20th of November, 2022.
Hitchhiking in Kyrgyzstan.
Volunteer work in Kyrgyzstan.
The spot for hitchhiking is not bad but the mud is. It is wet and muddy everywhere. And I have to stand by the road, so my snickers are quite dirty and I have to ensure that my backpacks will be OK.
A car with 4 man stops. They are going to Bishkek and I tell them I cannot pay. They are OK with that. Uhul! One lift, all the way to Bishkek.
Sher is the driver and I think he is just giving a lift to the others. There is a young man, Islambek (17), another man, Keyial (42) and the eldest of them is 52, and he looks a lot like a character from a movie, like a Mongol from a tribe or something. You can see in the photograph we took together. He is very interested on my story and surprised to. They all seem not to believe that something like this was possible. The eldest man also gives me a head and shoulder massage, from the back seat. It is really harsh but also good. It seems he knew about my migraine in somehow.
When we stop for gas, Sher buys me some treats and a bottle of Pepsi. How sweet!
At the border, we have to get out of the car and cross by walking. It takes a bit of time until they immigration officers figure out that I don’t need a Visa, and then I enter Kyrgyzstan.
Sher drives me to the exact address I have to be in Bishkek.
My host is A. but he is not living here anymore. What? Yeah, I am staying with his sister’s family, in his apartment, because he is leaving in Turkey for over a year.
I meet Nurgul and her husband Ermek, and their children, Dilde and Osmanali, 15 and 11 years old. They are all very nice and friendly. Only Dilde can speak English and Osmanali is learning. The apartment is spacious, quite new and fancy, all in black and white. I knew it wasn’t a traditional Kyrgyz home, but I made my peace with that a while ago.
My room is beautiful and huge! There is lovely wallpaper with pictures of Rome, Paris and London. Actually, the whole house has this “travelling the world” theme because A. used to travel a lot.
I came here to help them in their educational centre. It is a private English school, focusing on helping the students not only to learn English, but to help them to get into a university abroad. That’s right! They prepare and help the students to do and to learn what is necessary for them to apply, and be accepted, in universities around the world.
They have three offices around Bishkek, and I am told that my schedule will be given to me, day by day, about which office should I go and at what time. I am doing a “talking club” with the students, so they can improve their speaking. The classes last about one hour and twenty minutes, and I usually have only two classes per day. The reason? It takes up to one hour and a half for me to get to the offices and come back home after. That’s why. I am given some cash for the bus and expenses I might have. I have never had to take public transportation to get to my volunteer work place before, but I am doing fine.
I decide to go by walking to the offices and come back by bus. This way I save some time on my daily walks. I also have some online classes, with students from Osh. They are so sweet and incredibly cute! It is a pleasure to talk with them. They are very eager to learn, to speak English and to have a better future.
Actually, that’s something I got from all the students here and, to be honest, it surprised me a lot. I don’t know from where to start. Let’s start with how good their English is. And how many students we have here. I would say about 200 or something? And that’s only one school in Bishkek. Could anyone in the world guess that in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, there are some many young boys and girls speaking such great English? And then the fact that almost all of them want to study in a university outside of their country. That is shocking! Amazingly shocking! They want to apply mostly for Canada, European countries and Japan. Some of them want to go to the U.S.A, but not the majority. Great! But seriously, I was not expecting that at all and it hit me right in the face! How wonderful is that? So many students, from a country in development, hoping for a brighter future in the outside world, a completely new world for almost all of them! How brave and courageous they are! How dedicated and loyal to themselves, to focus and study so hard in order to achieve such goal.
Another thing which surprises me a lot is the fact that, almost all of them want to come back to Kyrgyzstan after they finish their studies. They love their country and their families, so they would like to come back and help to make their country a better place, and also because they cannot imagine living away from their families. How sweet is that?
The talking clubs are wonderful! Many times, I feel so overwhelmed by the students and their intelligence, kindness, love, gratitude, in how smart they are, and respectful. They are just amazing! I have wonderful takings with them, they ask me so many great questions, and they are so happy to listen too. It is difficult to end a lesson, I just want to keep talking with them. But I have to. At least, I always get back home super happy after spending such quality time in their company.
The manager of the schools takes me to visit Ala-Archa Nature Park. Normally, it would be a blast because the place is truly gorgeous, but due to the cold weather, it is not possible for us to go exploring the trails and views, so we basically stay down to the entrance of the park. The ground is covered in ice, super slippery, so I am scared of falling again. But we manage to walk around without any falls. It is still possible to catch a glimpse of the beauty of this place. When we are coming back, there is a strong blizzard we almost cannot see a thing!
My students from Osh would like to meet me in person. One of them, Aisel, invite me t come to Osh and spend some days with her and her family, while I can explore Osh. This city was not in my plans but for them I decided to come. I will make a post especially about that.
If there is anything I would like to improve is the schedule and the organization of the offices itself. I have no idea how everything works, but I wish they could have a more fixed schedule so me and the students, could know in advance when the talking clubs will take place. Almost all the time the students have no clue they will have a talking club, until the moment they enter the classroom. A schedule for the whole week would be perfect! Instead, I am told only on the day of my classes when and where I should go.
About my time with the family, Dilde is such an angel and I also love talking with her. Mostly, I’ve learned many things about Kyrgyzstan with her and with my students. She has a bright and open mind, and I wish so much that she manages to follow her dreams, and do what pleases her, instead of having to follow, blindly, what ever the culture and traditions dictate. I have said many times here that, I respect all cultures and traditions, but it is pretty clear to me that, in most of cases, they are unfair only to the women, while the man can do whatever they please. And that I cannot call culture or tradition but sexism and patriarchy.
10 Years Around the World 