Jumping Out the Window

Salut,

Yes, I did literally jump out a window, but I’ll get to that later. 

In the middle two weeks of June, I conducted my English summer camp. It ran 4 days a week, from 10 am-noon at my school. I hung a large poster in the hallway advertising it, and Baktygul sent a picture of the schedule to the school teachers to in turn send to students in WhatsApp groups. Little did I know that I would be getting a lot more students than I had anticipated. One student asked if they could bring their friend from Frank’s old school three blocks down the road, and I said yes, assuming it would just be a 4th grader and their one friend. Come Monday, my first day, 40 students flooded my classroom, ⅓ coming from the bigger school. My club skewed younger, which I had thought about but didn’t expect. Older students have more commitments at home, and less motivation to study and practice English. 9th and 11th grade were preparing for exams anyway. My students were mostly 3-7th grade students, with even a few 2nd graders. 

On the first Monday, a few parents even showed up, their trailing infants coming into and disturbing the classroom. Otherwise, it was good. I brought candy and fruit every day for my students (apricots, strawberries, cherries, etc.). Tuesdays were game days. I brought Jenga, Connect 4, packs of Uno, Twister, checkers, and chess, all with me, and I even got some of my best students to try out Bananagrams. Bhaavya brought me bananagrams which is an excellent activity for more advanced students but exceedingly rare to find in Kyrgyzstan or Central Asia. On Wednesdays, we had sports and origami day. I brought badminton rackets, table tennis, jump ropes, and a volleyball and football. I did buy all the supplies myself, and in the beginning, I was a bit lacking considering just how many students came in the first week. During the second, it decreased to 25-30, but it was still very high. Several students didn’t have a game or sport to play, so I brought some of the girls and little boys in to try origami. It’s been a long time since I was in my origami phase, but I still remember some stuff. On Thursdays, we took a break and had no club, which offered me the chance to prep and buy more stuff, and I needed the time to set up for Friday's club, which was movie day. 

We moved our club into the “auditorium” of our school (it’s not an actual auditorium, far from it, it’s just a large room with chairs), and I set up a projector but the shadows didn’t fully cover the projector in the room mid-day, so the film wasn’t as clear as it could have been. Regardless, on Friday, we watched Shrek. I offered Anastasia, Snow White, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Harry Potter, and Tangled, all with Russian subtitles. Most students had seen Shrek, and students especially young ones have a notoriously bad attention span, so many left before the film finished. But they told me they enjoyed it. In the second week, they voted on Harry Potter. I was skeptical, first because it’s much longer than the other films (Disney films are like 90-100 minutes, while Harry Potter is 2.5 hours), and also because my audience was mostly kids under the age of 9. I have never seen any pearl-clutching regarding the depiction of wizardry or magic here that I have occasionally run into when talking about Harry Potter (the old, “My parents didn’t let me watch it because it had wizards and witches”, and yes, that’s a real thing). But I wasn’t sure if Voldemort on the back of Quirrel’s head would scare the bejeezus out of students. I noticed more interest in Harry Potter, though the aforementioned lighting problem made it difficult to see the more darkly lit scenes (re: the opening and the Forbidden Forest scene). 2 students made it to the very very end, a feat I admire considering just how long it was. 

Anyway, on the first Wednesday of my club, I was in the school until a bit late due to setting up the projector equipment. Additionally, I have been having small private English lessons for a few formerly 6th (now entering 7th) grade students in the afternoon. After that lesson was over, I set up the equipment and started to leave. I should also mention that my school doesn’t have functioning wifi or connection. Upon attempting to exit, I saw that the teachers had closed the school and locked the front door (and all doors). Our front door is not anything special, and it’s locked on both sides. Maybe, if I had used more brain cells, I could have attempted to call a teacher and track down who has the front door key (not every teacher does, they play hot potato with who carries the key, it’s sometimes the groundskeeper, sometimes the director or zavuches/vice principals). So, I didn’t do that, instead, I opened my English classroom window and jumped out. Don’t worry, it’s on the first floor, but definitely unorthodox. The window remained open, but it was impossible to climb up into the window from the outside without a ladder or other form of aid. 

The first day I had private lessons with Nurayim, my smartest 6th (now 7th) grader, we had a mild understanding. Her phone doesn’t work in the school, but I had texted her and her classmate, Albina, that we were having a lesson at 3 PM upstairs in our small English classroom (we have two classrooms, one large English room on the ground floor, and a small second one upstairs, which can fit around 8-10 people, which I use for small clubs, private lessons, and storage). I went upstairs and waited for them at 3, and around 3:30, both having not arrived, I began to leave (I texted both girls the time and specific place so I didn’t think to check the first floor). On my way out, I passed my first-floor room and found an angrily written message in English, how Nurayim had been waiting for me for over 30 minutes in our downstairs room, both of us oblivious to each other. I found Nurayim who was on her way out, and we held our lesson, even if it deviated from Nurayim’s desire to learn to count in Spanish, French, and Chinese. A few of my students, especially the 5th-grade boys, have an interesting desire to learn Chinese, but they haven’t told me why. They just shout “ni hao” loudly, with improper tones at me. 

At home, life has been fine even if unchanging. Dayan came back from Russia, alone (he’s like 10) and has been wandering around the house without a shirt almost every day. God, I hate double standards, because Emir, Alihan, Meder, and all the men can walk around without shirts. It’s so hot outside, but dressing standards are so conservative here in the villages that you can’t even walk around in short skirts (some children can but generally not women) or shorts. Linen has been my friend. No AC means my hand fan I sometimes use is the only source of air for my little brothers and sisters who steal it and fan themselves. 

The construction workers are still building much to my chagrin, as our meals had gone back to soup and ash (and having soup for 3-5 meals in a row gets old). They work fast, I admit, building a second floor on the house next to us. My host dad is having two houses built; one next door for his eldest son (I think, who lives in Russia), and a second one for his eldest daughter, a five-minute drive from our house. My host family’s day: the men work around the house, watch or help the construction workers, drive back and forth, sometimes go to the bazaar, and take turns with Kuz Saykal (the 1-year-old, she’s so close to being able to walk independently!). The women (re: my sister-in-law) cooks, cleans, does the dishes, breastfeeds and feeds the other kids and the construction workers, and does some farmwork outside. The kids are outside, sometimes watching the construction, playing in trash piles, riding their toy bikes, drawing, or watching Russian kid videos on their phones. There’s a certain level of monotony to it, and it’s always been this way, but in summer, the boredom and heat are inescapable. The English camp allowed me to escape some of it. 

Then, sometimes random things happen. One random day near lunchtime, Aidana banged on my window, telling me to get ready as the school teachers were waiting for me two blocks up the road. While changing, my mom banged on my door again, quickly yelling in garbled Kyrgyz I didn’t hear much of the same time, giving sparse directions and all but pushing me out the door. I don’t answer my Kyrgyz phone without caller ID but I had gotten one call I hadn’t answered. I donned appropriate clothing, and my mom pushed me out without giving any additional details. It was weird because teachers have had events without inviting me (which doesn’t always bother me), but never have they solicited me or contacted my family to push me out the door. Anyway, it ended up being a special party to celebrate my director’s son’s academic accomplishments (he’s going to be a doctor). We ate lots of good food (apricots and cherries are in season right now). 

Daniel, also my host brother, came back from Russia. If you are a recurring reader, Daniel is technically my host nephew (my host mother and father have four children but all are married with kids: Dinara, Elmira, Meder, and the last I always remember as he’s the only one I’ve never met, I think his name is Merlan/Mirlan, but Adelya, Alihan, Emir, Daniel, Dayan, they’re all technically nieces and nephews but it’s all the same to me). Anyway, Daniel came back, without a frozen chicken but plenty of Russian candy. He said some of the rest of the family will come in July, so that’s exciting. 

Alihan. Oh, Alihan. Poor kid has been going through it. He’s the cutest of all the kids but definitely is the stupidest (and I say that with all the love and affection in the world). Emir can count to 10 in Russian, Kyrgyz, and English, and Alihan can barely make it in Kyrgyz. However, I am worried for Adelya because she is going to turn 6 in September and can’t read or write. Anyway, it’s been raining a bit at home, and the thunder scares Alihan. He’s sensitive to loud noises (the only one surprisingly) and will cover his ears and cry if it gets really loud. He’s also accident-prone; he was sporting 3 injuries when I left a few days ago. Poor baby boy; he scraped his knee, cut his big toe, and got a nasty bug bite near his eye, swelling it nearly shut. 

I arrived in Bishkek last Thursday for medical appointments, and some routine stuff amongst other stuff. I’m in good health, it’s just taking longer than I thought it would. Our doctor, Dr. Marat, has been incredibly helpful throughout all the appointments and stuff. The dentist looked in my mouth for 5 minutes, said my teeth were fine, and then suffered through 30 minutes of the assistant cleaning afterward. I skipped through the Peace Corps office more times than I ever had before. Liam said he was present during a duck and cover drill, a ridiculous Cold War ritual designed to teach you to survive a nuclear bomb. The solution? Hide under your desk haha. When I was there, I ran into a self-care break going on, where Feydor, our safety assistant, was leading the staff in breathing exercises for 30 minutes (in Russian for some reason). I also got the chance to meet some K-21 members (2013-2015) visiting the office. It was fun to compare our experiences (they were roughing it out more back a decade ago, and Kyrgyztsan ten years ago had other sectors, like business and community development, operating). Lastly, I ran into a cake party the office was having in the afternoon, as Greg, the budgeting management dude, signed and finalized the office’s lease one day before the deadline. Good job Greg!

This summer, Baktygul has been in Bishkek working on her master’s degree through intensive English classes on education, and methodology, amongst other things. Her son accompanied her to Bishkek (while her two smaller kids stayed with their grandparents). Out here in Bishkek, she’s more free, wearing her hair down, looser shirts, and more fashionable skirts (clothing in the village is functional, not fashionable). The stark difference between rural and city culture, between more conservative and progressive style choices feels very present. Regardless, I’m happy for her, as it’s so hot, I don’t know how any of us manage it. We met in Bishkek and hung around the public parks into the evening, where it cooled significantly, and got hot dogs at night. 

It’s been a year, and I think back and sometimes even look back at my old posts from 1 year ago. I’m not constrained by the daily language lessons, or being in one location like PST. I’m back in Bishkek of course, a home away from home that always feels familiar and with each time I get to come back, a new opportunity to discover more of its secrets. But here and now, there are few schedules, few constraints, and endless time to host camps, read and watch movies, take gorgeous mountain photos, and travel around. I will do more in July, but here’s to a first Kyrgyz summer! K-30, you can only go up from here!

À Bientôt,

Grace

Music

1. These Walls- Dua Lipa

2. Maria- Dua Lipa

3. French Exit- Dua Lipa

4. End of an Era- Dua Lipa

5. Happier For You- Dua Lipa

6. How Do I Love You?- Miia

7. Oxide- Miia

8. Inside of Me- RAIGN

9. Sign- RAIGN

10. Causing Love- RAIGN

11. Good Luck, Babe!- Chappell Roan

12. Lightning- Zoe Wees