valerie

December 24, 2022 - festive-looking snowman in front of a fancy-looking restaurant

December 23, 2022 - hello from the dentist’s office. just a normal check-up. everything’s fine!

December 22, 2022 - work holiday party at a karaoke place

December 21, 2022 - ‘Online Chess’ lessons advertisement at a bus stop.
“Fast. Easy. Interesting. Learn to play in a month. Dive into the world of chess. You only need a smartphone(?) or laptop.”

December 20, 2022 - Christmas tree in front of a municipal building near my school

December 19, 2022 - foggy (and probably polluted, too) day in Togolok Moldo Park

December 18, 2022 - purple matcha drink in a cafe. spoke with a new friend who is attending the same teaching course as me and who used to work at the school I currently work at

December 17, 2022 - so my friend told me there is a stray cat that hangs around her school (she’s a teacher). What she DIDN’T tell me is that sometimes people let the cat into the school!! Apparently the cat sometimes lies in the recycle bin in the teachers’ office 🤣

December 16, 2022 - coffee shop downtown

December 15, 2022 - slight traffic accident 😬

December 14, 2022 - handwritten Russian is still a mystery to me. Was surprised to get a few words, but then again I know the context. It’s a doctor’s note that I have to get translated into English (everything’s fine). Also, a new spelling of my surname is interesting to see..

December 13, 2022 - a 12 year-old student gave me two small heart-shaped pancakes today. I asked why, and she said, “I don’t know, I just made them.”
(second one is not pictured because it was in my stomach 🙂)

December 12, 2022 - bought this Kyrgyz-Russian-English dictionary about a month ago. I’ve briefly flipped through it and have seen a few English mistakes, but that’s understandable as the book was published here. Hoping there are far fewer mistakes in the Kyrgyz and Russian

December 11, 2022 - god i love the limited visibility in winter it’s so charming
(ft. stray cat stalking a group of pigeons)

December 10, 2022 - apparently there was an international/diplomatic summit and Putin is in town. So there are various flags along a main street today, including the Russian flag. Kind of scary to think that this is probably the closest in proximity that I have been to him..

December 9, 2022 - box of sugar cubes
ак = white in Kyrgyz; кант = sugar in Kyrgyz

December 8, 2022 - dirty bus floor after some snow

December 7, 2022 - eye doctor visit! (that’s my bag in the picture, had no idea where to put it - I was sitting in that chair first)

December 6, 2022 - have not tried these yet, but came across them at the store for the first time ever in the past week…caviar flavored Lays. I have no idea what caviar even tastes like, and I’m not a huge seafood fan, sooo I’m kind of expecting them to be terrible 😂

December 5, 2022 - unhealthy air morning (and day)

December 4, 2022 - icicles

December 3, 2022 - detail on a Russian Orthodox church in the northern part of the city

December 2, 2022 - the most talented streetlamp I know

December 1, 2022 - snow on the street corner

November 30, 2022 - not just fog, but also winter death air. yuck. the opposite of safety, which can be partly attained by wearing a mask outside