A Fair Warning

The following is an account of my appendectomy which was performed in Kyrgyzstan. Due to the medical and at times gruesome nature of this story, I have chosen to omit a few details and spare the public of some photography. That said, there may still be a few details here not suitable for queazy stomachs. You’ve been warned. Read on at your own risk.

Day 1

Today I woke up around 5am with some mild abdominal pain. I didn’t think too much of it but by 7am the pain was a bit more alarming. I contacted the Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO), who told me he would come immediately.

I, like most people, enjoy hot showers. Though as my closest friends know, it might be more correctly described as a fetish. So to help make me feel better until the doctor arrived I stood in the shower, but by the time he got there just 20 minutes later, I was barley able to stand at all.

When the doctor arrived he gave me a quick examination and decided to take me to the Peace Corps office to the Medical Unit for additional examination. We have a 0-10 scale for pain. We were not at the office for long until my pain moved from a 3/4 to a solid 6. We left immediately to a nearby specialty diagnosis center. On the way to the clinic the pain sharpened; fluctuating between a 6 and a 9. (I never give anything a “perfect” or maximum score, but this could have qualified for a 10, especially on the bumpy roads)

At the diagnostics center I had two exams: some sort of electronic scan, not an MRI or CAT Scan, but something else, and an EKG.

With results in-hand, the doctor and I went to the National Surgical Center (hospital) where he had a team of surgeons already on standby for our arrival. The PCMO had worked at this hospital for several years and knew all the surgeons and administrators very well.

The surgeons quickly chaperoned me in to an exam room and prodded around on my abdomen  Flipped me one way, then the other. Kept poking. “Does that hurt?” “YES!”

The diagnosis was made: Appendicitis. Absolute textbook, classic appendicitis. And an appendectomy was recommended to be made immediately.

Now I should take a moment to explain that as a Peace Corps Volunteer I have access to some of the best healthcare that I will ever have access to unless I become President or a Congressman. The Peace Corps medical team, their procedures, resources and truly global network of facilities they can send me to on a moment’s notice are all remarkable. In the case of Kyrgyzstan volunteers, when we need medical attention that a local facility can not accommodate (or does not meet the Peace Corps’ stringent requirements), then volunteers are medivaced to Thailand. This is the holy grail for PCVs. All of us secretly hope to get sick enough to get a trip to Thailand but not sick enough to remove us from service.

Unfortunately, an appendix teetering on the edge of bursting does not wait for the flight to Thailand, so headquarters sent word for me to have the procedure done locally. Bummer.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: What follows in the following days’ posts might come off as critical. In fact, much of it is. I outline some shortcomings of my care and the facilities, but I don’t want this to be misconstrued as statements that I believe Kyrgyz doctors to be incompetent. Rather, I hope to show that the medical staff’s skills are quite good, considering their access to resources. It is the resources and facilities which are lacking. Not the surgical skill of the team who worked on me. OK, you’ve been warned (again). Keep reading.

Here is a photo gallery of my surgical prep experience. I was not able to take pictures inside the surgical ward but the conditions were much cleaner. Still, the facilities were very lacking. See how the room used for surgery prep more closely resembles a rundown janitor’s closet? The shelves of buckets are full of cleaning chemicals and also store the highly rusted razors that the doctors wanted to shave my stomach with. Horrifying. Upon seeing the razors, however, the PCMO left to buy new razors and shaving cream. This is only one example of why having the PCMO service is so critical. He knew he could get a better resource and went to get it. But being left alone in this janitor’s closet was one of the most terrifying moments of the ordeal as I contemplated what was about to happen to me…

I was led to the surgical area but the PCMO was not allowed to enter the surgery room. After coming inside, the surgeons starting to ask me all these really important questions like if I had any allergies to medicine. if I had allergies to any of these specific medicines, what is my weight and height (I don’t even know in metric!) and on and on. These were things that I believe they needed to know but to which I had no answers. This begins the terrifying period of my being truly alone in this hospital. Here I am about to undergo what is already a scary event in one’s life, and I am all alone, counting on my foreign language skills and in a room that Western horror movies would love to gain access to for any climatic scene.

Nothing has been updated since Soviet times, I think. Even the large, maneuverable light above the operating table which should offer crystal-clear light for the surgeons had 4 burnt-out bulbs (from 12) and the remaining 8 were not exactly blinding. That’s the last thing I saw before I woke up choking on a plastic tube.

Day 1. Part 2.

I start to come out of my drug-induced coma with 2 very uncomfortable realizations: 1) my hands are strapped down; 2) my throat has a intubation tube down it.

Certainly I have no criticism of being intubated. That’s part of it. But it was somehow a surprise. I just wasn’t told before what to expect coming out of surgery and this was a new experience. In part of my shock I bit down, and then released the tube, which is in 2 parts. One part goes all the way in, the other part just comes within the teeth. When I released my bite, the short part fell down to the back of my throat and sat on my tonsils. This freaked me out and gave the sensation of suffocating, though I imagine the other tube would have prevented that, medically speaking. But this was very very uncomfortable and made me think, “is this what water-boarding feels like?”

The nurses realized I was coming-to fairly quickly and came to me… but not to my aid. With my hands strapped I couldn’t signal anything and as I tried to use my hands to signal something about pain and not being able to breath, they just tightened me down. My left hand went numb it was so tight.

The 2-5 minutes it took to un-incubate me and free my hands did of course seem like forever. But once I could breath on my own again I really didn’t have any complaints. The pain killers still had hold of me.

After some time, maybe a long time, maybe not a long time, I really don’t know, the PCMO, came to my side. He immediately checked that I was responsive and told me the good news that the operation had been successful. He informed me that I was in the ICU and would stay here overnight. He would not be permitted to stay here and asked if I needed anything. I only needed my phone and to know the time.

The time was 830pm.

All of my personal items had been taken back to the Peace Corps office so I couldn’t have them at that time but he would bring them in the morning. This is a bummer because now I had no way to contact friends, family, or to send the pre-drafted email to a very important appointment I had at that very moment and had the foresight to write an email explaining the circumstances in the case I would not be up to making the conference call, but without my phone, I couldn’t send the message. I despise no-show no-calls and now I was one. I know this should seem like a mild reason for distress considering the circumstances, but it was all I could think about: powerless in the ICU, unable to communicate to the person next to me or a person half a world away, and being undependable at the same time. All huge stressors.

Of course with time, the folks wondering why I didn’t show up did forgive me, I just wish the doctors had given me more reasonable expectations that I would be knocked out for 8 hours instead of just “a few” hours.

I don’t have photos of the ICU but it was a fairly large room with 6 beds and a nurses desk. The decor and condition is the same as all the other hospital photos so it shouldn’t take too much imagination.

The best story I can tell from the ICU is that I requested a container to urinate in, which they gave me, but after 30 minutes of trying it was a no-go. The nurse took it from me and gave the same container to the guy in the next bed right after it had been between my legs. Not exactly a best-practice for sanitation.

Sleep was a welcome distraction to the pain which started to creep in, but these nurses have a talent for loudness. All night I heard laughter, sounds of breaking glass or other objects hitting the floor, Beyoncé ring tones and car horns from the open window right above my bed.

Day 2

Around the time I was finally resting in the ICU I was abruptly interrupted by two nurses poking at my stitches. I didn’t really feel it, the drugs were still in my system, but it was enough to wake me. Then they pulled up a gurney next to my bed and instructed me to brace for impact, this was going to hurt. And boy did it hurt when I moved to the other bed. That was more awakening than a Starbucks redshot and gave me an appreciation for how Harry Whittington must have felt when Dick Cheney shot him in the face with a shotgun.

Once nestled into my wheeled platform, I had no choice but to watch the ceiling lights zoom by, or at least the light fixtures, as many of them didn’t actually have bulbs in them. After a few turns down not very lengthy hallways we entered a room. My room. My “lux” room.

The room is painted mint green. Glossy. White floors. Windows at one end, the door at the other. There is a bathroom and a sink. Next to the bed were 2 small tables and a chair for a guest. The bed was pretty comfortable but the blanket they covered me with was excessively heavy and I could not bear the weight on my stomach.

There is no TV. No radio. No internet. No telephone. And no nurse call button. Once they closed that door, I was isolated and happy to be alone to finally rest in silence….

…until…

… I wake up. Seems like it’s time for bathroom attempt: round 2. But I can’t get out of bed myself. I still don’t have my phone. There is no nurse call button. So I improvise by using all my strength to bang on the concrete wall and clap my hands. I still don’t have any voice. Every movement hurts, but nothing hurts as much as trying to speak; the pressure of my diaphragm on the operated area is too much to bare.

This continues for an honest half hour or more before another patient’s family member walk by my room and hears me. She opens the door, I implore her to get a nurse and one does come right away. I tell her what I need, and off we go.

Here is some humor for you: the surgical team retained my hospital gown and as I had no other clothes, I’m just naked for the rest of the day. Everyone kept yelling at me as I lay in bed, naked, asking me where my clothes are and why am I not wearing them. The only answer I had for them was, “I don’t know!”

Somewhere in here I was visited by the PCMO, but as he had left my personal belongings in the Peace Corps office after my operation, and he had come directly from home this morning, he did not have my clothes or phone at this time. I was told I would have to wait for him to return in the evening. This means yet another 8 hours of waiting to call my friends and family to let them know that I am ok.

The rest of the day was a series of doctor visits to poke me and me trying different clapping methods to get the attention of nurses. Eventually my voice started to come back and I could just scream. Still it hurt like hell but it yielded the desired results faster than clapping seemed to. At every visit and every assisted trip to the bathroom, there I was, in my birthday suit as I had come into the world. The nurses were more embarrassed about it than I was; I don’t get too shy around medical professionals. Still, I would have preferred some clothing.

In the late afternoon I was astonished by a visit from my girlfriend, Naziia! After not hearing from me for 24-hours she was worried sick and came to the hospital herself. After dealing for hours with hospital administrators, security and nurses, she finally found where I was. It wasn’t a problem of her being restricted access to me, it was a problem of no one in the hospital knowing who I was or that I was even there. She ended up going door to door throughout the hospital until she found me. It took her about 3 hours!

Naziia is amazing. From this moment, she didn’t leave my side for the next 3 days. She even slept on the cold floor of the hospital and helped me with everything. She only left me to get nurses or food. She was my ambassador during my time of greatest need and I will always be in her debt for it.

Not long after Naziia found me, the PCMO came back and he brought me my personal items. I immediately switched on my phone and called my parents. Their professional background is in the medical environment so they never had too much concern about me as an appendectomy has been a “basic surgery” for a very long time. But still, it was surgery and they were worried since more than 30-hours had passed and no one had contacted them. I put a positive light on everything and told them everything is perfect, there were no problems, I just hadn’t been able to get a call out. They appreciated the update and let me get back to rest.

I want to say right now that this whole experience was uncomfortable, but hey, surgery is. But the time, the better part of 24 hours when I was alone, without an advocate, without my phone, without a translator, was TERRIFYING. Not having the strength to take care of myself and not having full confidence in my understanding of what people were telling me was just awful. If there is a real complaint to make here, it is this point. To be left alone in these conditions with no way to call for help and also for my family to have not been contacted and updated on my status, is totally unacceptable.

The PCMO also brought me some food stuffs. He brought bottled water, yogurt, crackers and juice. Not much but it was something. At this point it was enough. I haven’t eaten anything at all in over 48-hours.

Resting efforts came and went. Around 19:30 a woman burst into the room to mop the floors. That wasn’t awesome. But after she left the only other interruption I had was a nurse to stick me in the butt with something that would help me sleep. And it sure was good at that.

Day 3 and Beyond

The rest of my days in the hospital were pretty similar. Every day I had a little more mobility and little less pain than the day before. The schedule in this place runs pretty smoothly:

0600 – Wake up
0715 – Morning IV drip of antibiotics
0745 – Morning mopping of room
0800 – Surgical doctors make their rounds (poke me)
0830 – Breakfast
1000 – Bandages changed
1300 – Lunch
1400 − 1600 – No visitors in hospital. Door are locked.
1800 – Dinner
1930 – Evening mopping of room
2000 – Evening IV drip of antibiotics
2100 – Shot in the butt to help me sleep
2200 – Sleep

On Day 3 I didn’t do anything else. I just stayed in bed as much as possible and read news articles and listened to music on my iPhone. The iPhone 5 that Naziia bought me a week earlier. Have I mentioned yet how awesome she is? And this device is so nifty in situations like sitting in the hospital. It even tracked my location with pinpoint accuracy. The photo shows my room’s location in the hospital

Day 4

I was called out of my room in the morning and told to chase after this nurse. I could barely lift my head while walking. Chasing just wasn’t in me. She led me to the worst place imaginable: the stairs!

“Ok. It’s Day 4. I can do this!” And of course I did do it. I was wobbly but I did the stairs and it wasn’t so bad. Slow, but the pain was minimal. She took me to join a large group of waiting people outside of a room labeled “УЗИ” which means “ultrasound.”

She waited with me a few minutes and then urgently took off. She told me to wait here and she would be back in 10 minutes. I stood and stood and I hurt and hurt. This was getting a bit much and after more than an hour of waiting and seeing no sign of her or any additional progress in the line I gave up and went back to my room.

I collapsed on my bed but was almost immediately called for again by a doctor. “Great, I have to go back down there now,” I thought, but it wasn’t true. I only had to go across the hall to an exam room. I was laid out on the table and the sharp and shiny type of instruments appeared. I told them, “you know I didn’t get the ultrasound, right?!” And they said, “oh, no? It’s ok, we can do this without that.” I still don’t know what they did but I know I didn’t appreciate the either unnecessary ultrasound or the impatience of the doctors to just ignore whatever information the ultrasound was meant to reveal.

I went back to my room but after a bit I got up the courage to try the stairs again. Mostly because I was out of units on my phone and I heard rumors I could add units on the first floor. Which was true. There was also the hospital cafeteria where I ate my first “real food.” It was chicken samsa and oromo, typical Kyrgyz food and the only thing available in the hospital cafeteria other than fried bread.

Day 5

Naziia went to my house and brought me some books, my laptop and my hard drive with my movie collection. Also on this day Peace Corps catered lunch to my room. It was the first flavorful food I have had since the surgery. My country director, Seth Fearey, also visited me this day. In his 3 years in Kyrgyzstan I am only the 2nd in-country surgery.

Usually everyone is flown off to Thailand and so he doesn’t get to visit sick volunteers. His visit was truly meaningful to me. I have always held him in the highest respect (his life story is incredible) and he is a genuine and good man. We have always gotten along and he has always been there for me. Delivering food in the hospital, and oh yea, some really interesting books I requested as well, just adds to the pile of reasons why I think Seth is amazing and I will always appreciate him.

My colleagues from Kloop also visited me today and brought me oranges. My closest colleague, Aikol, was the only one allowed into the hospital because actually her dad is a surgeon here. She found my room and then we walked together to the emergency room lobby where my colleagues awaited me.

They also came because they needed to get my apartment keys. We were to receive a distinguished international guest the next morning, a radio journalism trainer from Deutsche Welle, and he was staying at my apartment. It needed to be cleaned and of course I was in no condition to do it my self! See? Even from a hospital bed I am taking care of business and receiving foreign guests! I am a very productive and efficient person!

Day 6

Everything started as usual and then I had a morning visitor! Nadezhda, my new neighbor but long-time friend paid me a visit. And she brought me a cool stuffed-animal of my appendix’s soul. Halarious.

Peace Corps brought me lunch again. Again typical Kyrgyz food, but it’s from the best Kyrgyz restaurant in the country. And I love that place. But I am really getting tired of the lack of variety. Just the same, the food was awesome, and Peace Corps is awesome.

The rest of the day was spent just meandering the halls of the hospital. I took photos of everything that seemed interesting. Here check out these digs. And for those of you in the West, the next time you complain about the price of healthcare, know that this is what happens with the money, investment and regulation isn’t around.

Day 7

I finally am checking out of this place! Woo hoo! I can not express how happy I am to be on my way. The PCMO told me yesterday he would come around 11am. I sent him a SMS asking if we can stop at Sierra coffee on the way home. It is on the way to my house. He only responded with, “I come at 1315.” Sad face. But what’s a few more hours then?

I pack my things and am ready to go well in advance and spend the time reading. The sun is out for the first time this whole week and it looks like a beautiful day. I can’t wait to go outside. It will be the first time for me to be outside for a whole week.

Like clockwork, the PCMO walks through my door at 1315 with the Peace Corps driver. He instructs the driver to help carry my things and instructs me to follow the driver out to the car. The PCMO worked here for 5 years so he just needs to say hello to a few people. I fully appreciate the politics and the importance of keeping relationships up. This whole thing started and finished with the hospital’s best offerings of VIP service and I am certain that the PCMO’s personal connection with the hospital had an influence on that.

Waiting at the car with the driver was awful. Not because of the driver, but because of the pain. The driver is great, I like him a lot. Walking out of the hospital was a long and downward slopping driveway and then a good distance more to the car and now I hurt a little. Standing hurt, sitting in the car also hurt. Getting in and out of the car was the worst. We waited for more than half an hour before the PCMO came. Maybe closer to one hour.

I asked again if we could go to Sierra. After all, it was well after lunch and I have not eaten today. I was told there had been time, but now there was no time and they just had to take me home. We drove right past Sierra, it was so depressing.

Arriving home to no food in the house and being left alone I decided that the best thing to do was to order pizza, which I did. And it was amazing. I never order pizza. In 2 years living in Kyrgyzstan this is maybe only the 3rd time I have ordered pizza. So after the week I have had, this is the treat I give to myself. A bargain at 10-times the price. I ate it until I fell into a food coma, which was the perfect way to welcome myself home after a week of terrifying misery.

Nooryz is the Islamic new year and is celebrated in the spring time as new life is emerging from the icy grip of winter. In Kyrgyzstan, celebrations typically include cultural performances of music and dance.

This video is from the Turkish-Manas Kyrgyz University in Djal, outside of Bishkek. What is really great about this video is its showcasing of a wide variety of performances from throughout Central Asia. Though many performances here are not native to the Kyrgyz people, they are all very popular in this country and are widely practiced and performed amongst youth. Thus, in this single event, I was able to capture a wide range of performances which will demonstrates nearly all of the music and dances which I have come to admire in Central Asia. I hope you will enjoy it as well.

My favorite is the men’s dance from the Caucasus. It starts around the 10 minute mark.

[There are many photos which I took from this day at this event and at the capital's downtown festivities. At the time of this posting, I am unable to upload those photos but intend to update this post within a few days to include those images as well.]

And here are a bunch of photos.

Stephen Colbert recently reported on the Republican Party’s Youth Survey to learn how youth respond to the RNC’s message and public figures. The survey is full of typos and the exact type of messages that the RNC is trying to get away from. Here are a few screenshots of errors I found, followed by Stephen Colbert’s examination of the survey.

Take the survey for yourself at this very memorable address: http://surveymonkey.com/s/8pxhd8y

I recently participated in my first bike race! It was a really great experience but because I entered into the “professional” category and we were the last of 3 categories to race, I lost a lot of energy just standing around and the weather turned from a beautiful sunny morning to a bitter cold and windy stand storm by the time we hit the track. Combining that the really painful blister I got on my right foot from hiking in the canyons the day before, and a wreck that occurred on the starting line slightly spraining my ankle, I wasn’t able to finish the race. That was a major bummer but the day was great just the same.

Yeah Bike!

Most photos are from this source: http://diesel.elcat.kg/index.php?showtopic=29096863&st=180

Here is my contribution to the LSU Alumni Association Magazine for Spring 2013. View original source here: http://issuu.com/lsualumni/docs/lsuaa_spring2013

Greetings Tiger Nation,

I hope the start of 2013 is fulfilling all of your hopes and dreams! The holiday season in Kyrgyzstan was, strangely, both very familiar and very new.

Bringing in the new year was quite a spectacular series of events. Unlike in America, New Year’s Eve is a formal family affair. Imagine combining Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year all together: Santa Clause (Father Frost) and his grand daughter deliver presents to children on New Years Eve, every house has a New Year’s Tree decorated almost exactly as westerners would expect to find a Christmas tree and at midnight there are fireworks and champaign to bring it all to a close. All of this is celebrated with family; friends rarely get into the mix.

New Year’s Eve started off like a usual day until I heard the sound of a marching band (unheard of around here) passing my window playing Jingle Bells! I looked outside and saw a parade of hundreds of Santas, clowns and city officials. Every year, the mass of characters parades from the main square to city hall where the mayor dishes out presents to the parade participants. Then the parade turns around and returns to the main square where children (mostly orphans and top students) await and are delivered the presents.

At midnight, fireworks abounded. I live only two blocks from the main square so going there to see the fireworks was easy. One major difference was that alongside the city-sponsored fireworks were an equal amount of personal fireworks being set off, which was not entirely safe, but no one seemed hurt in the process.

I have no resolutions to declare as I subscribe to the philosophy of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it!” And things so far are going just fine.

January 7th was Orthodox Christmas. I wrangled up about 15 foreign friends and we went to the Bishkek Orthodox Cathedral to observe the holiday service. While I waited for the service to begin, I took in the vast collection of artwork and relics of the church. I also took some time to light a few prayer candles and send up some wishes to a few folks. I lit a candle for my mom, dad, Dezmond Meeks (my best friend and up-and-coming musician) and Alice Suzanne Harrington (newborn daughter of my friends Eddie and Emily Harrington, LSU’06 and LSU’09).

As the main event was about to get started, I met a Russian guy who spoke English and was well-versed in everything related to the church. He was kind enough to stay with us for the duration of the event and explain what was going on. He also gave us the expectation that this would last not less than five hours and we would stand the whole time. Of course this makes me quite appreciative for the 1-hour church services where we get to sit in America!

For more details and photos about both of these holidays, please visit my blog at http://JudsonLMoore.com where you can also continue to follow my adventure!

Yours In Service & GEAUX TIGERS!

Judson L Moore
US Peace Corps 2011-13
Volunteer, Bishkek Kyrgyzstan

Last night I was the quiz master at my favorite local quiz night in Bishkek. We had a great turnout of 30 people consisting of locals, foreigners and all ages and professions. This weekly quiz night is a relaxed place to have fun and learning something new. This was my first time to be the quiz master and I am pretty happy with the questions I came up with so I thought I would share them with you. Pay attention to number 11-20; those are about Kyrgyzstan.

Come next time and join us. Every Wednesday evening at 8pm at The Dragon’s Den, 557 Frunze (across from the Grand Hotel, next to Beirut cafe)

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Current world events
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1. In a recent speech where he said “Americans have a right to be stupid,” American Secretary of State John Kerry also misidentified Kyrgyzstan by creating what has been described by some as “a new country.” The name he made up was what?
- Kyrzakhstan

2. How many U.S. states’ spellings end with the letters IA? (4/5 = half-point)
- 5 : CAL, GA, PA, VA, W. VA

3. What are 3 of the 5 world’s most populous countries in which cars drive on the left side of the road?
- INDIA, INDONESIA, PAKISTAN /followed by BANGLADESH / JAPAN

4. The largest national park in the USA, almost four times the size of Yellowstone National Park, is called Wrangell-State Elias National Park, and is located in which state?
- ALASKA

5. What did Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently ban her employees from doing?
- Telecommuting

6. For what project does multi-millionaire Dennis Tito want to recruit a married couple?
- A manned mission to Mars

7. What does a mouse, a turtle, some worms, and a monkey have in common?
- They are all living creatures that Iran has shot into space

8. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose term in office ends this June, indicated he was open to continuing to serve his country in what capacity?
- By also being sent into space

9. Paris, France, recently struck down what out-of-date law?
- A prohibition on women wearing pants

10. Why did an Iran court recently sentence Iranian-American Saeed Abedini to eight years in prison?
- He was convicted of trying to undermine state security by setting up a network of Christian churches

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Kyrgyz history and prominent people (at least 1 Kyrgyz language question)
1/2 point for any names where only the first or last name is correct
Put any money away!!
Money questions refer to the new, 2009 Series, of KG Com.
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11. What word in the Kyrgyz language simultaneously means, in the colloquial, “right now, later, maybe never.”
- Азыр

12. In Ala Too Square, after Lenin and before Manas, there was a statue of a woman holding something. What was it?
- A Tunduk

13. What building is featured on the back of the 5000 Kyrgyz Com note?
- Ala Too Movie Theater

14. Suimenkul Chokmorov is best-known for being a what?
- He is a famous Kyrgyz Film Actor, active from 1969-1986.

15. Also the name of a street in Bishkek’s center, who is featured on the front of the KG 20com note? Bonus point if you can say what he did AND what his name means.
- Togolok Moldo – poet, Manaschi and folk song writer. “togolok” means round-faced, “moldo” means an educated person

16. Featured on the 100com note, Toktogul Satylganov is famous for what?
- He was the most famous of the Kyrgyz Akyns – improvising poets and singers.

17. Sayakbay Karalaev, was a renowned manaschi – a reciter of the epic Kyrgyz poem Manas. His portrait adorns which Kyrgyz Com Bill?
- 500

18. In the last federal elections, what level of governmental leadership across Kyrgyzstan was not voted on, because they no longer exist?
- Governors

19. In Karakol there is a mosque with uncharacteristic architecture. Who (as in group of people) are responsible for this architecture?

– Dungans

20. Where is Manas, the epic hero of Kyrgyzstan, buried?
- Ala-Too mountains in Talas Province, but no one knows exactly. Kenizek-Khatun, AKA Kanikey, ordered the secret burial of Manas’s body so that grave robbers could not find it.

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World Firsts
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21. The IBM Supercomputer, Watson, which dominated at Jeopardy in 2012, was recently proposed to assist what professional field?
- Medicine (cooking apparently also correct)

22. Who is the modern world’s first woman Head of Government?
- Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) (three times, 1960–65, 1970–77 and 1994–2000)

23. Located at the foot of Mount Emei in China, a world’s first themed hotel reopened this week. What is the hotel’s theme?
- Pandas

24. What car maker celebrated the World’s First Assembly Line Production of Zero-Emissions Fuel Cell Vehicles this week?
- Hyundai

25. Launched on Feb 25 of this year, the STRaND-1 satellite successfully began working this week in it’s orbit around Earth, powered by what companies’ operating system?
- Google! The STRaND-1 satellite combines its Google Nexus One Android-powered smartphone core with a Linux-based high-speed processor in order to control itself.

26. Using a cocktail of three standard HIV-fighting drugs, doctors in Mississippi were able to reverse the infection of HIV by beginning treatment how many hours after the birth of a new born baby?
- 30

27. 20 women participated in a first-ever clinical trail for weight loss which concluded it’s 8-week period in Australia at the end of 2012 combining a controlled eating plan and what exercise?
- Pole Dancing. On average, each participant lost over 5 kilograms during the trial, with one participant losing up to 14kgs and achieving a 47% reduction in her total body fat.

28. Automaker Range Rover recently unveiled the world’s first what?
- 9-speed automatic transmission

29. The world’s first smart ball, which captures 6,000 points of data per-second and transmits it to a smartphone via bluetooth, analyzing force, spin, arc, speed and consistency, was recently announced for what sport?
- Basketball. Called the 94Fifty Sensor elite team system can run upward of $5,000, but they hope to get it to a price point of $295 in 2013.

30. Near London’s Olympic Park, what company recently announced they will build a town with shops, schools, theaters, a hotel and apartments for 6,000 people?
- Ikea

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- Guinness Book of World Records
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31. Japan is home to Jiroemon Kimura, who holds three Guinness World Records titles “Oldest Living Male”, “Oldest Male”, “Oldest Living Person.” How old is he today? Extra point if you are within +- 10 days
⁃ Age 115 years, 321 days

32. On February 22, 2013 in Dublin Ireland, “Today FM Radio” hosted a cancer charity concert where participants were asked to shave their heads into mohawks in what was a successful attempt to have the largest gathering of mohawks in recorded history. How many mohawks were there?
⁃ 257

33. Last month at New York City’s Public Library an attempt for a world record for “Most People Wearing Cat In The Hat Hats” was made. 250 hats were necessary to make a record. How many hats showed up?
⁃ 281

34. According to Guinness World Records, the largest lobster ever caught weighed 20.15 kilograms (44.4 lb) and estimated to be 50 years old. Off what country’s shore was it caught?
- Nova Scotia, Canada

35. The heaviest competing sportswoman living is Sharran Alexander of London, England, who weighs 203.21 kg (448 lbs). What sport does she compete in?
- sumo wrestling

36. The heaviest rideable bicycle weighs 750 kg (1650 lb) and was built in what city and country?
- by Wouter van den Bosch (Netherlands) and ridden in Arnhem, Netherlands.

37. “The most balls juggled” was achieved by Alex Barron (UK), who managed 23 consecutive catches in what is known as a qualifying” juggling run. This feat was achieved at Roehampton Squash Club, London, UK. How many balls were juggled?
- 11

38. From Brazil, now residing in Edinburgh, Scotland, the most-pierced woman in the world, Elaine Davidson, has how many piercings? Point for a number within 100 of the correct number.
- 6,925

39. Felix Baumgartner is an Austrian skydiver who set a world record last October for the: altitude record for a manned balloon flight, parachute jump from the highest altitude, and greatest free fall velocity (first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power). At what height did he take the plunge? Point for +-500 meters
- 38,969.3 m / 127,852 feet

40. Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia held the world record for “indoor women’s pole vault” of 5.01m until this week when it was broken by a 5.02m vault, by who? Full name and country for 1 point.
- Jenn Suhr, USA

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General trivia
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41. In the mid-1960′s, playing the role of an undercover agent, he became the first black actor to star in a weekly TV series. Who is he, and what was the name of the TV series?
⁃ BILL COSBY / “I SPY” 1965-68

42. Michael Jackson’s first #1 solo record was the title song from a 1972 film about a trained rat. What was the title?
⁃ “Ben”

43. Baraak Obama is the what numbered American president to be elected by the people’s popular vote?
⁃ (44?) 0! The election of the President and the Vice President of the United States is an indirect vote in which citizens cast ballots for a slate of members of the U.S. Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the President and Vice President.

44. This British pop musician, born in 1940, had dozens of hits in Britain, but never met with great popularity in the USA. He is sometimes called the Elvis of England. Who is this superstar of British rock music?
- CLIFF RICHARD

45.Which mythological twins, raised by wolves, were the founders of Rome? – ROMULUS AND REMUS

46. What word with more than 10-syllables refers to the opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England.
⁃ antidisestablishmentarianism

47. What kind of thin, wispy, feathery looking clouds, located four to twelve miles up, are usually the first sign that a weather front is approaching?
- CIRRUS

48. What is the only month used in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet? (ie. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta…)
- November

49. This Asian country’s official religion is included in the name of its capital city. What country, what capital city?
- PAKISTAN / ISLAMABAD

50. The first MacDonald’s Restaurant was founded in 1955 by Ray Kroc, in which American state?
- ILLINOIS – suburb of Chicago

Just considering that I would begin this post with something like, “I don’t know how important it is to tell you that…” should be a pretty clear indicator, but for the sake of documentation, and most importantly, to let you all know that I am OK, let me tell you a little about my Saturday evening.

Saturday was the birthday celebration of a close colleague and friend of mine from Kloop Media, Ilya. Starting with dinner and drinks at his house, we quickly moved on to a nice dance club in Bishkek called Promzona. After what seems like an unreasonably short period of time we decided to change venues to a downtown dance club where I decided not to stick around and that I was tired and wanted to go home. I was tired of paying for taxis and I was very near my new apartment so I decided to walk. The weather was nice.

Sparing you the details, just as I arrived to my apartment building, 2 drunk guys started talking to me. I ignored them and moved past them. As I moved passed them I was struck in the back of my head and neck and fell to the ground. I got up and ran into a nearby 24-hour cafe where I handed my phone to a waitress as it called the Peace Corps emergency number. As she took the phone, I lost consciousness.

Actually, I don’t remember the attack at all because of the minor concussion I received. No, I was not drunk and alcohol was quickly ruled out as a contributing factor. The drinks I had at dinner were light and many hours earlier. I have only been able to put this story together by interviewing witnesses and making a few speculations.

Peace Corps medical staff arrived to the scene within minutes and checked me out. I regained consciousness by the time they arrived, though I don’t remember that either. I was examined at the cafe and then shuffled off to the hospital for a series of tests. I was taken to the Peace Corps office for overnight observation where I woke up at 10am not having a clue why I was there or how I got there; even though I walked myself in without any help.

After waking up I was examined again and taken home to rest, which I did for 2 days.

I want to thank the staff of Arafat Cafe who gave me assistance in my time of need. They were great! (and their food is awesome!) Thank you to Naziia who I was on the phone with when the incident occurred and who also showed up to the scene within minutes. And of course thank you to the amazing level of care provided by the Peace Corps medical staff and the support of the rest of the Peace Corps staff.

Lesson learned? “I am tired of paying for taxi’s so I am just going to walk.” Money might not buy happiness, but being cheap can apparently get you killed! Next time I am taking a taxi!

PS: Sorry for the cheesy stock photo. I have to associate each post with SOME photo, and I don’t have anything more relevant…

The culmination of months of work, preparation and an international team overcoming very difficult situations get’s summed up nicely in this article posted on the UNESCO-Kazakhstan website. Though I am not mentioned here, my work site, Kloop Media, and my director, Rinat Tykhvanshin, are. I will let it speak for it’s self.

The text below was originally posted here: http://www.unesco.kz/new/en/unesco/news/2725/

The power of community media was clearly evident in Bishkek on 20 February, as 100 participants from throughout the country gathered to mark the International Day of Social Justice in Kyrgyzstan. The conference was organized within the EU-UN joint programme “Operationalizing Good Governance for Social Justice in Kyrgyzstan.“

Community Multimedia Center launched in Dzhal-Orok, Chui oblast ©UNESCO Almaty – Photo Credit: Sergey Karpov

The three-year, USD five million project, brings together the work of UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and UNESCO in this EU-backed project to improve seven basic services in 30 villages, ayl okmotu in Kyrgyz. UNESCO leads the community media component of the project, building dialogue between national media and local communities on the one hand, and between communities and local administration on the other. UNESCO will launch six community radio stations in six regions of the country; in addition, two mini community multimedia centres (CMCs) are already operational in the Chui region, not far from the country’s capital. The CMCs have received training and technical support from UNESCO’s partner in the project, Kloop Media Foundation, Bishkek.

In their remarks at the 20 February conference, Deputy Prime Minister Kamila Talieva and UN Resident Coordinator Alexander Avanessov both noted specifically UNESCO’s contribution to the improvement of village life through community media. “We note that the important work of UNESCO in bringing community radio to the ayl okmotu. The government needs to learn more about what is happening at the local level and we look forward to participating in the dialogue with citizens about their problems,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister.
One highlight of the conference was the vivid presentation on the CMC project from Kloop Media Foundation, showing the local reporting already underway in the villages by young correspondents. Topics include school under population, lack of preschool facilities and sports facilities for youth, hazardous waste removal.

Rinat Tykhvanshin, New Technologies Manager for Kloop Media Foundation emphasized that the young correspondents see these problems at home every day. Through community reporting and posting of their stories Kloop’s website and through Kloop’s network of affiliated media, the whole country becomes aware of their plight and a national dialogue can begin.

Sergey Karpov, UNESCO Almaty Communication and Information Officer, gave a mini-master class to conference participants on aspects of communication for development, showing them the importance for of reporting on social issues at the individual level, giving a voice to vulnerable groups, and the value of community dialogue in achieving social justice.

“Sammy was the original ‘tripple threat’, no one was better than him, no one will probably ever be better than him” … “We have a guy in the show, Dezmond Meeks, and he is, well, he is really close. He can sing, he can dance and he really delivers.”

- Billy Karl, Director

When I moved out to Las Vegas with Dezmond Meeks in 2005 it was because he got a well-paying gig performing as Sammy Davis Jr with this corporate, but touring, Rat Pack Show. I saw the show a few times being performed for some large corporate events but it was always these keynote-type dinner-and-a-show performances in a hotel confernece hall. They were nice performances, live band etc.. but the atmosphere was just blah. While Dezmond has been making huge advances in his own career and music, (see DezmondMeeks.com) he has continued to work with the Rat Pack show off and on for these past 7 years.

Today the show released a documentary about the performenace and it is amazing to see how large the show has grown and the level of talent it has come to include. Check it out!

The film is called “The Making of Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show! A NEW Film Documentary”

January 7th is the date of Orthodox Christmas. For a long and detailed explanation of why this differs from the western-celebrated December 25th Christmas you can refer to this article on Wikipedia. My friend Dimity instructed me to the time and place where the Orthodox observance of Christmas could be witnessed in Bishkek and I wrangled up about 15 other foreign friends and we went to the Bishkek Orthodox Cathedral together at 8pm to take it all in.

We were instructed that the ceremony would begin when the first stars appeared in the sky. Locally that was a little before 8pm. However, the rule actually applies to when the first starts appear of Israel, not where the local church stands. So at 11pm the ceremony began.

While we waited we took in the vast collection of artwork and relics in the church. I also took some time to light a few prayer candles and send up some wishes to a few folks. I lit a candle from my mom, dad, Dezmond Meeks and Alice Suzanne Harrington (newborn daughter of my friends Eddie and Emily Harrington). And yes Dezmond, I put yours on the highest place of the most elaborate and jewel-adorned place available!

As the main event was about to get started, we stood in two rows outside in the cold waiting for this bishop to walk from another part of the church compound into the main church, blessing us along the way. While standing in line I met a Russian guy named Eugene who spoke quite good English and was well-versed in everything that was going on. He was kind enough to stay with us for the duration of the event and explain what was going on. He also gave us the expectation that this would last not less than five hours. Of course this makes me quite appreciative for the maximum-1-hour church services where we get to sit in America!

I only lasted about 2 hours into the service when I decided I had seen enough and was falling asleep standing up. During this time there was mostly the reciting of names of disciples and saints, lots of prayers and lots of bowing. As I was leaving the Bishop was calling for the bread and wine to be brought out for communion. The process to bless and prepare the wine and bread would take about an hour. At which time people could begin to take communion.

The whole experience was fantastic and though I wish I had the strength to stay all night I am happy to have seen what I did. Thanks to my new-found friend Eugene I am sure to revisit the church soon and get a better idea of how Russian Orthodox followers practice their faith.

Here are some fantastic photos of the Cathedral. I took the first two inside during the midnight mass but it was a little difficult to appropriately take photos. So I found some other ones on the internet. Source: http://ianbek.kg/?p=6174

Here is a great video I found on YouTube of nice panoramic shots of the inside and outside of the cathedral. The inside is much different than what we expect in the west.