July Updates

7/18
Nothing like a crazy Kyrgyz weekend of adventures! I experienced a lot of firsts in honor of Marissa and Bert's Birthdays... eating dog, camping, and discotecha!
1st- dog meat is actually pretty tasty! Very tender meat and the cook at the Korean restaurant knows how to cook delicious meat.
2nd- After having a blast doing awkward dance moves (jazz hands, robot, acting like animals, ect.) at a discotecha in Cholpon- Ata, our group of about 16 spent the night on the beach. The boys made a great bonfire out of the wood we collected that afternoon and then we all passed out after the fire had died. Although it was not an intense camping excursion, I still don't really see myself seeking out another camping adventure any time in the near future. I'd rather sleep with a roof over my head and easy access to a kitchen for breakfast. Bottom line: all and all it was one heck of a weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Fun, laughs, and good times!!
On a not so happy note... it has been confirmed that IST (in service training) conference will be done by oblast instead of the entire country together due to budget cuts. Looking forward to spending time with all the K-19s in my oblast for a week in August but will miss seeing other faces from other oblasts :(
Other than that... looking forward to a week of: tutoring (my russian tutor is also throwing in some Kyrgyz survival language (aka shopping at the bazar and negotiating taxi prices)), project research, maybe enjoying some beach time, and finishing my current book (The Road). Nothing too exciting.

7/27
After spending a week in bed with an awful case of strep throat, I'm now dealing with a VERY full stomach. Yesterday was the first day I felt almost 100% and it was spent at my first Coy Soy (celebratory sheep slaughtering ritual). It was such an awesome day of cultural immersion. I arrived at my host family's extended family's house around 10am (after the sheep had been slaughtered) and helped my host aunt and host mom make the national bread, borsock. Which was followed by a prayer of thanks at a table filled with bread, salads, and cookies. After filling up on that platters of potatoes and various sheep parts (heart, lungs, liver, stomach, kidneys, and ribs) were brought out. Round one of meat was surprisingly not too bad. It was a little nerve racking to eat such foreign foods, but it went over better than expected, unlike round 2. After round 1, we all left the table for break. Little did I know it was only a 5 minute breathers before round 2 (the sheep head (blow torched face), limbs, tail, tongue, and intestines). The face was the better cut of meat from that round. Also part of round two, every volunteer's least favorite kyrgyz dish, bishpar mak (greasy noodle dish with chopped up intestines and various sheep parts). This dish is also consumed by hand rather than utensil. Instead of tea with round two, we drank shorpo mixed with kefir (shorpo- funky tasting sheep broth. Kefir- sour homemade yogurt).
It safe to say that some parts of the sheep taste better than others. I ate almost every part of the sheep minus the brain and ear. This whole process took over 8 hours. Might I also add that a huge part of Kyrgyz culture is hospitality, aka always putting more and more food on the guest's plate. I feel as though I'll never be hungry again or want to eat sheep. Coy Soy is a very interesting part of this country's culture and happy that I got to experience it. This ritual has definitely enriched my cultural views and overall service experience.

7/31
WHERE IS THIS SUMMER GOING?! Can't believe July is over. August is going to be a crazy busy month and fly by faster than a blink of an eye.
Upcoming Events- 1st week- working a health and life skills camp Balykchy followed by a weekend trip to Naryn!
2nd week- spending the week at site getting ready for the rest of the month and enjoying fruit while it's around.
3rd week- conference in Bishkek! (keeping my fingers crossed the 110 degree temp starts dropping drastically)
4th week- IST conference in Karakol
September 1st- MOVING INTO MY OWN APARTMENT! (finally completed the required 3 months of host family life at site)
early september- canning for winter with the site mates! Lots of work ahead to prep for the dreaded winter.
Early september- projects start to kick off in full swing since tourist season/ summer rest season will be over.