Skype hellos and reflections on good and sad news.

I received an email apology from my colleague but have felt sad and drained all day, so to cheer myself up I have just spoken with my Dad on Skype.  It will be his 88th Birthday soon so is off up the Rhine to sort of celebrate.   I still have not received the birthday card he sent in February, it will be interesting to see if the parcel I sent him and his wife will arrive before they go away. It was lovely to speak with the both but made me feel even more sad to be so far away.  Now we are five hours apart though I might try and ring a few more people from school as no internet at The Ashu.

It is nice and warm outside, but ironically because the heating has been turned off it is as cold in the school as it was in winter.  But outside the birds are so pleased it is spring. The crows were stripping bits of bark off the trees for their nests. They ran away when I tried to capture it but this short video will give you a flavour of spring here.

This evening there are even more fires. Everyone is tidying up their plot and even painting the trees. Trees across the whole country are painted like this (reminds me of France) showing how industrious people can be here, yet the industry cannot be applied to the removal of rubbish. When my new colleague came yesterday I discovered that the owners mum and I are in accord on this he interpreted that she had tidied up much of the countryside with the family of their own accord but now it is worse than ever. We laughed together a bit over my apple project and how it ran aground as everything was thrown away, but she also has said that is exactly the kind of thing needed in the valley, like me she is aware that the Ashu and the school could be clients to receive apple products but she just does not know where they can get the equipment etc. It also turns out that there is paper and bottle recycling in Bishkek could that offer a way forward for the locals in terms of income generation. Anyway it was nice to find her to be an ally now I just need to try and encourage her and the school gardener to try and compost some of their waste. It might be an uphill struggle but I think it did us both good to talk yesterday.  She also gave me a present a guest had left for me some delicious organic Kyrgyz apricots, the only thing is that I cannot work out who they are from, so whoever you are thank you.