September 28, 2012

I spent a lazy morning lounging around the flat until the gorgeous day called out for some exploring of my immediate surroundings. I ventured to Chuy Avenue, the main drag of Bishkek, but forgot to bring the map Natalia so graciously provided and couldn’t identify any of the landmarks I was looking at. I took some photos nonetheless hoping that Zarina will be able to label them for me tomorrow. I had promised to cook breakfast for her on Saturday before we head out to the Osh Bazaar to buy housewares to complete the look of my apartment.

I had one more delightful day to enjoy with brilliant sunshine, soft breezes and nary a touch of humidity. I found the sign for a Mexican cantina and karaoke bar first followed by some government buildings where a lot of activity seemed to be taking place. About three blocks later, I finally came upon the Beta Center Natalia had recommended that I check out before purchasing anything at the bazaar as she felt their prices are quite competitive. This is a Turkish store offering a variety of housewares, groceries and takeout food of pretty good quality.

I made sure to bring a crisp $100.00 dollar bill to exchange this time and had no problem when I approached the currency exchange counter on the first floor. I looked at glasses, pitchers, butter dishes, salad bowls, kitchen utensils, small appliances and so on until I came to the electric oven I was hoping to buy to allow me to bake all the things I like to eat. It’ll cost me over a hundred dollars to buy one and they are quite bulky in fact. I’ll have to think about how much I’d really use this oven as I ended up not baking much in Dushanbe last year. It could have been, partly, because the kitchen lacked heating and I fled from it during the cold months.

I overheard a young couple speak English nearby and introduced myself to Douglas and Sunshine who are enrolled at the London School of Languages while learning Russian and have been here for just over a month. We exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch especially if I get to enroll in the classes this coming week. I was starving at that point, and they recommended a buffet-type of restaurant located on the second floor. I made my way there and just pointed to three different items and ordered a bottle of iced tea. I was shocked to be presented with a bill for 517.00 som or about $11.00. I knew I had no choice but to  pay since I lacked the language skills to argue about the bill since no prices were posted, but swore never to set foot in that restaurant again. That’s unless a local accompanies me. What a rip off!

I perused the other shops on the second floor, mostly a lackluster collection of clothing and jewelry stores in tiny, ill-lit spaces. The third floor fared even worse with even less lighting and just three stores to look at. From there, I went to the Narodi supermarket, a Russian chain that seems to be everywhere, and bought the things I’d need to make breakfast in the morning but managed not to find any onions. I noticed that both Beta and this chain offer a very small section of fruit and vegetables to the public. I need to find out where people get most of their greens.

My landlady called to say she’d be coming around with the coffee table and night table she’d promised. When she got here, I thought it was funny that the coffee table was the same kind I had in my dining room in Dushanbe, only shorter and in black instead of blue. She told me she had decided not to buy the reading lamp since she wasn’t sure what kind of lamp I wanted and hoped I could find what I wanted at the bazaar tomorrow. Zarina called me about the same thing and told me I should expect to pay about 300.00 som or around 7.00 dollars. I offered her coffee while her husband brought up the furniture, and Nadya confirmed she’d been born in Russia and brought to Kyrgyzstan when she was five. She feels very comfortable here because she has a business and owns two apartments she rents while living in a big house with her mother.

When she was gone, I turned my attention to my first professional task: updating the professional development survey the Forum organization provides its teachers with at the beginning of the school year. Theirs contained only four questions, two of which asked how the Forum could help them become better teachers. I found a survey online and extended the survey to contain twelve questions altogether. I’ll submit it to the committee and wait for their answer. I have my first presentation there on October 13, so I need to start thinking of what I’ll say to them.

I watched a disturbing video, Kyrgyzstan: The Interim Country, about the fractious relationship between the different ethnic groups inhabiting the country: Russians, Germans, Turkish, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Uigers, Dungans, Tatars and others. I had no inkling about the 2010 attacks by Uzbeks on Kyrgyz in the city of Osh, the southern part of the country. Prior to that, the Kyrgyz had attacked the Turkish population in another region. Very sad, indeed.