The kind of excitement you can only imagine

My day to day life here in Kyrgyzstan, obviously varies quite significantly from that of my previous American routine. In general, things are much slower here, but things also take a lot longer to do. This complex dichotomy gives the basic structure of what I do on a daily basis.
Let me start by saying I wake up whenever I feel like it. I know that sounds a little odd and possibly even lazy, but it is the truth. I don’t sleep in until noon or anything like that, but if I feel tired at 8 AM, I just roll over and go back to sleep. Monday through Friday my office does not open until 10 AM, so that is the earliest I can report to work. The problem with reporting at 10 AM is that no one is ever there at 10 AM and if by chance anybody is, it is only one or two people that I don’t necessarily need to work with. In short, I usually get to work around 11.

Before work, once I decide to get up, I go through a pretty regular routine. I get cleaned up a little, brush my teeth, shave if necessary, and so on. All of these things take time. I don’t have a shower, so I generally use baby wipes and baby powder to keep myself clean during the week, taking an occasional “bucket bath” to keep me somewhat sanitary. Shaving requires hot water, so I have to go put a kettle on the coal stove and wait for a good while for it to get hot. All of that, plus getting dressed, runs close to 45 minutes. In the States, I could shower and be ready for work in under 20.

After getting ready, I go have breakfast. Breakfast is not exactly a big meal here in Kyrgyzstan. Usually it consists only of tea and bread. Those of you who know me well, know I prefer to have a decent size breakfast. I usually will have peanut butter and bread, coffee, some cheese, fruit (if I have any), and sometimes a bowl of Ramen Noodles if I know I am going to be busy that day. All of this is consumed while I watch MTV on our satellite dish.

After breakfast, if I am still running early for work, I go back to my room and putter around. Sometimes I read, sometimes I clean. Often I will write my letters and blogs in this free time. When it gets close enough to go to work, I leave for my 25 minute walk to work. On the way, I usually stop at the internet café to see if the internet is working and free, two events that rarely converge. If it is, I will jump on and do the whole email thing.

By the time I get to work, everyone is there and we begin to get down to business. I will discuss it in greater detail in a different entry. Most days we are done with work between 3 PM and 4 PM. I walk home, maybe stopping to pick up some groceries from the market. Twice a week I have language class after work. My Kyrgyz isn’t going to get better all by itself!

I get home between 4 PM and 6PM, depending on whether I have class. The 90 minutes before dinner are usually spent just winding down: reading, playing on the computer, maybe watching a movie. Dinner is at 7:30 and I eat with the family in the other house of the compound. We usually hang out and watch TV for a little while afterwards. My little brother and I will look over his homework and compare our notes on the other’s language. Aziz doesn’t like English. I don’t blame him. I retire to my room around 10. If I am still awake, I’ll watch a movie, but usually I start getting ready for bed and read a little until I fall asleep.

That’s about it. Exciting, I know. Weekends are just the same, except replace work with laundry or with absolutely nothing. The other volunteers and I try to entertain each other as best we can, but life can get a little stagnant over here, especially when you think about the fact that we don’t make much money and even if we did, there really isn’t anywhere to spend it here in the village. You just have to find creative ways to occupy yourself. Cooking, we have found, is an excellent way to keep us entertained and busy for at least a few hours on the weekends. Who knew I would ever be excited to do dishes just because I had nothing better to do?