It's Here!

I love having 4 seasons. I only just realized how much i missed it when i watched the spring bulbs come up and i watch my mood soar with the warm, sunny days. i do not miss the heat of Ouaga!!

More people are out and about. The city is coming to life.

We did get one more day of snowboarding in a couple of weekends ago. We finally made it to Too-Ashu one of the better places. still with a 2-seater slow chair, but it was beautiful and deeper into the mountains. we had a fresh dumping of snow, the only problem was the fog. it lifted intermittently for most of the morning and early afternoon, but we ended up leaving an hour early because it really rolled in. Otto took a friend with him - it is nice he is at that age now. we went with a group from the Embassy. i am already looking forward to next ski season since i know the areas i like.

I didnt get a chance to take photos of the ski area before the fog rolled in - i was too busy enjoying the boarding. but i got a couple of shots on the way back. There is a tunnel in the side of the mountain that is noted to be a Russian engineering feat. it was long, dark, dank and you wouldn't to get stuck in it. Once again, we were surrounded by amazing peaks (and these are really just the hills at the foot of the big mountains), but hard to see with all the fog.

Dave just arrived, so we are off on a little adventure for a week - trekking and camping. Should have some great photos for the next post!

Spring is trying

Earlier this week it seemed like spring was here to stay. My bulbs are up and the daffodils ready to open. Day before yesterday it was 70F and actually felt like summer. Otto and I pulled out some shorts we were so warm. Then it all changed yesterday. as the morning went on it got cooler and by mid day it was snowing again!! Last night I went to a reception for the new Japanese Ambassador and when I left it was a blizzard. This morning it is sunny, clear, cold and we have almost an inch of snow on the ground.

A side note on the reception. i never get invited to these events as the medical officer. We hear all about these type of events in our initial training in DC and we are taught how to act and present ourselves as representatives of the US Government. There is a Japanese medical officer stationed here in Bishkek, Dr. Sato. He came to visit me at our clinic a few months back and we have kept in touch, so he invited me. It was fun to go - they are pretty short and a good opportunity to meet people.

Although I was feeling ready for spring, we have a 3 day weekend now, so i will take advantage of this likely last snow and head out for one last ski day on Saturday. Will go to Too-Ashu, which is supposed to be one of the nicest ski areas close to Bishkek. now i just need to remember my camera. Otto will take a friend of his and we are going with another family.

Work has been busy. I have been teaching a lot of classes. Finished training medical first responders and next week we start CPR classes for our community. People really appreciate getting the CPR certification. I do have some photos for this post of a class I taught in Kant (about 40 minutes from Bishkek) at the American Corners Library (a US Embassy supported space).  This month is black history month, so the Public Affairs section of the Embassy asked volunteers to go to different places all through out the country to discuss items related to diversity in the US and tie it to our experiences. I gave a talk in diversity in the US Medical System. It was a good day and well received. We were told it would be attended by medical students, but it turned out to be all women who were somehow in the medical field (nurses, doctors, administrators). They had a lot of good questions, but not really about diversity in the US.

The one thing they couldn't believe is that our government doesn't pay women to have babies. It is the custom here (from former Soviet times) to pay the mother for about a year after delivery. One of the women in the group asked doesn't our government want babies? It was hard to explain that this just isn't our custom in the US. They also wanted to know how much doctors and nurses make in the US. Sorry, the photos are not great, i didn't take them, the librarian at the center did, but it gives you and idea of the event. Standing next to me is Dr. Magazova. She is one of the local doctors I work with at the Embassy. She was translating for me. People rarely speak English here.