Kyrgyzstan Part II: Nature Exploration

We are having tons of fun here!  

And it is way more beautiful than I would have ever imagined once you get out into nature, which is the vast majority of the country.  After a couple more interesting stops in the city, Stephen, Leah and I headed out for a tour of a few cooler places surrounding Lake Issyk Kul (Hot Lake), which is one of the largest salt water lakes in the world.  Here is the story in pictures.

Similar to underground walkways in Chicago, this pathway was how to cross one of the busiest streets in Bishkek.  I was shocked to see it jam-packed with vendors selling all assortments of merchandise: sunglasses, shampoo, art, etc.  My picture does not do a good job of showing that.  I think that girl was annoyed that I was taking a picture.

I caught the changing of the guard!  They walk slowly back to their... barracks(?), goose-stepping it in style.

The next day we began our trip.

On the 4-hour drive to our first stop, we occasionally had to deal with herds of cattle or sheep. 

This is the yurt camp where we stayed the first night.  You can see the mountains in the far background.  Yurts are like fancier versions of tee-pees or huts.  They have a somewhat complex latticework holding them up, while being layered in what I guess used to be sheep's hide, but now is very, very thick wool or cotton.

The entrance is through small wooden doors.  Then a giant hide flap folds over those to keep the heat in.  They reminded us of Smurf huts.  We met a few others staying in the camp including a couple guys from Slovakia and a girl from Vienna, Austria.  We got to know each other over a traditional community-style dinner in the dining yurt.

This is what the dining yurt looked like inside, kind of.  I didn't meet these people.  I stole this picture from the internet.

We slept in a yurt like this (also stolen from internet).  The blankets were surprisingly thick, heavy, and very warm.

All those wooden supports meet in the center at the top of the yurt.  The sun shining through the opening (this one is covered) is the basis for their flag:

The next day we explored a really cool nature park.  This was one of several connected rock formations.  We even saw some mountain goats walking up those cracks.

We had to wait while a pretty large horse drive (80-100 horses!) moved past us down the mountain.  All summer, livestock grazes on the hills higher up the mountain.  They head down to the valleys and plains for the winter months.

Some semi-domesticated turkeys, clearly not intimidated by us.

We stumbled upon this cool area fairly high up the trail and decided to stop for lunch.

I couldn't believe I was looking at this while eating lunch.  Ridiculous.  The grass is short from all the animals eating it.  Cool huh?  No mower!

I think the dogs just wanted some of our food.

My favorite pic from the trip.

We were sitting on yet another rudimentary bridge.  They were all pretty sturdy but I still help my breath every time we crossed one.  We saw one made out of an old shipping container.  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  Sorry.

This is another park we went to on the trip.  One thing that stood out was all the golden aspens we saw everywhere.  This picture doesn't do it justice at all.  Up close and caught by the sun, they looked like glittering gold leaves.  Really cool.

Back in Bishkek!  Last night Stephen had hockey practice so I went to check it out.  I think he's the one in the back in yellow.  Fun times.

I head back to Cape Town tomorrow morning.  It's been a really awesome stay here.  The best part has been catching up with Stephen and Leah.  Bonuses include seeing awesome nature, meeting Russians and Kyrgyz and being able to at least start conversations with them, and learning about the culture and history of this town.

My secondary goal of testing my ability to get around in a 3rd world country has certainly been achieved here.  I am very happy to see that, while I clearly can't do everything a typical person could do, I can manage alright... ESPECIALLY when I have awesome friends to help me get around everywhere.  I see no reason why I would be unable to travel to pretty much anywhere.  People everywhere I go are consistently willing to help me whenever I need it.  Here in Kyrgyzstan, random strangers have carried my wheelchair up a flight of stairs, helped me out of cabs, retrieved my crutches for me, etc., all while barely being able to communicate with me.  I'm increasingly convinced that people are inherently good with good intentions.  We may get side-tracked with selfish motives or ambition, but overall I think people want to do what is good and right.  

Dear Lord, thanks for this awesome experience.  Thanks for Stephen and Leah for helping out so much and being such great friends.  Help me to continue to live my life unrestrained by my physical limitations.  Let me remember that when we partner with others, we can always accomplish more and that when we partner with You, we can accomplish the most.  Guide us in all we do.  Remind us that ambition without concern for Your will is a chasing of the wind.  Everything we do that is not for You is meaningless.  Please keep healing me, and heal everyone else, too.  Help everyone through their personal struggles and remind them that keeping You close makes life so much easier.  In Your name, amen.

Cheers,
Chip

PS - I set my mom up with a blog.  She e-mails prayers ALL THE TIME to the family.  Typically they reference bible verses and quotes from authors and pastors.  I thought it was with sharing with everyone else.  If you want to check it out, here it is - http://battoeprayers.blogspot.com/

Chip Goes to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Where???)

Greetings from Kyrgyzstan!

If you just want to see my walking progress, scroll down to the bottom for a video I just uploaded to YouTube.  There are some other videos on my page if you're interested.

Quick Acupuncture Update- I have been 6-7 times (the acupuncturist and I disagree) now and it is hard to say whether or not it is helping.  What I can say is that is less painful every time.  Dr. Lang says this is because at first my body basically thought it was being attacked and now it is better at accepting it.  It seems that there is a possibility that it is improving the feeling (sensation) in my legs and also helping with some bladder stuff as going to the bathroom is less urgent.  It also seems like I spasm less and have less tone in my legs.  But I am not being too scientific about it all so I don't know if I'm experiencing placebo effect or not.  I'm on break now while traveling.

I decided to use the free time I have to visit Rebecca's brother Stephen and his wife Leah in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  I'm currently here in Bishkek.  I figured it would achieve a few things:

Reason 1) To see Stephen and Leah, who were my friends in Chicago well before I knew Rebecca and the reason I met Rebecca (by singing at their wedding).  Stephen and I met in our church small group there and found out we had a decent amount in common.

The three of us on top of a lookout point overlooking the city.  Unfortunately it was extremely windy and Bishkek was cloudy.  Still fun, regardless.

Reason 2) To see if my desire to travel to exotic places in the world is unrealistic given my condition, making being in unaccessible places depressing and not worth it - OR - if I would be able to manage it well enough to enjoy it.

Reason 3) To learn about a new and interesting culture, see the sites, and typical other things tourists do.  (see exotic places referenced in #2)

This is Kyrgyzstan in relation to China and other 'stans:

It used to be part of the USSR.  It's one of the 'stans, which you probably already realized.  There are about 5.5 million people in the country, which is about the size of Nebraska in terms of land area.  Most of it is mountainous, with some as high as 26,000 feet.  Major horse country.  Horses are everywhere, with more when you leave the city.  The people here are REALLY nice, and look somewhat Mongolian (hopefully that is not a bad thing to say).  The accessibility is atrocious.  I would say that if you are confined to the wheelchair to not come here.  I am lucky that a) I can walk (slowly) with crutches, b) I have great friends in Stephen and Leah that help me get around and act as my chauffeurs, and c) I am not shy about telling people to, "Help, please?" or, "Get out of the way, please!" or anything else where shy people might have issues like trying to talk to a taxi driver that doesn't speak English.  I can say these things in Russian, now, which helps a lot.

In the first week here I took 10 hours of Russian.  I can now say the basics, understand their completely confusing alphabet, and some other basic things like somewhat understanding a menu (not really) and ordering food.  Helpful.  For taxis I just get in and hand the guy an address and say, "Cto com?" (pronounced "shtow sohm," and meaning 100 of their currency) which is right now equal to about $1.43.  That gets me most places.  Well, Stephen and Leah get me most places.  It's very cheap here.  Most meals are about $2-3.  Pretty good food, too.  Imagine what you'd get mixing Chinese, Turkish, and Russian foods together, then throw in the occasional horse meat, and you can almost taste the food here.

Russian teacher #1: Tatiana

Russian teacher #2: Lojamal (or something)

Stephen and Leah have moved here to join up with an agricultural business focused on chickens, chicken feed, and eggs.  Leah also works at a medical clinic here.  A huge reason they chose this area is because after the Soviet Union fell, most of the educated Russians left the city (brain drain), leaving the Kyrgyz to fend for themselves.  This is similar to what I saw in Maputo, Mozambique after the Portuguese left and, to a lesser extent, what is happening in post-Apartheid South Africa. There is a huge lack of know-how here, especially in business, government, and health care.  In other words, everything.

Here are some pics I've taken so far here:

This is a monument to honor the revolution(s) here.  They have had some serious political issues, including a revolution in 2005 and another in 2010, with the latter climaxing when the corrupt President holed up in the government building with snipers on the roof shooting at protestors below while he escaped out the back.  Sounds like something out of a movie and it's surreal to see where it all transpired, just 5 years ago.  

There are two of these making up two sides of "The Square," which is the center of the touristy part of the city.  Behind me in this picture is the museum, giant flag, and statue I will show below.

They have a changing of the guard every hour, all day, similar to England.  They are guarding the flag.  I haven't caught them changing, yet, and don't care enough to sit around and wait for it.  Maybe I'll get lucky soon.

Most cars here are pretty... economical.  But then there is a huge disparity in wealth with essentially no middle class.  There are Range Rovers, BMW and Lexus SUVs, and then the occasional collectors' car like this one.  The owner claimed it was from 1921.  I didn't have the heart to tell him he was a few decades off.

This used to be a statue of Lenin, but after the Soviet Union fell they replaced it with a warrior from their culture from many centuries ago.

Lenin, demoted to the rear of the museum instead of the front.  They gave him some flowers to ease the blow.

To me it's really interesting that they didn't tear down the statue of Lenin like many other countries did at the end of the Cold War.  Because of the previously mentioned "brain drain," and the fact that the cold war was their most prosperous time, they have a certain nostalgia associated with the Soviet era.  Pretty interesting.

Russian beer at an Indian restaurant.  Sorry I clipped your face, Leah.

Here I asked for whatever was the popular local dish.  It turned out to have horse meat in it.  It wasn't bad.  Just kind of chewy, similar to venison, so I was already suspecting.  I was giving the thumbs up for another reason.  Not for horse meat.  Beef is better.  Lazy animals taste better.

Leah filmed me walking around and going down some stairs so I could meet a goal issued to me by Tom Trimmer.  I am definitely still improving, thank God.  Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W9umqQw1Ek

Dear Lord, thanks for the continued progress in my spinal cord recovery.  Help me to stay motivated and to not take too many "easy" days.  Thanks for strengthening me through this experience in Bishkek.  Thanks for always being there.  Please guide me in all I do.  My life is Yours to do with whatever You wish.  Help me to understand what is for You and what is selfish.  Keep me humble.  Fill us all with the Holy Spirit.  Calm our hearts and our minds so that we don't continue to make the same old mistakes.  We are human and therefore broken.  Help us.  Continue to heal me.  Thanks for everything.  In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Challenge: Every day for the next week, when you wake up or while you are in the shower, tell God three things that you are thankful/grateful for.  If you are not into God for the moment, then just tell somebody.  At minimum tell yourself.  Why wait for Thanksgiving?  It's been proven to improve your level of happiness to do this.  Plus it's just a good idea.  If you are married or whatever, say it to each other, or go around the table at dinner with your family.  I have been trying to do this and it typically puts me in a good mood.

Chip