Day of Knowledge aka The First Day of School

    I've been at my new village/permanent site for about 2 weeks now (go check out my previous post for some exciting life updates!) With this, I've also officially finished my first week of school as an English Teacher. Although we have spent the past 11 weeks in training for this very moment, nothing compares to being in the school for real. 

    It began on September 1st, an official holiday here in Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Day of Knowledge or Day of Learning. This marks the first day of a new school year for every single student in Kyrgyzstan. This is one of my favorite days that I've experienced in Kyrgyzstan so far. I think it's really important that this much emphasis is placed on education and schooling, so much so that it's a national holiday. It makes the beginning of the school year a big event and something to be celebrated. 

    At my school, we held an assembly early in the morning to acknowledge the holiday. When I first walked onto the school grounds, I was greeted by my fellow English teachers who had bread and borsook (fried dough) waiting for me. It is a tradition in Kyrgyzstan that you should have bread or borsook when entering a new place for the first time or starting a new phase of your life to ensure success and good fortune. From there, all of the students, teachers, and parents (over 1000 people) were gathered outside the school where the assembly began with a speech from the Director (equivalent to the Principal) of my school. During her speech, she introduced me to everyone and explained why I was there. After that, it was my turn to give a speech...in Kyrgyz. This speech was something I had written weeks ago with my language teacher and had practiced over and over in advance for it. I think it well...at least everyone clapped after every single sentence I said. Now I'm not sure if they were clapping because my Kyrgyz was amazing, my speech was really moving, or because the Director was standing behind me and forcing the crowd to applaud. 

The Ceremony Setup 

   After my resounding and groundbreaking speech, there was a ceremony where each 1st grade student walked into the square while everyone cheered as they are beginning their time at this school. After every 1st grader entered, students from the 11th grade (the oldest students) gave each of them a flower. Following this, there were several student performances. One boy played the Komuz (the national instrument of Kyrgyzstan) and another girl sang a traditional Kyrgyz song. 

    To conclude the ceremony, there was the ceremonial ringing of the first bell of the new year. This was probably my favorite part of the entire day. It involved two younger students, a girl and a boy, sitting on the shoulders of two older students. They then ran around the crowd while the younger students rang a cowbell and everyone cheered. And maybe the best part of the entire thing, the two students were sharing one bell, and the entire time they were yanking it back and forth between them trying to be the one who was primarily ringing the bell.

    After the ceremony was over, I was under the impression we would have lessons that day. However, other than meeting some of the other teachers at my school (there are around 65 in total), there was nothing else scheduled that day. Although, it is technically the "first day of school," it is primarily a holiday, so there were no lessons and everyone was free the rest of the day. I ended up spending the afternoon with one of my host sisters at our Rayon Center (the main city in my Rayon/Region). The park in our Rayon Center also includes several amusement park rides, which although I did not ride, I watched kids ride over and over while celebrating their last day of freedom before actual lessons started. 

One of the Rides
Side Note: The park is called "Family" so the word "Family" was written all over the park

      Since the first day, we've now had a week of actual lessons.  For these first few weeks, I will just be observing their lessons and getting to know them, the school and the students. However, eventually, I will be co-teaching each lesson with the other English teachers (aka Counterparts). My school has 7 English teachers; however, I will only have 2-3 counterparts this first year. Although it has only been a short time, both the teachers and students are very excited for me to be there and cannot wait to start working with me. Seriously, I can't walk anywhere in the school without getting stopped by 15+ kids, and one of the classes has taken to applauding every single time I walk into their room for a lesson. I'd like to imagine that this is what it's like to be mildly famous and probably the closest I'll ever get to achieving that. On a serious note, this excitement has been a major reassurance and comfort to me. Ever since I found out I was coming to Kyrgyzstan (almost an entire year now!!), I've spent countless hours wondering what it would actually be like and if people would actually want me there/like me. So seeing everyones excitement and eagerness to get to know me has been a massive relief, and I cannot wait to begin teaching for real. 

    p.s.: I realize I've taken very few pictures since being at my permanent site...it's a work in progress so stay tuned for more