20:45 13 November 2008
The other day I had yet another fun English club that I think you might find the results of amusing. It was for my advanced (relatively group) and I wanted to try out some poetry on them. Because of their generally basic knowledge, I confined the lesson to four line long poems and concentrated on basic end-rhyming by introducing couplets and ABAB form. After a brief introduction, I quickly turned it over to the students and had them write their own poems in styles of their choice. Here are some of the better/funnier results:
I have a mouse
The mouse is in the house
He is big
He is loving a pig
I have a cat
it is under the hat
I have a dog
His name is Bob
This is a book
he is my mate
And I like to cook
and also to ate
This is my mother
She is fine
I have a father
He is like a wine
My two favorites were the last two, I explained to the author of the third one that the last line wasn’t quite grammatically correct, but that often poets ignore the rules of grammar in order to better the effects of their works and so that it was a perfectly legitimate and really quite funny poem. The last one, which the killer last line, was written by this girl and I was so impressed with it I decided to introduce the concept of similes to the group. They were intrigued with this so I also introduced them to the idea of alliteration. It felt a bit odd, even in the advanced group I know that a lot of these students don’t even know how to hold a basic conversation in English, but I figured if they found it interesting, it might inspire them to learn English better. I couldn’t help but feel slightly a hypocrite though- one of my biggest criticisms of the system in place is that their vocabulary memorization assignments are filled with words that are long, outdated, and unnecessary in most usages of the language- some choice examples “Economy Class”, “splash”, “Test Pilot”, and my personal favorite “dicker”, which I didn’t know but apparently is a barge-worker. Regardless, even if I felt weird introducing words for literary devices, the students seemed to enjoy identifying their use in Poe’s “Annabel Lee” so I was happy at the results of the club.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for sometime and forgot to when I returned from Bishkek, but driving here is a really interesting occurrence. I mentioned recently my experience on the marsthrutka to Bishkek and the corresponding drunk-driving arrest of the driver. However, this really isn’t that our of the ordinary- drunk driving is a huge problem here- just last week a volunteer that lives near me told me that his counterpart’s brother died after he drunkenly ran off a bridge into a freezing river. Similarly, the former director of my school was killed by another drunk driver, its really a big shame.
Further than just the problem of drunk driving is the even more endemic problem of “bad driving”. The combination of the main highways being no wider than most residential neighborhood American streets (not to mention their terrible condition) and high rates of travel lead to some scary circumstances. While I haven’t seen anything quite like the YouTube footage I have seen of the 15 lanes of traffic going every which way, I have seen a car passing a car passing another car, all coming within inches of hitting the car coming in the opposite direction. Also, apparently both in Bishkek, and everywhere, stoplights are much more of a general suggestion than a really firm command. People usually at least one way as they approach a light, and if it is clear or they think that they can beat the oncoming traffic, its fair game. On the rare occasions where one might be actually required to stop at a traffic light, it seems customary to line up at the intersection alongside rather than behind the other cars crowded at the light. This provides an interesting situation when the light does change, part street-race to the front, part game of chicken with the oncoming traffic, and part “who can honk the loudest” contest.
I have heard unsubstantiated rumors that Kyrgyzstan has a high rate of automobile accidents. The two I have witnessed first-hand have lent circumstantial evidence to the correctness of this assertion for me. You might think that I would be scared every time I get in an automobile, but I try and pick my taxis as best I can (seatbelts are a really nice luxury I am willing to pay extra for). I am a bit scared, but then again, what are you gonna do?
15 November 2008
It's cold!!!
10:45 11 November 2008
We are having our first real snow today. I don’t know if it truly is the last of my childhood enthusiasm for snow leaving or merely a reflection on the reality of the circumstances (cold and windy) because I was not and remain not terribly excited about it. While we have had numerous other snowfalls, they were generally fleeting and only barely covered the ground and were melted away in a day or two. Today we have one that while not a huge amount of accumulation, did really stick and the temperature indicated it’s not going anywhere fast. I’ll still definitely admit that it is really pretty (I hope to put up some pictures) but it really is quite cold. Oh well, I suppose I must just suck it up and soldier on and be thankful my house has coal heating.
We are having our first real snow today. I don’t know if it truly is the last of my childhood enthusiasm for snow leaving or merely a reflection on the reality of the circumstances (cold and windy) because I was not and remain not terribly excited about it. While we have had numerous other snowfalls, they were generally fleeting and only barely covered the ground and were melted away in a day or two. Today we have one that while not a huge amount of accumulation, did really stick and the temperature indicated it’s not going anywhere fast. I’ll still definitely admit that it is really pretty (I hope to put up some pictures) but it really is quite cold. Oh well, I suppose I must just suck it up and soldier on and be thankful my house has coal heating.
Big City Life
22:20 10 November 2008
I got home exhausted last night. I was in Bishkek from Thursday to Sunday and over the four days managed to spend an exorbitant sum of money, though when I think about it objectively, I barely spent more than $60 total, and when considering that covered my lodging, food, entertainment, gifts, indulgences and 14 hours of transportation, it’s really not so bad- I doubt you can do as much in the US capital city on fifteen bucks a day.
More than anything else, this past weekend was a great opportunity to see and catch up with a lot of the volunteers that live on the other side of the country- a whole lot of volunteers had the week off for a school vacation so it worked out nicely that we got to see each other. In addition to just doing typical catch up- crazy stories from sites and many laughs, we also ate copious amounts of food unavailable elsewhere in the country. Chinese food was a big hit (we went to the same place twice) as well as a café that while expensive (by Kyrgyz standards at least- my total meal price<$8) has the best approximations of American food- I got chili cheese fries and a burrito with salsa- Yum.
I forgot to mention it before, but I almost wrote “Yikes Pt. 4” after my experience riding in. On the 6ish hour journey, my marshrutka got pulled over by the Militia (Kyrgyz police) and my driver was arrested for drunk driving. I was surprised at this for two reasons- 1) he seemed to have been driving reasonably well and couldn’t have been driving drunk and 2) our driver was not able to pay off the Militia to let him go. I decided not to make this a Yikes entry simply because I never really felt I was in danger and also because of the transit stories of my compatriots. Some of the volunteers coming from Naryn- the coldest oblast- had a dicey time getting through a mountain pass that was clogged with snow, backwards sliding traffic, and only managed to successfully get through by pushing their taxi and running up the pass on foot- crazy stuff.
While it was undoubtedly great to see the big city but I am definitely glad to be back in my village. I was incredibly overwhelmed by the big city after the peace of my village- I have lost all my big-city street cred though as evidenced by my performance as a farmer so far, it seems I have yet to pick up the country-boy skills to fit in here. I guess I am currently lost without a true population density identification for the time being. Regardless, I missed my host family here and the people at my site as well as the tranquility and beauty of my village, I realized how ugly an oblast Chuy is, or rather how beautiful an oblast as Issyk-Kul is, during my stay in Bishkek. I guess I can just sum it up by saying reunions and diversity of food are great, but I’m in Peace Corps for what I get and give at site.
I got home exhausted last night. I was in Bishkek from Thursday to Sunday and over the four days managed to spend an exorbitant sum of money, though when I think about it objectively, I barely spent more than $60 total, and when considering that covered my lodging, food, entertainment, gifts, indulgences and 14 hours of transportation, it’s really not so bad- I doubt you can do as much in the US capital city on fifteen bucks a day.
More than anything else, this past weekend was a great opportunity to see and catch up with a lot of the volunteers that live on the other side of the country- a whole lot of volunteers had the week off for a school vacation so it worked out nicely that we got to see each other. In addition to just doing typical catch up- crazy stories from sites and many laughs, we also ate copious amounts of food unavailable elsewhere in the country. Chinese food was a big hit (we went to the same place twice) as well as a café that while expensive (by Kyrgyz standards at least- my total meal price<$8) has the best approximations of American food- I got chili cheese fries and a burrito with salsa- Yum.
I forgot to mention it before, but I almost wrote “Yikes Pt. 4” after my experience riding in. On the 6ish hour journey, my marshrutka got pulled over by the Militia (Kyrgyz police) and my driver was arrested for drunk driving. I was surprised at this for two reasons- 1) he seemed to have been driving reasonably well and couldn’t have been driving drunk and 2) our driver was not able to pay off the Militia to let him go. I decided not to make this a Yikes entry simply because I never really felt I was in danger and also because of the transit stories of my compatriots. Some of the volunteers coming from Naryn- the coldest oblast- had a dicey time getting through a mountain pass that was clogged with snow, backwards sliding traffic, and only managed to successfully get through by pushing their taxi and running up the pass on foot- crazy stuff.
While it was undoubtedly great to see the big city but I am definitely glad to be back in my village. I was incredibly overwhelmed by the big city after the peace of my village- I have lost all my big-city street cred though as evidenced by my performance as a farmer so far, it seems I have yet to pick up the country-boy skills to fit in here. I guess I am currently lost without a true population density identification for the time being. Regardless, I missed my host family here and the people at my site as well as the tranquility and beauty of my village, I realized how ugly an oblast Chuy is, or rather how beautiful an oblast as Issyk-Kul is, during my stay in Bishkek. I guess I can just sum it up by saying reunions and diversity of food are great, but I’m in Peace Corps for what I get and give at site.
Presidential
12:15 7 November 2008
The day of the election was so fun! There was a program at the American corner in Karakol about the American political process- American corners are embassy sponsored English language and American cultural resource centers with free internet, English libraries, and neat programs. An employee from the embassy came and solicited help from nearby PCVs on explaining the American political process and answering questions. The program was definitely a hit, we had a mock election and the Kyrgyz people there seemed genuinely interested in the whole thing. The biggest benefit for me though was that we could use the computers to monitor election results throughout the whole end of the day! After the polls in California and the west coast closed and CNN called the election for Obama, there was quite the sigh of relief/cry of joy from the group of volunteers gathered there (not that there aren’t volunteers that lean right as well). Anyhow, it was great to be able to celebrate with friends there.
Now I am in Bishkek, I came for program travel but came early to see a doctor today- they wanted to check out my thumb and I’ve been having a little pain in my knee. Apparently they think that when I tripped and sprained my ankle I also tore my meniscus slightly. Luckily it was minor- they gave me ibuprofen cream and a knee brace- it should be better in 2 weeks but its good that I got at it looked at lest I have hurt it further. Anyhow, I’m in the big city (well- comparatively speaking) and I am going to enjoy myself.
The day of the election was so fun! There was a program at the American corner in Karakol about the American political process- American corners are embassy sponsored English language and American cultural resource centers with free internet, English libraries, and neat programs. An employee from the embassy came and solicited help from nearby PCVs on explaining the American political process and answering questions. The program was definitely a hit, we had a mock election and the Kyrgyz people there seemed genuinely interested in the whole thing. The biggest benefit for me though was that we could use the computers to monitor election results throughout the whole end of the day! After the polls in California and the west coast closed and CNN called the election for Obama, there was quite the sigh of relief/cry of joy from the group of volunteers gathered there (not that there aren’t volunteers that lean right as well). Anyhow, it was great to be able to celebrate with friends there.
Now I am in Bishkek, I came for program travel but came early to see a doctor today- they wanted to check out my thumb and I’ve been having a little pain in my knee. Apparently they think that when I tripped and sprained my ankle I also tore my meniscus slightly. Luckily it was minor- they gave me ibuprofen cream and a knee brace- it should be better in 2 weeks but its good that I got at it looked at lest I have hurt it further. Anyhow, I’m in the big city (well- comparatively speaking) and I am going to enjoy myself.
Life on Mars (Bar)
4 November 2008
I can’t believe I haven’t written for so long! Granted, not too much has happened as I have been on break from school and have been at home for the most of it. The biggest news in my life is that our dog had puppies! They are really cute and we have been augmenting her diet to allow them to feed. I promise I’ll post pictures of them soon. How adorable!
I also returned from Cholpon-Ata a few days ago where a volunteer hosted a Halloween Party. It was fun to dress up (I went as a Mar’s Bar) and to hang out with other Americans for an American holiday. I returned to Karakol and spent an extra night there where I cooked Mac n’ Cheese and Tuna fish with another friend, something I can’t really do at my village. Regardless, it was pretty exciting for me.
So yes, there isn’t any terribly interesting stories for me (I did laundry yesterday and it froze though which I guess was funny). But I am going to Bishkek later this week for some program travel and that should be fun and interesting. Anyhow, today mostly I sat around and waited excitedly for news of the election. None yet.
I can’t believe I haven’t written for so long! Granted, not too much has happened as I have been on break from school and have been at home for the most of it. The biggest news in my life is that our dog had puppies! They are really cute and we have been augmenting her diet to allow them to feed. I promise I’ll post pictures of them soon. How adorable!
I also returned from Cholpon-Ata a few days ago where a volunteer hosted a Halloween Party. It was fun to dress up (I went as a Mar’s Bar) and to hang out with other Americans for an American holiday. I returned to Karakol and spent an extra night there where I cooked Mac n’ Cheese and Tuna fish with another friend, something I can’t really do at my village. Regardless, it was pretty exciting for me.
So yes, there isn’t any terribly interesting stories for me (I did laundry yesterday and it froze though which I guess was funny). But I am going to Bishkek later this week for some program travel and that should be fun and interesting. Anyhow, today mostly I sat around and waited excitedly for news of the election. None yet.
01 November 2008
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
21:40 28 October 2008
Testing continues to be a hugely frustrating and annoying responsibility of mine. Students here don’t seem to understand the concept of individual work (they say they understand that they aren’t allowed to work together when I get worked up and ask them in an irate tone of voice, after they reply in the affirmative they then calmly proceed to continue to work together). Anyhow, I’ve decided that I can’t stop students working with their desk mates (the desks are one per two people- a set up that facilitates cheating and working together) but have remained instant that the room remains relatively quiet during a test (another unheard of concept) and confiscate any cheating materials. Today that included a piece of paper complete with the generally correct answers that was attempted to be circulated through the room. Luckily I caught this before it made much headway and noticed the progress on the guilty students test. I’ve also taken to thinking up passive-aggressive comments to make on students’ papers. The test I gave today involved a 5x5 chart I drew on the board with various categories that students were to fill in with the information provided on different characters from a story. I told the students that the exactness of their replica was unimportant, it was only the answers I cared about- students here seem to be obsessed with neatness over honesty or correctness on their tests. Regardless it took students awhile to copy down the chart with the hints I provided, and after a few minutes I inquired if everyone was ready. This one student, who had been talking rather than copying down the chart, was the only one unfinished, but I decided that it would be unfair to start without everyone prepared. Therefore, I waited for five excruciating minutes while this student made a perfect 5x5 chart with his pen, pencil, ruler, protractor, and oddly enough, compass. Later on, he was the same student attempting to fill in his otherwise blank test with the answers provided by a different student. My imaginary comment for this student: “While the rest of class and I enjoyed waiting for you and it is evident that you show impressive attention to detail when it comes to drawing straight lines, this same attention seems lacking in your answers. Perhaps a reversal of your time allotment to study these respective skills would yield more acceptable results for both of us.” I don’t think that I will write anything of the sort on his test- though the likelihood he would find someone to translate it or understand the subtlety is doubtful.
Oy, anyhow, the reason I wanted to right this entry in the first place was to talk about how awesome my English Club was this afternoon. I got an idea for a lesson plan from a friend- have students design “Spirit Animals” from a combination of two or more animals and have them talk about why they did. This was a great idea and I ran with it having my club members first have a race with two teams to see who could think up more animals and then explained the concept of the “Spirit Animal”, I also threw out the idea of coming up with a name from the sum of the parts’ names. What followed was an amazing “zoo” of our Spirit Animals, each student drew their animal on the board (hilarious) and named and talked about them- we had a fibra (fish-zebra), a chibit (chicken-rabbit combined for its smell), a germuse (tiger-mouse for the contrast), and my personal favorite, a pigeleper (pig+elephant+tiger). The club finished by discussing animals fighting and who would win and why (a lion would win because it is bigger, braver, and stronger). Most of the stress I had from my test was relieved by the enthusiasm and fun I had with this club. Yay.
Testing continues to be a hugely frustrating and annoying responsibility of mine. Students here don’t seem to understand the concept of individual work (they say they understand that they aren’t allowed to work together when I get worked up and ask them in an irate tone of voice, after they reply in the affirmative they then calmly proceed to continue to work together). Anyhow, I’ve decided that I can’t stop students working with their desk mates (the desks are one per two people- a set up that facilitates cheating and working together) but have remained instant that the room remains relatively quiet during a test (another unheard of concept) and confiscate any cheating materials. Today that included a piece of paper complete with the generally correct answers that was attempted to be circulated through the room. Luckily I caught this before it made much headway and noticed the progress on the guilty students test. I’ve also taken to thinking up passive-aggressive comments to make on students’ papers. The test I gave today involved a 5x5 chart I drew on the board with various categories that students were to fill in with the information provided on different characters from a story. I told the students that the exactness of their replica was unimportant, it was only the answers I cared about- students here seem to be obsessed with neatness over honesty or correctness on their tests. Regardless it took students awhile to copy down the chart with the hints I provided, and after a few minutes I inquired if everyone was ready. This one student, who had been talking rather than copying down the chart, was the only one unfinished, but I decided that it would be unfair to start without everyone prepared. Therefore, I waited for five excruciating minutes while this student made a perfect 5x5 chart with his pen, pencil, ruler, protractor, and oddly enough, compass. Later on, he was the same student attempting to fill in his otherwise blank test with the answers provided by a different student. My imaginary comment for this student: “While the rest of class and I enjoyed waiting for you and it is evident that you show impressive attention to detail when it comes to drawing straight lines, this same attention seems lacking in your answers. Perhaps a reversal of your time allotment to study these respective skills would yield more acceptable results for both of us.” I don’t think that I will write anything of the sort on his test- though the likelihood he would find someone to translate it or understand the subtlety is doubtful.
Oy, anyhow, the reason I wanted to right this entry in the first place was to talk about how awesome my English Club was this afternoon. I got an idea for a lesson plan from a friend- have students design “Spirit Animals” from a combination of two or more animals and have them talk about why they did. This was a great idea and I ran with it having my club members first have a race with two teams to see who could think up more animals and then explained the concept of the “Spirit Animal”, I also threw out the idea of coming up with a name from the sum of the parts’ names. What followed was an amazing “zoo” of our Spirit Animals, each student drew their animal on the board (hilarious) and named and talked about them- we had a fibra (fish-zebra), a chibit (chicken-rabbit combined for its smell), a germuse (tiger-mouse for the contrast), and my personal favorite, a pigeleper (pig+elephant+tiger). The club finished by discussing animals fighting and who would win and why (a lion would win because it is bigger, braver, and stronger). Most of the stress I had from my test was relieved by the enthusiasm and fun I had with this club. Yay.
The Iceman Cameth
17:30 27 October 2008
Yesterday I was reminded that despite my deepest wishes and the fact that Winter doesn’t officially start until December 22nd, Winter is here in Kyrgyzstan. It had been getting cold the last few weeks (dipping into the freezing digits in the nights) but yesterday took the cake. Upon a blistering wind Winter arrived with a small snowfall and the mercury plummeting into the mid-20s. I guess trick-or-treating may be out of the question and I think it safe to say Winter hath reared its ugly and cold head.
The coming of cold weather prompted us to winterize our house somewhat. The main work to be done in this department was to take raw sheep’s wool and, using a knife, stuff it into the cracks around the windows to prevent drafts. The fact of the matter is that the house is going to be cold though. The kitchen/eating area isn’t too bad when we have the coal/wood burning stove running but the rest of the rooms in the house are pretty chilly- mine has already dipped into the 40’s at night and a friend of mine here said they once woke up the next morning and found their purified water frozen solid. Yikes. Regardless, I’m not so worried about sleeping since I have an excellent sleeping bag but I am going to have to get used to cold feet. Oh well, I wasn’t planning on marrying anytime soon anyhow.
Yesterday I was reminded that despite my deepest wishes and the fact that Winter doesn’t officially start until December 22nd, Winter is here in Kyrgyzstan. It had been getting cold the last few weeks (dipping into the freezing digits in the nights) but yesterday took the cake. Upon a blistering wind Winter arrived with a small snowfall and the mercury plummeting into the mid-20s. I guess trick-or-treating may be out of the question and I think it safe to say Winter hath reared its ugly and cold head.
The coming of cold weather prompted us to winterize our house somewhat. The main work to be done in this department was to take raw sheep’s wool and, using a knife, stuff it into the cracks around the windows to prevent drafts. The fact of the matter is that the house is going to be cold though. The kitchen/eating area isn’t too bad when we have the coal/wood burning stove running but the rest of the rooms in the house are pretty chilly- mine has already dipped into the 40’s at night and a friend of mine here said they once woke up the next morning and found their purified water frozen solid. Yikes. Regardless, I’m not so worried about sleeping since I have an excellent sleeping bag but I am going to have to get used to cold feet. Oh well, I wasn’t planning on marrying anytime soon anyhow.
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