Today was a day when our students met with their language coaches. I went with one of our groups on an excursion to Чункурчак (Chunkurchak), where there is a dramatic waterfall a ways below the treeline. The hike wasn't long, but it was steep, and let me tell you, my 50+ body felt it. It is definitely time to get back into some regular aerobic activity. And it is definitely time to work on ankle strength.

The area beneath the tree line was beautiful rolling hills and meadows, some rivers of icy snow melt. All over the place were sheep, goats, cows and horses, all mostly raised for meat. There were also donkeys, but I think those aren't for meat. I kept seeing a pied bird that had surprising blue patches on its wings. The head resembled a mocking bird, although the rest of the body didn't.

We then headed to just above the tree line for a picnic. Along with us was a woman who would cook for us. She made плов (rice pilaf), which is the signature dish, it seems for all these Central Asian countries. Oddly enough, she used duck meat, which makes good sense when you want to cook quickly, but it is very atypical for pilaf. Tasty, though. Central Asians make a big deal of pilaf, but frankly it is just not that complicated a dish.

Nearby was a group of men, probably about 12-15 strong, picnicking in the same area. Our cook is a Uighur, and she noticed these guys were speaking Uighur as well, so she headed over and introduced herself. It turns out that they have a curious custom. Men get together in such groups of 10-20 once a month to socialize; usually it's a group of relatives with perhaps a set of friends added as well that regularly do so. Each man brings $100 with him, and one person each time gets the total amount thus collected. That way they can buy high-price items like furniture or do major home repairs. The following month everyone gives their money to the next person. Everyone eventually gets their own cash infusion. That way they can do things without taking credit from a bank. Very sensible.

To my surprise, five or six of the guys got together, faced Mecca, and did their afternoon prayers. That's the first time I've seen that in KG. On the whole the local Muslims are not big pray-ers. Generally they know only bits and pieces of Islam or Islamic history. They have a general impression that Muslims are better people than non-Muslims, but they aren't particularly worried about converting anyone else. Central Asia really is culturally Muslim, but on the whole it is not ideologically Muslim.

Getting back home I was pleased to find I had cold water again.