Nouruz ’13

Another year in Bishkek, another Nouruz spent wandering around Ala-Too Square. A woman explains the process of making sumalak. I mean, I like to celebrate a Zoroastrian holiday by performing karaoke in a public square. There are at least a dozen portable entertainment centers set up, by which I mean an old, blocky, static-y TV …

How Bishkek celebrates Valentine’s Day

Like every other holiday, whether or not it originated in Kyrgyz culture, Bishkek doesn’t miss a chance to set up colorful photo backdrops in Ala Too Square and bring out various props to pose with. (A photographer pep-talk, holidays are big business on the square.) Sometimes that prop is a giant komuz. Sometimes it’s peacocks …

Chinese New Year

(Reminder, today is the last day to take the super short Reader Survey, please and thank you!) Gong xi fa cai! Happy Chinese New Year! I wouldn’t say that there are a ton of Chinese people in Bishkek, but enough that fireworks and Chinese New Year celebrations aren’t incredibly rare each year. Our excuse for …

Happy 5th New Year of the year

On March 21, Kyrgyzstan celebrated Nouruz (Navruz, Nooruz, Nowruz, etc). It was explained to me by several people that it’s a Muslim holiday to celebrate Spring. Wikipedia tells me that it is, in fact, Iranian New Year, with traditions dating back to Zoroastrianism. (Which, of course, we all know is a religion that pre-dated Islam. …

Celebrating the New Year in Bishkek

Happy New Year! For the second time, I celebrated in Bishkek, surrounded by friends, food, and my wonderful husband. Just like my Christmas trip to Chon-Kemin, I was really happy to spend this time of year with a smaller group of friends than the usual gigantic expat extravaganzas. (Although, it was probably because all the …

Christmas in Chon Kemin… again

Farrell and I spent Christmas weekend in Chon-Kemin again, this time in a different guesthouse located in a similarly quiet and small village next to the one we stayed in last year. The crowd was different and activities were (slightly) different. We still wandered around snow-covered mountains until sunset, I still gushed over all of …

Thankful in Bishkek

I’m thankful… …for many things. …for being done with that gigantic market research project that took over my life for 2+ months. …for the new and exciting projects I’m planning. …for the new friends I met during a proper Thursday Thanksgiving dinner. …for the leftover apple pie I ate for breakfast. …for how wonderful the …

Thanksgiving in Bishkek

2007: Kirstin hosts Thanksgiving in Amman for about 20 fellow study abroad students. Other than providing the space, I made cookies. The night was pretty hassle-free. 2009: Thanksgiving in Iraq, U.S. Embassy style. Think of the most elaborate selection of Thanksgiving food that is cooked to a perfectly mediocre level. Never trust a Bangladeshi to …