April 15: Back in Novo Pokrovka

I'm glad to be back at my host family's house, where Bermet-Eje, my host mom, bakes homemade bread for the family, and the chai flows endlessly. Gulaim, Azat's wife, my host sister-in-law, felt ill yesterday, so her doctor, who lives in the neighborhood, made a house call.

Bermet-Eje introduced me to the doctor and her husband, and we all drank some tea. She told her I was a volunteer, an English teacher from America, and this got her attention. Through Azat, our interpreter, I was asked if I would be willing to give some English lessons
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Pre-Service Training is very busy, and learning Kyrgyz is not easy, so I told him that no, I couldn't, because it was against the rules, and I didn't have the time. I was feeling overwhelmed, and just wanted to study as much as possible, and then go to bed early. I tried to let them down easy, but in a culturally-sensitive way, so they would not feel that I was being selfish. I wondered briefly if I was in any way indebted to my host family for feeding me so lavishly every day.

I said ''no'' once, but my explanation was lost in translation. The doctor had called her daughter, and now, the 17-year-old was sitting quietly beside me at the table, and my benevolence had sealed my fate. Like tribal elders, Bermet-Eje, the doctor, and her husband consulted with each other in Kyrgyz and contrived a plan, while those of us in the younger generation sat quietly still.

Suddenly Azat was prompted to address me. He told me that I would speak English with the doctor's daughter for one hour tomorrow night, okay? Hmm. I looked at the girl, her gaze lowered, too shy to raise her eyes, or embarrassed. I thought it was interesting that they thought I was an English teacher. I really didn't want to be bothered with trying to teach during training, though, and I'm not even sure if I'd be permitted, anyway. But then, I remembered that I've been encouraged to get involved with the community. Maybe I should help, I thought. I could test out some Kyrgyz on this girl, and win over some of the neighbors at the same time. Why not? It would probably be good practice.