valerie
August 25, 2022 - traditional Kyrgyz dining seating that you can see in some restaurants, but I don’t know if it has a name! You sit directly on the carpets, but first you must take off your shoes before getting onto the platform
August 24, 2022 - trying to make sense of “Water Drinks”
Left: ‘water’ (вода) and ‘drinks’ (напитки) in Russian.
Right: ‘drinks’ in Kyrgyz (суусундуктар)? Though this word also includes the Kyrgyz word for water (суу).
So the English might be a literal translation of the Kyrgyz? Or maybe the intent was to list ‘water’ and ‘drinks’ separately like in Russian, but having the English on the bottom together like it is doesn’t convey that meaning, especially when there is no ‘and’
August 23, 2022 - near-empty marshrutka (маршрутка, Google and others translate it to ‘minibus’ which I don’t feel is accurate because it’s more van-like imo). They usually have ~15 seats, but don’t worry - if all the seats are taken, you can just stand wherever there is room!
August 22, 2022 - the entrance of Madina Bazaar, apparently the place to go if you want to buy fabric, have clothing adjusted, or eat great Uyghur food (though my friend and I went just as it closed, so it wasn’t bustling at all at the time the photo was taken)
August 20, 2022 - went to a Uyghur event this evening where I drank traditional milk tea. It tasted salty, similar to the Mongolian milk tea I tried in Inner Mongolia (China), though it wasn’t exactly the same
August 19, 2022 - hiking viewpoint of two lakes with Lake Sary-Chelek on the right. Even with a picture of the map I still can’t figure out which lake is on the left, I guess the one which has a stream connecting to Sary-Chelek?
August 18, 2022 - map of Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve and its 7 lakes (the largest lake is Sary-Chelek itself)
August 17, 2022 - long story short, the electricity bill hadn’t been paid and we received this threat to shut it off 🙃 it should be (mostly) taken care of now, though
August 16, 2022 - Naryn River, one of the longest in Kyrgyzstan
(this picture of the Naryn River is from the Jalal-Abad region)
August 15, 2022 - got a tiny newspaper at my door. It has ads for supplements & vitamins and reviews from people who supposedly used them (and their pics). Then I translated the title: секрет долголетия = The secret to longevity/a long life. Wonder how much the reviewers got paid
August 14, 2022 - fried fish lunch at Toktogul Reservoir on the way back to Bishkek. My first time eating seafood (or should I say ‘riverfood’, ‘lakefood’ or ‘other water-source food’ given that there are no seas here?) from a restaurant in Kyrgyzstan. It was pretty good!
August 13, 2022 - Lake Sary-Chelek in the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve, Jalal-Abad (location). Sary-Chelek is one of 7 lakes in the reserve, and it is the largest and most famous. I swam here, too. The water was colder than in the Toktogul Reservoir, but not unbearably so
August 12, 2022 - Toktogul Reservoir, Jalal-Abad region (Google Maps makes it look like it is in the Talas region, but my understanding and other sources, including this one, show that it is part of Jalal-Abad)
We swam here. It was nice and refreshing, not too cold.
August 10, 2022 - a medical center I pass on the way home from my Russian lessons with a sign in three languages. Yes, it looks dark, but there are actually a lot of people out at this time because it’s summer and this location is in the center of the city
August 9, 2022 - my students always recommend this confectionery called Kulikovsky, and decided I might as well try it for my birthday. I bought this raspberry flavored sherbet and a discounted two day old slice of cheesecake with jam on top. Both were really good!
August 8, 2022 - garden and sitting area outside of the building where I have Russian lessons. If there was a place like this closer to where I lived, I would use it often
August 7, 2022 - have wondered how I would manage if an ATM ate my card and didn’t return it. Gave me a bit of a scare when this ATM sat thinking for a while. Luckily, it spit my card out after giving me this screen (“answer not received”) and another one saying “ATM offline”
August 6, 2022 - Caucasus flatbread called lavash. Sold in supermarkets. This was the smallest one I saw - some of the others are huge. Other foreigners have said that this is the closest thing you can buy to a tortilla in Bishkek. Curious to see how it tastes
August 5, 2022 - not an actual picture, but this Kyrgyz song (YouTube link) is (or was recently) popular in Kyrgyzstan. It’s called Ким билет (which translates to ‘Who knows’) 🎵
It’s also on Spotify
August 4, 2022 - some American students studying Russian at my school got covid, and this is the higher-ups’ response. I’m not exactly sure who the target audience is (American or local students?). Perhaps the former since a 1000 som fine is quite steep for locals. Or both? 🤷
August 2, 2022 - a student brought me kvass today. I don’t go out of my way to get kvass, but it’s good. It was definitely refreshing on this hot day
