Dimdama in the Hills

Published on by Mark Jahnke

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.

Continue reading “Dimdama in the Hills” →

Thinking In Som

Published on by Mark Jahnke

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!

Continue reading “Thinking In Som” →

Sticker Shock

Published on by Mark Jahnke

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.

Continue reading “Sticker Shock” →

One Boston Day, 2016

Published on by Mark Jahnke

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.

11159501_10205079617082421_7525019536664227078_n
Me on the course in 2013.

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.

Continue reading “One Boston Day, 2016” →

That Marshrutka Life

Published on by Mark Jahnke

Any blog about life in the former Soviet Union is incomplete without a post discussing the omnipresent marshrutka, the transportation of choice in most cities of the former USSR. I wrote a little about the shared taxi system of Dushanbe in a post a few years back called Managing Marshrutkas, but now that I spend about an hour every day inside the real deal, I think it’s a subject that bears revisiting.

First of all, what is a marshrutka?  Continue reading “That Marshrutka Life” →

When Your PC Site Gets 4G LTE…

Published on by Mark Jahnke

Attention Kara-Suu Bazaar shoppers.  I have some exciting news… Osh now has 4G LTE cell data service from 2 of Kyrgyzstan’s 3 cell service providers.  LTE.  In my Peace Corps site.  WHAAAAAAT?!

Now, a lot of you probably are asking yourselves “what’s LTE and why should I care?”  To answer this question, I’m going to explain the state of my internet before this glorious event took place.

Continue reading “When Your PC Site Gets 4G LTE…” →