Life In Jalal-Abad

What I like:
One of the things I love about J-A is that they sell candy apples here! They remind me of the Fly Creek Cider Mill, except here they wrap them in saran wrap which can be kinda tricky to take off, but well worth the effort!

The bread here is super amazing!

There’s a little shop near my house and it is run by several Uzbek women who are really friendly! I like going there! The one lady often says I look like a Russian girl, and everyone is surprised I’m American. One of the ladies even practices her English when I cash out with her.

The produce is fresh and not expensive…unless it’s something out of season.

The parks are very nice!

I’ve heard there is one park with the best ice cream! I can’t wait to try it!! Ice cream in Kstan is not like ice cream in America, it is definitely one of the things I miss when I’m here. Hoping for the best- I’ll keep ya posted! The shop doesn’t open until Noorus- March 21.

What I’m getting used to:

Litter everywhere!

Being noticeably different and getting looks/sneers  from people.

Everything closes at 6 or 7! And everyone is off the street when the sun goes down.

How dusty it is here. I think women cover their heads not so much for religious purposes but to keep their hair cleaner!

Not having a refrigerator.

A very male dominated culture.

 

 

-interesting fact: all the stop signs are in English.

Visa Run-Around

 

After a whole 2 ½ weeks in Jalal-Abad, I needed to return to Bishkek to apply for a longer visa. It usually takes two weeks to process so I got there Dec 10, enough time to get all my documents in order and turn them in, knowing something would be missing and I’d have to go back a couple times before everything was good enough for them to accept my papers and begin the process. It seems to never fail, that when I have everything just as it was once before, something has changed and I need something more or something different. I was prepared for this.

I got the check list of things I needed. I went with my director to get the proper documents of our organization and get the proper signatures of the proper people. He said this is usually a three day process- something I didn’t need during my previous term. Thankfully, upon entering the building he ran into a childhood friend of his, who had some status within the building. He took our papers and did the running around for us; gathering the signatures and stamps which we needed. Instead of three days, it took one afternoon!! I thought for sure this was a good sign and the rest of the process was going to go just as smooth. Boy was I wrong!

I usually have gotten a visa before entering Kyrgyzstan, but this time I was told that they have a stamp you can get upon entering the airport, it’s like a free, two month tourist visa. Unfortunately, I found out that the stamp does not qualify as a real visa. That’s what the lady told me as I brought in my paperwork, that and that in order to get a visa I’ll have to leave the country and upon re-entering get a visa at the air port. So…I brainstormed my options:

*Travel to Kazakhstan. Going by car would be cheaper. Though I’d have to stay in Almaty for a couple weeks while I applied for a Kyrgyzstan visa at the Kyrgyz Embassy there…though who do I stay with. Then I found out I’d also need a visa for that country which alone was $220!

*Buy a plane ticket to Istanbul and come back in the same day- about $500. Though if I was traveling to Istanbul, I’d rather make a trip of vacation out of it; no fun by myself.

*Uzbekistan apparently was not a viable option. Everyone told me ‘no’.

*Fly to Tajikistan for a few days- visa- $33, plane ticket-$100+, stay for free with YFC people there.

So I went and bought a plane ticket for Dushanbe!

Before I left, I made sure I had all my paper work in order so that upon my return to Kyrgyzstan I could apply for a 6mo visa at the air port.

As I entered the air port in Kyrgyzstan, I saw that the counselor’s room was shut and locked. I asked a lady where I could get a visa, she asked me where I was from and I said I’m American, and she said that I didn’t need a visa (referring to the free 60 day stamp), and I smiled and said I know but I need a visa. She then proceeded to point to the locked room. I walked back over and knocked on the door and pulled, she noticed it wasn’t open. She went to ask someone else who then came over and we had the same conversation about me not needing a visa, but me needing a visa. So I sat there and waited while they called for someone. Then I see a guy walking over with a brief case…I’m sure this is the guy and I’m already at strike two because I’ve obviously taken him from something else. He goes in the room and opens the window and tells me to fill out a form. I hand him my packet of forms and documents and tell him I’d like to apply for a six month visa. He takes my papers, looks at them, gives them back- all but the top paper, and says I’ll give you a one month visa and you can apply for a longer one in the country…that’ll be $70. I paid the guy, got my one month visa sticker in my passport and proceeded to pick up my luggage. I’m certain everyone there thought I was crazy- I just paid $70 for a 30 day visa when I could get a 60 day pass for free…everyone including myself.

I arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Christmas, December 25. In few short days it will be New Years and all the offices will be closed for at least the first week of January. I’m now in a race against time. So much for planning on having my visa by Christmas and returning to Jalal-Abad after New Years!

Ever know you need to do something, but dread doing it because you know it’s not going to go as you hope. Yes, that was me. I arrived Tuesday afternoon, and finally made it back to the Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, to once again give someone my documents and apply for a 6mo visa so I could return to the south and be able to stay there for a while before needing to once again return and reapply. I went by myself as everyone was sick or busy, and of course, as I handed the lady my papers, she looked through them and said the letter was missing stuff, I needed stamps on three papers, and I couldn’t apply for a 6mo visa; the most they could give me was a 3mo visa for some reason I didn’t understand.

So once again, I left with my papers in hand and I wanted to cry! I called my director and told him of the changes that needed to be made and the other things that needed to be done.

Saturday, December 29, my friend and I, with papers, documents, corrections in hand went again to the DOFA. This time they accepted everything and said my passport and 3mo visa would be ready January14. When my friend asked why I could only get a three month visa, the lady said because ours is an organization not a fund. When we left we both looked at each other and just shook our heads and laughed because that very week the other American volunteer on our team was given a 6 month visa!

Oh Kyrgyzstan, I love you, but sometimes you make me want to pull my hair out!

Kids

 One of the things that our team here does is visit an orphanage for kids with special needs; invalids as they are referred to. There are three different buildings for the children, we visit the children in the second building. They are mobile and for the most part comprehensive. My first time there, it broke my heart. These kids are so sweet and long for attention, and some of them could easily be educated and assimilate into society. But having a child with special needs is a cultural stigma. It looks bad, neighbors will talk about it, and according to some Islamic teachings- it is a sign that you have done something wrong.

Being there reminded me of the kids I would see from the special ed class when I worked at a high school in the States. They were educated and taught job skills. I thought how lucky they are to be born there and not here. For these kids, their life is very basic, if they live to be 16-17 they move out of those dorms and into the one for adults.  

When we go, we have an activity time with them. We bring different balls and play with them. If it is nice, we go outside. I have an idea to bring some music and do some musical games/activities, my director here says that would be good; something they haven’t done before. Though not all the kids are active, some prefer to just sit around and watch what goes on. Others prefer to stay right by your side and hug and hang on to you. To see them smile and have a good time makes me smile. Then it’s time to leave and they help put the balls away and give you a last hug and wave good-bye. Until next time…

Electric Mayhem

I am a fan of the Muppets, but this is not about Dr. Teeth and his band.

Power outages are of no surprise in Kyrgyzstan, but when the power is only working in half of your apartment, you know you have a problem that needs to be checked out soon. Especially when it’s the half that works the hot water tank and the washing machine! So I called on my co-workers who have experience in remodeling and home repairs. Also in Kyrgyzstan, things don’t get attention right away, but eventually the guys came over to seek out the problem. Mukash checked the fuses and then removed a cover in the wall and what was behind that shocked us all! It was a bundled mess of burnt wires! Even those not electrical savvy could see that this conglomerate of grilled chaos was very unprofessionally done and very unsafe. The wires weren’t capped or taped or anything! Not being able to fix the problem at the moment as the bazaar was closed, he pulled the wires out of the wall and separated them and got the electricity working again. 

My roommate and I enjoyed having the electricity back for the evening and I was looking forward to having a bath in the morning with plenty of hot water, rather than just what I could prepare in our pots and tea kettle…not to mention a warm bathroom, as the heat for that room had also not been working. It’s not so preferable to wash your hair in a room where you can see your breath because it’s that cold. So I went to bed. Only to be woken up by a loud ‘POP’. I knew it was the electricity so I ran and opened my door and looked at the spot where the wires were…they seemed to be ok. Then I heard water running and thought maybe my roommate was taking a shower and the lights went out and just as I was going to knock on the bathroom door, she came out of her room. So I opened the door to see where the water was coming from and the room was filled with white smoke and smelled of burnt electricity! Though there was no water running there. So we went into the kitchen and there we saw our hot water tank spewing out water! Not exactly what you want to wake up to. Thankfully who ever installed the hot water tank, placed it over the kitchen sink so all the water was going into the sink instead of on the floor!  I got under the sink and shut off the water, then opened the door to the balcony to air out the smoke from the bathroom and the burnt electrical smell as much as possible.

When it got too cold and seemed to be aired out enough, we closed the door. Then we just stood there, staring at the loose wires looking to see if anything more was going to occur; not wanting to turn our backs to it! Finally we decided it was safe enough to retreat into our rooms, though not whole heartedly believing that to be true. I shut off the fuses, so that no electricity would be running. Which when it’s winter and your heaters are electrical- you know you’re going to have a cold night. But I figured a cold apartment was better than one engulfed in flames! Which I did prepare for, before going to bed, got my necessities ready to take if I had to run out because of a fire.

Neither of us slept too well that night. Thankfully, no fire occurred, no one was electrocuted, and the problem has been repaired properly.