An Australian in Bishkek

Fun in a tree: Turat, Tammy, Misha, Anara, Alihan, Shish, Josh, and Sebby

For the last 10 days of October, we were pleased to have our Australian friend Shish visit us in Bishkek. We met Shish two years ago in Saudi Arabia, where he was a fellow English teacher at the same university as Josh. Since he had a two-week break for the Muslim holiday Eid-al-Adha (known as Kurmanait in Kyrgyzstan), he decided to spend his vacation with us. It worked out really well, even though we only had a three-day weekend for the holiday. He didn't mind having a low-key holiday, hanging out with the kids, and walking around Bishkek enjoying the cool, autumn weather - a far cry from Saudi Arabia! 

Luckily, Shish enjoyed his first trip to Kyrgyzstan. He accompanied us to our classes once to meet the students, generously stayed home with Sebby when he was too sick to go to school, and even cooked delicious curries (and breakfast!) for us. When we weren't working, we took Shish around the city, showing him various parks, restaurants, the bath house, and, of course, the famous Central Asian bazaars. The kids absolutely loved having Shish around to play with.

For our three-day weekend, we got together with our friends Anara and Turat and we all headed out of the city for a picnic in Seil, a beautiful park in the foothills of the mountains. The weather was warm and sunny, and the leaves were beautiful fall colors. Misha, Sebby, and Alihan gathered sticks for firewood, and the guys set to work preparing to grill the shashlik. 

Misha was very excited to learn how to make his own fire. First he created a border of stones. After collecting small sticks and paper, we eventually got a little fire going.

Misha and Alihan play by the river.

Sebby and Alihan hiding in a tree.

Josh and Turat concentrate on grilling.

Grilled to perfection

Munching on shashlik - yum!

Alihan and Anara

After we were all stuffed full of shashlik, bread, salads, and juice, Turat and Anara took us a little bit farther so Shish could see the stunning mountains that Kyrgyzstan is so famous for. By the time we got to Ala Archa National Park, the weather was already considerably cooler and the misty mountains around us were covered with snow. To Shish's delight, the ground had patches of snow perfect for throwing snowballs. For someone who hadn't seen snow in five years, it was just like Christmas. 

Let the snow wars begin

Shish and Sebby

Aiming for Daddy

Sebby

Misha

Alihan

Time for a little hand-warming. Brrr!

Shish and Alihan

When it got dark and cold enough, we headed back to Bishkek, but not before getting a beautiful shot of the moon.

Other things we did throughout the week and a half in Bishkek ....

We went out to Arzu, a restaurant with Krygyz national foods so that Shish could try lagman, shashlik, and manti.

The boys dig in.

We took Shish to a meat bazaar to buy several kilos of beef and a generous chunk of the famous kuiruk mai, or sheep butt fat, which has a great flavor when added to hamburger meat. He got to see first-hand the work we put into our meat - washing the dirt and bone splinters off the meat, removing the bones and tendons, and chopping it into grinder-ready pieces. Since Shish was eager to help us grind it into ground beef with our hand-powered grinder, we generously allowed him to do almost all of the grinding. Thanks to him, we now have several pounds of perfect ground beef in our freezer!

As a reward for all of our hard work, we made a skillet full of delicious hamburgers and gobbled them up.

Hamburgers frying with onion and sheep fat

Piping hot and ready to eat.

As I said, Shish enjoys cooking, especially Indian food. His chicken curry dish was a hit with everyone. Later, he made us a lamb curry as well.

The chef at work.

Sebby and his chicken curry.

On another evening, we walked down to a nearby Turkish restaurant which is one of our favorites. The kids got shoulder-rides, while the adults walked.

 

The Turkish feast.

We also made sure Shish got to see the main bazaars of Bishkek - Osh and Dordoi. Here are some shots of Osh Bazaar:

And of course, we spent time just relaxing at home too, playing with the kids in the day, and playing cards and talking at night until we were too exhausted to keep our eyes open. (Well, at least Josh and I were exhausted. I'm not sure if Shish ever gets tired.)

Seb and his lovable baby-sitter.

Oddly, the cats love to watch Sebby take a bath.

Playing with gears.

Misha is so responsible that whenever he has homework, he spreads it out on the living room floor and gets to work without any nudging from me.

Apparently, "Sorry!" is not well-known in Australia, so Misha made sure that Shish didn't leave until he had played this game.

Super hero fun, Ushu style.

Sebby, the Power-ranger-viking.

My littlest super hero outside on the swing.

More pre-Halloween fun: Sebby the monkey

... and Misha the tiger

The little monkey climbs a tree to escape the roaring tiger.

Last Sunday, we took a long, pleasant walk through the center of Bishkek. 

The train bridge

Erkindik park

The White House with its autumn colors

And a brief stop at the outdoor amusement park Panfilov.

Ferris wheel fun

Sebby and Daddy on the ferris wheel

Shish and Misha on the bumper cars

Another ride that was a bit on the fast side ...

The time went quickly, and suddenly it was Tuesday night, Shish's last evening with us. We all went out for Chinese and enjoyed a feast. The next morning, he was up early and flying off to Dubai. Thanks for coming, Shish!