Back in Bishkek, back to the States

July 31, 2013

My initial plan was to return to Bishkek on Saturday, July 27^th. I’d reserved a bed in the Sakura hostel for the 27^th-30^th way back in June… but, this being Kyrgyzstan, a wrench was (of course) thrown into my carefully laid plans. This particular wrench came in the form of M., an American undergrad student who, fresh off a year in Russia and a month in Tajikistan, was spending a week or so in Kyrgyzstan before returning to the US. His local Kyrgyzstan travel arrangements had been made through The London School. His plans were to spend Thursday night at the Beach Camp and then return to Bishkek on Friday night. Logically and logistically, it made far more sense for me to return to Bishkek with him on Friday night than to have The London School arrange separate travel for the both of us. Of course, the problem was that Sakura was packed. I had a bed reserved for Saturday, but there wasn’t space for me for Friday. We were too late in the planning stages to arrange a homestay through The London School (such as the one where M. was staying), so I ended up spending the night at the home of the director of The London School… where Aliman and Murat from Toguz Bulak happened to be staying as well. (The director is, I believe, the aunt of their mother.)

In the morning, after a nice, late breakfast, I made my way to Sakura. When they’d said the place was packed, I’d had no idea just how packed. There were only two dormitories when I first stayed there back in May. In June, they opened a third dorm. All of the beds in all three dorms were full, as were all of the private rooms. And the floor on the third floor. And the rooftop patio. Considering the solitude in which I’d spent the previous two months, it was all a bit much.

I had four full days to spend in Bishkek, although I admit that I did very little. Most of the Bishkek folks whom I know had left the sweltering heat of the city (and it was boiling – in the upper 90s, sometimes topping 100F – every day I was there) for the cool air and waters of Issyk Kul, and the temperatures made wandering about the city a challenge. On the one hand, after having spent the entire summer being cold, this was quite a welcome change in temperatures. On the other hand... it was bloody hot. I didn’t even carry my DSLR with me most of the time, as it was simply too hot to lug around something of that size. Yeah. Of course, as the hostel was not air conditioned, I spent a good amount of time in “expensive” (by Bishkek standards) restaurants with air conditioning: curry at The Host, rabbit at У Мазая, Khachapuri at Mimino, pizza at VEFA, and a calzone at Cyclone. (Cyclone has the best hot chocolate in the world, but as I was so hot by the time I got there, I couldn’t bring myself to order it; I had one of their milkshakes instead.)

Curry at The Host

Khachapuri Adjaruli at Mimino

'Hunted Rabbit' at У Мазая

The remains of my calzone at Cyclone

I didn’t just eat my way through four days in Bishkek; I had errands to run, too. I had to return my borrowed laptop to The London School, complete with the audio recordings of myself which I had made for them, tape-scripts, edited texts, and photos of my volunteering experiences. In turn, I finally received my stipend (haha). I then spent most of said stipend mailing home the large box of gifts from host families and students. I also finalized my souvenir/gift buying, and even braved the heat to wander around the city (albeit with my point-n-shoot). I also managed to get a really great haircut at a place not too far from the hostel. And that was it, really.

As you can see, the weather was gorgeous. But sweltering, absolutely sweltering.

A really lovely haircut, by a very nice woman... who I must admit was horrified by how long I'd gone since last dyeing my hair. Bishkek and the villages are really different worlds.

At 1:30am on July 31^st, three French tourists (who had been among the masses at Sakura) and I left the hostel and headed for the airport. Checking in at Manas is definitely a lot easier without four cats! I did, however, see an elderly gent traveling with two small dogs – good times. I arrived in Istanbul at 7am local time, and got to sit through a six hour layover. There was actually a later flight out of Bishkek, but I would have had less than an hour to catch my flight to the States. I hadn’t wanted to miss my connection, so I settled for six hours of mind-numbing boredom. M, on the other hand, chose the latter flight. He and I were supposed to be on the same flight from Istanbul to New York, but he didn’t make it in time.

And that’s it, the end of my summer in Kyrgyzstan. I leave you to contemplate a video I made showcasing how - despite New Zealand's attempts to convince us otherwise - Kyrgyzstan is indeed Middle Earth. You have to click here to download it; YouTube won't let me post it as they say it's a copyright infringement.

Carry-on to Kyrgyzstan

I leave for Kyrgyzstan in less than a week - meaning that I am totally packed and ready to go right now. I am an obsessive packer and re-packer (at least when I'm getting ready to go somewhere exciting), and I've been working on my packing list for some time now. I may have had some items in the suitcase for over a month or so at this point. :-)

I'm flying in on Turkish Airlines. As you may remember, I took Turkish Airlines the last time I flew to Kyrgyzstan - which was all well and good until they lost one of my suitcases and took over a week to get it to me. Now, if I'm moving somewhere, and am therefore traveling with two ginormous suitcases full of everything I could possibly need (and will be living close to the airport), being out one suitcase for more than a week isn't the end of the world. When I'm only planning on bringing one bag and when I'm planning on spending the first two weeks in-country traveling all over the place (ie, nowhere near the airport), if my bag doesn't arrive with me, this would be pretty problematic. As such, I've decided to bring only a carry-on. Plus my camera backpack as my "personal item." I'm kind of stretching things a bit, and I am seriously hoping I don't get forced to check anything, but in theory I should be OK. I should also mention that while I'm going to be racing around the country for the first two weeks, I'll be spending the following nine weeks being relatively sedentary, living out in the boonies, and teaching English. As such, I have to pack work-acceptable clothing and some teaching materials as well.

I'll update you when I get back on how the whole carry-on thing worked, as well as on what I forgot/wished I'd brought/wished I'd left at home/etc. But for now, here's what I'm packing:

This shot is for scale, so you can see the size of my two bags relative to my full-sized bed.
The bag on the left is a camera/laptop bag, the CompuDayPack by Lowepro. I'm actually not bringing my laptop on this trip, but this is a great DSLR + other stuff backpack and I love it. The bag on the right is the Osprey Porter 46, which I bought after reading this review. Supposedly it works as a carry-on. We'll see. I plan on checking it on my way home, but I really want it on board with me on my way there.
The bottom half of the CompuDayPack is a camera bag, home to my DSLR, extra lens, power converter, and various chargers.
The top-front portion is pretty much a typical backpack - good for travel papers, face-wipes, my point-n-shoot, my glasses, memory cards, and the annoying ziploc baggie of allowed toiletries.
Point-n-shoot.
Spare pair of glasses, prescription sunglasses
Lots of memory!
I'm obsessed with the kind of facewash I use. I've used it since I was 16 or so. Sadly, it's not TSA carry-on compliant, so I'm bringing this stuff instead. Not sure how I feel about this.
The space that's supposed to be for a laptop is pretty good for storing various other stuff.
There's the ubiquitous ziploc baggie of toiletries. 
And this is the other stuff located in the laptop compartment: non-liquid toiletrees (bandaids, pain patches, etc), pens, guidebook, Kindle, notebooks, and teaching materials.
This bag will also be home to my umbrella, passport and travel documents, and my ipod.
Now let's take a look at the other bag:
The top pocket is really small. I'm using it for some of my OTC meds.
NyQuil, DayQuil, and Pepto If this trip is anything like my last one, that probably isn't enough Pepto.
I love the fact that it's a top-loader.
Large purse and mini-backpack. 
White-board markers and spare batteries. (I mentioned that I'll be teaching, right?)
Lighting. Electricity wasn't the most reliable the last time I was there; I plan on being prepared. Wind-up lantern, wind-up headlamp, battery powered headlamp. I wrote a whole post on these gadgets a while back over on my other blog.
Hand-crank generator (in case I desperately need to charge my camera batteries) and power-strip with USB adapters for charging various things when I *do* have electricity. It plugs into my power converter. (I really only want use the hand-crank in emergency situations because it takes forever to charge anything. Dead camera batteries would, however, constitute an emergency.)
Dictionaries!
Photos. I am a huge believer of using photographs when teaching English.
I also think that Ziploc baggies are incredibly useful things to bring when you travel. Great for snacks, great for using in the classroom, great for waterproofing your stuff - and hard to find when you're in K-stan.
A good пакет (plastic bag) is an essential item for traveling in the FSU, thus the inclusion of the blue Aldi bag. I promise that the bathing suit actually looks awesome on me - although it looks awful on the bed like that. (I know I'll be swimming in Issyk-Kul!) The orange thing is a sarong. Great for the beach, can double as a towel or skirt or dress....
Sea-to-Summit DryLite MicroTowel and body scrubber thing. This towel is more like a chamois for your body than a towel, but it takes up very little space, and it dries quickly.
I should mention that I'm not really bringing shoes. I'm bringing flip flops and Tevas. In case of a cold snap, I'm bringing a few pairs of socks and will be one of those people committing the fashion faux pas of wearing Tevas with socks. Seriously, I don't have room for shoes and lots of socks.
More OTC meds.
More OTC meds, dry bodywash, and enough birth control to skip my period for three months. Seriously, I am not dealing with that while I am living in rural Kyrgyzstan.
Clothing pic 1: two sun dresses, a long black skirt, two light-weight sweaters, two dress shirts (can be worn over the dresses), five t-shirts (can be worn over the dresses), jeans, and sleepwear consisting of shorts, cotton pants, and a t-shirt.
Clothing pic 2: two more sundresses, jeans, thick leggings
Clothing pic 3: two headscarves, six pairs of undies, two pairs of socks.
Alarm clock and razors.
Mini white-board. That's my lens cap next to it for scale.
Portable speaker by Kinivo - battery powered and rechargeable, although the batteries on these babies last a long time. I'm also a huge believer of using music in the classroom, so a speaker to attach to my ipod is an absolute must.
Lastly, this is what I'm wearing on the plane:
Jeans, blouse (which matches the packed sundresses), warm sweater, and Tevas. (They're the Teva Women's Kokomo - really comfortable and sturdy, and can pass as dressy if need be.)
Additional items not included on the original list: Imodium, umbrella, knee braces, earrings, hairties

Epilogue: A postal miracle!

 December 28, 2008

Before I left for Kyrgyzstan, my mother asked me to buy her a Kyrgyz saddle while I was there. Early on in my trip, I found an antique wooden saddle for about $14. In late October, shortly before returning to the US, I shipped it home. You may remember the story: I spent a ridiculously long time in the post office, spent $100 on shipping AND they managed to insert my absentee ballot into the box instead of mailing it to its proper destination. Anyway, after being home for nearly two full months, both my mother and I had given up on the saddle ever making it to The Small Southern Town. I figured it was being ridden around Kyrgyzstan by whomever acquired my fitted sheet and my chocopies, and whatever else the Kyrgyz post stole from me.

The box, in its hand sewn linen sack

Hand stitching and a wax seal

A closer look at the wax seal of the Bishkek Post Office

Hand stitching and seals

Mom gets her saddle

The saddle in all its glory :-)

And, of course, my ballot.

Adventures of an International Cat Lady

November 5, 2008

Traveling from Bishkek to The Small Southern Town with four cats – while definitely worth it – was probably one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever done. I’ve already described the whole rigmarole I had to go through in Bishkek to get permission to take my cats out of Kyrgyzstan. That was just the beginning.

B overlooks my pile of possessions

At 2:30 Sunday morning, a taxi (driven by Anatoli the Awesome) came to the school to pick up me, my various feline and non-feline possessions and B. (B came along to help me carry things and to laugh at the absurdity of what I was doing.) We got to the airport at 3am only to learn that check in for my flight wouldn’t begin for another hour. This was actually fine, as it gave me plenty of time to take the cats (or more specifically, their paperwork) to the Veterinary Control desk in order to receive even more stamped government forms from someone who didn’t so much as look at the cats.

Meanwhile, I should definitely mention that the instant we hopped out of the car we were descended upon by a dude with a cart who charged an exorbitant fee for use of said cart ($50!) but with four cats, two suitcases and a backpack it seemed worth it. He also tried to convince me that my money was also paying for him to call his brother on the other side of the security check in who would make sure that I had no problems getting the cats checked in. I didn’t believe that for an instant. Cart Guy was actually quite helpful, until he put Gee through the x-ray machine. Ooops. But that comes later.

Kitties in Manas International Airport

While waiting to check in, the cats provided entertainment to numerous children who wanted nothing more than to poke their fingers into the carriers in an attempt to pet (er, poke) my cats. The kitties were surprisingly well-behaved and tolerant of all this nonsense.

In order to check in at Bishkek’s Manas Airport, first you must go through a narrow door, then through a security check. This means that as soon as check in for your flight begins, you and everyone else on that flight immediately must rush like mad for the narrow door, pushing and shoving at will. Yay, civilization. Cart Guy, Anatoli, B, and I forced our way to the front and got me and all my crap through the narrow door. That was when Cart Guy put Gee on the conveyer belt, which whisked her into the baggage x-ray machine before I could do anything to stop it. People began screaming at me (“You’re going to kill your pet!”) and I started shouting at Cart Guy while frantically pulling the other three carriers off the conveyer belt where he’d put them. Gee had already been scanned, but I had to take the other three out one at a time and carry them through the metal detector while their carriers were put through the x-ray.

Once the cats, my suitcases and I were through security, I got to explain to some very friendly customs guys why I was taking four breed-less street cats home with me. (I must’ve had at least 6 different people ask “But don’t you have street cats in America?”) The customs guys actually seemed quite impressed when I told them that the cats were my responsibility and I couldn’t just abandon them. Although perhaps they were more impressed with my ability to explain all that in Russian.

After customs examined all my cat paperwork I was finally able to check in. First I had to pay $401 in excess baggage fees, which I’d expected. Well, I’d expected $400, and while I had more with me, the smallest bill I had was a $50, and of course they didn’t have change. Luckily I had $1 worth of soms left, and they let me pay with those.

Then I was instructed to leave my three cats (the ones going in checked baggage) on the floor in front of a random-seeming elevator. I had to leave them sitting there, mewing pathetically, as Luball (the cat who came on the plane with me) and I went off in the other direction to go through yet another security check. I was quite worried that I would arrive in Atlanta 30+ hours later and Gee, Bee and Heelio would still be sitting in their carriers in front of that elevator door.

Luball was wonderful during the trip. She had to be taken out of her carrier at least six times and she never put up a fight or caused any problems. She was quite quiet during our journey, and managed to keep from peeing or pooping until we checked into a hotel room south of Atlanta. God knows how she achieved that feat; I sure didn’t!

Anyway, we arrived in Moscow 5 hours after leaving Bishkek, and we then spent seven and a half hours waiting around for our flight. So boring. I remember back when I used to think Moscow’s Sheremetevo was exotic… but after Bishkek’s Manas, Sheremetevo is boringly mundane.

Boredom in Sheremetevo

The flight to New York was 10 hours long, and we left 30 minutes late. Then, when we got to New York’s JFK, we sat on the runway for a good 45 minutes before we were able to disembark. My layover had been only two and a half hours long to begin with, and I was very worried that I wouldn’t make my connection. I ran through immigration and was one of the first people to claim their bags (both of which arrived). Then I asked where I could find my cats… and the woman in charge of baggage claim info told me the wrong place to go to! I was standing there, waiting for my cats to appear, watching my fellow passengers all leaving, fearing that Bee, Gee and Heelio were all still sitting in front of that elevator door in Manas, when I heard the distant sound of cats crying. I went in search, and found them on the other side of the room from where I’d been instructed to wait! They were overjoyed to see me, and I was thoroughly relieved to find them.

I stacked my cats and suitcases on top of a cart and wheeled them through customs – who didn’t even look at their paperwork! All that paperwork to get them out of Kyrgyzstan and to bring them in I apparently needed nothing. Weird.

I went to re-deposit my baggage on the other side of customs and was told that I’d actually have to go out to the Delta check-in counter to drop off the cats. At this point I had a mere 40 minutes. Let’s just say that there was a lot of frantic running around, and we barely made the plane.

In Atlanta, the cats were there, but only one of my suitcases. I didn’t really care; I knew the missing suitcase had made it as far as New York, and all I cared about was having the cats safe. I met my mom at baggage claim, and we drove to just south of Macon before stopping at a motel and collapsing from exhaustion. We got to The Small Southern Town Monday afternoon.

Heelio confronts Daddy Cat through the screen door

The cats seem to have had no problem adjusting to their new home, although the cats which already lived there are somewhat put out that these interlopers are snuggled up on what they consider to be *their* bed :-)