The unbearable side of Karakol.

It has been a much better day. The weather has been fine so I have been to see all the sights from the unusual mosque to the old church.  Unusually the church had washing facilities rather than the Mosque.

 The houses look as if they have been here years, and many are the traditional style If they were in somewhere like Vancouver they would be highly desirable. Here some have been loved and are being updated with new windows and insulation, others have been replaced and others are occupied but look like they are falling down.  Many Kyrgyz were forced out of the Ashu area and moved to Ukraine in Stalin's time, but whether that happened here I do not know and since the collapse of the Soviet Union the reverse trend has happened with many Russians leaving the area.  But the town's old properties do indicate a vibrant and long standing community of both Russian and Kyrgyz origin and the local museum also reflects these dual strands.

It is the countries fourth biggest town but has very few shops, a market and a few cafes.  It also has a zoo. When I was in Budapest I foolishly went to their zoo.   The buildings were interesting but I do not know why but the dead animals and the lack of staff totally put me off.  So I left. I know a lot of people will wonder why on earth I went in the first place, well the answer is the visit was free and I was stupid. Today I went because I thought it would be my only chance to see some of the unusual indigenous animals.  And I knew it would be problematic.  It is a small zoo and some of the animals were housed in families (the wolves) or loving couples (the lynx). The presence of other animals visible in the next cage means that these animals are keeping some of their instincts but cannot use them  for example the lynx poised and were ready to pounce as a stray dog passed by  was interesting to watch but of course were not free to pounce. The wolves looked more like dogs, one was happily playing with a pine cone,  whereas some of the wild dogs definitely look like wolves.   But I do not understand why birds like peacocks are caged or animals such as sheep and squirrels as present as they are available to see everywhere. However, the bear, who should have been the star of the whole zoo and deserved a nice big paddock if he/she had to be kept in a zoo was pacing like the animals used to do at London Zoo because they were contained in a tiny space.  The zoo has plenty of room, they have staff, no money I suspect, but these are creative people, I am sure that they can find a better way to house this beautiful animal.   And whilst you are at it, give the big birds more space so that they can fly.

Holiday time.

Just before 8 I snuck out of  the apartment in Bishkek, took my first taxi in Kyrgyzstan to the Western bus station in time to get the 8 o clock bus to Karakol  Now I am here I wish I had done a bit more research on this much put off trip because there are both more things of interest here and less. More because if you go in one direction  you are in the mountains, and there is a very old fashioned sanatorium too and there is also the beach on Issykul. And less because the actual town does not seem as attractive as I thought it would be and I did not realise a swimming costume might be useful for saunas and spas.  Despite this it is probably still nice that I am away. The actual journey might have taken 6 hours but it was very easy.  Once past Kemin, instead of taking the turn off to where I live, we headed up the mountains.  We stopped briefly at a motorway service station type place but nicer than that. Luckily I had been warned that we might stop, but I only had a coffee for fear of not realising when our bus was off again. One of the passengers sat with me, I think she too thought it better to stay together. After that we stayed on the bus till we got here. Some of the rocks on the mountains passes were beautifully weathered and there were some yurts on the route belonging I guess to people running little road side stores.   Then we dropped down into the valley and travelled the length of Issy Kul lake.  Unfortunately that is when the weather turned and rain and snow fell, but I could still see it was very beautiful and the whole route it tree lined.

Once at Karakol I grabbed a taxi to Green Yard Hotel where I am staying.   They presented me with melt in the mouth biscuits and coffee which was a nice surprise, but I am not quite sure what other services they offer.  Just re-reading their specs it does say that there is a sauna here so maybe I need to check. Saunas seem to be popular here, but unfortunately the one at Ashu does not work.  I headed out into Karakol but with my usual unerring instinct headed in completely the wrong direction until a kind driver stopped and pointed me in the right direction.  The walk back into town was long and complicated by snow, (the weather forecast has been for good weather so I did not bother bringing my umbrella) but just as it started getting really heavy I  found a shoe shop where I was able to buy a belt  (my jeans have been held up by a shoe lace up till now) and downstairs there was a second hand shop where I found a good jacket for about £12, thus equipped I headed for the information bureau, but it was shut as I had forgotten it is a public holiday here. So I pottered about a bit more trying to find somewhere recommended to eat, but the map was disintegrating so fast that in the end I just popped into the first suitable place which was a very nice Turkish restaurant.  I then walked back to the hotel in time to write this and have a couple of calls.

Typical Kyrgyzstan  flats in a less scenic part of town.

The start of Lenin street.

I was given a bag for my jacket which reminded me to say something strange about the plastic bags that litter the streets of Kyrgyzstan.  For they contain the keep Britain Tidy logo and come from Morrison's supermarket.  Apparently they have changed their bag design recently and the whole of their old stock seems to have ended up here littering our streets, so at least they are keeping Britain tidy.

Karakol unfortunately seems to have the tatty potholed streets and rubbish of Senegal, despite its potentially elegant old Russian buildings. It is surrounded by snow capped mountains which give it a slight feel of Ambleside.  It also has a grid system that reminds me of some American towns and I bet in better weather with the many parks and trees, if it was tidied up,  bits of it could look lovely, but today it just seemed wet.  For some strange reason, leaves which I would not have thought were a health hazard, in fact I would have thought were beneficial, are burned in the streets like the rubbish, so along with the snow there are burnt patches around the trees adding to the soggy feel.    However, right now I am holed up in a rather elegant room watching CCTV and hoping that things will seem brighter tomorrow.

A long soak: the secret to happiness.

Heaven: a long soak in a bath, pasta for supper in a pub reminiscent of 70's Britain, right down to the smoke and just relaxing for a bit, after a hard day's training. We also all know that we are healthy enough to be allowed to stay in the country too so that is a relief. And all our work permit paperwork has been sorted.  I am shattered but happy.

Going to the training was a bit awkward, There seem to be two camps in the school both with their merits and their demerits? Such a good English teacher. I knew that the training in Bishkek was taking place weeks ago, which is why I booked my holidays to fit in with it. I then had to change all my plans when the English coordinator arranged training for us too earlier in the week.  I genuinely felt it was important to meet with all my colleagues and go the main school in the group, and that was the training I had first heard about, but I felt that I almost had to tip toe their today for fear of causing offence elsewhere. Anyway I left the flat about 8 as the big school is some way out of town, however, one of the hairiest bus rides flying along straight at the coming traffic meant that I got there about 9.15.  To my surprise ( I am always surprised here) no one was at the school.  I wondered around the area, but it was only at 9.45 and still no sign of anyone that I thought to look through the windows.  Nothing, not a desk, not a chair, nothing.  I  phoned the Head, apparently I was standing outside the old school. (It is emblazoned with the name Bilimkana, which is why I thought that was were to attend) but fortunately over the road was an even bigger school which is where everyone was gathered and about to start.

Sadly I did not take my camera so cannot show you that it is a much bigger school. We gathered upstairs, mostly teachers from my school and the school in Bishkek, but also a couple of the teachers who had attended the English training earlier in the week. We started in the hall having an interactive meet and greet where, they were pleased when I introduced myself as the Angliski teacher - excuse the spelling.  We then went back in and to my delight the topic was discipline, what causes ill discipline and possible strategies. Obviously someone had to translate it for me and I only got some of it, but it felt very positive.  Three biggest tips that I recall - don't cry (thank goodness it is not just me that struggles at times) and know your students, which is I think very good advice and try and find something that each student can do to encourage their positivity.

I only attended for half a day, the others were there two days and I have no idea what they covered, but it meant that for some of the staff their five days off was really only two days. And almost all the staff, in fact only the trainer was male, are women and most of them have three of four children. They manage their juggling act mainly because of their family support networks, and because the children are quite spread out in age but I still think that they are very inspirational for all having a career and such heavy family commitments. So it was nice that they also laughed a lot during the training and seemed to value it.  The trainer said that when he started these interactive sessions the response had been very negative, so that everything had gone so well this time seemed a real step forward in bringing the Foundation staff together.

Bishkek

Internet very intermittent again, even with my colleagues dongle so will keep this short.

On Sunday the new member of staff came, she will be working in the foundations fourth school. Then on Sunday evening the rest of the English staff came, some very nice Kyrgyz women and my colleague from Talas, so that was good. Then we spent the whole of Monday doing training,some of which was useful, some of which needed developing a bit more to be truly useful, but I guess it was just nice to get the team together and now we are all up in a flat in Bishkek getting our HIV tests for our work permits so that is also very nice. It is good to be part of a team again, it was one of the nicest things about working in Hertford, but it is also nice to be back in Bishkek and have some time to wonder around and just nice to be away from work for a bit.  Though I bumped into one of the teachers from Talas here, which was very nice, then bumped into one of the Swedes with whom I went horse riding so that was also very nice, makes me feel like a local.

The school is being used by artists whilst we are away which is quite nice they are rather knocking out pictures, but it must be a nice way to spend the week.

Great weather here it is nice and sunny and warm so that is a bonus. I will try and put a new video together at some point to capture a bit of the capital and Karasol which is where I hope to visit on Thursday.

I love seeing animals here, but then I eat them!

The tradition is that when you have special guests you prepare the finest food for them, so a sheep is slaughtered and the most famous Kyrgyz meal is made: Beshbarmak.   My new colleague, who will work at the Foundation's fourth school today so it was partly in her honour,  that this animal became dinner but we also have the Japanese Ambassador here and he was not put off by having a sheep's head for dinner, which is just as well as my new colleague is a vegetarian.

Spent most of the day chilling and chatting with her and my other colleagues which is a bit worrying as I should have been lots of preparations because the rest of the week is going to be very busy Never mind hopefully it will get done somehow. Much to my amusement one of the women who work here said that she thought if I dyed my hair and had it cut short I would look a lot younger.  I begged to differ suffice it to say,   but do think it is funny.

Dinner have a last sleep in the sun, before the real last sleep. 

Colleagues, Beskbarmak, vodka and toasts of welcome. 

Internet down yesterday night so could not work, so I finished the video for the school, at 10 minutes long a bit too much to put on the blog so I have done a slighter shorter version for public consumption.

I spent so long finishing it I could not sleep after then started thinking about what shows I will do with the kids in Winter which is why I was to be found at 2 am watching The Snowman. Then this morning listening to a programme about Lou Reed reminded me yet again that my former friend Brie Back had danced to Walk on the Wide Side when we visited the Top of the Pops studios as kids. So I started trawling the internet yet again for the footage that had gone out but without any luck.   I then pottered off to breakfast and was surprised to find the Ashu laid out to breakfast a full guesthouse - there had only been six people in residence including me last night but mid meal a conference load of people arrived for the day. By the time I was back in my room the internet had gone down and it has been so intermittent since it has clobbered me most of today as I have tried following things in the UK for various things, so I have done my washing instead and only just avoided flooding the guest house, had my usual early morning walk and communed with the animals and this afternoon I have been trying to do some water colour painting. So a very nice day.   Ah the lights have all just gone out and the generator has not kicked in. Maybe it is time for bed.

I have made it through to the end of term

I had an aberrant moment when I slumped home today, I went onto U tube and tried to watch a UK film or something from Strictly, but I did not recognise any of the "celebrities" featured.

However, I think I needed just to slump after our rather crazy last day of term which was a celebration of Autumn.

We were due to start at 10 but it took a while longer, there was a great buzz in the school as last minute decorations were done. I actually got time to talk with the Head and she came and checked what the year two students were going to do and luckily and amazingly one group presented fairly well even the two who had been chatting so much that I told them to stand down who today were word perfect.  The second group were appalling but with her help we cobbled something together on the basis that now they understood what I was trying to get them to do all this time.  However, for me they were doing a tiny little bit, in Russian,which is their second language they did absolutely tons.  Each class took at least half an hour including the little ones, their performance started with a little song in English which they delivered beautifully. Then before year one could start their performance we had a power cut.  So everyone had to wait around for an hour because it featured music on the computer.  For a while I just thought can't we just get on with it, but when I saw the results they were beautiful so worth waiting for.  I felt so emotional today and a lot of the kids who have annoyed me this last week really impressed me with their ability to memorise words and performances.   Year one who had just a little poem to do managed the first two lines pretty well, but the last line got a bit lost, but again considering I have had a few minutes here and there trying to control 20 kids who have not got a clue half the time what I am saying to them I am just relieved that they managed that. In the hour we waited I got to talk with a couple of parents which was useful so they took away work for their children to do over the holiday. One of the parents, her real second language is German, but she teaches English it was funny to share the fact that we both teach Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. How English teachers across the globe love that song.

The video I am attaching is the dance from year one as it was my favourite bit. The style of delivery for presentations is not like in English schools as to me it sounds rather shouty, I will try an attach a short example another time, but of course there is no video of year 2A's memorable performance of The Hungry Caterpillar as I was making sure that they delivered their lines which they did very well. I have masses of material on video though that I have to sort out to give to the school though most of it is not really usable (I must try and capture longer clips) , but at least this example gives a flavour of how the last day of term went - a day which compensated for all the stress thus far.