I woke up to find it was 10 o'clock. The day before I had fallen asleep from exhaustion, and when I realized it, Aya and the others had already left for Ala-Archa (Ala-Archa).
A promise ruined by indecision
Today I had also planned to go to Book Fare with an Aya I met online (a different Aya). But the day before I had sent a message saying, "I'm going to Ala-Archa so let's meet on Sunday." The reply was, "Okay, Sunday then."
Since I couldn't go to Ala-Archa, I hurriedly sent back, "Actually, I can meet from 2 pm!" But no reply came. It was the result of my indecision.
Decide properly before sending. I learned firsthand how important that is.
Russian visa photos, and a proud moment
Today I decided to go to the underground mall near the TSUM shopping center to have ID photos taken for a Russian visa application. After finishing lunch at KFC, I walked there.
Walking through Bishkek while listening to music. This distance is just right. Walking is a kind of meditation for me.
When I arrived, several photo shops with "FOTO" written on them were lined up. I went into one of them and asked the man the price: 240 som. I agreed, tidied my hair in the mirror, and the shutter click was over in an instant.
A young guy in the back handled the editing. When I showed him all the Russian visa requirements, he finished it exactly as required. While he worked, small talk started: "What are you going to Russia for? Travel? Work?" He spoke to me in Russian, and I answered entirely in Russian.
I felt proud of myself again. I'm not in the Russian language department, nor the linguistics department. Yet I'm immersed in a Russian-speaking environment far more than people who majored in it, I can actually use the language, and I feel I understand the place. Travel is the greatest education and the best investment — that hit me again.
I got the photos and returned to the hostel. There was supposed to be a party at the bar from 9 pm, so I decided to finish the visa application by then. There was a mountain of things to write: insurance details, the address of where I'd be staying and visitors' addresses, workplace and social media information. I submitted it just in the nick of time.
A toast at Obshestvo
Before I knew it, Aya and Liza had come back and we headed straight to the bar. Two Australians joined us, and Asa, Roma and I jumped into a taxi.
The first bar had a club-like atmosphere and wasn't bad, but there weren't enough seats, so we moved to a nearby Общество (Obshestvo).
It was a bar with a vibe similar to Fabrika in Georgia. But all the seats were taken, and there was a little argument among the group: "Why didn't you book earlier!" I danced by myself next to them to the DJ's music.
In the end, we all walked back to the first bar and decided to have cocktails there.
While walking, I asked Liza how Ala-Archa had been. Both Aya and Liza had red faces; even though they must have put on sunscreen, they were sunburned. I felt the strength of the UV rays on my skin.
With a cocktail in hand, everyone started talking about all sorts of things. The Australians told us about towns they recommended locally. When I said I wanted to go to the Gold Coast, they said, "That's a terrible place full of tourists — there are much prettier places," and introduced me to their hometown.
Aya wasn't shy with new people and stayed open, talking the whole time. I talked with Vova next to me. I was surprised to hear he was 29 — he looked unbelievably young; I had thought he was about 23. He said he has differences in values with his family and has been living in Kyrgyzstan for 3–4 years now. He said he'll be able to get a passport in a year. He told me about struggling with completely different views on relationships between Kyrgyz and Russians, and about his ex-girlfriend stalking him.
There are many closed and conservative people in Kyrgyzstan, but of course there are also plenty of open people. We talked about that.
Liza had about three drinks and was completely drunk. She was nothing like her usual self. She was openly talking with the Australians too, and getting to see that different side of her felt nice. Her drunk profile was kind of cute.
I also got to talk with Roma and Acel, and I thought that everyone is living while struggling and pushing themselves in their own ways. There was not a single simple person.
Looking around, there were a lot of Kyrgyz people — couples, groups. I felt there were many sincere people. Few were twisted or cynical. Everyone in that bar looked beautiful. There were pretty people, and I found myself thinking that if our eyes met I wanted to wink (laughs).
Before I knew it, it was 2 a.m. I was pretty drunk too, but I recovered quickly. Liza had passed out drunk and was being supported by Roma and Acel as they walked.
Late-night pelmeni and an exchange notebook
We bought a lot of pelmeni at a nearby supermarket and cooked them in the kitchen. I was just filming it on video, and I warmed up the plov I had bought and ate that.
We put smetana and spices on the frozen pelmeni and baked them in the oven. This was the first time I'd seen them made this way. They were a bit hard, but thanks for making them.
Apparently Liza had bought a notebook here, and because she wanted to keep memories, we decided to write messages to each other. I honestly wrote what I was thinking then in Japanese. She wrote too.
It seems I was her first foreign friend. She hadn't traveled abroad much, and the fact that I was the first person made me somehow really happy.
Near the kitchen, a Mexican man and a Kyrgyz girl were silently eating pelmeni. The guy had his arm around her shoulder, and she had a somewhat lonely look. Elina told me that for the previous hour they had been holding each other near the kitchen, and they had watched the security camera footage like it was a Netflix drama. I was talking about that with Elina.
A night that felt like being back in middle school
After finishing the notebook and eating the pelmeni, we went to the community space on the third floor. After taking a shower and heading there, Aya and Vova were already fast asleep.
Elina was asleep too, but I woke her and for a while we got carried away talking about all sorts of things. The time spent laughing hard and talking felt like being back in middle or high school.
It was really fun.
