Chong Tash

I wish I had more to "blog" about, but I'm afraid my life in Morristown is not that exciting. Needless to say, I've resorted to posting old e-mails. Here's one from Kyrgystan.

Dear Family and Friends,

I am sorry that this e-mail did not reach you sooner to wish you a Happy Valentines, but the communication system is difficult when I live in a primitive village in Kyrgyzstan. Please accept my Valentine's love from many miles away. I hope you all enjoyed this special occasion with your significant other;) I thought of you all, as I celebrated the 14th with my students. While this holiday has always been depressing for me, it was quite the opposite this year. My students and I made homemade valentines and had a great time. I even got a secret admirer note from one of my fifth grade boys. It was the highlight of my day.

The weather has been frigid, but the last week was the first sign of Spring. I finally took the lining out of my coat, and could manage to write on the blackboard without my two pairs of gloves and getting frostbit. I will miss the beauty of the snow on the ground, but I am excited to enjoy the rays of sun.

I had a wonderful lesson last week, as I taught my students comparatives and superlatives... They all grasped the concepts well. I found an easy subject to make them relate. For example..., the U of M basketball team is bad... The Gonzaga men's basketball team is good... The U of M is bad, Santa Clara is better, but Gonzaga is the best:) Well..., I am sorry that I had to have all of you endure that brief interlude. It was not meant for everyone, but I have to have faith in my Bulldogs, as I am there number one fan in Central Asia. Go Zags!

My spare time has been filled with helping coach basketball. It has been a lot of fun, and I have also been working for the preparation of Peace Corps' 40th anniversary on March 1st. We will be performing for the Bishkek community, and my students will sing the Star Spangled Banner. We have been practicing diligently and it will be a wonderful rendition. I will also attempt to sing a Kyrgyz song, so I am a little nervous:)

I think you will also be humored and enlightened by my most recent journey in Kyrgyzstan. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to experience the only ski hill in Kyrgyzstan. Having downhill withdrawals, we gathered local PCV's and set forth for an adventurous day, not exactly knowing what we were getting ourselves into. A forty-five minute marshutka (mini-van from the 1950's) ride, turned into a two hour excursion. We unfortunately, got a flat tire after going through a remote filed in the middle of nowhere. We recovered and were forced to push the marshutka up the remainder of the hill. We were almost ready to turn home, when we rounded the corner and saw Chong-Tash.(Big Stone in Kyrgyz) Having come this far, we explored the perimeter, and set foot in the ski rental shop-a trailer hut. Trying to communicate in Russian the size of our skis and boots, we managed to score the cheapest ski day in history-50 cents for rentals, and one dollar for the ski lift. We were all impressed with our steal of a price, we instantly forgot about our transportation nightmare and skated our way to the chair. Don't let me give you the impression it is like a "quad" when I say chair. It turns out we were given hooks with rope tied to a piece of wood-I am not exaggerating. We learned we had to connect the hook to a chain that was moving up the hill, and that was our ticket. Being the brave person I am, I volunteered to go first, only to find myself being dragged halfway up Chong Tash. I survived and we all managed to make it up together and ski down in one piece. It was powder skiing and my Rossignals from 1920 couldn't keep up the carving. Apparently, they have never heard of groomers here. We skied the rest of the day and had a great time. The slope wasn't crowded, as the Russians usually take to the vodka after the second run. We called it a day, after we could no longer feel our legs. We snowplowed down the small ravine, trying to dodge the numerous horses in our path, and headed home early. We were lucky not to have anyone killed and to experience the thrill of skiing in K-stan. Chong Tash 2001-an unforgettable memory.