did you ever get the feeling..

did you ever get the feeling that something was wrong? not with you but with someone close to you? i don't know... i woke up this morning and felt like the world had shifted. maybe i just ate too much apple pie yesterday but something inside of me feels like something happened. this is a weird feeling in itself but it's even weirder when you are half a world away and not sure if you are just going crazy.

a battle with besh barmak

yesterday i went to a party out in the village with venera, the teacher i work with at the university. i spent most of the day hanging out with her niece who is a university student who wanted to take me horse back riding. while riding up and out into the mounatins, i took this deep breath and just laughed out loud.
when we walked back into the house i was ushered into the baby room where i was surrounded by 7 children under the age of 4 and 3 adult women. there was this huge bowl plopped down in front of me with the traditional kyrgyz dish "besh barmak". Beshbark translated is five fingers, meaning that you eat by scooping your hands into a community bowl and devour everything in sight. this is my first time really gettting the full besh barmark experience which would have been enough cultural experience except now i am taking this on with 7 snotty children sticking their hands in, slobbering all over themselves and then going back for more. ah, i haven't fully explained the contents of besh barmark. it's a bunch of noodles and the innards of a sheep boiled up and tossed together for a great kyrgyz treat. small chilren sucking and smacking on intestines and sheep brains like bubble gum was just enough for this american to loose her apetite.

no heat

well, it's november 15th and there is no heat in the university. i was teaching today and i could see my breath in the classroom. officially there will be no classes for january and february but even still... how do you expect students to learn if they are too cold to hold a pencil? i don't know. it's just hard to understand. obviously, all people who work in the buildings are sick and we try to move forward to teach and learn. but seriously, all i want to do is curl up under a warm blanket and take a nap.

it's not where you're from but where you're at

The past weekend I made my way to Bishkek to meet with Brock and enjoy the city. I felt like a fish out of water: staring up at the big buildings, taking in the fast pace of city life, almost getting taken out by multiple marchutkas throughout the weekend. I would say my favorite part was just spending time with the people I care about. I remember back in the day Becca telling me, "Katie, it's not where you are but who you're with that matters" and I am starting to finally understand what she was talking about. Being in that moment, enjoying every piece of the day, not worrying about where to travel or what will happen next.... just LIVING. That is what I want from every day. That is being alive.

Traditional Kyrgyz Dress

Here is a picture from culture day. This was the day I was bride kidnapped. So here is me on the left, my amazing Kyrgyz teacher, and Ginger... my best bud during PST.

how to contact me

Kyrgyzstan

Issyk Kol

Karakol

Posta 20

Katie Guthro

or my phone # is 996550434856  when you call, it sounds like a busy call but just let it busy signal away.  it's actually the kyrgyz ring.  my parents have said that it's actually not that expensive to call.  miss you!!

understanding

I kind of forgot about this whole blogging thing but i am back on track.  

Eating an apple... but soon apples will be too explensive to buy.  I remember a a story from my writing class in college where the author described her mom eating an apple: standing over the sink, savoring each bite, only leaving the seeds.  I remember wondering, why?  What did she live in her life to savor an apple with such intensity?  And soon it will be winter in Kyrgyzstan... and there will be no apples.  So I am starting to understand.