Issyk Kul: Kyrgyzstan Day 2

Knowing most of the day would be spent headed to and from Issyk Kul, Zhanat and I woke up at 7 am as to have time to start exploring Bishkek. Shortly after waking up, we headed for the closest sight available, Ala Too Square. Here there were several monuments within a small area along with various government buildings. In the center stood statue of Manas, a national legendary hero, and behind him the national museum.

The statue of Manas with the Kyrgyz State Museum in the back

However, we went quickly through most of these monuments as to get to the World War II monument by 8pm, expecting that to be the time of the changing of the guard. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. The changing of the guard only happens every 3 hours in Bishkek, and while it begins at 8, it does so in Ala-Too Square, where we already were, not the World War II Monument.

Unfortunately, by this point we needed to head back, and at 9:30am, we rejoined with Zhanat's friends and left by car for Issyk Kul. The route to Issyk Kul was certainly interesting as, whereas Almaty has mountains to one side and near endless steppe to the other, Kyrgyzstan is almost entirely valley and thus one is virtually always surrounded by mountains. 

On the way, there were yurts everywhere, far more than I had seen in Kazakhstan, and often not to cater to tourists but simply to sell food out of.

Various merchant yurts at Issyk Kul Lake

Contrary to the grassy, rolling plains leading to mountains that we saw leaving Almaty, the road to Issyk Kul was largely arid, sharp hills. After a certain point, the only vegetation visible remained close to a single river which we drove close to for the majority of the trip.

Confirming for myself, as I was a bit nervous about returning on time to see more of Bishkek the next morning, I asked in the best Russian I could muster "В какой город мы едeм?," to which they quickly replied what I had expected, Balykchy, the closest town on Issyk Kul to Bishkek. However, as we reached Issyk Kul some hours later, I realized we were not stopping but continuing along the road.After some 40 minutes without stopping while Issyk Kul was in sight, I asked again if we were still going to that town. Instead, we were now going to Чолпон-Ата (Cholpon-Ata), on the north of the lake as opposed to the west.

I was very nervous about this, however they assured me that we would still be able to return to Bishkek in good time, and that Cholpon Ata was a far better place to see the lake than Balykchy. When we arrived, the reason why they preferred this location as opposed to the western end was obvious.

While in Balykchy, some mountains were just visible in the distance and made a lovely sight, in Cholpan-Ata, the mountains were right by us clearly in the view at all times. The view was stunning and certainly worth the additional time.

The water was absolutely freezing, so we had difficulty managing to get ourselves in. Before we really swam in the water, one of Zhanat's friends came to us with a proposition: For a price of around $8 USD, we could parasail over the lake. Neither Zhanat and I had ever parasailed before, so this was a certainly interesting proposition. We ended up taking it, and I'll let the pictures tell the rest of that story.

After parasailing, we swam some before renting out paddle boat for two for less than $1 USD. For about an hour with that, we paddled (or rather I paddled while Zhanat acted out the mast of the ship :) ) across our section of Issyk Kul multiple times. When not using the paddle boat, we walked up and down the beach area of Cholpon Ata, simply exploring and looking for interesting sights.

When we returned, Zhanat's friends admitted that they would rather stay the night. Understanding that I wanted to see Bishkek before heading back to Kazakhstan, Zhanat was kind enough to join me in returning to Bishkek by bus. After arriving, we passed by many monuments once more at night, as Bishkek proved far more alive than in the mornings.

Where the streets were empty in the morning, now festivities ran as kids shot up light up toys into the air and dozens of stands were set up offering food and games. While it would have been interesting to explore Bishkek at this time with so many people around, we focused on getting back to the hostel.

Finally, a long walk later, we arrived at the hostel and not long after passed out, understanding that we would need to wake up early again the next day as to see more of Bishkek before returning to Almaty.

South of another Border: Kyrgyzstan Day 1

Day 1: Friday, July 11th

Well, this was more than slightly delayed. For this, as there were so many parts to tell and so many impressions to include, I decided to post these as separate stories rather than one large compilation of my experience in Kyrgyzstan. It's in more of a journal format than the past ones, but I felt that was the best way to go over the weekend.

After completing my days's work at the orphanage, I skipped the provided lunch and headed back to the dorm with K, who had some travel agency business to take care of. Spending my last time of the week in the internet room (yes the internet room), Zhanat arrived to guide me and make sure I didn't accidentally end up stranded in Tajikistan.
 

Zhanat and I planning out our trip in the dorm

We rode the bus for a few stops before getting off  near the home of one of Zhanat's relatives to drop off her "notebook." Now, I offered to carry her notebook when she said this, as it didn't make sense to me why she would find it necessary to drop off a binder. It was only afterwards that I realized "notebook" meant laptop computer, making a great deal more sense. We walked the remainder to the bus station, only 15 minutes.  Finally, we arrived at the bus station, and for 1,300 T ($7), purchased a ride to Bishkek, over 200 Kilometers away.

 
The bus ride was chaotic. Any traffic laws mean nothing on the road from Almaty to Bishkek. The entire trip is cars playing leap frog with each other while barely avoiding head on collisions. Still, the ride was interesting. On the way I saw multiple herds of animals unconstrained by fences but rather guided by men on horses. Also, I saw multiple yurts, which until then I had assumed were merely artifacts of culture rather than something still used. Amusingly adding on to this, nearly every vendor on the road, even some yurts, had a "Coca Cola" banner hung on the mantel. For almost the entire time, there was a stunning view of the mountains beyond the plains and foothills around us.

 Finally, after 4 or 5 hours, we arrived at the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border. The only border I've ever been across on land is the US-Canada Border. So, seeing the barbed wire, no man's land, and security on this border was quite a shock. We exited the bus as Zhanat hurried me through the gates, warning of the holdups possible. However, the customs in Kazakhstan's side brightened the mood significantly as, when he held up my passport smiled, pumped his fist and said "Obama!" The Kyrgyz side was more solemn, but actually quick. This was very different from the experience I had heard from Marko, MJ, and Bretislav during their trip before. We exited as one of the first of our bus to make it to the other side. After waiting some time for the bus, it finally got through and quickly picked up those available, leaving without almost half the bus.

 
Many differences was immediately clear between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. On the radio, a Russian speaking man would be brief before introducing various English language songs (though sung by Kyrgyz performers). Signs were much harder to discern, as Kyrgyzstan, while adding letters necessary for their Turkic language in addition to utilizing the Russian alphabet, does not add so many indicators as the Kazakh alphabet does.  However the most interesting part was reaching Bishkek itself. As one intern who lived in Bishkek for a while remarked: "It makes Almaty look like New York." I can certainly understand this, as when the bus stopped I never realized we entered a city. I hadn't seen a single building over four stories tall. In fact, I saw far more trees than buildings.
 
After getting off the bus, we struggled to find the hostel Zhanat's friends owned, with unclear bus routes and an uncertain destination. Finally, with the help of a friendly taxi driver's patience, we found the hostel. Unfortunately, all the beds were taken, however this just meant that I got to sleep on the couch at no cost!

 Zhanat's friends were extremely friendly, and we soon left to have a meal before stores closed. I wanted to have Шашлык when we arrived (have I mentioned I love Шашлык?) , but unfortunately this would take too long and we were planning to take our food to go. Instead, I tried a new dish: Куурдак ( Kuurdak ). It was delicious, though actually fairly familiar as it comprised of a combination of beef, potatoes, and onions not foreign in the United States.

 
Afterwards, we relaxed some in a club next to the hostel called the "Black Rabbit" blasting dubstep renditions of songs people from any country would know like "Happy" and "Gangnam Style." I was pleased to meet another American there, (From California), along with many other very interesting international travelers from a variety of countries from Australia to Poland. 

However, I left early as to get enough sleep. The next day, I would be waking up early to see Bishkek before we head out to Issyk Kul. 

One Month Marker

This post has been particularly delayed, with multiple circumstances from changing living situations to international trips. Unfortunately the post I wanted to do last week "Roll Call," going over each of the interns, isn't done yet, and is honestly somewhat difficult to complete now that most everyone is divided up, but I'll still see what I can do to complete it within a reasonable time.

Children's Home

Starting on Thursday, I began work at an orphanage house teaching English with the other interns. As our " Muskateers" group of MJ, Bretislav, Marko, and I worked at the summer school for the past month, we never worked with the orphans before as the other interns were.

On Thursday I began my first day of teaching at an orphanage a bit of a trip away (closer to the mountains). The difference was clear from the beginning. The kids in our summer school were relatively advanced. Most of them already had an extensive vocabulary in English, and could even hold a basic conversation with us.

On the other hand, these students are still working through colors, animals, and have barely touched verbs. It's still largely necessary to write out how the words sound in cyrillic because they haven't yet fully grasped the English alphabet. (Understandable by the circumstances, however, as the kids in our summer school often were in their second or third year in the program.)

Two of the students taking turns smacking the guitar while I hold chords with my left hand

What's more, attempting to get them to learn has been also quite chaotic. As we teach literally opposite of their bedrooms, they know that if they can manage to get out of the classroom they can hide in their rooms and avoid learning. This happens quite a bit. It's fairly difficult when you have to judge whether a kid really means hes going to the restroom, especially when more often than not you see them take a right towards the game room the moment they leave the class. Still, despite this sudden change from the summer school and the apparent "hard mode" that is working here, I must say it is still a wonderful time.

Firstly, with the kids knowing so much less English, I have constant practice with my Russian with them (In the English summer school, we were asked by the administrators to only speak in English and not let them know if we knew any Russian.)

Also, it's been great trying to find what works and what doesn't for bonding with them.  One of the earliest ways that I've managed to gain their attention for me was showing off the origami I learned back in 7th grade. While most of them just kept demanding I do every step for them as I said it since they couldn't get it right away, it was still a fun activity I enjoyed and, based on their attitude, they enjoyed as well.

This is as close to their attention as I got for the first week

Speaking of activities, one of the most amusing parts of this group is their bizarre sense of pride. These kids are around 10, but they will refuse to do anything they perceive as "childish." This includes charades, several games, anything involving sitting in a circle, and even drawing. HOWEVER, I must say I have never seen a group of children so enthusiastic about sing-along songs in my life. They can go for a solid 10 minutes singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes despite having sang it yesterday, and the day before that, and so on. When we put on Old McDonald Had a Farm they were climbing over each other to get the best spot to see it as if it were a World Cup game.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: Round 10

The time certainly hasn't been without its funny moments either. When playing Hide and Seek this week, one kid found the amazing hiding space of the top of a cabinet. However, while he could work his way up, he couldn't get down on his own. He suddenly doesn't care anymore about his elaborate hiding spot and starts yelling "Помогите мне!!" By the time I was there, Lucija and about half the class were already looking at him trying unhappily to find a way to get off the cabinet without falling. Seeing every opportunity to teach English, I told him I didn't understand and asked him what he was saying in English. He didn't know though, and made sure in Russian to inform me that he didn't know and that I should help him now. After telling him it's "Help me" in English, he kept repeating that even as I offered my shoulders for him to slide onto. Shouting the entire way down, even as I was kneeling so that he could step off, he finally reached the floor and proceeded to kiss it before repeating over and over again "Thank You" (IN ENGLISH, so certainly some of the teaching is working.)

I'm glad to continue working with these kids, and hopefully they will become more attentive to the lessons over time.

Beyond Almaty

This past weekend, I went to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on my own trip (With Zhanat joining so that I wouldn't accidentally find myself in Tajikistan). Now, this trip is far too long for me to include in this blog post unless it would be postponed by a week and a half, so I'll save series of stories for a later time.

Zhanat and I planning for Bishkek, Kyrygzstan

Still, while I was gone those interns in Almaty had a wonderful time in their own right. Visiting Charyn Canyon over the weekend, they managed to narrowly escape heatstroke while enjoying breathtaking views. I'm sad I didn't see this with them, but am certainly glad they had such a great experience.

Beyond that, there haven't been many adventures beyond Almaty for this past week. However, it is worth noting that in less than a week I am planning to go to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. 

Soon

Dorm Life

Dorm life is also considerably different from the past week. In terms of the network of interns, almost half of our group was sent to a separate camp where they would live and teach separately from the rest of us. Bravely accepting a fate without Wi-Fi, this group, comprised of Marko, MJ, Tom, Saber, Grace, and Jin, returns for weekends and major events, but otherwise has been largely disconnected from those of us that were still in the dormitory.

Marko, Bretislav, Martinka, and Bagim (AIESECer) spending time before the summer camp

At the above cafe, trying a horse sandwich for the first time (pretty good, actually)

Lunch with Marko & MJ earlier in the same day

In addition, a separate summer camp needed a boy and a girl from our group to teach English as well. There being only two males left in the dorm, Bretislav and I, and with me going to Bishkek over the weekend, Bretislav ended up going, joined by a new intern, Paulina, who left for the summer camp about as soon as she arrived in Kazakhstan. I unfortunately haven't had the pleasure of meeting her, but look forward to when I do.

As for the rest of us, we still had many fun and interesting activities, despite our missing comrades. My personal favorite in the past week was the day when we had a picnic in Gandi Park (We originally wanted to do this in the First President's Park, however we were informed that given park policies and strictness, it would be best we did it elsewhere). Still, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed a large variety of dishes, including cheese from France as provided by Iris (She's Swiss though, not French, don't get confused) and an AMAZING pork dish from Taiwan as provided by K. 

Buse after expertly peeling an orange for us (Her hometown, Adana, is known for its citrus)

The delicious dried pork product K brought from Taiwan

Our picnic group: Eva, Buse, Myself, Iris, Lucija, K, and Bretislav

On Tuesday, the agreement with the dormitory ended and we needed to move out. The girls will live in a separate orphanage where they will also teach, while I live with Eduardo, a long term intern who has lived in Almaty for over 8 months now and has his own apartment.

While it's sad for me to no longer be living with the people I know so well, that being the most important part of the living situation for me, I'm glad to say Eduardo is a gracious host and a great guy in general, so this transition has been made far more comfortable. (Another positive side, the internet here is WONDERFULLY fast, something sorely missed in the dormitory). 

Distance between my old dorm and the new place. Taking luggage through here: Not too great

I'm glad to say that, after some discussion, the girls will still continue teaching at the original orphanage we all work in. This is also particularly relieving, as at first I was informed that I would no longer even be working with them. 

Lunch with the interns at the orphanage I teach at (This was taken on my first day, when Tom still taught there)

In all, the situation we're in has changed significantly, but I'm glad to say that one month later this has still been one of the most interesting and impacting experiences of my life. It's hard to believe now that in less than 2 weeks I will be back home in the United States. While I'm excited to return back to the familiar, I'm certainly going to miss this region. 

♪ We're Halfway There ♪

This marks my third week in Almaty, which would be half way through the internship if I hadn't extended my stay by a few days. I now expect to be leaving the 31st of July, so that I can go to Astana for a "Global Village" event.

English Camp

This week was the last one in which Marko, Bretislav, MJ, and I would teach at the English summer camp (afterwards, we will be joining the other Shinebright interns teaching at orphanages). It was marked with some wonderful experiences, including a great picnic reminiscent of my second day in Almaty three Saturdays ago, financial games, and plenty of dancing.

Zhanat (One of Marko's Buddies), MJ, and Bretislav playing Durak at the picnic

My favorite shop in the financial games: Excellent homemade treats by some Minecrafters

Though we "paid" the same, I think MJ had a better massage than I did, to be honest

One of the best days for us was Thursday, on which after class we went to the "Hawaii" aquapark near the mountains. After a long bus ride of singing and even dancing to hits we all knew ranging from Gangnam Style, to Starships, to Can't Hold Us, we arrived at the park with the kids and split up. The park was wonderful and included multiple slides and pools, hot tubs, a wave pool, and even a sauna (which apparently is a normal thing to have in a water park in Kazakhstan). Unfortunately, as we didn't take our bags with us into the park itself, there are no pictures from inside.

Eduardo (Mexico) , MJ, Myself, and Martina (Zhanat and Marko in the back).
This isn't the water park the kids went to, but rather the one we visited on Sunday.

Our students at the entrance to the mall (which included the aquapark)

Playing Дурак ("Fool") with students after cleaning up from the water park

Finally, on Saturday we bid farewell to the students with performances and dancing (The dancing must be emphasized. We were ready to collapse several times when kids continued to urge us to keep going). With the teachers, gifts and toasts were exchanged before Marko, MJ, and Bretislav had to head out for Bishkek. (Marko, having a visa limited to 30 day stays, needs to leave and reenter Kazakhstan. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan seemed like an accessible and fun solution. Unfortunately, I will not be joining them this time, though I will be joining some of the other Shinebright interns on their own trip there later.)

Kyrgyzstan. You can see Kazakhstan and the proximity of where I am now, Almaty, on this map

Шашлык (Shash-lyk)

Yes, I am devoting an entire section to this meal. Three weeks in, it has become clear that this meal, shashlyk, is my favorite type of food in all of Almaty. A form of what us Americans would recognize as "shish sebabs," it is a skewer of meat marinated and roasted on metal splits. The meat is served on the metal it was roasted on, with onions on the side.

A dish comprised solely of roasted meat and onions? Yes please
(Tom and Bretislav having heart, lamb, and duck shashlyk)

Taking a break at the water park: wonderful time for shashlyk. Hard day at work: perfect time for shashlyk. The last place we went for Shashlyk, most skewers were 400 Tenge. That's $2.19, a dollar cheaper than a USA Big Mac.

I must bring this knowledge back to my country

Jokes and exaggeration aside, Shashlyk is a great dish that is popular here and that I've enjoyed at every opportunity so far. The places that serve it are usually great and it's been a wonderful activity to share with other interns.

Myself, Marko, MJ, and Zhanat after ordering Shashlyk at the water park

"America Day"

This Friday was 4th of July, making this the first time I've ever been abroad on the USA's Independence Day. They say that patriotism intensifies significantly when in a foreign country.

Eh, I doubt it

For the day, in addition to the verb exercises planned for the kids I also included a few presentations going over American history and culture. As I've already learned multiple times, the kids here already know most American culture and many parts of our history simply from our movies. However, they still loved the pictures and presentations, and I found plenty to introduce.

Going over US  holidays. Groundhog's Day was certainly fun to try to explain to them

Team "Minions" doing verb exercises between USA presentations. There was a small dread inside me that a parent would walk in and accuse me of attempting to indoctrinate the students.

I've often found that people in Kazakhstan love US culture and symbols. On multiple occasions I see kids and adults with US flag clothing, both in and outside of school. When I took the flag out to show the class, every student wanted me to hold it up so that they could take a selfie in front of it.

This was actually on July 5th. After Independence Day, she just REALLY wanted to show me how much she likes the USA.

I was originally hoping to prepare a meal for the interns myself, however being still slightly sick and extremely tired, that idea fell through. Instead, we ended up going to the Aмериканский грилл that I wrote about last week. It was absolutely great. Having people ask me "What do people typically eat on 4th of July?" and wishing me a "Happy Independence Day" was a wonderful experience, and I had a blast explaining traditions and typical meals. 

Subjecting everyone to holding up my flag and eating overpriced, over-portioned meals in a true American fashion

Jin (Malaysia) and Grace trying fajitas for the first time (Tex-Mex food) with step by step instructions from yours truly

K (Taiwan), Iris (Switzerland), and Martina enjoying some of those American-portioned burgers

Unfortunately, my meal seemed to be the only inaccurate and miss-portioned one, as my BBQ Ribs came out cold and hardly larger than my fist. Perhaps a lack of experience preparing it could explain it, as pork would be a less than popular meal choice in a predominantly Islamic country. Still, with great company it was a wonderful night and one of the best Independence Days I've ever had.

Looking at the tables in these past events, I've realized just how much our group has grown. Shinebright alone has 14 interns now, with origins from Taiwan to Slovenia. In addition, the older AIESEC project in Almaty, the International School of Leadership, has already gathered a large number of interns who also participate in various events with us.  Some time in the week, I'll publish a post recognizing all of the interns we now have, but for now I'm exhausted and ready to rest. 

Thank you to all those who contact me while I'm here. It's helps having these active connections from the States while I'm here, and is largely the reason why culture shock and homesickness haven't taken their toll.