valerie
August 19, 2025 - I have sadly moved classrooms, and now I am where the counselor’s office used to be. The room is mostly fine, there’s just 0 technology (which I can work with) and it is quite small for me and 22 4th graders
August 18, 2025 - took this picture to try to remember where I need to go when I return to this hospital. This is outside of one of the hospital entrances. I have to do a lot of tests for my work visa, sigh
August 17, 2025 - someone was enjoying a peaceful afternoon at the relatively new Chinese shop not far from our apartment
(speaking of the Chinese store, I bought Dayao (大窑) there, a carbonated drink I haven’t had since I lived in Hohhot!)
August 16, 2025 - Rakija (Serbian fruit brandy) that my fiancé’s friend brought as a gift when he recently moved back to Bishkek from Serbia. I don’t drink, and I’ve never seen my fiancé drink hard liquor, so I don’t know what we will do with this 😂
August 15, 2025 - made some butter cookies earlier this week. They weren’t great, but they also weren’t horrible. At least my fiance and I managed to eat them all
August 14, 2025 - my (currently empty) classroom for the upcoming school year! I will be teaching 4th grade. The first day that the students come is August 25
August 13, 2025 - my ‘welcome back to Bishkek’ gift. Today, I officially completed my 2 year volunteer service. Now, like before service, I’m just a teacher living in Bishkek. Unfortunately, my pictures will be less scenic from here on out. I hope to find more interesting things in Bishkek to share
August 11, 2025 - amusement park in Bosteri, Issyk-Kul. I went on the Ferris wheel with my host sister and her friend 🙂
August 9, 2025 - it’s my birthday! My host mom and sister bought the cake and we took it to a cafe to eat with our lunch. Each candle indicates one decade of life
August 6, 2025 - the Kochkor animal bazaar used to be here. Recently, it moved to a different location, and now this place looks abandoned
Never noticed the arch until I took the picture. It says “Tendik Bazaar”. (This is actually Tendik village, not Kochkor, but it’s right next to Kochkor)
August 5, 2025 - monument at the edge of Kochkor near two gas stations. I find it ironic that there are benches here to sit on, but besides people at the gas stations, who is going to come here to sit? It’s a bit of a walk from the center of Kochkor, at least 30 minutes
August 4, 2025 - car for students learning how to drive. I see very few of these in Kyrgyzstan, especially on the road
in Kochkor
August 3, 2025 - friend’s host family’s house in Jalal-Abad with a compound-style layout of several buildings around an open courtyard (which you can’t see here, the courtyard is behind where I stood). Outside the gate, the building in the distance is her school - 2 min walk to work for her!
August 1, 2025 - bowling alley in Jalal-Abad! when we arrived, my friend and I were the only people there, so the worker let us connect a phone to their Bluetooth and play our own music 😁
July 31, 2025 - Ferris wheel at the amusement park in Arslanbob. My friend and I wanted to ride it, but it wasn’t on :( we were able to do bumper cars and another ride, though
July 30, 2025 - view of Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyzstan, from the Jalal-Abad sign (not pictured here, but I posted it a few days ago)
July 29, 2025 - Arslanbob is basically a village on a giant hill, which makes it a little tiring to walk around. There are a lot of cars like this there that people use to get around more easily. My friend and I rode one once from our guesthouse to the center before we left
July 28, 2025 - Arslanbob has a big waterfall and a small waterfall that tourists can visit. This is the small waterfall, which is closer to the village center, and easier for tourists without vehicles to get to
July 27, 2025 - Arslanbob, Kyrgyzstan. Famous for its large walnut forest, and the village’s primary industry
