Salut and à Bientôt

Salut, There’s something in Kyrgyzstan called суботник (cybotnek), which is a Russian word and derives from the term for Saturday, but generally refers to a time for cleaning. Spring here feels like a time of renewal, and my surroundings certainly reflect that. On Fridays, students do суботникик which means they skip classes, go outside, clean the front courtyard, and plant trees. Students here have always been free labor (teachers instruct students to move their materials/books around, send stuff between classes, move furniture, etc.). In spring, the flowers come back, and that usually means lots of chores for students. More time outside. It feels hot, not as hot as Texas thank goodness, and yet sometimes it can be relaxing to stand outside and feel the wind blow by. Rain comes and goes of course.  Recently, my village celebrated the hospital workers/nurses who work in our village. I think my village is unique in having a full-scale mini hospital of sorts, or at least substantial st

Salut,  It’s not spring if it doesn’t rain for days on end and flood for just a little bit.  I recently began a chess and checkers game club at my school on Tuesdays, and I’ve had several students come play with me. Students here have unusual checkers rules, and they often confuse chess and checkers. I’ve had students grab the chess pieces and set up the board checkers style. Students universally know checkers, less so chess. I’m good enough to beat my students and play against the computer on my phone (yay chess.com), but I’m very behind on strategy. I have been playing other volunteers, but I’m not very good. It’s a current work in progress, but I much prefer in-person games.  I taught Baktygul to play chess! I don’t have a brain that gets into chess so easily. Maybe it’s time to watch the Queen’s Gamit. Speaking of movies and shows, I’ve been trying to watch a lot of new movies at night, many of varying genres (Super Mario's movie finally! Poor Things, which is insanely weird, O