Oh, has it been over a month since I've posted? Oops. Sorry. I told you I'm bad at this. Since I last posted stuff has happened. Some of the 22's left, we had Christmas, and New Year. I've also planned a trip and worked on some stuff. Where to begin?
So, back in August there was some uncertainty with visas and whatnot. All of this affected the 22's pretty much exclusively. It was difficult for the 23's mentally and emotionally, but our immediate future was not nearly as jeopardized as those of our K-22's. Everything ended up working out. However, over the course of the last few months we have a lot of change. Our country director had to leave Kyrgyzstan for family reasons and we just recently found out who her replacement will be. We also had another issue with visas. Once again this only affected the 22's. Since this was not the first time they had been put through this turmoil they were given the option to complete their service early. About 18 volunteers took this option. 5 of these were from Talas. So that sucked. I completely understand why they chose to leave. Most had already naturally found a sense of completion in the projects they were working on, so they did not feel that leaving was abrupt. As much as I miss my friends, I get why they took the COS option and wish them the best.
Now, on to Christmas. Thanksgiving was a huge gathering, we had so many people. Christmas was very different. Being as it's winter and we have been here over 8 months, many volunteers have gone on vacations to warmer places. So, Christmas was a small affair consisting of everyone who wasn't going to India and Cole, who apparently just doesn't want to ever spend a holiday with us. Anyway we had a good time just hanging out. Christmas Eve we all met up at an apartment, got some groceries to make dinner, and spent the night just chilling and talking. Christmas morning we ate some breakfast and then Andy and I went to my Teen Club. the club this week was about holidays, both American and Kyrgyz. Later, we went to a cafe owned by a volunteer's family, thanks Lauren! We ate some, had some wine, and danced a little. It was a lot of fun. Then we came back to an apartment and hung out, ate some more, and then I fell asleep so I have no idea how the rest of the night went. It was really nice.
Before I get into New Year and my trip. Here are some pictures that I took with my computer. I love these kids.
They discovered the effects of my laptop photobooth
So, if there ever was a Kyrgyz equivalent to Christmas it is Jangi Jil. It's actually a kind of New Year, Christmas, Halloween hybrid. With fireworks. My family and I spent the pretty much the whole day together. We ate so much food. At about 8:30, Aizada, Medina, Aiperrie, and I went to the center of town. There was a huge gathering. We took a picture with the Kyrgyz Santa and then we took the little girls roller skating. at about 10 pm we got home, ate again, and then everyone took a rest. The festivities picked back up at 11:45. We ate more, toasts were given, and the kids got to open their New Year presents. At midnight, the fireworks started. We all ran outside to watch. I held Kanikei while we were watching the fireworks so she could see better, and I have never seen a child so excited for anything. It was really special to witness.
Our New Year Tree with all the goodies
Our cake
Kanikei in her NY dress
Shooting off fireworks
Next up, let's talk about my work. It's definitely more clearly defined than it was a month ago. I have club that meets once a week. It's a club of mostly teen girls, sometimes a rogue boy will join us. We talk about health topics mostly. I'm also starting a yoga club that will meet once a week. My secondary work is mostly centered around working at a day center for children with disabilities. It's fun working with this organization.
I'm feeling much more fulfilled in my work. It took some time to figure out my place and a routine, but now it's really starting to come together.
Now about my my upcoming trip. I'm going to Dubai, guys! I'm so excited! I'm going with one other volunteer. It's going to be great. I'll post about it after it has actually happened.
Well, that;s all folks.
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