Welcome to Orientation Week! Also known as our first full week in Kyrgyzstan and what was often quoted as "feeling like a camp." It was a week full of getting to know the Peace Corps, Kyrgyzstan, and our fellow cohort members.
After a hectic 2 days of staging and 28 hours of travel, we finally made it to Kyrgyzstan. After landing at the airport, going through customs, and getting our bags (thankfully no one's luggage was lost), we walked out of baggage claim to be greeted by Peace Corps staff and many confused travelers wondering what the big deal was.
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Our First Group Photo With PC Staff
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| Focusing Really Hard to Not Drop My Luggage |
From there, we boarded a bus for a 2.5 hour drive to where we would be staying for the next week. Orientation was held at a guesthouse (similar to a hotel) in the Issyk-Kul oblast that was framed by mountains all around. Here are a couple of pictures just to give an idea:
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| The river next to where we stayed |
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| One of many horses and mountains we've seen |
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| Our view every meal |
Each day of orientation consisted of different sessions about Peace Corps policies, Kyrgyzstan culture, language lessons, and just general information about what the next few months would look like. Each night, there was also an organized activity ranging from different Kyrgyz games to Zoom Q&As with current and former volunteers to language practice. My favorite games included Besh-Tash, which is similar to the USA version of Jacks, and Choku which is played with the knee bones of sheep (I'll make a more in-depth post about games later). We were also able to walk around the village and visit the shops in town to buy anything we needed (for me, it was laundry detergent so I could wash my clothes in the sink).
Our cohort also played frisbee every night (one person managed to get the frisbee stuck on the roof TWICE), and by the end of the week, we recruited some of the kids in the area to join us. We learned that frisbee isn't common in Kyrgyzstan, so we had fun teaching them how to play. Each night also ended around a campfire that was made by one person in the cohort who particularly enjoys setting fires (iykyk). The last night there we managed to find all the ingredients to make s'mores so we spent hours doing that and enjoying our last night all together. It turns out I have an expert s'more-making technique...
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One of our many group walks to the river nearby
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| Playing Besh-Tash -- the Kyrgyz version of Jacks |
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| My aforementioned expert s'more making skills |
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| Frisbee lessons |
The week came to an end with the host family matching ceremony. This is where we were split into small groups of 4-5 volunteers with whom we will spend every day of the next 10 weeks with. Each group lives in a different village. In each village, each volunteer lives with their own host family. I have a couple of photos from the matching ceremony where we met our host family for the first time, but I am waiting to see if I am allowed to post them so stay tuned!
Overall, this week served as a time to become acclimated to Kyrgyzstan while still being surrounded by familiar faces. Sort of a bridge between our old life in America and our new life in Kyrgyzstan. The best way to describe the week was like a summer camp. Full of activities, new friends, and learning. This was our first taste of the next 27 months, and I know for me, it only made me more excited for what is to come.
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