I'm a Volunteer Now!

Well……after roughly 8,000 miles, 2 ½ months, 100 + hours of language training, 50 + hours of technical training, countless cross-cultural and safety/security sessions, far too many visits to the outhouse, far too few visits to the banya, a trip to Talas, a couple trips to Bishkek, a few stays at the Issik Kol Hotel, one visit to the U.S. Ambassador’s house, 7 Ploafs, 8 Besh Bar Maks, and 3,000 cups of chai, I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer!

The swearing-in ceremony in Tokmok was nice, although the theater was freezing…Marie Yavonovitch, the U.S. Ambassador came and spoke, as did the Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign Affaris.

We went to the Ambassador’s house in Bishkek for a reception that night. However, Peace Corps had failed to feed us or provide us time to eat before so we were all starving. We were all huddled right outside the kitchen exit assaulting the waiters when they came out with food. Also there was no booze. I never thought my first visit to the Ambassador’s house would find me eating mini-cheeseburgers and drinking Pepsi, but that’s exactly what I did.

Also, I tried uploading pictues for this post, but couldn't get it to work...i'll try again later.

Keep reading for a delightful explanation of the Kyrgyz national dish…