TRAINING'S OVER! 'BOUT DAMN TIME!
Hi everybody,
First things first. I am staying at the Ak Alytn Hotel in room 716. Their number here is 011 993 12 36-37-00. Can you give me a call some morning? We will have sessions starting at 9, but I will have the afternoons off, except for the 22nd. I would love to hear from you. Can you email and let me know when you plan to call so I can make sure that I am in the hotel? I hope to hear from you all.
Wow what a week I have had. We said good-bye to our host teachers at a restaraunt in Ashgabat on Wednesday. It was okay but it seemed that all the other guy teachers wanted to talk about was how to get a visa from the USA. I am used to this usual strain of conversation as I have been asked it by every Turkmen taxi driver that I have had since I have been here. However the highlight of the meal was the milk shake, while it wasn! t as thick as a double shake in the states, it was close enough and delicious!!!
On Saturday we had a going away/thank you chai session for our families. But before all of the families came to our house, we had our language tests. I passed with Intermediate Mid level, which is one level above what they wanted all of the volunteers to be at. So Yeah! It was nice to joke around with them for one last time before we head to our permanent sites. We also took our Turkmen teacher to the Zip Bar and got her WASTED! We got her back to her room without incident, but then trying to convince her that she was actually in her room was hilarious. I will try and send some pics as soon as I get them.
Sunday was a great day. I spent most of the day doing manual labor (feeding the cows, cutting down trees) and saying good-bye to people in the village of Gokje. That afternoon I did something that I never in a million years thought I was ever going to do...I helped kill and butcher a camel. Our neighbors were remembering the death of their son. It was strange to see , I wasn't really grossed out but just strangely fascinated by the whole thing. I think the hardest part was hearing the sounds coming from the camel when we had it tied down. After we had finished we went to wash up and then that's when it started to become the Jerry Springer good-bye party. Several hours later after many rounds of shots with vodka, the party began disperse outside. My host brother and I were outside talking when my host mom and brother made a comment to Hoshgeldi. He snapped and went after my brother, I had to pull him off and take him to the other side of the house. Our neighbor upon hearing that Hoshgeldi went after my brother, he went to town on him. He opened his lip, his nose and gave him a black eye that put him on the floor to come him down. Without waiting for anyone to say anything I got in the middle of the fight and broke it up. I then took Hoshgeldi outside and walked him toward his house. After we were out of sight from the house he collapsed onto my shoulder sobbing. From what I understood the whole thing was about how my host mother insulted Hoshgeldi's girlfriend in Ashgabat. The only thing that happened to me was that I got some blood on my shirt. Talk about a one unique day to say good-bye.
If you all get a chance I would love to hear from you all. I love and miss you all.
Chris
First things first. I am staying at the Ak Alytn Hotel in room 716. Their number here is 011 993 12 36-37-00. Can you give me a call some morning? We will have sessions starting at 9, but I will have the afternoons off, except for the 22nd. I would love to hear from you. Can you email and let me know when you plan to call so I can make sure that I am in the hotel? I hope to hear from you all.
Wow what a week I have had. We said good-bye to our host teachers at a restaraunt in Ashgabat on Wednesday. It was okay but it seemed that all the other guy teachers wanted to talk about was how to get a visa from the USA. I am used to this usual strain of conversation as I have been asked it by every Turkmen taxi driver that I have had since I have been here. However the highlight of the meal was the milk shake, while it wasn! t as thick as a double shake in the states, it was close enough and delicious!!!
On Saturday we had a going away/thank you chai session for our families. But before all of the families came to our house, we had our language tests. I passed with Intermediate Mid level, which is one level above what they wanted all of the volunteers to be at. So Yeah! It was nice to joke around with them for one last time before we head to our permanent sites. We also took our Turkmen teacher to the Zip Bar and got her WASTED! We got her back to her room without incident, but then trying to convince her that she was actually in her room was hilarious. I will try and send some pics as soon as I get them.
Sunday was a great day. I spent most of the day doing manual labor (feeding the cows, cutting down trees) and saying good-bye to people in the village of Gokje. That afternoon I did something that I never in a million years thought I was ever going to do...I helped kill and butcher a camel. Our neighbors were remembering the death of their son. It was strange to see , I wasn't really grossed out but just strangely fascinated by the whole thing. I think the hardest part was hearing the sounds coming from the camel when we had it tied down. After we had finished we went to wash up and then that's when it started to become the Jerry Springer good-bye party. Several hours later after many rounds of shots with vodka, the party began disperse outside. My host brother and I were outside talking when my host mom and brother made a comment to Hoshgeldi. He snapped and went after my brother, I had to pull him off and take him to the other side of the house. Our neighbor upon hearing that Hoshgeldi went after my brother, he went to town on him. He opened his lip, his nose and gave him a black eye that put him on the floor to come him down. Without waiting for anyone to say anything I got in the middle of the fight and broke it up. I then took Hoshgeldi outside and walked him toward his house. After we were out of sight from the house he collapsed onto my shoulder sobbing. From what I understood the whole thing was about how my host mother insulted Hoshgeldi's girlfriend in Ashgabat. The only thing that happened to me was that I got some blood on my shirt. Talk about a one unique day to say good-bye.
If you all get a chance I would love to hear from you all. I love and miss you all.
Chris
posted by Joanne Schirm | 1:24 AM
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