valerie
September 10, 2022 - From my August trip. The sign on the right has a red car and a black car, which I guessed was ‘cars can’t drive next to each other’. It’s a ‘no passing’ sign (used in the UK and I assume other countries), but never seen a no passing sign like this in America
September 9, 2022 - hotpot! My first time eating Chinese food in Bishkek. Surprisingly good, and the spicy side was actually too spicy, which was unexpected. Will definitely go back
September 8, 2022 - the director of our school finally got rid of these dinky armchairs which were in our office. I personally don’t really care about furniture quality at work, but I’ll admit it was a little embarrassing when introducing the office to new foreign colleagues
September 7, 2022 - returned to my apartment building to find a tiny, black kitten. I didn’t get a good picture because it kept moving. It was so cute and relaxed into my lap. I stayed outside petting it and playing with it for a bit. I really wanted to take it home 😢
September 6, 2022 - outdoor cafe rooftop (this was the cafe where I ate fried fish during my mid-August trip)
September 4, 2022 - wedding food! It was pretty good, though honestly was not a fan of the horse sausage (chuchuk/чучук) because it had too much fat. Unfortunately, I don’t think the чучук is in the picture but it looks like this and it was served already sliced
September 3, 2022 - My former colleague (local person - although he is Uyghur, not Kyrgyz) invited me to his wedding!! It was beautiful. The wedding felt like being on the set of a TV show as an audience member and eating while being entertained, which was strange and interesting
August 31, 2022 - from my trip in mid-August. We stayed at a guesthouse and this was my view out the window. It was such a peaceful place with cool, fresh air. I’d love to visit more villages
August 30, 2022 - confused by this pack of tea. It appears to be from last winter. Also the tag reads не использовать which means “do not use”…is that a reference to the tag or the product? Is there something wrong with this tea?
August 29, 2022 - gourmet macarons! One of my students had a birthday today, so we had a small celebration in class 😊
August 28, 2022 - another picture of Sary-Chelek Lake from a different location and a little later in the evening (from my trip in mid-August)
August 27, 2022 - sellers on the street near Orto-Sai Bazaar. They usually have second-hand clothes and antique things. Lots of sellers here on the weekend, but not so many (if any) during the week
August 26, 2022 - yurt mural on a building in Bishkek with an actual small yurt set up next to it. Not actually sure what was inside the building, it might have been a souvenir shop?
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)
