Hey all, I am finally posting again. The end of my semester in Bishkek was hectic and busy. I was then concentrating on family when I was home and on getting a feel for my new city. I have now been in Osh for two weeks and going forward I am going to try my hardest to post one or two times a week—more as a forced reflection that I think I need to do on my Fulbright than for anything else. Some of these will be current and some of them will be from travels these past two summers, probably including my layovers in Poland and Israel. However, Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan particularly will be the focus, of course.
My early reflections on Osh are that it is very different than Bishkek (not that this is a shocking statement to me or others who know the region). Beyond the slightly warmer temperature, the most obvious difference is language. Bishkek, from my experience the last two summers, is very much a Russian speaking city. You hear some Kyrgyz, but some of my college aged local friends admitted to not even being able to speak it. The language on the streets tends to be Russian (good for me because I understand it somewhat) and even in the bazaars Russian felt more useful to me. Osh is the opposite. The language on the streets is Krygyz (there may be Uzbek as well, but I struggle to differentiate the two, even having studied a little Uzbek in the past). Because of this, I am trying to use basic phrases in Kyrgyz like “рахмат” and “ассалом алейкум” (rahkmat, which is ‘thank you’ and assalom aleykum, “hello”) instead of “спасибо” and “привет” (spasibo and preevyet, which is ‘thank you and hello’ in Russian). This is not a huge deal because almost everyone I have interacted with in the city knows Russian and defaults to it before I even open my mouth. In stores and restaurants, some even try English if they know it. Overall, this mostly just means that I cannot eavesdrop on the conversations around me on marshrutkas (which are Mercedez Sprinter “buses” used for public transportation). It is actually nice in a way—it allows for a level of inner silence and relaxation on public transportation that occurs whenever you utterly do not understand the language of a place. The other big difference that you always hear about Osh when you’re in Bishkek is that it is much more conservative. While I guess this is true on some level, I think it is way overblown. It seems like everything just moves at a slower pace. There are not a lot of options for nightlife (Bishkek has a ton) but that’s ok. It is a very peaceful place and I feel very lucky to live here. Everyone has been tremendously friendly to me, my living situation is fantastic so far (basically a guest house of a nice Kyrgyz family), and the food has been excellent. However, Osh doesn’t seem to be drastically more religious to me than Bishkek. On the topic of religion, I love the Call to Prayer. It has this enchanting quality to it, I don’t really know how to describe it, but there is this beauty and deeper power behind it for me. I have often heard that Osh is “more authentically Central Asian” than Bishkek (the argument is that Bishkek is more of an ex-Soviet city). Honestly, I have not and continue not to understand this. Unless you’re talking age (Osh is probably 3000 years old compared to a couple hundred for Bishkek), I just don’t really get it. They both are important to the fabric of this wonderful Central Asian country.
It is really odd being in the classroom again. It is radically different teaching college students (mostly college-age, but I also have some high school students and some adult professionals as well) ESL than it was teaching all subjects to sixth graders in Detroit. This may sound obvious, but it really is a new adventure. Some techniques are the same, but the systems and challenges have many differences. I will leave it at that because I currently haven’t properly reflected enough to articulate further. However, I will say I am happy with my work situation, students, and administration. For myself, I have settled into Russian classes three time a week and may add some Kyrgyz/Uzbek if I have time. (Warning: Mushy-feely thought coming) My first day teaching here was on September 11th. The symmetry/symbolism struck me as important, for 11 year old Andy really became aware of the outside world (and other religions – I’m from a small town, religious diversity was mostly limited to a Catholic/Protestant split) 16 years ago on that date. The chance to promote knowledge, peace, and understanding between two far away countries became a bit over-whelming on that day. I can’t quite describe it, but I just felt the weight of this incredible opportunity.
(Warning: This next section deals with staying connected to American Sports)
*Knock on wood* So far, I have been able to stream football pretty well here. I watch alone at home because I have literally only met one other person over here who is a college football diehard and he was (gross) a fan of that school in Columbus. The other ex-pats who live here seem less engaged in it. ESPN’s stream is far and away worse than the FOX/Big Ten stream so I appreciate non-ESPN Michigan games. The lag seems to be 2-4 minutes so I try to avoid texts and twitter while watching. Even at 2 in the morning, I am grateful to watch Michigan football. It is just part of my inner identity. I fully admit that I got a big dose of homesickness when I saw live shots of Ann Arbor on gameday. I have now missed more home games this year (2) than in the last 9 years combined. But, c’est la vie. I try and acclimate on most things, but sports have always been my escape. They will continue to be.