My home away from home in Kygyzstan Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

ACCELS Kyrgyzstan Head Office was in Bishkek.

The American Councils for International Education hired me right out of Kazakhstan and offered me a position as a Program Recruiter. I was assigned to Bishkek but needed to attend training in Moscow, Russia. I arrived in Bishkek. My Kyrgyz host family's son picked me up. I would stay with his parents for my entire time in Bishkek.

Bishkek was not what I had expected. It was as beautiful as Almaty. I lived in Yug-2 and had a good view of the mountains. I enjoyed Bishkek.

Of course, there was work to do. Part of it was on the road visiting cities in Kyrgyzstan. The rest was in Bishkek.

Below are some of the photos I took while I was in Bishkek. I do not have any pictures of my Kyrgyz host family.

Yug Dva

View from Yug Dva (2) - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
View from Yug Dva (2) from the apartment I stayed. The mountains are beautiful.
View from Yug Dva (2) - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
View from Yug Dva (2) - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
View from Yug Dva (2) - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Osh Bazaar

Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
My host brother brought me to the Osh Bazaar, the wet market in Bishkek. You can buy anything here. I remember meeting an American who spoke near-fluent Kyrgyz. I had to ask him if he was Kyrgyz or not.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Osh Bazaar - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Honor Guard

Honor Guard - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
I got to see the Honor Guard at the city center. They were talking while marching until they saw me. Then they marched professionally. If you see any of these photos online, they are mine.
Honor Guard - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Honor Guard - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Honor Guard - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The statue of Lenin.

Winter, 1999

Winter in Bishkek - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Winter finally came. In Kazakhstan I did not experience a lot of snow since I was in the south. In Bishkek, I saw a lot.
Winter in Bishkek - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Snow from Yug 2. Yes I was fascinated by it.
Winter in Bishkek - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
More snowfall.
Winter in Bishkek - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
If I remember right, the US Marine Corps barracks were around here. I met the US Embassy Marine Security Guards when I lived in Bishkek. It was the first time I met fellow US Marines since I left the Corps in October 1996.
Winter in Bishkek - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
I do not remember the location of this monument.

Manas International Airport

Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Manas International Airport some two years before the US military arrived.
Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
I flew in on a jet similar to this one. I thought I was going to die since it was a Soviet jetliner. After my four months in Krygyzstan, I would miss them.
Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Several Soviet jetliners. Kyrgyzstan Airlines did own one Airbus, but they could only fly to Turkey and not the rest of Europe.
Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
I flew on this plane four times between Bishkek and Osh. It is a fun ride. Kyrgyzstan Airlines Tupolev T-134.
Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan Airlines Tupolev T-134.
Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Manas did have one jetway at the time. This photo was one of my last pictures of Kyrgyzstan. I flew out to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines in late 1999.
Manas International Airport - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
My last photo of me leaving Kyrgyzstan heading to Istanbul, Turkey.

Reflection

The four months went fast primarily because I was on the road. I lost contact with the Chokubaevs. I never met them when I moved back to Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2013. Recently, I was able to get into contact with one of my Kyrgyz host brothers. I hope to meet him and his brother in the future.