a really fun night and a nice break from language.
Tech Issues
So my technology has seen better days in KG. My ipod blew out, my computer AC adaptor is shot which means my laptop is also down. Also my clippers gave out when I let a fellow volunteer borrow them and they also died. These unfortunate events have made me a sad panda in the tech department and more importantly it means that I have no music to work out to and 8000 pics still on my camera lol When looking at this from a positive perspective I've been able to write a lot and talk to my host family and fellow volunteers more often. On the flip side, my two outlets that made me feel at home are down and sometimes I just wanna veg out and watch a movie or play solitare for hours.......or cut my hair with good clippers, that dont leave streaks lol
Victory Day
On May 9th KG celebrated Victory day which markes the victory over Nazi germany in WW2. All over the former Soviet Union countries porudly remembered their veterans and observed the sacrifice that people made. The local school children sang songs for us and there was a big parade thoughout our village. Think the 4th of July meets Veterans day. I met some KG vets and they attempted to tell me some old war stories which I only understood tiny fragments due to my limited language skills. Again it was a good day:-)
Relationship Dynamics within the PC
The relationship dynamics that are created by the PC constantly intrige me. I remember my first roommate in philly, the it Issyk-Kul hotel (the first place we stayed in Bishkek), my language group (hehehe gotta rep Dtown), and my new crew in Karakol (again rep'n the Kings of Karakol lol). Its crazy to think that all of the people in these groups have been assigned by the PC and luckily they all have been very fufilling. Although there are plenty of other volunteers that I want to get closer to, I am limited to once a week at hubday, which is usually filled with administrative meetings. Just imagine the friend overload that you get when you see 58 of your newest friends every week! This aspect of the PC is something I think few of you guys back home will understand, but its one of those dynamics that make the PC experience so interesting, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Failures/Bad days
I was looking at this blog one day and I realized that for the most part its a super happy reflection of what goes on here. Let me get one thing straight, I DO have bad days, typically tho I really don't want to relive them by typing them at my infrequent internet visits. With that said, I remember thinking that the toughest part of the PC would be the physical strain. I never gave a second thought to the emotional or mental aspects. I mean I felt like I had done it all, I graduated in 3 years and I did tons of activities during that period. I thought I was adequately prepared for what was coming. Hahahaha NO WAY!!! Its funny you never realize how stressed you are until after the fact, and over here the rules for dealing with stress are entirely different. Back home I was rarely stressed because I always worked out, slept, or had awesome friends to talk to (OBO 4 LYFE;-). Here, I have none of that. I "work out", can't sleep because of the rigorous PST and language schedule, the whole integration processes, and my friends here are all "tough". The interesting thing is that, everyone over here is going through the same thing but since we all think that no one is supposed to be "weak" everyone puts on a front. We all crack at some point, I know that personally, I cracked a few weeks ago. When it happens you can't blame anyone because it's no ones fault. Its a combination of things. Between always being watched by the local people, the language barrier, regular PST stuff, demands from home(America), and building new relationships. Then all of a sudden you find yourself overwhelmed and unfortunately some volunteers can't make it through, luckily I did. I made it though because I stopped caring about putting up a strong front and talked to my fellow volunteers about it, who in turn shared the same problems. Reading, listening to music, and watching movies also helped a ton. In short I just wanted you guys to know that it does get rough sometimes, and if I'm in a bad mood, or I text you or whatever just wanting to talk, recognize that even when I'm happy theres a lot of stress on me already, so just CHILL OUT, and don't make it worse by adding stress. lol
Well thats all I got for today, next blog is gonna be about site visit, hehehehe get ready:-)
-Peace
Jared's Birthday
Jared (one of my training village mates) had his 25th birthday earlier this month and his host family threw him a party. It was a pretty calm affair with just the rest of Dtown (Dmitrievka)and our lanugage tutor. It was nice to have celebrate his birthday bc we're surrounded by so many new things that when an occasion arises that makes you feel at home again you snatch it. Not to say that people in KG don't have or celebrate birthdays, but it was nice to do something that I did in the states often. During the party we sang songs in russian, danced, ate our fill and Jared's host brother played the accordion. For some reason dancing with the locals here is great fun and really innocent. They all dance in a group with ample space between you and your partner using wavy arm movements and simple steps to the music. Suffice to say it was a really fun night and a nice break from language.
Tech Issues
So my technology has seen better days in KG. My ipod blew out, my computer AC adaptor is shot which means my laptop is also down. Also my clippers gave out when I let a fellow volunteer borrow them and they also died. These unfortunate events have made me a sad panda in the tech department and more importantly it means that I have no music to work out to and 8000 pics still on my camera lol When looking at this from a positive perspective I've been able to write a lot and talk to my host family and fellow volunteers more often. On the flip side, my two outlets that made me feel at home are down and sometimes I just wanna veg out and watch a movie or play solitare for hours.......or cut my hair with good clippers, that dont leave streaks lol
Victory Day
On May 9th KG celebrated Victory day which markes the victory over Nazi germany in WW2. All over the former Soviet Union countries porudly remembered their veterans and observed the sacrifice that people made. The local school children sang songs for us and there was a big parade thoughout our village. Think the 4th of July meets Veterans day. I met some KG vets and they attempted to tell me some old war stories which I only understood tiny fragments due to my limited language skills. Again it was a good day:-)
Relationship Dynamics within the PC
The relationship dynamics that are created by the PC constantly intrige me. I remember my first roommate in philly, the it Issyk-Kul hotel (the first place we stayed in Bishkek), my language group (hehehe gotta rep Dtown), and my new crew in Karakol (again rep'n the Kings of Karakol lol). Its crazy to think that all of the people in these groups have been assigned by the PC and luckily they all have been very fufilling. Although there are plenty of other volunteers that I want to get closer to, I am limited to once a week at hubday, which is usually filled with administrative meetings. Just imagine the friend overload that you get when you see 58 of your newest friends every week! This aspect of the PC is something I think few of you guys back home will understand, but its one of those dynamics that make the PC experience so interesting, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Failures/Bad days
I was looking at this blog one day and I realized that for the most part its a super happy reflection of what goes on here. Let me get one thing straight, I DO have bad days, typically tho I really don't want to relive them by typing them at my infrequent internet visits. With that said, I remember thinking that the toughest part of the PC would be the physical strain. I never gave a second thought to the emotional or mental aspects. I mean I felt like I had done it all, I graduated in 3 years and I did tons of activities during that period. I thought I was adequately prepared for what was coming. Hahahaha NO WAY!!! Its funny you never realize how stressed you are until after the fact, and over here the rules for dealing with stress are entirely different. Back home I was rarely stressed because I always worked out, slept, or had awesome friends to talk to (OBO 4 LYFE;-). Here, I have none of that. I "work out", can't sleep because of the rigorous PST and language schedule, the whole integration processes, and my friends here are all "tough". The interesting thing is that, everyone over here is going through the same thing but since we all think that no one is supposed to be "weak" everyone puts on a front. We all crack at some point, I know that personally, I cracked a few weeks ago. When it happens you can't blame anyone because it's no ones fault. Its a combination of things. Between always being watched by the local people, the language barrier, regular PST stuff, demands from home(America), and building new relationships. Then all of a sudden you find yourself overwhelmed and unfortunately some volunteers can't make it through, luckily I did. I made it though because I stopped caring about putting up a strong front and talked to my fellow volunteers about it, who in turn shared the same problems. Reading, listening to music, and watching movies also helped a ton. In short I just wanted you guys to know that it does get rough sometimes, and if I'm in a bad mood, or I text you or whatever just wanting to talk, recognize that even when I'm happy theres a lot of stress on me already, so just CHILL OUT, and don't make it worse by adding stress. lol
Well thats all I got for today, next blog is gonna be about site visit, hehehehe get ready:-)
-Peace
Thursday, May 21, 2009
I know its kind of sudden.....
........you guys all said that I'd come back married, and its true, I got married on saturday!!!!! Let me introduce you to the new Mrs. Courtney Dumas!!!!
-Peace
Saturday, May 2, 2009
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
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