Ite and Birthdays

October 12-14, 2007

This was a big weekend for partying. Friday marked the end of Ramadan and fasting and ushered in three days of feasting. Three days of visiting friends and eating gut bursting meals. I have to admit that I was amazed to find that I weigh the exact same amount as I did before I left, but that’s probably do to the fact that I lost a good bit of weight the previous five weeks. The festive mood of the weekend was further enhanced by the fact that it was Erin’s birthday on Friday, which we celebrated with beer and dinner at our standby café. Other than that, I have to say that the last two weeks have been exhausting. This week saw the culmination of two major sub-projects for our group, our computer training for teachers and our English Club talent show. They went well, but both required a lot of preparation, not only in regards to materials, and rehearsals, but in making sure the school understood what we needed and when. My anxiety level was also on the rise because people have been telling me that my permanent site, Kyzyl Orda, is a shit hole. Apparently, it was reasonably nice at one time, but in the 1990s there was massive deforestation because everyone cut down the forest for firewood. Thus Kyzyl Orda currently exists as a windy, sandy, ugly former soviet capital. On the other hand I am consistently told that the people are all extremely friendly, so I can only assume that it will be somewhat like living in Waco, Texas. I also got a big moral boost when our trainers told my site mate Chris and me that they usually send some of their best, most tenacious, volunteers to Kyzylorda because they know that we will do well there. It is nice to know that they have a lot of confidence in us to give us such a cross to bear; those words will certainly be a comfort come May when it is over a hundred degrees and I am walking to school in a coat and tie.