July!

Playing soccer at the Naryn Camp...action shot!
This was a sweet lesson on leadership and communication. The groups had to build the highest free standing tower with markers, tape, scissors, and paper but only the leader could talk and the others could only handle the materials the first time. The second time everyone could talk...and the second time was better. My group won both times though haha!
Daily English class at the camp.
7 July 2009

So I’ve finally finished my whirlwind of camps for June and the first week of July. Naryn camp went really well. I worked as a counselor and was basically with the kids all day for 5 days. My group had some bright kids in it. They had lessons on all sorts of things like smoking, leadership, communication, dance and others in addition to daily English lessons. I rolled the same bad ankle again during a sports session. I was fearing the worst but the next day it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think it sort of helped in the healing of it but I still haven’t tried to play soccer 100%.

There were a lot of volunteers there helping out. I got to hang out with a lot of the K17s I hadn’t seen since training. The crowded sleeping quarters that made me sleep very little during Habitat continued here. I basically hadn’t slept well for about 2 weeks and it started to wear on me. I felt a little overwhelmed and overly stressed dealing with so many Americans and hearing English all the time. It was a weird feeling that I couldn’t really control. It was kind of the same sort of culture shock/panic I felt one day in my village club during a big concert surrounded by hundreds of Kyrgyz people around what would be Christmas celebrations in the states. It’s a strange uncomfortableness that just sort of happens and lingers in your conscious. Funny that it occurred this time not from adjusting to Kyrgyz culture but from dealing with too much “American culture.”

Luckily I’ve been back in my village for a few days and have been able to rest and relax again. Although that was kind of cut short today since my family is painting the whole inside of the big house where my room is. I can’t sleep or do anything in my own room for like 2 days until the paint dries. I’m writing this the day they started painting (Tuesday) so I might not be able to post it until the end of this week.

I am going to start getting up early in the morning and going for a 20-30 minute run around the school soccer field. My brother reminded me that dogs would eat me if I tried to run in our streets…a fact I stupidly overlooked. I really need to start getting into a healthier routine though and taking advantage of this amazing weather. I did some work in our family’s field today flipping over the grass that was cut so it could dry quicker. Then I went to the lake by myself for the first time! I’m a big boy now. Went swimming for about 10-15 minutes – it’s still colder around the closest beach near our village since the river empties near it and I had gone kind of late in the day.

I got a few messages from friends about my one year anniversary here. Mind you it’s not my halfway point but it’s close. Thanks for remembering me! I’m hoping to finalize my plans for a winter vacation in the states this week or next and I’ll let everyone know the dates when I do.

Not sure I’ll be doing anymore camps this summer. I kind of feel camped out. I need to finish my grant and hopefully start working on a computer manual that local teachers could use to help them as they learn to use computers. Other than that I’ll be relaxing, trying to get in shape again (soccer hasn’t been going on much – too much field work), and taking occasional trips to the city to hang out with my friends. Lastly, I’ll be saying goodbye to the K15s. I’m really, really going to miss them to say the least. Their leaving marks a change in my groups Peace Corps experience. The K16s won’t be the “young” group after this summer. We’re going to have the K17s under us now. I hope I can get as close to the 17s as I did the 15s, despite the different dynamic though.

Anyway, I’ve run out of things to write about. How’s everyone else’s summer going? Let me know.

Pat