Uzbek is out and Russian is in. After 3 days of Uzbek I, along with about 16 of the 65 other volunteers, was switched to study Russian because of the kind of work I'll be doing and the area of the country I'll be placed. [Of course, they have yet to tell any of us the kind of work we'll be doing or the area of the country that we'll be in, but it seems at least some of the higher ups have a general idea about it.] Russian is completely different and seems a bit more difficult than Uzbek, but I'm happy to be learning a language that should prove more useful at the end of my service. After my training ends in April, I can receive an additional stipend from Peace Corps if I want to hire a local language tutor, so perhaps I can learn two languages or really perfect my Rusky.
My living situation has changed, too. All the trainees moved out of "Hotel Sanitory" (a song I wrote and performed to Hotel California with altered lyrics) and in with host families. I'm staying in the house of Anvar and Maryam, a couple in their 60s who live in the city of Chirchik. They've both been very welcoming and try to help me with my Russian. Near as I can tell, the language barrier still being quite high, Anvar works in some kind of factory and is a small time farmer with 35 chickens in a coup in the back and small fruit trees on a terraced hill behind the coup. The house is small, clean, and fairly warm - as is my room in it. His cousin lives next door, his sister-in-law who always comes over lives about 5 minutes away, and his daughter and her two kids live in an apartment about a 10 minute walk from here. There is plenty of good food in the breakfasts and dinners we share - lots of potatoes, tea, bread, and veges - and this morning I had 2 fresh eggs from the chickens out back. Peace Corps issued us a portable, albeit clunky, distiller which provides about a gallon of purified water in 4 hours. Though I thought I might eventually want to live alone, it's hard to imagine giving up someone else's (good) cooking and laundry service (men usually don't do their own, and I'm in no rush to buck tradition). I may still opt for my own place, but for now I'm quite comfy. We'll see how things go with my next host family when I move to my worksite at the end of training in April. And to answer everyone's burning question, my bathroom actually comes in 3 parts: one indoor room with a toilet for #1 and a tub for washing your face, brushing your teeth, and laundry; a squat toilet outside for #2; and a GREAT homemade sauna and a bucket of hot water in a separate building adjoining the chicken coup out back for cleaning your whole body and relaxing.
The prices here are pretty good. Laundry is not included in the home-stay "contract," so it's suggested we give whichever woman does it about 2000 soms (2 dollars) per month. Yes, that's per month. Today I bought a loaf of bread for 15 cents. I take "marchutkas," minivan taxis that follow certain routes like buses, to and from classes - about a 25 minute drive each way - for 20 cents. And though I haven't had much time to do so during training, the Internet cafes run about $1 per hour. I got a haircut for 70 cents and a jar of honey for 60 cents and probably overpaid for both. All that being said, Peace Corps doesn't want you to live above the means of the average Uzbek, so our living stipend is in line with the reduced prices.
Classes are going well and I continue to be impressed with the level of organization and quality of training I'm receiving in the language, culture, and technical knowledge about the government, socio-economic status of the people, and local NGO community. Though none of the Uzbek or Russian teachers would be considered native English speakers, I can't help but wonder when they use words like "pessimistic" or phrases like "top secret," how did they ever learn those so well as to use them conversationally? I'm looking forward to getting to that point - or at least being able to get by without pantomime.
Alright, there's a host of other Peace Corps volunteers waiting to send out their respective updates. Hope all is well with everyone. Will write again when there's more to tell and time to spare. I've attached a couple of pictures - one of the street in front of my house and the other of my host mother and father in our kitchen.
ps - Maryam told me I could give out their phone number, which I think is below. Not really sure about the numbers, or what the country code is, and I'm fairly certain it's really expensive to call from the US. So, I don't really recommend calling. I won't be calling anyone or returning any phone calls from their house. But, if you do decide to call, please do so no earlier than 8:30am and no later than 9:30pm, and note I'm 10 hours ahead of EST.
pps - I saw the Superbowl (live) at 4am on Monday, Feb 7th at the US Ambassador's house. Go Pats!
