Tonkeris

25 may 2012

Today I decided to head out to another village in the Sayrum-Ugam National Park

After having no luck finding public transport I got a shared taxi with a family from the market in Shymkent. I arrived in the small village of Tonkeris and the taxi driver started asking around to see if there was somewhere where I could stay. I was taken to the home of the headmaster of the village school and his wifwho was was the headmistress of the secondary school. This family took me into their home and I shared in their life for two days.

We conversed via gestures and pictures, dictionary translations and phone calls to an older daughter who spoke a little English. One daughter took me round the village, proudly showing me their river, mountains, primary school, friends homes and other aspects of their village life. We saw all the animals of the village; goats, cows, horses, donkeys and a few dogs. I was asked to try the locally produced dried cheese balls and mares milk.

In the evening I sat on top of a hillside with the mother of the family, Rano, watching the sun setting as she pointed out all the landmarks. She said this was her favorite place in the world and she loved the peacefulness. I could definitely agree - it was a wonderful place to unwind.