ab Chasing Kate: August 2007

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The Rest of my Life

This week I’m back in my village placed on an all too familiar travel ban since the Shanghai Conference is taking place in Bishkek. No comment.

I’ve been going crazy since we should be finding out our COS (close of service) date soon, essentially counting down until we can officially start counting down. With all my projects pretty much finished (seminars, clubs, 2 grant projects, in-kind donations and a few camps) I feel like my job here is done especially since my replacement K-15 will arrive in 5 weeks. Volunteers tend to call this portion of our service “check-out time” and we’re all feeling pretty checked out. I knew the last three months in country would be difficult tying up loose ends but just sitting here in my village dreaming about the day I leave is driving me crazy.

All this free time to think is probably the hardest time because I’m anticipating a part of my life that don’t have any idea about. My short-term plan is to travel to SE Asia for a few months…and if it sounds like I’m just trying to further delay the ‘real world’, then you’re absolutely right. My goal is to get out of here as quickly as possible and to get home as late as possible (with at least 1/3 of my readjustment allowance in tact, Dad). It’s my long-term plans that I’m equally excited and terrified about. Desks make me want to hyperventilate.

Grad school? Perhaps, once I figure out what I want to study. Business school? Nothing would make my father happier. Culinary school? Why not, I’ve only been dreaming about it since I was 10. Sales? I’m good at it but do I love it? Real estate agent? Sounds like a good plan. Writer? I love to write! World-traveler? Absolutely, now how do I make that an occupation…

If you have any ideas or opinions about what job I would love and be good at, please feel free to guide me. Never mind that my undergrad degree in psychology (without a masters) is worthless and that the last 2 years of my life living in poverty in a small country in Central Asia has prepared me to… uhh? Right. I’m smart. I work hard. I’m creative and I need a job.

Hire me. Please.

posted by Katie P. at 3:46 AM 1 comments

I am a Builder.

After winding down for a week and getting sorted I was ready to get on the move again. This time about 9 other volunteers headed to the south shore of the lake to do a build for Habitat for Humanity again this year. This year was completely different since we were broken down into two smaller groups since the projects were on smaller scales. Last year was all about bricks. Making bricks, cleaning bricks, hauling bricks, stacking bricks, laying bricks and breaking bricks. Physically the labor was harder last year and we accomplished more since 15 people worked on one house but we were equally productive this year and we were with a great family.

The first day we worked on building the inner walls of the house. We nailed small planks of wood to larger planks diagonally then we wrapped wire around the nails to create a chicken coup type of structure. None of us understood what this was for until they came in with buckets of mud and told us to let loose. Three of us stared at each other, sure that we didn’t understand the directions clearly until one of the project managers grabbed a fistful of mud and hurled it at the wall. The wood and wire, it seems, were a basis for the mud to adhere to. In order to get into the smaller holes, you had to fling the mud with considerable force. Just picture in your minds a 7 year olds dream. We tore off our gloves and went at it laughing because we were throwing it so hard it was going through the holes and hitting the wall behind it 12 feet away. None of us could believe that this was our job. They would periodically smooth it out so it resembled a wall rather than globs of mud and it turned out pretty well for such an unconventional system of wall building.

This year we did a lot of work with hammers, nails and wire. The hardest day was when we built a foundation for an addition to the house. The family didn’t think they’d be able to afford it but with the extra help they were certain they could finish it by winter. The last day, our rest day was coincidently my birthday. We went to the beach in the morning to relax then we took of for Karakol and took long, much-needed showers. My friends threw me a party complete with bacon cheeseburgers and box cake complete with Nutella frosting (really big deals for PCVs) and of course a lot of beer. It was a great week capped off with a great night and great friends.

posted by Katie P. at 3:37 AM 0 comments