My brother Songbae accepted an internship in Bishkek, Krygzystan for three months.
His latest email:
“It’s been about a week since I’ve arrived in Bishkek, Krygzystan and
there have been plenty of instances that have made all those Peace
Corps memories from Ukraine start rushing back, like when…
* …they play a video on the plane that keeps flashing the message
“Please do not take the blankets”
* …you order a cup of tea in a cafe they make it with a used tea bag
* …your daily planner comes with a table called “Blood Alcohol Decay Time”
Let me know if anyone would like me to pick them up a track suit while I’m here.
Songbae
P.S. Went to my first Korean restaurant in Kyrgyzstan last night. The
restaurant’s name in Russian translates to “South Korean Restaurant”.
That’s the first time I’ve seen a Korean restaurant go to the trouble
of making that distinction.
P.P.S. They just put up the “New Year” tree in front of City Hall.
It can’t be a “Christmas” tree since Kyrgyzstan is officially a Muslim
country. Of course.”