Hello! Nic and I have successfully made it to staging. I accidentally brought along Amber's [Noah's girlfriend's] hair barrette instead of giving it back to her, so I am going to take some pictures of it in historical Kyrgyz places. We have our first full day of orientation tomorrow. I've already met a few of the people that are going to be volunteers alongside Nic and I, and they made good first impressions. Overall, I'm pretty excited about this great adventure.
Yesterday, I had a great time at Vino's chilling with the people I won't be seeing for a while. There are some folks I am really going to miss. Thank you to everyone that was able to come, and thank you to everyone that didn't but sent blessings anyhow. Basically, thanks to everyone that has been so supportive to Nic and I during our efforts to get into the PC.
I am not sure how often I will be able to update this, but definitely often enough for it to be worth checking, I hope.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Beatbox girl
If you haven't seen this amazing video of Beatbox girl, a brunette beat madhouse with a ponytail, then please watch it hear via Scienceblogs. It's amazing, I promise. BEATBOX GIRL!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
38 second book reviews and update
I love being unemployed, because it means I have plenty of time to read. Although I will not be unemployed here in a few days, I still anticipate having plenty of time to read before I get myself socially established in the Kyrgyz Republic. Either way around, I recently finished two great books.
Cockroach by Rawi Hage. Frantic, driven, schizophrenic, sexy, and dirty. A cockroach that thinks he's a man, or a man that thinks he's a cockroach, takes on the crusty upperclass of a sick Candadian city. This brilliant work of truths-nested-in-fiction wrestles with concepts of greed, poverty, naivety, and filth within the context of the almost subhuman lower classes of the insane. Or, as it may be, the only real ones out there. Anyway, you should read it.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. This non-fiction work tells the larger than life story of a taller than average dude who works to free impoverished children of their chains via education. Mortenson works in Afganistan and Pakistan to build balanced, well-rounded secular schools that educate both genders. I found the work inspiring and hopeful. What a hero!
Just a note: Mortenson's organization, the Central Asia Institute, recently received a $100,000 donation from Barack Obama. The source of the money? Obama's Nobel Prize cash, which he is donating in it's entirety to a slew of very very worthy organizations. Obama and Mortenson have won my heart.
Ok, and for the actual update. Nic and I are leaving in 9 days, and I am going through various stages of happy, excited, mellow, frantic, sad, worried, energetic, enthusiastic, etc, etc, you get the point. I'm running in circles and running in a straight line at the same time. I am busy packing, reading, and really, just tying to stay healthy and keep my bearings while I wait. My little brother got married, and it was a beautiful fairly religious ceremony in a methodist church. Him and his wife have side by side computers and play WOW together. Does it get much cuter than that?
Cockroach by Rawi Hage. Frantic, driven, schizophrenic, sexy, and dirty. A cockroach that thinks he's a man, or a man that thinks he's a cockroach, takes on the crusty upperclass of a sick Candadian city. This brilliant work of truths-nested-in-fiction wrestles with concepts of greed, poverty, naivety, and filth within the context of the almost subhuman lower classes of the insane. Or, as it may be, the only real ones out there. Anyway, you should read it.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. This non-fiction work tells the larger than life story of a taller than average dude who works to free impoverished children of their chains via education. Mortenson works in Afganistan and Pakistan to build balanced, well-rounded secular schools that educate both genders. I found the work inspiring and hopeful. What a hero!
Just a note: Mortenson's organization, the Central Asia Institute, recently received a $100,000 donation from Barack Obama. The source of the money? Obama's Nobel Prize cash, which he is donating in it's entirety to a slew of very very worthy organizations. Obama and Mortenson have won my heart.
Ok, and for the actual update. Nic and I are leaving in 9 days, and I am going through various stages of happy, excited, mellow, frantic, sad, worried, energetic, enthusiastic, etc, etc, you get the point. I'm running in circles and running in a straight line at the same time. I am busy packing, reading, and really, just tying to stay healthy and keep my bearings while I wait. My little brother got married, and it was a beautiful fairly religious ceremony in a methodist church. Him and his wife have side by side computers and play WOW together. Does it get much cuter than that?
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Kyrgyz Eatin'
I've been in Malvern today and am about to go to bed, but had a few minutes before bed to answer a question that has been making me curious for quite some time: What do they eat in the Kyrgyz Republic?!
Well, here's the answer: Most dishes are meat based, and the primary meats consumed in the country are (drum roll please) horse and mutton. Typically they are served with mare-milk products, such as butter and soured creams. Horsemeat sausage and boiled meat/noodle dishes are regarded as common national dishes and favorites. Sometimes meats will be stir fried with onions, garlic, carrots, and a locally-grown rice. Steamed dumplings and a fried dumpling similar to samosas are also common. Foods tend to be spicy, oniony, garlicy, and vinegary. The Kyrgyz Republic is a tea culture. People drink mare's milk and camel's milk, too. The bread is either flatbread or a type of Russian-style bread.
I'm actually pretty excited to try all of this stuff. After arrival, my stomach's going to be on a roller coaster ride, I'm afriad.
Well, here's the answer: Most dishes are meat based, and the primary meats consumed in the country are (drum roll please) horse and mutton. Typically they are served with mare-milk products, such as butter and soured creams. Horsemeat sausage and boiled meat/noodle dishes are regarded as common national dishes and favorites. Sometimes meats will be stir fried with onions, garlic, carrots, and a locally-grown rice. Steamed dumplings and a fried dumpling similar to samosas are also common. Foods tend to be spicy, oniony, garlicy, and vinegary. The Kyrgyz Republic is a tea culture. People drink mare's milk and camel's milk, too. The bread is either flatbread or a type of Russian-style bread.
I'm actually pretty excited to try all of this stuff. After arrival, my stomach's going to be on a roller coaster ride, I'm afriad.
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