Words of Wisdom

“I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

                Henry David Thoreau

“Christ! Seven years of college down the drain…I might has well of joined the fucking Peace Corps.”

                John Belushi, “Animal House”

So You Say You Want A Revolution?

    Hellllllooooo Students. Things are popping down in the south of the country I now call home. I was in Jalalabat last Friday and witnessed what the Peace Corps during training termed “civil unrest”. The name is a little sexier than the actual thing unfortunately but it was interesting to watch nonetheless. About 200 protestors held a rally outside of the governor’s office. Anti-Akaev protestors. Akaev, the current president, is serving his third term despite a constitutional ban on serving more than two terms in office and has been accused of a number of crimes ranging from simply shady to downright dictatorial. Most notably, a recent Newsweek had some Central-Asian-Expert-Guy quoted as saying “Akaev is going apeshit” regarding his restrictions of the public’s role in elections in the wake of the Ukraine turnaround. Despite this colorful quote in the very reputable newsmagazine Newsweek (that’s my tongue in my cheek right there), Akaev isn’t exactly hated in Kstan. Many support the president, but have no democratic alternatives to compare him to. At best they are living the status quo. My friend Ailey and I discussed last week that the public here doesn’t seem to question Akaev and don’t seem to have the anger that is often required to spark a drastic change.

    I guess they found their anger on Friday. After a few hours of peaceful protesting, things escalated and the mob began to force their way into the governor’s compound. Someone climbed the ten foot tall fence and managed to get the electric gate open. Police, being helplessly outnumbered could do nothing to stop them as they began to push their way into the offices. This is what I and few other volunteers witnessed on our way out of the city. PC called us the next day to report that protesters in fact did make their way into the governors office and rumors said that they also stormed his house and that he and his family were forced to flee. How much of that last part is actually true is questionable, but it shows that obviously the people here are starting to really question their leaders and are not afraid to show it. Don’t misunderstand, however. Things aren’t chaotic here and I’m not at all worried about my safety. No one was hurt during the protest and the PC is really on top of things when it comes to volunteer safety. Frankly, I’m kind of excited about the whole thing. These protests are coming on the wake of last Sundays deputy (congressional) elections and they show that come October, when presidential elections are held, we are going to see an interesting show.

    That’s the latest from here. I’m in the city today because it is International Women’s Day and I have no class. I had no class yesterday as well, because, you know, it was the day before International Women’s Day and students shouldn’t be asked to work that day either. Anyway, to the ladies out there, happy IWD…Also! Movie quote help needed: “I can’t promise I’ll try, but I’ll try to try.” What the hell is that from? Let me know. Talk to you all later.

    P.S. Ailey, you smell.

Stupid!

Hey guys. So I'm in Jbad for the afternoon. I fled my classroom minutes after the bell rang as if the place was on fire. It's not that I don't want to hang out at school, its just I wanted to get into the city as fast as possible. I've had a long week and need a few hours eating decent food and sipping good coffee.

To start off with... I came back from Bishkek on Sunday. I had a great weekend with Elise and I got to see lots of friends as well. Three days wasn't enough time. I flew back with no in flight emergencies but started feeling ill when I got to my apartment. Turns out I had the flu and I spent three days lying in bed,watching movies and reading Newsweek. This wouldn't have been so bad, but this was the first week of great weather in Bazar Korgon and I hated to miss it. I taught Thursday and Friday and I've been walking around in a tee shirt and jeans. No more huge coats, long underwear, or wool socks! I have never really known what spring is until now.

Great weather notwithstanding, I managed to ruin my day yesterday by accidentally destroying my cell phone. I was doing my dishes (my normal way, on the kitchen floor using a bucket of water) and my phone was in my front pocket. I leaned over and the phone toppled out and landed in a bucket of soapy water. DOA. I had the same phone for 3 years in America and I can't make one last four months here. I bought a new phone today ($75) and managed to keep my old number, which is something to be happy about.
That's about it. Visiting to Osh this weekend and I'm looking forward to what I'm told in Kyrgyzstan's only brewery that serves dark beer. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Men's Day!

“What’s Men’s Day”? you might ask. I’m not exactly sure myself, but I know it gets me out of my classroom and into Jalalbat for the day. Half class yesterday and no class today, the Kyrgyz don’t screw around when it comes to holidays, even if the holiday is an obscure holdover from the Soviet era. I’m told that this is the first year that school was canceled for MD, but after all, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. So MD is more of a Memorial Day of sorts. A day to remember the thousands of heroes who bravely fought for democracy in the 1940’s, of those thousands probably 12 of whom were actually Kyrgyz. No, that’s not fair. I have no knowledge whatsoever of Kyrgyz involvement in WWII and shouldn’t poke fun. As far as I know they turned the tide of war and are responsible for the freedoms that we all now enjoy.

So I’m in the city for the day and it looks to actually be a nice day. It’s been hot here (I’m wearing three layers instead of four. Whew! When will this heat wave end!). It’s actually been a great week, made greater by the fact that I am barely teaching this week. Monday I allowed some teachers to persuade me to skip my afternoon course in favor of lunch and shots of brandy in a local café. This is how things work here. If a teacher doesn’t want to teach, they skip. Having a few shots of vodka during lunch is not unheard of. This is, however, the first time I have let them talk me into ditching class. But, come on, it’s two days before Men’s Day! It’s justified! My 11th grade students took a cue from the teachers and skipped their class as well and threw their own party in the same café. I asked them why they were celebrating on Monday when MD was on Wednesday, to which they replied: ”But we don’t have class on Wednesday, a party today means we get to miss class…”

So no class today, and after my morning class tomorrow I’m hopping on a mildly well put together airplane and flying to Bishkek, lovingly known as the ‘kek. Good food, expensive drinks in real bars, and tons of stories from northern volunteers. It’s going to be great as long as my airplane’s wings remain attached during the flight...Should be a fun time.

Quickly. I got a haircut this week from my friends, the un-understandable Uzbek kids. During the haircut, the assistant kid, probably 16 or so, donned a Muslim prayer hat (see: Yarmulke) and poured me a cup of water. He told me to drink it and said it was water from Haji, or religious pilgrimage. I drank the water and Ailey, who was with me, also drank some. We wondered later if it was safe to drink, and if the possible parasites it contained were holy. The kids then asked if I studied or had been to the local Mosque. Saying that I didn't understand (which wasn't far from the truth) I kept silent. I really don't like to discuss religion when someone is holding a pair of scisors a few inches from my head.

Ok, that’s the latest. Now, I’m off to sip coffee and read all day at Terry’s. Talk to you later.