February 3, 2008
A couple of my students have told me that
the reason the power keeps going out is because of the severe cold this
January. Supposedly, in addition to the sauna-like heat provided by the
state-run heating system, people across Bishkek have been plugging in electric
heaters to help alleviate the cold. They must not be receiving as much of the
state heat as I am; I continually have to open my windows to cool my apartment
down. (One senses inefficiency here...) This January has been exceedingly cold
by Kyrgyzstan standards. I’ve been told that it’s the coldest January since
1984, and, alternately, the coldest in thirty years. (How is it I managed to
land my southern self in Russia during the coldest winter in decades and then
managed to do the same in K-stan?) Anyhow, if these electric heaters really are
to blame for the frequent power outages in Bishkek, then we may very well have
seen the last of them. Maybe. I awoke on Wednesday to blue skies, shining sun
and melting snow. And unlike the previous and unbearably frigid Wednesday, I
did not spend this glorious day out and about having adventures.
The view out my window on Wednesday
I awoke Wednesday morning utterly unable to utter a sound. For me, losing my
voice is often the last stage of any illness, and sometimes my voice will
remain absent for many days. I spent Wednesday morning and early afternoon in
bed, feeling like hell while sipping mint tea with honey, and then got ready
for work. No, we don’t teach classes on Wednesdays, but we do hold a weekly
Talking Club late Wednesday afternoons. Teachers alternate as the host of
Talking Club, and as such only have to work one Wednesday a month. I would be
assigned to host Talking Club on the day I couldn’t talk. Oh, irony. Luckily, K
(one of the other teachers here) was assigned to be my partner, so my whispery
self wasn’t completely responsible for conducting Talking Club.
I wish I’d felt better – and had had a voice – as the three Talking Club groups
were quite talkative. (You might assume this to be always the case, as it is a
club for *talking* and all, but quite often we get students who come and just
sit in silence.) The first group (pre-intermediate) didn’t like the chosen
topic, and instead just wanted to chat. Since they actually were willing to
chat (instead of needing to be guided by a specific topic), we let them. The
most talkative ones in the group were my students, and they knew I was sick.
They did me the favor of directing most of their questions and conversation
towards K, so that I didn’t have to say much. The second group (intermediate)
wanted to talk to me, however. This was fine... except that by the third group
(advanced) I was feeling miserable, craving Nyquil and bed. The topic for the
advanced group was marriage, including Kyrgyz marriage traditions (bride
kidnapping, anyone?) and I would have loved to have taken an active part in
that conversation. Instead it was just about all I could do to sit erect and
look as though I were paying attention.
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