My 27 months in Kyrgyzstan, ended after 22 months. On May 8th I left Kyrgyzstan with one way ticket in hand. A few weeks prior to that day, Peace Corps had issued me an "Interupted Service". Interupted Service means that due to circumstances out of the volunteers control, they can no longer serve in their assigned country. Let me explain the details of my Interupted Service.
On April 7th political riots broke out all over Kyrgyzstan and the president was overthrown. The following day Peace Corps flew all the volunteers from the southern part of the country to a safe location just outside of the capital. We waited there for 3 weeks not knowing if we were to go back to our sites, move to a different part of Kyrgyzstan or if we were going to be sent home. I'm still not allowed to publish my whereabouts during that time, but shoot me an email and I'll tell you all about it and all the trouble I got into there! : )
Eventually Peace Corps Headquarters decided to keep the country open but volunteers from my group who were living in Jalal Abad and Talas were to return home. A total of 10 of us were told to leave, five more took the optional Interupted Service.
Upon recieving the news, I was heartbroken. When I left I had two fully funded projects for that summer and I was mid-training in two different seminars. I was not allowed to return to collect my things or say goodbye to the friends that I had made over the course of the two years.
On May 8th, at 5 am I flew out of Bishkek. I extended my layover in Turkey once again and spend 10 days exploring Istanbul and the Aegean coast with my mother.
After an amazing time seeing ruins, laying on the beach and recouperating, I landed in Houston and will be staying with my parents while I look for a job in the financial industry.
Please feel free to contact me at MarthaGeneva@gmail.com. I would love to answer any questions about my experience in Kyrgyzstan or my plans for the future. Good luck to you all and thank you for following this blog
14 years ago