Journal 2

Kyrgyzstan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations is surprisingly small. It consists of two rooms, one of which is sectioned into 3. There has been no space for me to work with them in their offices. I don’t say this though to call blame or speak against. Rather, I am grateful for their lack of space. I am grateful because the Ambassador has basically given me my assignment and sent me to find my own way. By doing so, I have been able to see some of the most amazing sights of my life. Right now in fact, I am sitting in this amazing little book shop typing up the summation of my day and the day’s research.

The owner has “volunteers” who come in and work for him. Often times he walks outside and doesn’t come back for 10-15 minutes. But this is accepted by the patrons and they wait. Only to have the owner come back and everyone greets each other with smiles on their faces.

There is a friendliness to this city that I was never told about. If you think that this is the city you are supposed to be in, then it must be so, and nothing anyone says will make it otherwise. The denizens of this city understand this fact and respect it… if you respect it.

After meeting with the Ambassador yesterday he gave me an assignment, to look into the effects of watershed degradation and thematic disasters in mountainous regions. Because of sharp slopes, high and low temperatures, and how they vary depending upon altitude the effects of natural disasters are compounded in mountainous regions. Landslides, mudslides, and soil erosion effect farmers in those areas at a magnitude not seen in the Texas Panhandle. This leads to unfavorable farming practices, loss of life, and an economic downturn that you wouldn’t see in Utah and the prime slopes of Park City.

The more I read of the resolutions set forth by the United Nations, the more I realize the incredible struggles that some, not all, countries deal with. And that right there is the necessity of what I am doing here at the UN.