Becky Stakun said that when she used to talk about her volunteering experience with the U.S. Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan, people typically wanted the 5-minute version.

You know, the “I had a great time” and “I met lots of cool people” stuff.

Now that the country is being racked by violent protests and has entered the international news cycle, the Kansas University graduate student finds more people wanting to know the details.

She chose to serve in central Asia because of her study of the Russian language, and was placed in Kyrgyzstan. She spent four months there, primarily near Bishkek, the country’s capital, and in its central Naryn region.

Stakun still keeps in contact with friends in the country, where an uprising over quality of life issues, such as increasing utility costs, has toppled the sitting government and left more than 80 people dead.

In some cases, utility costs have gone up more than 400 percent since the beginning of the year, she said, and service is spotty.

“I’d be a little frustrated with them, too,” Stakun said.

She recalled how, in 2008, in the middle of 110-degree summer days, rolling blackouts would sweep over the country to conserve electricity.

Part of her charge from the Peace Corps has been to come to America and spread her knowledge of the region and help tell others why it’s important, so she’s been happy to talk to friends, professors and anyone else who expresses interest.

The United States has an interest in the region for several reasons, including a key military base there used to route troops and supplies into nearby Afghanistan, Stakun said.

“It’s hard to find a good location for these bases,” Stakun said. “We almost lost the lease on the base a few months ago.”

Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader said Tuesday that the government will extend for a year the lease on a U.S. air base, which expires in July.

As the violence intensifies, Stakun said, she doesn’t worry too much about her American friends in the country, saying the Peace Corps has contingency plans to protect volunteers’ safety.

They mostly are suffering from a bit of cabin fever from being holed up inside, she said.

But for the families of the middle school students to whom she taught English, it’s another matter, she said.

“These families have to choose between food and electricity,” Stakun said.