tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63004283079949735012024-03-06T01:14:46.845+00:00ATK in CameroonOriginally a blog about ATK in India. (Duh.) Until I left India. So now let's just say it a blog about the ATKs as they move around the world.ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-21889414644829143932018-01-28T08:01:00.000+00:002018-01-28T08:01:46.589+00:00Adopt a Peace Corps Volunteer!
TotTK and his buddies
Did you know there's a separatist movement in Cameroon? Well, there is! I did not know that myself. I mean, I don't know much of anything about Cameroon, but that seems like one of the more important ones not to know. So there are over 200 languages in Cameroon, but the two big ones and French and English. I'm not going into the historical details here (because I don't ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-70698855137127299072017-10-16T09:23:00.000+00:002017-10-18T13:26:25.679+00:00Bienvenue au Cameroun!
View of Yaounde from Mount Febe
So the ATKs have arrived in Cameroon! Por fin! Also, I learned that Cameroon gets its name from the gigantic shrimp that you find here. Seriously, they are huge.
And after weeks in country, we finally got our internet hooked up so I can share my first impressions with you all.
1.) First, and this is a pre-Cameroon comment, the Brussels airport ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-91806832911082574272017-07-17T00:30:00.000+00:002017-07-17T00:37:02.942+00:00Friday, April 21, 2017... A day that will live in infamy!
One of his elusive public tantrums! After his ride on the carousel ended.
So the terrible twos have arrived. And they arrived on Friday, April 21, 2017. It's weird that I can identify the day. I hadn't anticipated being able to pinpoint exactly when it would start, but lo and behold, it's like a switch flipped and my little baby turned into a willful tantrum throwing toddler. Also, I wouldashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-35851226713252170902017-02-24T01:56:00.002+00:002017-02-24T01:59:11.672+00:00How I Spent my Washington Vacation
As I said in the previous post, the ATKs have had an enjoyable 7 months in our nation's capital, and then I preceded to talk about Russian class, which, while not awful, was not exactly a typical definition of "fun." However, I was very excited to live in our nation's capital, or at least close to our nation's capital. Why? Because I'm a nerd and museums are free here. So here's a ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-37014251360665898272017-01-27T21:07:00.001+00:002017-01-27T21:07:15.247+00:00In Search of Pedro
So the TK family is back stateside. After a two month home leave visiting Mr. ATK's family on the west coast (Seattle, WA and Yuma, AZ) and my family in Wisconsin*, we arrived in our new digs in Arlington, VA to set up home while Mr. ATK studies French until August and we head out to Cameroon.
Anyways, so TotTK** and I are adjusting to our newfound days together as I am doing the stay at home ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-91767532550053869062016-10-25T11:32:00.002+00:002016-10-27T14:39:29.070+00:00The Wonders of the Armed Forces Network
So the ATKs have an AFN box and it is wonderful. AFN, for those of you who don't know, is the "Armed Forces Network." As the name implies, it is the network of the (American) armed forces, so that our boys (and girls) can see American programming while stationed abroad. Back when I lived and worked in Korea (back in aught 3), there was one AFN network and it was broadcast locally, so you could ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-51270692092295276742016-10-24T14:40:00.002+00:002016-10-24T14:40:33.573+00:00Reflections of my Life time (1980)
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-8138168093603071952016-10-23T15:40:00.001+00:002016-10-23T15:41:33.837+00:00бешик той! (aka Cradle Party!)
New baby!
Well, the TK Family is finishing up in Kyrgyzstan. Time has flown by and I have been terrible about keeping this blog even nominally updated. I apologize for that. I could blame it on BabyTK, but... well, yeah, let's just go ahead and blame it on him.
This past weekend we headed out to the village for the бешик той (pronounced "beshik toy") of Mr. ATK's host brother's newborn ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-44333214576327522432016-04-19T14:24:00.002+00:002016-10-10T14:48:07.758+00:00ATK Hits the Slopes!
At the tippy top of the mountain at Karakol Ski Base.
After, I don't know, like a decade of not skiing, I finally got the opportunity to hit the slopes again here in the ole KG (that's Kyrgyzstan, to all you folks who aren't in the know.) Now I am not the best skier. Being from Wisconsin, my ski experiences have been limited to what passes for ski hills there. (And I assure you, ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-2654721892411174432015-12-11T12:21:00.000+00:002016-10-24T14:46:11.388+00:00Living Alone
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-55821505883013682542015-12-04T04:58:00.001+00:002015-12-04T05:01:35.644+00:00The Joys of International Travel with an Infant
You'll all be happy to know that BabyTK and I have returned safely to the Big Manti* with MamaTK in tow. (Mr. ATK returned a couple weeks before we did.) Actually, we've been back for more than a month. Time really flies.
Anyways, we had quite the adventure--Chicago to Frankfurt to Istanbul to Bishkek. Of course, you could just do Chicago to Istanbul to Bishkek and cut out the Frankfurt part ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-38871500318954377162015-09-23T20:39:00.000+00:002015-09-24T01:27:00.632+00:00Life in Duluth (Part III)
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-89191204653292069832015-09-23T20:29:00.000+00:002015-09-23T20:30:01.065+00:00The One Where I Have a Baby
Hey, World!
I realize this is first and foremost a travel blog (albeit a poorly updated one) and I have no intention of turning it into a "mommy blog" (which would also likely be poorly updated), but you know, having a baby is kind of a big deal and so before I can go back to writing about Kyrgyz cuisine (a post I've been working on for, like, 9 months) I feel the need to share my ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-46072202470899414572015-05-10T12:36:00.000+00:002015-05-10T12:41:01.419+00:00Life in Duluth (Part II)
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-18591125181332749242015-03-21T14:12:00.003+00:002015-03-22T11:38:48.922+00:00ATK and the Case of the Forty-seven Cents
I realize this title makes it sound like something mysterious is afoot in Kyrgyzstan, but I have to admit it's just a shout out to my childhood hero, Encyclopedia Brown.
I mean, I do have an amusing tale to tell about 47 cents, but there is no case to be cracked or riddle to be solved. But admit it, "The Case of the Forty-seven Cents" totally sounds like it could be an Encyclopedia Brown ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-10396074902639896052015-03-17T12:40:00.000+00:002015-03-17T12:40:24.832+00:00Happy (Belated) Women's Day to you all!
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The holidays just keep coming here in Kyrgyzstan. From mid-February until
mid-March we've only had (or will only have had) one full work week. That's
right. Lots of four day weeks for ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-456888775553818252015-03-02T00:19:00.002+00:002015-03-02T00:19:40.895+00:00Kathryn in America: Life in Duluth
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-89680430309193950472015-02-08T15:19:00.000+00:002015-02-08T15:24:21.565+00:00The One Where I Explicitly Tell Everyone that I'm Pregnant
So I know I announced BabyTK's impending arrival in my last blog post, but as you will read, I started writing this first. You know in the beginning when you aren't supposed to tell people, but so much stuff is going on that I just wanted to share it, so I've been randomly typing whenever something amusing or novel strikes me. And everything is novel for me at this point. Mr. ATK says thisashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-39327003868399548232015-02-07T10:15:00.000+00:002015-03-07T04:52:02.888+00:00Kathryn in America: Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Get Your Kicks on Route 66!*
That summer, together with Ida and Nestor Patana, we decided
to make a trip to California. They had a large Chandler “touring car,” open
sides with side-curtains (if necessary.) So, with all needed equipment packed
into our cars we started off. The Muttinens (Miettinens?) had bought our
furniture and remained in the apartment.
We were
young and it was an ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-26000965889848740272015-02-06T12:41:00.000+00:002015-02-06T12:41:54.461+00:00London Calling!
The ATKs just finished their first (very eventful) European vacation. That's right. After all these years of globetrotting, we have missed everyone's go-to vacation spot (pick any place in Western Europe). But not any more! We've just spent the last five days in London, enjoying a variety of food, dreary overcast weather, and general tourist must-do's. I wanted to share a bit about all the ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-64143029868206596132015-01-29T14:35:00.000+00:002015-01-29T14:35:10.676+00:00Жаңы Жыл! (Or Celebrating New Year's in a Kyrgyz Village)
New Year's salads shaped like sheep! Happy 2015!
Happy New Year all! We are happy to celebrate our first New Year in Kyrgyzstan!
And while many of you were out partying or perhaps watching "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve hosted by Ryan Seacrest," the ATKs spent a few days in Mr. ATK's former stomping grounds, Kochkor, with his Kyrgyz family.
Panoramic of the mountains and fields ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-9271920753828202132015-01-15T13:46:00.000+00:002015-02-07T10:22:18.389+00:00Kathryn in America: Kathryn meets Ike/Move to Chicago
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-8085299838254626272015-01-10T15:32:00.001+00:002015-01-10T15:32:17.503+00:00More In-Laws!
One of the great things about being married is that you get a whole new set of family members (Hi, MamaTK-in-Law!). One of the great things about marrying a Peace Corps volunteer is that s/he likely has a whole other family is some village in some far away land. Now, one of the drawbacks (or maybe not, for some people) of life in the Foreign Service is that you spend years at a time thousands ofashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-31917506851761074442015-01-05T02:04:00.000+00:002015-01-14T05:48:56.916+00:00Kathryn in America: Move to Oulu, Wisc.
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300428307994973501.post-78945515113528941802014-12-20T02:47:00.001+00:002015-01-05T01:16:12.984+00:00Kathryn in America: Life in Redgranite, Wis.
Location of Redgranite, Wis.
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ashley tikkanenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08000464478387648319noreply@blogger.com0