Today a subset of our students had to take the OPI-c (oral proficiency interview, computer-mediated). We had a few tech glitches, but with the exception of two tests, I think all went off well. As for those two... we'll have to see what the results say.

In the afternoon I needed to make some copies, so I stopped by a Photography Studio that also had a photocopier. A family was ahead of me, spouses and three kids, one of whom appeared to have chicken pox. No problem, that. I watched the photoshop guy go over each pockmark and clean it up for the portrait. I was much amused.

Alas, the line was too long for photocopies today. Remind me next year to have copies included as part of the contract. This year I pay for them all myself because I suspect our KG partner has cut margins so close that even asking them to make a copy would reduce their profits.

I'm also asking them to store a couple things for me our my replacement. I bought an ironing board and fan here. No reason for next year's RD to buy the same thing. Nor the router that gives me internet access.

For one group of students we do official OPI-c tests to check their oral proficiency. For the rest we do in-house assessments, which means I interviewed 17 of our students today. That took five hours. After five hours of focus, I am ready for a bit of defocusing. So what do I do? Facebook, post photos, read... in other words, I seem to never completely defocus.

Wow, our last day of classes in Bishkek, and we are getting actual rain. I'm shocked. The cool air feels amazing.

This is the sixth summer in a row I've run 8-week programs from ASU. The previous five summers have been in Kazan. Kazan sometimes has giardia in the city water supply, so on occasion I myself or students have been treated with metronidazole to get rid of the parasite. (Actually, it's never been properly confirmed that we ourselves specifically giardia, but the symptoms match, and the treatment was effective.) During week six of my stay in Bishkek I finally decided my 4-5 weeks of diarrhea was ridiculous. The symptoms/smells/colors seemed similar to my previous experience in Kazan, so I went to the pharmacy, grabbed some metronidazole, and the symptoms cleared up by the time I took the second pill. I took the full course, of course, twice a day for five days. And then 2-3 days after that, the symptoms were back.

Мost of my food here is heat-treated: I'm not eating fresh fruits and vegetables for the most part, just cooked, but I am drinking about two liters of tap water a day. Myself, I strongly suspect that the city tap water supply here has some kind of parasite. Next year, I will drink only boiled water, and probably try to pre-treat myself with acidophilus tablets. And of course once I get on the plane back to Arizona, I'll dose myself with the next round of metronidazole to get rid of this batch of whatever it is. If I get back to AZ and it takes something else to resolve the situation, I'll let you know.

The students have finished their last class and are now with their language coaches for the last time. Joy abounds. And as always I look at them and my overflows with affection for them. I do hope they keep in touch: I'm interested in what happens in their futures.