21- 11th June

21- 11^th June

A lighter note today, I promise.

Summer is certainly here, its hot.. 33.5degrees currently in my room, and this has been wonderful news for the fruit and vegetables in the garden. I have been helping out daily, and really enjoying it, even if my back hasn’t. ‘Back-breaking work’ means almost that. Watering, weeding and picking Colorado potato beetles off, yes, the potato plants, takes up at least an hour of my mornings. It is fun to help out, knowing that I will get to eat everything grown.

Well, almost everything, as my host niece is hell bent on eating all the strawberries before I can! She has been coming over every day, armed with a small bucket, and picking all the red (and partially red) ones she can. Thankfully, her family are away for the weekend, so I will eat all the strawberries I can find. She may often win the battles, but I will win the war! Next up will be the cherries, which are reddening right now. The blackberries, blackcurrants and raspberries all seem to be taking longer, as are the vegetables.

I will be away from Beskol for a week, leaving on Sunday, going to Taldy Korgan, the local ‘city’, 4 hours away, for a week of Frisbee Camp, run by a few Youth Development volunteers. In total there should be 8 Peace Corps volunteers, so it should be good fun, although, with my rather limited Frisbee ability, and no idea at all how to play ‘Ultimate Frisbee’, I might be learning as much as the kids!