Kyrgyzstan

Defender of the Fatherland Day Party

Defender of the Fatherland Day Party

I’ve only been in Bishkek for three weeks, but I’m already feeding men hot dogs dangled from a suspended string. This Monday will be a working holiday for most Kyrgyz in honor of Defender of the Fatherland Day—and on Friday my office had a party. Defender of the Fatherland Day is a truly Soviet creation. It was first observed to mark the date of the creation of the Red (Soviet) Army in 1918. After changing names a few times between Red Army Day, Day of the Red Army and the Navy, and Soviet Army…continue reading →
Moving to Kyrgyzstan is Easy: Part One

Moving to Kyrgyzstan is Easy: Part One

Just a week into our adventure in Kyrgyzstan, it's already apparent that this transition is going to be far easier than expected. First, there's a near absence of the bureaucracy--all too common in the overdeveloped world--that puts hours of waiting rooms and stacks of paper between visiting a place and living in it. Then there's a fully integrated system devoted to making it easy to pay for pretty much anything, from cell phones to gambling debts, at any of hundreds of ATM-like machines around the city. Not least, there's an easy visa system that welcomes foreign visitors rather than…continue reading →
Bishkek, Day One

Bishkek, Day One

As the sun came up on our third flight and revealed the sparse, wintery landscape of Central Asia, the idea finally started to sink in: we're on our way to Kyrgyzstan not for a week or a month, but to live. A day later we're still getting used to the idea, but at least we're 24 hours closer to understanding our new home. First Impressions We were still thanking our lucky stars that all of our four giant suitcases had arrived undamaged when we exited the airport into a small crowd of smoking taxi drivers.…continue reading →