X Bishkek Spring Jazz Festival

This is the fifth time I have been able to attend the Bishkek Jazz Festival since I arrived in Kyrgystan in the Fall of 2010. This year I was able to attend the two days of the event on Friday and Saturday at the Philharmonic Hall. I was not able to go to the Jam Session Saturday night because it just got so late. I left the hall after 11 p.m.

Magic of Nomads, Kazahkstan

I like what the festival organizers are doing with the festival and am a supporter in my own small way, buying extra tickets each year. My favorite element is the work being done to create an ethno-jazz vocabulary that includes a mix of Western instruments and vernacular with the sounds and vernacular of music of Central Asia. Because it is experimental it can have its ups and downs. This year there were more ups than downs as groups from Europe and Central Asia performed.

As I sit this morning in Bishkek having a cup of fresh ground coffee, I find my mind wandering back to the performance of a group from Kazakhstan, The Magic of Nomads, whose combination of folk instruments, kobyz, dombra, flutes, mouth harps and piano, bass, and drums keep echoing in my head. The group is made up of extremely talented musicians. I was most impressed by Jagalsbek Iles who played various flutes and reeds, along with the mouth harp, oz-komuz. His addition to the night of gutteral or throat singing was remarkable. The group has an album recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London titled Bulbul Zaman, which is available on You Tube at https://youtu.be/gJeVp4RXqBg
in case you would like to hear what the sound like. A Google search also turned up an mp3 download.

A great Kyrgyz group, Vikram Rouzakhunov's Jazz Band kicked off the fest on Friday in fine style. American standards reworked well by the band. They featured two vocalists. Mr. Oscar does scat with a Kyrgyz flair. Marina Nabokova added a nice touch with her vocal duets. A pity we don't see more of Vikram and the group during the rest of the year in Bishkek. A friend who is a competetive Sports Latin dancer suggested that Mr. Oscar needed to learn a few new dance moves, but he is entertaining as he tries to figure out what to do in the bridges.

From Tajikistan came Avesto, a six member group that has consistently brought the house down in previous fests and who did not disappoint on Saturday. Led by their incredible vocalist Tahmina Ramazanova the group lays down wonderful traditional melodies rendered in a modern jazz idiom. This is a true example of ethno-jazz. They also have a You Tube presence and channel. Take a listen.
https://youtu.be/i5fXJ1L7AvI

One great thrill for me Saturday was the appearance of Nourghis Chekilova's Trio which featured a friend, Steve Swerdlow, on piano. The trio was a great example of what can be done in jazz with the American Songbook and a talented singer and piano and double bass.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the performance by my favorite Kyrgyz jazz group, Salt Peanuts.  Each year I grow more and more impressed with the work they are doing to incorporate Kyrgyz epos Aikins who perform the national epic of Manas as a part of their offering to the festival. Using national instruments and Kyrgyz language they integrate ethno-jazz into the festival at the highest level. They also have a You Tube channel. Here's an example of their use of Kyrgyz national instrumentation in their work https://youtu.be/t0oqrnoUXWw

I've focused on Central Asia in this post. Tomorrow another post to consider the European groups who performed this year. A big thanks to all the sponsors and supporters who make this festival possible every year. They include the Swiss, Austrian and German Embassies in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, The Christiansen Fund, and the organizers Central Asia Arts Management, local companies namba.kg, Hotel Dostuk, Prego Restaurant.

Everyday Living in Bishkek

It's been almost three weeks since my last posting to this blog. That means I am again having difficulty imposing a discipline of writing at least weekly about my life and the lives of ordinary and extra ordinary people I encounter. It is something I need to work on.

So, let's look at what's been happening since March 8th. On Sunday, the 9th of March I attended a performance of the Ludwig Minkus ballet La Bayadere. It was a remarkable performance of the work. For this ballet principals were brought from Moscow. Alexandra Surodeevoj, the leading ballerina of the Perm State academic Opera and the Tchaikovsky and Andrei Balatova, the first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater danced with the company of the Kyrgyz State National Ballet. Surodeevoj was incredible. Her movements seemed absolutely effortless. It may have been the best performance by a female dancer I have seen in Kyrgyzstan. I left the performance wishing there had been even more.

After the ballet, my young friend Andy and I joined my German friend Richard Heider and his wife and delightful children at dinner at Кафе У Француза which translates to The Frenchman Cafe. Richard and I are working on a project to get some local cinema theatre in Bishkek to have a once a month showing of an film in the English language, or some French, German, European films in their original languages with English subtitles. I am hoping to move this project along as quickly as possible. At the moment all cinema is dubbed into Russian and shown without subtitles. For me, it means I only go to the theatres to see films where I think the dialog will be minimal or unnecessary. Like "Need for Speed" for example. We had a lovely meal once we convinced the female server that a English language menu for the food really did exist. She originally handed us Russian language menus. I do okay with standard restaurant fare when I have to translate the Russian, but french selections in Russian seem a little confusing to me. I selected a dish described as Chicken Breast in a curry sauce. It was very tasty and I will order it again. The restaurant also has some nice duck dishes and recently added some pork cutlets to the menu. That evening we had wanted to order skewered meat, but apparently the mongol grill was not fired up. It is one of the constant disappointments in Kyrgyzstan that items listed on the menus are often not available. But it surprised me that it was the case at У Француза as well.
The meal was topped off by some very nice sorbets.

Monday, the 10th of March was a quiet day, but another eating adventure came in the evening. My friend Telek Nordoolotov

invited me to join with some of his friends to a Beshbarmak dinner. Beshbarmak is a favorite national Kyrgyz dish. I have often had the dish which consists of mutton and hand rolled and cut noodles, often it seems a bit tasteless. The meat is unseasoned and the noodles lack any flavors. But Telek assured me we were ging to a special restaurant where the Beshbarmak was really good. I am always up for a new restaurant experience so I was picked up a off we went down Bokonbaeva in a taxi.

I live on the Eastern end of Bokonbaeva and I use it often to walk to a park nearby, and often take a taxi over to Manas Prospect which is on the Western side of Bishkek's Central District. But that night we continued past Manas and the street became an incredibly bad road because of an enormous number of potholes. We stopped to pick up another dinner guest and then continued on to Moldo Guardia where we turned left and went to Lev Tolstoy where we turned right and went aways almost to an area called Pishpek (one of Bishkek's previous names) but a left turn onto Nekrasova Street and arrived at our destination. The AAA Uzguchu Restaurant whose menu is almost entirely various forms of Beshbarmak. There was a Beshbarmak from Naryn, one from Talas, one from Uzgen and on and on. I am not sure which one Telek ordered but I have to say that this was the best I have ever had.

Beshbarmak surrounded by Chukchuk

And it came with a sausage made from horse and horse fat called Chukchuk. The Chukchuk is a taste that even after three years here for which I have failed to develop a tasted. This dish including the mutton was very good and I have put the restaurant on my list to recommend to others and to take groups to celebrate events.  Several others joined us and the dish ended up serving seven people with a sizable portion left over our friend Suiun took home. After dinner we piled into two taxis, the boys accompanied me home and made sure I got in to the building safely. It was a wonderful experience.

On Tuesday, March 11,  I had an unexpected call from a young Kyrgyz whom I met through my affiliation with a group called Zamandash. Kulanbek has come back from spending time in China, most recently in Urumchi, a city in the Western province of Jinzang.  He invited me to coffee at Adriano which is relatively close to my house, but for some reason I did not understand exactly where it was located. After some fun in the taxi, I called and had Kulanbek explain what and where we needed to be. Kulanbek speaks Kyrgyz, Russian, Chinese and English. He is currently taking a course to brush up on English grammar near where I live. We had a really nice visit and agreed that we need to meet again soon. Also had very good coffee at Adriano. They have a number of coffee shops around the city and I have found the coffee to be first rate, though service can be a little too laid-back for me.

That afternoon I met with Andy and had a late light lunch at Sierra Coffee. I had a small taco salad, which is made with chicken and is very good, and I had a small bowl of the lentil soup.

Wednesday, March 12th is a bit of a blur. I stayed home most of the day and read. I am currently reading in my Kindle Fire Moshin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia. It is a very captivating novel thinly disguised as a self-help book for young Southeast Asian readers looking to get ahead. It turns out to be a biography of the main character and his adventures on the road to success. Very entertaining and perceptive about the struggle.

Thursday, March 13, I went to the bank and picked up my new ATM card for my accounts at Demir Bank KG. While I was in America the card I was carrying expired, so the first time I went to use it I was greeted with a message from the Bankomat screen about that fact. It had never occurred to me to look. It turns out they expire annually and you have to apply and wait a week for a new one. After retrieving it I went to VEFA Center and had some really good Italian coffee at Coffee Time. Saw a couple of friends at the center, but then went to Sierra Coffee for a lunch. Afterwards I went shopping. I am looking for a new vacuum cleaner. The one provided with the apartment has become unusable because of a broken attachment and it is getting a bit old. Having a new one of my own will make life easier. I saw vacuums ranging in price from 2800 soms to 28,000 soms. And to be honest I cannot tell what makes the price so different. I think I will be settling on the least expensive model. But will do more looking. A quick trip to the grocery and then back to the apartment. More reading.

Friday, March 14th, another day staying in because the weather was a bit dreary. I read and slept most of the day. 

Saturday, March 15th. Normally I would get out and go to the Opera and Ballet on Saturday and Sunday. The Opera was Barber of Seville on Saturday, but I decided not to go.

Sunday, March 16th, the Ballet was offering Giselle, I also decided not to go. So it was a quiet weekend with an overload of British television and a substantial amount of progress in my reading.

More later. And as I always say to my Kyrgyz friends in parting, Ak Жол. It is a nomadic wish for clear roads ahead.

Back in the Kyrgyz Republic after 4 months in America

I flew direct from Houston to Istanbul, leaving Houston in the evening at about 8:30 p.m aboard Turkish Airlines. Landing in Istanbul at 4 p.m.  and after waiting in the transfer area for my flight to Bishkek at 12:40 a.m., managed to make a decent time of it in the transit area. A food court provided a number of recognizable options including Burger King, a Fried Chicken outlet, Italian fast food, a Turkish Kebab House, and Nero Coffee. I settled on Italian and a fried wrap sandwich that was indeed vaguely Italian. The Americano at Nero Coffee is very good and the outlet in the food court has some comfortable places to sit and sip. My 8 hour layover went quickly as I read in my Kindle Fire and did my usual people watching. Istanbul has become a gateway hub for air travelers heading on to India, Lebanon, Egypt and other parts of Africa, the Mid-East, and Asia.

My flight to Bishkek boarded on time. I was lucky enough to be in a row with only one other person who was traveling from Moldova. We talked a little. I read a little more, but mostly I slept the flight away. We arrived in Bishkek at 10 a.m. at Manas International Airport. The process through passport control was easy and all three of my bags arrived with me.  I struggled to lift the three 22 kg bags onto a cart, but got it. Then went to go through customs control but an official there waved me through without looking or scanning my bags.  One of the bags was destined for my friends mother and one of her employees whom I knew was waiting to pick it up.  My young friend Azkarbek had come with his friend Atai to pick me up and bring me to my apartment. I was thrilled to see him and to have a nice ride to the apartment. It was also nice to have the two boys help me with the luggage up the stairs. Azkar also has keys to the apartment and I did not have to fish around to find mine, which my friend Emil had packed in one of the suitcases without realizing it. But we did not need keys because Kanykei, the woman who cleans was waiting for me and trying to straighten up the place. She opened the door when she heard us rattling outside. It was really nice of her to be there to welcome me home.

Four months gone is a long time in Bishkek and much has happened. The apartment was repainted and seems nicer somehow. It also is a very cozy personal space for me. A couple of unexplained mysteries popped up as I begin to take stock of things.  I had left two walking canes or sticks as I call them in the hall cabinet. They are missing.  I had about four stainless steel dinner knives in the silverware jar. They are missing. At first I could not figure out what had happened to all the spices and dried herbs, but eventually managed to locate them. Someone put the chili powder into the refrigerator along with the honey. I have found the powdered garlic, the basil, and bought new peppercorns and dried parsley, known as petrushka here, and am able to cook.

Indeed, just a moment ago I pulled a lovely hunk of roasted beast out of the oven. It will provide a number of small meals for me over the next few days.

The Roast of Beef and veggies

The weather has been very nice since I returned with sunny skies and highs in the upper 40's F. I arrived here on the 26th of February. I did suffer a significant amount of jet-lag and for almost a week was still partially on Houston time. That seems to have subsided and I am now sleeping and waking with the rest of Bishkek. Today, the weather has changed to dreary. It is raining and the weather forecasters say that the precipitation will turn to snow tonight and a 4 to 6 inch accumulation is expected.  It will be good to see the snow. It helps to cover up what is not very beautiful at this time of year in Bishkek. The flowers have not begun to bloom, the icepack on the sidewalks is melting and little rivers of muddy water are dirtying the cuffs of pants, shoes, and boots.

Several changes while I was away. An institution in Bishkek which for years was a stopping point for expats and travelers has closed. Fatboys on Chuy Prospect is up for rent. I am sorry to see it go, it was a touch point when I first came. The coffee was okay, the food was acceptable, but mostly it was meeting people from many parts who came to Bishkek.  The Lonely Planet Guide to Central Asia described Fatboys as "a prime foreigners’ hang-out – especially at breakfast, where you’ll find fresh juices, fruit teas, hash browns, bacon, eggs, yoghurt, muesli and pancakes. It’s got a central location and in summer the sidewalk tables make for great alfresco dining." Perhaps someone will resurrect the space soon and the al fresco dining will return.

The biggest changes seem to be happening in the construction industry and in the automotive realm.
Four months ago there was a report that there were about 600 thousand cars registered in Bishkek. That is a lot of cars on the streets of what is not a very large city. There was a lot of traffic and some places were predictable traffic jams and gridlocks. But since my return, I think the number of cars has increased significantly. What used to be a 10 minute taxi trip across town now takes about 20 to 30 minutes because of the increased traffic. I asked one local if it was just my imagination. His reply was very interesting. He said many people rushed to buy automobiles when there was talk of Kyrgyzstan joining a Russian sponsored Customs Union because prices would go up.

The other noticeable growth industry is construction. Throughout the city new high-rise buildings for offices, shops, and luxury apartments are under construction. Much of the older buildings from the Soviet period are being torn down to make way for these new buildings. That construction process also is creating delays along major thoroughfares and the big trucks carrying concrete and cranes are not helping the pothole problem.

My biggest adjustment has come at the apartment because of the new security electronic door. It uses a special little device to open the door and, of course, I don't have one. I would just wait outside sitting on the benches I put in 3 years ago until someone came out or went in to get to the apartment. The installers came the other day and put in the intercom instrument for me to be able to admit guests, but they did not have one of the key devices for me. Finally, I got help from a friend to find out where I had to go to get a device. I went yesterday. And they are supposed to deliver it to me today. I am waiting somewhat impatiently, because I would like to stock up on a couple of items if the snow is coming tonight. But I don't want to be sitting in the rain outside waiting for someone else to open the door. Hopefully, it will come sometime before dark.

The first part of March is filled with special days in Kyrgyzstan. There was a celebration of Flag Day earlier this week. I love the Kyrgyz Flag and I am sorry that my jet-lag kept me from knowing about it until it was over.

Kyrgyz Republic Flag

It was also Ak-Kalpak Day this week. Again, I did not know about it until it was gone.

Me in my Ak-Kalpak

And today, Saturday, 8 March we celebrate International Women's Day. A wonderful holiday that brings joy to the hearts of flower sellers, perfume dealers, and chocolatiers. Yesterday many people were beginning the celebration buying bouquets and chocolates for the women in their lives. It is a very well observed occasion in Bishkek.

A Day at the Museum, A Night at the Opera

Some days in Bishkek are especially interesting. Yesterday was one of my favorite. It was Saturday, the day a group of us usually gather for breakfast and conversation at Sierra Coffee. Yesterday was typical of the Koffee Klatch. I arrived a little early to stake out some tables. There were the usual suspects arriving around ten a.m. But the nice thing was there were three new young people who joined us. Victor, who is a student in English at iLAca Academy, and Tommy, a new teacher at the London School, and Asela, a Kyrgyz. Then later the group grew to about 14. There is something really wonderful when that many people come.

An Afternoon at The Fine Arts Museum

After noon, we finally managed to get moving and four of us, John Herring, Wai Shu, and Jesse Smith, went to the State Fine Arts Museum where we saw three exhibits of exceptional value. Two are temporary traveling exhibits, one of photographs of Kyrgyzstan by a Turkish artist, the other an exhibition of contemporary art titled Lingua Franca/tilli.

A permanent exhibit of textiles, jewelry, and clothing was very interesting. Most of the items on display are from the first part of the twentieth century. The loomed rugs and carpets and embroidered costumes were striking, along with the coral and metal jewelry.

The photographic exhibit was of colored images of everyday life in Kyrgyzstan. They were an excellent series of photographs capturing human subjects from many areas of the country. My favorite image was of a young boy in an ak-kalpak hugging his taigan, a sight-hound of the steppes related to Afghan-hounds, but there were also other nice images.

The Lingua Franca/tilli exhibition presents the work of nine artists from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan who see art as a vehicle for social criticism. Through the language of contemporary art, creative people express their active civil position, protesting against racism and nationalism through the language of modern art. A set of small sculptures that play with the ever present image of Lenin was remarkable. The video installations are very creative, but my favorite was a series of icon-like creations by a Tashkent naivist in cotton and wool mounted on cardboard that portrayed scenes from everyday life. And there is a knock-out eye chart created with images that represent the stereotype ideas of Central Asia. As John noted, if this were in a museum in America, the eye chart would be the poster and we would all have taken one home. Lingua Franca/tili is concerned with problems in politics, history and linguistics. The exhibition runs until 1 November and is worth a visit if you are in Bishkek.

It is also high season for weddings in Bishkek. The Fine Arts Museum is across the street from the Hyatt Hotel, whose fountain is a favorite place for wedding parties to gather and take photos. Jesse and I went outside and watched the spectacle of multiple wedding parties being hustled into photo ops by videographers and photographers. One party had 15 women in matching coral bridesmaid dresses. It was a sight to see.

After everyone exited the museum, we crossed Soviet Street to go to the Opera and Ballet theatre to pick up some tickets for some events. John, Tommy and I needed tickets for the Kyrgyz Opera Ai-Churek for last night and Wai Shu, Jesse and I decided to go to the ballet Sunday evening which is based on Hoffman's Tale of The Vienna Woods with music by Strauss.

We split up at that point. John and I took a look at a new German wine and specialty store, Kritzer, located at Togtogula and Tunustunov. Nice wine selection, but pricey. I had hoped to find a corkscrew, but they don't sell them. I did buy some really nice goat cheese. There is a nice offering of cheeses from Italy, Spain, and France and Olive Oils and vinegars. I will go back.

After that I went home for an apple and goat cheese snack. John came back to pick me up and we went to the opera to meet Tommy.

A Night at the Opera

The opera,  Ai-Churek, is the first opera to be written in Kyrgyz. Created as a part of a move by the then Stalinist Cultural apparatus to create regional arts throughout the republics of the USSR, it was created by three authors usually identified as Vlasov-Fere-Maldybayevm.  Abdylas Maldybaev (1906 – 1978) was a Kyrgyz composer, actor, and operatic tenor singer. Maldybaev was one of the composers of the state anthem of the Kirghiz SSR and is still renowned for his operatic composition. He helped popularize Kyrgyz music by skillfully using Western European techniques. He is pictured on the Kyrgyz one som banknote. Maldybayev provided folk melodies and composed music which was then organized and prepared by Russian composers Vladimir Vlasov and Vladimir Fere into six Soviet state opera and other works. I have seen two of the operas now and have enjoyed the music. Vlasov and Fere used a lot of "borrowed" techniques from other Russian and Western composers. 

But while I enjoyed the music, I could not help from being irritated by the constant level of chatter from the young people seated behind us. A number of teachers bring their high school aged students to the Kyrgyz operas because the subject matter is often historical or mythic events in the Kyrgyz national story. Ai-Churek is based on the Manas Epic, for example. Unfortunately, the students are not prepared well in the etiquette appropriate to live performance at opera and ballet. And their teachers do not sit close enough to them to exercise appropriate control.

But it is not just young people who need some training. Last week the middle-aged woman next to me kept receiving telephone calls and talking on her phone during the performance. And the sounds of call and message tones seem to echo one another at every performance. We have a long way to go to get people to save their witty comments until the intermissions and to silence their mobile phones during performances.

I've decided to begin in my own small way to address the problem by discussing it with my students as a conversation topic. Maybe I can even develop a lesson plan and vocabulary lesson for use in English classes in Kyrgyzstan.

Winter Taster in Bishkek

We had an early snow last night in Bishkek. We had been enjoying warm days and cool nights for the last few weeks. But about 5 p.m. a slow and steady rain turned into a flurry of snowflakes that dusted the parked cars and sidewalks. I was teaching English classes in a fifth floor classroom where the teacher's position looks out the windows and watched the flakes fall while trying to teach. But I used the weather to teach about the differences in the vocabulary used in the USA and in British English to speak about the weather.

By the time I left the building after 8 p.m., the snow had stopped and it had disappeared from the streets. The temperature dropped below freezing last night. It is an early taste of Winter for us. A little teaser.

So, this morning I donned the curly-toed Silk Road wool slippers for the first time this year. The sun is shining but it is still chilly outside. The current temperature is about 41 degrees F, that's 5 degrees Celsius.  I made need to use the slippers for a few more days as a warming trend is forecast for the coming week.

My friend Aftandil Zhorobekov captured the snow moment in this photo that he posted on Facebook:

Bishkek Journal—Cal Preece 7-3-12

July 3, 2012

Yesterday was my 70^th Birthday. The movement through the decades seems swifter on this side of the 5^th one than it did during the first four of my life. It is interesting to be in a foreign country, far from some friends of 40 or more years standing, and from younger people whose lives have touched mine in the past 15 to 20 years. They are who I would normally try to gather for a celebration of food, drink,  and music to mark such an occasion. But this is actually the 5^th year I have marked my birthday in Kyrgyzstan.

In 2008, my young Kyrgyz friend Emil and I climbed aboard a British Airlines jumbo in Houston on my birthday and flew to London. After nine and a quarter hours we were in London, on the third of July. Four hours later we boarded a British Midlands International (BMI) flight to Bishkek. And we landed here on the early morning of the Fourth of July. I watched the sun come up and had some breakfast with Emil's family and then went down for a nap. A little later our adventure began. I was always a little off balance. I learned how to say yes and no in Kyrgyz. I learned how to say “Min atim Calvin. Sin atim?” to learn an other's name. I learned to say “Raxmat,” to thank people. To say “Salam Aliekum” or “Salamatsysby,” as hello. And then discovered that I needed Russian to do business in Bishkek.

A Bishkek Mini-Bazaar below street level

But we soon were traveling to the countryside and I began to fall in love with the place, the people, and the culture of hospitality that marks this remarkable country. Every direction that your eyes turn the mountains are there encircling the places where people have carved out villages and cities. Five million people call it home, about one million live in the capital city of Bishkek, where I am located. At any given time about one million are also out of the country working as migrant laborers in Russia, Kazakhstan, or places like America.

I came here to stay when we created Fund Orozbay after a long visit in the summer of 2009. It took almost a year. There was a revolution that deposed the then president Bakiev in April of 2010, then in June there was an inter-ethnic problem that caused lots of problems in the South of the country around Osh and Jalalabad. I finally was able to come to start work with the fund in September. By October we managed to sign all the documents and get registered as a public charity fund.

Dried apricots at Osh Bazaar

Since then we have been learning more about the place, teaching a little English to earn funds for the charity, traveling around, writing some feature stories for local publications, and supporting efforts to improve education, efforts to solve the challenges of being a burgeoning democracy through voluntary action, and providing some direct aid to those who are homeless, or who are elderly and poor.

We now are moving forward on a project that we envisioned originally in 2009. It is a pilot that will provide funds to the villages in the area of Kulatov in the Nu-kaat region of the province of Osh to improve educational performance by students and teachers. As usual we are starting small, providing $100 per month during the school year for the project to award prizes to deserving students and teachers. Decisions about how the funds will be distributed will be handled by our representative in the area who was a teacher and supervisor of schools for 45 years.

Near Kulatov

We are actively raising funds at Help Fund Orozbay in Kyrgyzstan where you can make a donation on-line safely through PayPal. I need your help to do the work we have to do here. The country will celebrate its 21^st Independence Day this August. We are hoping to raise $1000 dollars before then to help implement our projects.

Please consider and then make a donation of $10, $25, $50 or whatever you can afford to help us reach our goal.

In addition to the Kulatov project we have these other activities underway:

• A project that will translate Kyrgyz Folk Tales into English for use in English classes. We will provide teachers with downloadable pdf documents that they can use in their classrooms. The Folk Tale project helps to preserve Kyrgyz Folk Tales and to help communicate the values of the culture. Using indigineous materials in translation will be a continuing project.

• Continuing support for the American Studies Association of Kyrgyzstan's Annual Symposium. We have provided scholarship funding to pay for students and teachers who can not afford the registration fee and we are providing some consulting services about the use of social media to advance the groups agenda of improving the quality of teaching about American Studies and the teaching of English in the country.

• We are continuing our support of and consultation with individuals and groups on voluntary action as a solution to the challenges facing this small country. The government cannot do everything to address the issues of homelessness, orphans and widows. People in Kyrgyzstan are beginning to understand the need for creating voluntary action groups, not just to protest, but to offer solutions to these challenges. Fund Orozbay offers small grants to such groups and consulting services on local fundraising and the use of marketing and social networks to raise awareness.

• We are also working on English as a Foreign Language resources that will provide English teachers throughout the country with free lessons and lesson plans in English, Russian, and Kyrgyz for use with their students. The first of these lessons will be available in August from our website. We will use various means of communications to let teachers know about their availability.

I am teaching three times a week for an NGO that offers EFL classes where I get to test the new learning, teaching materials. I began my first class there on my 70^th birthday as a way to improve my productivity in this new decade.

I sincerely hope you will join with me in this endeavor. Click this link and donate the cost of lunch for two, that small amount can do a wonder of good here.

Help Fund Orozbay in Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek Journal-Life in Kyrgyzstan Cal Preece

Catching up on Spring Activities

I have been a bit hampered in my blogging schedule by the unfortunate demise of my 2008 MacBook Air a few weeks ago. My trusty companion had seen me through three trips to Kyrgyzstan and back to the US, accompanied me to Film Festivals in Los Angeles, New York, and Venice. Survived a fall early in its career in the security line at LAX as I tried to put it back in its case and numerous trips around Kyrgyzstan in snow, rain, and heat. I will miss its convenience and lightweight portability. I have been an Apple computer user since 1983 when I first used an Apple IIc and then in my work life at Rice University in Houston, I was appled up for the last 16 years of my time there. I am not sure I would be able at my age to switch back to Windows Operating Systems. But that issue has now been solved. My Kyrgyz friend lugged a MacBook Pro through IAH (Houston Intercontinental), IAD (Dulles in Washington), LHR (London Heathrow) and FRU (Bishkek Frunze) over a 72 hour trip, to give me top computing power again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It's been quite some time since I wrote, so I will just try to hit the highlights and will abandon the day by day approach I had been using. There have been some great experiences over the last couple of months and some new developments in older stories.

Spring is here, warm days, cool nights

First, Spring has come in Bishkek and we are enjoying warm days and cool nights these days. Indeed, sometimes the days seem hot to us for Spring. Indeed, by the end of this week the metrologist are predicting a high in the low 90's F, or about 34 degrees Celsius. We have had more thunderstorms than I can remember from the other years I have been here this season. The heat of the day seems to cause a buildup that gets trapped by the Ala-Too mountains to the south and then it comes back in the late afternoon and evening as rain, wind, thunder and lightening.

But that has been good for the flowers and the trees, of course. The roses have bloomed now, we have seen the fruit trees blossom, irises and daffodils were showy for awhile, and the migratory birds have returned from their winter visits to India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Africa, to sing their songs and find new mates. 

Bolgu Bolgu is a Hafazi Nightengale

The nightengale likes to wake me at 5:05 each day singing a strong song. And later in the morning around six another returning visitor adds his call to the wakeup routine.

The common Eurasian Cukoo

With the disappearance of the winter weather the kindergarten children are back again playing outside my windows as I write today. A burbling stream of constant excitement travels up from their school playground to keep in alert to what is going on outside. I have to schedule my naps when they take theirs.

I have been able to go to a number of cultural events recently. I attended a ballet performance at the Kyrgyz State Theater for Opera and Ballet that featured principal dancers from Moscow in “Giselle”. The house was packed and the dancing was good, especially from the Russian artists. And the local corps de ballet was enchanting as always. I also have been attending some interesting concerts.

A special night at the Philharmonic Hall at Manas and Chuy on May 10^th featuring 35 years of Woman Power was great. Outstanding female singers and girl groups, sextets, triple trios, and others performed wonderful pop music in Kyrgyz to a full house. My favorite singer, Dunara Akulova, performed and it was really good to hear her sing again. The concert, in a most un-Kyrgyz fashion, started exactly on time at 6:30 pm and went non-stop until its finale with all performers on stage at 9:30 pm. We probably could have used an intermission, but it was great. Afterwards my friend Marat Zhaparkulov and a friend of his who works for the state television channel set off to find shashlik (shishkabab) dinner. After not being able to e served at Restaurant Jalalabad, we found a no table cloth restaurant on Gorky street near the Vefa Center and had a combo plate of chicken and mutton shashlik and a tomato and cucumber salad. It was very good.

I also attended an outdoor rock concert at the Russia Kinotheatre on Chuy to see my friend Farrell Styers' band Plov 4 2 perform. It was a strange concert. It was a fundraising occasion for good cause. I went with some friends, but delays in the start of the program (more typical than the Woman Power concert) meant that it would be about an hour late in beginning. My friends decided to go get a drink elsewhere. I thought getting a seat somewhere might be a better idea for me, so I waded into the crowded seating area, found two girls alone at a table for four and asked if I could sit. So I had a nice place to wait for the concert. It finally began with some sort of choreographed martial arts group wearing fatigues, carrying mock weapons, and real knives began to attach one another. Lots of judo, karate, and sambo moves set to heavy rock music. It was well received by the crowd, especially the younger ones (under 12's). I thought it was boring and that it went on for way too long. Nearly 20 minutes or more of it. But finally, the bands began to play and the break dancers provided some time for stage shifting. Best band of the the night, the Rolls Rock Band, who are a Beatles tribute group, but who also do 80's rock covers. Plov 4 2 brought its slamming sound onto the stage at around 10 pm. Concert was over at 10:30 to 10:45. I never saw my friends again. They said they came back but got bored and left. I had room at the table for them since the girls had left. I did meet a new friend though. Victoria. A beautiful auburn haired woman who brought me an ice cream as part of her introduction. She was with Ruslan who was a great dancer and we talked. I left and encountered a camel on the streets of Bishkek who I think had been entertaining kids at the nearby amusement park. He was on his way back to his yard with his trainer-keeper. He gives rides and photo ops at the park. Fun night with surprising conclusion.

That was on Wednesday night, May 9th. I had taught some private lessons that day and by the time I got home, I was really tired. Thursday was a very slow day and I woke up late. I mostly stayed home and read and wrote some things. I prepared some lesson materials for my EFL students for my Friday classes. Friday, I taught the two groups of students at 11 am and at 2:30 pm. And ended the day quietly at home.

Saturday morning I was able to go to the Fatboy's Breakfast group and say final goodbye to my friend Songbae Lee, who is leaving Bishkek after 2 years to return to the USA. He was one of the prime movers in creating the Fatboy's fun and I will miss him greatly. He had a nice going away party earlier in the week at a restaurant with a great 4^th floor patio at Vefa Center for his co-workers and his friends. One of the recurring issues for me in Bishkek is that those who come to work for NGO's and Universities are usually only here for a year or two. I am always sad to see them go.

Songbae Lee with Photographer Andrew Chin

Sunday, May 13^th, Mother's Day for the USA. Not really observed in Kyrgyzstan. I sent email greetings to all the mothers I know and gave flowers to women I know here. They were surprised but thrilled when I explained that it was a day in the US reserved for treating your mother nicely.

Monday, May 14, I was recruited to help raise awareness of a new language center in Bishkek. There are a growing number of facilities teaching English as a Foreign Language. I met the owner of the British Language School at an InterNations meeting in April. Monday we went to two schools to sell her programs to the students. I hope it worked. I had a great time meeting all the students and promoting English learning for the summer to them. I may teach conversational English part-time for her center.

Tuesday, May 15, I was interviewed by a professor at Manas University's Radio Manas for her program called Kyrgyzstan Through the Eyes of our Visitors. I visited the new campus of Manas University that is being created in Jal, a Western suburb of Bishkek. They have a very large piece of land and are creating a beautiful, modern new campus there. The school of communications is located there, along with their radio station. They are available on the internet at http://radio.manas.kg/

The audio file of my interview with Professor Saltanat Mambaeva is available here.

file upload

It is about 20 minutes long. And is an mp3 file.

A U.S. Air Force Rock-Country Band, NightWing, came to town and gave a free concert as a part of Night at the Museum in the State Historical Museum on Ala-Too Square on Wednesday. As time for the concert arrived we had a little sprinkle and ominous clouds, but the rain did not last long and there was a full rainbow to the East just before the group performed. Great music from a great band. I ran into Victoria again and her friends from the Rock Concert at Russia KinoTheatre. We talked and listened to the music. She is a really interesting young woman. She is a metrologist at Manas Airport and has impeccable English skills. It was a great concert. I am really glad my friend Seth Fearey send me a reminder email about it. Lots of fun.

Victoria at NightWing Concert 

On Thursday, I used the day to work on new lessons for my students and read some more of my current Kindle Book, “Catching Fire, How Cooking Made us Human” by Richard Wrangham.

And Friday, it was the beginning of the American Studies Association of Kyrgyzstan's 9^th Annual Symposium where I moderated panels through two days of events. More about that in a subsequent blog.

And here are some flora images and a rainbow from Spring in Bishkek.

And a few images of the flora of Bishkek for you.