So, I’ve seen my school and it is not so bad. I work at a lyceum, which means that the calibur of the students there is supposedly better than in the regular schools (maktabs.) My counterpart is a good woman, though a bit smothering. For the past few days I’ve watched her teach. Although I do like her, I don’t think I’d enjoy her class. She has a habit of instantly flying into a rage, snapping at the students in loud and sharp Uzbek. I think that I will be a welcome change. So although there is only 1 month of school left, I’m going to jump in and start teaching next week. For now, at least, I’m going to teach about American culture and such other non-intensive stuff. It seems silly for a new teacher to start teaching heavy concepts at this time of the year.

Good news from the homestead – at dinner a few nights ago my father points to the TV and says “parabolic.” So, I am almost positive that within a few weeks we will have satelite TV. This means a few English language stations, and some music video action – yes!

Tomorrow I’m going up to the mountains where my father’s brother – another great man – lives. Our two families are going to go swimming and he will teach me how to make osh.

A few people in our group have left – 4 to be precise. Two of them left because they were tired of waiting around for visas and did not feel welcome here. One girl left because of boyfriend issues back home and the 4th just wasn’t feeling the vibe. Some of those who left in this first wave were cool cats, so it’s a bit of a blow to the morale of the group. But that’s how it is in Peace Corps I suppose. And regarding the visas, all the vols are now at their sites. The last group arrived this past Tuesday.

Regarding what the hell I’ll do with myself this summer, that’s still TBD. A database of camps is being created and will be circulated via email. I’m hoping to maybe get in to one or two and go do stuff elsewhere. I’ll have next summer if I wish to create my own camp.

OK – I’ve realized that this blog has been getting a bit dull lateley. In future postings I’ll talk more about good books, current events, etc. And if you have any specific questions about what stuff is really like here, let me know. Also, I’m going to open the floor for some guest postings. To all my regular readers, be you family, friends or none of the above, if ya want to write a guest entry, send it to me via the “Contact” form from the top menu.

Also, thank you Chris for fixing the php problems with this site!!!