So I rode to Isanov, got off and walked to the Beta Store on Chuy, where I found they did not have any foil. I picked up some green and black olives and walked back home. I did learn where the 196 Route Marshutka goes, so I considered it a win. I also know now that if I want to ride to Moscova and Shopokov, where the bakery and upscale market are, I just need to catch it. Now if I could figure out who comes back this way it would be excellent. Only for when the weather is inclement, mind you. Since we have begun the "Walk As Far As You Can" approach to everyday fitness now that the weather has moderated.
The children have returned to the school playground outside my windows. The sound of their laughter and excitement keep urging me to get out of the apartment and go play.
Saturday, March 24, 2012 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Nice crowd this morning for the breakfast-brunch group at FatBoys. I had blinis and jam with coffee. Met some new people. Had interesting conversations.
March 24th is the anniversary of what is called The Tulip Revolution in the Kyrgyz Republic. The country’s first president Askar Akayev was ousted in 2005 over corruption, authoritarianism and nepotism. The non-violent revolution was initially hailed by many as a promising triumph of democracy in Central Asia. It brought to power Kurmanbek Bakiyev who later was ousted in a more violent action in April 2010. Since then there has been a new constitutional reform, a new parliament elected and a new president selected without incident.
So, back home after a walk from mid-town. Including a stop at Moscova market for some vegies and the bakery. Disappointed not to find my celery vendor or any nice spinach. But the cookies were available. Did find some nice cheery tomatoes, too.
Making a salad, I managed to take off about a third of my nail on my left middle finger. As I was trying to get the blood flow stopped, I got a call from young Timur telling me he was coming so that we could go to a birthday celebration for his Aunt, my friend's mother. I managed to get bandaged up with the help of Marat, who had stopped by. But the bandaging was primitive, at best. I need to find some better adhesive tape. I have some bandaids, but they are not very good, and there are gauze bandages, but again not great. I needed some tape to wrap the gauze in. Finally, I resorted to some cellotape around the gauze and it held.
Went to the house for the birthday celebration, but managed to forget to take my camera. Had a nice time.
After that I went to a new Jazz Club presentation at Cafe Fortuna. The place is becoming a great music venue and Saturday nights are becoming Jazz Night. The music was terrific. I can't wait to go again. Y friends Lars Wettestad and Vebeca Oesterich, and Julia from AUCA joined me. Home about 10 pm. I was in bed fairly early. It was an event filled day.
Sunday, March 25, 2012 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan This morning I noticed that the beeches are putting out new leaves. The sky this morning was gray and overcast. It made for a good day to read and write.
In the afternoon I got out of the apartment to go to the pharmacy located on Toktugula and Togoluk Moldo. I took the 196 marshutka. Found some paper surgical tape and a slightly better bandaid. So at least I will be able to bandage my finger a little better. I think I should look into becoming the importer of Johnson & Johnson bandaging products. Someone is already bringing in baby products. Maybe I could just piggyback with them.
I took a photo walk and posted the pictures to an album on Flickr. A Walk in Bishkek
Monday, March 26, 2012 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Facebook for some reason has stopped showing the photo postings and link images of my friends postings. I realize when things like this happen how much I enjoy seeing what my friends are up to and what they share on social media.
Still looking for aluminum foil, I headed out again toward the big Narodny on Kiev and Pravda. Imagine my disappointment again when I did not find any in the store. Plenty of stretch plastic wrap, and parchment paper, though. Did find the foot file I have been searching for and there was a bargain on Pringle's, marked down from 140 soms to 114 soms. How could I resist?
I decided to walk back by going out the back way to Gogol Street. Outside the grocery store is a line of fast food kiosks. The Bigemot Hamburger, A KFC (Kyrgyz Flavored Chicken), a Donner-Schwarma shop (Gyro),and a Kielbasa shop.
I managed to slip past them without succumbing to the temptation to have a little of each. They do booming business from about 11:30 am to about 2:30 pm for lunch everyday. I would like to checkout the Kyrgyz Flavored Chicken soon, though.
Gogol south took me by the Karven Sports Club, where I checked in to see what it will cost monthly for me to swim and use the equipment in the gym. It is a little pricey, but the pool looked great. The weight room is a little small. I may try to find another workout space and only signup to swim three times a week.
Continuing the walk south on Gogol, I passed the Kyrgyz Islamic Cultural Center, and the Central Mosque of Bishkek. It is located at the intersection of Moscova and Gogol. I can hear the call to prayer from the mosque five times a day at my apartment. There are also a number of shops selling women's wear from Turkey and Saudi along the way.
I turned on Moscova, ran into my friend Ulan Isakov, a journalist, and we walked back together to the area where we live.
It was a nice afternoon's walk in Bishkek.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Learned from the news today that some one or some group has rustled 60 new trees that were being planted in one of my favorite parks in Bishkek. Park Ata-Turk seems to be under constant attack by what my friend Aftandil calls “vandals”. Working with him and other volunteers we created a group last spring in March to fight off some even more dangerous threats to a wild, unkempt, natural area called the Western Addition of Park Ata-Turk.
At that time people were destroying trees by burning and then cutting them down to make way for the construction of illegal high-end housing. Using voluntary action the illegal activity was stopped, we planted some new trees, and held a series of cleanups or subbotniks. A conservation action is planned for the 7th of April in the park. I plan to attend to participate, to document what is happening now and to check on the Western Addition.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan I woke up at 3 a.m. And could not return to sleep. I was finally able to get back to sleep around 5:30 a.m. And then got up for some coffee and internet around 9 a.m. The noise from the early childhood education center playground woke me. There is something incredibly reassuring about the laughter, yelling, and, yes, the blood-curdling screams of 3 to 5 year-olds. The sounds provide a clarion call that life goes on and that the young maintain an enthusiasm for play and a sense of wonder, no matter where we are in the world.
That sound got me moving. I took a long walk in Dubovyi Sculpture Park which is locate in the central area of the city. I took a number of photos of the sculptures in the western end of the park today. I really enjoy my visits to this park. Eventually, I will have a photo of every sculptural piece. Dubovy Park in Bishkek - Дубовый Сад в Бишкеке ('Oak Park'), previously called Dzerjinsky Square (Dzerjinsky was head of the Soviet Secret Police). The park began as an oak grove planted by Aleksei Fetisov, a former mayor, in 1890. The sculptures came after an international sculpture contest in the 1990's.
I met for lunch at a cafe in the park with Eliza Taitialeva, who is one of the organizers of the American Studies Association of Kyrgyzstan. They are planning their 9th Symposium for May 18 and 19th. My foundation provided some support for the activity last year to help pay registration fees for those who could not afford it. The sessions I attended last year helped me to meet and talk to a large number of teachers, professors, and students. This year we have doubled our contribution to provide more registration support and have committed some additional funds in support of covering publication costs. We also will help with some consulting and local fundraising efforts.
Thursday, March 29, 2012 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Today was one of those lost days. I woke around 7 a.m. Had coffee. Spent a little time on the internet. Took care of some emails. Then found my body and brain were crying out for more sleep. I went back to bed around 11 a.m and slept until about 3 p.m. Up for some lunch, but not even the promise of Spooks, a British spy drama aka in the USA as MI5, could keep me up. One of the best things about being semi-retired is that you can just listen to your body and rest when you feel like. Though I have to admit that it has taken me years to adjust to having an occasional slug day.
