Classes went smoothly today. In the afternoon the students were to meet with their language coaches at 2:00, but the majority of them did not realize this. Minor mess: I had assumed that the person who did most of the scheduling would inform the… more »

I am entirely delighted that Wynter's baggage has been delivered to her here in Bishkek. I'm quite pleased because it is only 28 hours since I sent my first e-mail to Turkish Airlines, which needed the paperwork I sent them in PDF form. It is about… more »

Yesterday Kyrgyzstan had its second reading of a bill that would effectively outlaw saying good things about gay relationships, and today in the US the Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage across all 50 states. Myself, I consider the US… more »

Our Saturday trip out of town was cancelled due to rains in the mountains that prevent hiking, so our students have a free weekend, which means I do as well. That meant I could go to the Orto-Sai bazaar, a major fruit and vegetable market surrounded by… more »

One of the things that first caught my eye linguistically here in Bishkek was a discontinuity in word usage. All over the city they sell these things they call samsá (RU самса́). They are usually triangular in shape so back in Kazan they were… more »