So what happened to the summer? Except for a few
big events, the summer was fairly relaxing, despite the intense
heat. I spent the first few weeks at home in the village just hanging
out with my community and focusing on some personal goals. During
the days, I exercised, read a lot, and studied Russian. In the evenings,
I sat outside chatting with my host family and neighbors.
In early July, I worked as a counselor at the Bukhara Girls Leading
Our World (GLOW) Camp, which was organized and directed by some
of my fellow Bukhara volunteers. Camps are a big summer activity
for volunteers all across the country. This year's Bukhara GLOW
camp was a six-day mostly-English overnight camp for girls from
in and around Bukhara. One hundred girls attended. City girls
mixed and mingled with village girls, friends were made, English,
Uzbek, Tajik, and Russian were spoken, among a few others. The
counselors-a mix of PCVs and Bukhara university students-and the
campers discussed a variety of women's issues, including health,
self-esteem, goal-planning and community development. We played
games, sang songs, made art, and had a bonfire and a talent show.
Five girls from my village attended. These girls are all close
friends of mine, and I know for a fact that for them, GLOW camp
was one of the most exciting opportunities in their lives. Before
the camp, they were very nervous. They were scared to speak English
in front of other girls who studied at better schools. They were
ashamed of their village clothes, thinking the city girls would
laugh at them. But GLOW camp turned out to be an experience they
will never forget. For once, they were free from their roles as
daughter. For once, they didn't have round-the-clock responsibilities.
They weren't expected to cook dinner, or wash clothes, or bake
bread, or milk the cow. Instead, they got to learn and sing and
dance and play. They met 95 other girls from the city and from
other villages. They made new friends. They met Americans who
are not me. Nearly four months have passed since the camp, but
my girls still talk about it every day with an excitement in their
eyes that I had never seen before.
The camp was held in the hottest part of the summer. (In July,
temperatures in Bukhara reached 100 degrees in the shade!) It
was unbearable hot and very muggy. Still, it was an amazing experience
to be a part of.
