Turkmenistan

Currently, this blog will be used for my thoughts, pictures, and excerpts from letters I send home from Turkmenistan. I will be in Turkmenistan from October 1, 2008 until December of 2010. You can send me letters and packages using the address to the right.
Many thanks to my family for posting updates to this blog as I will most likely have limited internet access over the next few years.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

One Moment

This is it! One moment to take life and make it what you want.

Staging was a unique experience filled with 43 strangers (all fellow volunteers), skits, discussions, new friends, meals at exotic restaurants, a roommate named Mallory, and a capstone in which we each chose among the following: actor, dancer, storyteller, artist and musician/poet. Now those of you who know me should know that I wear my heart on my sleeve (therefore I cannot pretend to be someone who I am not) - no acting...I only dance on very rare occasions and while I can appreciate interpretive dance I cannot necessarily perform it...I suck at telling stores as EVERYONE who knows me can attest...and while I play the flute I am not necessarily a musician. So I chose (drum roll please!)...musician/poet. Our job was to explain the importance of cross cultural integration and the aspects we had learned in some sort of musical/poetic way to the rest of the group. Well we were fortunate to have several volunteers with musical instruments with (Joel and Russ both had guitars and Kathy had a trombone!) and several people in the group could sing. I cannot. Therefore we created a haiku to explain what cross cultural integration would mean to each of us. The haiku is as follows:
Salaam new family
Firm Peace and Understanding
Now we all see green.

For most of you this poem may not make any sense...let me expand.

Salaam means hello in Turkmen and we will be living in host families for the majority of the time while in Turkmenistan. One of the main goals of Peace Corps is to be able to have a successful term of service all volunteers must integrate into the community and gain a new understanding of their community. Finally Sheila (our Staging Director) told us a story. There are two communities in the world. In community one every person born from today on has and will always be born with two legs, two arms, two ears, one nose, one mouth and a pair of yellow sunglasses. In community two every person born from today on has and will always be born with two legs, two arms, two ears, one nose, one mouth and a pair of blue sunglasses. Now a person from community two decides to join this organization called Peace Corps and visit community one. They are going to stay in community one for two years and three months. This person lives with the community, works in the community, learns the language, and has a profound connection with community one. When the person returns to community two they explain to all of their friends all about the community across the world and they very precisely explain the central cultural trait or difference: In community one everyone has green sunglasses! It is supposedly most important to begin a cross cultural experience by first and foremost understanding your own culture and knowing that that culture forms your expectations/experiences/history and therefore is the basis for you as a person.

We sang this haiku with Joel, Russ, and Kathy playing beautiful music in the background and I was so superbly entirely in touch with Peace, the world and myself that I began to tear up.

I feel so blessed to be starting this experience and I look forward to the 'new me' of 2010! Look out world - here I come!

Thanks everyone for supporting me and for all of the letters you will be writing, I truly appreciate it!

This is the last chance I'll have to update my blog for a while, so thank you to my family for updating it and keeping everyone posted!

All my love.

Salaam new family
Firm Peace and Understanding
Now we all see green.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Peace Letter

So three posts in one day is a bit excessive, I know. I just received a letter from Bud and Sara Hudson who I have known since we moved to WI over 14 years ago. They included a wonderful excerpt from a book called Practicing Peace In Times of War by Pema Chödrön. It reads, "It's also the case that the seeds you sowed yesterday have their result in your own life today. And the seeds that the United States has sown in the lst year, five years, fifty years, hundred years, and so forth are having their impact on the world right now - and not just what the United States has sown but all the countries that are involved in the world situation today, being as painful as it is. We've been sowing these seeds for a long time. I know many of us feel a kind of despair about whether all this can ever unwind itself. The message of this book is that it has to happen at the level of individuals working with their own minds, because even if these tumultous times are the result of seeds that have been sown and reaped by whole nations, these nations of course are made up of millions of people who, just like ourselves, want happiness. So whatever we do today, tomorrow, and every day of our lives until we die sows the seeds for our own future in this lifetime and sows the seeds for the future of this planet. The Buddhist teachings also say that the seeds of our present-day actions will bear fruit hundreds of years from now. This may seem like an impossibly long time to wait, but if you think in terms of sowing seeds for your children's future and for your grandchildren's future and your grandchildren's grandchildren's future, perhaps that's more real and immediate to you. Nevertheless how we work with ourselves today is how a shift away from widespread aggression will come about." (86-88)

Thanks Sara and Bud!!! Your note is already inside my journal!

Staging: Itinerary

Flight #1 Saturday September 27, 2008
Midwest Express 150 to Philadelphia
Leave 7:50 am Arrive 10:50 am

Saturday September 27th
1:30 Registration
3:00 - 7:00 Welcome to Peace Corps and start of Training Program including: Welcome and Introductions, Peace Corps Approach to Development, Personal Definition of Success, Safety and Support, Anxieties and Aspirations, and Nuts and Bolts

Sunday September 28th
8:30 - 12:00 Training Program Continued including: A Slice of Life: Coping with Unwanted Attention, Managing Risk, and Policies in Practice
1:30 - 6:00 Training Program Continued including: Change 5 Things, Crossing Cultures, Staging Capstone, Bridge to Pre-Service Training, Logistics of Departure, and Evaluation and Closing

Monday September 29th
7:30 Check out of Hotel
8:00 Bus arrives for Loading and departure to JFK airport

Tentative Flight Itinerary to Turkmenistan
Flight #2 Monday September 29th
Delta Flight 72 to Istanbul, Turkey
Leave 4:30 pm Arrive 9:55 am on Tuesday September 30th

Layover in Istanbul 11 hours 10 minutes! Hopefully we'll be able to leave the airport!

Flight #3 Monday September 29th
Turkish Airlines Flight 1362 to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Leave 9:05 pm Arrive 2:45 am on Wednesday October 1

94 hours 5 minutes left until take off!

It is a whirlwind last few days!

Writing thank you notes, updating my blog, deciding which grammar book to bring, spending every waking moment with friends and family, finishing all the reading I want to before I leave, and trying not to think about how slowly (or quickly) the time seems to be drifting by. Tonight on my menu of favorite meals: Rama's Delight (Homemade Thai)!

A few more quotes from Rukhnama (see below)
"Sometimes, I wonder whether I feel too proud of my nation, or whether my eyes are dazzled by the light of the word "Turkmen," or whether I am enchanted by the magic of the word "Turkmen." However, so far human beings have never been damaged by affection. Nobody has ever been injured by his or her love of the nation. Be afraid of those who do not love their nation. If everybody likes their own nation, then the nations will like each other. Those who do not like their own nations cannot like other nations. The word "Turkmen," lies in my bosom like a beloved baby warmed by the heat of my heart." (145)

"The Turkmen sees other nations as his own brothers, his own friends. Racism cannot find a place among Turkmens. Turkmens respect the languages, the religions and the traditions of other nations. The rights and responsibilities of all citizens living in Turkmenistan are equal before the law of the Turkmen state" (148).

"Thus, when I was a small child, I learnt who the Turkmen is and what the homeland is. I have consoled myself with the epigram, which is firstly recorded in my heart and then in my diary, 'The one who bears the sufferings of the world earlier can understand the realities of the world earlier.' In the course of time, I have realized that those injuries which were done to my heart have been removed." (150 - 1)

"Our state structure is harmonious with our national characteristics, the traditions of the Turkmen people, and the 'Universal Declaration of human Rights' of the United Nations. In all of our policies we consider the national interests of Turkmenistan on the one hand and the stability of the region and the strengthening of international security on the other. We always see that all of these are indivisible realities" (154)

"We have huge resources. We want to draw maximum benefit and maximum utility from them. Thus, we are ready for relations which rest upon reciprocity, equality and cooperation. Destiny has bestowed on Turkmenistan the opportunity to be at the centre of international relations between Europe and Asia. Our underground and surface resources are evidence of the possibility of a golden life for the Turkmens in the golden century." (154 - 5)

"In the past our ancestors presented themselves to the world by the strength of their swords; now, we should present ourselves with our rationality and with our immense spiritual values. Turkmenistan is known for its unique Akhalteke horses, for its carpets that are examples of the wonders of the world's art, and for its limitless wonders of nature. Today, in its peaceful policies, the Turkmen nation displays endeavours worthy of recognition by the world. As our great thinker Maktumkuli Pyragy once said, 'Look at your future, do not forget your past, utter polite speech, restrain your anger. If you are able to speak, please say pleasant things; the public has suffered much from bad things.' I can see happy days in the future. I believe that nothing is able to damage our happiness today and in the future and I am always proud of our statue of impartiality." (155)

"Our beautiful land will regain the beauty and fertility that was hers in the era of our ancestors through our 'Rainbow' project, by which the natural gas is delivered to the public for no charge." (175) I've never heard of this project before, but it sounds interesting.

Monday, September 22, 2008

More Quotes from Books

I believe I wrote something about the Rukhnama (the book that the former president of Turkmenistan wrote) in a previous blog. In my opinion the book was written to tell the people of Turkmenistan what they should be. Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy, the former President, says his, "Basic aim in writing "Rukhnama" is to open the dwindling spirit of national pride by clearing it of grass and stones and letting it flow again. I hope to enliven the heart with the medication of Philosophy. It is like replanting the arid land of the past, which has become unproductive and useless, with the pine trees of the Turkmen plateaus. In this way I wish to rid us of the disease, trouble and anxiety of insensitility" (63).

A few more quotes from the book follow.

Turkmenbashy is talking about the 'Prophet Noah' and states that Noah established 'rules of good manners at home for TURK IMAN'. They are, "1. respect your elders 2. love your juniors ... 3. respect your father and mother ... 4. Wear clean and decent clothes. ... 5. Keep goods at your home that have been earned by your own labor and efforts. ... 6. The decoration of the home, its order, cleanliness and appearance should be very good. ... 7. Protect the home and its exterior and neighboring areas and the place you live in. ... 8. Spiritual sublimity ... 9. Women's make up 'Do not be mean with emerald stones for your daughters and wives. Find them wherever they are and give them to the woman. If one upsets his wife or daughter, he is not a TURK IMAN since they are very pleasant by nature, and their souls are pleasant too. Please them if you want to treat them well. Give them valuable pieces so that they may wear them on their breast, neck, and back.' " (11 - 13)

Thus far this is my absolute favorite quote from this book. I was very surprised to find that I actually enjoyed a part of it. I am reading this book more for a cultural link to Turkmens rather than as an exercise in reading.
"Everyone's soul is so sweet for him; everyone's destiny is blessed for him." (101). I love this quote because prior to this Turkmenbashy tells a story about a poor man talking to Allah near the end of his life and Allah uses various examples and experiences to show the man that his life was perfect and could not have been better if he had more money, had a different family, etc.

Last one for today talks about covering of women. "The 10th century historian Ibn-i Fadlan wrote about the Turkmen as follows: 'The Turkmen people do not cover the faces of their women and girls like their neighbors. Their women are free. However, they do not know what it is to be unchaste. Turkmen women throughout history have lived without the slightest stain to their honour' " (105).

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Post Send-Off Party/Instructions for Letter Writing

I am down to less than six days in Wisconsin and last night my family threw a send-off party for me. It was the absolute best way to go! It was truly a blessing to have the opportunity to talk with all sorts of people who really care about me and have touched my life in various ways throughout my life. There were old friends, new friends, family, extended family, adopted family, previous peace corps volunteers and many words of wisdom and support. I wanted to let everyone know how much I truly appreciate all of your kind words and curiousity. It was very exciting for me to be able to share my passion for this adventure with all of you!

Words are absolutly inadequate to say all that I felt last night. This celebration will stay with me through the next few years, when I'm lonely, sad, or simply feel that my contribution is not enough I will think back to last night and the time I spent with all of you. Because of your presence I know that I am not alone even though I may be isolated. I thank you in advance for your letters, kind thoughts, and prayers. As per my Aunt Sarah's request I've copied the one page "how to keep in contact with me" paper below.

Once again, my words could never convey my appreciation to each and every one of you!

What Can I Do? Aka How Do I Stay In Touch With Kelsey?

A one-page document in ways to keep in touch with KelseyTo mail letters/packages
The following address will be accurate until December 26, 2008. At that point you can find an updated address on my blog (address listed below) or by contacting Mike and Irene Schuder at 262-574-0384 or i_schuder@yahoo.com.

US Peace Corps/Turkmenistan
P.O. Box 258, Krugozor
Central Post Office
Ashgabat, 744000
Kelsey Schuder
TURKMENISTAN

Türkmenistan Aşgabat, 744000
Merkezi poçta
abonent 258, Krugozor
Parahatçylyk Korpusy, Türkmenistan
Kelsey Schuder
TÜRKMENISTAN

Suggestions for mailing
- This address will only be valid up to December 26, 2008, so please plan your deliveries accordingly (no later than the first week of December, considering delivery times).
- Airmail delivery of letters and packages can generally take a few weeks.
- Please be sure to seal all packages with strong, colorful packing tape (and lots of it!). Insuring the package may discourage tampering and pilfering.
-Peace Corps Lore has it that if the address is written in red ink it will also ward off tampering (this has yet to be scientifically proven).
-It is standard procedure to open all packages at the central receiving for the country.
-It is safer to send larger items in padded envelopes rather than in boxes.
-Number your letters so I can tell if I have received all mail or if there are letters missing.
-Be sure to write "Airmail" or "Par Avion" on letters and packages and I've been told that including "via Istanbul" also speeds up the process.

Other ways to stay in touch

Email address: kschuder02@gmail.comEmail is really unpredictable and I have been told I will have very limited access to it so letters are still the best form of communication.

My Blog! www.kelseykae.blogspot.com This is a blog that I've been keeping for the past few years and already I've documented trips to post-Katrina New Orleans, a trip to post-election violent ridden Kenya, and various thoughts on this trip and everyday life. It will be regularly updated (mostly by my family) and if you want o know in a general sense what I'm up to this would be a great way to do it!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

16 Days To Go...

The countdown continues. I thought I would share some of the reading I've been doing about Turkmenistan and Peace Corps. Below I've listed some quotes from books that I have been devouring recently and short blurbs about the books they are from. Enjoy!

From Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle by Moritz Thomsen: This is one PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteer's) account of his time in Ecuador with the Peace Corps. He spent a total of four years there. The book was published in 69' so he was one of the first groups of volunteers to participate in Peace Corps.

"Living poor is like being sentenced to exist in a stormy sea in a battered canoe, requiring all your strength simply to keep afloat; there is never any question of reaching a destination. True poverty is a state of perpetual crisis, and one wave just a little bigger or coming from an unexpected direction can and usually does wreck things. Some benevolent ignorance denies a poor man the ability to see the squalid sequence of his life, except very rarely; he views it rather as a disconnected string of unfortunate sadness. Never having paddled on a calm sea, he is unable to imagine one. I think if he could connect the chronic hunger, the sickness, the death of his children, the almost unrelieved physical and emotional tension into the pattern that his life inevitably takes he would kill himself." (p 173)

"Poverty isn't just hunger; it is many interlocking things - ignorance and exhaustion, underproduction, disease, and fear. It is glutted export markets, sharp, unscrupulous middlemen, a lack of knowledge about the fundamental aspects of agriculture. It is the witchcraft of your grandfather spreading its values on your life." (p 260)

"To work harder a man has to eat better; to eat better he has to produce more; to produce more he has to work harder. And all of this is predicated on a growing knowledge of nutrition, basic hygiene, and the causes of the diseases that ravage his body; an understanding of agriculture and a respect for new farming techniques, new seeds, new ways to plant, new fertilizers, new crops." (p 261)

"As Peace Corps Volunteers we come to give of ourselves, but we are almost all a part of the Puritan ethic, and we make rules and set limits as to what we will give and on what terms, and what it is legitimate to ask of us. We want to be loved because we're lovable, not because we're rich gringos. But the people in the town don't know the rules. After six months, when they know that you're not there as a spy or to exploit them or to live apart from them, they claim you; they want to touch you, watch what you eat, own you; they want to be Number One with you; they want you to solve their problems. They start twisting the relationship around trying to make a patron out of you, and it takes another heartless year to convince most of them that you aren't a patron." (p 282)

"I began to be aware that in the town there was scarcely a moment when a baby's crying didn't fill the air, and there was a resemblance between the violence of the babies' furious raging cries and the violence of machetes slashing through flesh. Like a revelation, I suddenly realized that these screams were the screams of human beings learning about poverty. They were learning about sickness and about hunger; they were learning in a hard school what they could expect from life, learning to accept their destiny and the futility of revolting against it. They were being twisted and maimed. They were being turned from normal human beings into The Poor. After the age of six they are ready for life, and as for being poor, they know all about it; there isn't a thing they don't know. There are no more tears. They play quietly, gravely in the dirt before their houses, and there is something terrible in their eyes, a kind of blindness." (p 284-285)

The following quotes from the Bradt Travel Guide: Turkmenistan by Paul Brummel

"The ferry terminal at Turkmenbashy is at the eastern end of the port. The port facilities in Baku were being reconstructed when I visited, and the location of the ticket office for the Turkmenbashy ferry was remarkably obscure. If it has not moved to a move central location by the time of your visit, look for the modern ten-story building at the east end of the Gagarin Bridge, across the railway tracks fro the center of Baku. From here, take the minor road running along the city-center side of this building, marked with a sign for the 'Parom Restaurant'. Some 300 m along this road, you will see a stretch of crumbling wall decorated with a mosaic of Lenin's head. The unmarked white metal door on the opposite side of the road is the Caspian Shipping Company booking office. The unhelpful ladies inside will sell you a ticket for the ferry, and may even be willing to offer a vague opinion as to when it is likely to depart."
(p 33)

I am also reading Night Train to Turkistan by Stuart Stevens published in 88'. This book recounts a trip across the Silk Road which of course went directly through Turkmenistan.

And Rukhnama: Reflections on the Spiritual Values of the Turkmen by Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy (the former President of Turkmenistan). This large pink book is a directive to live your life by (if you are a Turkmen). It is rather interesting and if you get a chance check it out!

In other news I am all packed save a few last minute items (finishing up sewing a skirt and shirt I'm working on, finding a small world map to bring with me, buying an extra battery for my watch, locating my money belt, finding duct tape, adding some pictures from home to my photo album, purchasing/finding/creating gifts for my host families, and deciding if I should purchase a computer to bring with me). I have also created a list of meals that I want to enjoy before I leave and created a menu from now until I leave. In case you are interested the following are meals that I will be enjoying before departing to Turkmenistan:
Lasagna, bar food with cheap beer, homemade pizza, Thai food from a restaurant, Manacotti, Venison Parmesan and amazing spinach salad, burgers (fake for me) and potato salad, spaghetti, eggplant Parmesan, Rama's Delight, Tacos, and Enchiladas!

Other news: I have already learned that the world is a very small place and getting smaller due to the Internet. A few weeks ago I received a facebook message from a friend of mine from HS. She said that one of her former suite mates from Yale was also going to Turkmenistan this fall. We began emailing and now I will know someone when I arrive at staging. Yesterday I was checking this exact blog and found that two people had commented on my most recent post. Both of them are going to Turkmenistan in 16 days as well! Additionally, I've had all kinds of people talk to me about people they know in the region, about when they were personally in the area or about their Peace Corps experience! I love how all of the connections you make in life seem to show themselves when you least expect it!

I'm getting very excited for my send-off party (I like to refer to it as a goodbye party but my family isn't terribly fond of that terminology). There are friends coming from St. Paul and Minneapolis, Madison, Colorado, and of course Waukesha and surrounding towns/cities. I think it will be an excellent chance to spend time with people who really mean a lot to me!

16 days left in the country and counting!!!

Monday, September 08, 2008

I leave in 19 Days!

I've been doing all of the reading that I possibly can about what to expect when I finally arrive in Turkmenistan.

Thoughts on preperations:

My parents and sister have planned a send-off celebration for me that will take place one week before I leave. I am very excited to have many out of town relatives and friends coming to see me! So, feel free to join me on September 20th around 6:30pm in Waukesha - let me know if you need directions!

I am still filled with terror about the packing process and my latest debate is to purchase a cheap computer or not to purchase a cheap computer and will my parent's camera be good enough or should I purchase a new camera?

I switch hourly between "There is so much to do I don't know how I'll get it all done in 19 days" and "I'm so bored I wish I could leave right now!"

Other thoughts:

I would urge you to check out the blogs I've posted on the blog suggestion to the right. One is from a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) in Turkmenistan who has been there for the past year and the other is from someone who will be joining me in our group of volunteers leaving on the 27th of September. Funny story....a friend of mine from High School (Tina) went to Yale for her undergraduate degree and lived with a girl named Jessie her freshman year. Jessie is the volunteer who is also going to Turkmenistan. We've been exchanging emails for the past few weeks and it is really exciting to have the opportunity to talk with someone in my shoes!

That's all for now!