KYRGYZSTAN ~ Thank God for Kyrgyzstan (Dec 1 2011)

World's #2 Most Beautiful Country.  Ancient Hunting Festival.  
Nomadic Traditions.  Peaceful Election 2011.  
Back to Turkmenistan.

Muslim cemetery near Chaek

Though no one call spell or pronounce it[1], thank god I got to see Kyrgyzstan.  Otherwise I might have thought all former Soviet republics were as repressive and closed as Turkmenistan.  If one could combine the energy, openness and eager potential of Kyrgyzstan with the wealth and natural resources of Turkmenistan, one would have quite the up and coming country.

KYRGYZSTAN ~ Moving Herds down Highways (Sept 23 2011)

A great and glorious day. Nomadic lifestyles. 
Alatoo Mountains.

Autumn on Otmok Pass

Some days abroad are great and glorious. Grab and write, else they  fade, blurring with ordinary days, lonely days, frustrating days, days of diarrhea and bedbugs, or worst of all, days when one remembers home too vividly.   So let me capture yesterday. 

KYRGYZSTAN ~ Lost on the Silk Road (Sept 11, 2011)

Temporary Duty in Kyrgyz Republic. Gorgeous country. Two elections. Eclectic cafes & ethnic riots.

Alatoo Mt. switchbacks, Kygyz Republic

Suddenly, I’m no longer in Turkmenistan.  As surprising as it was to find myself in that country where I’d never had intention or curiosity to go, it’s even more surprising to find myself further off-track.

Career out of control

When I decided to do a late-in-life career change, from international education to international development, I pictured myself teaching small children and young mothers in a refugee camp in eastern Africa.  Now, five years later, I find myself in Kyrgyzstan, a poor, landlocked country with an amazing energy to become all things modern and prosperous.  The range of snow-capped Tien Shen Mountains overlooks the bustling capital Bishkek, and glaciers, high altitude lakes, and some of the world’s best treks beckon to us who are living down in the valleys.

TURKMENISTAN ~ Springtime & Tribes (May 15 2011)

 The Life of Peace Corps Volunteers. Tribal Identities.  

No HIV here.

Ashgabat’s spring has been rainy, cool, and beautiful. Wild poppies are blooming in the mountains.

I’m at the 5 ½ month mark already; “smooth” so far.  I’m swimming in the outdoor pool at the US Embassy residence compound on some mornings and evenings, and last month rode my bike to and from work. I was the only (fill in the blank: woman / older woman / commuter) on a bike – in the early mornings I smiled and waved at the skirted ladies who hand-sweep the streets 24 hours a day. 

TURKMENISTAN ~ Learning to Weave (Feb 27 2011)

First trips outside Ashgabat. Soviet nostalgia. Turkmen-dili.

Madeline at National Carpet Museum, Ashgabat

Been here 2 months.  The recurring metaphor is carpet weaving.  I’m at the stage now where no one would buy the thing:  just a mass of warp and a pattern barely emerging.

I’m in the land whose most famous product, not counting natural gas, oil reserves, cotton and wheat exports, is carpets.  I’ve moved from a country that had Basotho hats on its flag (symbolizing mountains) to one with carpet patterns on its flag