More Lecture Prep and More Shopping

Day 16: So far, I have given 10 student lectures (4 scholarly writing, 3 Evidence-based practice/finding evidence, 2 research design, 1 autism), with one more evidence-based practice talk scheduled for psychology students next week.

Currently I’m working on adapting the evidence-based practice and scholarly writing talks for faculty. I also need to prepare talks on grant seeking/writing and teaching and motivating students to conduct research.

My final workshop will be a journal club format to critically appraise evidence. A lot of preparation ahead, but I am excited to present to faculty. I stayed at my apartment, thinking it would be quieter, but it is under construction so it is loud from morning until very late. I have heat and headphones, so I can get work done, and it is nice to give my driver a break.

In the afternoon, Eliza and I went shopping again – this time for curtains and rugs! The fabrics are amazing and you can get complete window dressings (sheers, drapes, tie backs, etc.), for $40-$80. There were some incredible, decorative sheers for less than $4. There were so many choices it was impossible for Eliza to choose.

We spent several hours comparing before deciding to take pictures and get her mother’s opinion. We were going to take a tea break to warm up (it was freezing and everything is outside!), but shops were closing, and we still wanted to see rugs. There were beautiful Asian and Turkish rugs of all sizes and qualities. I saw some gorgeous, big rugs I would love to bring home for my living room. Unfortunately, they won’t fit in the luggage, so I settled for a smaller remnant.

Eliza found a nice big rug for her mom’s home. We still had some shopping to do, so it was funny to drag the giant rug along with us. When we got cold, we had a nice dinner of laghman, kebab, samsa and tea. With Eliza, I enjoy the conversation even more than the food.

Neither of us have local phone numbers to use an app or call directly, so getting a taxi back was challenging. Eliza had her mom’s extra phone (not a smart phone) and called home to have her parents arrange a taxi. It never arrived, so I was grateful to be with a native speaker who easily found alternate transportation.

October Snow Brings a Chill to the Air

Day 13: I worked at the apartment until about 10 a.m. since I didn’t have morning classes. When I arrived at the office, it was very busy with international students filling out paperwork.

Nowhere to sit! Fortunately, I had toured the library, so I found a quiet place to work there. After preparing most of my lecture for Thursday, I headed to the faculty lunchroom for a warm meal.

I had just started when the dean of medicine asked me to join him for a meal in another building. When I arrived, I learned I had been invited to join a meal honoring the one-year anniversary of the death of a faculty member’s mother.

She had prepared a traditional meal with salads, nuts, dried fruit, and bishbarmek. Bishbarmek is the rich noodle dish with horse meat. It was an elaborate meal to set up in the offices and several of the women helped her. I recognized several faces and met several more people. Everyone was warm and welcoming and I got some good tips of things to do during my stay.

When the meal was coming to an end, one of the male faculty members recited a passage in the Quran in Arabic. I didn’t understand it, but it had a nice, comforting tone. It reminded me of some of the Jewish customs expressed in Hebrew. We said Omen, the blessing, at the end of the meal and the only word I understood was American. It was translated to me that the people that honor the deceased bring good things/wishes to them and an American might bring some extra good. It was an incredible honor to be included in this special meal. I had to leave for class, and as is custom I was given food (candy!) as I said goodbye.

My afternoon class was teaching evidence-based medicine to medical students. The second-  and third-year classes attended. The first years had just taken exams and were on break. This was an easy talk since evidence-based practice evolved from evidence-based medicine. The students again acknowledged most of their information comes from text books and they were receptive of learning how to get and read journal articles.

After class I had about an hour at my apartment to get ready for the evening. I felt a bit guilty because my driver stays and waits when I have a break between work at the university and evening activities. He is always very patient and gracious about waiting.

At 5:30, I headed to a Georgian restaurant in the city center to meet other Fulbright Scholars and English teachers. Jon, the Fulbright Scholar from K-State arranged it for us. On the way to the restaurant, it was sleeting so driving was a little more treacherous than usual and I was a bit worried about the return.

I immediately forgot my worries when I saw friendly American faces. Conversation was easy with this group, and I learned a lot about the different Fulbright programs. There were two scholars (Jon for a year and Woei for a semester), two English Teaching Fellows in Kyrgyz Republic for a year (one at Ala-Too). Woei’s wife also joined dinner and it was interesting to see how they were managing the experience with their children.

I learned that scholars and teachers in the longer program all arrived at the same time and had organized training from the Embassy. They all met each other when they arrived. Also, they had a stipend to arrange their own apartments and all had chosen to live in the city center. I wish I had known this before I arrived as I could have much more independence in the city near restaurants and shops.

Though they had similar Fulbright “jobs” (scholar/teacher), all of their experiences were different. Being a Fulbright Specialist is a great way to try out the Fulbright experience to see if applying to be a Fulbright Scholar (semester/year) might be a good match in the future. It was also great to get out and have easy conversations in English and enjoy some different cuisine.

I didn’t want my driver waiting in the cold, bad weather, so I needed help managing a taxi after the meal. I would not have been able to do it by myself, because the taxi driver asked several questions about my address in Russian or Kyrgyz. It was my first time alone in a cab and I was happy that everything went smoothly! We were getting heavy snow, but It wasn’t sticking to the roads, so it was an easy drive.

When I got to the apartment things did not go as smoothly. I was supposed to have my mid-term report call with World Learning, the company that manages the Fulbright Specialist program. We were connecting by Skype, and I wasn’t receiving any contact requests and could only see five of my contacts. I emailed back and forth with the person I was meeting and we decided to try the next night instead. I’m glad because I was exhausted and problem-solving technology issues was not going well.

Day 14: I can’t believe it has been two weeks! Sometimes I feel I’ve just arrived, and other times I feel settled like I’ve been here far longer. The other thing I can’t believe is how much snow we got overnight, in October! When I woke up, it was still snowing! The snow is beautiful, but it is very cold, and I don’t have a lot of warm clothing. I got dropped off near where I was teaching so I didn’t have to spend too much time outside.

My schedule showed a room number and instructor name, but I didn’t know what discipline I was teaching. When I arrived for class, the room was locked and there was no teacher. I recognized some faces from the Monday lecture to linguistic and interpretation students. They were scheduled to be in that classroom and helped me get in and set up.

I was already thinking about how I would adjust my lecture since I had JUST talked to these students. They insisted it would be good for them to have the same lecture again, but that was not OK with me.

While I was setting up a student told me the secretary said I was supposed to be in the room next door with first-year students. Again, there was no teacher and these students had not been told they might have a guest lecturer. By this time, class was already 30 minutes late starting, and I decided to just teach them about scholarly

writing like I had planned. The students were very helpful and attentive. Afterward they were very thankful I had presented to them and took some pictures with me. But I can’t help wondering if this is normal. Two classrooms of students with no teachers and no communication about what was expected of them. I was also surprised that two or three students arrived 30 minutes late while I was lecturing. I started late, so this meant they were an hour late for class. I’ve noticed in other classes students often arrive 15-30 minutes late. I’ve been told there are attendance policies, but it appears they are loosely followed.

Since it was so cold I thought I might eat in the student canteen rather than walking across campus to the faculty lunchroom. With the Fulbright Specialist program, the host institution provides meals or a stipend for meals. It was my understanding I could eat lunch either place, but I must have misunderstood.

 

The woman working in the Canteen had no information about me or my visit. Some students tried to help, but I decided it was easier to just brave the cold and walk to the faculty lunchroom. I’m glad I did because I ran into Jon, the Fulbright Scholar. I shared my perception that faculty might be a little too comfortable with me and using me as a substitute teacher.

It was nice to hear that he’d had his best morning of teaching. Both Jon and Rachel (the Fulbright English teacher at Ala-Too) told me during dinner the night before they spent about 50 percent of the time managing classroom behaviors making it hard to teach. I was glad he had a better day and was able to feel effective with the students.

After lunch I found a quiet place to make a few final changes to my talks. I’m glad I purchased the Wingle for Wi-Fi because I haven’t been able to access university internet. The ability to work anywhere is something we take for granted in the United States.

I spoke to the medical students about scholarly writing and autism spectrum disorder. I have given the talk about scholarly writing about five times already, so that went smoothly and was well received. Though I enjoy talking about evidence-based practice and writing, I was excited to talk about something different. Particularly about autism since that is an area of interest and expertise.

Autism is not as prevalent in Kyrgyzstan, and people tell me there are almost no services. Several people have told me there is only one private school. The day before I had asked students what they want to know about autism, and I’m glad I did. In addition to basic information about diagnoses and associated impairments, I talked about myths of autism. I found this to be important since some of the questions they asked showed me they believed the myths that people with autism don’t feel emotions and have intellectual disability.

Their questions allowed us to talk about the spectrum of the disorder and not making assumptions about ability. I also shared some tips about sensory processing, communication, etc. I saw students frantically taking notes, so I think it was helpful. Afterward, a few students thanked me not only for the lecture but for my clear English speaking.

Though it is an international university and classes are taught in English, the language skills of students and faculty varies. I imagine it is challenging for international students who don’t speak Kyrgyz to get the full intent of some lessons.

My mid-cycle report was rescheduled for this evening, so I spent some time uninstalling and reinstalling Skype with VERY slow Wi-Fi. It worked and I had a successful call with World Learning. My representative asked about my trip to Bishkek, my apartment, the host institution, my time outside work and my health. Though I’ve experienced challenges, overall my project has been good.

I feel a sense of responsibility to meet the objectives of the call to promote research at Ala-Too university and sometimes feel I am not working toward that objective by teaching only students. Though most days I see the students as having the will and energy to make a culture change toward using research in the future. Next week I will have some faculty workshops which may feel more directly related to my project.

Day 15: This morning I talked to second and third-year international students about case study design. It was nice to have a slightly different topic to present. I was done teaching by 10 and had a few hours to work in the office, and was surprised to find it quiet for a change. I plugged in my laptop and phone and after a few minutes realized I had no power.

Working on campus is always a challenge, but this was new as I had power a few days ago at this desk. I had to work in power saving mode, which makes things even slower. My computer died, and though the international staff was busy teaching and working, they very quickly found be a new space.

There is no one in the office yet, so I’m able to get work done. The office space is a little cold since they haven’t turned the heat on yet, but I find with power, quiet and my coat and can work quite effectively here.

This afternoon I got to visit the U.S. Embassy. The last drive to this area of town had awful traffic, so I was impressed Mutarbek found another route. We arrived a little early, so I thought I might have to wait…and I did.

My visit hadn’t been processed, so it took over a half hour to enter. The weather was warming, so it was pleasant to wait. I know I would need to show my passport and would likely be screened. I had no idea how thorough the screening would be. In addition to leaving my phone, keys, Carmex and lip gloss with the guards, they also wanted me to leave my credit cards because of the magnetic chips. Fortunately, the person I was visiting offered to hold onto them instead.

 Our meeting reaffirmed things I was learning about Central Asia and Ala-Too International University. The lax organization and structure is uncomfortable for me, but typical. I feel I am making progress and really look forward to workshops with faculty next week. I got a quick tour and was impressed to see in addition to modern offices, the Embassy has a nice cafeteria and gym. It really is impressive to see the security and work that goes on at the Embassy.

On the way back to my apartment, I asked to stop at a mall to do a little shopping. With the cold, I really needed to replace the hat I’d lost. I was grateful the Fulbright English teacher, Rachel, taught me to ask, “how much” in Russian (Skol'ko). A lot of things weren’t marked, so I needed to ask.

I found a hat store and managed to get help and pay without any English. A big step for me! I also stopped at the mall grocery store. Though I had success getting my hat, I was not brave enough to navigate the fresh bread and deli section like the locals. I just picked up the packaged stuff with prices already marked!

On our long drive to and from the embassy, Mutarbek pointed out sites and is teaching me Kyrgyz words for traffic and university. I can recognize them by sound, but I definitely can’t spell them. He was also very patient as I attempted to say good evening with some correction.

Teaching, Celebrating and a Night at the Ballet

Day 10: The fresh air helped me sleep through the night! By 6:30 a.m. I was awake and catching up on the work I missed yesterday. Eliza, the Kyrgyz-American I met Monday, is taking me shopping at Osh Bazaar. I must correct myself. I thought it was her father with ties to Ala-Too International University, but it is her mother. Her mother is a psychologist and was Dean of Social Sciences (I think) and psychology faculty.

Shopping with Eliza was like shopping with my sister. Warm and friendly, and we bought everything! Eliza expertly navigated the Bazaar and bargained prices for us, though I think she would have done better without this foreigner in tow! The bazaar is really crowded and it is easy to get separated, so we connected arms as we walked at times. It reminded me of the Netherlands when girlfriends link arms when they walk. In the Netherlands it is Gezellig (cozy) and in Osh Bazaar it was also practical. 

After shopping for hours, Mutarbek collected us, and we picked up her mother, father, nephew and son on the way to her home. Mutarbek and his sister are friends with Eliza’s parents and Eliza grew up with Mutarbek’s daughter. Someone made the comment that everyone knows everyone in Kyrgyzstan.

After playing all day at a play place, Eliza’s nephew fell asleep in the car. I was comforting to carry his warm, sleepy body into the house, though I admit kicking off the shoes outside makes it a little harder. When I entered the home the first thing I noticed was all the beautiful red rugs, and when I washed my hands in the bathroom I noticed the enclosed shower. I didn’t know they existed in Kyrgyzstan!

Eliza and her mother were busy taking care of the kids and putting food out. They call Eliza’s son Aiden “American Boy” and he did look American for the short time he watched cartoons on the iPhone. When we went to the dining room, Eliza and her mother were busy so I started eating with her father and Mutarbek. I couldn’t understand their conversation, but it was nice to listen.

Eliza’s father recently had a stroke and has paralysis on his left side. I could tell they were talking about it when her father showed Mutarbek his exercise. When I commented, he showed me several other things he was doing during recovery. He is recovering quite well and has mostly fine motor challenges on his left side. The family is supporting him to recover. When they describe some of the things he struggles with (sensory changes, ADLs, emotional lability, etc.), I wish they had more services. I don’t think they’ve had education on things that are completely normal after stroke, especially early in recovery, which could be really frustrating for a caregiver.

I really felt like I was with family during dinner, with Eliza and her mom juggling children and the meal as her father wandered in and out. When Aiden was fell asleep, I talked to Eliza’s mom. As a psychologist, she wants to start a private practice and include students in service delivery. It sounds like our OT service learnin,g and I think she has the vision and passion to start it.

Eliza said she has interest in autism as it is growing in prevalence in Kyrgyzstan. We talked a little about services and telehealth. I would love to have her visit KUMC and observe some of our practices.

In Kyrgyz culture the blessing comes at the end of the meal. I was humbled by the warm blessing thanking me for being there and serving Ala-Too International University. Mutarbek also received a warm blessing for him and his newly married daughter. I really like the Kyrgyz way of ending a wonderful meal with a blessing. I felt even more like family when Eliza’s mom sent me home with enough food to feed me for the week!

Day 11: I started the day with a quiet morning catching up on work. Though my WiFi is slow, I’m grateful to work at the apartment as the office at the university can get quite busy. I’m finding my talks about evidence-based practice and scholarly writing resonate best with students.

My schedule is a bit challenging as I get a name, room number and something general like “thesis” as a topic. I initially found the lack of detail distressing, but as I become accustomed I find it helpful to provide the topic rather than rely on AIU faculty.

Today I was expecting cold and snow, but it is another beautiful sunny day. After working until about 2 p.m., Eliza picked me up by taxi to meet a friend she knows from her college days in Bishkek. I’m grateful she picks me up by taxi as I still haven’t managed to arrange one myself. My passport plan on my phone has been a comfort and essential for navigation at times, but it is also a barrier to utilizing local services. I downloaded a taxi app, but can’t use it because it requires a local number (more digits). People have mentioned other options, and I need to have them teach me so I’m not so dependent.

Eliza’s friend lives in an area I hadn’t visited. It feels modern with several gated apartment buildings and businesses on the ground floor of each. One had underground parking, which I haven’t seen elsewhere. The newness of the area was a stark contrast to the aging taxi that took us there. The car ran very rough and had kind of a hiccupping rhythm every time it idled. I thought it died when we got out to see if we were in the right place.

Eliza mentioned she sometimes feels bad for her people. The driver obviously works hard and from what I understand mechanics are very expensive here. More than one person has said this is a hard country to make a living. In Kyrgyzstan people seem to help each other rather than turn to violence when faced with hardship. When Eliza’s cell phone wasn’t working (another USA data plan) the taxi driver offered his so she could call her friend for directions. It is common for people to help here. The only violence I’ve seen was men fighting in Osh Bazaar. Though there appear areas with greater poverty in Bishkek, they don’t seem to carry the danger of poor areas in the United States.

We were having trouble finding Eliza’s friend, Dimera, so she met us on the street and escorted us. The gated area of her apartment building had lots of bikes, adult and child. I haven’t seen anyone on bikes here, and it would be a challenging place to ride with the crazy traffic. Though there are some large sidewalks in some places. Dimera’s apartment was gorgeous. A big entry for removing shoes opened into a large living room and kitchen. Everything was very modern. The kitchen had a gas range and big refrigerator like what we would have in the states. On the dining table attached to the living room, there was an impressive spread of food waiting (photo).

Dimera’s God daughters and friend were also over. And all of them had kids! The youngest looked to be about 18 months and the oldest was 14. The apartment was full of energy with children running laps around the apartment and climbing furniture. This group of women had a lot of international travel and work experience. They had attended international schools (taught in English), completed study/work abroad experiences, and travelled for their own or their husbands work. One was a lawyer, one was working in agricultural policy, and I can’t remember the others. All were successful, young women with young families. They described our gathering like a “girl’s night,” and it was really nice to join these women for fun and conversation.

They were all gracious to use English to include me. Like other Kyrgyz meals, we started with salads and tea. There was also roasted whole fish. Our host poured wine for us all, but I noticed the women hardly touched it. It was almost like wine was expected for a “girl’s night” but no one really wanted it.

Our meal progressed to matby (dumplings), plov (rice), fruit and nuts in between, and cake for dessert. Lots of tea and conversation, but not much wine. Contrary to what I learned in the first few days while grocery shopping, Kyrgyz people don’t really drink much. In fact, the women told me it would be frowned upon to drink regularly, even just socially, as you might be considered alcoholic.

I’m so grateful to be invited to homes, so I don’t leave with false impressions of Kyrgyzstan. The young women also shared how in their culture women take on traditional roles of caring for their husband, children and homes when they get married. It is expected the women will do everything and few men choose to help their wives with homemaking and child rearing. Though one of the women considered her husband more progressive and said he was active with parenting. Though he was currently studying in Korea, so she was on her own. 

The women also explained they could take up to three years unpaid maternity leave and be guaranteed return to their job. One of the women had been on maternity leave for about a year. They were somewhat appalled that six to eight weeks (sometimes less) is common for women in US. The meal lasted about 6 hours, and in that time children napped, played, watched cartoons, etc. The women were up and down taking care of them. They talked about their culture of strict parenting, which I observed when one of the young boys was knocking down the youngest girl. He was persistent with picking on her and got a stern lecture from his mother and the girl’s mother more than once!

The older girls were encouraged to speak English with us and one used a dining chair as a stage to recite a Russian poem she was learning at school. She was the most brave and curious of the group. I gave the children a Sporting KC flag and some Jayhawk pencils that they immediately used. I wish I brought more things from home to share with the families that have welcomed me. Dimera also shared a gift with me which I was not expecting. I am constantly amazed by the generosity here.

While we were eating and watching kids, Dimera’s brother was working on an application to study in Korea. He wanted feedback on his personal statement, which I was happy to share. The first draft was quite compelling and I hope his application is successful. At some point we took a break from the meal to tour the apartment. It was huge with 3 bedrooms two bathrooms. The bathroom not only had an enclosed shower, but also a double sink! I’m learning the open shower is not so common. I wish mine was enclosed!

At the end of the evening, Dimera sent me home with food. Eliza says this is common and expected. I imagine it is a lot of work for women to host gatherings as we had a 6-hour meal and left a dining table and kitchen to be cleaned. When we left, the children were adorable as they waved and said goodbye … in English.

Day 12: Thanks to Dimera, I had a nice pastry for breakfast. I’m finding I rarely need to go to the grocery store. This morning I had an early start to talk to linguistic and interpretation students about evidence-based practice and scholarly writing. The faculty stayed to listen and were as engaged as the students. 

These talented students speak multiple language,s and I wish I could have one with me when I’m out and about in Bishkek. I’m finding most classes meet in two-hour blocks with a 10 or 15-minute break every 50 minutes. During this break, I was treated to homemade baklava and tea, cola, coffee (yes, all three). The baklava was the best I’ve ever had, and it was a nice way to get all the students engaged together. Afterward, the faculty and I were scraping the bottom of the pan to eat the last delicious remains.

When class ended, I was surprised to walk out to a roped off area with art and students dressed in Kyrgyz and Chinese clothing. I knew this week Bishkek was celebrating the famous writer, Aytmatov Chyngyz Torokulovich, since I saw his decorated memorial at “Remembering our Fathers.” but I didn’t realize AIU had festivities today.

I had some time, so I decided to hang out with the students to see what was happening. A few of the faculty shared information about the writer and told me events should start soon. I didn’t wait long before I was invited to join some faculty in a special waiting room. There I met Rosa, the famous writer’s sister. She was having tea with educational leaders of AIU, and I was honored for the invitation to join them.

Shortly after, we were led to a ribbon cutting for Rosa to officially open a new room built in her brother’s honor. After spending some time showing off the room and honoring Rosa and her brother, we were led out to watch a performance. While I’m grateful to be included in the festivities, I felt a bit bad as I’m sure my seat was meant for someone else.

While we watched, a young man presented a dramatic oratory  and a young women played the national 3-string instrument and sang . Rosa again cut a ribbon to open this area where students presented their arts. Chinese language students interpreted the authors work to Chinese and presented in Chinese traditional clothing. Kyrgyz students presented different art forms.

I found a hand looped snow leopard particularly impressive. The student completed it in a week and said he wished he’d had more time to work on the color of the snow leopard’s fur. After admiring the art, there were many pictures of the group. Today I tried to shy away from them a bit as I thought the honor was for Rosa, her family and esteemed AIU faculty. They insisted I be included, which was very kind. The group invited me to the celebratory lunch, but I needed to prepare for afternoon classes.

In the faculty cafeteria, I met Yulia, who had been in my morning class. It was a nice to have someone to talk to while we ate. I’m finding even if I enter the faculty lunch room alone, I can always find a friendly face. In the afternoon, I talked about scholarly writing with law students. I think this topic was much more relevant to them than the quantitative research design I presented to older students the week before. The small group was engaged and grateful (picture).

Afterward, Aliya brought me to the student canteen for tea while I waited for my ride. Though I insisted I did not need food, we also enjoyed a nice chocolate pudding together. I have spoken to Aliya’s students twice, and I welcome the invitation so I can feel useful to the university.

I returned to my flat briefly to get ready to attend the ballet that evening. 

Eliza joined me at my flat and brought me a huge bag of strawberries. Everyone had been telling me how good they are and they’re right! They are much smaller than ours, but also much sweeter. Eliza is planning a visit for her in-laws next year, and considering my apartment building for them since it is close to her home.

As she checked out the place, she assured me an open shower is not normal and she would request a shower curtain for this place in the future. We didn’t have tickets, so Mutarbek drove us to the Bishkek Philharmonic Hall early. I invited Eliza and intended to pay, but again found that credit cards are not accepted. I had just enough cash for the tickets, but then no money to contribute to food or taxi while we were out.

Eliza was of course gracious about it, but it is a frustration to rely on others for transportation and now cash. The only thing that made me feel OK about it was Eliza was in the same situation with me a few days before at Osh Bazaar. Getting to a bank is not always convenient. Once we got tickets we found a quiet restaurant across the street. After contemplating food, we both decided on beer and snacks (chips & cheese). Eliza doesn’t drink at her parent’s home, and I haven’t had much opportunity either, so it was nice to share a beer and conversation while we waited for the ballet. Kind of an unclassy dinner before an elegant event. The restaurant had signs saying it accepted credit cards, and I intended to pay, but again I could not use my credit card. The internet was too slow to process it, so Eliza ended up paying.

 We got back to the Bishkek Philharmonic Hall just in time to be seated. The ballet was beautiful. I was surprised we could take pictures and video of the performance, but when I saw others doing it I joined them. The dancers were flawless and it was an impressive performance. During intermission we took some time to look at the artifacts and art honoring previous performers. I was surprised the ballet was not accompanied by an orchestra. I learned that the previous night’s performance of Swan Lake experienced technical difficulties and lost sound for a while. The audio was good for our performance. It was fun to go with a friend who shared she wanted to be a dancer as a child. It was a nice evening out.