Jon... useful?

10:45 13 July 2008

Last night and today I felt helpful. Papa and Max went out to the field (poliye) to cut hay for the cows and came back with a huge load in an old Soviet military truck. The task was simple but a bit strenuous, unload the countless bays of hay fro the truck and stack them by the house. It was kind of fun to work, and I was glad that I was finally allowed to help out around the house. I believe I am slowly transforming from guest to family (though the incessant cries of “Eat! Eat! You don’t eat enough!” haven’t yet abated). This morning after breakfast, they moved the bales of hay to the roofed enclosure to be stored and I also helped with this. Now I am sweaty and gross and don’t know when I will get to shower next. Also, I think I may be allergic to hay, I have a mild rash on my arms and legs, but it’s not serious enough to warrant any medical attention.

I forgot to write about it earlier, but I had a really cool experience earlier. Max is a music student that plays accordion. By the way, I am desperately trying to get my hands on a guitar, I don’t know the next time I will be able to get into Bishkek will be though. As a fellow musician, I was really glad to hear him play live music and asked if he read music (the universal language). After he said he did, I fetched my Beatles book, I had him play Hey Jude (he definitely wasn’t familiar with the song, and I don’t think he had heard of them before – shocking). Nevertheless, his rendition was passable and I played the song for him on my iPod. Yay for cross cultural exchange.