valerie

December 27, 2024 - road from Naryn City to Kochkor again, this time closer to Naryn City (yes, this was taken from inside a car 😅)

road snaking right next to a series of small snow covered hills, with mountains behind in the distance

December 26, 2024 - I finished the 2nd grade Kyrgyz music textbook, so I started the 2nd grade Kyrgyz language textbook. Makes me wonder if I’m stupid when I read a text like this and feel like I got nothing at the end of it! But it’s okay, my Kyrgyz teacher will help me understand it

inside a book; illustration of two men on horses with people standing behind them; Kyrgyz text underneath

December 25, 2024 - what? It’s Christmas??

five dark brown sheep with wide eyes and alert ears

December 24, 2024 - was taking a break in my classroom when my second coteacher texted me to open the door to the classroom next door. She was teaching a lesson that she teaches alone. Apparently, a student closed the door hard and then they couldn’t open the door from the inside 😅

black, metal door knob loosely sitting on a gray, metal bar sticking out from the door

December 23, 2024 - some interesting items on this menu from a restaurant in Naryn City, including “liquid lagman” and “fantasy meat patties”

menu with items in English and prices in Kyrgyz som

December 22, 2024 - on the road from Naryn City to Kochkor

curved downhill road with brown mountains on both sides, white mountains in the distance

December 21, 2024 - Naryn City. Here for a Christmas party with other volunteers (since we work on Christmas Day. The last day of school before winter break is Friday, December 27th. I can’t wait)

two buildings in front of mountains

December 20, 2024 - played Othello for the first time in my life earlier this month as part of an English game/activity demonstration

blue and pink dots on a paper Othello board, with English sentences at the ends

December 19, 2024 - taken from inside a moving car with tinted windows. Mountains near the village I visited yesterday. The scenery there was beautiful, and I wish I had had time to take pictures in the actual village. Generally wish for more time, daylight and health to spend outdoors in winter

snowy mountains

December 18, 2024 - visited a teacher in another village, and her students presented project work on English speaking countries. This was the display that the American group made

contiguous US made of cardboard, with a school bus, Golden Gate Bridge, White House, NASA, and Statue of Liberty accessories

December 17, 2024 - the mountains south of my village (they’re farther away than they look in the picture, about 10 - 15 kilometers away)

snowy mountains behind village (brown trees, dirt road, some houses)

December 16, 2024 - I think this is a raven?

small and plump-looking raven walking across ground with rocks on it (grass behind the raven)

December 15, 2024 - dangerous guard dogs

two geese (one white, one gray and white) in front of a house with a teal gate

December 14, 2024 - getting warmed up

looking down at a small semi-trailer truck, with exhaust in the air around the front

December 13, 2024 - same window from last year that only has a single pane and ices over on the inside when the temperature is cold enough. Today the ice melted and made a watery mess on the windowsill, which had a lot of papers on it 🙃

windowpane on left covered with (about to melt) ice; normal windowpane on right

December 12, 2024 - a peek of yesterday morning’s taxi. I was sitting in the back seat. I liked the seat upholstery that looked like an older chair/sofa pattern. It was so cold both outside and inside the taxi that I could see my own breath in the taxi 🥶

back of the passenger car seat with floral upholstery

December 11, 2024 - Japanese tea ceremony demonstration by JICA volunteers 🙂

four people mixing matcha powder in hot water for tea with bamboo tea whisks

December 10, 2024 - the poop shed behind our outhouse

shed with gaps in the walls containing piles of (cow) poop. to the left, a fence, and an outhouse

December 9, 2024 - picture from last week at moonrise

tiniest sliver of a waxing crescent moon in a pale pink/orange sunset sky, with mountains below

December 8, 2024 - farming machine in someone’s yard with “Kyrgyzstan” written on it in Cyrillic letters

red farming machine with "Kyrgyzstan" written on it in Cyrillic letters, next to a house

December 7, 2024 - English poster for sale outside of a school supplies store. U for Umbrella, V for Violin, W for Volf

part of an English poster showing the letters of the English alphabet and one word starting with each letter

December 6, 2024 - tired and sick again, so here’s a picture from last month

pigeons on a teal roof with snow

December 5, 2024 - today, 8:00 am. No Daylight Savings Time here

pink and gray sunrise over snowy mountains

December 4, 2024 - my host sister decorated her room for winter 😁

room. paper trees and stars on the window. 3 craft snowflakes on the wall

December 3, 2024 - comparing to yesterday’s picture…the village canal in mid-November after the first snow. The canal still had water in it at that time

village canal with snow on either side on a bright day