valerie

July 10, 2025 - on Tuesday was stuck at a teacher’s house because of rain. She showed me the shyrdak (colorful patterned Kyrgyz felt carpet) she had in progress (bottom and top left; top right is finished). She said these will become cushions for chairs rather than carpets for the ground

three felt cushions on a carpet; top left and bottom unfinished; top right finished

July 9, 2025 - it was so hot here last week, in the 80s F, about 30 C (which feels really hot when you’re up in the mountains!). Finally back down to the 60s F and 17-20 C because of passing rain. I don’t like hot weather, but I also don’t like rain…but if I had to choose one, I’d rather have rain

mountains in the distance on a cloudy day, with some low clouds passing in front of the mountains

July 8, 2025 - ever wanted to spray 15+ things into your hair, but worried you would inevitably forget something? Well, now there’s hope!

July 7, 2025 - yurt camp at Kol-Ukok

about ten yurts and some vehicles close to a bright blue lake

July 6, 2025 - took advantage of a sunny day to go on a (long) walk to another village. It was close to the mountains. Hitchhiked back with a lovely family who was on their way to Issyk-Kul to relax. They said that the primary industry of their village is raising cows and horses

arch over a road indicating the entrance of a Kyrgyz village

July 5, 2025 - a bouncy place for kids that I saw for the first time in Kochkor. There were clothes and toy shops in the same area

shark/island themed large bouncy castle thing inside a building

July 4, 2025 - Kol-Ukok Lake (Көл Үкөк), about 20km from Kochkor. You can stay in a yurt here, but my friend and I just visited for the day. You can hike there, ride a horse there, or get a taxi there. We opted for a taxi since we were short on time, but it was expensive and the road was very bumpy

mountains behind a light blue lake

July 3, 2025 - looking down at the sheep at my host family’s friend’s house

herd of dark sheep scattered within a valley. mountains visible behind the valley

July 2, 2025 - guesting at a local English teacher’s house

Kyrgyz dining area in a kitchen, with a TV in front of the table

July 1, 2025 - cute gray kitten I saw in Kochkor. It was using one of its back paws to scratch as I took the picture

dark gray kitten with green/brown eyes scratching itself on a patch of dirt/rocky ground

June 30, 2025 - beekeeper working in solitude

beekeeper checking boxes of bees in an isolated place in front of mountains

June 29, 2025 - winding river in a neighboring volunteer’s village
(this river also flows through my village, but I don’t usually take the time to walk there because it’s a little far from my house)

river with dark blue/brown water. some trees along the riverbank. mountains in the background

June 28, 2025 - summer in Naryn oblast, Kyrgyzstan. ephemeral

brown mountains behind green fields

June 27, 2025 - Kyrgyzstan has a collective society, which means that people are generally more informed about each other’s lives, especially in the village. One day, when our cow was pregnant and didn’t want to get up to eat or drink, relatives and some other people I didn’t recognize came over

people standing around a cow lying on the ground

June 26, 2025 - I took this picture on a bridge
Ala Archa Park, Kyrgyzstan

light blue water flowing in a river, green trees along the riverbank

June 25, 2025 - a Slim Jim-looking thing left on the ground to decay
May 2025, inside some hotel on the Vegas strip

short bit of what looks like a slim Jim on a tile floor

June 24, 2025 - flowers that have bloomed
Ala Archa Park, Kyrgyzstan

pink and yellow flowers among lush green leaves

June 23, 2025 - Donkey’s fractured ear has been fixed. Panfilov Park, Bishkek
(I saw this at the same time I noticed that Shrek had been repainted)

close-up of painted sculpture of Donkey from Shrek

June 22, 2025 - seen in the window of a Lego Store in my hometown. Took the picture as I was walking, hence the bad quality

Lego minifigure sculpture made of red, yellow, and black Legos, seen through a window

June 21, 2025 - silhouette

mountain at night

June 20, 2025 - summer is for gathering in nature

two yurts, two cars and several people next to a river

June 19, 2025 - you can buy sumac at a Turkish store in Bishkek. This bag of sumac was 77.88 Kyrgyz som (a little less than 1 USD). 0.088 kg of sumac in this bag times 885 (som for 1 kg of sumac) equals 77.88

June 18, 2025 - texture
Ala Archa Park

fuzzy black and brown caterpillar on the ground

June 17, 2025 - sun and human warmth
Ala Archa Park, Kyrgyzstan

person feeding sunflower seeds to a brown squirrel on a rock

June 16, 2025 - phone couldn’t focus on both, so had to choose one item to be blurred. I opted for the machine that I got this small art souvenir from (it was a small single piece ornament in the shape of a matryoshka)
last month in Las Vegas

hand holding a small white rectangular box with the words