Keepin on

Hey folks! We are now a few weeks into training. I have my site placement interview tomorrow, and in a few weeks Nic and I find out where our permanent site will be. I'm getting more adjusted to life in my host family, which is definitely a good thing. I have been a bit sick lately, but have had some antibiotics and now am feeling much better. As a consequence of being sick, I was served hot milk based meals which were simple but delicious. I'm getting mad hankerings for coffee, so whenever I get the chance to go to a store, I might actually pick up some coffee. At lunch, the volunteers rotate visiting one another's host families for meals, and we have gotten to taste a variety of foods and seen a variety of homes because of this. On the walk to a fellow volunteer's home, there are geese that will hiss at you. It's kind of funny.
All in all, things are well, although my language is not progressing as quickly as I wish it were. I have been relaxing the past few days which both helps and hinders m language skills. It helps because I am more comfortable and relaxed when I go the class the next day, but hinders because I spend more time reading/writing in English.
The mountains that surround my village are stunning. Every day when I can wake up and actually see them, I am amazed at how beautiful they are.
Yesterday, I had my first active practicum. I got to teach a grand total of five students. We as volunteers were told what to teach, but had some flexibility in presentation and formatting of information. I look forward to next week, as hopefully I will have a full classroom. I will be team teaching animals and the present progressive tense with a Kyrgyz volunteer and a Peace Corps trainee. Should be great. The actual in-classroom time that volunteers get to have during training is in my view extremely helpful. It seems like we will in theory be teaching an English lesson every week with variable topics and in variable situations, i.e., with or without a trainee partner, in large/small classes, etc. I can't wait to get my own classroom and meet my own counterpart.
That's it for now. Maybe one day I will get some photos for ya'll. I just never know when I will actually have the internet...I mailed a few letters today, so watch your mailboxes if you have given me your address.

Life in the Kyrgyz Republic!

Hey folks! Internet access for me is highly irregular, so I haven't been able to update this thing since I've been here. Long story short, things are great! I have an awesome host family; five host siblings, a host mom, and a host dad. Today they were planting potatoes and flowers in the front and backyard gardens. I have a great dog named Fox that protects me when I have to go to the outhouse. It's the cutest thing...he walks with you to the outhouse, stands guard in front of the door while you are, ya'know, busy, then walks you back to the house. I live on a small plot of land, maybe an acre, and do have an actual shower sometimes. My language learning is going slow, but it is nonetheless going. I have six more weeks to get to a good grip on the language, and then we'll have an exam. Here, we eat alot of lamb. Tons and tons of lamb. Most families have their own chickens (we do...I get fresh eggs every day), many have their own cows, and even more have their own herds of sheep and goats. All of the meat that we get is fresh, grass-fed, and pretty good. The meals do tend to a be a bit fatty, which has been a bit hard on my stomach, but I feel like I've adjusted pretty well. I got sick once, once, and only once. I've been pretty careful with water filtering, which I think has made quite a bit of a difference.
The mountains surrounding the Kyrgyz Republic are incredibly beautiful. Stunning. Like a photoshopped postcard. Except even better. And REAL. Huge peaks of white shattering the skyline, enormous towers of green protecting protrusions of grey and blue...I have never seen anything like it.
My favorite thing about my time here so far has been the presence of animals. Donkeys (and fuzzy ones to boot), cows, cats, dogs, sheep, goats...roaming in a beautiful and wonderful way. Practically maintained, albeit they are a bit dirty, and utilized fully (i.e, milk and manure do not go to waste). The entire village that I live in reminds me in some ways of a giant Heifer project come to life. Zero grazing pens, no-electricity milk and cream separators, and hand-sheared sheep.
Anyway...I'm going to get gone for now, but please feel free to drop me an email and I will reply whenever I have internet access again. Take care, everybody!