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Frustration.
2008-01-04 09:43:00
Well, I guess it was a good thing that I got the ball rolling on my lost suitcase in Istanbul... They actually called the school last night from Istanbul to confirm that I am in Bishkek and to tell me that the suitcase would be flown in that very evening. They confirmed my address, and claimed that someone would deliver it to me. I was looking forward to having the rest of my things today, but it turns out that everyone in Bishkek associated with Turkish Airlines is on vacation until Tuesday! The people at the airport claim that I have to talk to someone from TA, and as they're all at home for the holidays, I seem to be out of luck. Until Tuesday, theoretically. Grrrr.Yesterday I learned that technically, we?re not allowed to have pets in our apartments, even though the school is aware of the presence of these cats and of the fact that I agreed to take ownership of them (if you will) from the previous tenant. However, not having cats seems to mean not having an indoor litter box. A...
More About: Pets , Central Asia , Frustration , Kyrgyzstan , Stration

My first 24 hours in Bishkek
2008-01-03 07:47:00
My first full day in Bishkek was not too eventful. I awoke feeling incredibly hungry, as I hadn?t had anything other than triscuits and peanut butter cups since my breakfast in Istanbul. After getting dressed I walked next door to the office of The London School, and one of the staff members took me to change my dollars into soms (the local currency) and showed me around a nearby grocery store. Look! Kefir, pineapple juice and beer cheese!After lunch, I went back to the school (it?s located in the same building as my apartment) and was given a tour. I have my own classroom on the second floor, which is cool. I won?t have to be lugging all my stuff from classroom to classroom. I?ll be teaching an extra class in January. They?ve promised me an extra $150 for that, so I suppose it?s a good thing. The bad thing about this extra class is that it?s at 9:00am! You know how stellar I am in the mornings and all? I?m hoping that this will just be for the month of January, although the extra m...
More About: Pets , Central Asia , Kyrgyzstan , Hours

Part Two: From Istanbul to Bishkek
2008-01-02 09:07:00
Istanbul was fabulous, even though I only had enough time to explore the neighborhood where my hotel was located. I awoke, well rested, and went downstairs for my free breakfast. Now, I?m not normally a breakfast person, but the breakfast buffet at the Gunes Hotel was excellent: pastries, breads, eggs cooked every which way, fruits, veggies, and a huge selection of cheeses. I consumed an enormous amount, especially for me. Which turned out to be a good thing, as I didn?t get another meal until over 24 hours later. Thank goodness I packed triscuits and peanut butter cups!After breakfast, I called Turkish Airlines, and received some very good news. My backpack had been located ? still in Chicago ? and they promised to have it delivered to The London School in Bishkek by Friday. Fingers crossed that it shows up!I packed my things and checked out of my hotel room... and still had three hours before the bus would arrive to take me to the airport. I left my bags with the concierge and set...
More About: Turkey , Photography , Central Asia , Istanbul , Part

Part One: From Jacksonville to Istanbul
2008-01-02 08:52:00
I should know better than to fly American Airlines. I don?t normally, however, as AA and Turkish Airlines are international partners, and as I was flying Chicago-Istanbul -Bishkek on Turkish Air, flying Jacksonville to Chicago on AA seemed the thing to do. Ever since my very first international flight (to Ireland, back when I was 12), I have had problems with AA every single time I?ve used them. How is it they?ve managed to stay in business? I should also add that I?m feeling more than a little peeved with Orbitz right about now. Surely they should?ve updated me about... well, you?ll see.The problems started when the check-in clerk in Jacksonville couldn?t provide me with boarding passes all the way to Bishkek, nor could she check my bags any farther than Istanbul. She seemed quite confident in her explanations of *why* she couldn?t, and how I?d just have to re-check my bags and get my next boarding pass in Istanbul, and how it wouldn?t be a problem. In hindsight, I suspect she may h...
More About: Turkey , Part , Kyrgyzstan

This time tomorrow I'll be traveling!
2007-12-29 17:24:00
Tomorrow morning I set out on the next stage of the grand adventure that is my life. I'll be leaving Waycross mid-morning and heading down to Jacksonville, FL to catch my first flight. Assuming all goes as planned, I'll be flying Jacksonville-Chicago-Istanbul-Bishkek, and I'll be arriving in Bishkek at 2am (Kyrgyzstan time) on January 1st. The temperature will be roughly 9F when I get there! (see forecast) I won't have internet access in my apartment (sigh), so chances are I won't be able to update every day... but, since you all know how addicted I am to the internet, I promise I'll be updating as often as I can. In case you've forgotten, I'll be working at The London School. And if you'd like to send me things (I do love presents...) my address will be:Jane KeelerThe London SchoolBaitik Batura Street 39Bishkek, 720005Kyrgyz Republic
More About: Time , Central Asia , Tomorrow , Traveling

Of blinds and beasts and ballots cast...
2007-12-29 03:20:00
I'm leaving for Kyrgyzstan on SUNDAY. Having only two days left to enjoy life in the Deep South, how do you think I spent my afternoon? Hanging blinds. No, this was not my idea. Since the only substantial bit of home improvement I've conducted at my house in the four months I've been home was the hanging of new blinds and curtains, mom thought I'd be an expert. Little did she know... We did manage to get four blinds hung in her bedroom, although it took pretty much all afternoon. Then I went home and took a nap. Oh, the excitement!Success!Pewter took it upon himself to guard the blinds.Look out... it's the Mongrel Horde! (Get it?)Shiva (second from left) has totally taken the puppies under her wing.I cast my advance ballot for the presidential primary today, and filled out the necessary paperwork to have my absentee ballots shipped to Kyrgyzstan. I'm not entirely convinced that I will actually receive said ballots, especially given my past experiences with disenfranchisement, ...
More About: Cast , Blinds , Waycross , Allo

Update.
2007-12-27 01:37:00
Well, I'm certainly feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago... but unfortunately, my mom caught it from me, and came down with symptoms last night, and she's currently in the position I was in two days ago. Yuck. :-( Additionally, I was doing my three final loads of laundry pre-Kyrgyzstan , and the washer died in the middle of load three. Granted, the thing's about as old as I am, so this shouldn't be surprising. Luckily, I'm pretty sure that everything I need to pack was in loads one and two. I think. So much to do, and only three full days for doing them... I leave on Sunday!
More About: Health , Update , Waycross

I have stomach flu...
2007-12-25 05:00:00
...and it is horrible. Also, I leave for Kyrgyzstan in 6 days. I really need to finish my last minute K-stan shopping and packing, but instead I've been alternating my time between my bed and my bathroom. Aaaack.
More About: Health , Stomach , Mach

I'm back in the Deep South...
2007-12-23 02:57:00
I spent the past week in upstate New York visiting my friend Youngmee and her family. It was a very laid back and totally awesome trip... we ate tons of Korea n food (kimchi for breakfast, anyone?), went to a Korean Chinese restaurant (jiajianmyun!), took a belly dancing lesson (oh, how obvious it was that I hadn't done that since June 2006), ate really chocolatey stuff all the time, baked a pecan pie, watched Cheburashka, Vinni Pookh, and The Italian, AND she and her mom have gotten me hooked on Jumong, the most addictive TV show since Battlestar Galactica. Awesomeness.It barely got above freezing once while I was there...Look! Moosh and I are in non-Russia n snow!Can you find the Konglish? Are the shrimp frightened?Youngmee baked a totally delicious pie.I contributed the south GA pecans and my eating skills.
More About: Back , South

Fund Raiser!
2007-12-17 18:21:00
I'm heading to upstate New York to visit my friend Youngmee for a few days, so I won't be blogging again until Saturday at the earliest. In the interim, I'd like to ask that if you enjoy the content of this blog, please consider donating to help support my journeys and daily blahgging. (My soon-to-be job in Kyrgyzstan only pays $500/mo plus accomodation, so any little bit helps!) Thanks in advance; I'll see you on Saturday!
More About: Fund

PseudoSolstice 2007 Part 2: YouTubeTastic
2007-12-17 01:57:00
After Rob and his Very Normal Friend left and Alex went to bed, and the rest of us got out of our bizarre garb (see previous post), Chris entertained me, Melissa and Gwen by singing his various folk songs. Chris has been writing folk songs for years, and below are several. The first three are political and the last two are pagan solstice songs. Enjoy!This one's on the politics of Bushomomics.This one's on IraqThis one's on immigration.This is a pagan song; he's still working on it.You might notice he has some horrific background singers in this one :-)
More About: Politics , Part , Solstice

PseudoSolstice 2007
2007-12-17 00:18:00
For roughly eight years now, some of my friends and I have been having Solstice celebrations in lieu of Christmas parties. Our very first Solstice party, back in December 2000, consisted of rather earthy-mother-goddess-pagan stuff. Over the years, however, this event has evolved in absurdity, such that it now has little to do with pagan solstice celebrations, and rather a lot to do with dressing strangely and being weird in public. It's a lot of fun. Pictures from previous PseudoSolstice parties can be viewed here, if you're interested. This year we had a few additions to our usual PseudoSolstice crew - Gwen, who is currently home from Korea, and Rob, whom I met in Korea and who is now back in the States. Rob also brought a friend of his, who unfortunately seemed REALLY normal and very uncomfortable having to be part of our shenanigans. (You might understand why, once you see our photos!) And now, without further adieu....We tried *really* hard to get Alex to wear this, but he ref...
More About: Photography , Waycross

Ponies, Kittens and Parties
2007-12-15 01:57:00
So, for the THIRD time since I've been home, I willingly got on a horse. This time it was actually for an extended period, at Kickin' K Stables, the place where my mom has her weekly lesson. I've been planning to go pony-trekking at some point when I'm in Kyrgyzstan, and I figured I should probably do some riding here first. I rode a short, fat, and adorably cute pony with the unlikely name of Rambo. I don't have any pics of me on him, although I do have some shots of him once our ride was finished. (Also, I am really sore from just an hour of riding. Pony trekking is going to kill me. Er, no physical harm.)Isn't he adorable?I wish you could tell from this how fat he really is!The barn also had kittens... and you know how I love kittens. Don't worry, I didn't take any home, I just took some photos:Such cuteness!And speaking of catness, apparently my utter stench of catnip extends all the way to K-stan, even though I'm not there yet. Check out this email I got from someone o...
More About: Photography , Pets , Parties , Kittens , Waycross

Old Train Stations
2007-12-14 03:36:00
If you're driving west along US-84 from Waycross, you'll reach the small town of Argyle. If you look to the left through the trees, you might see an interesting looking structure:If you go into the woods, you'll discover the old Argyle train station.It was moved to this location for some unknown reason. (You can tell because it's facing *away* from the tracks instead of towards them, and because it is on new concrete blocks.)I'm not sure how long it has been here...but no one is doing anything with it.If you continue heading west, you'll reach Homerville.The old Homerville train station is still in its original location......although it, too, is in decay and no one is doing anything with it.
More About: Photography , Train

On the edge of the Okefenokee: a JPG submission
2007-12-12 17:45:00
As you may have noticed, I'm a big fan of the Okefenokee Swamp and the surrounding swamplands of southeastern Georgia. One of the themes for Issue 15 of JPG Magazine is favorite surroundings. The above shot is my favorite Okefenokee related images. As always, I'd love your vote... either click here or on the photo above! Thanks so much :-)
More About: Photography , The Edge , Submission , Edge , Waycross

Islam and Politics in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
2007-12-10 16:18:00
It's fifteen minutes long, but you should definitely watch it - I found it absolutely fascinating.
More About: Politics , Islam , Central Asia , Uzbekistan , Kyrgyzstan

Need a personal trainer in San Diego, CA?
2007-12-10 14:56:00
Check out Move Your BODy (MYBOD), run by a good friend of mine.(If you get an error message, just refresh the page and it *will* load)
More About: Personal , San Diego , Personal Trainer , Miscellany , Trainer

Okefenokee!
2007-12-10 03:51:00
Yesterday afternoon, my mom, aunt and I drove down to Folkston, GA to visit the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. We just missed the 2:30 boat tour, so we spent the first hour exploring the visitors' center and hiking the short trail along the Suwannee Canal. (This canal was dug in the late 1800s when someone had the absurd idea of digging a canal to drain the swamp into the St. Mary's river. After digging something like 12 miles of canal at great expense, they realized that the swamp was - however slowly - flowing in the OTHER directions, towards the Suwannee River. Whoops.) Anyhow, the hiking trail takes you Mizell Prairie, which is quite scenic:The 3:30 boat tour is the last tour of the day (unless you reserve a special sunset tour). It takes you down the Suwanee Canal and into one of the larger prairies and lasts about 90 minutes. We saw alligators, herons, egrets and sandhill cranes. Below are a few of my photos; the full photoset can be seen here.This is the dock in front...
More About: Photography

The dark and seedy underbelly
2007-12-07 22:24:00
The latest theme over at JPG Magazine is Noir: the dark and seedy underbelly. I've actually uploaded a picture of a dead dog. I know that a lot of you probably don't want to see such a thing (although I think it's a damn good shot, myself), so I'm not posting the photo here. However, if you've got a strong stomach, I'd love your vote... so click here! :-)
More About: Photography , Dark , The Dark

Something cool for travelers and/or photographers
2007-12-07 17:34:00
If you love photography and/or travel, you should definitely check out Everywhere Magazine. It was created by the same people who created JPG Magazine, and it operates on the same principle: User Created Content. You can upload photos, stories, or simply names and locations of interesting places. I've been uploading as much as possible (you're limited to 20 photos per day) since in a little more than three weeks I will be in the land of spotty internet. My Everywhere travelogue is here, if you're interested. Sadly the themes for Issue 2 of the magazine (which is published as a full color magazine on high quality paper) are Los Angeles, Places Reborn, Turkey, and Hotel Bars, for which I don't really have any submissions. (Here's hoping they choose Russia and South Korea at some point!) Anyway, I definitely recommend the site... it's tons of fun. And if your photo or story gets published, you'll receive $100 plus a free subscription to the magazine! (If you create a travelogue,...
More About: Photography , Cool , Photographers , Some

Doggie Day
2007-12-07 00:31:00
Mom and I took the three mutts (whom we are calling Brownie, Blackie and Brinny, as we've run out of name ideas) to the vet today. They are generally healthy. Emaciated and wormy, yes, and Blackie and Brownie had fevers, but there were no serious illnesses like heartworm or parvo or mange or anything. Since Brinny didn't have a fever, he got his initial shots, but the other two have to get theirs after their fevers go down (they're on antibiotics now). After we took them home I washed them, then we wormed them and gave them their meds and Advantage... I was thoroughly filthy by the time we were finished. I took some decent pictures of the three of them... so if any of you are interested in a dog, let me know. (The vet says they're probably about six months old.)Blackie (male, 6 mo)Brownie (female, 6 mo)Brinny (male, 6 mo)
More About: Photography , Pets , Waycross

Doggone it!
2007-12-06 00:51:00
This afternoon I decided to take a dirt road west past Ruskin to investigate a small cemetery which I'd noticed when my dad and I were driving around last weekend. It's a small cemetery, with a couple of stones from the late 1800s, but most from the early to mid 1900s - although there were a few fairly recent graves, contrasting with others marked solely with crosses, containing no dates, and a couple which had caved in! I got one distance shot, but didn't really have the opportunity to explore the place fully. I was wading through the high grass toward those stones you see there to the left when I heard the most menacing barking and growling coming from the woods. I uttered Oh, shit! and began heading for my car, when the vicious noises emerged as three fairly young, emaciated mutts. At first they were quite intimidating, and I was quite concerned that they would get to me before I could get to the car... and how fitting that my corpse would already be in the graveyard. Well, I ...
More About: Pets , Waycross

I think I am falling asleep.....
2007-12-05 02:32:00
Did anyone else think the Democratic debate hosted by NPR this afternoon was rather yawn-inducing? I listened to it while sorting through the year's supply of things like deodorant and lipstick that I bought today (I leave for Kyrgyzstan in 26 days - time to start packing!), and to be honest, I found dividing OTC meds and undies between suitcases more interesting than the debate. Now, I certainly give props to NPR for hosting a debate which centered on issues rather than getting good ratings for the network... but it was tough to pay attention, even for me - and I'm totally into political debates. It may have been that I was listening to it on my computer with its less than stellar speakers, as opposed to on my ipod (the podcast hadn't yet become available at the time, and I was impatient), but I didn't bring anything away from the debate. Anything. Did you?And for something more interesting, this week on Blog Supergroup , we're discussing the Christmas holiday season and the cra...
More About: Politics , Election

My father's visit and my trip with my mom to the range and the swamp
2007-12-03 02:12:00
My dad drove up to Waycross from Tampa on Friday. That in itself is a long drive; the last time I did it, I took an hour and a half nap in my car in a rest area. But he didn't just drive any old thing, he drove up in his new Harley. I can't imagine seven hours one way on a motorcycle, although perhaps that's why I drive an Echo. The two little boys who live next door for me, and who are usually completely fascinated by me and everything I do were overwhelmed with interest in my dad and his motorcycle:I feel bad for these kids. They are so sweet and super cute, but I don't think anyone pays any attention to them whatsoever. Their family is incredibly poor, and the mom seems much more interested in her boyfriends (she has at least two) than in her three kids (she has a toddler, too). The kid on the right has some kind of speech defect and/or learning disability, but I suspect nothing is being done about it. We asked if they had a football, but all they had was a flat basketball, s...
More About: Photography , Trip , Visit , Range

Internet in Kyrgyzstan
2007-12-01 21:31:00
According to the Kyrgyz law, the Internet resources do not fall into the category of mass media and cannot be regulated by the CEC during elections. Malabaev believes that the civil and criminal law says that the owner of the website is responsible for ?black PR?, and it is important to warn them about it. [full article]
More About: Central Asia , Kyrgyzstan

Kitten has a home! :-)
2007-11-29 03:12:00
Toma, whom I know from elementary school, and who lives with her family near Augusta, GA, has adopted kitten! We met today in Swainsboro, GA, which is about halfway between our homes, and she took kitten home. I'm very happy knowing that kitten will be raised in a good home. Thank you, Toma!And for everyone else, here are some videos of the adorable kitten that you missed the opportunity to adopt:On my drive back to Waycross, I stopped several times along the way to take photographs. Just south of Swainsboro on US1, I found my dream house. I would LOVE to move this house to my mom's land. It is perfect... a foursquare front with four rooms and a central hallway, with an L addition off the back for the kitchen and bathroom. It has a front porch and a back porch off the L addition. It's structurally sound with no signs (or scents) of water damage. And it's EMPTY and could totally be moved. Although it has a new roof, which makes me suspect someone might be planning to do something...
More About: Politics , Photography , Pets , Home , Kitten

A visit from Gwen
2007-11-28 04:28:00
Gwen (as in my good friend for many years who was also my boss last year while I was in Korea) is in the US currently, and she drove up to Waycross today to spend the day with me, exploring this grand metropolis. We drove out to explore my mom's new land, dined at a local cafe, had coffee at Hot Toddy, bought her a crazy Solstice dress at Salvation Army (you'll see pictures of it next month!) and drove down to Folkston to explore the Okefenokee Swamp. I didn't get that many photos, but here are a few of the swamp:We thought this sign was funny. Sadly, we didn't see a single alligator.Swamp!Chesser Prairie, Okefenokee Swamp
More About: Photography , Gwen , Visit

What *is* rich?
2007-11-27 04:41:00
After the November 15th Democratic debate, when Hillary made that comment about an individual making $97k/yr being middle class, we had a bit of a discussion in the comment section of my post on the debate regarding what *is* middle class and what *is* rich. There was an excellent discussion on this topic on NPR today, which I highly recommend that you listen to.
More About: Rich

Having a quarterlife crisis?
2007-11-27 03:29:00
Well, I don't necessarily know that I can help you with that, but I can direct you over to Blog Supergroup where we'll be discussing an amalgamation of issues revolving around this topic all this week. So click here!
More About: Crisis , Quarterlife , Cris

Of kitties, tax dollars, and ghetto cars
2007-11-26 23:49:00
A while back, I wrote about the neighbors (presumably) getting busted for something. (You can refresh your memory here.) In case you're interested in an update: the woman and the children have returned, although the various and sundry menfolk have not. Plus, the woman is now driving the infamous Spearmint 22" car. I snuck a picture of it from my back porch today, just to show you this absurd vehicle:(You really need to see it large for the full effect.)If I haven't mentioned it already, property taxes inside the City of Waycross are absurd. This past year I had to shell out nearly $500 for the privilige of living in a crime infested ghetto where my street signs proclaim that I reside at the corner of Ass and Ass. You'd think for $500/yr they'd at least put up some new street signs. Or do a better job of policing the place. Something. Well, okay, they did something. They dispatched a crew to do a hatchet job on this large and very Jane's-property-concealing bush today. Allegedly...
More About: Cars , Photography , Pets , Ghetto , Dollars