10.23.2008

I am exhausted. I am lying on my stomach, mustering up some strength to type a diary entry. My throat hurts, and I feel drained.

Today, we had a 4-hour day camp for 60 5th and 6th graders (10-12 year-olds), and tomorrow we are doing the same, probably with the same kids. So this morning, I reluctantly woke up at 7 AM, hurriedly got ready and for the first time that I am in Turkmenistan, put in my contacts, since I would be playing sports with the kids. When we volunteers congregated at 8:15 AM, the air was filled with nervous and anticipatory tension. We had no concrete idea of how many kids would show up and whether they would be receptive to our activities. Also, we were putting final touches on our visual aids and translating some more directions for certain games into Turkmen (okay, it’s been barely a month, and already I am forgetting some English words, or it’s harder to recall them. And I am forgetting some of features of my college life, such as the names of the school newspapers). Outside the window, we could see more and more kids milling around. And some of the kids would poke their heads in our room and dash outside again, giggling wildly. Especially the boys. The girls are very well-behaved and waited patiently outside in the school courtyard.

Gathering all our bravado, we stepped outside and tentatively greeted the kids, talking in English, since the point of the camp was to teach them English and also about healthy habits and practices. We introduced ourselves and got the kids to do the same. They were so eager and happy that they touched me, and I felt that feeling that I dubbed “Peace Corps feeling” – the feeling that I am right where I am supposed to be, doing exactly this. They were excited that we were there, and I was definitely happy to be there. We proceeded to divide the kids – boys and girls – into 4 teams: the red, yellow, green, and orange teams. A male volunteer and I got the green and orange teams for the first hour. The girls walked with me and the boys with the male volunteer over to the dirt soccer field. The girls jostled each other to walk next to me and grab my arms. Absolutely adorable. This age group is fantastic, I thought.

We first started with some simple stretches and counting in English; then we ran a lap around the large soccer field (I always want to say ‘football’ now; honestly, no one says soccer outside the states, and while I am on this topic, it’s not fun converting everything into the metric system; why’s America so weird in this aspect?). The lap really showed me how out of shape I was. I haven’t exercised since I left the states, since it’s so conservative in this village that running is considered strange, especially running in pants. I have considered running in the culturally appropriate floor-length skirts. Anyways, some of the girls kept pace with the huffing and puffing me. I was grateful.

Afterwards, we introduced ourselves with Frisbee throws to each other. The girls and boys are 100% segregated here, in that the girls don’t hang out with the boys, so we made an effort to make even teams with both genders. With these teams, we tried to throw and catch the Frisbee, while counting in English. The kids already knew the numbers very well, although it was harder to catch the Frisbee five times without dropping it. Then, after getting to five, we played sharks and minnows. This time, we sharks called out different colors in English, and those wearing that color have to run to the other side of the safety line, while we tried to tag them. And when they got tagged, they became sharks with us. We did this until there was only one “minnow” left – the winner. Some of the kids didn’t know the colors, so I played the referee and also the motivating voice, egging the kids to be excited and have fun and run across the swarming sea of sharks. Overall, we had the kids under control, and they had fun. They kept saying “very good!” from my limited understanding.

Supposedly, we were supposed to play “Capture the Melon,” which is essentially Capture the Flag with watermelons. We thought that was super appropriate since this country has amazing watermelons, and it has dedicated a whole day to melons – Melon Day. Anyways, the other groups and volunteers wanted to do this at the end of the day with all 60 kids, so we played soccer instead. The boys were super into it, and we liked it because we didn’t need to explain anything – the kids knew the rules better than us. The girls were initially into it, but eventually after the boys dominated the game for 15 minutes, the girls fell back. So I did too, although I loved that I could run again – the adrenaline and energy rush felt amazing. I kept the girls company and encouraged to kick the ball. The boys were simply an amazing sight to watch; they were so good and agile. I was in awe. Soccer was huge in this culture, and they knew about Brazil and certain soccer players, and they wanted to show us their stuff and impress us, so they threw themselves into the game, so I used all the Turkmen I know to encourage them. In the course of the 30-minute game, I had to break up a fight between a boy and girl and also make sure that a kid who fell was alright. The latter boy was already so macho that he got more upset after I tried to console him.

Anyways, my team won. 3-2.

Then, we took a 10-minute break. The girls swarmed me, and I could barely go inside to drink some water. They constantly pat my clothing to make sure that I was clean of dirt, brush back my hair, and grab my hand. I enjoyed it. The boys were more subtle, but they followed the male volunteer wherever he went. They all looked up to us, the American foreigners, and it really frustrated me that I couldn’t express my gratitude for their participation in any sensible sentences. During the break, I hung out with the girls, took their pictures, and then asked them to tell me a little bit about themselves.

After break, we took the blue and yellow teams, and we did the same activities with them for an hour. I didn’t know what it was, but this group was so hard to control. I shouted until I was hoarse, and still the kids were running wild. We briefly did Frisbee and Sharks and Minnows, but we ran out of ideas and just started the soccer game as soon as we could. The girls in this game were even more disinterested in running after the ball, and I don’t blame them. They are all in long skirts, and some had heels on. Some even had their best dresses on, and the dusty dirt field was not too kind on clothes and skin. I was literally inhaling dust through my nose and mouth, and my white shirt would be hell to hand wash out this coming Sunday.

Finally, we breathed a sigh of relief when break came. The next activity was the kids documenting what they got out of this day on a mural with markers. Half of the group drew on the mural, and the other half played Capture the Melon. The latter activity was every definition of disaster. Our 2-year-old Turkmen was hardly sufficient to explain this, on hindsight, extremely complicated game. We tried our best with words and demonstrations (me running back and forth), and when we said “Go, start!” the kids went crazy (I blame it on the watermelons) and swarmed the two watermelons at the two ends of the field. There were two kids who held onto the melons for dear life, while other kids sat on them and tried to wrench the melon away. And we have this photograph shot of this kid with his teeth bared as he shouldered his way through a 20-person wall. We tried to pull the kids apart, terrified of possible injuries, and hardly succeeding. My goal was on one of the melons, and I pushed my way to the center of the ferocious group. I saved one of the melons. The other melon fantastically split open, seeds and juice spewing out, all over the dirt field. All this mass chaos took place before the country director of the Peace Corps. Of course.

Yes, after that disaster, we gave up on that activity and just called it a day. We told them tomorrow we would have more activities and that they should come back. For the kids, mostly boys, who wanted to hang around, we played another game of soccer. However, I first told them to drink some water and wash their hands, since they told me that there was a water source at the school. Then soccer again resumed, and it was fun to just play with the boys, without worrying that the girls would be bored. I gave one of the boys a high-five and said that he was really good at soccer, and from that little exchange, all the kids gave it 110%, just in hopes for another high-five from me. My heart literally melted. Therefore, I congratulated each person individually, beamed at them, and encouraged them to come back. This age group is amazing, so full of energy and potential. I felt humbled in their presence, and so I gave it my all, running back and forth, shouting out encouragements. Another volunteer said that it was a classic Peace Corps shot: me out on a dirt field with a bunch of smiling kids and a ball.

At around 1:30 PM, we headed for lunch, and I was hungry, tired, and dusty, nevertheless happy. I felt that it was my first day of doing something useful. So far, I have been just observing nurses and doctors and learning the language, but today, I got to provide activities, a service for the students.

After lunch, we had site placement interviews with a Peace Corps staff, which would decide where we end up for the next two years. I felt uneasy about this interview, since I didn’t know this country to really know what I want, and also I don’t feel comfortable expressing what I want, since this experience is supposed to be of service, wherever they want me or need me. Anyways, I tried my best to express what I felt. I said that I loved languages, and besides Turkmen, I would love to learn Russian. Apparently, there are certain regions in the country that use Russian in addition to Turkmen. I also said that I am comfortable teaching any of the health topics, which include anemia, hypertension, mother/child health, etc. Finally, I said that I was scared of dogs. (Dogs are everywhere here, and I was hoping that my next host family wouldn’t own too many dogs. They grow the dogs huge here, and to me, they appear ferocious. Well, there’s this scrawny dog that chases me to the toilet every night. He’s very intelligent – he waits outside the door for me. And every day at 4 AM, he barks at my window. Smart, huh?)

After the interview, I still felt uneasy: did I say the right things? And what if the things that I said backfire on me later? Anyhow, we did some more language and prepared for next day’s day camp. We also got mail! Letters and packages from our family and friends are simply the most welcomed sight in the world here in Turkmenistan. I can’t express that with the all the sincerity that I feel about that. Mail informed us that we are loved and missed by others, and that we still remained in contact with our loved ones. And they make the outhouse smell better, the bucket showers more exciting, the language learning easier, and the loneliness easier to bear, from day to day. Home. Mail is home. Mail validates our existence, that we matter. Are you convinced yet?

I got two letters, one from a friend in the states and another from a T-16, fellow volunteer who had gone to the same college as I did. I was very happy, although the others had gotten huge packages and made sure that I knew about what they got and how happy and excited that they were. Hmph. Anyways, I read the letters over and over again, and they are wonderful. Someone’s thinking of me. I am excited to write them back and update them of my life.

Afterwards, we walked home, and I was eager to come home and rest. I had exerted a lot of physical energy today, though conversely my mental and emotional energies were replenished and strengthened. Here’s to another day.