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