Recounting the days

Hmm, where to begin? i could start with last night's eating of sheep head, but maybe i'll back track and finish off with that.
so, first i'll talk about the village since that's where i left off last. the guy i agreed to go with was only 23 and there was something about him that i just didn't trust, but in desparation to get out of Naryn [the town i have been working in]i agreed to go. [funny looking back, in some ways both he and i used eachother: i used him to get out of town and experience village culture and he used me to teach english and buy him a few meals. i think it works.]
so, we left early in the morning and they tried to tell me that my freind Jake [17 yrs old, the youngest on the team] could not go b/c there was no room for him. but considering that most likely we'd be sleeping on the floor and there's always room for that and that we've probably slept in some places that they'd never think of i talked them into letting him join.
the journey was about a 5 hour total drive and somewhere along the way we stopped to pee and like flies to candy 3 or 4 children ran up to our taxi holding plates of fried fish. completely random, especially since there is not a lake in sight, but i figured that anything that could kill me was itself killed in the fryer so i ate one and it was great. tasted like mojarra, mmmm and that makes me miss mexico and mexican food. we got to their home which was very traditional and humble. the guys share a bed in one room and have a small desk in there; the room is heated by a coal burning stove at one end and they use cow pie to start the fire [sweet! its just grass anyway right?] meals are cooked in another room by the lady that owns the property and little round faced children bounce around the room and off eachother and their mom as she cooks. a few nights later we were given the highest and most important KR national dish a guest could get: Beshbarmat. it literally means five thumbs b/c its eaten w/your hands and all share the same bowl. the food is sheep face meat mixed w/oil and seasoning and thrown in w/noodles and then mixed by hand [of course]. really, it was pretty good and i had a great time laughing at the little boy who played with the grease and fat on his hands as it cooled and coagulated making sounds as he smushed his hands together.
the first day there was some confusion/excitement about an americans peresence in a village in the middle of no where. i was able to go around the village with a man whose translated name meant 'strong gold' [i kept wondering if it had anything to do with his teeth that the soviets gave him but i'm sure he wasn't born with them even though imagination might argue]. he took attendance and checked those who did not make it to school. we must have visited at least 14 houses and were given bread and tea at all of them. i've never eaten so much bread, i felt like spongebob and i kept having to pee on the street [that's what they do here] like a night after hanging out w/the guys. the houses are all the same and so representative of this country. usually a small room that everyone cooks in and maybe another where they sleep; outside there is usually a courtyard where the sheep are penned and a small storage shed. many of the people are warm and few are suspicious; people are people. one bobushka imparticular was so appreciative of our presence.
so the two schools i was able to help out with were so grateful that they had a native english speaker that they would completely interrupt a class and put me in front and expect me to give a full fledged english lesson. hmm, i've never taught in front of a class before and i don't claim to have full authority of the english language myself, but i speak it so that's enough right? well, it was; most of the time they just wanted to hear me talk. i taught classes of 9 year old to classes of 17 yr olds and by far the best classes were the 13-14ers. these kids were hungry to learn and made teaching so fun! i never thought i could teach, but the whole experience makes me consider doing it in the future.
our trip to the village concluded with a second tour and the hospitality of a group of 21 year olds who invited us into one of their houses. he sat us down and asked if i wanted to watch a "sexy movie" while he went to get something [of course i declined, it was funny though and what may be even more hilarious and awkward is the thought watching porn w/strange kyrgyz men. that's an adventure i never want to have]. when he came back he had gifts for me and jake! random gifts! jake got a dress shirt and i received a pair of socks [no pun intended in relation to the previous brackets] and a traditional traditional kyrgyz hat. he soon brought out the national drink: kuh-myz. this drink he insisted on calling kyrgyz tequila, but i still cringed as the cottage cheese-tasing substance made its way past my taste buds. you see, the drink is made from fermented horse milk and has a very mild alcoholic value to it.
jake and i traveled back to naryn alone and enjoyed quite and easy trip [though the first half was in a crowded marshukah making random stops to pick up people in the early 4am morning and reminded me of a trip to mexico i took with the famly when i was 10 but without the chickens]. when i returned i got some strange chest cold that lingered for 2 weeks along with some revelation of this whole experience which is still lingering and i'll share those thoughts later. thanks for reading and show some love people!

Breaking the silence

i really need to apologize for the past weeks of silence. my time in the village was amazing! but since then it has been very busy while returning to my job as team cook and embracing other responsibilities such as service work for the elderly [but more on that later]. the power shortage also played a part, as every time i had a chance to check the internet it the computer lounges were non operative [there are two lounges which only have 4 computers each and the temp is maybe 5 degrees warmer than the outside].
currently i'm in the KR capitol bishkek and happy to much warmer and healthy. our team is wrapping up with a debrief before we fly back to the states in 3 days. beautiful and amazing things have happened over the past few weeks that i can barely comprehend let alone regurgitate for you to read but i'll do my best tomorrow. check back then, i just wanted to say hello.