LPI 4 Lyfe

21:00 14 August 2008

I just returned from rehearsal for Culture Day. We had an accordionist today and I am going to be playing along with some of the songs on guitar. He is a family friend that was born in Kyrgyzstan but now lives in Siberia but has a son that lives nearby. It’s really cool how music really is the universal language sometimes. I met with him before the rehearsal and we played together some, he had an awesome rendition of Mozart’s “Rondo a la Turk”. The rehearsal again was chaotic, but had some semblance of order to it today. Also a good sign is that my legs aren’t killing me nearly as much today, though I have realized just how awesome of a dancer my host Grandfather is.

Today we had our first of several language proficiency interviews (LPI). The interviews are made to asses our level in the language and they are used throughout the government to determine fluency. In order to swear in, we were told we would need to score at least a “Novice-High” by the end of our training. I am happy to report that I met this requirement today; the interviewer said I was a strong Novice-High bordering on Intermediate-Low. Yay language proficiency!

I’ve been meaning to mention these two little Kyrgyz girls. They are absolutely adorable and live next door to the house my LCF is living in. I met them with Laura one day and they were extraordinarily friendly and now whenever we see them, they come out and greet us and chat for a while. Their Russian is amazingly clear and easy to understand, which is part of the reason that I love speaking with them. They are also just incredibly cute, today they came out and immediately attached onto Laura and remained hugging her for the entire conversation. How adorable, I will have to take their picture someday.