-
Working Again
The last time I started writing a post for this blog was almost exactly one year ago when we were less than 3 months away from moving. This is Jen, by the way. The name of the post was “My TO DO List Is A Mile Long.” I’ve recently started working at the Embassy Bishkek…
-
A weekend of nothing
One adult in this family: “I wanna DO something! We should get OUT! It’s NICE, and we only have a half a day left of the weekend!” The other adult: “I just got back into town, it’s been AMAZING to have a weekend of nothing, and I’m happy for it to finish that way. Besides,…
-
Our dishwasher is much quieter…
… than our old one back home. The internal organization is random and fits every dish awkwardly, at best. But it chimes such friendly tones when you start it. Our washer and dryer do that, too. They’re quite small. Insufficient for an active family of 5, you’d have thought, but it works. The dryer doesn’t…
-
Small-Town Medicine
Confession: my first day on the job here in Bishkek was the first time I’d ever set foot in an American embassy. I dreamed of, pursued, got hired for, trained for, and started a career working in a setting I knew almost nothing about. Now I’m in the embassy 5-6 days a week. Each day…
-
The Disneyland of Bishkek
… you wait your whole Soviet childhood, and the day finally arrives when you get to glimpse a rusty Spider-Man climbing the Taj Mahal, paint faded and peeling. “No, you can’t get close to it!” There are 3 small facsimiles of park rides; 2 are broken, but you ride them anyway. “You must remember to…
-
Happy New Year from Bishkek!
We started 2022 in our old home in Portland, Oregon; we’re ended it in our new home in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan. We never would have imagined! 12 months ago, the Foreign Service was just dream. I applied for the job early in 2021 and interviewed later that year (see the timeline here, if you’re a foreign…
-
Eating Horses, Swinging Swords
When we asked our driver/translator what the traditional Kyrgyz food is, he seemed to think the question a flippant one, because the answer was so obvious: “Meat!” So here we go! Yak: Lean, healthy, absolutely delicious, sustainably raised locally by an expat who’s been here for nearly 2 decades, we’ll be eating this regularly, and…
-
Mail in the Foreign Service
How do diplomats and other folks working in embassies get mail? It’s Christmastime, so our thoughts turn to brown paper packages tied up with string. Here’s a quick rundown of how mail works in the Foreign Service. After reading this entry, you should be able to: mail us a racquetball-sized maple syrup truffle from Ben&Bill’s…
-
Stuff and Things!
A Foreign Service lesson we’re learning: in this life, you cast away mostly everything you rely on, everything which gives your life comfort and regularity, then you slowly get it back. When we got here to Kyrgyzstan (I love spelling it correctly without any effort now), it felt like being washed ashore after a shipwreck,…
-
Our Fanciness Level Is Very a Lot Now!
We write fancy blog titles to prove it. (We’re better from recent illness – thanks for all the well wishes.) Nobody parties as often as diplomats. In the month we’ve been here, we’ve had: the snow leopard run, a “Diversity” cook-off and talent show, a Halloween party at the Embassy, the Marine Corps Ball, a…
