On Earthquakes and Meetings(demonstrations) 5 days late

Well the rumor on the street is that there was an earthquake in Bishkek...4 points on the Riechter scale. Unfortunately I didn't feel it...I was either running around madly trying to get to class on time (creating my on earthquake) or on a marshrutka on my way to class (and who can feel anything on a marshrtka) Everyone tells me a different time for when it actually hit, so I don't know exactly why I didn't feel it:-) Oh well!

And yes the anticipated meetings did end up happening, just in Kyrgyz time, 5 days after the scheduled event. But fotunately they were peaceful and there were probably only about 40 people injured in the crowds and roit police kept everything in order. Once again I didn't actually see anything, cause I live far away from the center, and so I thought it was just quiet. But then my friends started talking about how there were thousands of people etc....so I turned the television on to see an almost riot happening right outside of the university where I study Kyrgyz. That was a little shocking! But by the next day it was all cleaned up and I had class, but it was still weird to come out of class and see the riot police exercising outside the building! The good thing is that the president worked with the opposition leader and they came to what seems to be a good compromise, and everyone is happy? So hopefully the out come of this meeting will be good and there won't be a need for meetings anymore!

So for all the unpeacefulness and unsettledness of Bishkek at the moment, I haven't felt any of it or seen any of it!! I think I'm glad I moved to the outskirts of town:-)

The show must go on...

These last couple of days have felt so surreal, I don't know if Kyrgyzstan made it in the news over on the other side of the world. I know they were hoping for it with another fizzled attempt at huge demonstrations. It all started a couple of weeks ago, when I started getting e-mails about being careful and watchful, and that there were demosntrations planned. This happened all last year and nothing ever happened so I didn't get to worried. But then the rumors started to fly, that the opposition was serious and that the riots would be worse than the Tulip Revolution 1.5 years ago...my roommates were flipped out, school was cancelled for two days, stores shut down and removed all the merchandise from the store, and every one was talking about 30,000 people coming into the city to protest. Meanwhile there is a concert, Symphony Ala-too, and the show must go on. So depsite that fact that no one knew what was going to happen on Thursday, they told us there will be a rehersal on that day (even though the university we rehearse in is right on the square where the supposed meetings were going to take place, and the fact that the university had closed down for Thursday and Friday.) They even said if there is a mob of rioting people, go around to back maintenance entrance and we'll let you in that way. No matter what the concert was going on.

Well it turns out the 30,000 people must have just ended up drinking tea at their relatives, because no one saw them. All the roads were block off for at least a block surrounding the square, there was much less public transportation, there was no one anywhere, and lots of police and national guard everywhere. All I ever saw was a couple hundred people camped out in yurts! We did have our rehearsal, and I think its the most scared I've been, leaving a desert building at 9:30 with complete darkness all around and no one anywhere except for police (which does't make me feel safe as an American) and then walking and no marshurtkas and everything deserted...it was like it was 2:00 AM not 9:30. But I made it home all right, and swore that if I was ever in another similar situation, I just wouldn't go to the rehearsal:-)

So then we had the concert the next day, and everything seems to be back to normal, there are still people camped out in yurts but other than that all seemed normal, but then I got the hall, and heard that the "mob" (which I still haven't seen) took over some Kyrgyz television program and that there would be increased security. Sure enough there was security at every side of the stage, and every door leading into the hall...it sort of felt like the Sound of Music at the end when there were guards every where at the last concert....Then heard after the concert that they hadn't taken anything and all was normal, so I still don't know why there were all the guards, but I guess they got paid to enjoy a concert!

In the end, the excitement and the hype turned out to be nothing, except for a city of a million waiting for something to explode. Praise God that nothing happened, but all the same you get a little sick of all the hype for nothing.