valerie

August 12, 2024 - yurt camp at Lake Song-Kul

two groups of yurts in front of small hills

August 11, 2024 - the highest point on our hike to Lake Song-Kul at 3400 meters / 11,150 feet. We drove part of the way from Kyzart village on flat roads, and then got out to hike the uphill part. I think it was around a 13 km hike (one way)

view of mountains

August 10, 2024 - Lake Song-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

wave on a lake, mountains in the background

August 9, 2024 - small gathering area near a local government building in Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan

grassy area with 3 yurts and two swings behind a fence

August 8, 2024 - Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan

donkey looking at the camera tied to a fence

August 7, 2024 - school in Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan

orange, yellow, and white school building with a green roof

August 6, 2024 - Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan

mountains

August 5, 2024 - the inside toilets at my school are finished and they look really nice! Here’s to hoping we will actually be able to use them..
(also, remember that picture of the window that I used to climb in and out of the school? …yeah, it’s this bathroom’s window 😅)

new squat toilet stall

August 4, 2024 - saw this bird on my walk yesterday. I was able to get pretty close to it, which seemed weird. I don’t know if it was injured? or if its home was nearby so it was just chilling? Unfortunately, I only had my work phone (which has a crappy camera) at the time

a brown bird (hawk?) sitting among rocks and grass

August 3, 2024 - Went to school for a club. Passed some teachers outside the front of the school eating ice cream, including the director. Go to my classroom, sit, no students come. Oh well, time to go. That’s when I realized I got locked in my school 🙄 pictured is the window I climbed out from

first floor window over a covered area for a door leading to the school basement

August 2, 2024 - looks like my school already bought coal for winter 😳 feels ironic because yesterday was one of the hottest days we’ve had in my village (29-30°C)

large pile of coal beside a light-colored school building

August 1, 2024 - returned to my host family’s house yesterday afternoon. My mom and sister were making mashed potatoes, and they used an old glass bottle to mash them 😁

person standing and holding a glass bottle to mash potatoes in a red pot

July 31, 2024 - drawing on a fence at President Park in Cholpon Ata

graffiti style pelican in black paint on a fence made of large gray bricks

July 30, 2024 - hot spring pools in Cholpon Ata. Each pool had a slightly different temperature, ranging from extremely cold to extremely hot

8 circular pools of slightly different sizes and shades of blue

July 29, 2024 - stopped during a driving excursion in the mountains near Cholpon Ata

blue sky and green mountains

July 28, 2024 - Lake Issyk-Kul. Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan

lake with barely visible mountains in the distance

July 27, 2024 - back of the guesthouse hotel where I am staying for the next few days! Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan

side view of the back of a two-floor house with a gray brick walkway on the right

July 26, 2024 - felt rugs drying on the fence outside of my school

teal-painted fence with two large felt rugs hanging to dry

July 25, 2024 - day trip to Lake Issyk-Kul with my host family yesterday. Balykchy, Kyrgyzstan

lake water with mountains in the background

July 24, 2024 - helped my family make manti the other day by putting the formed manti into the steamers. I apparently did a bad job of this because we had to squeeze a lot onto each steamer layer 😂

formed and filled manti (dumplings) in a metal steamer layer

July 23, 2024 - sprinkler in the small garden in front of my host family’s house. They water these plants a lot (including in the middle of the day, when most Americans would say it’s not a good use of water) and then I remembered that it’s quite dry here

small orange and blue sprinkler in a small vegetable garden connected to a green hose

July 22, 2024 - it’s jam preparation season! Here is cherry jam sitting to cool

large blue bowl of cherry jam, including whole cherries

July 21, 2024 - if your name is Tom, know that you are loved by someone in Kyrgyzstan (but not me 😅). Ormon Khan Park, Kyrgyzstan

concrete barrier with "I love you Tom! (heart)" graffiti in now faded green paint

July 20, 2024 - when I went hiking about a week ago with friends who came to visit, we found this small hole/cave

small hole in rock / cave

July 19, 2024 - sports field in my village. I came here yesterday because it’s one of the only places in my villages with benches. Unfortunately, the road where I took the photo from is very busy, with cars driving from the village to the fields and back, so I didn’t stay long

small football (soccer) field with a tall fence all around it, new wooden benches along one side of the field. small mountains visible in the background on the left