Kyrgyzstan
2 years ago my wife and I applied for the Peace Corps. It took 18 months but in April we finally were on a plane and headed to our new home, Kyrgyzstan. The last two months have been a crazy whirlwind of travel, language learning, awkward moments and a lot of fun. Now I'm at my permanent site and plan on updating this thread over the next two years with photos. For more photos and stories, you can follow us on our blog at www.ericandtaylor.com. On each photo I'll also link it to the blog post that tells more about what was going on at the time.
Some of these photos will be snapshots but hopefully help tell part of the story. Others will hopefully be decent shots. I'm hoping to have more free time here than I did in the states to really work on my skills. With that said, here's a few shots of what's happened so far:
1) Leaving Portland, OR. Part of what I loved so much about living in the Northwest are the volcanoes. I love hiking, backpacking and climbing, these volcanoes shape the landscape of the PNW. I expect this to be my last glimpse of these for at least two years.
2) Washington D.C. It seemed fitting that our staging would be in our nation's capitol. It had been a long time since I'd been here. I forgot how beautiful and impactful the city can be. It's hard not to feel patriotic walking around.
3) Turkey. This is a country I badly want to visit however we only got to stop over in the airport this time. Good news is it's close and hopefully during our service we'll get to vacation here. Next stop, Krgyzstan.
4) We arrived to Kyrgyzstan in the early hours of the morning, before the sun had risen. After 3 hours in the bus we took a break from driving and had our first look at one of many mountain ranges in this small country.
5) Our first few days in country were spent at one of the nicer hotels on the shore of Issyk Kul lake. Wanting to ease us into the country gradually, Peace Corps chose to let us stay at this nice hotel on the shore of a huge lake with snow-capped mountains on all sides. Not a bad way to start.
Some of these photos will be snapshots but hopefully help tell part of the story. Others will hopefully be decent shots. I'm hoping to have more free time here than I did in the states to really work on my skills. With that said, here's a few shots of what's happened so far:
1) Leaving Portland, OR. Part of what I loved so much about living in the Northwest are the volcanoes. I love hiking, backpacking and climbing, these volcanoes shape the landscape of the PNW. I expect this to be my last glimpse of these for at least two years.
2) Washington D.C. It seemed fitting that our staging would be in our nation's capitol. It had been a long time since I'd been here. I forgot how beautiful and impactful the city can be. It's hard not to feel patriotic walking around.
3) Turkey. This is a country I badly want to visit however we only got to stop over in the airport this time. Good news is it's close and hopefully during our service we'll get to vacation here. Next stop, Krgyzstan.
4) We arrived to Kyrgyzstan in the early hours of the morning, before the sun had risen. After 3 hours in the bus we took a break from driving and had our first look at one of many mountain ranges in this small country.
5) Our first few days in country were spent at one of the nicer hotels on the shore of Issyk Kul lake. Wanting to ease us into the country gradually, Peace Corps chose to let us stay at this nice hotel on the shore of a huge lake with snow-capped mountains on all sides. Not a bad way to start.
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7) Most nights we go to the schoolyard and play with the kids. This kid would hang on me everyime we went.
8) Our host mother making manta, a meat-filled, steamed pastry
9) Finally we got a chance to go on our first hike. This is the view from the first range of foothills South of our village.
10) These odd plants covered one hillside we hiked through. Cool to look at, but the the copious amounts of spider webs strung between them made walking through them somewhat miserable.
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Having grown up on a dairy farm, this is pretty cool Cows even get miffed by our daylight saving time by the way.
12) Every PC site around the world has a 'Culture Day,' this is one event from ours
13) Most dogs are treated poorly here. Our family got this little guy, hopefully he has a better life
14) This photo is from our Swearing-In day, these are official (USSR-looking) Peace Corps Kyrgyz Republic IDs
15) The US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan gave a speech during our Swearing-In Ceremony
ps, can a mod fix the 'Y' in the thread title?
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17) Some parts of Balykchy look like this, with rocky streets. Others have newer, paved streets. One thing that is all over Kyrgyzstan are the piles of concrete like in the lower left.
18) My wife helps our family prepare strawberries to make jam with the family.
19) Balykchy is an interesting city. Once a booming industrial town thanks to a steady influx of money and work from Moscow, it has had trouble finding itself now. Parts of the city are beautiful and promising, this photo shows the other side.
20) Sheep are a large part of Kyrgyzstan life. It's the predominant protein source here and you see them everywhere. Sheep are almost always killed by families, there is not large, industrial farming like you will see in the US.
21) There is a specific method to butcher a sheep or any other animal here. One of the last steps is burning the hair off the head and hooves. The head is the favorite part of the animal for many Kyrgyz men.
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22) A great hangout spot I go to with my little brother
23) I haven't had a chance to capture it well yet but the night skies here are incredible
24) We had a chance to explore the Altyn Arashan Valley with it's beautiful views and hot springs
25) With an organization I'm working with we took a trip to Karkara valley which forms the North-Eastern border of Kyrgyzstan. To the left of the valley is Kazakhstan, the right, Kyrgyzstan.
26) The inside of a yurt with an elaborate & delicious spread of food.
27) One of the many endless and beautiful valleys in Kyrgyzstan.
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Link to my Smugmug site
Thanks! The little boy does indeed have arms, they allowed him to hang on me everywhere I went in that village
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"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
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28) Summer camps are a big part of most Peace Corps posts, Kyrgyz Republic is no different. Many summer camps are held around the country, some are just for kids to have fun and learn about America. Others tack difficult or culturally sensitive topics such as Bride-Knapping, safe sex and healthy relationships.
29) Dodgeball was the favorite activity at summer camp
30) The weather in Kyrgyzstan is very dynamic. Most evenings in summer we could see lightning somewhere around the lake. Next summer I hope to capture some great shots from it.
31) Not a well-known fact to visitors here but Kyrgyzstan does have a single train line. It only goes from Bishkek to Balykchy and it takes nearly 5 hours (double a taxi) to do so. But, it is safe, comfortable and very cheap. Perfect for a Peace Corps volunteer!
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ps the food inside the yurt looked wonderful now I'm hungry...
33) I loved how this tent looked with such a striking background. Keep walking this direction and you end up in a giant bowl with endless climbing and trekking opportunities.
34) As you approach the climbing hut in Ala Archa you reach a zone where the wildflowers cease and the glaciers begin. The difference is striking.
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Gary
Unsharp at any Speed
The following are from Jeti-Oguz, a beautiful area in South East Issyk Kul. The name means '7 bulls,' so-called because of 7 huge red rocks you see as you enter the valley.
35) A small waterfall we hiked to, it seems to be the most popular destination for locals in the area.
36) Our yurt camp at night.
37) I love this area. As you come around the bend the mountains at the end of the valley appear and remain in view the rest of the hike.
38) We tried for awhile to find a way to cross this river but we were stuck just admiring it from this side.
39) The yurt on the left is perched in the most perfect spot I've seen in Kyrgyzstan. I could live here.
40) The river outside our yurt camp.
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42) A friend examines strange graffiti left behind
43) Some of the cool graffiti in Bishkek
44) One of the nice things left behind by the USSR are beautiful buildings, some of which such as this train station remain in great shape.
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Look forward to seeing more.
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46) This is one of many abandoned buildings around Balykchy. I wondered why these bay windows faced the mountains, I later learned this was an old Soviet bomb/gun testing range and officers could watch from here.
47) The front of the abandoned building. After capturing this I rode my bike near another building that turned out not to be empty. This resulted in being chased by an army vehicle down the mountain, thankfully it was an old, shitty lada and they didn't catch me.
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49) This valley had the friendliest people I've met in Kyrgystan. This woman insisted we come into her tent for warm milk and fresh bread. Her brother took us one by one on his horse across a rough river and we had a nice break from the rain in the tent.
50) Sitting by the fire under the stars during our second night in Bala Chychkan
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52) The boat-building yards. The boat-building industry has been dead for nearly three decades
53) A greenhouse grand opening. This is part of a large project the organization I'm working with is doing.
54) One of many large carpenter bees I see around here. This guy was about the size of my thumb.
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I'm trying to imagine what it was like to run from someone driving a Lada. The stories of those things are hilarious-but, you get from A to B and you're not walking
The story is pretty funny now but not so much at the time! It's definitely the scariest thing that has happened to me in some time. The military here has a bit of a distorted view of things and given that were likely drunk, the outcome of them catching me was pretty unpredictable...
And... new photos!
A few shots from Bishkek, the capitol of Kyrgyzstan. There are more shots from this trip at the bottom of this blog post.
55) One of my favorite spots in Bishkek is the new Putin Pub. The logo is so funny
56) On this night they had a live band, they call this Karaoke Night. Not all things have translated from English here quite right.
57) This is Dordoy bazaar, one of the largest markets in the world. The little shops are all made of shipping containers with a 2nd container above for storage.
58) This is part of the ceiling of the State History Museum. The entire thing is a giant mural and a wonder of Soviet propaganda. Here, you see a twisted version of Ronald Reagan riding a nuke while people protest.
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Good story too-at least now that you're past it
Be my guest: Alex Braverman Photography
59) The view up the valley from the end of the road in the resort. Past here there are great hiking opportunities and natural hot springs.
60) One of my favorite things to photograph in Kyrgyzstan are the thousands of statues and busts of Lenin, the most beloved non-Kyrgyz person here. This is my favorite statue yet.
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