Two Stops Past Siberia

Well, my friends of these past two years, I am delighted to say that things came together better than I could have imagined.

So, the folks in last week were a family from Ohio. Back home, they run a mini mill that caters to the exotic fiber industry in America. Through a series of acts of God and other Divine revelations, they decided that they should pack up and move their family, and their mill, to the rural reaches of Kyrgyzstan. I met them last year on a fact finding mission, and organized their return trip last week.

Folks, it was magical. I introduced them to every reliable worker and relevant handicrafter that I’ve encountered over my past two years here. We had a strategic business session, saw a full fledged shyrdak workshop, and then went to the village that, God willing, they will move to within two years time. This year, the crew included mom, dad, and two kids: boys aged 11 and 12. I watched the boys light up at the plethora of local horses, and saw them connect with the local kids, sharing only the international language of play. Mom connected with other village mothers like a champ. At one point, we stopped by a woman who was milling her own wheat. The Ohio mother stopped in to ask why she was separating the wheat germ and gran from the rest of the flower, pointing out that this is where the greatest nutrient lay.

The Kyrgyz mother listened and then said, “if I do what you say, will my sons grow big like yours?” The point was a relevant one: sporting Levi’s that measured 36×30, her 12 year old son towered over nearly everyone else in the village, not hardly to mention the kids his own age. They were like walking advertisements for proper nutrition.

The father, himself a former linebacker, had a moment of his own. Last year, he had met a 70 year old farmer who had stolen his heart, by telling him that he’d love nothing more than to take some American boys under his wing, and teach them about the wilds of his homeland. This year, as we were touring a facility that might house the wool factory, this old man came down from the mountains, on horseback for the sole purpose of reconnecting with the Giant from Ohio. There were hugs and photos all around.

Since their dramatic coming and departure, we’ve really been wrapping up life here in Sunny Naryn. I went on my last hike in our magical hills, and am now delightfully sore, a feeling that I hope leaves me before I get on that plane. I’ve already had a series of going away dinners, and just last night, I cracked out the gift for my host family that I’ve been preparing for so long: a little laptop, packed with as much educational software as I can find.

As I opened the machine last night, my host dad asked first if it was a real computer, or just a gaming console. Then, however, regardless of my answer, his eyes opened wide when I fired up my pride and joy: the complete Rosetta Stone sweet. Every language in one program. All these months of Korean soap operas gave the girls a leg up on basic vocabulary, goofing around with Turkish was like meeting a long lost relative, and they’ve hardly been able to set the English portion down.

As I prepare to leave, I seem to be only concerned with the future. I have these dreams that one day I’ll come back here to find a flowering apple tree and a family with more modern knowledge in their collective minds than I could even imagine.

Now, as I enter the real final stretch, I will spend the weekend with my friends here, doling out our warming goodbyes to this place that has very much come to mean home.