Putting up something that is not a yurt.

I had a short walk to the local cemetery, which was frighteningly deathly quiet, and slept a lot today, then this evening what we call a yurt, but the Kyrgyz call something else was put up for the visiting Swedish tourists.  No energy for the other things I wanted to do today, but let's hope things get resolved re my hours or even better that I find I actually have more energy and better health than I think and that I can cope more than I realise.

It may be that the internet has been repaired which is nice. One of Nathan's uncle's in Kenya was buried this week, so that was sad, and I was unable to get through the day he was brought to the family home. I was most surprised when I took Nathan to visit his family there many years ago to find that I was invited in to be part of the family too. Given that I had been a very short lived girlfriend I had not expected this. At the time Shem's brother Hesbon, who had to take over as head of the family told me that as senior wife so to speak I had a responsibility for the family.  Given that my family and the Government are always supporting me I did not think much about this statement, but when I got through to Kenya the other day I was reminded of this fact.  Apparently the uncle leaves four children and a wife, and Hesbon is doing a whip round to try and build them a house, and eventually set up a fund to send them to university - which is amazingly kind of him - he is always having to bail someone out in the family, but as to whether I should be similarly kind well that is another matter.  At present I get my expenses to live here, so the idea of having to help a woman I have never met before does not grab me, but I can see that it is not fair on Hesbon either that he is the one having to do everything as a result both of Shem sort of refusing to do this when he was alive and then being unable to do this as he too is dead.  What I am not quite sure about is why I am "senior wife" but with no husband is supposed to support "non senior wife without a husband"  I can see that the British benefit system whilst at fault does help avoid a lot of these types of obligations.  Anyway I hope that someone can help the widow as her situation must be pretty ghastly at present.

A night at the opera

Yesterday was the first day I missed making a diary entry.  I had assumed a couple of things, 1) that the day would be unlike most trips to the opera, but that 2) that it would be a long day but with a sleep on the way home and today to recover and 3) that we would be home about 10.30 leaving time for the blog and other things that had to be done yesterday.

So well I was right about one thing.  It was unlike most trips to the opera. In the first place we were due to leave at about 10, but Biskek is only 2 hours away, so the plan was to have a meal en route and then I thought get to Biskek in time for some urgent shopping like my cough medicine and a formal chat with my boss and the recruiter about how to manage my hours.  Knowing I was to have this conversation left me feeling a bit tense about the day and to my surprise despite having had most of Friday off I actually felt really tired so slept till we got to Tokmek at 12.  This was where we were due to have lunch,but instead we sat in the boiling heat.  Half an hour in my boss explained that we were waiting for our computer colleague to arrive from Biskek.  People here are much more tolerant them me.  Biskek is only an hour or less from Tokmek so I think he must have set off about the time we arrived to wait for him. Anyway as a result we did not get to the restaurant till about 1.

The pictures do not do it justice.  It was like a mini Disney land, all fake palm trees and pretend animals mixed with the real.  My A level media students often do essays on hyper reality, well this is it.  A huge lake with real swans and fish, with a restaurant jutting out into the water and dotted all over the lake little pontoons which in summer are mini restaurants.  It was boiling hot and the squat toilets had put me off trying to take off my tights so I was pleased to have the water breeze next to me, from where I could look out over the pontoon just for a pianist, but the best bit was the fact that about every half an hour a wedding party would arrive. There was one moment to the left of us a photographer up to his knees in water, photographing one happy couple under a fake palm tree, whilst to the right I could see a man with a large video camera directing the groom to run Bollywood style  up to his bride. (How did they manage squat toilets in a bridal outfit?) Meanwhile Titanic style the first couple were now circling the lake by boat.   I was too discrete to take pictures but would have loved to a lot of Kyrgyz girls are stunning, but teetering in too big shoes with too high heals, face plastered in make up does not make anyone look their best as far as I can see and the men, when dressed up call to mind shots from The Godfather.   Only one couple seemed to actually be in love rather than on a movie set.  So altogether a fascinating experience. On the way out, we found some real, but caged animals including peacocks who would have been brilliant unleashed in this setting.  There were two beautiful foxes, in better condition than any seen in Hoddesdon, being tempted by an equally beautiful red squirrel that had got out of its cage, being regarded loftily by the caged birds of prey.  And then two man carrying something like a gold coloured mace, walked along the road, followed by an old black Volvo with bride, followed by a cavalcade of hooting white cars, announced the latest bride and groom to arrive and it was time at last for us to go.

However, the best bit was the food. Having expected to sort of have to just tolerate something I did not fancy till I could get to Biskek and have something different to the nice but now all to familiar Kyrgyz food, here we got the best of local food.  Brilliant salads, sesame seed breads and I had a really delicious salmon with rice.  I also managed to refuse the vodka, knowing that too much and I would not be awake for the performance. Assuming that is that we got there as by now our charabanc was running very late for the opera at 5.  Stopping for half an hour to buy drinks of fizz did not seem to help and by the time we had got lost in Biskek (where there also seemed to be loads of weddings taking place) the meeting with my colleague turned into him saying as I got out of the van, "Have you sorted things out?" Me shaking my head to say no, him putting a bag of books into my hand, that I probably will not have time to read now, and then that was it,  In a style that would have horrified the ROH we were ushered into the already started Traviata.

The stage was familiar, the empty seats and ongoing noise of conversation, the inappropriate applause, not.  ROH regulars would have had a seizure.  But actually the opera soared above it all.  True the cast looked like they had borrowed outfits that did not fit and the heroines little black number looked a bit like something out Ann Summers for mature swingers, but actually I liked her voice and that of all the leads and genuinely had a couple of tingle moments as she collapsed in a heap at the end.  

The best thing was my colleagues reactions, my boss it turned out was sharing her first visit to the Opera with the first visit to the opera of her 10 year old son, who loved running around the space in the interval with other even younger visitors, and as we left their enthusiasm for the whole day, made more visits to Biskek on cultural outings seem a possibility.   She asked if I was tired and I said I expected everyone was and that we would all probably sleep except the driver. But to my surprise she said that the others wanted to go to another concert.  At first I was not sure if I had heard her correctly, but rather than heading out of town, we stopped and two colleagues ran out and it was explained that I could either stay in the van go to a cafe or join them at a concert for a local pop star.  I was ready like the diva to collapse in a heap, but was stuck. Only later did a I realise that I should have tried ringing my colleague to see if he was now free, so I opted for the concert thinking that at least it would be of cultural interest.  But actually several hours of very loud music when all you want to do is sleep is just really really boring. I ended up playing games on my phone to cope.  It was only when the mics suddenly died in the middle and all the sound men, ran up and down in a panic, but the star carried on suddenly getting his accordion like instrument and getting the audience to join in that the evening lifted and again at the end when he did a really beautiful acoustic set.  If the whole event had been like that I would have really enjoyed it despite my low energy levels and interestingly it was only during this bit that I think the rest of the audience, very young, and much older then me, seemed to really enjoy it too.

At last I thought, as I feel asleep on route, home,we should be back by 1.  But then my sleep was interrupted by my colleagues albeit beautiful voice repeating all the best bits of the concert. The van was stopped, vodka was bought, (it is a one horse town, but it has a shop open at 12 selling vodka.) the doggy bag from earlier brought out and my colleagues proceeded to have a picnic. They tried rousing me to join in,but for some strange reason I was by now quite taciturn.  We finally set off again and I must have dozed as the next time I awoke we had stopped again and another picnic had started. I thought we were almost home as the wall we were parked near was a bit like the bridge near Shabdan, I tried looking out into dark to assess the situation. My colleagues realising I was awake tried to ply me with coke and vodka and chocolate all of which I refused in a very rude way.  By now I was beginning to panic that I would never get home and was trying to work out if I was in walking distance.  But no we had just entered Chong Kemin valley.  There was one more stop. The tiny kiosk at Shadan bus stop, the shop keeper revealed in outline on the lighted window.  My colleague hoped back on and handed I think what must have been the third vodka bottle to his colleague. I had been the first pick up, but to my relief we headed across the bridge and to the Ashu, I was to be dropped off so that the party could continue without my by now very sour and pinched face.  I almost ran off the bus and home.  Very shaky and now very unhappy, because I understand and even admire my colleagues ability to party, some of them are quite a bit older than me,  I just cannot do it.  And the day that was supposed to help resolve my worries has just compounded them.

A smug smile and a lost opportunity.

I interrupt this Kyrgyzstan blog to refer back to some of the issues raised earlier in relation to my move. For today I am pleased to say £400 has been put into my bank account.  It is not as much as I asked for but the Solicitors have repaid me some of my costs.  Of course this probably means that had I taken into to court that I would have got a lot more, but the reality is that I was very worried about having to deal with the stress of something like that. Anyway at the moment yippee.  I have to say that it was because of the intervention of the Legal Ombudsman,whose approach is more comprehensible and sensible than that of the Property Ombudsman.  That does not mean she was on my side, but at least one could talk with them and know exactly what one was dealing with.  With was a great relief and having a result even better.

Hopes and dreams.

I have bitten the bullet and mentioned to the colleague who recruited me my concerns about the hours.  I had hoped to talk with the head, but she is in Biskek.

Despite waking up several times coughing in the night I am feeling a bit more human today and luckily I do not teach till this afternoon so am catching up with myself a bit. But if you had told me before today there was such a thing as a grandmother dream I would not have believed you, but last night I definitely had a grandmother dream.

Spurned for a headless ram.

Unfortunately I am not as sanguine as the vegetarian tourist staying at the guest house, who on hearing that as the ASHU had not been warned ahead of her dietary requirements there was meat in her soup, just responded "Don't worry I will just pick out the meat." Which she did to the delight of the waiting stray beneath.  No sadly I get very irritable. Not something I am proud of and something that the ME has definitely made worse so today, despite going to bed about 9.30 and trying to be positive and energized, when the children decided to move all their desks about rather than start class, I just sat and glowered at them, till they were ready.  Ironically the detailed listening book work we did today, which is to support their pronunciation and reading skills, and which they desperately need, seemed like a punishment too.  Perhaps this is why no one rushed to take my stuff out of the room today whereas there is usually a posse.


I was sort of both encouraged and rejected last night too.  My walk home is a nice way to relax after the day, but given the length of the day, something I could almost have done without yesterday and as this blog shows I was clearly stressed yesterday.  Anyway I was almost home   me  when a man (and his horse) cantered up to me.  He spoke to me for some time, me shrugging my shoulders, not understanding a word, till Dom (house) and the gesture for sleeping.  Given that he repeated it several times I had a feeling he was trying to propose something, which I naturally laughed off, but I was grateful for the diversion he caused me.  Later than evening on route to evening meal, I came out of the yard to the house and there were two horses, with riders, locked in battle over a headless ram. Seen on the field recently it had been interesting, two feet from me, it looked grizzly. Cheering the men on was my "suitor" so I almost stepped back into the yard not to be seen, when I realised that I was definitely less interesting than a dead ram and that he had not even noticed me.

When I got to the dinning room there was no room for me, so I sat in the kitchen at the ASHU being feed and tendered as kindly as ever despite the roomful of paying guests next door.  Now if I could discover the secret to their patience I would be very pleased as their hard work and commitment in the face of quite tough work conditions always amazes me.

I think that there may be a problem, but I do not know how to resolve it.  Having taken on this contract on the understanding that I can do the teaching hours but not long days. I have long days.  I teach at 9.35 for instance most days, except Fridays. when I am free so might catch up with myself, but the rest of the time I have what to me is an early start, now that I have to work till 4.50 in the afternoon.

When I started at Tesco I used to come home on Saturday crash out until the morning and then go back to work. It used to take me forty minutes to walk to work and then I had to catch the bus back.  By the end, I walked there and back, had to as the bus had stopped running,  in less than 30 minutes each way,  but today having worked for two long days in a row, I feel like XXXX  so not a happy bunny. When I broke my glasses, I contacted the insurance company to see whether they would meet the costs, I am still awaiting their reply, I have contacted them three or four times, so I just tried ringing them on skype, but it is an 0844 number and from Skype's point of view that is an emergency number.  So I cannot even speak with them easily.  I am really not sure what to do.  I feel I fully informed my employers before taking on the job, but that does not seem to have been communicated on the ground.  God willing it will get easier a lot easier.  But this was not what I wanted.

I know everyone else at the school works longer and harder, though, so it is tricky. Anyway I suppose I will have to cope. I am not having to shop, or cook, or clean and in truth that should help and perhaps if I can sleep unlike last night I will begin to adjust.   In the end if I can manage 8 hour days without collapsing it will be a good thing.  But right now like I said, not a happy bunny.

Teachers' Day

I am not sure if I can do justice to today's story, but I will try.

Today my English classes started, I had times and a schedule and I know how this feels. Each year teaching adult education there is a schedule, potential students, but lots of unknowns.  And so it was today, me hovering, students hovering, all of us wondering where we were actually going to get together as the new bits of school were definitely not usable. However, in the end we took advantage of the absence of the computer teacher to use his facilities and I am pleased to say the 10 - 17 year olds who turned up were lovely and had clearly learned a lot last year.  They headed off and I suddenly realised that the kid who comes every day and plays on the computer was using the computer teachers teacher - none of us had been able to get onto despite in theory having the password, so although the year zero teacher was trying for reasons I could not fathom to drag me off to the kitchen I insisted that he show us how to get onto the computer.  I have seen him be turfed off this machine, but today thank goodness for him, as yippee he revealed the correct password to get on.  Tomorrow I will see if I can work out the Russian for printing as there is no print type image usually.

Anyway I thought I was due to see another group of students, but obediently followed the year zero teacher and to my puzzlement all the staff were sat to tea.  Lumps of meat, fat, sweets were all put on my plate.  The initial explanation that it was my the daughter of my colleague's birthday did not seem to make sense (it turned out that partly explained the chocolate) and bit by bit I realised that everyone had cognac and it was 3.15 in the afternoon. I managed to successfully refuse this but then the vodka shot was delivered instead, the younger teachers were spared but us older staff were obliged to give toasts, and give speeches.  For why?  Well of course it is teachers day here.  Apparently all professions have a day and today was our day, so blow the kids waiting, blow professionalism (and despite the mess with the computer my colleagues are both hard working and professional)  we had to drink to our "family" and to the honour of our work. Actually it was really nice and apart from one moment when me and the head got slightly tipsy giggles with the class of students who had patiently waited, we managed to do a really nice last session of teaching with some really nice kids (including the head's son) all of whom could read English and speak it amazingly well.   So all a bit crazy but I have survived my first day community teaching.

The guest house is full again so I have no idea who I will have to share my "dom" with but hopefully it will be okay.