As many readers know, my absolute favorite city in the world is Istanbul, Turkey, which was tragically rocked by another terror attack at New Year’s Eve. It bothers me how much people have been dismissing Istanbul as some kind of dangerous hotspot, particularly since Istanbul actually represents so much that is good in the world to me. Continue reading “Music Video Obsession: Feel by Mahmut Orhan feat. Sena Sener”
Hard to believe that it’s the end of 2016. How many famous people died so far? Can we preemptively connect Betty White to a ventilator just in case?
To flash ourselves back to better times, I did a little digging into my site stats to see what your favorite posts were this year. Without further ado! Continue reading “Your Favorite Posts Of 2016”
December is one of my favorite months of the year. From the first snow to the holidays, it’s a month when winter is still magical and there are plenty of occasions to meet up with friends and family to enjoy endless mugs of hot chocolate. It’s also a time when all of the religions have all of the holidays, making it even more special to just about everyone. Continue reading “Have Yourself A Merry Little New Year”
I was at a New Year’s party the other day with some of my students, and they invited me to play a little game that is simple enough that I figured you might want to learn it as well. Continue reading “What Is It? Why, It’s The New Year’s Truck!”
Back in September, I went to the Portrait Gallery in Bishkek with my parents to take a look at a fantastic collection of art from across the history of Kyrgyzstan. One of the things that is most frequently forgotten about the former Soviet Union is that there was a spectacular range of art that was supported and elevated by the state, meaning that artists had support from the state for a lot of their work. Wandering through the museum’s amazing collection of carpets, felt work, and paintings in styles never seen in the museums of London and Paris, I found myself in a dimly lit room. Centered on one wall was the painting. Continue reading “Daughter of Soviet Kirghizia: A Socialist Realist Masterpiece”
My day was made recently when I was addressed in a group as “ejeler.” But, I’m pretty sure most of you aren’t sure why that is so funny to me. So, I decided that now would be a good time to explain the Kyrgyz system of honorifics so that you know what on earth I’m talking about when I refer to an “eje” or a “baike.” Continue reading “Language Lessons: Kyrgyz Honorifics”
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! Take a look, read about it, and click to enlarge if you want to see more closely. Continue reading “November 2016 Photo Roundup”
Mile 19 is about where you start to hit the wall in a marathon, depending on your training. It varies from person to person, from marathon to marathon, and depending on how you’re doing physically and mentally. I’ve run races where I never hit the wall. In another I hit it at mile 16. It’s not enough to stop you, because you keep going. You have a job to do, a goal to reach. But it’s been hard, and November has been, I think, a proverbial hitting of the wall for me. Continue reading “Mile 19: Hitting The Wall”
Editor’s note: This post is a partnership post written by Josefin Åström, a Swedish colleague of mine who works with a local youth centre here in Osh through the Central Asia Solidarity Group, a Swedish NGO that supports civil society across Central Asia. The post was translated from Swedish by Josefin and I together, and is part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world. You can learn more at the UN Women Website. -Mark
This project started out of curiosity on what girls and young women in Kyrgyzstan find important in their lives. I believe that the chorus of their voices can provide an interesting snapshot of Kyrgyz society today. As a young woman myself, I gathered that approaching the topic through the lens of fashion could be a non-intimidating way of getting access to this group in the street to start a conversation about themselves. This is why the project has been carried out in the format of a street fashion project. Continue reading “16 Young Women, 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence”
Last week, I told you about my experience on the Peace Corps Top Bloggers’ Tour in Washington, D.C., but I didn’t tell you a whole lot about the 7 other amazing bloggers I met there. If you’re reading my blog, you probably enjoy reading about Peace Corps, life abroad, travel, and unexpected encounters with oversized insects (ok, well maybe not that last one… #gottacatchemall). Thus, I’m quite certain you’ll also not only love to meet these awesome humans, but that you’ll enjoy reading their blogs and learning about their countries as well. Continue reading “Meet The Bloggers”
