Tag: House

Sleeping On The Floor

Published on by Mark Jahnke

One thing I’ve noticed about a lot of Central Asian houses is just how sparsely furnished they are.  A family usually owns a dining room table, a table for the topchan outside, a bunch of chairs, some couches in the guesting rooms, maybe a wall cabinet unit for memories, and possibly a few desks and wardrobes in the bedrooms.  You probably have noticed that beds are not on that list.  In fact, my room is the only room in my house that actually has a bed in it. Continue reading “Sleeping On The Floor” →

My House

Published on by Mark Jahnke

 

We’ve been here in our village for a week now, and I’m in love with it. I had told many of my friends about how excited I was to be coming back to Central Asia, and I truly meant it, but I had no idea both how much I had missed it here and how much I would love it when I got back. I also didn’t know what to expect in terms of differences between my new experiences in Kyrgyzstan and my previous ones in Tajikistan. But it’s all far exceeded everything I wanted for it to be.

I live in a small village in the valley of the capital city, Bishkek, and will be here throughout my training over the next two months. There are about 2,800 people in the village, and there are about 4-6 stores, the largest of which is smaller than the average 7/11 in the US. We’re mostly clustered within a five to ten minute walk of the main road, so the village is long and narrow (kind of like the Boston University campus), but all of our group is clustered a short walk from the house where we have our language classes.

Continue reading “My House” →

Orientation

Published on by Mark Jahnke

 

Our orientation was a complete whirlwind, but it’s a good thing that we had it to help us ease into the structure that is guiding us through the first two months of our time in this beautiful country. The hardest part wasn’t remembering everything, but remaining awake for the three days, the first of which began the second we touched down in country.

First off, family and friends worried about me will be happy to know that we have a great staff taking care of us here in the Kyrgyz Republic. They have thought of just about everything, and if they hadn’t thought of it pre-emptively, then they have things because of actual experiences that previous people have had. Not everyone will need a mosquito net or Tums, but we will be happy we have them when we do! This is definitely the softest landing I’ve ever had coming into an extended period outside the US.

Continue reading “Orientation” →