Kyrgyzstan Peace Corps Volunteer Taylor Willis writes: Children's Day in Balukchi is an actual holiday that occurs annually on the first of June



"I painted kids faces for two or three hours without the hint of a break and had a great time doing it. Kid after kid came up at first until there was a sun & wind screen of little bodies all around me."

Kyrgyzstan Peace Corps Volunteer Taylor Willis writes: Children's Day in Balukchi is an actual holiday that occurs annually on the first of June

Monday, June 06, 2005
Children's Day in Balukchi

Caption: The photo above is for illustrative purposes and was *not* taken in Kyrgyzstan

If you saw the title you may have a faint idea of what this blog will be about. It's not a case of false advertising. I wouldn't do that to you. It actually is about Childrens Day in Balukchi. The body of this post will do what bodies are supposed to do and tell you more about Children's Day in Balukchi.

Children's Day in Balukchi is an actual holiday (not created by Peace Corps Volunteers) that occurs annualy on the first of June. We had ours on the fifth of June which isn't far off. Jenny, who lives in Balukchi and I really like, organized the whole thing. Jenny gets props (or something to that effect) for pulling it off. Jenny had a DJ there, a shashlick maker (like meat & fat kebabs, I don't really like it), baloons (I blew & put (stop laughing) most of them up), and about ten other volunteers doing everything from bowling (empty soft drink cans & basketball), egg carry (eggs & spoons), baloon animals (baloons, no animals), fishing (poor Karl), "other" (I forget), and of course the ever-popular crowd control. The natives (& natives' parents) occasionally get restless. They need more rest.

I painted faces with little crayon-like sticks. The colors I had were red, yellow, blue, black, and white. I had the most call for red and blue. All the kids wanted what was on the box which was an extremely complex blue drawing around the eyes. I drew Jadie-stripes instead. Have you heard of Jadie? Jadie is a caracter on a sitcom from Brazil that is very popular in Kyrgyzstan called "Clone." It's called Clone because somehow the people make clones of themselves. I don't know how to tell the clones from the non-clones but the Kyrgyz have figured it out. Clone stopped putting out new stuff about two weeks ago but there is a spinoff with Jadie (can't get rid of her) out now. I haven't seen it.

The face painting went really well. I painted kids faces for two or three hours without the hint of a break and had a great time doing it. Kid after kid came up at first until there was a sun & wind screen of little bodies all around me. It helped to keep out the sun and the wind. The fact that I was sitting in the shade didn't hurt either. Working with little kids, not eigth-graders but little five year-olds was the most fun of all. I found that I missed their screams, their crazy questions and their desire for guidance. I think that's what I like the most about teaching little kids. While most of my peers have control over me and I feel powerless, I can help little ones along and that feels really good to me.

Thanks to Jenny who pulled off this extremely awesome day! Now I am planning my own children's thing in Darkan and my first invitee will be Jenny. And yes, I think I will be painting faces again.

When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:



Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

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American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here.

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June 16, 2005: Special Events Philip Weiss, PCV murder writer, speaks in Baltimore June 18 "Rainforests and Refugees" showing in Portland, Maine until June 25 "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 NPCA to hold Virtual Leaders Forum on July 29 RPCV's "Taking the Early Bus" at Cal State until Aug 15 "Artists and Patrons in Traditional African Cultures" in NY thru Sept 30 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program After Uzbekistan, the Peace Corps has announced the suspension of a second program this month - this time in Haiti. Background: The suspension comes after a US Embassy warning, a request from Tom Lantos' office, and the program suspension last year. For the record: PCOL supports Peace Corps' decision to suspend the two programs and commends the agency for the efficient way PCVs were evacuated safely. Our only concern now is with the placement of evacuated PCVs and the support they receive after interrupted service.

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June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program Peace Corps has announced that it is suspending the Uzbekistan program after the visas of 52 Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were not renewed. The suspension comes after a State Department warning that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in Uzbekistan and after the killings in Andizhan earlier in May. Background: PCOL published a report on April 23 that Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were having visa difficulties and reported on safety and visa issues in Uzbekistan as they developed.

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June 6, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Kinky Friedman will "sign anything except bad legislation" 6 Jun Niels Marquardt Makes Chimpanzee Protection a Priority 6 Jun Laurence Leamer needs approval for "Today" appearance 6 Jun Desperate Housewives' Ricardo Chavira is son of RPCVs 6 Jun Anthony Sandberg runs Berkeley sailing school 5 Jun Amy Smith field-tests sugarcane charcoal 5 Jun Mary Johnson organizes workshop on genocide 3 Jun Jonathan Lash in 100 most Influential Business Leaders 3 Jun Hastert jump-starts Chris Shays' Campaign 3 Jun John Coyne says 41 RPCVs applied for scholarships 3 Jun James Rupert writes on bombing in Kandahar mosque 1 Jun John McCain says to expand opportunities for service 1 Jun Jay Rockefeller's relationships with Japanese go way back 1 Jun Anat Shenker met her husband during service in Honduras 31 May Ryan Clancy punished without hearing for visiting Iraq 30 May Melissa Mosvick remembered as a fallen American hero 29 May Kurt Carlson played basketball against Togo's national team 29 May Helen Thomas's favorite president remains JFK 24 May

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