Thursday, September 30, 2010

How Cold Are We Talking?

September 17, 2010

It's Mid-September and Kazakhstan is getting colder. I wish I could
tell you what "colder" means, but my village doesn't have a bank that
flashes the time and temperature on a sign out front. Now that I
think of it, my village doesn't even have a bank. We have two
schools, a post office, a make-shift first aid clinic, two mosques,
and a couple corner stores. It sounds like a lot… but that's a total
inventory of my village. Throw in a couple houses and some stray dogs
and you've got it!

Anyway, this cold-factor has really put a damper on my shower
situation! Once a week, my host family heats up the "moncha" (shower
room) and we can take bucket-baths with hot water. However, to get to
my "shower" I have to trek across the yard and down a little hill. It
really hasn't been a problem so far. But tonight I took a wonderfully
relaxing "shower," only to step out into the chill of the evening.
It's September. Probably too soon to start worrying about being cold…
but as people pull out there winter jackets and fur caps, I do get a
little nervous about what's in store for me and how in the heck I'm
going to make that hike back from the shower when it gets to -20 in a
few months.

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