February 27, 2005: Headlines: COS - Kyrgyzstan: Blogs - Kyrgyzstan: Personal Web Site: Brian in Kyrgyzstan has killed a turkey, filling in for a volunteer who couldn’t complete the task. He also says a little bit about the election.
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February 27, 2005: Headlines: COS - Kyrgyzstan: Blogs - Kyrgyzstan: Personal Web Site: Brian in Kyrgyzstan has killed a turkey, filling in for a volunteer who couldn’t complete the task. He also says a little bit about the election.
Brian in Kyrgyzstan has killed a turkey, filling in for a volunteer who couldn’t complete the task. He also says a little bit about the election.
Brian in Kyrgyzstan has killed a turkey, filling in for a volunteer who couldn’t complete the task. He also says a little bit about the election.
I would like to start this edition of my weblog by wishing every man who is reading this a happy belated Men’s Day. Traditionally, the holiday is celebrated by playing headless goat or sheep polo. I cannot help but really question what I have become over here. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my purchase of a fur hat. Now I must confess that I have finally taken the life of an animal intentionally. I was at a fellow volunteer’s house when he was asked to kill a turkey, but he was unable to get up the nerve to do it, so I was called in from the bullpen (not literally). I learned two very important lessons from that poor turkey. First, I want death to be a quick one. The poor thing had to endure as I worked on its neck with a dull kitchen knife. What could have been accomplished quickly with an ax was drawn-out over time with a very dull knife. I will say that the turkey was sort of resigned to what was going to happen. The second thing I learned was that fowl are indeed capable of running around with their heads cut-off. The turkey in question did not actually take-off on the 40 yard dash, but that was not for lack of desire. Instead, it had a 170 pound Kyrgyz woman sitting on it, which I dare say would keep me from taking-off on the 40 yard dash as well. So now I have killed an animal, chopped one into pieces (read Thanksgiving’s piece), and worn the fur of a deceased creature on my head. Don’t worry folks I haven’t changed that much J. In other news, as some of you are aware, there have been a number or protests over this Sunday’s (February 27, 2005) election. I don’t want to sound alarmist, and I really think that things will in all likelihood be fine over here (of course I didn’t think that there would be protests). For those of you who do not of what I speak, in a number of the different oblasts (states) around the country, people have taken to the streets shutting down the highways. The indication at this point seems to be that a number of “opposition” candidates and candidates who may have supported the current government but were not the favorites of party leaders were not allowed onto the ballots. The people have taken issue with this, and have decided to make a statement about that. As for me personally, the highway on the southern side of the lake where I live was closed by protesters when I attempted my trip into Bishkek on Friday. As a result, I had to hire a taxi to go around to the northern shore and take that road into town. I personally saw a bus of riot police (or at least the gear) in the regional center near my town. Do I think that this is an unsafe region? No. Do I think things could flare-up? Certainly. The statement made to this point is that people here are not interested in tolerating a fraudulent election (not saying that this election has been fraudulent). Do I know if I will make it home on Monday? I have no clue. I am planning on it, but I really don’t know for certain. Honestly, I am more fascinated with being in the middle of something this interesting than I am concerned about the potential safety risks. I really do not expect that many problems personally. It is an incredibly interesting time to be living in this part of the world. If you would like to read more, please feel free to visit the following articles. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1425443,00.html http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=5367
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Story Source: Personal Web Site
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kyrgyzstan; Blogs - Kyrgyzstan
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