24 Hours In Arslanbob: A Weekend In The Walnut Forest

One of the biggest pieces of advice I’ve been given as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to accept the invitation.  My colleague Colleen wrote a really good post about this, so when two of my site-mates and I got the invite last Friday to go to Arslanbob for the weekend with a local friend of ours and stay with his aunt, we didn’t hesitate to say yes.   Continue reading “24 Hours In Arslanbob: A Weekend In The Walnut Forest”

Day Tripping to Chong-Alay

Today was one of those days that reminds me why I absolutely love where I am and what I’m doing. I’ve mentioned a few times before that I do some work on the side at the Osh American Corner, including talking clubs, movie clubs, an art club, and even a talk about Alaska Native art from my hometown. All of this works towards the second goal of the Peace Corps, which is to share American culture with the people of Kyrgyzstan.

Well, the American Corner program has a really cool even that’s happening right now called American Corner Book Caravan. Basically, the American Corner hires out a marshrutka (making it a literal caravan), and fills it with toys, games, books, and performers (and the occasional wayward Peace Corps Volunteer) and brings them out to regional centers and villages to set up mini-carnivals to share American culture and to share information about the resources available at our library in Osh.

Today, we went to the most distant rayon centre in Osh Oblast: Daroot-Korgon. Continue reading “Day Tripping to Chong-Alay”