So it Starts

The time that I have been waiting for so very patiently has finally come. After over 9 months of

anticipation I have made it over to the country that I will be serving. On the way over to Bishkek last Saturday we had a 7 hour layover in Istanbul, Turkey. After some stressful baggage issues that I had to deal with at the Istanbul airport I joined the rest of the gang for an amazing tour of this fascinating city. My group and I managed to meet this van driver who offered to give us a four hour tour of Istanbul for 150 Lira (I’m pretty sure that’s not how you spell it). It came to about 25 Lira for each of us in our group which was a solid deal. Coming out of the airport we drove along the coastline on our way toward our first sight: the Blue Mosque. The coastline is filled with tankers and fishing boats and the park that stretches along its shores resembles that of Ocean Avenue near downtown Long Beach, California. It was amazing how many boats there were! We passed through the enormous old walls of the old Constantinople and the driver dropped us off as the Mosque. We got to move around by foot to view this incredible structure. We got to view the Mosque from the outside, however, we were not allowed inside because a religious ceremony was going on. This place was incredible. The driver picked us up and continued to drive us through the European side of town where the streets were just crawling with people. Our brief time in Istanbul was just a small taste of what this incredible place has to offer. After a delicious lunch of real Turkish Doner meat we were dropped off back at the airport where we caught our flight to Bishkek. After a five hour turbulent flight we got into Bishkek around 3 AM, drove to our hotel, checked in a passed out. The past couple days have been quite a lot to take in since we’ve begun our Pre-Service Training right here at the Issyk-Kul Hotel outside Bishkek. Our days are loaded with language training, immunizations, and cross-cultural training, however I do manage to make some time and get out and check out the area around the hotel. The hotel is an old Soviet building from the 70’s and looks like a giant military bunker from the outside. If you go outside around the back there is a huge park with some of the most bizarre structures I’ve ever seen. I’ll try and upload some pictures if this strange wonderland. I haven’t been able to check out much Bishkek since we’re not allowed to venture outside the hotel property. Tomorrow is the big day where we get to finally meet our host families for the next three months during our PST. I have to say that I’m a little nervous about meeting the family that I will live with for the next little while and even more nervous about the heavy amount of training I’ll be receiving. Nonetheless this is a very exciting time and the feeling is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before! Just being on this side of the world in this hotel is an experience in itself. The Kyrgyz people I’ve met so far are some of the most caring and friendly people I’ve ever met. The Kyrgyz look like a cross between a white and Asian and speak with a thick Russian-like accent. The Kyrgyz language is somewhat similar to Russian and uses the same written Cyrillic alphabet. Trainees learn either Russian or Kyrgyz depending on their worksite location. I’ve been assigned to learn Kyrgyz which means that I will most likely be placed in a rural area closer to the South. The weather here right now is very warm with clear skies. However, I’m constantly being warned about the brutal winters that will soon follow. I’m still getting used to writing in a blog like this so please pardon my lack of detail. I will be sure to fill everyone in on all some of the nitty-gritty as soon as I settle in with my host family and find more time to write. I’ll be sure to describe the food pretty soon which is a total trip! I’m not sure when I will be the next time I write but there will most definitely be some interesting news the next time I do! Catch you all later!