When you’re not allowed to finish (or even start) a marathon, what do you do? Why you pick one the next month and enter it, of course.
The thirteenth month of my service saw my visa get renewed and a lot of planning take place. Then we had a bunch of holidays, and then a really awesome and productive trip to Issyk-Kul where I taught health lessons in a bunch of schools before running a marathon. Let’s dive in.
Continue reading “Mile 13: Health Lessons And A Sixth Marathon”
Let’s face it, you probably own a smartphone – more than half of people do. It’s a modern essential that not only has clearer phone calls than the Nokias we grew up with, but also one that I use for all my photography, communication, and navigation. Today, I want to share with you some of the best apps that I’ve found essential to exploring and navigating Kyrgyzstan. Continue reading “24 Apps For Life In Kyrgyzstan”
World War II means many different things depending on where in the world one finds itself. Where I grew up and in my family, it was a war that both of my grandfathers fought in, one as a pilot over Normandy and the other as a gunner on Okinawa. It was something that shaped the rest of their lives and that forever influenced their world perspective.
In America, we like to say that we “won” World War II. There’s a whole bevy of satirical merchandise for sale that says “USA: Back To Back World War Champs,” obviously joking. But in the former Soviet Union, World War II is thought of quite differently. A year ago, I wrote about Victory Day, the 9 May holiday that marks the end of the War, because it was the 70th anniversary, and I watched the spectacular military parade in Moscow on television. I later learned that it was the largest and most lavish parade held in Russian history, and even included a group of Kyrgyz soldiers (as did the Chinese Victory Day parade held in September).
This year, I wanted to explore a bit deeper into the significance of this holiday of remembrance and its history, and why it is such an important holiday.
The first week of May in Kyrgyzstan is filled with holidays, so many so that the government often will just declare the entire week a holiday. This year, because May 1st fell on a Sunday, we had holidays on May 2-5, and again on May 9. May 2nd was for the observance of May Day, May 5th is Constitution Day, and May 9th is Victory Day. May 3 and 4th we were given off just because. So, all of Team Osh came together to head out into the countryside for some hiking, exploring, friend time, and of course, carbs.
Summer is officially here; it hit 30 degrees Celsius in Osh on Sunday, which was also International Workers Day (Debout, les damnés de la terre…). What better day, then, to take a mini-vacation day trip for some much-needed relaxation on the beach at a nearby dacha?
It’s the end of the month, and as a part of a new blogging and photography goal I’ve set for myself with BloggingAbroad, I’ve been taking photos based on prompts (and just from life in general), and I wanted to share a few with you!
Last time, I talked about the purchasing power of a dollar in Kyrgyzstan versus in America. Rather, I complained about how much money my friends spend (sorry guys, I’m just jealous of your boogie). This week, let’s dive in a little deeper on the history of Kyrgyz money, what it looks like, and what it gets you!
Today marks the one-year anniversary of my arrival in Kyrgyzstan. It’s been an incredible year, filled with amazing experiences and beautiful memories. I should be celebrating. But I instead I am despondently livid. Continue reading “Mile 12: Regarding Almaty.”
Coming out of Harvard, moving to New York City, and living the fly fabulous life of a millennial consultant gave me an interesting relationship with money. I had a lot of it, I spent a lot of it, and I honestly wasted a lot of it. Well, I probably shouldn’t be surprised that joining the Peace Corps has put my life into rather harsh perspective,* but in many unexpected ways.
See, when many people think of joining the Peace Corps, they think about living in huts, eating food they don’t know, and some sort of stereotype of living in abject poverty and hunger. But, the thing is, I don’t live in a hut. I like my food. I’m not uncomfortable here. I’m not unhappy. I live a comfortable, rewarding, and happy life here in a lower-middle income country. Seriously. And I don’t spend a lot of money at all.
As many readers know, I was a runner in the 2013 Boston Marathon, and was less than a mile away from finishing when the bombs at the finish line exploded 3 years ago today, at 2:49 PM Eastern Time.
I was one of over 5,000 runners who was unable to finish the race because of the explosions, and I was one of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who experienced and continue to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after the events of that day and those in the weeks that followed.
