Friday, May 04, 2007
Settled In
Nearly 2 months into our Central Asian life and things are going well. My apologies to any (if any) who have been faithful readers. Our absence isn't without reason. Internet access here has been virtual nil. We do plan on updates though. For the time being, I'll post some recent email posts that we've sent to friends. (We send them out every few weeks, if you'd like to receive them, send us an email at dowdyfamily@gmail.com)
Here's some recent posts:
March 15 update:
We’re starting to settle down into the village and are being pulled in tons of directions. We’re at a temporary house for now but are about to try to move into our new house this weekend. Today we came back to the city to get some stuff for the new house (like dishes, appliances, a bed, etc.) Yesterday we went to price appliances and purchased some rugs and a kitchen table. We'll be here til Sat. morning.
So far, we’re liking life in the village TONS more than city life. Things are a lot slower in the village…and relatively cleaner (although you basically have the constant smell of burning coal in your nostrils since that’s what we all use for heat.) Speaking of heat, I’m finding out that keeping a coal fire going is nothing short of an art form. My first morning here was a disaster…so much so that our little ‘ole landlady had to come in and start one for us. Today though I think I got it going pretty good. The trick is to get a good flame going right before bed, and to then get up around 4 to add more coal so that the fire isn’t out by morning. Unfortunately I overslept this morning (5am) and had to start the fire all over again. Luckily I was a success! (after going through lots of paper!)
Like I said, we hope to move into our house through the weekend, which we’re really looking forward to. Here in our temporary house, we’re trying to avoid unpacking so we’re living out of our bags still. Once we get into our permanent house though, it’ll have a kitchen, bedroom, living room, den, and bathroom. There’s also a good-sized room that you walk into (to take your shoes off of course!), which is also where the coal stove is. We’ll be sure to take lots of pictures. Our landlady will be living right next to us on the same property. She and her husband also have 2 cows, a dog, a car, and a pretty little apricot and apple orchard in their backyard that will be beautiful once blossoms start. They’ve been teasing Faith by saying her duty will be to milk the cow and muck out the stalls.
Oh, and the biggest news of all is that I shaved my beard off! Much to my chagrin, I decided to shave it after my American co-workers strongly suggested it. Men here all over don’t grow beards unless they’re a Russian orthodox priest or a radical Muslim. While the people in the village said it looked good on me, the ones that have started to open up to us noted that it’s better to go with the norm here for our own sake. (They have a saying here that goes “When in the town of Cyclops, close an eye”…similar to our “When in Rome…” saying.) I did keep my goatee for now...I’ll probably shave it off too but I wasn’t sure I could handle the shock of a completely clean face after several years of facial hair so I kept it for now. When all is said and done, Faith’s happy, our co-workers are happy, and the villagers will stop making fun of me. So I guess all’s well.
Language learning is going pretty good so far…we actually know some basic words now! We’ve got a tutor we meet with at 10am every weekday. She’s one of the few local believers in town. It’s really neat, because she and the other local believer in the office pray together every morning during their break. It’s called the “Phillip Morris” break because most of the local men use their breaks to go outside and smoke (since we don’t allow it in the offices, which they think is silly). So when Phillip Morris time comes around, the 2 women use that as their cue to go into their office together and pray. Our tutor is also working on typing her testimony into English…it’s really neat to here her ask us questions about wording as it relates to the work of the Spirit.
We’ve been given local YOU names—mine is “Hemra” which means companion. (The name for ‘Aaron’ sounds too much like ‘lazy’, so they decided to spare me the embarrassment!) Faith’s local name is “Imangoul”, which means flower of faith. Si is still Silas as that translates pretty easily I suppose. Speaking of Silas, it’s funny how people react around here to a baby. Most folks who don’t know you will, at most, nod at you as you walk by…but if you have a baby then everyone (men and women, young and old) flock to you to make funny faces and noises at him while snatching him from you. It’s quite funny. When we go to our co-workers’ house, the Bradys, we hardly have to worry about Si. Their daughters keep him entertained, and their neighbors often drop by and carry him around.
Our local project here uses Isaiah 61:11 as its theme verse. For some reason or another, I don’t remember ever coming across it…but it definitely describes our purpose here beautifully. Be sure to look it up! When you pray for us, you can actually use the verse as your prayer.
There’s “church” here that we’ll be going to. Most of the churches are in the city because you have to register your church with the government, which, I’m told, is very tedious. On top of that, our co-workers say that almost no churches are granted registration when they apply. So most “churches” around here (where 2 or more are gathered in His name) meet in homes. We’ll be worshipping each week with our co-workers in the village, the Bradys, as well as another American family down the road and a British fellow. We really won’t be visiting the YOU churches, as to avoid the temptation to make them dependent on us and to keep from drawing unwanted attention. Rather, we’ll pray with and disciple new believers.
Our focus and roles this first year breaks down into a few main categories:
--Learner- to get to know the project in and out and to be an alert observer of our surroundings
--Home establishment-to establish a home for ourselves and figuring out an appropriate balance between local cultural norms and our own background (for instance, do we raise Silas with the discipline that we grew up with, or do we neglect discipline and allow him to grow up as the local children do—without much discipline)
--Language acquisition-to meet often and regularly with our tutor while also making sure to interact often with the community. Above all else, it’s been stressed (to our relief!) that learning the language and culture is, along with establishing a home, the primary objectives.
-Project assignment-this kind of takes the back seat to the first three as we seek to know the YOU language and people completely. That said, we are here to work and will be as useful as possible. I’ve been getting a slight intro to apples, peaches, and apricots. (We’re at the tail-end of the pruning season.) Faith will work in the office as much as she’s comfortable doing, as she will be spending more time out in the community (with neighbors, at the bazaar, etc.)
March 26 update:
Hi!
Well, it's hard to imagine that we've been here 2 weeks now. In some ways it seems like just a couple days, and in others it seems like several years! Things have really picked up this week as we finally moved into our permanent house. For the most part we're settled in and are finding our way around.
We really like where we're living: the perks are that we have a really nice landlady, we're close to the center of the village, the coal stove keeps us warm and toasty at night, and it has become really comfy. The only negative is that it's on the road to China (literally) so it stays noisy through the night with buses and trucks.
Along with the Bradys in our village, we've joined another family and a British fellow in the next village up the road on Sundays for fellowship and worship. It's quite interesting as we've got 8 children among the 3 families and only 7 adults! The time together is very encouraging as we are able to spend time together praying for each other and exhorting one another as we all are striving to reach the YOU people. Silas really loves being around other kids and babies! We appreciate it as well because Si's not the only one making noises!
This week we really began our regular "schedule"...though it'll likely differ more and more each week! We get to spend the mornings together at the house as we do language study. Then, at 10am we go to the office for language tutoring. After lunch, Aaron typically goes to the local orchards for training. This past week was pruning-intensive--mainly apricots and peaches. During the same time, Faith's activities vary from going to the local bazaar to visiting with our neighbors to doing more language study.
Speaking of language study, each day we're learning more and more. We get excited as we have little breakthroughs in our communication. However, there are just as many time when we feel like we're not making any progress whatsoever. Of everything, that's probably our biggest prayer request--language acquisition.
This Thursday, March 21, we headed back to the city to get a couple odds-and-ends. The city is about 2 hours away, which doesn't seem so bad, right? Well, picture this, whenever we need to go to an ATM to get cash we have to go to the city because there's no ATMs outside the city and NO places that take credit cards. (Can you Wacoans imagine having to drive to north Ft. Worth just to use an ATM or find a store that'll accept a credit card? Or can you Roanokers fathom driving all the way to Bristol?)
March 21 was also a huge national holiday called "Nauryz" (so big that it lasts through Saturday!) Depending on who you ask, the holiday means different things. Many folks say it's a Persian holiday that started with farmers to celebrate the spring equinox, when the day and night are the same length. Most folks in the village say it's the Muslim New Year (which isn't really the case). Either way, it's one of the biggest celebrations in the country all year and just about everyone everywhere joins in.
That's mainly it for now. Our newsletter should be going out within the next couple of weeks so keep an eye out! Thanks so much for your thoughts, prayers, and emails...keep 'em coming!
We thought we'd close this out with some interesting observations and quirks we noticed about the YOU people of Central Asia. Enjoy!
-It's considered bad luck to sit on concrete
-Men shake hands with other men, but not women. Further, men only shake hands with each other once per day. If you were to shake a man's hand twice during the same day, he'd be offended, so you have to remember who all you've shaken hands with throughout the day. Women often greet each other with a kiss.
-When addressing or talking about someone who is older, you ALWAYS say "older brother" or "older sister" after their name.
-Never flip your bread upside-down....it must ALWAYS remain right-side up. And NEVER throw bread out...if your family can't eat it before it goes bad, then give it to the local dogs or cats.
-And when you kick your shoes off when you come in, make sure they don't turn over on their side or upside down. They must remain right side up.
-If you make a deal involving money after dark, never put the money into their hands. Rather, throw the money down on a table or the ground. Then, you step on it and the recipient steps on it. After all that, the person being paid picks the money up and the deal is done.
Interesting huh?
Aaron (Hemra), Faith (Imangoul), and Silas (Silas)
March 30 update:
We finally feel like we're settling into our home. For the most part, we have all the stuff we need for our house so we're getting into a good routine. The mornings we spend doing language study by ourselves and with a tutor. Then we have lunch. In the afternoons it varies. I'll often go to the orchards to prune. Sometimes I'll go to the soccer field. Lately I've also been helping Faith set up the house. Faith has a helper who's going to help watch Si a few times a week so she can clean and study. She also visits neighbors and goes to the bazaar regularly...in fact, she goes to the bazaar almost everyday. We get fresh eggs and bread there...along with drinks, meat sometimes, fruit, etc.
Here's a good story, our bathroom situation is kinda' funny: we only have water til 7pm. We finally got a clothes washer, which is top notch. We went 2 weeks without being able to use one so we've basically been washing load after load these past 2 days. Our water heater is about the size of Sam's diaper so we can only take one shower every few hours. Plus our sink leaks hot water so that takes a lot of warm water away. Today I took a shower and the hot water lasted just until I had to wash my hair. I put up our shower curtains today and they are about 1 foot too short. Also with the shower, we have about 20-30 water bugs and spiders waiting for us each morning. Oh, and with the toilet...you can't flush your toilet paper b/c it's the old-style Soviet septic system. So we have to throw it in a trash can and then burn it every couple of days. Funny huh? We're pretty used to it. There are some days when we're pulling our hair out, but that's to be expected. When it all comes down to it, the quirkiness of the bathroom situation all stems from the fact that we have a couple folks working on it--installing the sink, shower, plumbing, etc.--but yet, none of these guys have bathrooms themselves. Needless to say, by the end of the day we're exhausted. We're usually asleep by 9 each night.
The weather's been really good here. A couple wet days, but fairly warm...something like 50's during the day and 30's at night. We're at the point now where we only start a fire at night. The coal stove takes a lot of practice! When it's really cold you gotta' keep it going all day so you have to keep an eye on it. But since it's warm during the day here, we just start it up around 5 or 6 and then add coal right before bed. Then, if we want it warm when we get up, I have to get up around 4 to add more coal.
March 30 update (2)
Things have been going really busy and well here. We spent a few days in the city buying household stuff and adjusting to jet lag. It is such a strange thing to wake up one morning on a different continent and in a different culture. The city is a mixture of different times. There is alot of what seems like Soviet leftovers in the old buildings and older people's dress. Then the younger people all dress very fancy in the latest European and American styles. Almost all the girls are wearing high healed, pointy-toed boots. The city looks largely run down and old yet the people mostly look very clean, pressed, and fancy. There are Russians, Kazakhs, Uighur, Uzbeks, Krgyks, Europeans, Chinese, etc.... but other than Russians, I can't tell them apart yet. I could pass for a Russia but I don't dress nearly nice enough, but it is nice to not stand out nearly as much as we did in Haiti. People thought that Aaron's beard made him look either like a Rus. Orth. priest or a bad Isl. man so he finally shaved it off. There is also a lot of construction of big fancy inner-city state's style buildings too. Within all this mixture I keep getting lost, feeling like I am in Russia or the states but it is very hard to find any authentic national culture.
It is also a little hard for a Texan to get use to not smiling at strangers here. People generally look like they are in a bad mood and if you smile they think you are a foolish American wanting to get taken advantage of. The city people especially seem like they are angry all the time even when they are not. We bought our bed from a man and when we put him on a cell phone with our co-worker he started yelling and flailing his arms around. I thought he was ripping into him for something but when he got off I found out that he was just getting directions for delivery from our friend. In the village it is a little better. People are a tad bit friendlier and not so flamboyant.
The village is about 2 hours by car outside the city. It is a very different world than the city. Other than the busy road through town everything is much more simple. Their culture is less influenced (I guess since they are 99% one ethnic group, we are the other 1%). We really like it here. The house we are renting is much bigger than we expected. The fire keeps us really warm and our land lords live in the smaller house right beside us. They are very kind and helpful. Every morning everyone's cows leaves the stall behind the house and walks down the street together. The owners take turns watching them in the pasture for the day. Then at night the cows come home. Each one knows where they live and walks right in. It is a funny sight.
It takes some getting use how much slower life is here. I can spend most of the day cooking, washing dishes and clothes, and going to the bazaar. I also am adjusting to most things not working right the first time whether it is with my cooking or how the house was set up. We have had the strange problem of our plumbing and bathroom being created by people who do not have running water or own bathrooms (although their intentions are very good). They use outhouses and bath houses so logic we take for granted is often lost to them (ie. the shower curtain rod being so high that it leave a foot between the shower curtain and the shower bottom and the kitchen sink being installed in the hallway.) But some of these things are being fixed and we are getting used to others.
Silas got use to sleeping in our arms as we traveled so we have had a little difficulty getting him use to not being held at all times. Other than that he seems to enjoy it here. Every where he goes there are kids wanting to play with him or some woman smiling, fixing his clothing, and wanting to hold him. He loves the attention. I just have to be on my guard that they don't try to give him candy. Children's eating habits are a big problem here since they stuff them with candy then they don't want to eat real food.
April 16 Update
Whew! Boy are we tired! It's been a crazy few days. We hope your week has gone well and that the glory and grace of the Resurrection is still very much evident in your lives. Though we were only able to celebrate it with a handful of people, there are wonderful reminders of God''s grace throughout the village as the apricots and cherries have come into blossom and as livestock are ready to give birth.
Our host family (landlord and family) threw a "Nezzir" this weekend. A Nezzir is described around here as a funeral, but we would describe it more like a memorial meal on the anniversary of loved ones' deaths. It is basically a HUGE feast that takes about 2 days to prepare. In our case, our landlady threw it for the memory of her in-laws. The Nezzir could have different purposes, but typically the people throwing the Nezzir are doing it to help usher their deceased loved ones into "paradise".
So all week our landlady and her children were scurrying around the property and cleaning and whitewashing everything. (Whitewash is a lime/calcium carbonate mixture that serves as paint here. Paint is too expensive to purchase so most folks whitewash everything each year and on special occasions.) On Saturday many of her friends and family came over to help prepare the meal. It began with butchering the family's "Topak", or bull. (When we arrived, Faith made quick friends with the Topak, feeding him our scraps several times each day. Then, to her dismay, our landlady told her that he was to be butchered for the Nezzir!) Then the rest of the day centered around preparing the meat and "Polo". Polo is very similar to rice pilaf, which we make in the States. The ladies spent hours and hours cutting several hundred kilos of carrots! The day ended with a light meal (for special occasions, men and women always eat separately. This was our first time to experience a more formal meal here and all the ritual that surrounds it.
The night before the Nezzir we also experienced another first for us--a "Boran". A Boran is a very strong wind that rushes through the valley blowing dust storms, knocking off limbs, and knocking out electricity. It was quite an experience! When we awoke on the day of the Nezzir, we realized that we still had no electricity as a result of the Boran...AND we were in the middle of a heavy rain shower! Needless to say, it made for a messy day! First, the men came for the feast. It was quite a spectacle as hundreds of men from the region trekked to the house. (It is custom here to take off your shoes when you enter a home, so it was pretty interesting to see hundreds of muddy shoes all around our threshold!) The men only stayed for 30 minutes or so and then ladies started coming in groups, with the large mass of them arriving around 2pm. The women's part of the Nezzir takes quite a bit longer than the men's--usually about 2-3 hours longer! The women spend more time eating and visiting. Additionally, the hostess (our landlady) and her close relatives will spend time mourning and weeping during the meal for her dead relatives.
Though we're exhausted over the whole ordeal, we are extremely grateful that our host family allowed us to be a part of the Nezzir. We were able to both serve and dine with the guests. We've been able to become acquainted with plenty of people since we've arrived here, but it's through special events like Nezzirs, funerals, and wedding that we'll really be able to stretch our comfort zones and meet new folks (in a couple weeks we will be attending our first 4 day long wedding!). Though we're no where near being able to communicate our faith with our neighbor here, in the long run these opportunities to form valuable and trusting relationships will do much more than words ever could.
In other news, Aaron's continued visiting local orchards these past couple of weeks. Now that many of the trees are coming out of dormancy, the hillsides and fields are filling up with color! His regular presence in the orchards has greatly helped both his language acquisition and knowledge of fruit trees. It's helped so much that he was able to have a couple conversations with farmers at the Nezzir about proper tree care! Outside of orchard work, he's been training for the 360km bike ride from China to Almaty that takes place in July. This week he made 3 different rides of 30km, 40km, and 50km. Let's just say he's a bit sore! Pray for the event, as we're hoping this generates interest among people through the region. Health, fitness, and hygiene aren't widely practiced here, so we try to promote as much of it as possible. Additionally, Aaron has been invited to play with the village soccer team. There is a regional tournament about 100km away on April 22 that he'll play in.
Faith's been making headway in forming relationships around the village. During the Nezzir she was able meet several other young mothers of children about Silas' age. Si has proven to a blessing in helping form relationships. Faith has also learned how to make "Nan"--the local flat bread here. That experience was incredible! It is really hard to explain the process, but it takes a whole day. It is very difficult and dangerous to make Nan, so they make 20-30 loaves at a time to make it worth their troubles. Regular (almost daily) trips to the bazaar have shown promise as some of the merchants recognize her and even expect her to come to their shops! On one occasion when she didn't visit one particular shop that she usually buys bread at, the owner saw her in the afternoon in the neighborhood and came up to her to ask her good heartedly when she was planning on going to the shop. They love seeing Silas and offer helpful tips on how best to care for him in villiage conditions. In addition to the all-important communication skills she's learning at the bazaar, Faith's getting a keen eye for local shopping!
That's about it for now. The Nezzir is done. The Boran has passed. Topak has been eaten. Clean-up is mostly complete. Now it's time for a long nap!
Keep praying for us! If you have anything that we can pray for on your end, don't hesitate to send requests our way!
Love ya'
Aaron (Hemra), Faith(Imangoul), and Silas
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