January 30, 2013

I don’t know if the air quality is getting worse in Bishkek or whether the warmer air is bringing about pollen already, but I had my sinuses swollen and was coughing most of the night. On my way to Lingua, I stopped at the pharmacy downstairs and bought some more lozenges to soothe my sore throat.

My memory seems to be slipping for after about an hour of being at Lingua working on a new warm up for my next round of presentations, Elvira called to remind me we were supposed to work on her application for a one-year sabbatical in the U.S.

She proposed we get together for lunch first, and we headed to a cafeteria on Frunze Avenue located near many of the government ministry offices. The place was clean, well-lit and comfortable. I wasn’t that hungry and just ordered a bowl of lentil soup and tea. The lagman noodles looked delicious and they were steaming hot.

We returned to Lingua after discussing other ways Forum could try to raise funds, a subject that has come up numerous times already, and I tried to edit her responses to the three major questions related to her proposal. It was slow work as, like many of my former writing students, Elvira had not directly addressed the question per se, but went about it in a tangential manner.

I emailed Natalia at the embassy to inform her of my desire to participate in the conference in Shymkent that another ELF is organizing and that Jennifer urged us to support. In order for me to attend, I needed for her to postpone my participation in the textbook project slated to start at the beginning of April. I proposed we discuss the subject matter when Jennifer gets here this weekend.

When 4:00 o’clock rolled around, I was starving and went home to have a proper dinner. I watched CNN for a bit while telling myself I ought to cancel the subscription as I get so little in return.