The pre flight witter

There is probably some kind of multisyllabic syndrome or mental aberration associated with the urge to hurl yourself halfway round the world to live in a country you know next to nowt about, which speaks a language that makes as much sense to you as a drunken walrus with a soar throat gargling the Mongolian national anthem whilst wearing a conveniently walrus shaped spacesuit.  It may have something to do with an extreme defensive response to the fear of abandonment; although if you ask a Freudian it probably has more to do with willies.  Whatever is the root of this malady however, I fear that I am a sufferer.  Unfortunately, as I have a pathological aversion to support groups, benign bearded gentlemen repeating my last statement back at me as if it were a new question rather than just the last thing I said, and well meaning group therapy leaders shoving positive empathy in my face, I will just have to deal with the consequences of this affliction.
And so you find me, dearest readers, on the verge of taking a flight to the city of Bishkek, capital of the Kyrgyz Republic (or Kyrgyzstan if you like stanning).  Now I would like to say that I chose this particular course of action as a result of careful research and clear, logical decision making.   A more accurate description is that I chose this particular course of action because:

a)      I saw the job advert and thought ‘mmm, Kyrgyzstan, I know sweet diddly squat about that country...sounds intriguing’

b)      I liked the fact it was a country with k y and z in the name (if you can name another country with all three letters in its name I will award a prize)

c)       It was advertised as ‘The Switzerland of Central Asia’

Now although I have no great compulsion to go and work in ‘The Switzerland of Europe’ (though I have met a number of Swiss people and they were very fine, if worryingly neat, people); ’The Switzerland of Central Asia’ is to me a highly compelling concept.
I have done a small amount of pre journey complete ignorance reducing however...so here is the distillation of my knowledge of the Kyrgyz Republic:

1)      It has lots of mountains and not much else (hence the Switzerland bit I think)

2)      It is a bloody long way from any sea

3)      It has a big inland lake which is traditionally held to be sacred

4)      Kyrgyz people ride horses, fly falcons and have been known to abide in Yurts

I figure that this should be sufficient information to allow me to blend in seamlessly with the local people. 
So there you go, on Saturday 23^rd of October in the year of our lord 2010 I shall be jetting of to a country where my ignorance knows no bounds.  I shall of course be keeping you informed of any cracks that might form in that herculean and monumental ignorance. ..