do you have gun?

last night we had a bon fire on top of a sand hill by the river. we shared ghost stories and sang russian songs. my feet are swollen with mosquito bites but it was worth it. after today we will only have hot water once a week in the house. if we want a shower with hot water we have to walk a short ways into the forest and use a water tank that is heated by the sun. no big deal. and toilet paper seems to be optional here. the toilet paper is kind of like thick rolls of brown party streamers, once we run out nobody really cares. we will go to the city tomorrow and visit a museum, eat russian ice cream, and hopefully shop a little. i need more toiletries since i only had room for travel size items in my suitcase.

as for cultural differences between americans and kazakhs there are not very many. the kazakhs and russians that i am hanging with are young so they are less traditional and conservative than older generations so they dress like us, watch american movies, dance, and just hang with there friends. they are all muslim but there is no influence from pakistan, iran, or iraq. and even thought they are muslim they have their own personal beliefs just like many christians. one difference between our cultures is their reaction to cold. for example i was sitting on a tile staircase and they kept telling me to move and sit somewhere else. they think that sitting on something cold will make them sick. that is why they don’t have ice in their drinks and don’t have air conditioning. another difference is their personal space bubbles. we were sitting on the beds in one of the rooms playing mafia and a girl was sitting behind a boy with here arms around his shoulders and her head resting on his upper back. they had only known each other for two days and they were not flirting. they use each other’s bodies to make themselves comfortable. the standard of living is of course different, our public bathrooms are more than wholes in the ground and they know that they have poor medical here, but they are happy and satisfied.

we have internet but it is dial up. i would like to upload photos but it would be quicker to a paint a picture and mail it. all the students have cell phones with lady gaga ringtones. but i do not have access to a phone that will call the states from the house.

most of the questions i am asked about america pertain to gangs, guns, marriage, the education system. and they seem to think that wherever we go there are celebrities and that our parties are thrown by van wilder. how america is portrayed in movies really sticks here. so i say that if people have a misconception of amercians it is our own damn fault. luckily the two guys i am here with, lucian and luke, seem to be on the same page about a lot of things. luke and i want lucian to get a tattoo while here. what’s the worst that could happen? hepatitis a? anyway til next time my friends, meaning when i am not talking about packing heat or eating borsht. oh and we played wish or truth (truth or dare) and i am sorry to say that truth and dare in russian is just as lame as truth or dare in english.