Since we’re at the point when all that was atypical is beginning to feel typical, I thought it might be interesting to share with you our typical day in Kyrgyzstan. We have started to go for walks in the morning since walking is the easiest and most accepted form of exercise here (not that we see any Kyrgyz people walking just for fun). So, we wake up at around 6:15 am and head out of the house just about the time that all the cows are leaving for their day in the fields. Walks here require a bit more concentration than walks at home since we are regularly dodging the presents that the cows leave for us along the road. On our walks we get more than our fair share of second glances, but everyone is very friendly. On occasion we are even stopped and asked if we will bring a package or a letter back with us to the states for someone’s relative that moved there. Usually when they hear that we’re going to be in the country for two years they decide to take their chances with the postal service.

When we return from our walk we prepare for our day. Like going for a walk, it is a little bit different getting ready in the morning. The primary difference is that there is no running water. Our host family has running water a few hours every day. During that time they collect water in large tanks and use it throughout the day. Unfortunately, because of the source of the water, we can’t use it on our toothbrushes. Therefore, we usually brush our teeth using our filtered water at the sink outside. It is also customary in Kyrgyzstan to wash your hands and face before breakfast, because cleanliness at meals is very important. Right before we sit down for breakfast we usually change into our clothes for the day, business casual according to PC dress code, and fill our water bottles with water from our water filter. Usually, at about 7:30 we sit down for breakfast.

Breakfast in Kyrgyzstan, at least for us, is a lot hardier than American fare. We generally have bread, a vegetable salad, some tea, and some sort of main course. As it is summer, we usually eat outside at table that is at ground level, so we must sit on the ground to eat our meals. By 7:50, we are up from the table and on our way to language class in the village or to the marshrootka (private bus) stop to head into Kant for Peace Corps training.

On days that we remain in our village for language training, we travel to our teacher’s house, which only about 10 minutes away. There we gather with 3 other PC trainees and learn the ins and outs of the Kyrgyz language. Each day, we usually have one or two grammar lessons and we learn a set of vocabulary words. To reduce the monotony of drills, our teacher (mugalim), usually has us play games to perfect our word command. For example, today we led someone blindfolded around the neighborhood looking for a bottle using only Kyrgyz directional phrases.

At around 12:15 we break for lunch. Our village host mothers decided that it was convenient for them if we all rotated from home to home for lunches so that they don’t each have to prepare lunch everyday. We enjoy rotating homes in which we have lunch because we get to see the different ways each family prepares things. We also get to know each of the host families a bit better.

On days that we’re in the village, Lauren usually has English Club after lunch. English Club is an hour-long club held at the local school for children in the village. It serves several purposes, the main ones being: to give students practice with English, to get trainees more integrated into the community and to give TEFL trainees an opportunity to practice teaching English. During this time, Martin has technical language self-study, which is known in the US as naptime.

On Peace Corps Days we board a marshrootka and take a ride to Kant. These are especially exciting days as we have access to a flush toilet (albeit one with a shower curtain as a door) and to the internet. The mornings on Peace Corps Days are usually reserved for medical and safety lessons and the afternoons are primarily cultural adaptation discussions.

In the late afternoon/evening, before dinner, we usually spend some time studying Kyrgyz, interacting with our host family and reading or writing. Opportunities to interact with our host family include: getting help with our Kyrgyz homework, watching TV or movies together (usually programs are dubbed in Russian), helping prepare food, walking to the store together for bread or tomatoes or just regular conversation. And of course, we try to get a little bit of self-study in then, too.

Dinner is much like lunch, there is a lot of food served. Dinner (and lunch) also seem to last a bit longer here than in the US. When we finally do sit down for one of these meals they usually last at least an hour.

After dinner we get ready to settle in for the night and make what we hope will be our last trip to the outhouse until morning. Unfortunately, on occasion it is necessary to venture into the darkness and brave the outhouse at night. Luckily we have a headlamp to assist us. While the light is pretty strong, we still have to tread carefully because the headlamp doesn’t always illuminate the safest path around the “gifts” the cows leave in the backyard.