Things are peaceful, quiet, and simple in the little village of Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. Tourists have started coming into the city to go hiking and to explore the nature of Kyrgyzstan. They arrive in their big buses, with their North Face backpacks and hiking boots. They stand out so much. They are so much bigger than [...]
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting one of the most interesting people I have met since I came to Kyrgyzstan. Anne Laure-Py, owner of Craftspring is helping to realize the dreams of many handicraft producers in Central Asia. She is diving right into impoverished communities in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China – meeting with [...]
Yes, folks – BIG NEWS, BIG NEWS! Shai-Kesh Kyrgyzstan will be changing to Shai-Kesh Washington as it displays its fine products and work on The Mall (in Washington DC) from June 30 to July 11. Now how did this great opportunity come to be? Through the talented staff of Peace Corps of course! A very [...]
I’m just sitting here in the Moscow Airport, only 8 more hours until my flight leaves to Bishkek~~ The airport in Moscow is quite depressing and (extremely expensive)…$11 for coffee…Mom, thanks for giving me those almonds to take from the house. It was so nice to see so many relatives and friends. It really prepared [...]
Due to your purchases and support Shai-Kesh has enough business and work to move into the center of Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. This move has been long awaited, especially by our director and designer Eylina. I met Eylina through my host mom Gulmira Apa sometime in July 2010. At the time Eylina was unemployed. She was living [...]
It became apparent to me last summer that a good portion of people in my village were leading their daily lives in a state of blurriness. People would squint to recognize me on the street; teachers could not decipher the text in their textbooks. Investigating into why people were not using glasses I found out [...]
Whereas the commonly known ‘Beer Belly’ has swept across the United States and Europe creating generations of young male and females who have stomachs disproportionately large to the rest of their bodies. The Manty Belly, endemic to the highlands of Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian nations has a similar effect. However, the underlying cause of [...]
It has been snowing every day. At night temperatures drop below -20 degrees but Issyk-Kul still doesn’t freeze. Driving from Taldy-Suu to Bishkek yesterday I truly was able to appreciate the beauty of this lake. Surrounded by snow-covered mountains and frozen terrain, Issyk-Kul stands out like a shining pearl refusing to bend to the elements [...]
Isolation from the world experienced during the Soviet Union has left Central Asian Art in a state virtually unknown in the West. In addition to this, the Soviet Union’s dark style of architecture and general suppression of bright art has imprinted us with a grey impression of the Soviet Bloc. Yes it is true that [...]
Yes, during New Year’s Eve I decided to leave the village and head to ‘big capital Bishkek’ to spend a few days with some of the other volunteers. Heading to Bishkek for New Years sounded like a great idea, I would have some good meals, watch fireworks, hang-out with friends. However, it turned out to [...]
As I was told by my ‘sister’ Alina- and yes, one can easily mistake it as a Muslim holiday with all of the holiday around Karakol City. Christmas Trees, Fireworks, and Champagne – it’s all here… Life is unique here. I can now people to “sit on a d***” in Russian, I have been able [...]
Living in a country which can’t decide which language to use sure is a difficult thing. In the cities I am expected to speak Russian, in the villages I am expected to speak Kyrgyz. Speaking Kyrgyz in the cities is futile and mostly met with blank stares which basically say ‘ HeLoo?! Don’t you know [...]
Toilets and Kyrgyz-Cha ‘Kyrgyz-Cha’ – A term used by locals when making fun of the way some things in Kyrgyzstan work. For example, ‘Kyrgyz –Cha Contract’ – A contract between two people written on either a greasy napkin or piece of toilet paper in which nobody can actually read what was written, thus making the [...]
wide streets. majestic oddly shaped buildings. melting pot of nationalities. cheese samsa. korean food. apples the size of my head. high levels of paranoia. real coffee. showers with stereo systems. $17 milkshakes. Almaty has everything and more than one could expect from the wealthiest city in Central Asia and Yours truly had the privilege of [...]
I wake up with a Kyrgyz family, a so-called ‘pure’ Kyrgyz family. They have green eyes, white skin, long faces, and high cheekbones – somewhat similar to me. They are called ‘true Kyrgyz’ because they are supposedly how the Kyrgyz looked before the Mongols did their little tour of Asia. According to what I hear [...]
Elections here passed quietly and calmly which hopefully means that we are here to stay!!! More projects, more language, more development on the way…
Yes, my family ‘called their girl home’ this weekend. I am not sure what that exactly means but apparently it’s been a year since the oldest daughter in my family got married and they haven’t ‘called her home’ so in order to avoid the ‘shame of the Kyrgyz’ my family just threw a huge party [...]
It snowed this morning. It’s September 21th. Everyday for the past week it has been below 0 degrees at night. I have already taken out my sleeping bag, turned on my heater, and started wearing long underwear. Plaster does not make a good heat retainer either, I find myself half-frozen every morning when I wake [...]
Seeing traces of autumn in august is such a strange feeling. Leaves have already started changing colors and this morning I was greeted with a thin layer of frost on my windowsill. I don’t know if I will be able to get used to already changing into wearing winter clothes but it seems like I [...]
Peace Corps Success: Received USAID grant to develop camp on International Understanding for 40 Kyrgyz/Kazakh Youth From August 9th to August 15th two fellow volunteers and I took about 40 students and 10 volunteers to the skirts of Lake Issyk-Kul to conduct a camp of ‘International Understanding.’ We were to have five days with each [...]
I remember it so clearly, but what I thought I knew the meaning to seems to be so lost now. A friend of mine from NYU once said to me something along the lines of ‘economically speaking the value of what we produce lies directly in proportion to our salaries, following this if there lies [...]
Just want to let you all know that despite what you see in the news I am very safe here. I am very far from all of the action and am just going through my days normally like all of you. We have an English and Korean program set up at our school and life [...]
The importance of tea… Outside of Kyrgyz people themselves, Peace Corps volunteers are probably the only people who know how life is in Kyrgyz villages. The amount of tourists from modern countries who come here are few and far between while the amount of people who come to Kyrgyzstan to live are even fewer. After [...]
Leaving Civilization… So the long awaited Peace Corps fate has been finally revealed. Where will I be sent for the next two years? The snow-covered mountains of Naryn? How about Osh, the silk road city shrouded in mysteries? Or will it be Talas, the birthplace of Manas? Will I be spending two years basking on [...]
The long awaited sheep slaughtering finally happened… May 9th, Victory Day, my family headed to the mountains for a day of celebrations. A fairly forgotten holiday in America, Victory Day remains vivid in the minds of the hundreds of millions scattered across the Soviet Union who remember and honor the thirty million Russian lives lost [...]
Kyrgyzstan is comprised of seven provinces (or oblasts as they are called here). Chui and Issyk-Kul Oblast are seen as the Northern Russified Oblasts. Talas and Naryn are seen as the Northern Kyrgyz Oblasts. Dzala-Bad, Osh, and Baitken are the Uzbek influenced Southern Oblasts. In the coldest oblast, Naryn, the temperatures can shoot down to – [...]
Woori Kyrgyz, Our Kyrgyz. The country which I will live in for the next twenty-seven months. Before talking about life here (and the endless marvel of the beauty of this country), I feel that it is most appropriate to say that all 200 PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers) are safe in country. We have been well-fed [...]
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