You’ve almost certainly never heard of Toguz Korgool, which literally means “nine sheep droppings.” But, in honor of my upcoming posts from the World Nomad Games, it’s probably a good idea that I explain to you exactly what I was doing there for 9 hours a day: I was playing a board game called Toguz Korgool (also known as Toguz Kumalak in Kazakhstan). And I guarantee you that in 15 minutes or less, you can be playing too. Continue reading “Toguz Korgool: A Traditional Kyrgyz Board Game”
Note: I’m back! Sorry for the hiatus, and sorry in advance for the ensuing DELUGE of posts and pretty pictures that are about to come your way!
Summer was supposed to be a quiet time for me. It had been implied to me that I needed to not leave site this summer, so I cancelled my plans to work at a variety of camps and things, instead planning to bide my time a bit, focus on my blog, and maybe hit a few touristy weekends while work slowed to a crawl for July and August. Well, by the first week of August, it was clear that wasn’t how things were going to play out, and that actually turned out to be a good thing. Continue reading “Mile 16: August Before The Fall”
Given that I’ve just won a trip back to the United States for this blog, it seems somewhat fitting that my next Kyrgyzstani Movie Night should be for one of the most famous and charming movies to come out of Kyrgyzstan in the past few years: Salam, New York! Continue reading “Kyrgyzstani Movie Night: “Salam, New York””
Some really exciting news this week: In addition to being about to welcome our 10,000th visitor (!), I got the news that Monday Bazaar has been selected as a finalist in the 4th Annual Peace Corps Blog It Home blogging contest! And I need your help! Continue reading “Guys, I’m A Finalist For Blog It Home And I Need Your Help!”
Well another month has managed to fly past me without me so much as being able to stop and take a look, which is funny because it felt like one of the slower months of my time here so far despite actually getting a lot done.
It’s the end of the month, and as a part of a new blogging and photography goal I’ve set for myself with BloggingAbroad, I’ve been taking photos based on prompts (and just from life in general), and I wanted to share a few with you! Take a look, read about it, and click to enlarge if you want to see more closely. Continue reading “July 2016 Photo Roundup”
Back in December, at my HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction Training, a crowd descended upon me as we finished the training. These women were the heads of the regional Health Promotion Units (HPUs) around Osh Oblast. Each was hoping to meet me to find out if I could come give additional trainings at their respective clinics for them and their staff.
After four months trying to get it off the ground, I’m happy to say that the project is moving fast, and we’ve already done two full-scale day-long trainings, with more to come as we move on. Today I’ll walk us through the project from its genesis, focusing on the most recent training, and how we’re modifying it moving forward. Continue reading “A Traveling TOT in Chong Alay”
Continuing my series on the national symbols of Kyrgyzstan (the flag, yurts, and hats among other subjects), let’s learn about a musical part of Kyrgyzstan: its national anthem, or “National Hymn” to translate the title a bit more literally. Continue reading “The National Hymn of the Kyrgyz Republic”
I have talked a little about a few projects I’m doing so far, but a lot of my stories have lacked some context. Today I want to explain to you how Kyrgyzstan’s health system works, what Health Promotion is, and how my work and my fellow volunteers’ work fits into this structure. Continue reading “Kyrgyzstan’s Health Promotion System”
