Still Waiting...

So we still don't know anything more about the possible base closure. The media here talks as if it is absolutely closing, but there has been no official eviction notice. If and when the notice is served, the US will have 180 days to shut down the base. Parliament was supposed to vote this week on the closure, however they have decided to delay the vote until Russia fronts $450 million of the promised loan package. This is interesting since up until now both Russia and Kyrgyzstan have stated that the $2 billion loan package offered by Russia is merely coincidence with the decision to close the base...ya right.

Is the Adventure Over???

I was taking a break from the relentless testing schedule 0f my poor 7 year old students when my house of cards began to fall... I saw a headline on Yahoo stating that the Kyrgyzstan government was officially closing the base here in Bishkek. It's only been rumor thus far, but this time it sounds like it could be for real. The locals at my school informed me that regular TV programming was interrupted last night and the president came on to make the announcement. The president made the announcement from Moscow, not from Kyrgyzstan, giving the local media one more thing to ridicule him for. He has a history of telling one foreign dignitary one story and another a completely contradictory story, thus explaining Gen. Patraeus being told 2 weeks ago here in Bishkek that there were no ongoing negotiations with Russia and no plans to close the base. Who knows??? Russia is offering a 2 billion dollar loan package to the Kyrgyz government if they will oust the Americans. Since the company I work for pulled a fast one on me when I was hired, that means if Karl goes, I go. So, in short, now we wait. Will this be just a tile or two falling off our roof? Or will our cozy Soviet shoebox all come tumbling down...