Adopt 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 really know them), but basically, the Anglophone part of the country is upset with the Francophone government, accusing the government of being negligent to that area of the country (which also just so happens to have most of the natural resources) and having a very heavy pro-Francophone bias, where people from the Anglophone area feel they are excluded for jobs in the government, etc. Again, this is all a pretty sketchy outline of the issue based on superficial conversations I've had with Cameroonians. I imagine there are all sorts of factual errors with that assessment, but I think, in general, we can just distill it down to the Anglophone regions (or factions of people within these regions and people abroad) are upset with the government and want to secede.

So within our first month in country, these protest really started ramping up. Of course the protests are all out in the Anglophone regions, not here in the capital, so don't worry for us, 'cause we're fine.

But! The Peace Corps volunteers that live out in that region? They were not fine. Well, I mean, yeah, they were fine, but still, in the interest of security, Peace Corps pulled them out and brought them to Yaounde. In an interesting, country-specific twist, Peace Corps volunteers in Cameroon are also not allowed to stay at hotels in Yaounde. I'm not sure if there just aren't any hostel-esque places or nothing that passes security muster, so the Peace Corps has a whole house for the volunteers to stay at! It has wi-fi and stuff!  It also fits like 26 volunteers and there were 40 in town so as you can see, math majors, that left quite a few homeless volunteers hanging around town. To solve this problem, the embassy sent out an APB requesting volunteers to host these homeless PCVs (that's "Peace Corps Volunteer" for those of you not in the acronym know.)

Now Mr. ATK and I are both proud RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) and Mr. ATK, being the kind-hearted soul that he is, volunteered ChezTK as a refuge for one lucky volunteer right away. I, on the other hand, being a touch more on the misanthropic asshole side of the spectrum, was not quite as eager to open our home to a total stranger, even if they were a PCV. I realize this probably makes me look pretty bad, especially to my fellow RPCVs and PCVs, but let me explain.

I had a couple reasons for not jumping at the chance to welcome a stranger into my home. One, we had just arrived at Post and were still unpacking so things were pretty disorganized and though we have an extra room, that happened to be the place where I was randomly putting crap that I didn't know what to do with. Two, we have a small child (TotTK, if you recall) who does not believe in personal space and while I make an effort to contain his unbridled enthusiasm for strangers outside of the home, I was not interested in policing him in the home, so anyone staying with us had to be cool with having the most adorable shadow in the world. Three, and this is perhaps the most important, I had been through a Peace Corps evacuation. A couple of them in fact and while for one, we were spirited away to a resort where we were self-contained, the other one, where we had free run of the city was crazy debauchery at its highest level. I mean, bring a bunch of isolated young people who are living in the boonies to the city where good food and alcohol abound and things are bound to go off the rails. I found it to often be like college but dirtier. So I wasn't keen on hosting someone who would be out 'til all hours of the night, hungover during the day, and might poop the bed (or at the very least vomit all over the place. But seriously, I've known a few bed poopers. Heavy drinking and all those stomach bugs don't make for a good mix.)

Anyways, Mr. ATK succeeded in making me feel bad about my misanthropy, so I relented, because, you know, I do like to help people. I told Mr. ATK to let the folks know, we'd be happy to host someone, but no weirdos and preferably a woman. I guess that got a lot of side-eyes when Mr. ATK specifically requested a female, despite his protestations that it was his "WIFE! Not him!" that wanted a female volunteer.  So less than 24 hours later we met the non-weirdo female volunteer we had been hoping for.

And let me say, it was the best decision we made in our first two weeks in country!

Nap time!

PCVTK (or "Ca" as TotTK called her) stayed with us for about a month before heading back to America with her Cameroonian husband. While she was here, she showed me around town (despite living in a village 7 hours away). Showed me that, despite all the razor wire and prohibition against taking any sort of non-embassy transportation, this city is not some terrifying crime-infested den. It's a fine city. It could use some sidewalks and traffic rules, but generally, during the day, it's fine to walk around. But I still don't venture too far from my area because it's usually 100 degrees out and the hills are not fun.

It was like having a live in tour guide. We went fabric shopping in the Muslim quarter (or the Britiquerie or Brick as it is commonly known) and I may or may not have gotten engaged to some random fabric seller. We went to an artisan market where I probably overpaid for some wooden spoons, but they were cute. We went to a Turkish restaurant where the shawarma was quite tasty and a Lebanese restaurant with great hummus and falafel. She showed me the parking lot where a guy sells the "best grilled chicken in town" and advised me on where to find the best cheeseburgers.

But most of all, she let TotTK climb all over her and bust into her room (though I did try to impart the importance of personal boundaries to him.)  And then when her husband (who TotTK called Rafis) came to town, TotTK promptly climbed all over him too and he did not seem to mind.

There's some sort of army crawl going on here.

Now it's been over two months since Ca and Rafis returned to America and TotTK still talks about them, though not as frequently as before.  In fact, just last night when I was putting him to bed, I asked TotTK, "Who do you love?" and he said, "Ca." And I said, "Who else do you love?" and he said, "Rafis." And I asked again, who else do you love?" and he said "Mia" (that's his nanny) and so I asked one last time who he loved and he said, "Chips." So then I gave up.

Bienvenue 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 sequesters all travelers going to Africa in a section of the airport with, like, no restaurants or cafes. There's just a few vending machines. What really makes this galling is that you have to pass through immigration right before entering the area (though this wasn't entirely clear to me until we were at the guy passing through) and once you go through, you cannot leave. Again, no signs warning you of this. So we were trying to find our gate and then we were trapped for like 90 minutes. I never got my last cup of Starbucks. :( That's some shady shit, Brussels Airport. As far as I could see, while rushing through the airport, no other areas were sequestered like that.

But on to actual Cameroonian observations....

2.) Our house is nice. It has a sweet pool that is surprisingly deep. TotTK loves it. It is also surrounded by razor wire and has a 24 hour guard. Most people seem to think this should make us feel safe, which it does to an extent. But what it really does is make you feel like everything outside of the wall is incredibly dangerous. Of course, a month in now, we are realizing that we can indeed leave the house and not get mugged or whatever upon stepping foot outside the gate. And we've seen some interesting restaurants that look good. There's much to explore.

Enjoying the pool

3.) Oh. My. God. The hills in the city are crazy. Like, I thought Arlington, VA was hilly, but this place? I feel like I'm scaling a mountain every time I leave the house. And that's probably because I am. My Fitbit tells me I walk up the equivalent of 20 flights of stairs when I walk from my front door to the main road which is like three blocks up the hill. Looking on the bright side, my butt and thighs should be cut as hell by the time our three years here is up.

4.) This is not a very walk-able city, which has probably been the toughest thing to get used to. TotTK and I spent the last eight months hiking all over Arlington and D.C., checking out all the parks and playgrounds and artesanal doughnut shops. That does not seem to be in our future here in Yaounde. Besides the lack of artesanal doughnuts, which, don't cry for me, because what this city lacks in artesanal doughnuts, it makes up for in French bakeries, there are also no parks and very little green space. The crazy hills, lack of sidewalks, and seeming lack of consideration for pedestrians, makes walking around not a particularly pleasant experience. A stroller is basically useless, and because of the hills, putting TotTK in a carrier is also not very fun. This past weekend we tried a couple of journeys out with the ole baby carrier and while it worked, both TotTK and Mr. ATK were incredibly sweaty by journey's end. Like, "Did you fall in a large body of water?" sweaty.

So because of this, TotTK doesn't really get to leave the house all that much and that's a bummer. We go to the embassy on Sundays where a bunch of families gather and the kids play soccer and go swimming, so that's nice, but it's certainly not like it was back in the U.S. where he was playing with kids everyday at the Y or the park or baby gymnastics. I guess that's what the hardship pay is for. And eventually he'll be going to school so he'll get to play with kids there. So that's something, I guess. In the mean time, he'll have to make due with me and all the pillow forts and box houses he desires.

TotTK and one of his "houses"

5.) It's hot here, yet if you just tried to dress based on what you saw folks on the street wearing, you would have no idea what to wear. There will be a guy in a sweatsuit next to a guy in tank top. Mainly, I think, "Why on earth are you in a sweatsuit?"

6.) So many fresh fruits and vegetables! Delicious pineapples, avocados, mandarins, tomatoes as far as the eye can see! Mr. ATK can't stop raving about the peanuts and the eggs.  There are even two papaya trees in our yard! Sadly, I hate papaya.

So those are my first impressions. I reserve the right to revise my opinions, which I will probably do because first impressions are often wrong. Though I can't believe I'll revise my opinion on these damn hills. They are bananas.

Yaounde from the top of Mount Febe

Friday, 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 would just like to add that he was only 20 months old when this happened and so I feel slightly cheated as he was not two yet. I would have thought that I had four months of no tantrums ahead of me, but I would have been wrong. So very very wrong.

So how did I know they started, you ask? Surely I must be exaggerating? Perhaps, but it doesn't seem like exaggeration to me. Well, I pinpoint that day because it was the first day he threw a tantrum. Like a full on, red faced screaming, seemingly never ending, tantrum over something so ridiculously innocuous that I don't even remember what it was any more.  I believe wouldn't let him have a pouch right at that minute and a ten minute tantrum complete with pounding on the pantry door, hanging on the handle to try and open said pantry door. I remember being flabberghasted, like, "What the hell is happening?" And being torn between, "Well, this is just ridiculous" and "Oh my poor baby is so sad! I must comfort him." (FYI, the attempts at comfort were not well received. Unless I had an applesauce pouch to present to him, he was not interested in my so-called "comfort".) It took me a second to realize, "These are the Terrible Twos, aren't they?"

Since then, the Terrible Twos--and, again, I would like to point out that TotTK is not actually even two yet--have been aided by the acquisition of the words "No" and "Mine". And frankly, I don't think he even knows what "mine" means as he seems to use it as a substitute for "I want that thing you have" which often leads to the following conversation:

TotTK: MINE!
Me: No it's not. It's mine.
TotTK: MINE!
Me: No. MINE! You know what? Just gimme this. I'm putting it away.
TotTK: Anguished cries as if he were being stabbed multiple times.

It's a real mature, deep conversation.

In the 3 months since this new chapter has begun, it has certainly gotten a little more normalized. Like, it's just what toddlers do, right? Luckily, he generally is well behaved in public. There will be the occasional tantrum in a public place, mostly likely at a park that he does not want to leave, but those are exceedingly rare. That's good because, you know, it's kind of embarrassing when your kid has a melt down and there are witnesses, even if it's a pretty universal thing. But, on the other hand, it's like, he is so friendly and well-behaved in public that people don't (or didn't at the time) believe me if I mention that he throws tantrums. It's like I'm being gaslighted by my own son.

Of course, I don't want to come off as badmouthing my kid. I love the little booger, obviously, and I could certainly list all the hilarious and awesome new things that have cropped up in tandem with the tantrums, but then this would be way too long.*  Like, it's just so crazy. Everyone says to cherish "this time" because it goes so fast. But they say that about every time in a baby's/child's life. So it's basically just, "cherish everything all the time." And it does go by fast. Sometimes when I am trying to explain to him why he cannot just watch Dora the Explorer all day (or as he calls it, "Boots!") and he is crying and pointing at the t.v., I remember back to when he didn't do any of this. And then I remember back to when we first brought him home and Mr. ATK and I were like, "So when does he start to do stuff?" Now it's like, "Remember when he didn't do stuff? That was nice." So in someways, I guess you're always looking forward to the next milestone or achievement, and you're always looking back wistfully at the past. I suppose that is just what parenthood is.

And on that note, I'll leave you with a glimpse of TotTK's sillier side:

Also, he broke that popcorn bowl that he is scooting around in the video. That popcorn bowl was a gift from Best FriendTK many years ago, so that was sad. It was always a metal bowl, so it's really pretty impressive that he was able to bust it. Accentuate the positive and all that.


*Two words: Fist bumps. Two more words: For everyone. 

How 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 list of the fun things we did while we were here.

1. New York! Start spreadin' the news, the ATKS are leavin' today...  We enjoyed two fun-filled weekends up the road a-ways in NYC. The Big Apple. Our first trip up to New York was to see Emma Thompson star in the NY Philharmonic's production of Sweeney Todd.  I found out about this in October back when we were in New Delhi and I had to get tickets right away. For a show that was going to happen in March. I love Sondheim and I love Emma Thompson so there was no question that this was a must see. I was skeptical that Thompson had the chops to pull off Mrs. Lovett, but I was pleasantly surprised.

We also went up to New York for a Russian field trip in May. Only instead of heading back to DC on the bus Friday evening, we stayed over and went to a show on Saturday. (We saw Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill starring that fantabulous Audra McDonald. It was excellent.) I'm sure you are wondering why we were in New York for a Russian field trip. Well, turns out Brighton Beach, Brooklyn has a huge Russian community. There are signs in Russian and everything. We even had lunch with a Ukrainian lady with whom we had to converse in Russian.  If you would like to learn more about Brighton Beach, watch this informative video: The Empire Takes Back

The Great American Past Time

 
2. Baseball! Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some... eh, you know the rest. Mr. ATK is a huge baseball fan and as such was very excited to be in the U.S. for baseball season. While Mr. ATK is a fan of the "gritty" Arizona Diamondbacks (who have blessedly fired their front office) and I support the scrappy (and decidedly less gritty) Milwaukee Brewers, the Washington Nationals were the only game in town, so they became our adopted team for the year. Nationals Park (or "Walgreens Park" as BFF-TK called it) is a lovely venue, though I couldn't help but compare it to my beloved Miller Park. Nationals Park has "fancier" fare, I suppose, including a gluten-free stand, a total vegetarian stand, a Shake Shack (with the longest line you will ever see), and a Peet's Coffee stand that always has an insane line (not as bad as the Shake Shack, though.) Who drinks coffee at a baseball game? East Coasters apparently.

We went to about 10 baseball games and it rained at every single one. Amazing odds. Oh, I take that back. We went to one game with MamaTK and AuntieTK at Camden Yards. It did not rain there. They also had fancy food. We had a hot dog topped with crab macaroni and cheese. It was a little underwhelming, but an A for effort as it was about the price of a plain old hot dog at Nationals Park.  Once you get used to those Washington/New York prices*, it's amazing how cheap everything in the rest of the country seems.

The ATKFriends visiting from WI. Yeah, we wear Brewers gears and drink Summer Sandy regardless of what teams are playing.

3. Cherry Blossoms
You hear so much about the cherry blossoms in D.C., and, well, to this Midwestern gal's eye, they did not disappoint. Downtown D.C. is so pretty when the trees are in bloom.  It seemed like from mid-March to mid-April we would head to the mall every weekend to see if they bloomed and in early April they did. I guess the blossoms in Tokyo are even more spectacular, but I have to say, I was very impressed with just how lovely the cherry blossoms are. Sadly, they only lasted a couple weeks until a thunderstorm with high winds ruined them.

4. Podcasts
I remember back when the earthquake in Chile happened back in graduate school, I went to see a professor for early morning office hours before 8:30 class started. He was like, "Did you see the news?" I was like, "What news?" Him: "There was a massive earthquake in Chile. You didn't hear anything about it this morning." Me: "Um, no. I watch reruns of Roseanne in the morning."

But it was right then and there that I thought, ATK, you should probably watch the news. Or read the news. Do something to keep yourself well informed! Dear Reader, you'll be happy to know that three years later I decided to heed my own advice and started listening to podcasts. Of course, I started mainly with podcasts talking about pop culture or music, but have since included news podcasts in. Sadly, I now rarely get to watch reruns of Roseanne.

2017 Addendum: It is likely that I had more than just a list of four things for this blog post way back when I started in in 2014, but I no longer remember what they were. I could perhaps add in a few numbers about how the ATKs are currently spending their Washington time:

• Go to the YMCA
• Go to the park
• Go to story time at the library
• Go to baby gymnastics (starting in March.) 

There's not really a whole lot to elaborate on there. 

* When PapaTK was visiting we went to the nearby Z Burger for shakes and decided to get onion rings as well.  PapaTK pulled out a 20 dollar bill to pay, only to be quite surprised when the total came to $22 dollars.  For two orders of onion rings and two shakes. They were large portions of onion rings, but still....

In 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 thing. It has been enjoyable, but a little isolating as I do not know many people in the area and none with other littles for TotTK to play with during the day. The parks are pretty empty during working hours. On the recommendation of Mother-in-lawTK, we checked out the public library last week Friday and sure enough they have weekly story times for children under two so this will probably become a weekly engagement.

Well, on our way home from the library, which is maybe a mile or so from our apartment building, we came upon some construction that closed off the sidewalk.  This really shouldn't have been a surprise because it is right across the street from our apartment and TotTK loves watching the construction workers out of the window. Anyways, instead of doing the sensible thing and backtracking to a crosswalk I made three pretty dumb decisions:

1. I decided to jaywalk.
2. I decided to jog across the street without locking the front wheel of my jogging stroller, which the stroller warns you not to do in big red letters.
3. I did not check to make sure that the front wheel was securely attached. (Though, this I should have done before leaving the house in the first place. Also the stroller says to do this in bright red letters as well.)

So as I'm jogging across the street, there are no cars (I'm not that dumb) but there is a median, so I need to be the left lane a few feet in order to get to the break in the median. Welp, while I am in this left lane of traffic (again, there were no cars at the time) the front wheel turns and falls off, so the stroller crashes and tips over and I fall over the stroller and eat shit on the pavement. By this time the light a few blocks back had turned green and so now there were cars. Happily they did not run us over. Instead, the first car stopped and a nice lady came running over to make sure we were okay. Which we are. TotTK was strapped in good. He was scared a bit, but didn't hurt himself at all. I had several bumps and bruises but nothing major, except total embarrassment at my terrible decision making. The lady helped me move the stroller into the median so I could put the wheel back on and after assuring her many times that we were both okay, she got back in her car and left. 

As I'm trying to put the wheel back on, I realize the u-shaped thingymabob that holds the wheel on is bent and I can't get it on. So I'm kneeling in the dirt trying to bend it back when a guy from the construction site comes over and asks if I need help. I show him the bent frame and tell him I can't get the wheel on and he's like, "Oh, I can fix this. I have tools in my truck. It's right over there."

So he carries the stroller across the street, gets to work, and in, like, five minutes the whole thing is as good as new. I thanked him profusely, and learned his name was Pedro, he was originally from El Salvador but immigrated to America 20 years ago and has been working in construction, and, in fact, even worked on the apartment building where we are now living.

Later in the day, as the bruises on my legs were really filling in, I started thinking that I should do something nice for Pedro. The more I though about it, the more I was thinking how truly nice it was for this complete stranger to come and help me.  I feel everything on the news and whatnot is so negative and we are so polarized, you forget that people are still people and can be genuinely kind. So I decided to make him some chocolate chip cookies. So over the weekend I made a double batch of cookies and on Monday set out to deliver said cookies.

I head over to the construction site and approach two guys, one tall white man an one short Latino, and ask if they are working on the building. The white guy was like, "Yeah you could say that." (Not sure if he was the boss or something, his vest was a different color then the guys that were working.) So I tell them I'm looking for Pedro and they are like, "Do you know his last name?" And I'm like, "No." And the white guy is like, "Eh, there are a lot of Pedros here." The Latino guy chimes in, "You might as well be looking for a Jose or a Carlos." So I tell them my big long story about why I'm looking for him and the white guy is like, "Hmm...what did he look like?" and there is a beat as I'm thinking how to describe him, and then they both laugh and are like, "Never mind." They said due to the holiday (it was MLK Day) it was possible that Pedro wasn't working and I should try the next day. They did say they would put the word out and I was like, "Yes, please let all the Pedros know someone has cookies for whichever one helped the lady with baby and the broken stroller on Friday."

Tuesday morning arrives and I head back out to the construction site. This time I pass Pedro's truck on my way so I know he's there. I walk up to a guy on the edge of the site and telling him I am looking for the Pedro that owns that red Toyota Tacoma over there. The guy is like, "Oh yeah. I know him. He's definitely here today." So I launch into my big story and point to the cookies, I guess expecting Pedro to just sort of appear. They guy is like, "Well, he could be anywhere, " and gestures to the building and it was only then that I was like, "Oh yeah, this building is huge." It's like a full block. The man offers to take the cookies, and I'm like, "Eh..." So he's like, "Well, you could put them in the back of his truck. If I see him, I'll let him know you were looking."

So, I put them in the truck and since I had figured I would just hand them to him, I did not have a thank you note or anything written. I wonder if he found them (I put them under the oilcloth he had back there since it was raining. They were in a plastic container, of course, but still.) I hope he did. I really hope they didn't go flying out of the back of his truck on the freeway or something and cause a big accident on the interstate. I think a cookie induced multi-care pile up on the reeway would have made the news, though, so I'll just assume he got them.

Anyways, TotTK and I pass that construction site a lot on our daily walks to the park so hopefully one day we will run into Pedro again to say thanks and show him how well the stroller is working. We'll see. We have another eight months to find him in person...



*Good god, I have decided I never need to spend December in Wisconsin again, Christmas be damned. I just... the weather is too horrible.

**I mean, I can't really call him BabyTK any more. Maybe LittleTK? Eh, I'll figure something out.

The 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 watch in on regular TV. It was there that I first became familiar with original recipe CSI as well as all the, um, high quality AFN commercials. For those who are not aware, AFN channels (which, we now have 12, though one is a guide and two are the same sports channel, as opposed to the one we had in Korea) do not show regular commercials. Instead, the armed forces make their own commercials, and these commercials... well, sometimes they make me concerned for the state of our armed forces.

Let me start by saying the commercials fall into several categories:

1. Quizzes. These quizzes are usually on world geography, U.S. geography, or military history. Those of you who know me, know I enjoy a good game of trivia. The format is usually three clues along with a corresponding picture, and then the answer, along with the capital city. I think I'm pretty good with the world geography, though sometimes the clues are a little vague ("They enjoy dancing in this country!" I mean, people enjoy dancing in most countries of the world. A better clue would be "They don't enjoy dancing!" in which case my guesses are either Saudi Arabia or that town from Footloose.) I could be better at U.S. geography, because I technically get many of the places wrong, but usually the cities are obscure and I often get the states right (sample answers include Davenport, Iowa, and Springfield, Massachusetts.)  The military history ones are hard. But I have learned that Lewis "Chesty" Puller is the most decorated marine in U.S. history and also the cousin of General Patton.

2. Field Trips and other fun events in which we cannot partake. Trip to Paris! Trip to... other European city! Little league is starting up in, I don't know, some place in Germany. Trip to see the NFL in London! We don't get to go on any of these trips. Obviously.

3. Well wishes. A panoply of sports stars, movie stars, ambassadors, and high ranking military personnel are often thanking "you" for your service. (The ambassadors and military people I feel usually just come on to wish "you" one of a variety of happy holidays.) I don't think they are talking to us when they say "Thank you for your service." 

4. Public Service Announcements. Oh. Em. Gee. So many PSAs. I guess really that is the main genre of commercial on AFN. Sometimes it makes me concerned about our troops. The first PSA I ever saw on AFN (back in '02) was advising soldiers not to fight with vending machines because they can fall on you and kill you. My roommate at the time, who was from New Zealand, wondered if the U.S. military had a significant problem of soldiers getting crushed by vending machines.

Currently, I would say most of the PSAs are for pretty banal things. Lift with your legs, not your back; wear your seat belt; recycle; don't be a shitty roommate; and things of that ilk. Of course, the commercials themselves can be pretty amusing/annoying even if their ultimate message is pretty boring. Examples:

• In the commercial about lifting with your back, Mr. ATK always yells at the t.v. that the person doing the lifting in the commercial is a colonel and thus would never have to lift such a box. (Personally, I think he is just showing off his knowledge of military outfits and all the doohickeys that show what rank someone is. I do not have this knowledge.) 
• In the seat belt commercial, one of the young women says, "I'll sit in the back so I don't have to wear a seat belt. I don't want to ruin my shirt." What? Is this a thing people say/think?
• In the shitty roommate commercial, one lady is taking a bath and her roommate knocks on the door and asks if some friends can come over. Bath lady says sure. Roommate returns to say a few more people came over, hope that's okay. Bath lady says is fine "I guess." Then the roommate knocks on the door again and is like, "Yo, are you almost done. I need to use the bathroom." Bath lady gets exasperated. The message comes on to tell us to be good roommates. I am always left scratching my head wondering who the shitty roommate was: the lady hogging the bathroom, or the one who invited people over and basically ended up having a party. They both kinda suck in my eyes.

Then you've got your serious PSAs. The ones like, "Don't beat your wife;" "Sexual assault/harassment is bad," "Get help if you have depression (or an alcohol problem, or a gambling problem)," and "Don't contribute to the trafficking of people." I can't really make any jokes about that stuff.

I have also learned what "spice" is (long before Chandler Jones went crazy in New England and got traded to the Cardinals.) And also that you shouldn't drink energy drinks before working out.

But, over all, I really enjoy having AFN. I like the sports (first time I've ever watched a boxing match) and you usually get like 6 NFL games a week, not including the night games. I like the movies (on occasion). The timing for the t.v. shows is generally odd, because AFN is designed for Europe and East Asia and we are in between. So, you know, Jimmy Fallon is on at 6 pm instead of late at night, but so is, like, General Hospital or Dr. Phil.

I will say, not everyone likes it. One of the guys here (a former Marine*) asked what we did to watch sports and we were like, "Oh we just use AFN. Don't you have an AFN box?" He was like, "I refuse to support AFN. They talk to people like they're idiots." I guess he didn't appreciate being told to wear his seat belt.


Lastly, I was hoping to find some current AFN commercials to share with you all, but youtube doesn't seem to have any. So I'll just share this. The productions values are a bit better now, but it's basically the same stuff. You know, "Don't drive with your windshield covered in snow." Important advice like that.

* Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Once a marine always a marine. No one's a former marine.

Reflections of my Life time (1980)

               So much ground has been covered and so much progress has been made – so much good and so much not so good. It seems we learn only by trial and error. We live one day at a time and change is so gradual that we hardly notice and tend to take things for granted. Where I stand now, I can look back at the generation gone before me and also at the new.

                When one is a child you depend on your parents for everything as one grows older you learn to depend on yourself more and more – and if one is lucky, as I was, to find a dependable life’s companion to depend on and work together with. In those days marriage vows were taken seriously. Very few divorces. Today it seems to be the trend and it is not good.

                I’m sure my parents nor my husband’s parents ever even thought of divorce. Life was too serious and too real. Very little time or money for unnecessary trips and frivolities. Now, so many people have everything, it seems, but they still are not happy or satisfied. Life seems too hectic – no peaceful times to one’s self—just to think and “smell the roses” – as they say.

                People are not satisfied with simple inexpensive pleasures and pastimes. But, I think the times will come yet again – when people will have to accept the simple basics of life and learn to live happily. I’m talking of the general middle class of America.

                I see so much waste all over, beginning with the government. These are just my own random thoughts, but I feel sincerely that distribution in the world is very wrong. Too many “Haves” and too many “Have Nots.” Human callousness – world wide. Millions starving and dying. And the churches say there is a loving and just God! I do not understand that – much as I would like to. No one yet has been able to make me understand that. Again, it just boils down to the basic Sin – Greed.

                Too many wars – and too little Reason. When will the peoples and governments of the world learn to share and live at peace with one another? “Blessed are the Peace Makers” the Bible says. Where are the Peace Makers today? Instead, there is a feverish race for weapons of destruction and annihilation. We have been given a brain to think with – why isn’t it used?

бешик 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 son. It is customary in Kyrgyzstan to have a party forty days after the baby is born (during the first forty days no visitors apart from family are allowed to see the baby and mother.) I wanted to focus most of this post on the party, but also on the different cultural customs relating to childbirth and early child rearing.

So I've lived in a few countries and I've found that the different cultural customs surrounding childbirth and the early postpartum days are very interesting. In Bolivia I had not had any children so I couldn't really compare personal experiences, but I could generally compare what my Bolivian friends told me with what I was aware of in America. (And sometimes I would check-in with my mom or some other American who had birthed a baby to be like, "Do we think x, y, or z after a baby is born?" and they would generally be like, "I've never heard of that before.") Anyways, some general and/or traditional notions in Bolivia include the following:

• The mother can't touch water for a set amount of time after the baby is born (I'm not sure if there is a specific number, though. I feel it is something like three weeks.)
• For the first month the baby can't be exposed to a non-relative woman who is menstruating, because something about the scent makes the baby sick. 
• You can't stand behind the baby and look down on it (Like standing behind the baby so it has to sort of roll its eyes up to look at you.) This will hurt the baby's eyes.
• Many people wrap their babies up in what is essentially an Ace badge. I always thought the babies looked like little Glowworms. It's basically like swaddling. They say it helps the baby's back/spine strength develop. 
• It's fairly common to carry the baby in an aguayo (basically a blanket) on your back.

I'm sure there are more, but this is what I can remember and if I've misrepresented anything please let me know, Bolivian peeps.

So, why am I talking about Bolivia when this party is in Kyrgyzstan? Just because I think it's interesting to compare different beliefs and customs. I wouldn't necessarily expect them to be similar, but I think it is interesting if/when there are overlaps.
  
Anyways, the Kyrgyz have a similar aversion to water in the first month or so after birth. No touching water for the new mother. This happily means no dish washing and no laundry, but it also means no bathing...which, yeah, no. I wonder what it is with water, because, as previously mentioned, Bolivians have a similar rule.  Nazgul (my Kyrgyz sister-in-law and new mother to Bekali) said it is because women are very weak after giving birth. After having gone through the miracle of child birth myself now, I can't imagine not being allowed to bathe afterwards for a month. I mean, as soon as I could feel my legs again, I wanted to hop in the shower. Of course, both Nazgul and my Bolivian friends were like "I just wanted to take a shower!"

She was also telling me that for the first month after birth, the mother has a very restricted diet and can really only drink/eat broth. No fruit, no raw/fresh vegetables. The broth is supposed to be good for your milk and vegetables and fruit (our nanny specifically mentioned grapes. Like, "Can you eat grapes in America after having a baby?") can cause stomach issues for the baby. I do vaguely recall being warned by the nurses not too eat too much of any one thing (like cauliflower or milk) but that generally it was okay to drink/eat whatever. (Obviously alcohol was an issue and I think things with caffeine were to be limited, but not outright prohibited. I remember someone telling me I shouldn't have chocolate and I was like, "Yeah, I don't think I'll be following that rule.")

And while I'm sure there are other things--my nanny said for the first month mothers basically stay in bed with the baby and aren't allowed to go anywhere or do anything...which yay! No housework! but also Boo! I'm trapped in a bed like James Caan in Misery"--the last thing I want to mention is the superstition against basically complimenting the baby. I'm not quite sure how to describe it because it still wasn't clear to me, even after having it explained by both my sister-in-law and my nanny. At first I thought they were talking about, like, protection from the evil eye or something, but that's not really it. Basically I was chatting with Nazgul and cooing over the baby and she left and got a bit of ash and put it on the baby's forehead (like Ash Wednesday!) and when I asked what she was doing she said that with all the guests maybe some of them say nice things and it protects the baby from getting sick. I was basically like, "Huh?" But, you know, who am I to judge?
 
Later, I was asking our nanny about this too and she was like, "Yep. It protects the baby when people say things like, 'Oh he's so big,' or 'He's so beautiful,' and then the baby gets sick." This confused me a bit and Kunduz (our nanny) explained it thusly, "Once when my husband was young, another woman said to my mother-in-law, 'Oh your son is so tall! My son is not so tall.' And my mother-in-law says my husband never grew any taller and she blames that lady." I was like, "So you're not supposed to say nice things about the baby?" Her: "No." Me: "Like, it's bad to say nice things? Like, it's bad to say, 'The baby is so cute!'" Her: "Yes." Me: "Oh...." Upon reflection, no one else said anything to or about the baby but me, so basically she was protecting the baby from me, but of course is too polite to be like, "Oh my god, stop! Stop saying my baby is beautiful!" I later relayed this to Mr. ATK and he was like, "Yeah, I know." I was like, "What the hell, man?!" I mean, he really dropped the ball on that one. He usually delights in telling me when I am being uyat (shameful). Whether I am disrespecting bread by throwing it in the garbage or sitting in such a way that the bottoms of my feet are facing someone, he is usually johnny on the spot letting me know. Anyways, I really hope little Bekali doesn't get sick or anything, because I'm pretty sure I know where the fingers will be pointing.

Me and the new little guy. Probably shortly after one of the many times I complimented him.

 
On to the toy.  Well, there was a lot of food. I'll say one thing for the Kyrgyz. They sure can put on a spread.

Round 2: The family gets to eat. The meat is tash kordo, made from BabyTK's lamb.

We arrived the day before the party to visit, and there was much work being done to prep. Sheep were slaughtered (more on that in another post), boorsok was fried, and about 10 gallons of Olivier salad was prepared (that's basically a Russian potato and olive salad for those who are unaware.)

Frying up some fresh boorsok. The oil is hot and the kitchen gets smoky.

 So the party itself, was kind of like New Year's. There was like three rounds of food. Really three rounds of guests. First the neighbors came and had beshbarmak. Then family and friends had tash kordo. And then, at like 10:30 at night, there were samsas and soup with friends.

Preparing the beshbarmak. 

BabyTK enjoys the food.

But during all this eating, in celebration of the new baby, the baby and mother were conspicuously absent. We're sitting around the table enjoying the first course and I'm thinking, "Where are they?" Once BabyTK had finished eating and was beginning his usually throwing food phase, we took our leave and went outside. Mother and baby were busy in the kitchen (one was cooking and the other was sleeping. I'll let you guess which was which.) I popped in to chat for a bit. Not gonna lie- It seemed odd that the party was ostensibly for the baby and the baby was not in attendance. Late someone assured me people saw the baby. Mr. ATK thinks maybe it's like how in America you have a big party/baby shower for the first baby but then you don't have one for the second kid. I don't know. Also, I think around round 3 of the party, Nazgul and the baby came in the room and folks passed around the baby and coo'ed and whatnot (but no compliments, remember!) Nazgul still had to work pouring tea and serving, but she got to sit down some.

Interrupted cooking to snap a mother-son photo

All in all, it was a delightful time. Also for good measure, here is a picture of the baby next to a giant bowl of Olivier salad.
  

ATK 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, they would make people from Colorado and other states with actual mountains laugh out loud. I remember the first, okay only, time I went to Colorado with PapaTK to go skiing. It was the first time I realized that downhill skiing was actually exercise.)

Anyway, back to Kyrgyzstan...

In a country that is 95% mountains, there are, I suppose, ample opportunities for skiing. Especially if you like hiking up the mountain and skiing down it. That's not really my idea of a good time though. Luckily, there are a few ski resorts in the country and over the past month or so I have gotten to experience three of them--Zil, Chunkerchak, and Karakol. It has been quite the experience comparing them to American ski bases (though I freely admit my experience skiing in America is quite limited) and there are definitely some pros and cons to skiing here.


Pro: You get to be creative
Basically, the lift takes you up the mountain and you get to find your own way down. The runs aren't particularly defined (in most places) and there are, of course, no signs or indications of the difficulty of the run.


Con: The runs aren't marked for difficulty... or anything else for that matter
It was pretty fun trying to make my own path down the mountain, but it was pretty nerve racking for this not-so-skilled skier at first.  I'm no daredevil or anything so I took it pretty slow, trying to get back into the swing of things. good thing I did, because there were several times where I would come upon a rock, or a ravine, or a cliff, or plants, or a snow machine, just sitting there in the middle of the run. (Okay, the cliffs were usually the side of the run. Some might say they are nature's border.) In America, these things are usually marked with orange fencing (and usually aren't in the run anyway, unless it's a double black diamond or something.)  Why is the snow machine in the middle of the run? Is it supposed to be an obstacle? But in all fairness, I do think the shallow ravines were supposed to separate runs, but you wouldn't know it because there are no signs. I did get to watch a few people who tried to ski or snowboard through the ravine get stuck in the deep snow and try and claw their way back out.

But yeah, no information as to the difficulty of the runs, which made me pretty nervous to take that lift to the top of the mountain for fear that I would then be forced to ski down something crazy and perhaps ski into a tree or right off the mountain. 


Con: No grooming
No, I'm not talking about people. In my experience (and yes, I realize this is a small-N study) they do not groom the runs here in KG. On one hand, I got to ski through some crazy "powder" (as the ski folks call it) when I went skiing the day after a big snowstorm. That was kind of fun. (Except in the areas where they had inexplicably run the snow machines, which produced hard, icy snow that was really hard to turn on.)

At the top of the mountain about to ski down. The snow was deep.

On the other hand, during my big trip out to the fancy ski resort in Karakol, it hadn't snowed in a while and the runs were all icy and had dirt exposed in certain spots where people commonly turned. (This would be the base where I chose not to ski down from the top for fear of hitting a tree or skiing off the mountains, which did kind of take away half the runs. Perhaps those runs weren't so icy. I guess I'll never know. Quite a few people did run into trees while skiing on that trip, so I do feel like I made the right choice.)


Con: Kyrgyz people ski like they drive...
...with absolutely no regard for anyone else in the vicinity.

(I have no picture of this, unfortunately. Proud to say, I managed to avoid getting mowed down on the bunny hill.)


Con: This cinder block wall will kill someone someday

Death trap at Zil Ski Base

 
Okay, this is specific to one ski base--Zil--which is pretty close to Bishkek. They only had one lift running when I went and basically this wall is at the bottom of the run to prevent people from going off a small cliff into the parking lot. You can't see it in the picture, but you come down the run and then you have to turn sharply to make it into this little corral to get in line for the lift. When I went it was icy and people would wipe out on the turn and of course you couldn't see them until you came flying around the corner as well. I'm surprised there was never more of a pile up.

Pro: It's absolutely beautiful
Can't beat the views when you are heading up the lift and down the mountain.

Karakol Ski Base

Pro/Con: They let you ride the ski lift up without skis. They also let you ride it back down.
This is nice for those of us who don't want to risk our lives skiing down narrow tree-lined icy runs but also want to go to the top of the mountain. It is weird to see random families standing around at the top of the hill, though. And if you go up with skis and you decide you don't want to ski down, they let you ride down holding your skis and I guess you throw them over board when you get to the bottom and try to get off the chairlift and run out of the way in ski boots. Seems a little unsafe to me, but then again, so is skiing into a tree. 

Pro: It's so cheap!
As far as skiing goes, you certainly can't beat the prices in Kyrgyzstan. A lift pass for the day was under 20 dollars and equipment rental was super cheap too. Also under 20 dollars. I don't know what the going rate for ski rentals is in the U.S. these days, but I imagine it's more than 20 bucks.

The cafe was pretty pricey. For Kyrgyzstan anyway. No wonder so many people did the ole car hood picnic.

Picnic!

Pro: You might get to ride a camel

If you decide you don't wish to go skiing, you could always ride a camel.

Living Alone

I’ve remained in the house at 819 E. 5^th St. The following Spring I had an unexpected flood in the basement. Our lot was a low, filled-in one, with a concrete culvert going partly underneath the house. A large discarded oil-drum had lodged in it so the water backed up into my basement. Then, the same summer – Aug. 20 was a very heavy rainstorm in Duluth and surroundings, so again my basement was heavily flooded causing damage to the furnace and water heaters, which had to be repaired. No sooner was that done, another storm exactly one month later Sept. 20, ’72 – flooded my basement again and also all the low spots of Duluth – doing complete destruction to avenues, etc. The “Small Business Bureau” paid me $1000 for a new furnace, etc. But, I was afraid there may have been serious damage to the foundation of the house and also the basement floor. It was just too much for me and I began seriously to think of moving. Fortunately, Mrs. Bess Lester, who had rented our downstairs apartment for many years, was very willing to buy the house, fully knowing all about its drawbacks, etc. At a very reasonable cost, of course. I wanted out, so badly, I did not care – just so I got out from under the burden of caring for an old, very old house.

Labor had become very costly. So in the Fall of 1973, I sold the house and applied for an apartment in the Gateway Towers, which was under construction at the site of the old Soo Line Depot – 600 W. Superior St. I paid rent for my own apartment until on Feb. 11, 1974 I moved. Here, where I have lived ever since.

This is a 14-story “High-Rise” built especially for Seniors. The apartments consist of a living room, bedroom, kitchen and both. All utilities are included in the rent. The tenants are pre-dominantly a few couples and widowers. The heat is supplied by the Duluth Steam Corporation. It is comfortable living and quite care-free. As long as one is reasonably well and can care for one’s self. This building is not completely government subsidized, somehow, there are 3 churches connected with it which I do not quite understand. As a result, the rents have been raised almost every year, regardless of one’s income. At first, my rent was $106 per month, then $116, $126, $136, and now $152. Inflation is climbing at a terrific rate.

About 1938 – the Social Security Programs was begun, with which the seniors are now living on, and enjoying. In years gone by, the old parents were cared for by their children, if possible, or had to go to “Poor Farms” as they were called at that time, when their own savings were gone. I do not begin to understand the workings of the government, which has become too large and unwieldy to manage properly. Human greed enters into the picture always and tends to ruin good things. At this time I feel that a “balloon has been blown up too big and has to burst.” Time will tell.