Kyzyl Suu, first stop on the village tour

So I've been to the northern side of Lake Issykul many times, but this summer I got to go to the southern side. I highly recommend it, because it's a lot more peaceful and natural, and not all touristy like the northern side! So my first village in the tour was Kyzyl Suu, and my friend Altinai lives there and serves in her fellowship there. My friend Nurgulya and i got on the marshrutka at 2:00 for what we thought was going to be a 5.5 hour ride. Over 9 hours later we finally arrived. If Nurgulya hadn't been there I don't know what I would have done, probably gotten off and hitch hiked home. It was the worst marshrutka ride ever! First of all it was packed full, after everyone got in, someone packed in empty cardboard boxes into the aisle so we couldn't even move, then we stopped at this place where you can buy fruit really cheap and people bought so much fruit, like 10 kilos of tomatoes, and watermelons and everything, so that was piled ontop of the boxes!! Then to top ot all off there was a very dirty smelly drunk man, who drank three bottles of vodka, who was moving all over the place and talking to everyone and in general very obnoxios. So all that with a driver who drove so slow and stopped so often that it took 3.5 hours longer than normal, I was about at the end of waht I could handle! But eventually we made it, and Altinai met us and fed os fresh ploff and hot chai!!

I wish there was some way I could sum up village life or give a really picture of what it is like, but maybe imagine books you read about the west a hundred years ago and what life was like, and I think you have a good picture. There is no running water, they go to a pump down the street and carry the water. No water means no toliet, no shower, and no sink. So there is an outhouse, and they have a make do like sink, and they use a public banya (Russian style bathing facility) once a week. But despite that they keep a clean and orderly house. But then they have different ideas of refridgeration too...ie almost nothing needs to be refridgerated, I'm sure its a miracle I didn't get sick from some of the stuff that I ate, either that or all the American standards of food saftey aren't true:-) And the flies that came as a result of food being left out all over I can't even describe. I have never in my life seen so many flies! So all that being said...I really like viallge life. Its quiet, few cars, people are more relaxed and the air is cleaner, and some how it takes me back to my childhood, of coming from a small farm town, although praise God we had water!!!

Okay more tomorrow....