Leave it to Russians...
... to tell it like it is. So yesterday was Scott's birthday. He's a volunteer living in Bishkek and he's married to Leslie, they are one of the 6 married couples in our group. (Leslie and Scott hate it when we call them "mom" and "dad" but we can't help it sometimes given that we are all a bunch of punk 22 year olds and they are around our parents age.) So anyways, I figured it'd be nice to pick up a bottle of his favorite red wine and some cake for a present. I go into the store but a whole cake is expensive and I didn't know which one would be good, so I decided on ordering 4 different individual slices instead. One Russian lady was helping me and here's how our conversation went:
Me: Give me please, a piece of that cake, a piece of that, a piece of that, and a piece of that.
Russian Lady: (laughs) Do you really want all that? You need to lose weight.
Me: (contemplating a future eating disorder) No, no, it's not for me, it's not for me.
RL: (eyeing me suspiciously) You need to be skinny.
Me: It's for my Dad, it's his birthday today.
RL: (eyeing my hips suspiciously) Well, ok, then you should get a whole cake.
Me: No, I think that's enough, thanks.
I haven't been trying to lose weight, I haven't even lost all that much, it's just been a product of being here. It's funny, my self esteem was getting a little high, I'm glad she brought it right back down again where it belongs.
Charlie and I are going to Bosterie today to see Bohee, I think we both need a break from Chui valley. I haven't been to Issy-kul (the only lake in Kyrgyzstan) yet but it's supposed to be the crowning jewel of the country. I am excited to see it although it will be too cold to swim. It'll be good to see some different faces though.
Valentine's Day was just like any other day, pretty girls running around showing off how many cards they received to their no-so-pretty friends who sulked in the corner. I thought it would be a cute, fun idea to have my students hand-make Valentines in English. I started it with my 11th form class. They had these looks on their faces like, "you want us to color what?" but I pretended I didn't understand and passed out the crayons. I taught them phrases like be mine, I love you, sweet heart, and you're dumped and told them about our traditions of giving chocolate and flowers to loved ones. I intended them to give the valentines to each other, but at the end of the class they all ended up on a pile on my desk. I was like, no no, I'm not collecting them, give them away. One of my star students told me to read them and they were all addressed to me... not what I had intended. They were pretty funny though. One girl called me her angel and one boy professed his love for me. Mine on the other hand was addressed to Charlie and I guess I've been listening to too much Stephen Stills lately because it said, "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". I never was a romantic one.
Quick shout out:
Mr. Puryear, I got your letter and the picture of when Jordan was a little boy was ADORABLE. Thank you for your kind words, a lot of what we do here goes unappreciated but it's nice to know that we still have support from back home. You know you're a Texan when the opening line of a letter is "well dip me in sugar and finish me off." Very sweet.
Me: Give me please, a piece of that cake, a piece of that, a piece of that, and a piece of that.
Russian Lady: (laughs) Do you really want all that? You need to lose weight.
Me: (contemplating a future eating disorder) No, no, it's not for me, it's not for me.
RL: (eyeing me suspiciously) You need to be skinny.
Me: It's for my Dad, it's his birthday today.
RL: (eyeing my hips suspiciously) Well, ok, then you should get a whole cake.
Me: No, I think that's enough, thanks.
I haven't been trying to lose weight, I haven't even lost all that much, it's just been a product of being here. It's funny, my self esteem was getting a little high, I'm glad she brought it right back down again where it belongs.
Charlie and I are going to Bosterie today to see Bohee, I think we both need a break from Chui valley. I haven't been to Issy-kul (the only lake in Kyrgyzstan) yet but it's supposed to be the crowning jewel of the country. I am excited to see it although it will be too cold to swim. It'll be good to see some different faces though.
Valentine's Day was just like any other day, pretty girls running around showing off how many cards they received to their no-so-pretty friends who sulked in the corner. I thought it would be a cute, fun idea to have my students hand-make Valentines in English. I started it with my 11th form class. They had these looks on their faces like, "you want us to color what?" but I pretended I didn't understand and passed out the crayons. I taught them phrases like be mine, I love you, sweet heart, and you're dumped and told them about our traditions of giving chocolate and flowers to loved ones. I intended them to give the valentines to each other, but at the end of the class they all ended up on a pile on my desk. I was like, no no, I'm not collecting them, give them away. One of my star students told me to read them and they were all addressed to me... not what I had intended. They were pretty funny though. One girl called me her angel and one boy professed his love for me. Mine on the other hand was addressed to Charlie and I guess I've been listening to too much Stephen Stills lately because it said, "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". I never was a romantic one.
Quick shout out:
Mr. Puryear, I got your letter and the picture of when Jordan was a little boy was ADORABLE. Thank you for your kind words, a lot of what we do here goes unappreciated but it's nice to know that we still have support from back home. You know you're a Texan when the opening line of a letter is "well dip me in sugar and finish me off." Very sweet.
posted by Katie P. at 8:48 PM
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