Ala Archa National Park

Gorgeous. 

Our first excursion from the program was going to the Ala Archa National Park. This place is a mere 45 minute car ride away from the dusty capital of Kyrgyzstan, but is probably one of the most beautiful place on earth.

The most iconic scene of Ala Archa.

Our final destination is the Ak-Sai Waterfall, which is a 3.75 km (2.33 mi) hike one way. That doesn't sound too bad at all, but in reality, the trail was quite steep and filled with loose rocks. We planned for a 1.5 - 2 hour hike, but it took us 3 hours to finally get to the waterfall. At this time of the year (early June), the waterfall wasn't too impressive, as it is still somewhat too cold for the glacier to melt. The water, however, is clear and tasty, and the view was amazing from up there.

And the hike begins.

Beautiful mountain top.

This is how steep it is... and it's not even the worst!

Our group taking a break on the plain.

Breathtaking gorge in front of my eyes.

The Ak-Sai Waterfall we came so far to see!

We brought out own lunch and picnicked on a pile of rocks by the waterfall. It was honestly pretty comfortable, and arguably one of the nicest lunch I have (even though all I brought with me was cucumbers, peaches, waffles and some trail mix). It was a nice hour to regain some energy after a somewhat intense hike. The last stretch of getting to our lunch spot was especially difficult because the slope was so steep. I was practically climbing up the rocks and steps.

Climbing over rocks to get back to the trail after lunch.

The boys hiking down the hill.

The Ak-Sai River running along our trail.

Everything seems so peaceful here.

Even though going up the hill was strenuous, going downhill was more of the nightmare. A lot of us constantly slid and fell down the steep slopes, and as for me, I did not slip much because I basically overused my knees to support myself. By the time I get back to paved roads, my knee was swollen and I had a painful time in the minibus heading back to Bishkek. But I really don't regret any part of this, even the pain, because the nature was simple awesome (in its original meaning) and it was admittedly a good work out.

Annie

First 20 days or so of Bishkek

It's different than what I have imagined. I thought I would go out more, I thought I would be better at Russian by now, I thought I would be hiking those mountains, I thought I would be eating all these traditional foods. Fact is, I have done barely any of the above. But I don't regret any of the moment I have spent here, because I am still learning more everyday.

Okay, I like Bishkek. But maybe one day I'll love it.

Bishkek is the capital city of Kyrgyzstan with a population of less than a million. Most people here speak Russian in addition to Kyrgyz. In fact, Russian is very commonly used here, and you can survive here knowing only Russian, making this a good place to study Russian because you could practice anywhere. This is a pretty small capital compared to most, and it doesn't exactly have a "city center", which is interesting. But you can find history around almost every corner of the streets, from statues to museums, to squares to parks. My host lives pretty far from the school (like 4 miles), and I usually take the Marshrutka in the morning and walk home after school. It takes me around an hour and 15 minutes to walk home, but at the same time I am also giving myself a different tour of Bishkek each day. I stopped using a map after a couple of days, and I find something new all the time. It's actually not too boring of a walk as some might think. Only down side is I feel like I'm a vacuum sucking in all the dust. 

Ala-Too Square, surrounded by museums and statues and parks.

The Red Guards Memorial, dedicated to Red Guards who died for Soviet Power.

Monument of Mukhtar Auezov, a prominent Kazakh writer, scientist and academian.

Statue of Lenin behind the State History Museum, which is currently under renovation.

Tattybyubyu Tursunbaeva, a well-known Soviet artist/cinematographer.

A statue of Kurmanjan Datka, also known as the "Queen of Alai". She was a strong tsaritsa whom the people respected.
PS. she's also badass enough to reject an arranged marriage... back in late 1820s!

Manas (national hero) statue in front of the Philharmonic Building.

MiG Fighter Jet in front of the National Guard headquarter.

I'd say I've seen a lot of Bishkek city in these 2 weeks, just from walking literally everywhere. Now that I got a couple explore buddies, I will see even more in Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan. It's gonna be a good 10 weeks, я думаю. Also, I got a multi-entry Kyrgyz visa, so maybe I'll go see some other countries, with Kazakhstan on the top of the list because it's visa-free!

Annie

Shortest flight I have been on

Almaty, Kazakhstan (ALA) → Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (FRU)

Mountains between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

This flight is a maximum of 25 minutes, but it was the most breathtaking, jaw-dropping flight. Ever. I love mountains, and this flight is like a dream because we flew low and somewhat close to the mountains. 

Not much to say about this flight as it's really short, but shout out to the guy who let me take his window seat!!! 

But isn't this mountain range gorgeous! 

Interesting landscape.

What an adorable city with a majestic mountain backdrop.

These pictures don't even begin to describe the scenery, but hopefully you enjoyed them. There will be several opportunities for me to hike/trek in Bishkek during my study abroad, and I can't wait any longer! Imagine actually be on these mountains! 

Annie 

Layover in Amsterdam

On my way to the final destination, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, I had a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam. Last time I was here was about 2 years ago with a friend, but we didn't really "sight see" much. We enjoyed our time just strolling around, eating ice cream and stuff like that. I remember I really wanted to go to St. Nicholas Cathedral by Amsterdam Centraal station, but it was not opened. That became one of the reasons why I wanted to leave the airport, even though it would mean I have only, realistically speaking, a maximum of 3.5 hours to do things. If you didn't know, I love European cathedrals and churches, and I would never give up my chance of seeing yet another one.

That's the St. Nicholas Cathedral on the left

So off I go with my 12-pound backpack and purse.

Of course, the 3 hours that I am in Amsterdam had the best worst weather. It was cloudy and raining the  entire time; at times, it even poured rain. However, that didn't stop the umbrella-less me. After spending about forever trying to get Euros from the bank (note: DO NOT exchange money at the train station. I exchanged $20 and ended up with only 13.62 Euros) and buy the train ticket, I finally got to the city center. It was pouring rain, so I went into the tourist info booth right outside of the station and got myself a free map. Once the rain was slightly lighter, I speed-walked to the cathedral to find that IT WAS CLOSED. AGAIN. There goes my hopes and dreams, so then I spent the next 2 hours wandering around the side of town that I've never been. My map was in my bag basically just for added weight, because I did not touch it once. My path actually met a couple pretty nice places, such as the Rembrandt house and statue (they are actually quite far apart), the opera house, Bloemenmarkt (flower market), the Royal Palace and Dam Square. I especially spent some time at the Bloemenmarkt because tulips are pretty, and they are Dutch. With 4.22 euros left in my pocket, I also picked up some fries (without sauce.. because they cost extra money that I don't have) as my lunch.

Canals are almost always accompanied by boats, trees and houses.

Bloemenkart - would've been great for mother's day.

People in Amsterdam (and Europe) loves to have flowers outside / inside their home.

Some people actually stay in those boats.

You're looking at the Royal Palace in Dam Square.

I concluded my trip in about 2 hours because I really could not stand being in the rain and cold anymore. But it was also a good idea stopping early, because back in Schiphol Airport they actually scanned ALL electronics and even searched most passengers' bags. I made it just in time for the flight!

The beautiful Amsterdam Centraal - one of my favorite stations

Annie

How to plan weekend trips!

A few friends has asked me how I plan my trips. During my year in Germany, I spent probably half the weekends traveling and doing stuff, whether it is going to a party in the next town over, or going to a city 8 hours from where I live. As a broke exchange student back then, how did I do it all? Here's how I did it.

Step 1: Figure out exactly how much time you have
So you ask, a weekend is 2 days, what do you mean by how much time? That's true, but not if you include your Friday afternoon if you don't have class, or your Monday morning if you don't have class until the afternoon. There are weekends where I have a good 72 hours to go somewhere (don't question me, question the German school system).

Step 2: Figure out where to go
Now that you know how much time you have, you can plan accordingly. With those 72-hour weekends, you can go somewhere a little further, or somewhere close that you really want to explore inside-out, or maybe a festival that you've had your eye on for months. Have a list of possible destinations.

Step 3: Booking stuff
For weekend trips, I don't recommend booking tickets / rooms on the go. That's because you only have 2-3 days to explore, you may very well loss that precious time running around clueless. With your list of destination in hand, use the almighty Internet to find the best deals on buses, trains, hostels and homestays. Any logical people would choose to go somewhere that's the cheapest, but you do you.

Step 4: Plan your itinerary 
By that, I don't mean to have something like "8am - Healthy breakfast at hostel; 8:32am - take bus 1 to location x entrance a". That's just way too much detail. Have a few places that you want to visit each day, plan an approximate route, and just go wander around! You never know what you could find.

Step 5: Go and have fun
Pack up your backpack (please don't take anything more than a backpack for a weekend trip) and go!!!

Day trip to Brussels

Day-and-a-half trip to Paris

PS: I dropped my old laptop so life has been a mess. Pardon me for the lack of (travel-related) posts because like half of my pictures are not backed-up :( 

CBYX online application tips!

This is hopefully somewhat useful for future applicants.. That is if anyone reads this blog.. 

Since I participated in CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) in 2014, I guess I can say my online application was pretty solid. This is all based on my application experience. (I actually wroe this back in 2014. I decided to re-post this because a lot of people actually read it.)

- Essays: After you wrote and edited your essays, don't hesitate to ask people (preferable alumni, parents and teachers) to read them! Believe it or not, I attacked at least 15 people with my not-so-good essays and their comments helped me improve a lot! Essay is one of the most important parts of the application, since it's the only way the judges get to know you as of now. They look for genuine and motivated applicants; bragging and lying in your essays doesn't help.
In the interview, the interviewer(s) will be reading your application while asking you questions and talk about things you put on the application; it is IMPORTANT for you to review what you wrote in the application before having interview [and congrats if you've made it this far!]. 

- Host family letter: This is different from the essay in my opinion. This letter is for your future host family to know more about you, so there isn't a specific prompt to follow. Before you write, ask yourself what you would want to know if an exchange student is coming to stay with you for 10 months. The student's family life? Social life? Hobbies? Interests? Personality? If you don't have a word limit for the letter, just keep writing, but keep in mind that you don't want the letter to sound boring and redundant because, once again, it's the first impression you have for your future host family. I would say keep it under 700 words and don't just restate everything you wrote in the previous essays, because they'll most likely review your whole application. Try to really give them a glimpse of who you are. 

- Teacher's Recommendations: Double check if the teacher's recs are in. A lot of people didn't complete the application because a teacher's rec was missing. If you aren't sure about it, email the person in charge of application processing! It never hurts, plus this would show him/her that you actually care about the program. 

- Your cover picture: This is the first impression that the judges (and possibly host family) have on you. So you better look nice. I'm not saying you should be complete dressed up for it. Like me, I just wore a nice sweater and had my hair down, nicely combed, and smile like how I would normally. It's better to just show your personality (while looking professional). I'm kind of a casual person and I wear sweaters all the freaking time so that's what I chose to wear. As long as you don't look like a hobo or someone who just woke up, you should be good to go. 

- The grades: There's a section where you fill in your grades by hand, please don't fake it. It's so obvious since you'll be required to provide a transcript anyways. Grades aren't as important (still important) if you have an outstanding personality and desire to go :) 

- Your activities and awards: It's important to show how much you involve in different activities, because this is what the judges are looking for: people who are active and will involve in activities in Germany. In the tiny column they provided us, I included a little description for each of the things I wrote. For example, I didn't just write "Equestrian" or "Art". Instead, I wrote "Equestrian - Started in Hong Kong Jockey Club and continued in Sam Houston Equestrian Center; assisted in youth riding classes", and "Arts/crafts - School elective and personal hobby, participated in numerous local/regional/state competitions and auctions". This will give a little bit more insight to the things you do without having to write a whole essay. The judges will feel like they know you better.

The Student Information and Stats, Academic Certificate, Medical Information, Media Release etc. really just depend on you and the school. You can't really screw those up unless you filled them out incorrectly. Make sure you review your application and forms to check for mistakes! 

Future applicants, I hope this helped and I wish you the best of luck!

Annie

Kyrgyzstan in Less Than 12 Weeks!

I have been accepted into the Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Russian as a Second Language Program hosted by my school and SRAS (the School of Russian and Asian Studies). I COULDN'T BE MORE EXCITED!! I will be there for 10 weeks, starting from late May to early August. I might even add in an extra 2 weeks before he program starts so that I can go explore some more! While my primary purpose of studying in Kyrgyzstan is to learn Russian, my secondary purpose is definitely go on hikes and watch people eagle hunt (among many, many other things)! The landscape in Kyrgyzstan is unlike anything I have seen, and I am literally dreaming about the scenery in my sleep. 

Beautiful landscape of Kyrgyzstan - Source

Horses are a bonus! - Source

Most of my Russian class is going to St. Petersburg, Russia. I thought about it, but I decided to go with Bishkek. Why?

1. It's off-the-grid
9 out of 10 people I talk to have no idea where Kyrgyzstan is, and I am going to study there. How cool is that? Since not many people have gone down this path, there isn't really something that I "must" do (other than Issyk-kul and the bazaars in Bishkek) and I get to do whatever I want and share these unique stories with others. Also, I'm just an awkward person that doesn't like super mainstream stuff.

2. Mountains. And Lakes. 
If the pictures above aren't breathtaking to you, I don't know what to say. I simply can't wait to finally see and hike them in person! 

3. Less distraction, maybe
While my classmates are probably getting drunk and partying in a bar in St. Petersburg, I'm probably sleeping in a yurt. I'd say that's a fair trade. But then I'd be tempted to ride horses everyday, so that could be a slight distraction.

4. The people
The Kyrgyz people are known to be hospitable and gentle. They are not from big, modernized cities, which makes them perhaps more innocent and easy to communicate with. They also probably speak less English than Russians, which would help me in learning my target language. 

5. Kyrgyz food
Some might say they're weird (fermented mare's milk??! Yes that's weird), I can't wait to try them. Honestly, I have never tried any food like Kyrgyz food, so I have absolutely no expectation for it. But at the same time, I am pumped to try something complete new to me. (I've also heard they're really yummy) 

By the way, this is a yurt. - Source

In conclusion, Bishkek just sounds better for me. Now all I need to do is find $9000 on the street or something to pay for the program.