By Harriet Russell (Bhumi) in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia
August 8, 2008. Please keep me in your thoughts for a safe journey. Thank you for taking the time to read these travelogues. Love, Bhumi (Harriet)
December 17, 2008. I have returned safely.
More travelogues and photos will be posted soon.
Happy Holidays! Harriet (Bhumi)
August 11th, 2008 at 03:46
FIRST TRAVELOGUE POST (Informational Version)
August 4 – 10, 2008
THUNDERSTORMS IN NYC TO 104 DEGREES F. IN BISHKEK
What a journey so far! I had not even left Cleveland when my yoga mind was tested for its flexibility. My very first leg of the trip, the flight to NYC, was cancelled due to thunderstorms! How was I to get to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, half way across the world? It was not an easy task with flights fully booked, prime vacation travel time, several destinations to coordinate, and a whole planeful of people in line. </p><br />
<p>The universe provides. After six hours in the Cleveland Hopkins airport and creative re-routing, I flew from Cleveland to Atlanta (Delta), Atlanta to Paris (Air France), Paris to Moscow (Air France), and then Moscow to Bishkek (Aeroflot). . Whew…must be tiring just to think about it…
Yes, 48 hours later with a little homeopathic rescue remedy in me for jet lag, I found myself still able to function. I am in awe that I had not only planned, prepared and packed for this journey, but had actually arrived….even if my two checked bags had not! </p><br />
<p>Paris was sunny. Moscow is dreary gray and drizzling rain. Bishek a hot 104 degrees F, (And I did get my bags the next day.)
CHANGING PLACES, CHANGING FACES
People observation in the various planes and airports showed a general flowing change of languages. In Atlanta of course English and Spanish were predominant, but as I moved on to Europe, French, German, and Arabic came onto the scene and by the time I reached Moscow, of course Russian was predominant and almost exclusive, Chinese came in second, and I heard an array of European accents among the rest of the travellers who all used English
EUROPE TO ASIA … INDICATIONS
As I drank bottled water, I thought about the basic need for this precious commodity. I also knew I was in Europe and heading for Asia when I found the plane’s toilet paper was more coarse….no squeezing the soft Charmin anymore
“IT’S ALL RUSSIAN TO ME” NOW….MOSCOW AIRPORT
I cannot believe I am really across the world and surrounded by people speaking Russian. I am able to understand some basic glimpses of their conversations in the background….”good”, “I want to go”, and on their cellphones “I have arrived”. All the signs are in the Cyrillic alphabet. I am happy I took those Russian courses at Tri-C back home! &
KYRGYZSTAN …. HOW TO SAY IT AND FIND IT
A year ago, I did not even know how to spell Kyrgyzstan! Tip: just imagine the “y’s” as the sound of short “i” like in “kit” and you can pronounce Krygyz (“kir- giz”) and then add a “stan” meaning “republic”.
While “mapquest” does not always have clear driving directions, it does locate Kyrygyzstan accurately.
Try “googling” it or look it up on “Wikipedia” and you can find out more about this country.
WELCOME TO THE CAPITAL OF BISHKEK
With just one change of clothes and my carry on bags, I come out the Frunze Airport door and recognize Gulasel from a photo emailed me several months before. “Gulasel! Menya Zobut Harriet!”
The venture from the heart in Kyrygyzstan has begun…it is 5 am two days later.
KYRGYZ PEOPLE, FOOD, GAS PRICES AND MORE
Gulasel’s brother in law drove us from the airport to Burma’s house, where I am staying while in Bishkek. It is on the outskirts of this capitall city, Bishkek. We had a nice morning meal with, traditional bread and fruit and cheese and vegetable rice.. I have been greeted and welcomed with hospitality and understanding and good conversation. Everyone is wonderful. I have just met two special women and they both speak understandable English
The hot water came on at noon and I took a shower in bliss. The weather hotter than a humid August day in Cleveland, but without air conditioning, reminds me of the luxuries of America…
In the apartment, I get lots of exercise walking up the five flights of stairs and I have my own room. The view is gorgeous through the large windows. Past the telephone and electrical lines, the rustic playground and Soviet era buildings, I see the mountains, so high there is snow on the top. They are only about 4,500 meters here, but that is a lot. Here’s the conversion for that….are you sitting down? 14,763 feet. And these are not the highest peaks in the country!
I am not sure if it is the 5 flights of stairs, the remaining jet lag, or the altitude that makes me take deeper breaths! I took some natural chlorophyll drops I brought to help put more oxygen in my lungs.
Burma’s 18 year old college son, Marlen, is off for the summer. He is very polite and well mannered yet a typical modern young man with his cellphone that has a camera, plays music, games and videos, and even has a language translator in it. We laughed a lot since his English is only slightly better than my Russian!
Marlen took me on the mini bus (called “mashurtka”) to Burma’s office in downtown Bishkek. After only 3 days of commuting with help, I am now travelling by mini bus on my own. Unlike other European and Asian countries, there are no bicyclists in the city, but the public transportation system is good, even if it is crowded. And, it’s only 20 cents for a mini bus. I have also been walking alot.
In the past week in Bishkek, I have bought city maps, located internet cafes with international call capabilities, visited the National History Museum, and a European style department store called “Zum” with a full floor of cellphone options!
My security blanket is my new cellphone (“mobile”) for calls within the country. It’s handy to call Burma or Gulasel when I get lost. Needless to say, I use it a lot!
More mundane, on the other hand, are the 4 visits to the Visa Office… and one more to go!
I have eaten lots of potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, melon, grapes, rice and bread (the vegetarian options are limiited) and I was able te find lentils to cook. Fresh local produce is all organic (since pesticides are costly) and the watermelon is great! Black tea is the beverage of preference.
However, gasoline prices are $5.00 a gallon…and an average salary is about $200 a month (not a week) . Lots of BMW’s since 80% of the cars are imported from Germany and 20% from Japan.
Any packaged food, clothes, and retail purchases are at European (American) rates. Gone are the days of travel to developing nations a la cheap in Central Asia, I have realized.
BUSINESS CONNECTIONS:
On a professional level, I have met many women and men working for small companies that provide training programs for local Kyrgyz craftspeople and international study exchanges.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL IN BISHKEK:
Rotary club is off for the summer, but I did meet 6 people at an informal meeting at the ritzy Hyatt Regency. I will visit again in September.
One Rotary lead is to an English language school in another city called Jalal-Abad. The school is owned by a Chinese American from California. If it manifests, as linguist and “master , I will do a special program for the English instructors…. tips for teaching and language fine tuning.
THE YOGA STRESS MANAGEMENT CONNECTION
The yoga connection is alive and well. Most yoga teachers are having retreats in the mountains this summer.
By day three, I had already discussed a plan to teach a 2 day workshop on stress management, yoga, shiatsu, and breathing …..and English Language. And I have given a private Shiatsu massage and stress management session to a woman who is a former U.N. Volunteer.
THE MANY FACES OF KYRGYZ PEOPLE:
The many faces of Kyrygzstan include over 100 nationalities. The two predominant are Kyrgyz and Russian. Although I am not mistaken for anything but a foreign tourist, comfortable walking shoes and map in hand, I am also not stared at by children as in other Asian countries.
Well, once I was stopped and asked directions!
ISSY-KUL LAKE REGION:
I will go to the tourist area of Issykul with Gulasel for a week. This past week in Bishek has been a good orientation, but it a city too hot to hot to be in August. (Issy-kul means “warm lake” as it never freezes.) It is surrounded by a view of even higher mountains.
I am looking forward to some R & R, swimming and seeing this most popular, but not populated, resort area.
Posted 08/10/08
SECOND TRAVELOGUE POST (Creative Writing Version)
Written September 9, 2008.
Gentle breeze outside moves a piece of metal on a pole to clang rythmically. Only the sound reminds me there is a breeze. Inside my host family apartment the summer heat continues into the night in the capital city of Bishkek. But during the day, the view from the window past the Soviet era buildings is a beautiful scene of mountain to the south with snow capped peaks.
I find myself facing little moments of joy and fear when I encounter something new here. Little things like trepidation when lighting the gas stove with short matches because the gas goes on first, then the match is lit and held to the burner…..if I only had a two dollar long handle gas lighter flame thrower.
Or hanging my clothes to dry after washing them by hand…..leaning out a five story window to reach the line …..I look below glad I do not really have a fear of heights. In reality, the window is waist height and my feet are steady on the floor, but looking down does bring the thought of “Be careful”.
I am constantly creating and inventing ways to communicate, get to where I want to go, and find vegetarian options. From several trips the the visa office to commuting from the outskirts where I am staying to the downtown office of my host family friend, I am finding my way around.
Even now, I am typing on my new mini laptop notebook and using light from the screen to see the function keys. Thank goodness for junior high school typing classes! At least I know where the letters are on the keyboard.
You see (not I) the lights went out tonight at 1 am. I have been humbled into simplicity. How to just type a website post for you, has become my moment’s project since next week I will be in an area where there will be no internet access.
I found lentils in the indoor market in town, so I made a pot of lentil soup. I have also been enjoying lots of vegetables, fresh fruit, watermelon or honeydew melon daily, rice, potatoes and fresh bread. I even had some Kyrgyz ice cream, which is preferred over the Turkish ice cream sold in some shops.
It is not easy being a vegetarian when eating in restaurants, however. which is not much different thant in most of the U.S.A. And the same misconception exists. It never ceases to amaze me how soup with meat or chicken broth is considered vegetarian just because it has vegetables in it!
Imagine taking a clty mini bus to the outskirts where I am staying, in a place I do not know, when all the signs are in the Cyrrilic alphabet, and my spoken language skills are like a two year old! I felt very brave. This I did on day three.
My security blanket is my new cellphone I bought to call around here in Kyrgyzstan, with the preprogrammed numbers of my two English speaking Kyrygyz women friends. Get lost? Well even if I cannot figure out how they are directing me to go….I can put the phone out to a passerby and after they talk, my direction is pointed out to me in gestures and a few Russian words….here, there, not that way, not far (ha ha), very far (not really since I have walked miles since I have been here) and “thank you”, of course
About the cellphone buying experience…..an entire floor of a modern deparment store is dedicated to just cellphone options! I have photos to prove it.
I have met many people here already….from professional women working in various organizations to Rotary club members, Many personalities, many different ways of being with life…but all of them very hospitable and friendly.
Foreigners, Kyrgyz, Russians….although I am obviously an American, no one is staring at me like I am an alien from another planet….all is accepted in this melting pot. I found one comment revealing…when I asked my host if wearing my sneakers with a casual skirt was odd looking, her reply was. “Not to worry. We know that Americans do not dress in fashion….” For a country with not as much material wealth, how city people dress is not an indication of that.
Well, the simplification of typing in the dark coupled with the late hour and the perspiration flowing, indicates it is time to try to sleep. I will be up early and go to the mountains tomorrow….a Sunday excursion with my host family and welcome refuge from the heat I hope.
Note that it is probably not much hotter in tempurature than August in Cleveland (or maybe Texas)….but then again, we have working fans and airconditioning in our homes and offices! Consider the simple joy of moving air…
The clanking has stopped and with it what litle air flow there was that found its way into my room. it is replaced with voices of young men on summer break from school hanging out in the playground below.
THANK YOU:
Thank you for taking your time out a your busy day to read these Travelogues. Keep coming back for more!!!
Posted 08/10/08
August 30th, 2008 at 03:35
August 29, 2008
YOGA CONNECTION IN KYRGYZSTAN
ARIBA YOGA STUDIO
I am happy to have made a yoga connection with other teachers at a yoga studio called “Ariba” in Bishkek. We set dates for some workshops I will teach. It is so rare to have a Master Teacher come here and they are very enthusiastic. They will promote it by internet to people in nearby Russia and Kazakistan.
YOGA FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR TEENS IN FOSTER CARE
I visited an orphanage, foster care facilityteaching children to sew handicrafts, nursing home for the elderly, and school for people with special needs and disabilities.
I plan to teach a class to a group of teen girls 12 – 16, focusing on posture (they work at sewing machines) and stress management.
YOGA FOR CHILDREN
A great way I have been interacting with children is to show them some yoga poses. Informally, and without much structure, it helps them focus and have an activity to do during summer break. And it’s fun!
YOGA MIND FOR OFFICE WORKERS
My new friends in Kyrgyzstan who are office workers, carry a lot of stress. They share with me about their office politics and I coach them with affirmations and simple advise.
One basic technique:
1. Stand up from the computer and stretch.
2. Look out the window at the mountains in the distance.
3. Gaze at the blue sky and see the fresh snow on the mountaintops.
4. Clear the mind, open the body, and recharge!
THE MORNING I DREAMED OF
5:30 am walk to the beach. Cool fresh air off Lake Issykul. I am with Janna, 34. Walking meditation with mantra, a few yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation. No words to break the silence needed to be passed — just gestures to show her.
The breeze, the sound of the waves, the softness of the sand… Opening my eyes I was greeted with all shades of grey….a huge sky and water.
Of course the best beauty and moments are not captured on film.
ELECTICITY SHORTAGE
Everywhere in Bishkek, and actually all over Kyrgyzstan, the electricity goes off for at least 6 hours. In Bishkek, they shut off n the early evenings, since the offices need electricity for business equipment during the daytime.
There is a great resource, Lake Issykul, for water power for electricity. However, the government sold it to nearby Kazakstan and Uzbekistan for them to water their crops in the fields…and not only did they pocket the money and not tell anyone, but they had a drier season and ended up overselling it. So, now the whole country has a crisis.
Winter will come soon and many homes will not have heat. Coal is expensive and most apartment building do not heated by coal anyway, but by electricity.
The Peace Corps volunteers all over Kygyzstan have been told to move to coal heated buildings or they will need to come back to the USA.
No one knows how the Kyrgyz will do this winter, but it is a big concern that most people cannot get heat. The capital city will probably be better off because of the businesses here and the need to keep the economy going, but the countryside will definitely suffer.
ROTARY CONNECTION IN KYRGYZSTAN
August is vacation time, so the weekly Rotary meeting Tuesday evenings at the Hyatt Regency Bishkek were informally held in the lounge.
This Rotary club is the only one in Kyrgyzstan. They are a bit isolated since district headquarters are in Turkey. They have 24 members of 12 nationalities. Some members I have met are:
The Honorary Consul of Italy
Head fo Chancery and First Secretary of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Publisher of the Times of Central Asia
Representative of CISCO Inc.
Managing Director of BNC Finance
Gerneral Director of InterAlliance
General Manager of the National Bank of Pakistan
Rosa Park Financial Consultant
Behre Dolbear Minerals Industry Consultant
Two members I have met are women, and one, Nazira, takes yoga and introduced me to Ariba Yoga Studio.
I will attend a formal meeting when I am back in September and exchange club flags.
September 4th, 2008 at 06:24
HORSES, NATIONAL GAMES, CRAFTS, YURTS
September 2, 2008
“If you are given only one day’s life, spend half of it in the saddle.” Kyrgyz saying.
I have been doing a lot of fun and interesting activities lately:
• Horseback riding in the beautiful mountains
• Watching the national horse competition games
• Making a felt wall hanging from raw wool
• Constructing yurts and sleeping in them
HORSEBACK RIDING IN THE MOUNTAINS
The horse gave nomads supremacy over sedentary societies in Central Asia for over 2.500 years.
Horses provide “Koumys” (fermented mare’s milk) and horsemeat as well as carrying people, yurts and personal belongings.
Our group was 6 people from Finland and myself, with 2 local guides.
The 3 hour ride in the mountains had breath taking scenery. We saw eagles and vultures as well as four legged friends like sheep and cattle.
My time was spent watching and conquering my fears of being on horseback without control (I am not a seasoned rider) and meditation on breathing fresh air and being “in the moment.“ I plan on riding again in other parts of Kyrgyzstan.
NATIONAL HORSE COMPETITION GAMES
In the past, skill with horses was highly revered, and equestrian games and races were performed at every festival and celebration.
I was able to watch these games from a small hilltop overlooking a huge field in the mountain area near Lake Issykul. Here are the Kyrgyz horse competitions I watched:
1. “Alamanba” a race with boy jockeys over a 15-20 kilometer course. “Tiyin-enish” where the riders pick up a coin from the ground at full gallop.
2. “Odarysh” a wrestling match on horseback, shirtless competitors with bodies smeared in sheep fat to keep them slippery. The idea is to drag your opponent to the ground, or better still, onto your own horse.
3. “Ulak-tartysh” or “Kok-boru” is a rough game with two teams and a goat carcass, The aim is to carry or throw this heavy carcass into the opposing team’s goal (“moroo”). It gets dropped frequently and picking it up on horseback is quite a feat.
4. “Kyz-kuumai” or “chasing the girl” is when a man races across the meadow pursuing a girl on horseback and tires to kiss her at full gollop. She does all she can do to escape, and then chases him. If she catches him she hits or whips him in scorn. However, if he catches her, it is said she cannot resist falling in love with him. I watched a 15 year old girl win this contest between the sexes. Of course, it is all a game and in jest.
FELT MAKING
It takes 6 months working full time, or a year working part time with other home duties to make a carpet that is 3.5 x 2 meters. (11.5 x .65 feet.) Wow.
I spent 3 hours with several people working at once and two master felters to make a small 1 x 3 foot piece of felt from raw wool. I am fascinated at all the steps necessary from beating out the grass from the wool, using natural black or white wool, or making the natural dyes from berries and plants, roling it, pounding it, washing it, beating it again, rolling again, washing more, etc. on and on.
The piece of felt was then cut into a variety of shapes and these were then “glued” by more soap and washing onto a thin cotton or silk cloth. This took more 2 hours.
When the master feltmaker saw me cutting out hearts, she said. “You have a big heart I can see.” Thank you for the affirmation.
The final product was very lovely and a community effort. Whether it is quilting, weaving, basketmaking, or felting, people crafting together, working with their hands, hearts, traditions, and creativity, brings them closer. We sang songs from Kyrgyzstan and in other world languages….all in all a good day.
I also have a greater appreciation for the handicrafts which are sold here and the intense labor that goes into making them.
YURTS
The yurt has been around for thousands of years and is a cornerstone of nomadic life throughout Central Asia. Although replaced as the main dwelling by brick houses or Soviet-style concrete apartment blocks, it has a special place in the Kyrgyz hearts. It is a symbol of national identity and is even represented on the national flag.
In summer the yurt is most popular as the shepherds take their flocks high into the mountains to graze and tourists on cultural based tours sleep in them in the villages as well.
On birthdays, funerals, and other special occasions, people often set up a yurt and invite friends ot the “dastorkon” or feast.
Yurts remind me of the Native American “tee pee” combined with “sweat lodge”, but round in shape. In Kyrgyz yurts are known as “Bozuy” meaning “grey house” after the black or grey wool used by ordinary shepherds. The costly snow white yurts used by the clan chiefs are called “ak-orgo”.
The yurt has a framework of poplar poles (“kanats”), bent and fixed with leather nails and rawhide straps or sometimes just horsehair or sheep’s wool ropes. The “kerege” is a circular trellis wall fencing which surrounds the framework and is also easily collapsible for dismantling. Woven mats of reed (“chiy”), lien the walls and the whole structure is covered with several thick layers of felt (“kiyiz”) tied to strong poles dug into the ground.
The top has a smoke hole , covered during rain, and this is a holy part of the yurt. Many people today use stoves and dhimneys, however.
The more wealthy the owner, the more elaborate the inside. Yurts are lined with brightly colored rugs (“shyrdaks”), round to match the shape of the yurt, and they use richly embroidered woven strips decorated with tassels to tie the yurt to the poles.
Inside, space is allocated according to tradition. The left side (“er jak”) is for men and contains horse and hunting gear. The right side (“epche jak”) is for women and has the stove and cooking utensils stored there. At the back opposite the entrance, is the “juk” where blankets and carpets are kept on top of a richly carved or painted chest. The higher the “juk” the richer the family. At night the blankets are spread out on the rugs on the ground for beds. Newlyweds sleep behind a curtain for extra privacy.
Traditionally, building a new yurt was celebrated with great festivities. The departure was also a great event, taking place ceremoniously, dismantling and departing in a particular order and accompanied with special songs.
NOTE: Some of the information about the yurt came from the book Kyrgyz Republic by Rowan Stewart with Susie Weldon. Other information came from the yurt owners and museum explanations.
Anyway, I had a great night’s sleep in a yurt near Issykul Lake and viewing the process of its dismantling. I was also able to help make a children’s yurt, mini size, at a neighbors’ in Naryn. I wish I could take that home as a meditation hut for my backyard!
September 12th, 2008 at 04:55
LANGUAGE LEARNING
COMMUNICATION IS ONLY 7% WORDS
September 2, 2008
Initially I was thrilled to understand a few random words in Russian in the airport. The first week I was happy to have people explain to me in English what was going on. To use bathroom fixtures and stoves, make tea, buy drinking water, take a bus, get a cellphone, make a phone call, put more time on the phone, set up the futon style bed on the floor, and mentally convert money, were all experiences that one month later are just part of my life. But in the beginning I felt like a child with no knowledge.
By weeks two and three, I was asking directions in Russian, getting my hair done, shopping, and frequenting the internet cafes and IP phone places, getting around the capital city and generally doing fine.
I visited Issykul Lake for a week, took a week long tour with a group of Finnish social workers to social agencies and tourist sites, and was seeing a lot of the country.
But my frustration with not learning Russian faster and depending on English speakers, even if it was broken English and better than my Russian …. was disappointing to me. I got caught in “time bound consiousness” and was calculating that almost one third of my trip was over and I did not speak better.
I remember in Spain in 1973, I cried one day about week three because I could not express my feelings in Spanish. Now I am just happy to be able to remember a word I have heard, looked up, and tried to use many times. Let alone my feelings….they do not need to be expressed in words. This comes across naturally when there is a heart listening.
One such incident was in Issykul Lake with Janna, 34, and her mother, who were expressing their sadness and concerns about the future since the father had died. I told them my mother died and I understood their feelings. There was a moment of tears and our hearts connected forever.
I have found my small dictionary a very good friend. In week four now, I was able to hold a reasonably intelligent conversation about the water power and electrical shortage, the kinds of cars in the USA, what I do for work at home, and how long I will be in Kyrgyzstan during the 5 hour drive from Bishkek to Naryn. I do not mean my Russian sounded intelligent. It was more the creativity of looking up a few choice words and having a conversation one level up from “getting to know you” type information.
My memory is not as sharp as it was in my 20’s, but my patience and perception is better.
I now have a little black notebook of Mom’s that I put the choice words in that I have already looked up several times in the dictionary and refer to that. The questions and conversations tend to be the same topics of “getting to know you” and general news and I was getting tired up remembering I looked a word up several times, but still could not recall the word itself in Russian.
In Naryn, I can practice my Russian, since there are no English speakers in the home, but when they speak to each other, they only use Kyrgyz language. Oh well. At least I can tell when they switch languages!
Television has been interesting to watch. The same kind of shows: cooking shows, serious soaps, crime investigations, people’s court, talk shows where you see your long lost relative, movies, news shows (I heard about the hurricane in Louisiana), etc. only everything is in Russian or Kyrgyz. Most of the shows are from Moscow it seems. My favorite was a song and dance competition on Independence Day weekend (Aug 31 and Sept 1) with the top artists from Russia, Ukraine, Bellorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, etc.
The test was today when I spent over an hour at the neighbor’s house without my dictionary. Looking at her grandmother’s cross stitch, her own patchwork wall hangings, drinking tea and eating treats, and discussing cars (her husband is an auto mechanic and she teaches crafts to preschoolers) were all conversations that were understood even if not every word…and not a word of English. I realized I understand more than I can speak. It takes an opening of the mind and a creativity of imagining what is happening. Just a word or two, a gesture, a facial expression and the pat phrases of “do you understand” and “what did you say?” are handy to know.
So today, I am not frustrated with my Russian abillity. All just takes time and I do have two more months. However, I am applying myself by looking at my Russian exercise book from time to time.
And of course, my constant referral to the little black notebook of Mom’s.
THE BASIC WORDS TO LEARN
Hello.
Thank you.
Eat.
Sleep.
All else comes after that.
October 10th, 2008 at 01:31
TEACHING IN ISFANA
October 7, 2008
Isfana is a small town situated at the farthest western point of the south of Kyrgyzstan in the “oblast” (state) of Batken. It is the poorest region of the country and borders two other Central Asian countries, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
I am staying with a family with two daughters still at home, Rahat, 14 and Gulkayr, 12. Their father, Sagyn, a former Kyrgyz history teacher, runs an NGO (non governmental organization) called “Babushka” (“Grandmother”) which cares for the elderly by giving them meaningful work and companionship, and also has a private business. Their mother, Gulnara, is a state representative and lives in Kyrgyzstan’s capital city Bishkek with two younger siblings and an older sister attending university there.
I was amazed when I went to the children’s school the first day. It is called Gymnasium #1. There was only one English teacher! Mr. Doran Abdikerimovich is 70 and was a regional head of the Communists before Kyrgyzstan became an independent nation from the former Soviet Union.
Here was a man who should have been retired yet he is teaching a full schedule of English language classes because there is no other teacher…..and he speaks English with perfect grammar.
I arrive on the scene and he greets me with grammatically perfect English and then tells me I am the first native speaker of English he has ever met.
Wow. I am honored.
Because of political upheaval and safety issues in past years, there are no Peace Corps volunteers based here. Because of the remoteness of the area, I have not seen any other tourists.
There were no British or American textbooks, only the teacher’s old Soviet text from when he lived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1963 as a university student. He created his own materials, a series of folders with typed pages in plastic covers, on a great number of subjects. One folder was entitled “the U.S.A.” and was quite impressive and well written. The teacher would read it, one student would copy it onto the blackboard and the rest of the students would copy it into their notebooks.
The Director (Principal) had a school assembly to introduce me. 350 junior and senior high school students lined up in the schoolyard to meet ” Mrs. Harriet.” Then I taught English conversation classes all week. I answered questions about the U.S.A. and especially about Cleveland, Ohio.
Well, word got out!
In the two weeks I have been here, I have visited and taught at 9 schools….all day! Some were public, some were Uzbek and some were international (meaning Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Russian instruction was given.) I have met about 20 English teachers. Mrs. Mohira and Ms. Nafiza, both from Uzbek descent, have become quite good friends. I hope we will meet again soon.
I have also taught yoga classes for children and for groups of teachers after school. Children ask me to sign their notebooks and carry by bags. English teachers tell me they have never spoken with a native English speaker!
I conducted an English teachers coaching seminar one day, inviting all the English teachers from different schools together…and teachers of other disciplines also attended. We covered methodologies, networking, and brainstormed about how to get more materials, and possible exchanges in the future. I suggested they form the “English Teachers Association of Isfana” to have a greater voice for obtaining resources. They will share materials and I donated the first new English 6th grade readers for a new lending library. I think I have found a new calling for when I return. There is a reason for everything.
I was meant to come to Isfana. It has been eye opening and heart opening and I connected with many wonderful Kyrgyz and Uzbeks here. And I have felt very useful and that I could contribute a lot to the English language education future here with my coaching.
And, the very week I was here, was Teacher’s Week! I received lots of flowers, children carried my bags, and I attended teachers gatherings and even a wedding!!!
My name Harriet is pronounced like Hurrie or Hurriet and that means “from God”. The teachers told me “I was sent by God.” I am honored.
A true venture from the heart…… for all.