Follow-up post: 1 of 4

Well I've been home for a few days, and I think it's about time I posted some of the materials I promised you earlier. Today it's a photo album called "Kyrgyzstan, Volume 1" (also available on Facebook, if you use Facebook).

Kyrgyzstan, Volume I

Just click on the picture and it ought to lead you to one of my Picasa albums (complete with captions!). Let me know if this is easy to use. Personally, I never could figure out how to post photos directly to the blog, but I'll think of something better than this if you guys have a tough time viewing the pictures. This first album (there will be three) contains photos of:
A) my host home
B) the American Courses school where I taught
C) a day trip I took into the mountains with some of the other teachers and students from American Courses
D) my friend Marat's house, and
E) pictures from various AIESEC get-togethers

The second part of today's post is a list I like to call, "Irritating Things About Kyrgyzstan". I started keeping this list after a friend of mine, Rebecca (who lovingly refers to this country as 'Krapistan') asked me to record all the little things that get me down every day. That way when I come home she and I could lounge around by the pool and talk about them, and she'd feel better about having to spend a summer without seeing me, knowing that it wasn't a paradise full of sunshine and daisies on my end. In general I don't like to dwell on negative stuff (especially since most of these things stopped bothering me after about three weeks). BUT I think this list provides an interesting collection of tidbits about Kyrgyzstan that I wouldn't have otherwise thought to mention. So without further ado, I give you:

Irritating Things About Kyrgyzstan
-there is no chap stick
-the internet is sloooooow
-if you spend more than 20 minutes outdoors, you end up getting really dirty
-there is a lot of dust in the air
-most people have no air conditioning, despite the hot weather
-Kyrgyz food is sort of plain
-I have to eat a lot of the same dishes over and over
-I can't drive
-all coffee is instant coffee
-the phones work differently, dial tones sound funny and phone numbers consist of 10 digits
-I'm the tallest girl I know
-I'm also taller than quite a few men I know
-I feel like everyone is thinner than I am
-my feet are always dirty
-I have to watch where I step because roads are sidewalks are full of bumps and potholes
-drivers don't follow traffic rules
-people never wear their seat belts
-most people have no washing machine, and you have to wash your clothes by hand
-even those who DO have a washing machine don't have a dryer
-Diet Coke is called Coka-Cola Light
-toilet paper is exactly like brown crepe paper
-the government in corrupt
-people are really flighty
-nothing ever goes as planned
-bribing cops, teachers, and other official people is commonplace, and even expected
-it is impossible to find tampons

That's about as far as I got. Hopefully though, you found this list interesting, and the photos too. If there's anything you want to comment on or ask a particular question about, just respond back to the post and I'll do my best to explain in more detail, or to tell a story that relates to your question.

Tune in later Amigos.