Daily Life

With my first stint in Bishkek coming to an end, I thought it would be interesting to show a sort of “day in the life” for me during these three months. Keep in mind that this day will look very full, and that’s because it is – I would usually choose to skip one or two of my after-school activities, but this will be more interesting overall to see.

Morning (7:30 – 1:00)

I usually try to wake up at around 7:30 – at least, that’s when my alarms start going off. In reality, I’m up by 8:00… or 8:15. On the day that I took these photos, it had snowed overnight, although it was still pretty warm outside (around 38 degrees in the morning), so it had all melted by evening. Here you can see the southern end of Bishkek under cloudy skies.

Here is the little parking area outside my apartment building, followed by Fatyanov street, named after the well-known Soviet poet and songwriter Alexei Ivanovich Fatyanov. The walk to school in the slush is never pleasant, but I honestly prefer it to when it’s really icy out. For context, here’s a typical sidewalk after several days of below-freezing temperatures:

Along the walk, I usually stop in at a Stolovaya (basically a cafeteria) for breakfast. Samsy are my meal of choice – little dough-enclosed pockets of meat, onions, and potatoes – which run me around 50 cents apiece. This is what the new one on Gorky street looks like.

Here is the entrance to the London School. I try to arrive a few minutes early to get settled, but realized early on that the local understanding of “early” differs heavily from the American one. It’s not uncommon to agree with someone on a meeting time and have them show up between 20 and 60 minutes late; it’s very important to specify just exactly how close to the agreed time you would like to actually show up.

Afternoon (1:00 – 5:30)

On days without set afternoon activities, I generally go straight to the gym before eating lunch. Here you can see the two main modes of mass transit: on the left a Marshrutka, and on the right a normal bus. Marshrutkas differ from buses in that they’re more cramped, more expensive, and more dangerous for pickpocketing, but also more flexible and widespread. They run the same routes as buses but are more common and sometimes have additional stops which can make them convenient for someone who needs to get to a specific place. You can see the little sign on the side of this one saying all of its stops.

Since I’m only staying on Gorky street for two stops, I exclusively take the normal bus. Bus fare is 11 Som, which translates to 13 cents. They only accept cash, paid usually in coins. Here is a picture I took earlier in the year of the driver’s area – note the magnets to the right of the dash which hold coins for easy access.

Here is my gym, Pulse Fitness Center. As far as gyms in Bishkek go, this one is relatively large, with a big range of equipment. I have made good friends with all four of the people who work at the front desk and try to spend at least 10 minutes chatting every day I go to improve my conversation skills. Full membership for the three months – including personal training sessions – costs 7700 Som, which is around $90. Not a bad rate!

After a workout, I head for lunch. Today’s lunch spot was Chicken Star, which I mentioned in a prior post. Their food is excellent, the service is good, and the atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of Portland. A typical meal, even at a somewhat nicer lunch place like this, costs between 400 and 600 Som, so well under $10.

On this particular day, I elected to walk home and get some shots of the city with the sun out and the snow melting. Left, you can see the statue of Mikhail Frunze, after whom the Soviets named Bishkek during the 20th century. Behind his statue is the larger of the two railway stations in the city. Center is the station from the footbridge that crosses the tracks. Finally, you can see the view of the mountains from my room once I got home. I’ve been here three months, seeing those peaks every day, and it still hasn’t gotten old.

Next, my fellow innostrantsy (foreigners) and I took a trip to Osh bazaar. I’ve already made a post exclusively about it, so I’ll just post a few highlights, including a shot of Darubai the military surplus guy.

The shot on the left is of the street vendors area. They were already closing up by the time we got there – it seems like they are all gone by the time it’s starting to get dark. On the right is the bazaar immediately inside one of the main entrances.

On the left we have myself and Vycheslav, a street vendor who sells Soviet pins, watches, old currency, and similar such items. I bought a pin from him way back in early October, and he still remembered me a few months later; he even complimented me on my language improvement. On the right is Jake with the famous Darubai, mid dress-up session. Darubai is the most enthusiastic and energetic person I’ve met here in Bishkek, which is actually saying a lot. I’m making a trip back to the bazaar before I leave with the special intention of saying goodbye for the winter and thank you, since he really has made my time here just that much better.

Evening (5:30 – 11:00)

After I got back from the bazaar, I changed into some more athletic wear and headed out to play some basketball with friends. Unfortunately, WordPress wants me to pay them money to allow me to post videos, so you’ll just have to take my word that I kicked their butts on the court. We headed out to dinner afterward, though – here’s me with Beka (left), Amir (center), and Bakha (right). While Beka and Amir enjoy playing some pickup, Bakha is a real NBA fan. It’s been amazing to be able to chat hoops with someone in Russian, and I plan on bringing all three of them (but particularly Bakha) some Blazers gear when I return.

Here’s me, Bakha, and Beka in Cafe Faiza after basketball. Faiza is one of Bishkek’s older restaurants, having been founded in the mid-90s, and is still regarded as one of the best places to get Central Asian cuisine – including traditional Uyghur fare, which I highly recommend.

On the way home it snowed again, lots more this time, and I took a detour through a park. I found there this rather striking mural, which says in Kyrgyz (top) and Russian (bottom) “Your city – your choice.” These Soviet/post-Soviet style concrete walls all around the city make great canvases for street artists, of which they take full advantage.

Finally, once home, I usually sit down for an evening tea with the family. Here is Talgat (left- age 22), Bekjan (center – 10), and Tengiz (right – 13), who just celebrated his birthday a week ago. It’s always great to come home to family, even adoptive ones, and they have improved my experience here an amazing amount.

So there you have a normal, albeit full, day in Bishkek! I’ll be home incredibly soon, but am excited to return in late January.