A few photos from a business trip to Issyk Kul in July. (You can read more about the purpose of the trip on the Oxus website.)
Unfortunately, there was no frolicking in the lake during this trip. Most of my time was spent in a car, driving the entire circumference of the lake, or quietly observing a workshop for one of our research projects in Kyzyl-Suu, a town on the southern shore.
Luckily, driving along the south shore meant passing by this most epic mural of men wearing kalpaks (a traditional Central Asian hat) while riding a dragon that is shooting flames toward a group of snipers on the roof of the Kyrgyz White House (a not-so-subtle reference to the April 2010 revolution).
There were other, less violent murals to see as well.
In Kyzyl-Suu, the head of the village that we were meeting could only fit one more person in his car to drive from the center of town to his office, so naturally, he invited Farrell and left the women to walk themselves. We took the scenic route.
The Oxus summer intern diligently Instagramed every detail of the workshop location.
Track Suit man snuck into my self-portrait! (Am I showing yet? I’m about 19 weeks in this shot)
Farrell, being a boss, putting out fires as usual.
A sneaky shot of Track Suit man, who was actually the most involved and helpful participant of the workshop. The magic of the track suit, perhaps?