A Visit to Talas

10/30/05
Today we went to the bazaar to buy supplies for our teacher’s farewell party tomorrow night.
Halfway through training we switch teachers to prepare us for changes that might happen during our training. They don’t want us to get used to regularity. I think it will disrupt our learning process.

Anyhow, our friend Azat took us to a section of the bazaar that I was unaware existed – the chicken bazaar (they sell all livestock there – except for the fine delicacy of pork. Lots of people were pushing and shoving to get to the same place. People were yelling at each other in Kyrgyz, Turkish & Russian. Men were walking their newly bought goats, sheep, cows, etc. through the crowds. The poor creatures had to go through that madness to be taken home to their new family and slaughtered. Women walked past us with live chickens held upside down by their feet to keep them incapacitated. Close to the spot where we bought our chickens was a huge crowd of people. At first we thought they were buying dogs, but we soon realized it was a dog fight. It was too crowded to make my way to the front to see if there was betting, and there’s a lot of pick pockets at that bazaar.

After we bought everything on our list, Mike, Brenda & Andrew went to the internet café and I waited at the bus stop with Azat, the veggies and the chickens. Its perfectly normal for people to bring live animals onto the bus. Some people who live in my village and the neighboring village were asking questions about me for literally an hour. They ask how old I am and if I’m married as soon as they meet me. I was tired, so I pretended not to understand and Azat answered all the Qs. This morning there was a crazy lady on the bus. She kept hitting me hard and getting very close to my face when she would talk to me. I didn’t know if it would be inappropriate for me to tell her not to touch me, but in hindsight I should have. She told me I look Turkish and that she has a handsome son to fix me up with. When she asked if I have a boyfriend, I told her I was dating one of the volunteers on the bus. Yikes!

Another observation I’ve made here is that ALL of the older people either have no teeth or gold teeth. They’ll have their 4 front teeth capped in gold and it’s not unusual. But its no surprise after eating a meal with someone. The adults pour copious amounts of sugar into their tea. One day I brought a bottle of pop home for the little devil and saw my Apa adding more sugar to it for him. No wonder their teeth rot out of their head.

Last Friday I missed the bus going to Tokmok for technical training. I didn't really want to go that day. I just went home and studied language instead. The director, Bulot, called and yelled at my teacher instead of at me. She came over and made me hitchhike to Tokmok. I told her I wasn’t catching a ride with someone I don’t know, but she insisted, saying they do it all the time. I barely know the minimal Kyrgyz we’ve learned and that was a bad idea. But I thought I need to go with the flow – this isn’t a vacation. When I was explaining to Bulot why I was late he didn’t really listen to what I was saying. I also noticed he was cutting the women off in class too, but he listened to the men. Why bother asking me a question if you won’t listen to my f*%cking answer? There’s no room for that in the Peace Corps. But the administration here is lacking. I haven’t felt any support from them since I’ve been here, aside from 2-3 people. And I hear it’s the standard with the Kyrgyzstan staff. What a shame.

11/2/05
I found out my site placement today. I’ll be living in Talas City, working for an NGO called Mediamost. They have internet! I’m living in an apartment with a grandma, mom and daughter. I’m not sure yet what the NGO does, but I’m visiting them next week. They’re new and from what I understand, its supposed to be a fairly cushy job.

Talas is in the northwest of Kyrgyzstan and and is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Here’s an excerpt about Talas Valley from Kyrgyz Republic by Rowan Stewart.

The Talas valley is considered by the Kyrgyz to be the cradle of their spiritual treasures. To the Kyrgyz, every mountain, river and pasture here has a tale to tell of the great national hero Manas, for this where the famous Manas epic is said to have unfolded and where it is said to be buried. The valley’s lesser heo is the 20th century writer, Chinghiz Aitmatov, who wrote compelling fiction showing how Soviet life deprived people of their individuality.

…Appropriately for an area of such mythological and cultural importance, Talas valley feels like a self-contained mini-world of its own; beautiful but isolated. As you descend from the 3,330 metre Otmok pass at the valley’s eastern end, it opens before you, a V-shaped vision of soft rolling hills gradually flattening to a wide serene valley through which the powerful Talas river carves its way. Open plains stretch steppe-like across the silver-green valley floor, while the distant snowy peaks of the Talas range to the south, and the Kyrgyz Ala-Too to the north and east, keep the rest of the world at bay. A major reason for the area’s sense of isolated other-worldness is that it is squeezed between the border restrictions of Kazakhstan on one side and the forbidding Central Tian Shan mountains on the other.

I haven’t been there yet, but I hear wonderful things about the area, the locals and the current volunteers living there. It should be good times.


11/10/05
I'm in Talas City visiting my new home this week. Talas has a population of about 30,000 people so the city is relatively small. I live close to the center in an apartment with my host mom (57), host sister (29) and host neice (7). One of my host brothers lives across the hall with his wife and kids. In the apartment, we have a bathtub with a water heater, a flushable toilet and a washing machine/dryer. At my new office we have a whole bunch of computers with Internet and its really nice in there. I'm at work now :). Which means I'll be able to communicate regularly for the next 2 years, and I'll also have a cell phone by the end of December.

I feel spoiled in Talas, and guilty that I'm not living in rougher conditions. I did not expect to have it so good at all; but I'm sure there will still be plenty of help for me to give. I may be teaching english, or computer skills amongst other projects I can create. The office is a multi-media center, tourism office and handicrafts seller. The tourism part was launched one month ago, and they're hoping to start a radio station soon. I don't think Talas City has one yet. That's what I know so far.