Choi and Non

Choi is tea, and non is bread. The two things we have at every meal. I repeat - every meal. But it's good, so far. Just got to avoid the non with the fuzzy green spots. Lots of soups, and the occasional rice dish or kabob.

Classes are intense - 3 hours of Russian every day, and 3 hours of technical training in NGO governance and management. At least I like the group of 4 others that I spend all day with.

Tomorrow we head to Tashkent to watch the Super Bowl at the Ambassador's - game starts at 4am. Tuesday we head back to Tashkent to start our NGO practicum. And next weekend we take a little field trip to the west. It'll be good to get out of Chirchil, which is just a little Russian chemical plant town. Not too much of interest here - not that I have time for anything anyways.

Still hoping to get our visas renewed soon. Otherwise, I'm out of here at the end of the month and COS with the shortest PC stint in history.

More later - the sky darkens and air chillens. Gotta catch my marshutka before the streets refreeze - at least I won't have to go up any hills, like this morning (that's a teaser for my next entry).



The marshutka stand

Arrived in Uzbekistan

We finally arrived in Uzbekistan. After a long day and a half of flying, we were thrown right into classes. By 5pm it had been over 48 hours and 7 meals since my last real sleep. I passed out and missed dinner, but got a nice 9 hours of sleep.

Friday was getting some shots and our allowance - 40,400 som. Almost $40. [dramatic pause] That's for the next two weeks. Although today is the first I've spent any money. 200 som for the marshutka into town, and 1000 som for an hour for internet.

Friday, we also met our host families. Mine live in Chirchik, about 45 minutes northwest of Tashkent. I was a tad nervous about what to expect, but fortunately my family is very nice and they even speak English. I live with a mother and father with three teenage sons. One of the sons has a wife and month old baby that also live there. The grandmother lives down the street and is also hosting a volunteer.

Yesterday (Saturday) we went guesting - visiting - to my host brother's in-laws. A massive meal was involved. We ate for almost four hours. By the time we got back home, the electricity was out and we had to use candles and my mag light to get around.

I'm cutting off here, as all the other PCTs are going over to the cafe to eat. We all ended up meeting here by chance to check out email.

But now I know where to go.

Black Thursday

Staging was a day and a half of meetings and meeting lots of people. There are 65 in our group, and I probably met two-thirds of them and remember one-third of their names. Come Monday I'm sure to have forgotten them all. But it's a cool group with people from all over the country (and world), with quite a diverse array of experiences.

Washington D.C. has been bitterly cold - it snowed a couple of inches yesterday and we seemed to have it blowing in our face the entire time. They also don't seem to plow the streets and so there were lots of sliding cars and sliding people (bricks don't make for a very tractable surface). Besides the four (including me) here bound for Uz, there are a number of medevacs here for surgery, doctor appointments, and recuperation. It's good to talk to some actual volunteers who can give us the unromanticized low down.

The Inauguration is today and we (seems the PC is about 90% Dems - I'd say 100%, but I'm sure there's a few who are just afraid to speak out) plan to head over there and join a protest. Although with the massive security out there (the entire Mall is fenced off) it might not be worth it - especially if we can't get within tomato throwing distance.

Our visas are ready for pickup and we're still scheduled to leave on Saturday evening. Until then...

Ayutthaya, Thailand

I'm here relaxing for probably the last time in several months. After flying back to Chicago I fly to Kansas (will know for sure when after I get back), drive to Chicago, drive to Kansas, fly to Chicago, fly to Philadelphia, then on to Istanbul and then Uz. Then three months of having to learn Russian and/or Uzbeki, and then two years of living on about $100 / month and existing on flat bread, potatos, and mutton (or so they say).

It has been getting up to about 80 or so here. Very lovely. Lots of wats around town - old ruins and newer ones as well. Ayutthaya was the ancient capital of Siam, before the Burmese sacked it in the mafnmnth century (19th maybe??). Anyways, it's very laid back and great to bicycle around - although I did get a flat this afternoon and will need to get that fixed. Also kicked a brick and busted up my big toe. Blood all over. I guess not everything is going to cooperate with me. It's still better then having to deal with Bangkok. The only drawback is all the mangy dogs roaming around - most with mottled tuffs of hair and many limping (that's what you get for sleeping on the road). They're usually well behaved, but will occasionally give chase. And no, I didn't get a rabies vaccination before I left.

Two more days then off to the airport early early Friday morning. I think I'm going to try and catch the train around 3:30 am. One hour to the airport. Flight leaves at 7:00 am. Stop in Tokyo and back in Chicago Friday afternoon. Customs, el, taxi, so much fun to look forward to.

So that's the story from Thailand. I probably won't have anything else to report until I return.

Vientiane, Laos

Well, the 160 km ride wasn't too bad. Newly paved road, lots of curves, and a few small hills. Wind coming in from the north, so generally a crosswind, but occasional head and tail winds - I was passing motorcycles when I headed down hill with a tail wind. Whee! Quite a desolate stretch of highway, with only sporadic villages consisting of huts on stilts. But they were nice huts with 4x4s and faux-thatch paneling. Lots of kids waving and yelling "sabadai" and "bye-bye". Very little traffic as well. I usually biked down the center of the lane.

Savanakhet seemed like a nice town, but I had no map so I was generally lost. Spoke to a couple young buddhist monks. Sounds like they've got the best education in the country - 15 subjects and classes from 8am - 8pm.

The bus from Savan to Vientiane was less exciting. The high point was when a rear tire blew and the bus filled with smoke.

Vientiane, like the rest of Laos, is quite laid back. You almost have to strain to here the tuk-tuk and moto drivers calling for you. One "no thanks" and they leave you alone. The people in the markets don't latch on to you, and at times seem almost unwilling to make a sell. A number of people are interested in just speaking English with you and not making a sell. I don't think I spoke with a single person in Vietnam who wasn't trying to sell me something.

So I'll probably spend one more day here, then bike to the Thai border and down to Udon Thani on the 17th (not sure what day that is, nor do I know what day today, the 15th, is). Then down to Khon Kaen where I'll catch a train to Ayutthay. A couple days there and then down to Bangkok. And finally head back to Chicago. That's the current plan, at least.