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I was born very far from where I'm supposed to be and so I'm on my way home.
--Bob Dylan
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Made it!
SO I've been back in the States, in New York, for about a week now. I figured it was time to write my last entry for this journey.
Kyrgyzstan is a trip, let me tell you. First, Zach was waiting when I got out of the airport, so all worries were instantly abated. It was really really amazing to see him, it had been over a year after all. The dynamic I experience when I get to see a SASer is quite unsettling. I feel slightly silly for being so excited to see someone I only knew for a few months. If I didn't have a connection with these people though, I wouldn't care about them, right? That may in itself be wishful thinking. A larger part of me, though, feels unabashedly thrilled. These people all desire to know more about the world around them and really want to get out there and exact change... just like myself. They're kindred spirits and they deserve for me be excited when I can spend more time with them. So that's how I felt walking out of the airport in Bishkek with this almost stranger at 5am in a VERY foreign country.
My first day was spent in the capital (Bishkek), just wandering around and getting even more used to being gawked at. I thought I was a slight anomaly in Eastern Europe... that's nothing compared to Central Asia.
Oh, wait wait wait.
First I need to take a second and vent about the crappy ass ridiculous Moscow Airport. It was absolutely horrendous. My travel journel entry for my 9 hour layover there reads: "I honestly think this airport was designed for stable animals. There are no seats, people lying on the floor, and sitting on the steps. Oh, and you can pay for booze, cigarettes, perfume, and little Russian dolls with a card- but not food. What the hell is that? And did I mention there's not one ATM in the entire building?! Way to go Russia. I can only assume that they were going for the "please give me a bad impression of your country through your airport if you have to spend more than five minutes here" award. I'm LIVID right now, what kind of international airport doesn't have an ATM?! Seriously!"
Ok, enough said.
So we walked around Biskek, saw some commie Soviet statues, slept in an Soviet apartment and met some of Zach's PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) friends for dinner. It was really hot (as in the sun was beaming down on us, not as in I'm trying to be Paris Hilton).
Then we headed to Karakol, which I have got to say is pretty hopping. Z and two of his friends rent a place they call "the flop". It's basically a chill pad to escape boring village life, and get a hot shower and use a flushable toilet. So we hung out there for a few days doing really normal things like watching movies, and playing games, listening to music, and just hanging out really. I promised the boys that I'd cook, so I made some kick but quesadillas, homemade tortillas and all. I gotta say, though, I had no idea how good the treatment I was getting was. I got to shower everyday... that changed quickly.
Because then the village came. This is were my time in the country got particularly interesting aka really strange. So we rode from Karakol to Jarkynbave (don't know if that's spelled right), which is Z's village, to stay with his host family for a while. His Ata and Apa (host father and mother, respectively) were really warm and very welcoming. We hung out in his room for a little, while I tried to pluck up the courage to go use the outhouse. As I exited the house to walk across the lawn to my bathroom for the next few days, I saw a goat tied up outside. I quickly learned that its throat was about to be slit. I ran back in the house, startled by the recent turn of events and very much forgetting my need to use the bathroom. After being coaxed out, I learned this lovely slaughter I had walked into was in honor of a new baby reaching one month, or somewhere around there. The guests asked me stay and experience their culture properly. I couldn't quite watch, but I did here a quick but gut wrenching squeal, and then got to witness the dead, bleeding goat strung up by its legs and skinned. We ate well that night, with the men getting VERY drunk off Vodka and me even trying a little goat. I figured: When in Kyrgyzstan, right? I also found one thing I absolutely loved about the country: they drink a hell of a lot of tea, which they call Chai. I was very into that.
The next day I felt really sick: female issues.
We stayed in the village another day to go and visit lake Issykul. This lake is massive and really beautiful. The boy is lucky he gets to live near by it. I had a really great time-great enough for me to forget that the trek there was miserable. I had to walk barefoot through cow crap and my dress got very muddy. Oh well, that's life, right? It is in Kyrgyzstan, at least.
After all of this: the real adventure began.
We drove to Kochkor and stayed in a guesthouse then headed into the mountains for a three day horseback riding extravaganza. I've never been on horseback for 6 hours in one day, let alone three. This is not your standard preppy kids horseback riding either. Now that I'm on level ground I can joke about it, but some of that riding was seriously dangerous. Up and down mountainsides, the only thing separating me from the icy water being a cliffside of jagged rocks. My horse, Rebel Smooth (Zach and I named him/her) was a horse with gender identity issues, a gas problem, and an insane competitive streak. I was quite fine just walking along, occasionally trotting, but noooooooooooooo. Galloping full speed just because the boys (who might I add do NOT have "my equipment" and thus cannot understand how uncomfortable that is when not prepared) decided they wanted to. So first day was long and we ended it by we finding a yurt to stay in (look it up, I can't really explain what it is, a really fancy tent I guess). More outhouses. The next day we were supposed to visit this alpine lake further up in the mountains. Part riding, part hiking. However, the new horse I was given for the day had other plans. It didn't wan to do anything I needed to to, and halfway up a mountainside, got spooked, bucked me off and just about murdered my leg. I didn't immediately notice that, though, I was way too pissed off. We started our hike and I quickly realized that my leg was worse than I orginally thought and had to sit on a rock surround be sheep, goats and cowpies. The guys were way ahead of me and MADE NO ATTEMPT TO SEE WHY I WASN'T BEHIND THEM AND SITTING ON A ROCK FOR 20+ MINUTES.  I'm not still bitter...really. After about 45 minutes, when I realized no one was coming for me I decided to be a headstrong idiot lady and climb up the mountain in obscene amounts of pain to prove a point to those who had forsaken me. What that point was I'm not really sure. It took forever getting up and down but I figured they could wait. Eh, made for an interesting day.
Last day we spent riding back to Kochkor.
Then Bishkek.
Then home.
That's all she wrote folks
I am a very lucky girl
Not everyone gets the opportunity to see the things I do or go the places I get to visit.
I am extremely grateful.
At the conclusion of this trip I've been to:
Switzerland: Geneva, Bern, Luzern, Interlaken, Zurich
Bavaria
Austria: Salzburg, Villach, Vienna
Slovenia: Ljubljana
Croatia: Zagreb, Split
Hungary: Budapest
the Czech Republic: Prague, Kunta Hora
Poland: Krakow, Auschwitz
Russia: Moscow airport
Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek, Kochkor, Balykchy, Karakol, Jarkynbave, Cholpon-ata probably some other places too
Today I start the newest phase of my life: living in my own place and grad school, woo!
"Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!"--Anonymous
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Posted: 9:52 PM, 8/26/2007 in Unspecified |
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| Forty-two days, ten countries (England) twenty -four cities, thousands of miles, new friends and tons of adventure...Welcome home Shari, welcome home. |
Posted by at 8:14 PM, 9/6/2007 |
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