valerie
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
July 30, 2022 - While cat sitting earlier this month, I accidentally left a notebook at my friend’s apartment. Unfortunately, she left for the US before I could get it, so she gave it to her landlord. I had to go to his house to pick it up. I took this picture in his neighborhood
July 29, 2022 - another picture of the reception area in the office where I have Russian lessons. Which flags can you identify? 🙂 (I know some of them are just plain hard to see in this picture)
July 28, 2022 - a couple of cars on the left side of the picture had a fender bender or something and were in the way of traffic. It was kind of scary to see how other vehicles navigated around them, especially big buses
July 25, 2022 - walking down the street from my apartment to the bus stop
(you can see the Russian Orthodox church I’ve posted a picture of before on the top left)
July 24, 2022 - Simit, which is like a Turkish bagel. They are relatively easy to find and some people even sell them on the street. Granted I’m not sure how authentic the ones here are, as I know very little about Turkish cuisine!
