No Easy Days for a Fulbright Specialist

 Day 5: I headed to Ala-Too thinking it would be a short day including lunch with some faculty and scheduling my talks for the week. It was a happy surprise to meet with the University president/rector. He has been in his position just a year and a half and still teaches. He described his many roles over the past several years and is obviously very adaptable, or as we joked a “Jack of all trades.”

 A dean of education from a university in Croatia was also in the meeting after taking the overnight flight from Turkey I had taken just a few weeks ago. He has been developing relations with Ala-too for several years to create collaborative education options. He brought a lovely tie as a gift to the rector and I learned that men’s ties originated in Croatia. The rector gave me a welcome gift that included a beautiful silk scarf, representative of the silk road.

At this meeting I learned we would have dinner that evening, which was a welcome surprise. Afterward, I did have some time to prepare my talks. This was very helpful as I’m finding out on short notice that specific faculty would like me to talk about particular topics applied to their students. 

Teaching health professions, I must stretch to provide relevant examples for economics, international relations and other disciplines. Something I’m growing to appreciate at Ala-Too, is that faculty take a REAL lunch break. There is a faculty lunch room with a set meal each day. It is open 11-2 and faculty drop in when they are available. It is comforting to have a warm meal among colleagues in the middle of the day.

Office mates

After eating, faculty walk the campus, run errands, or have tea … always lots of tea. My colleague, Kyzzhibek, had lunch with me to show me where to go. During our meal I learned she was married two months ago. In traditional marriages, the bride does not see her family for 40 days so she can bond with her new family and adjust. She says new babies are also kept isolated during the first 40 days and brides are considered like babies when first married because there is so much adjustment.

Kyzzhibek

 Her father is my driver during my time here and Kyzzhibek shared that the day he brought me to Ala-Too was the first time she had seen him since her wedding. I observed how they greeted each other warmly, but had no idea it was because they hadn’t seen each other for so long. Kyzzhibek shared that the reason he couldn’t drive me Saturday was because her whole family was celebrating the end of 40 days. 

She described the day as eating, eating and then eating some more. She is a beautiful, happy new bride and I was grateful for the conversation about traditional customs. 

Afterward, we walked the university grounds before returning to the office.

I returned to the apartment just long enough to get ready to go out again. Nurbin, the International Office director, picked me up (with the driver) and we headed to the restaurant. On the way, we abruptly turned back toward the university so I thought there was a problem. He was on and off the phone several times and we went past the university to pick someone up.

Instead of Google Maps, people actually ask each other for directions. I learned later that Google Maps isn’t very accurate here, so there might be a restaurant closer to my apartment than 4 miles!

We picked up the daughter of the previous president/rector, Eliza. She is an American ctizen living in Austin after studying in Houston. Her father had a stroke, so she and her 5-month old baby returned to help care for him. She hasn’t been home to Kyrgyzstan in 10 years and her husband of two years hasn’t even had the chance to visit yet. She is an incredibly vibrant personality and it was a gift to have a Kyrgyz-American explain some of the culture.

This is dinner with the director of international programs, the university president/rector, a dean from Croatia, me and the daughter of a Kyrgyz educational leader, who is now an American citizen.

We met the rector and dean from Croatia. I expected I would have experiences with Kyrgyz people, but thrilled to be exposed to people from so many other countries as well. Dinner was at Navat, a restaurant with traditional Kyrgyz food. I cannot believe how much food … it just kept coming. We started with bread, boortsog, which is fried bread almost like a beignet. Then shorpo, a brothy meat soup with vegetables. They described it as “light.” It may have been compared to other options, but I found it to be really rich and flavorful.

Shorpa

Next, manty, which was familiar from making it the night before. The pumpkin and onion manty looked and tasted very similar to the ones we made, but the beef were tiny bite sized dumplings. After that, we had shashlyk, a variety of skewered meat. The chicken was still on the bone. I know there was lamb and beef, but probably others.

Manty

 With all this food, we were getting full. Nurbin would not allow any food to remain on the plate! The next dishes barmak (noodles and beef) and horse meat with plov (pilaf). Eliza warned that horse meat is high in cholesterol. She was concerned for the men as her father has just had a stroke and she attributes it to the rich foods he ate at a recent wedding. Eliza taught us the noodle dish is also beshbarmak (five finger) and was traditionally eaten with the hands. Though we were full, Nurbin wanted all the food eaten and was putting more on our plates. I had more barmak and would have happily eaten it with my hands as it is delicious. 

Horse meat, plov and beshbarmek

We finished with ice cream and a fried dessert, unfortunately I can’t remember the name. The conversation was just as impressive as the dinner. I learned that as the China/Kyrgyzstan border is becoming more open, the Kyrgyz donkeys have disappeared to China. The rector was leaving to China the next morning and we joked he should bring them back. The meal took around four hours! We were all full and tired as we headed out. 

With two talks the next day, I was up until 2:00 am preparing! I don’t know if I’m jet lagged or just anxious, but I was awake before 6:00 the next morning ready to start the day!

 Day 6: The morning started with a talk about scholarly writing for international relations students who will soon begin writing their undergraduate thesis. Having just attended the Nature Master Classes at KUMC, I talked about brevity and clarity of writing. Later I learned that Kyrgyz theses must be 50 pages, so I guess brevity is not important here! The instructor who invited me to his class is completing his Ph.D. through the University of Kentucky. Of course there were some basketball jabs to share. He is collecting data for his dissertation in Kyrgyz Republic and will return to Kentucky to defend.

I had been told Ala-Too students are like most post-communist students and defer to the instructor without question. I was unsure how that would feel while teaching. I was relieved to find the students engaged and asking good questions through our class. Next, I taught evidence-based practice to economic students. They were surprised to learn that evidence-based economics exists in the USA and Europe. I was again relieved to find most students engaged and wanting to learn about the topic, though it may have felt like a stretch for their discipline.

Economics lecture

I am incredibly grateful to Dean Akinwuntan for sharing the SHP recruiting videos and Greg Peters for sending the Student Research Forum in accessible format (very quickly!) as those are compelling for students. I thought I had lunch with medical faculty after teaching, but it was cancelled. It was late when I went to the faculty cafeteria and I was happy to see a faculty I had met the day before. Kamil studied in St. Louis, and we had already exchanged numbers to meet again. It is a comfort to spend time with people who have lived in the Midwest. Ala-Too International University faculty are truly diverse and many have studied abroad. 

By afternoon, I was feeling the effects of little sleep, but had a meeting with a Fulbright Scholar and a US Embassy representative. Another small world moment as the Fulbright Scholar, Jon Mahoney, is a professor at K-State! This is his third Fulbright placement in Kyrgyzstan, though his first at Ala-Too. The others meeting with us were late, so he was incredibly helpful in sharing information about transportation, hiking, and other general tips. He studies Russian since this is his third trip and he is in Kyrgyzstan for two semesters. It is a difficult language, but if I were in Kyrgyzstan longer, I would definitely start learning.

When Miriam from the U.S. Embassy joined us, she took charge and really wanted to know about my schedule and how Ala-Too planned to have me work toward project goals. There has been little planning and almost no notice to prepare talks, so this was a welcome conversation. She encouraged Ala-Too faculty/staff to create a schedule for me each week. There is a disconnect as Nurbin truly thinks he has managed my schedule, though I have less than 24-hours notice about activities. Jon was very helpful to explain this is normal in Kyrgyz culture and flexibility is necessary. I expressed my priority is to do a good job for them and I am better with time for preparation. I like structure and knowing what is coming next, so I will be challenged these next few weeks. Though specifics of my project keep emerging, I do feel our plan is aligned with project goals.

After the meeting, I had a quick nap before heading out to meet US Embassy representative, Gulzat, who is on maternity leave. We were to meet at 5:45, but traffic did not cooperate. I am becoming accustomed to no seat belts and driving down the middle of lanes, but rush hour in Bishkek was a whole different level of crazy driving. At one point both Mutarbek and I simultaneously breathed a huge sigh of relief and then laughed about it. 

I was 20 minutes late for our meeting and this was Gulzat’s first time out with the baby (40 days!). Her husband and other two children were also there, but not at our table. With baby nursing and crying, Gulzat urgently wanted to tell me how important it is for me to understand student thinking when emerging from communist rule. After being told what to think for so many years, critical thinking does not come easily. She also was insistent I understand that Kyrgyz students and faculty think plagiarism is acceptable. She shared that during her master’s program she consulted two books on her topic and they were EXACTLY the same, but with different authors. 

The information she shared was incredibly valuable for future talks. Her new baby, who had already waited 20 extra minutes, was fussy as we talked. She adeptly breastfed and conversed with me, but he was really upset. I took him for a bit and his baby eyes were mesmerized. Often people, especially children, stare at me when I’m out. I forget that my Caucasian features may be startling to people, but it worked to my advantage as he quietly followed my face. When he got fussy I quietly sang him a lullaby and he immediately calmed.

Gulzat was taking pictures, so I hope she will share. After a brief meeting, I was relieved the ride back to the apartment wasn’t quite as perilous as the ride there.

 

Day 7: After two long days, I didn’t have to be at the university until 10 the next morning. I was hoping to sleep in, but insomnia will not allow it. I don’t know if it is jet lag, middle age, or anxiety, but I am awake at 2 every morning, and if I can fall back to sleep, I’m up for the day by 6:30. The good news is it gives me plenty of time to catch up with people at home on Facebook and prepare my talks.

Today I met with the medical faculty for lunch. Ala-Too has a medical program, but no nursing or health professions. They are a young program (only three classes admitted so far) and are very open to learning about research, autism and anything related to health. 
 

Faculty lunch

They shared a great traditional lunch with me (soup & matby), but what was wonderful is they also shared history and culture. Turkey and Kyrgyzstan have had a good relationship for many years. Kyrgyz people often study in Turkey and return to Kyrgyzstan. As we were talking about our families (Kyrgyz people value big families), one of the Turkish faculty shared he had not seen his family for a few years. He missed one son’s graduation and another’s wedding. 

One of the Turkish leaders (now living in Pennsylvania) decided all Turkish people teaching in Kyrgyzstan are terrorist and they risk being arrested if they return to Turkey. Obviously, there is far more to this than I can understand in a lunch conversation. I’m grateful to be exposed to global issues to I can learn more about it and if there is anything I can do as an American to help. I enjoyed our lunch, but was concerned I was running late to give a talk to law students. No one else was concerned! The instructor and students were understanding when I showed up 10 minutes late for class (I hate being late!). 

I was asked to speak about research process and I chose to include research ethics as part of the process. I’ve come to learn Ala-Too university has no research oversight or approval process. Students were mostly attentive, but needed a break after about 50 minutes. I was both pleasantly surprised and a bit distressed that this was an actual break. During this time, we had tea with four other faculty. It was really enjoyable and I didn’t want to return to class. After 15-20 minutes, neither did the students! When we returned only half the students were there. 

The motivated students that remained were attentive and had good questions, but I was left wondering if this is typical or just because I’m a visitor. My lack of Russian or Kyrgyz language skills continues to be a challenge. I needed groceries and asked the driver to pick me up at the market (no one knows grocery store) instead of the university. There were two stores close together, and I could not say or write were I was so I used a picture instead.

Market