Peace Corps Journals

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

2012-05-29 09:11:42

So I guess I should mention that I live on a farm. We have cows, chickens, goats, sheep, and possibly horses (sometime they’re in the yard, sometimes they are nowhere to be found, it’s confusing). We also grow tomato, cucumbers, cabbage, and onions. I say we, but I have yet to partake in farm work. I am employed mostly as a babysitter as my host mother and father and other family members take on the livestock. Would it be cool to milk a cow, sure, do I plan to? Not so sure.

The food has been delicious so far. Each day for lunch we go to someone’s house and their family prepares lunch for us. They go all out. Three or four courses, compote (a juice made from boiling fruits), tea, cakes, candies, the list goes on. We’ve had Plov a couple times. Plov is one of the traditional dishes consisting of rice, onions, carrots, and meat (typically from a sheep or goat). We have also had these dumpling like concoctions which are my favorite. So far the only complaints about the food are the astounding amount of oil they use to cook and that the only fruits and vegetables have been cucumbers and tomatoes.

I like waking up to the mountains in the morning. Some days are clearer than others, but on clear mornings it is amazing. The green foothills before the blue snow capped mountains is incredible. I spend my walk to school with my neck craned to the left to just look at them. During the day we all long to be up in the mountains to escape the heat. With June around the corner the temperatures have been creeping upwards towards the mid 90s. The mountains taunt us with their snow and shadows.

Yesterday my language group and I traveled into Bishkek for the first time. We visited Osh Bazaar, which is crowded and holds anything you could possibly need to buy (mostly knockoffs). We then visited the bus stations to see how we would be traveling to and from our oblast for the next two years. After that we walked through the main square, past their version of the White House (which is Very Soviet looking), and to a grocery store that sold a good amount of American products. From there we walked to the ZUM, which is an electronic warehouse. Hot, thirsty, and ready for our naps we headed back to our village, but we can now travel to Bishkek on our own during our free time.

Mostly life is beginning to settle into a routine. Language class, tech, hanging out with the homestay family, dinner, and bed. Repeat. Though I finally was allowed to help clean up dinner last night, which was nice. I’m studying a lot, hoping to be able to speak to people and beyond the level of my two-year-old host sister. Until next time!

(view on my walk to class)

Write to Me

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Gnome man's Land

2012-05-29 09:31:29

So If anyone wants to send some snail mail, this is my current address. Please don’t send anything after July 1st as I will be moving in mid July and it takes things a little while to travel half way across the world.

Megan McGowan

Sokuluk rayon

724-806 Voenno-Antonovka

118, Frunze str.

Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage

Kyrgyz Republic

The View from Clay County

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-05-26 22:56:29

May 26, 2012 -- History rolls on at a memorial outside the county courthouse in Vermillion, South Dakota, where VFW Post 3061 will hold an observance on Monday.

Salamatsizbu

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Gnome man's Land

2012-05-23 04:26:04

I can already tell this is going to be the most exhausting and exhilarating two months of my life. I am living with my first host family now. To say the language barrier is a challenge would be an understatement, but it is making life interesting. My host family consists of a host mother (who is only 3 years older than me), a host father, the host mother’s sister, a brother-in-law, a 2 year old and the baby (who is 7months and frickin adorable). The brother-in-law speaks a little English, but he has helped in translations and asking questions. A neighbor also visited last night and her English was decent as well. For now I mostly gesture and say the word in English in some vain hope that my host mother, who knows a few words, will recognize what I mean. Language lessons are hard! The alphabet is mind-boggling and the rules for the present simple tense alone are already a struggle. I plan to spend the next two years saying everything grammatically incorrect as long as I can get my point across. The lessons go until 3pm at which time we board a mashrootka for tech training. After a packed and sweaty 20minute ride we arrive at the orphanage where we have teacher training. So far teacher training has been good. We do a lot of warm-up activities and basics of the school system here in Kyrgyzstan. On Wednesdays we have what is called hub day. This is the most exhausting day of them all. From 8:30-5pm we have Peace Corps training and culture lessons. We learn about the history of Kyrgyzstan, medical information for the Peace Corps, and more teachers training. On these days our family packs a lunch for us. This week I was given enough food to last me an entire week and felt bad giving so much of it back. Nights are a little awkward but getting better. My host sister and I can barely talk to one another but we have a lot of fun with it. I think we’ve translated everything inside the house. We watch a lot of movies (John Carter was not as bad as people made it out to be, even in Russian). Overall everything is going great. I’m tired but having a lot of fun and enjoying everything but the outhouse (though I haven’t found a cow inside the hole as another volunteer did). Talk to you all soon!

Photo of the Day

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-05-17 04:58:43

May 16, 2012 -- Off Highway 19 and a bend in the Missouri River, South Dakota's corn is already enjoying the warmest year on record.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Gnome man's Land

2012-05-14 15:34:36

I’m in Kyrgyzstan

Wow. It’s real. I’m here (after many many long flights and layovers). The group is wonderful. There are 38 of us here.

So yeah, we took a bus from Philly to JFK and then flew to Frankfurt Germany and then to Istanbul Turkey and finally onto Bishkek Kyrgyzstan where there was an amazing welcoming party waiting for us.

After pictures and celebrations we got to the hotel around 5am, checked in and got to sleep around 6.

In the morning we were greeted by a spectacular view of snow capped mountains over the city. If I can have that for a view for the next two years I will be a very happy PCV.

For the past two days we have been doing meetings and language training, but tomorrow we move out of the hotel and in with our homestay families. It’s a bit daunting but also very very exciting.

Well that is all for now, just happy to check in with everyone. Hopefully I will have a more constant connection of some form soon, but until then I am good and enjoying my stay here in Kyrgyzstan

Megan

Dream About the Days to Come

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Gnome man's Land

2012-05-08 20:06:38

Here I come Kyrgyzstan (Keer-gih-STAN).

27 months. It seems like a long time, but ask yourself what you were doing two years ago and you’ll realize it doesn’t seem like all that long ago. 27 months ago I was in Florida with some really cool people enjoying spring break. A year ago I was a mere week from graduation. Time flies. I will be back with all of you soon. I will miss you all. But in the meantime you can follow the journey of me and my friend Phil here.

Who is Phil?

Phil is this really great guy I met the other night at my going away party. He’s a bit short, not really up with current fashions, but he’s very passionate about traveling, exploring new cultures, meeting new people. And he’s coming with me to Kyrgyzstan!!!

And a little about Kyrgyzstan, again Keer-gih-Stan. It is located in Central Asia.

The national language is Kyrgyz, though some speak Russian. It is home to one of the world’s largest walnut forest. It is compromised of about 80% mountains and it’s about the size of Nebraska. I will be teaching English. Learning Kyrgyz. Eating goats and sheep. Showering on a less than regular basis. And loving life.

And so the journey is about the begin. The last thing left to do is meet Phil.

Cheers,

Megan

The View from Yankton

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-05-13 05:30:18

May 12, 2012 -- For the annual Humane Society fundraiser in Yankton, South Dakota, a rancher from Tyndall brings his menagerie: exotic pheasants, spitting alpacas, and a month-old, one-humped camel.

Bolaño’s Last, Great Secret

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-05-13 05:03:56

via The New Yorker and Jacques Henric

May 7, 2012 -- RBM has an essay on the Roberto Bolaño and The Secret of Evil (April 2012) over at The Millions. This might be the great hypnotist's last original collection, and while it doesn't measure up to Last Evenings on Earth (2007), which followed Bolaño's posthumous debut in The New Yorker, there is plenty to behold. Along with a dozen sketches from computer files that publisher New Directions says he was working on at the time of his death, April's release includes longer stories that occasionally read as essays. Or is it the other way around? Here's more on that question from the essay. The excerpt begins with a quotation from Bolaño's “Labyrinth,” whose narrator is preoccupied with a photograph.

"They're sitting around a table. It's an ordinary table, made of wood, perhaps, or plastic, it could even be a marble table on metal legs, but nothing could be less germane to my purpose than to give an exhaustive description of it."

What Bolaño's last masterpiece does proceed to describe, with East Germanic voyeurism, is the web of relationships on display. Why? Because (1) unlike many tableside portraits in Paris, this image was not intended for a magazine spread; and (2) because, importantly, not everyone is paying attention to the photographer. Two of the women pictured gaze off-camera, in the same direction. They might be preoccupied with an object of affection and it's precisely this quality of deduction that fuels Bolaño’s narrative.

What of the photo itself? Unfortunately for readers, it can't be found in The Secret of Evil. But it did appear in The New Yorker's publication of “Labyrinth,” spread right across the opening pages. What more can be said of the seated figures, we begin to wonder?

To read “Bolaño's Last, Great Secret” in full, visit this permalink.

Letting Go — An Echo from Last Fall

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Over Here, Over There

2012-05-04 16:33:32

I was inside of myself, a caged animal circling endlessly back and forth. Staring at the cage door, waiting for it to open. The rage pulsed within me, unfurling to the tips of my fingers and coiling back again. What had started out as wild anger had through the years hardened into cold, murderous determination. [...]

Keeping it Real: Directing the 2012 NESCBWI Conference

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Visible Thought

2012-05-03 11:14:01

Five years ago I walked into my first SCBWI conference. I had written a fantasy novel for kids, and a family friend who wrote children’s books (the wonderful Annie O’Brien) told me I should go to this conference. She was the only one I knew. The next year, I had an online critique group and [...]

Welcome

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Beautiful With Mystery

2012-04-02 02:19:25

Hello!

Welcome. Great to have your here. This is the wonderful website in which I will be documenting my adventures as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Where is the Kyrgyz Republic you ask? Well allow me to show you.

So yep, it borders China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. (I find it helpful to tell people that it is next to China and 2 countries below Russia).

And to explain the name of the Blog. There is a book series called Story People written by Brian Andreas and it is amazing. Each book is a collection of stories and drawings, mostly whimsical, some series, but expressing life. One of my favorites is called “Different Plans” and it goes like this:

I don’t know how long I can do this, he said. I think the universe has different plans for me & we sat there in silence & I thought to myself that this is the thing we all come to & this is the thing we all fight & if we are lucky enough to lose, our lives become beautiful with mystery again & I sat there silent because that is not something that can be said.

So here is to life becoming beautiful with mystery.

Thank You (MorePlease)

Megan

Kyrgyz Numbers HD.mov

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan YouTube Videos matching query: "peace corps" "Kyrgyzstan"&search_sort=video_date_uploaded

2012-04-21 02:48:05

	Kyrgyz Numbers HD.mov This video gives you chance to learn basic numbers spoken in perfect Kyrgyz by some of the members of the Peace Corps staff and Tav. Once you learn these, you can more or less say any number you want (more on number structures soon). Welcome to PC Kyrgyzstan! Try and listen, read, and learn the alphabet through these simple words. Enjoy yourself!	From: davidmalana Views: 0 0 ratings
	Time: 02:15	More in Education

I have a garden!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Alex & Athena's Peace Corps Adventure

2012-04-16 04:43:00

Women are selling apple tree saplings and seeds on the side of the road. Everyone is in the garden after work starting to plant. The fruit trees are budding. It is most certainly spring.
I just got in from making rows in the piece of the family garden our family is letting me use for this season. Thus far I have planted tomatoes, onions, and garlic. I've also started spinach, lettuce, leeks, and peppers indoors (Thanks for the seeds mom!) and some herbs in pots. I made starter pots out of paper (you know you mold the paper around a bottle and then you can plant the paper and all once the seeds sprout) and my family sat and watched me like I was a crazy person. It was quite a spectacle. After a long winter in which the whole village is covered in white, its amazing to see green again!
Generally life is starting to get busy. I am doing a bunch of composting and job preparedness trainings.
I will write more and upload pictures my next trip.

Have a great week everyone,
Athena

Altyn Arashan and a Kyrgyz Yurt (2009)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan YouTube Videos matching query: "peace corps" "Kyrgyzstan"&search_sort=video_date_uploaded

2012-04-11 06:10:55

	Altyn Arashan and a Kyrgyz Yurt (2009) Back in 2009 I took a week-long trip to Kyrgyzstan with 2 friends. Besides the complexities of getting a visa in Central Asia, it was a quick hop over the border from Kazakhstan where I was serving in the Peace Corps. I know Kyrgyzstan is a world class vacation spot for most Americans, especially being so close--and with recent revolutions, government change and whatnot adding to the excitement... As strange as it sounds, though, it was probably one of the most fascinating and fun trips I ever took. Most people think of a dream vacation as a place like Cancun or Hawaii--both great places to visit, don't get me wrong--but I think of a place like Kyrgyzstan as a dream vacay. Altyn Arashan means golden valley, and it lives up to its name! And one's life is not lived until you spend a night in a yurt--simple as that... I'm sorry if the video, editing and sound are't that great. I recorded the video on a quick shot digital camera and quickly edited the vid with Windows Movie Maker.	From: timmmmyification Views: 2 0 ratings
	Time: 14:33	More in Travel & Events

The View from DeKalb

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-04-02 18:17:29

April 1, 2012 -- Its Merits Recommend It, a 1999 mural overlooking downtown DeKalb, Illinois, reminds visitors of the region's history. A DeKalb farmer patented barbed wire in 1874. The mural's designer borrowed the title from an old advertisement for wire fencing. The state's official snack food? Popcorn.

Springtime!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Alex & Athena's Peace Corps Adventure

2012-04-01 07:38:00

It has been a little while since I last updated you all. We have officially been in Peace Corps a year now which is exciting. The most exciting news I have is that it is SPRING! I also ate spinach and avocados---very luxurious.

We recently celebrated quite a few holidays. We had an epic St. Patrick's Day party and have had many Kyrgyz holidays as well. This month we celebrated Mens' Day, Womens' Day, and Nooruz (Persian new year). There have been lots of days off and lots of parties. Which really means more food and fruit then usual :-).

In other news, I made my first Kyrgyz friend which feels like a really big deal. As volunteers we often know a lot of people but do not have more than cordial relationship with most of them. Over the past few months I have been tutoring a young teacher at my school and we have come to be friends. Yay for friendship :-)

In my professional life--I'm busy. Sarah and I are are planning the annual Talas Camp at which we will teach about tolerance, other cultures, and nutrition. Should be fun and a great thing for the new Talas volunteers to do over the summer. I am planning a seminar on job skills for young men and women for 'Take your child to Work Day' in April. I just submitted a grant proposal for my health curriculum project, which I think will be really amazing. Finally, I got my first grant! It was for hand washing stations to be placed at the three schools in my village. The grant was through Water Charities and is a super awesome program, so if you feel like donating to a great organization that helps bring clean water to villages around the world, check it out here. Alex is doing well and has begun to work at a second school with a really motivated counterpart. He is also working on a few translation projects and a technology training grant.

Now we are in Bishkek for Spring break and for the FORUM English teachers association conference at which we will taught teaching a few session. We are actually here for a bit longer than we expected due to the pass being closed. Evidently March/April is avalanche season. To prevent dangerous avalanches the government closes the roads and uses explosions to trigger controlled avalanches. Crazy stuff.

I hope all of you are doing well. Have a wonderful week!

Some Thoughts on the Ngram Viewer

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-03-28 22:53:37

Searching "lots of books," 1900-2000

March 28, 2012 -- RBM will present "The Massacre in Magical Realism: Some Thoughts on Las Bananeras and the Ngram Viewer" at the 2012 Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media. The conference takes place March 30-31 at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. RBM's paper explores the historicity of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude with help from Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children and Google's Ngram Viewer, pictured above. An excerpt:

What’s seems worth noting, as this rumination's coda, is the near-absence of the events of December 1928 from this data set. Searching for "banana massacre" (and "Santa Marta massacre," as it's also known), produces a flat line up until the late 1960s, when One Hundred Years first reaches audiences, then minor bursts of consciousness, or so it would appear, as García Márquez wins the Nobel prize in 1982 and finally reaches a far-flung literati. Soaring above this line, ever since the 1920s—up and down and up again, sometimes more than a dozen data points higher (we imagine) into all of literature—we find the terms "Jallianwala Bagh massacre" (and "Amritsar massacre," as it was first known). More bluntly, and as the closing chapters of One Hundred Years attest, it was the bananeras, not General Dyer's tangled villagers, who with the disappearance of a banana company disappeared from Western thought.

Moderating RBM's panel, which also includes criticism of newspaper op-eds and ethnic identity in poetry: Ibis Gómez-Vega, a novelist and professor of English at Northern Illinois. There's more information at NIU.edu/MCLLM.

anti pioneer

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-28 01:01:00

After the aforementioned road trip up and down the coast, I mentioned to Shochan that I had been wanting to go hiking near Usuki. I mean, we are surrounded by mountains, why have I not hiked one in the 9 months I have been here?

Shochan is like the wizard of Usuki. He grew up here and works as a delivery driver, so he knows the ins and outs of literally everywhere. If I have any type of question about this town, he will have an answer within minutes. And typically, he is outside my apartment in a half hour ready to drive me there and show me around. Anyhow! I asked him about hiking. And of course, within 5 minutes, we were at the base of a trail going up the mountain.

Japanese trail maps are approximately 3x harder to decipher than those in English.

The longest leg of the trip, according to this map, was 500m. Half a kilometer. So like 1/3rd of a mile? I thought it would be cake! So we decided to make our way up. I have only hiked two Japanese mountains, but they are phenomenal! By the 1800s, most of the trees in Japan had been cut down and harvested. At that point, the government began a movement to systematically replant in a sustainable way. For that reason, the forests are really uniform, at the same time dynamic in its appearance. Beautiful! It was a warm spring afternoon, and there was a cool crisp breeze blowing in among the cedar and bamboo.

It seems to me a lot of trails I have been on in America were in effect sidewalks that went through the woods. Or, a bit better, but still inexcusable, gravel paths through the forest. I want to walk through dirt, climb over rocks, trees! This trail was excellent -- pretty rugged and intense. A lot of places had knotted ropes that you had to use to climb up steep rock faces. So fun! To me, this is hiking, not a sterile patch of concrete through a green area. I digress! We made our way to the first trail marker.

ichigome

一合目! "One" "place" "ordinal number marker." Ahem. Yeah, first stop. Along the path there were lots of natural streams where people left tin buckets and ladles where you could drink from them. The water was so cold and clear, really refreshing and tasty during the hike. Anyhow, we made our way further and further up the path. It was really pretty steep! We came to our destination, the good view that so many signs were promising. It did not disappoint!


Uhm. Whoa!

Uhm. Whoa! x2

Whoa! WHOA! We climbed up the last little hill on top of the mountain and came to this amazing view. This is maybe the definitive shot of Usuki in my opinion. There was a telescope free to use. We found our apartments and looked around the people working in the shipyard. It made a lot of my daily anxieties or concerns seem so small. I get the same feeling when I fly .. it strangely puts things in perspective. Our daily woes that seem to be such dealbreakers really don't stand up when viewed from hundreds of feet in the air. Haha!

We were heading back to the truck when we saw another path that ascended further. We were both tired, but neither one of us would commit to returning back to Usuki. Further we climb!

There were some easier paths for a while as we walked around the mountain. Soon, however, it was back to the steep rocky paths in the shade. We began seeing signs for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Our interest was piqued, so we decided to make it to the temple at the top! Along the way we stopped for a few water breaks at the streams, also took short rests at the picnic areas along the path. This is a great spot, there are so many little homemade tables at wonderful outlook points. This calls for trail mix and sandwiches, hear ye hear ye!

Finally, we made it to the temple at the top! I was so amazed. There was a big cleared area, a pond, several Buddha statues, and a large bell. Some of it had the look of an o-niwa, the traditional Japanese gardens. Beautiful! We explored the temple a bit, rang the bell, and began back down the path. While at the top, we saw a wild deer. It was so neat to see! Upon inquiry, Shochan told me it spoke fluent Japanese .. wow.

Temple at the top. Notice Buddha statues to the left.

It was a long, tired walk back, mostly picking up pine cones and impersonating the various singers of that hot track from the 1980s, "We are the world." Shochan loves the 80s! Overall, it was a fantastic hike. I will definitely be returning here for future picnics throughout the spring and summer. Today, two days after the fact, my calves are still pretty sore. What a great feeling --

A promessa de vida no teu coração

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-28 00:23:00

Kyushu is such a beautiful place. Japan has 4 main islands -- from north to south, there are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Funny, I remember before my JET interview in Chicago a year ago scrambling at Cassie's apartment in Chicago to memorize them in case it came up. Anyhow, Kyushu is the most southern mainland island. I say mainland because Japan is actually comprised of about 6,100 islands! Wow.

To my knowledge, Kyushu is considered the most rural or "natural" of the four mainland islands. Our claim to fame, particularly in Oita prefecture (where I live, similar to a county in a US state), is natural hot springs. Anyhow! Kyushu is really dynamic in its geography. We have beautiful coastline and beaches, with small islands all along the horizon. There are a few miles of flat land at the coast, and then big green hills and mountains emerge in the landscape. About 50 miles south of my town is Mt Aso, which has the largest caldera (ie crater after a volcano erupts) in the world.

Tsukumishima, the island to the right

I live on the coast .. literally. My apartment is about 10 feet from the ocean. In warmer times, I would make myself cocktails and sit on the dock right in front of my apartment. When I visit other teachers living more inland, they also have a very beautiful spot. Most of the villages are in little flat areas between the hills and mountains. There are rice paddies and orange trees aplenty. Here is Notsu, a small town south of where I live. Incidentally, it is where I am getting my full sleeve done?

Notice the "haystack" of rice in the middle!

For undisclosed reasons, I was not present at the office on Monday. Instead, I was out riding up and down the coast with my friend Shochan! It was a beautiful sunny day, and the ocean was the perfect shade of blue.

The omnipresent Tsukumishima

This is the painter coming out in me, but I was shocked the whole time by how it was just like a deep blue straight from the tube. I was so entranced by how the distant islands faded into the sky, the soft edges of the horizon, the different shades of blue and green in the water. Wow ..

Usuki (my town) is really made up of several small fishing villages that wrap around a sort of bay. All the towns are united under the name of one municipality. As you ride along the coast, there are these tiny little towns nestled in the hills, all with a dock and crusty little boats. There are typically farms and old people walking around with wheelbarrows full of green onions and gobo.


Cute fishing village: 1. Power lines: 0.

Trips like this always do so well to snap me out of any type of funk or routine that I am in. There is something so healthy and energizing about breathing in the salty sea air, a cool breeze coming in off the water, and leisurely riding a bike up and down shallow hills between fishing villages. In the winter this wasn't so feasible or comfortable, but now that spring is here, I will be up and down these country roads all the time. One of my favorite things is to make my own trail mix, grab a few bananas and a quart of milk, ride down the coast and paint or write, then stop to have a little picnic near the water.

It really energizes me so much, gives me so much faith and enthusiasm for the spring to come. I want to wrap this up with a lyric from Tom Jobim, "águas de março. " First, the original Portuguese:

"São as águas de março
fechando o verão
É a promessa de vida
no teu coração.."

And an impromptu translation by yours truly:

"The waters of March are talking about summer,

a promise of life within your heart."

Singin' in the K

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan YouTube Videos matching query: "peace corps" "Kyrgyzstan"&search_sort=video_date_uploaded

2012-03-26 04:28:54

	Singin' in the K Watch as I sing "On Segiz Jash" in Kyrgyz on Nooruz Myram, a huge holiday in Kyrgyzstan! The song is about remembering your youth and longing for the youthful days that have passed you by. My introduction translates as "Hello everyone, my name is Steve, I'm the Peace Corps volunteer here in Toguz Bulak. Toguz Bulak is the best village in all of Kyrgyzstan, right? (crickets). RIGHT?! (cheers). May you all be happy, may you all be healthy, and may there be peace in Kyrgyzstan. Now I'm going to sing you guys a little song in Kyrgyz... if it's incorrect please excuse me, but please sing along with me! Let's go! (cue the music) Disclaimer: I am a little drunk in this video. I am not a singer. I have never sang in my life. Bear with me.	From: jstevenroot Views: 2 0 ratings
	Time: 04:43	More in Travel & Events

"keep a well polished heart."

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-22 01:22:00

I opened up a journal of mine from June to October. This is a journal entry from August 17th. It is good to reflect.

Hit me up on my celly cell!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-13 03:59:00

I love life, experiencing reality unfolding! I am always ready to throw myself into an experience, open completely to emotions, situations, and circumstance. Friday evening I fell asleep on the couch while reading. Woke up around 8:30 in this weird groggy hungry state. I made some soup and was debating what to do with my evening. I walked out on my balcony to check the temperature. Not only was it warm, but I saw a big yellow full moon hanging over the mountains. I took it as a sign! Let's go crazy.

I filled up my flask with Beefeater, took a few swigs, and put on my fur coat to head out into the night. The only thing I like better than a warm summer night is a cool spring evening where I can get sassy in my fur coat. I wandered up and down the streets, opening up the flask when no one was around. Drunkenness set in and I found myself sitting on a bench in Usuki park.

There is an old castle on the hill, which is slightly visible in this picture. Hanging over the whole scene was a full moon illuminating the city in a cold, thin light. I sat on the bench and dipped more into the flask. Ah ..

Went out and meandered the streets some more. As it was a warm evening, there were a fair amount of people out and about, roaming the streets, office workers or businessmen letting loose on a Friday. The whole feeling was so magical. Dimly lit streets, drunks laughing, stoic taxi drivers, a fur coat and a secret flask. I knew the pictures I was taking were dark, but I think they convey the feeling and ambiance well, even if they aren't technically "good" photographs.

I made my way through Haccho Ojii district. It is the sort of historical market/shopping area. The kanji in haccho ojii means "8 Villages," so I imagine that it was a place where people from these villages convened to sell goods. During the day this is a very busy one way street. It is always pleasurable to saunter along, but this evening was particularly good.

Eventually I met up with my friend Maru Chan and we walked to Clain Begin, a shot bar in Usuki. I am not sure what a Clain Begin is, but a shot bar is a bar that specializes in shots and cocktails, has a big selection of import and top shelf liquors. Clain Begin is a popular spot and I wanted to check it out! The bartender wore a tie and a vest jacket. Very suave, wood panels and a nice countertop. I had some Ballantine's, which was quite yummy! A friend of ours, Yuji, came into the bar and ordered a gin and tonic and some iberico. They have iberico!?

A few drinks in and some yummy iberico in my belly, Yuji got up to leave. He suavely put some money on the counter and told us to enjoy the evening. This covered everyone's drinks and inspired the shenanigans of the night a bit more. Thanks Yuji! We headed out and went to Ekamena, arguably the best bar in Japan, for a few more drinks. I sat back and relaxed to a Drambujie, talking with some friends. 2 o' clock rolled around and it was time to go home. Not before a drunk glam shot in the bathroom.

I left the bar to a cold crisp night illumined by a full moon, to a magical glimpse of the spring to come.

The port, Hindu deities, and the Norwegian

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-09 04:10:00

I have learned a lot from living near an active international port. It is about a 5 minute walk from my apartment, and most of the day is broken up by really emblematic horns and bells of boats arriving, leaving, workers showing up, taking breaks, leaving work. There are a handful of large boats here who have been anchored the entire 8 months I have been in Usuki. You can always see these small human figures welding on them, little flashes of intense white that trace the workers hands as they hang suspended off the side of a ship. There are also a lot of small boats, crusty little things with empty packs of cigarettes in the cabins, cute names, and enviable bumper stickers, such as this, the HOYHO DOCK YARD. Anyhow, do boats even have bumpers?

Not only is it a picturesque spot to walk around, a nice sea smell and lively environment, but also provides a steady stream of interesting and dynamic people in this small town in Japan. Usuki is technically almost 30,000 people, but a lot of it are small fishing towns united under one municipality. I guess that the section of town I live in is maybe 10-12,000. That is a guess!

Some days when I am walking to work in the mornings, there are 10-15 Indian sailors standing around near the hotel where they are staying. They are ship crews who stay here while their ship is being worked on. We usually exchange some sort of awkward furtive acknowledgement of each other, we are all foreigners in this spot. Sometimes in the evenings you see groups of Indians or Filipinos out riding bikes or having fun in town.

I am fortunate to have a friend here who is half-Greek, half-Japanese, and has spent the last 10-15 years living in Canada. He speaks fluent English and holds a pretty high position in the shipyard. He has explained some of the mechanics of global commerce and how it relies on ships, the economy behind it, politics and culture. I have learned so much from him! It still seems like some sort of secret world to me.

This is probably my favorite staple at the shipyard. It hasn't moved since I have arrived in July. I like the big rust colored bottom that leads to an intense vermilion along the top. Best of all, and I guess what sometimes inspires me to sit on the dock and let my thoughts wander, is the name of the ship. Siva Rotterdam. This is mostly likely me reading into it and assigning my own views onto it, but I think of Shiva in Hinduism.

This Shiva statue is NOT in Usuki! Haha. Anyhow, it gets me thinking about the Holy Trinity in Hinduism. There are many many many schools in Hinduism, and I would like to preface this by saying that I am in no way an authority, and I am talking about specific schools that I have read or studied. Additionally, I want to point out that there are seeming contradictions among these schools and within Hinduism, but I think that any valid spirituality or religion must contain truths that transcend logic and seem irrational or contradictory to us. Logic is, after all, a human invention (Thanks to Ancient Greece, my homeboyZ). So, apologies for any falsities in this one.

Anyhow, in the Hindu Trinity that I am familiar with, there are three Gods which are manifestations of a single God, Atman. Anyhow. The three Gods form the Hindu trinity. There is Brahma, the creator, who creates the world and all its entities. Vishnu is the God of preservation, and he maintains the creations during their lifetime. Lastly, there is Shiva, who is the God of destruction. He brings death and destruction to these forms. To me, this triniy is a beautiful symbol of the birth, life, and death of all forms. They are all three equally valid and necessary facets of existence.

So for me, I like to sit on the dock and think about Shiva when I see the boat. Large and unmoving, eternal, the necessary undoing and inevitable loss of that which comprises the material world. Thank you, Siva Rotterdam, for inspiring me to periodically reflect on the nature of the material world in a poetic way.

Lastly, I would like to tie this altogether by mentioning my birthday party last week. My friends Shochan and Maruchan ("-chan" is an affection suffix we put to peoples first names to show friendship) invited me to a dinner at Koshino, a local restaurant here. About two hours before I left, Shochan called me and asked if it were OK if he invited a "Norwegian." What!? Of course I agreed .. the more the merrier, and I love merriment! I get to the restaurant and sure enough, there is Shochan, Koichi, and .. Svein. It was easy to spot a 6'6" Norwegian in this small town in Japan. Had a great talk with him about his life as a ship engineer. He has been to about 17 countries, often (always?) working with ships. He just spent the last year or so up and down the coast of China. Great conversation with these guys, about the shenanigans and life of working on ships. They are very intelligent, and it is an often trying lifestyle.

I really enjoyed talking with Svein. He had this deep Norwegian accent, with thick guttural R's like the French or German. I take away one image from my birthday party .. and that is being drunk with this group of people, cutting jokes, and Svein pulling the glass of beer away from his mouth with a twinkle in his eye, unable to keep a smile down, repeating in that accent,

"Yes, life is perfect, yes, life is perfect .."

Thanks friends!

The Bird, The Bell, and Me. みんなちがって，みんないい。

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-07 01:09:00

This is the first poem by Kaneko Misuzu that I was introduced to, "The Bird, The Bell, and Me."

私と小鳥と鈴と

私が両手をひろげても、
お空はちっとも飛べないが、
飛べる小鳥は私のように、
地面を速く走れない。

私が体をゆすっても、
きれいな音はでないけど、
あの鳴る鈴は私のように、
たくさんな唄は知らないよ。

鈴と、小鳥と、それから私、
みんなちがって、みんないい。

The Bird, The Bell, and Me

No matter how I stretch my arms
I can't fly in the air, but
that little flying bird, unlike me,
is so slow on the earth.

No matter how I shake my body,
no beautiful sound comes out but
that chiming bell, unlike me,
knows only one song.

And so, the bird, the bell, and me
Everything is different and sweet.

Rhetorically, when we approach analyzing a work, we have to consider the author, the message, and the audience. In this poem, before approaching the message, I believe that the author is a mother writing to her daughter, or more generally, to all children. To youth.

Misuzu often uses examples from nature to illustrate human situations and emotions. I think the idea here is jealousy or feeling insufficient, inferior. The child may be upset that no matter how hard she tries, she can't fly, or no matter how she shakes her body, she can't chime like a bell. These examples in nature may reflect in actual life as feeling inferior based on looks, abilities, talents, ambitions, family, etc. Misuzu points out that even though the bird can fly and the bell makes a pretty sound, they both have limitations. Respectively, a bird can't run on the ground like a person, and the bell only knows one tune.

This doesn't mean that the person is better than the bird or the bell! Rather, everything is different. Everything is sweet. I took some liberties with the translation - みんなちがって，みんないい would literally be "Everything is different, everything is good," but that good just doesn't flow too well. Also, sweet encompasses the same meaning in the context of the poem.

This poem has personal significance to me. When I think about negative or painful things that have happened to me in the past year(s), I try to understand that it all has a purpose. It may be painful, but it has all been "different and sweet."

早春 // Early Spring

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-05 03:53:00

Here is the poem 早春 by Kaneko Misuzu. She often uses hiragana instead of kanji in her writing for two reasons I think. One, the poems were written for children. Second, it seems that using hiragana in certain parts makes the poem look more uniform in the length of sentences. That second part is complete conjecture. Here is the Japanese:

早春

とんできた，　まりが，
あとから子ども。
ういているたこが，
海から汽てき。

とんできた，春が，
きょうの空，青さ。
ういているこころが，
遠い月，　白さ。

Ok! And here is my English translation:

Early Spring

A ball comes bouncing by,
After that, a child.
A floating kite,
And the sound of a whistle from the ocean.

Spring came flying in,
The blue of today's sky,
A floating heart,
And the white of a far off moon.

My thoughts on this poem! The first 3 lines establish the tone of early spring. It is warm, a child chases after a ball, and a kite is bobbing and floating in the sky. The sound of a whistle from a boat is a natural and welcome sound on a warm, spring day. However! It is incongruous with the other images. A kite, a child, and a ball, and then a whistle of a ship. To me, the boat and its whistle represent elements of the adult world - work and obligation. It is key in this poem that the whistle is heard and that the boat is not seen. We do not actively think about it, but the meaning of its existence is in the back of our heads.

This theme repeats in the second verse, but with a twist. Here the idea is more general. Spring came flying in. The sky is perfectly blue, and the heart floats (浮く) just like the kite in the first verse. The verb 浮く is interesting I feel - in my limited knowledge of its nuance, it means to float both literally and figuratively. Regarding people or emotions, it means to let go of worries, of care, money, and to relax, become loose and free. So, in the second verse, we have spring that has just flown in, a beautifully blue sky, and a light, carefree, floating heart.

However, what is the white of a far off moon? The moon mirrors the boat in the first verse. Like the boat, the moon is far off and not visible on this spring day. However, it is nonetheless there, existent , and not to be avoided, much like the oncoming work and obligation of work in the adult life. To me, the moon represents the winter of life, that is, aging and death, the end of youth. In this poem for a child, which celebrates the oncoming of spring with its beautiful colors, balls and kites, there is a subtle suggestion of the finitude of youth. The poem is an honest, sincere and loving expression of youth and happiness, complete with the image of its undoing tucked away and hidden.

Kaneko Misuzu

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-03-05 03:05:00

I want to write about a poet that I am growing to really enjoy! Her name is Kaneko Misuzu. There are a few short biographies about her already on the internet, and I will add one to the mix.

Kaneko was born in a fishing village in Yamaguchi prefecture in 1903. She mostly (only?) wrote poetry and stories for children. To my knowledge, she mostly wrote about nature, youth, and parent-child relationships. She had one daughter -- based on her poetry, they had a very close relationship.

Kaneko's husband was usually gone for long periods of time and slept around a bit, usually with sex workers. After he gave her a venereal disease, he decided to divorce her. Ouch! In this time in Japan, a man could decide who had custody of a child after divorce. Initially, he allowed Kaneko to keep the child. However, he changed his mind, and came to take the child. Legally, Kaneko had no recourse.

She was 27 when she decided to kill herself as a form of protest against her husband taking the child. Her suicide note begs him to let his mother raise the child instead of him.

She was popular in her lifetime for her poetry, but her fame diminished after her death. Her poetry was rediscovered in 1987, and a six volume anthology was composed. In all, she wrote 512 poems in 3 notebooks.

I really appreciate Kaneko Misuzu for a lot of reasons. Her poetry is deceptively simple -- the verses often contain a form that repeats throughout the course of a poem. The imagery is often very simple and powerful - mostly examples from nature. It seems that a lot of the poetry is about life lessons that she wishes to teach her daughter, using nature as the vehicle.

I am learning through my creation and appreciation of music and artwork that the ultimate skill of an artist is simplicity in their work. This simplicity is often overlooked, taken for granted. In my mind, a great artist makes it look easy! You listen to a song by Feist, and swear up and down its so simple that you could do it, but then have a complete meltdown of inability when you sit down in front of the piano.

In light of this, Kaneko's poems are short, simple, and founded in basic metaphors in nature. However, if you stop and think about each image, its relation to the whole, and the tone of the work, each poem seems to take on a powerful meaning. This is the work of a skillful artist.

There aren't any official translations of her work into English, and I have only found a few on the internet. I have translated a few, which I will share in separate entries.

The Post-Orientalists

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan DISPATCHES | R.B. MORENO

2012-03-03 23:34:41

Millenium Park's Cloud Gate

March 3, 2012 -- The 2012 conference and bookfair of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) concludes today in Chicago after record attendance. The journal Brevity has been covering AWP's talk of nonfiction at its blog. Here's a dispatch by RBM from Thursday's "Creative Nonfiction and the Possibility of Post-Orientalist Travel Writing," a panel featuring five travel writers who part ways with Joseph Conrad and other Orientalists:

I’ll leave you with Oona Patrick, the Cape Cod writer who left the most lasting impression on this writer. Patrick calls her work a “cautionary tale” about her native Provincetown, where her Portuguese ancestors stepped off a whaleship from the Azores some 150 years ago. “You have a lot of guts to be here,” Patrick was told more recently, when the local showed up at Provincetown’s storied colony of (mostly visiting) artists.

On Thursday, this soft-spoken woman in black delivered a biting critique of Cape Cod’s luminaries (Henry David Thoreau, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Normal Mailer, Mary Oliver, Mark Doty, Annie Dillard, the list goes on) and their descriptions of what is to many sacred ground. In concluding her remarks, Patrick singled out (perhaps unfairly) the following excerpt from Doty’s “Breakwater.”

“Here, curving out to the farthest reaches, / the breakwater’s a causeway of huge stones. / Hard to think these were placed, / these drowsy, inland boulders / awakened, all century, by the seawater’s / moon-driven alarm. Who piled them, / one atop the other, / into this enormous arc?”

“Who piled them?” Patrick repeated, incredulous. “They’re not crop circles!”

The full text of this post is at Brevity.wordpress.com along with RBM's "Three Cups of Veritas: A Review of Byliner.Com." For another visit to Chicago's mesmerizing Cloud Gate, see "One Day in the Second City."

seashells, 道教, a new necklace

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-02-27 01:09:00

A few posts back I wrote about my trip to a picnic spot, down on a slippery slope and eating bread and goodies near the ocean, using a rope to climb back up.

I found a small Buddhist shrine kind of nestled among the trees near the edge of the cliff. As I was kneeling down and looking around, I noticed a seashell on the ground, offwhite and blue, with a small hole eaten through it. Even though my town is near the ocean, there aren't too many beaches, and I don't see shells very often. I wanted to take it back to my apartment with me! For some reason I thought it was special. I picked it up and began walking back down the questionable stairs to the rocks.

I guess I am clumsy and the path was bad and the wind was strong, because a few footsteps into it, I dropped the shell. I had that panicked reaction to catch it or chase after it as it was being carried by the wind or rolling down the hill, but realized it would be sorta treacherous, and I left the seashell to its own devices. And gravity.

However! The seashell fell from my hand and landed perfectly caught on a leaf.

This was about 2 feet up from the ground, so it really fell from my hand perfectly onto a leaf! Really neat. To me, this meant symbolically (les symboles sont intouchables) that though I had tried to relish and protect this object that I was minutely attached to, it was fine without me! Even without my intellect and human meddling, the seashell landed on a leaf and was fine.

It made me think of the Chinese system of thought called Taoism, Daoism, (道教). The characters literally mean "Teaching of the path" or "Teaching of the Way." Taoism is a bit philosophy, a bit spiritually, a bit worldview, ?. I thoroughly recommend reading Laozu's Tao Te Ching. Very influential book for me, and only about 50 pages. The story (maybe untrue) is that Laozu was a court historian in Ancient China who became disappointed and fed up with how people were living contrary to the harmony of nature and existence. He decided to abandon society, and he was leaving the city on a horse. Because he was famous and revered as wise, the gatekeeper asked him to record his thoughts before he left. Laozu stayed for 3 days and wrote 55 (I think) poems expressing his thoughts on harmony and how to live within it. So, the format of the book is 50-60 short poetic verses. BEAUTIFUL>>>

I'd like to summarize Taoist thought in a nutshell, although it is a real disservice to that beautiful body of thought. According to this system, there exists within nature an indescribable, unnameable harmony of existence among all things that is impossible to explain or understand. Human beings have desires and thoughts that sometimes run contrary to the inherent nature and harmony of existence, which causes strife and hardship, physically, mentally, and emotionally. How does this apply to my experience? I had this desire to save the shell from falling, and there was a natural harmony at play, a wind, a tree in place, and it caught and "protected" the shell of its own accord. Yeah, I read into it way too much.

But, it is still a great symbol and reminder of a thought that I truly believe in. So the shell is now on a bookshelf in my living room, and my next mission is to tie it around my neck with a piece of yarn or strip of leather, a reminder to be harmonious and let harmony exist without my meddling.

Underleaf

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Visible Thought

2012-02-26 13:43:46

As long as I’ve lived, the Leaf has shielded us from wind and rain. It shines bright green in the daylight, turning our faces and hands the color of spring, and at night darkness pools beneath the Leaf until the world seems to disappear into nothing. Night is still at least an hour off this [...]

sippin on gin and roots

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-02-21 00:57:00

I am the kind of person who loves to lounge outside for hours and hours, days and days in warm weather, a backpack full of paints, a journal, a book, some snacks, and a bicycle laying on its side in the grass, barefoot under a tree, drifting from park to park or patio to patio, cell phone turned off in my pocket. Read until I am bored, and then lazily ride, and sleep under a tree, then go paint by the river, then have a banana, make a rum and coke and have a drink and sleep by the port, go sit in the air conditioned library for an hour, get inspired, go out and ride my bike and write.

But .. it's winter.

Of course, at the onset of winter, I like to hole myself up in my apartment with a list of projects and goals, and meticulously and systematically work on them. This has been a pretty productive winter - I learned a lot of kanji (Chinese symbols used in Japanese writing), read some great books (Tropic of Cancer twice, and 90% through Voyage au bout de la nuit, Journey to the end of the night) and seriously hammered out some paintings. A lot of nights it was a folder full of images to paint from, or an actual list in my notebook of things around the house I wanted to paint or draw. Come home, make some soup, listen to NPR and paint for 2-3 hours. I think I really improved my use of color, drawing, composition, and portrait abilities, consolidated more my vision and ideas. That being said, I am over isolation in the apartment!

I live on the third floor of an old building near the port, relatively empty, in a small town in rural Japan. On nice days, the city is pretty active with people riding bikes, shopping, playing in the parks, etc, but winter is a bit .. dreary.

This weekend was a bit of a bastard! I woke up Sunday morning and it was bright and sunny out, apartment was somewhat warm, and I decided to go out and paint! So I stepped on the balcony .. and it was maybe a bit chilly. So I went inside again to read, but kept looking longingly out the window. That little taste of Spring was making me so restless to go out! Finally, after a few hours of deliberating and half-assedly knocking out some housework, I went out to paint. IT WAS FREEZING! So I sort of mocked myself for being so fickle about weather that was too cold anyways, and I picked up some goodies for dinner and went home to resume painting inside.

All that restlessness left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. After work on Monday it was pretty nice out, so I rode my bike around town for a bit. I picked up two goodies to increase temporary happiness:

struggling through winter, gin and pots

I was bummin' a little riding home from work, but I had this bottle of gin in my backpack, and a houseplant in one arm, riding my bike one handed down a busy busy street. The cars were all stopped and backed up, trapped and mechanically on their way somewhere (?), and it really perked me to feeling free and light, riding home with alcohol and a plant, two elements of very simple enjoyment and happiness. Then my friend was pulling out of the parking lot of a building near mine, and she waved, and I waved, but when I took my other hand off the handlebars I almost wrecked the bike. That is classic, right?

Part V through Acronyms

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan YouTube Videos matching query: "peace corps" "Kyrgyzstan"&search_sort=video_date_uploaded

2012-02-18 07:13:11

	Part V through Acronyms Talas Camp, Peace Corps, Kyrgyzstan, youth	From: wilburyen Views: 3 0 ratings
	Time: 01:35	More in People & Blogs

Winter is coming to an end...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan Alex & Athena's Peace Corps Adventure

2012-02-18 18:40:00

The sun is coming up early and setting after five. I definitely feel like spring will come sometime in the future and that's exciting. As you can probably tell-- the cold has been a bit difficult. Definitely not built for cold, long winters, but it feels really nice to have survived it! I now know I can heat a house through a whole winter with coal, that at low enough temperatures glass jars of food will explode, that sleds are the best way to transport water in the winter, and that hats are super awesome.

So as for things that have happened... after vacation we have about two weeks off of school for flu quarantine. That was a super productive time period that I used to work through the details of a lot of projects I want to do. After that we had some school and regular stuff. This weekend we decided to do some research in Naryn City and visit some friends. Turns out, Naryn City is wonderful. Everyone is really excited to hear you speak Kyrgyz, nobody seems all that surprised that there's an Indian in Kyrgyzstan, and the streets are clean-ish and well lit. The road to Naryn was long. We decided to go from Talas to Naryn in one day (two six hour drives) which was kind of crazy but fun. Naryn looks a lot like Talas but the mountains are closer and people seem to take more pride in their houses appearance (matching fences and stuff). Through their mountain pass there are random statues of painted women and silver colored statues of various mountain animals perched atop the mountains. One of the most amazing moments was actually driving into Naryn City, you basically drive towards this huge orange clay cliff and as you get close you see a path winding into it. You drive with cliff towering on either side, curve to the right and see the little city appear in front of you. This city itself is between two mountain ranges with a river running near it.

So things are going we right now. We are more than 10 months in to service and that feels good. New volunteers will be coming in the Spring and I have applied to be a trainer for them, so that might be a cool thing in the future. As usual, I miss you all and look forward to seeing you again.

Athena

Here's a picture of my 5th form...

PCVs on Kyrgyz National Television ОТРК

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan YouTube Videos matching query: "peace corps" "Kyrgyzstan"&search_sort=video_date_uploaded

2012-02-14 05:51:23

	PCVs on Kyrgyz National Television ОТРК Kyrgyz national television ОТРК-1 recently came to my house to interview some Peace Corps Volunteers about how we celebrate the New Year in American and how we will celebrate the holiday in the Kyrgyz Republic. In this video: Aika Kanaeva: Peace Corps Counterpart Judson L Moore : K-19 Lindsay Hull: K-18 Andrew Hull: K-18	From: jaymooreusa Views: 2 0 ratings
	Time: 02:46	More in News & Politics

trophy scars

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-02-16 01:59:00

I picked up a small blue notebook for 300 yen at the art store here. The paper is great, absolutely low quality, totally slick and bleached white. The cover is really thin blue cardboard, almost negligible. Within a week or two the cover had ripped off and every page I had written on had come unglued and was falling out of the notebook. I taped the binding, put a bulldog clip on one end, and it now goes with me everywhere I go. It has become really special to me.


moleskine schmoleskine

I like to keep journals to represent periods of my life. I never "complete" a journal by filling it completely. I feel like there comes a point in each period in my life that signifies a major change in outlook and attitude, and that is when I tie a string around the journal and put it in storage. In that way, the journals end when a certain mindset ends, not limited by the physical absence of paper! I have several of these journals, starting from 2006 when I first went to France.

This blue journal is drawings of people and things in trains, coffee shops, and bars. The content is mostly my personal thoughts, retelling events that happened, recording dreams, and also ideas for poetry and songs. If people read from this journal, it will be extremely selective.

I currently have a similar project with the same principle behind my system for journaling. I am working on an album here in Japan, and it is definitive of a period and a mindset. I don't have a set number of songs I want to write -- I am going to continue existing and being as I am, and the songs will continue, and when that period is over, I will tie a string around the album and record what I have created. I am going to play shows with these songs in Columbus, and I may ask a few other musicians to start a band for it. Songs are on piano, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.

This is a page from my journal that will probably be cryptic to those who read it, but I understand it, and it is extremely indicative of my life at this point. It is so special to me that I took it from my journal and I have it hanging on a wall in my living room.

caught a long wind

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Kyrgyzstan real, vital, urgent

2012-02-14 03:48:00

I'd like to write a bit more about some personal experiences in Japan and not so much my thoughts on my twice a week train ride to Sakanoichi.

Winter has been pretty cold here. Ohio is a hell of a lot colder, but Ohio also has heating systems and insulation in all homes and buildings. I have only been in one building in Japan that had heat or insulation, and that was a nursing home. Let's see, I have worn a winter coat in the classroom for the last month! I immediately thought of some Thoreau inspired civil disobedience, intentionally getting pneumonia and dying in a school, but it's not really my battle .. .. right?

So, with that background, it is much to my delight that it has gradually gotten warmer in February. Saturday it was in the high 40s and completely sunny. I live right on the coast of Kyushu, so I decided to take my single speed beach cruiser (i.e. bicycle) out to uncharted territories. I rode down the coast past the familiar limits of my city. Before I set out, I picked up some chocolate covered peanuts and a quart of milk. Ahh ..

Very nice ride, riding along the coast is very flat. Every mile or so there are small fishing villages and ports. I crested a hill and there was a little path going off into the woods. Intrigued, I parked the bike and followed.

I like to think there was some kind of warning sign on this path, because it was unbelievably unsafe. There was a sidewalk width strip of concrete that went out for about 15-20 feet without any guardrails. On either side was a nearly vertical drop of 40 feet to rocks and the ocean. Creepy! At the end of it the walkway were crumbling stairs, also with on guardrail, that led to a big drop to rocky ocean death. At one point, there were no stairs, but some kind soul tied a rope to a tree so you could sort of climb down. ありがとう to that person! This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but the end of that path is about a 40 foot vertical fall into magical danger.

Just beyond this and to the left were two Buddhist statues, hidden behind a red curtain, red scarves tied around their neck, and candles and incense to burn. I couldn't find a lighter to use. Too bad .. Continued down until I reached what I was after -- a beautiful promontory, 20 feet out into the ocean, surrounded by the ocean with the coast of Kyushu looping around.

Yep. I parked it out there and ate some yummies. Periodically the waves hit the rocks so hard that water bounced up onto me. Really peaceful, warm, ah. After a half hour, I got up to return to my bike. A bit surprised and excited for my return journey: