This week has been a struggle for myself and the team and there is no doubt about it. I have seen how improper preparation for outreach leads to extreme frustration and slow take off, but we are off, we are here and although movement has been slow things are moving. What has been difficult to adjust to is the movement of life down here which reflects the temperature. The highs during the day barely reach above 0 Fahrenheit and drop to -20 at night and with that come new experiences like having my larynx freeze and feeling frozen nose hairs, something I never thought could happen. The Kyrgyz culture is not a task oriented culture and there has been a learning curve to realize this. For example: I planned having a 30 minute meeting with a man today that turned into 2 hours (I should have known better). But at least the meeting was productive: the man is an English teacher at a remote village and asked if I could visit for the week and critique him as well as assist his students; I eagerly agreed. This will be a new adventure as the village is a little more than 200km away and because of the roads a fine 5-6hr drive, which of course I don’t mind. The man constantly made sure that I was okay with poor 3rd world conditions during our conversation (obviously he doesn’t know me well and has been watching too much MTV) and was not convince by me telling him that it wasn’t going to be a problem for me. Hand shakes here are seals for contracts and broken contracts are seen as dishonor (sounds like “the good ol” days doesn’t it?), so at the end of our conversation I agreed to join him and his companion teacher for a 6 day stay. Afterward they invited me and some friends over for dinner.
Hospitality here is amazing since they treat all guests with the highest honor (you never know when you might be entertaining angels ). They have a saying here that goes,” two mountains will never meet, but two people can” which is reflective of their willingness to make friends. The hospitality has an interesting tradition where they only fill you tea cup up half way so you can finish soon and they gladly fill your cup again. Chai (tea), naan (bread) and meat (and vodka, though technically not food) make up the basics of the Kyrgyz diet so there are plentiful and can be expected at every meal. Naan is traditional cut and set on the table and to refuse it when offered is disrespectful. We were blessed on this night to have a traditional dish called ‘kurdoc’ which usually includes potatoes and seasoned meat. Although this time kurdoc had no potatoes I did have the privilege of watching him carve the sheep right in front of me and about 15 minutes later a plate of hot salted sheep meat was placed in front of my friends and I; no plates, just forks and a community plate. Before we left our new friends promised us more traditional food in the upcoming days and confirmed once again (by handshake) that we will meet them in the morning to depart on the week’s new adventure.
What else is going on? Well the week has been very fruitful after all. Some of the team members have been able to connect with the locals over conversations on the street, in the bazaar and over meals. Most of the members of the team have been pulled in off the street for a feast and one was even invited to spend the night. We have been able to give support to a missionary family that is here on a long term basis as well as visit one of the local pastors twice a week to spend time with him and his mini orphanage. We were able to connect with a couple from the Peace Corps that has been here for almost two years and were given some insight and prospects for us to engage while we’re here. The snowboard ministry is still booming (and so satisfying as you can imagine). I was able to speak with the man who operates the tow ropes just outside of town and he willing accepted my offer to have our team give free lessons to the locals. Today was our first opportunity to that just after a local ski competition finished. Everyone wants to get at least one try on a board and is so grateful after; in fact, we have regulars: a group of guys 15-17 that turn and stop with control!
Sadly, as of the last couple days I’ve suddenly realized I’m out of my comfort zone and am seeing the stark contrast between my way of life and life here (it’s like delayed culture shock), but small things keep me grounded and in perspective like listening to my ipod and drinking some of the coffee that I brought. Last night I was able to watch a UFC dvd that a friend purchased at the bazaar for 40com (a little more than a buck) and some how watching guys beat the snot out of each other made me feel like I was at home for a bit (that’s for you Trav). [and ya, I know, that’s kind of demented] and somehow simply writing this blog keeps me grounded and I remember once again to embrace The Process.
Thanks for reading the blab!