valerie

September 14, 2025 - from yesterday morning, when our power was out. You can see how the area closest to us was without power, but farther away the buildings have lights on

view of out a window at dawn. Buildings in the foreground are dark, but buildings in the background have lights

September 13, 2025 - walking 10 floors down the stairs with my fiancΓ© (not pictured) because not only were we without power for most of the day, but the building generator wasn’t working for about two hours, during which we couldn’t use the elevator. Some parts of the stairs are not maintained..

tiled floor and stairs with some missing parts of tiles and some chipped tiles

September 12, 2025 - another stray cat I sometimes see, usually after work on my way home from the bus stop. This one will eat my snacks but is skittish about sudden movements, and in general any movements made toward it (so I don’t get to pet it)

brown and black striped cat with a white muzzle, neck and paws crawling out from under a thick, metal fence (blocking off construction)

September 11, 2025 - I have always seen this (coal?) plant from a distance, but this was my first time being there up close

Building with four smoke stacks visible across the street, close to a car repair shop

September 10, 2025 - one of my students bought the chocolate thing and dropped it in the hall outside our classroom. It broke and there was a pile of chocolate sauce on the floor πŸ˜’ at least it was on the side of the hall and not in the middle, but still, no one told me…I just found it there 😞

chocolate parfaits with marshmallows on top inside a clear coffee shop display case. Thick, round sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap underneath

September 9, 2025 - I try to feed this cat snacks on the way to school, but it always rejects them. I guess that means it is fed enough, which is good

orange and white cat sitting under a bush

September 8, 2025 - when we went to Ala Archa Park at the end of August, four horses without any people attending to them passed us quickly at a particularly narrow part of the trail. It was a little scary because we were going up and they were going down to the river for water

horse walking down a rocky path

September 7, 2025 - cool sunset on the way home from the supermarket

pink/orange sunset visible at the end of a city street

September 6, 2025 - sign: no parking
car: well, I’m not directly in front of the sign or behind it, so must be okay

gray and white car next to a metal gate with 'no parking' painted on it

September 5, 2025 - Georgian restaurant. This tarhun tasted so different from the bottled, carbonated stuff in stores (in a good way!). And the khinkali salt and pepper shakers were very cute. The ambience of the place was cool, and the food was good, too

green drink in a clear cup on top of a dark red patterned table fabric, next to khinkali (Georgian dumpling) shaped salt and pepper shakers

September 4, 2025 - there’s a little park with sculptures like this around, though mostly of people. This one was called something like “relaxing”

statue of a big cat, probably meant to be a snow leopard because those live in Kyrgyzstan

September 3, 2025 - a student made these for me 😁

Three small pieces of paper, one with a pizza, one with a bunny, and one with a strange cat-like creature drawn on them. Also folded so that they stand up by themselves on a surface

September 2, 2025 - Bishkek traffic at 6:30 pm

10th floor view of a busy Bishkek road

September 1, 2025 - I’m so glad my fridge can hold 175 L of milk, said the lactose intolerant woman
(yes, I know it doesn’t have to be milk in a carton, or the milk could be lactose free! I’m just trying to be funny πŸ™ƒ I have no other interesting pictures because of school)

Sticker on a fridge with its specifications in a yellow-ish light, due to light shining into the room through a colored curtain (not pictured)

August 31, 2025 - yesterday at Ala Archa Park

Mountains, trees, and a stream on a sunny day with a clear blue sky

August 30, 2025 - got one last hike in at Ala Archa Park to see this waterfall before the school year gets into full swing

Waterfall

August 29, 2025 - saw a good shirt

Strange back of a shirt with a picture of a cartoon driver with a unibrow who looks like he is wearing a paper bag over his face, with the text underneath: "moth-eaten but I think Mrs. Pepper can make her a little red coat out of the good part"

August 28, 2025 - a student randomly brought slices of cake to school today for my teaching assistant and me

One slice of cheesecake and a half-hearted slice of cheesecake with pistachio, both on a white plate

August 27, 2025 - one student stayed inside during recess to paint: “my mom doesn’t let me paint at home because she says I will make a mess”
later:

(to be clear, I thought the situation was funny. This student is so sweet and well-behaved, and I don’t want to get in the way of her creativity!)

orange and yellow paint on a light gray/brown classroom floor

August 26, 2025 - I used a foot mask for the first time ever yesterday, and I was quite amused by how it looked and felt 😁 I want to buy another pack

feet, each inside a boot made of what looks like white face mask material

August 25, 2025 - 2/4 of today’s bouquet haul. It’s nice, but it also feels weird – why bring a bouquet for a teacher you don’t even know yet? Who knows, maybe I will end up being the worst teacher of your child’s life! (I really hope not, but you never know πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ)

large bouquet of light pink roses, and a smaller bouquet of red roses

August 24, 2025 - the new Kochkor animal bazaar location. I went on my birthday earlier this month before I moved back to Bishkek. I just wanted to at least see it before leaving. The blue words on the fence say “cattle bazaar” in Kyrgyz

A lot of vans and cars parked in the distance behind a concrete fence. Mountains even further in the distance

August 23, 2025 - first time eating Kyrgyz food (manty) since leaving my village…I don’t miss it πŸ™ƒ actually, it was not bad, but I just can’t stand eating it anymore. Seems like this restaurant is trying hard to preserve the use of Kyrgyz though, which is cool. (It says “eat!” all over the plate)

One many (Kyrgyz dumpling) on a plate that has ΠΆΠ΅ (eat!) printed on the surface many times around the restaurant logo

August 22, 2025 - last Friday we had a ‘party’ at school πŸ™‚

food, including boxes of pizza, laid out on several tables

August 21, 2025 - it’s not in the picture, but I got a smartboard in my new classroom (the old school counselor’s office)!

black metal rack to hold a smartboard nailed to a classroom wall