Month 1: "You're Gonna Go Far"

    It has officially been 1 month of living in Kyrgyzstan!! I have been brainstorming what to do to mark this occasion, and I decided that I think it would interesting if I did a recap each month of service. For me, it's a time to share random stories, more pictures, epiphanies I've had, etc..., that I haven't had a chance to mention in other posts. However, I'm also open to suggestions on what to include/acknowledge each month, so feel free to let me know. If all goes according to plan, this is the first installment of 27:

• My current situation: 
• I am living with a host family that includes a host mom (Apa), dad (Ata), a 15 year old brother (Enni) and a 14 year old sister (Cindi)
• I am in a village with 4 other volunteers, our language teacher (LCF) and technical teacher (TCF - she teaches us about teaching)
• Everyday we gather at our LCF's house for language classes or technical trainings
• Once a week, we have what is called "Hub Day" where all 26 volunteers meet up at one place for trainings --- it's also a good time for us to catch up and share stories from the past week

My group's "first day of school" picture

• Learning a new language is difficult...
• I mean I already knew this beforehand, but I think I underestimated just how difficult it would be. 
• I will say being immersed in it 24/7 has helped me a ton and I have an excellent teacher (LCF) who keeps reassuring us that everything will be okay
• My Apa is also a Kyrgyz teacher at the school in the village next to ours, so she helps me every single day 

• I've learned how to make several Kyrgyz dishes: Manta (dumplings), Samsa (bun stuffed with meat, onion, potatoes, etc.), Plov/Ash (the Kyrgyz version of fried rice), and Borsak (fried dough similar to a beignet)

Making Plov with Bakyt Baikeh (our language teacher)

Rolling dough for Borsak 

The final product (Plov and Borsak)

•  Using an outhouse isn't as bad as I thought it would be
• During our breaks, a common discussion is everyones different outhouse techniques...
• Also when I say outhouse, it's typically a shack with a hole in the ground

• We celebrated our first holiday in-country: Eid al-Adha
• This is the second of the two main holidays in Islam and occurred during our 3rd week here
• The day started at 9 am and included us visiting every volunteer's host family in my village. From there, my own host family hosted other visitors up until 10 p.m.
• Each house contained an entire table of food and the day consisted of eating from sun up to sun down

The other volunteers in my village and I with my host family 

• I milked a cow!!! (sadly I don't have any pictures)
• After much concern and panic, I was able to listen to Speak Now (Taylor's Version) --- I know many people were worried about this
• For anyone that's interested, I think my favorite vault track is either "Foolish One" or "Castles Crumbling"

That's all I have to recap Month 1! I can't believe that it's already been one month. It has simultaneously been the longest days of my life but also the fastest. The people here are so welcoming and have been eager to show us everything Kyrgyzstan is about. I feel like I've already learned so much, yet still haven't scratched the surface of what Kyrgyzstan has to offer. Stay tuned for more!    

p.s. I made a last minute decision to name all of these month recaps with a song that I feel like best encompasses the month. For this month, it's "You're Gonna Go Far" by Noah Kahan