Wow, almost a week without writing - oops - I forgot that I had decided to hold off on describing the Illyi River trip. We met at the school at 10 am to pile into two old buses which always seem to be ours. We were told to bring enough water and food for the day and to expect hot, shadeless conditions at the river. The buses took us out of Kapchigai into the steppe. It is incredibly flat here with a huge sky stretching away; the clouds stagger across the sky for hours. It truly feels like Montana sometimes. After turning off on a dusty, bumpy dirt road, the buses approached an edge that left us all gaping. Below us, and spreading to either side, was a steep, rocky arroyo that would be considered respectable in the American West. Huge brown, rocky slopes led down to a fast, dark, blue-green river. All this is basically invisible until you are right on top of it. Even the Kazakstanis who are not from Kapchigai were stunned, claiming not to have known something like this. It is really not possible to put it into words. From the bottom, the buses were small rectangles on the horizon. The vertical drop must have been at least a thousand feet, so it was no small canyon. With cries of pleasure, we all threw on our backpacks and scuttled down the trail. We should have taken heed of the bones of a horse scattered among the rocks part way down - dum dum de dum... It was hot and dusty down there with absolutely no shade to be found, lots of sunburns on Monday resulted. The flies/gnats were also quite annoying. The current was swift enough that one couldn't swim fast enough to stay in place, so we had to walk upstream and jump in, letting the current carry us down to our spot. I was about to swim across the river, at least a couple hundred feet or more, when Paul, the 71 year old W.W.II and Korean War Vet, beat me to it. A boat came along, a small outboard engine type, and Kristen, the woman in charge of training flagged it down and had them go ferry Paul back. The next thing I knew, the boat started taking loads of Americans for trips up and down the river for 100T a head. After a cold lunch of vegetables, fruit and bread, Kelly, another volunteer, and I took up for a vertical hike up a slope further down the river. It was a good but brutal hike and allowed an excellent view back down into the valley. Part way up the slope, we found a sort of cave that gave us a thankful break from the sun. [The cave] would be big enough for two people to sleep in, although a little rocky underfoot. We could see many tents and shelters along the banks; apparently it is quite a popular place for the locals. We hope to go back for a camping trip. We could also see a half submerged barge crosswise in the river, creating an interesting island and currents. A hike along the rim of the canyon led us to another valley, or gorge, which was filled with birds. I at first thought their cries were running water at a distance. The ground was covered with droppings, sticks, and the shells of a snail that must be a bird staple. We also found many nests in crevices under foot, filled with cheeping babies. The parents buzzed us as we scrabbled down dung covered rocks to the dusty, brushy valley floor. Incredible - I wish I could describe it better. I did take a photo that I think will show it well. Before we headed back up to the bus as a group (half had already taken off), we had a quick swim. I took pity on Kristen and volunteered to carry the heavy medical kit and her bag in my backpack if she carried my leaky food bag-a bad idea, by the time I got to the top. The leaky food bag had spilled in my backpack earlier, making it a tasty treat for the ants that were in the anthill I put my backpack on! Ugh-it took a while to get those suckers off. The climb up (my second) almost killed me with the heavy backpack. It was hot and dusty, with loose, slidey rock underfoot. We were beat and inhaled all our water at the top. Thank goodness we brought enough, some people didn't and were very unhappy. Lets just say we slept well that night. Monday, 6/16, was Daniel's b-day and we gave him one of the Good Will hats, saying it was my favorite hat, just a little white lie. That was the night I got sick as described in the previous letter. Tuesday was spent sleeping and recovering. Wednesday was our free trip to the Aqua Park-what a bizarre experience. A local journalist (TV I think) wants to have a fun competition between a PCV team and a local team in swimming, water polo, diving (not real diving, just jumping & trying to catch a ball), and sliding. The water slide there is huge, fast and dangerous. You can't really control your slide and end up entering the water in a position not often of your choice. The speed with which you hit can make it exhilarating but also painful. The slide definitely would not pass U.S. safety standards. I'm a bit frightened of it and even bruised my lower back when I went in wrong. It's also a suit ripper if you are not careful. There were supposed to be official tryouts for the team, but it ended up being who ever volunteered from the group that showed up that night. Joan and I are on the team primarily because we get to go for a couple of free practices before the big day which will be televised. Those free trips will be nice once it gets really hot. Thursday was Russian day at home. Friday, 6/20, was a little gathering at Jim's apartment while his host family was gone, before heading to the 'Grot' as we call it. It was nice to hang out in a 'private' place and be able to shoot the shit with the other VITs for a while. Unfortunately the Grot did not live up to the magic of last week and the music and dancing were disappointing. I, unfortunately, ended up drinking too much vodka, which I had specifically not wanted to do as today was a busy, fun-filled one. I was quite hung over this morning and very angry with myself for it. It quite marred the majority of today. OK, I'll finish off today either tomorrow or at school. Tonight we're off to the Firefly Cafe for milkshakes. That's right, milkshakes! and to play cards. Love, Rich