nov update

Earlier this month was our inservice training. All our K-17 group went to Bishkek for a week. It was right when the weather turned bitter cold. I didn't even leave the hotel for the first three days. I finally ventured out for some fast-food hamburgers. It started to warm up a little by the end of the week, but I was already sick. I came back south to where it was still cooler than I left it, but a good 20 degrees warmer than Bishkek. It has since snowed in my village though.

After several days of Thanksgiving lessons making me hungry, I had two Thanksgivings this weekend. The first was on Thursday. I joined in with the Jalalabad City crew for our day-of celebration. We had two turkeys, and the whole meal was just like America. After three plates of dinner, I had pie.

Friday night we had a sudden brown out situation with the power. It was still too early for bed, but our main concern was cooking the next day. Friday was a holiday in Kyrgyzstan so it was doubtful that anyone would be coming to fix it anytime soon. After consulting with the neighbor we discovered that the transformer down the street had blown. Three Americans joined the neighborhood down at the transformer with out flashlights. One of the four main connectors was visibly damaged. Only a few strands of wire were reaching out each direction from their bunches. This would be the end in America, but we're in Kyrgyzstan. The neighborhood decided that we all wanted power now, so we'd fix it. We joined in the discussion and added our flashlights. The grid was disconnected, and someone jumped up on top with some pliers. Not a power company employee, just one representative of the neighborhood. After some twisting and bending, the switch was cranked back over to on. Full power had been reestablished. Imagine that in America next time the power goes out.

With the power still running the next day, all of our Jalalabad volunteers joined together for fried chicken, and of course, more pie.

I came back to the snow in my village. It snowed last week here, but the city must be a bit lower elevation because there was none there. I cleaned, played my guitar I just bought a week ago, and watched a movie. Now time to read for little bit before the power goes out. Back to the work routine tomorrow as December approaches.