7.15.2003 ||>
I was hoping to tell my funny/scary/sketchy train story, but no time. I'm going to another camp I got roped into tomorrow. My apartment should be available when I get back, thank goodness. Wouldn't it be cool if everything on my plate right now fell into place by itself while I was gone??? Anyway, I will enjoy everyon'e stories, emails and blogs when I get back, I will email people I haven't replied to yet (sorry Kel) and basically get stuff done I don't have time for. Have to do major laundry now at my friend's apartment and hope it's dry by morning. Catch everyone later. You all have my love.
song: ingrid - you promised me (in french)
site: jenah's new layout
So for the past week or two, I was helping out at a leadership camp for girls near the ancient city of Bukhara. There were 100 girls and about 26 counselors, 15 of which were other volunteers and the rest were local university students helping out and volunteering their time as well. So if I haven't gotten back to you email-wise, it wasn't that I don't love you, it's because I was in a qishloq (tiny, tiny village) where there was nothing but camp. Some highlights include:
- The girls fell in love with our camp doctor, who I will refer to as "Dr. Love." He's really not a doctor, but since he has the most medical experiance, he became the doctor. It's nice to know that at camp, the girls also learned how to objectify men as much as they are normally objectified by them. But it was hilarious, he was like the Paul McCartney of the camp. Not that there wasn't a George Harrison and a John Lennon, but Dr. Love did get the brunt of the attention. The girls were unashamed. "I have a bug bite right here."
- The camp grounds were sooo ghetto. Even the local people were like, "What is this?" The beds were outside, the toilets were pits (and may I add, only 8 of them for 130 odd people so nasty too) and the showers were either not working or being refilled bucket by bucket. It was defintely nasty, but I did get to see species of grasshoppers and wasps that I never saw before, and that was interesting. I alos got a very nice burn that I hope will turn to brown soon (so I may get some color for once).
- I also (finally!) lost a little weight. The food was so horrible and minimal so that I couldn't eat anything but the fruit (which was pretty good) and mashed potatoes. I really, really am going to try to keep it off though. But we kept referring to it as the fat camp.
- We had this camp bus, and everytime it would stop, some random person would get on, not knowing they were the only local person on the bus. So some of the volunteers (ok, most of them) would break into Cecilia by Simon and Garfunkel and it's been in my head all week. (Jubilaaaation, she loves me again, I fall on the floor and I'm laughiiiing) But it was so funny, how they kept looking around at all of us belting out this English song and they would start to shift and after a couple of rounds, they would finally ask one of our local counselors "What's going on?!" Mean, I know, but it's too funny.
Anyway, I am so dirty (the dirt is so ground into my feet that it didn't come off two days ago when I was scratching at it) so I'm going to take a shower. I have a funny train story too, but I think for later.
song: cecilia - simon and garfunkel
site: tlace and piper are back!! wooohooo!!
