16th to 18th of December, 2022.
Aisel meets me in a bus station nearby her home. She is so beautiful! Because is quite late, everybody is already sleeping. I eat some delicious food which Aisel has prepared. They live in a beautiful and big house. The living room is majestically decorated, with beautiful wallpapers and golden details everywhere. Aisel and I are staying in her room, which is also very beautiful. After chatting for a while, we go to sleep because the plan is waking up very early tomorrow, so we can catch up the sunrise from a mountain in the city.
After a delicious breakfast, we catch a lift to the city with her parents and her young sister. Everybody is so adorable! I feel so much welcomed and it is a great feeling being here.
Going up the Sulayman Mountain is not an easy task. Mainly at such early hour. We have to hurry up if we want to beat the sun. And we make it! It is so cold but we the climbing we get all sweaty and breathless, but we cannot remove coats or scarfs, otherwise we might get sick. This mountain is located quite in the middle of Osh and it is the only Unesco Heritage Site located entirely in the country. Which is an absurd, Kyrgyzstan being such an amazing, gorgeous country. But it doesn’t surprise me coming from Unesco, of course.
The views from up here are great! And the sunrise totally worth it! There are also a few other people up here for the sunrise. After we take many photographs, some locals ask Aisel questions regarding me. She patiently answers all their questions. They are all very surprised and seem also like very kind and simple people.
There is also a museum up in the mountain. It is about Osh, of course, but also about Kyrgyzstan. They kept the original stone wall of the mountains, which I think it is awesome because it gives a gorgeous natural look to the museum. I really enjoyed the visit and recommend to everyone!
We walk around the city and spend some time in a park. At all times, Aisel keeps asking me if I want any snacks. She insists and even when I say I don’t want anything, she buys some nuts and chocolate. It’s part of Kyrgyz culture, they treat their guests really well and are always offering something to eat or to drink. I think it is a Central Asia culture because I found the same manners in Kazakhstan and would find it also in Uzbekistan.
The plan is to have lunch with another of my students: Azim. On the way to the restaurant, Aisel tells me about the still present culture of “courting a lady”. Many of the young man send the young girls flowers, chocolates and little gifts, when they are interested on them. Aisel herself receives flowers quite often. Beautiful bouquets as she shows me and still have some fresh ones at home. I think it is cute, mostly because it reminds me of the old times, when that was the way of approaching someone that you like. But I wander what do the girls do if they like a boy? Do they also “court” the boys with little gifts? Flowers? I must say, I think that sending flowers to men is such a wonderful gesture! And the men who accept with an open heart are the ones in which I would be interested. Laugh. Who said that flowers are just for women?
It is really nice to finally meet Azim! He was always very enthusiastic about the online classes, as participative and interacting with everybody. He was also the joker, of course (I’m sorry, Azim, but we both know that it is true). Laugh. But he is also a very sweet guy, which is very rare to find nowadays. And the same is true for the girls. I tend to believe that the digital era is not doing that great for our youths.
After lunch, we go to the local market. We have a very enjoyable time between chatting and laughing. The day passes fast and soon we all go home.
We spend some time with the whole family. Aisel also has a younger brother, of whom she is very protective and attached to. Her grandmother also lives with them, an adorable sweet lady. Everybody in the family is so kind and I feel really blessed to be here.
We have a delicious dinner prepared mostly by Aisel. As promised during the online classes, she makes me a salad called Olivier, which is a cousin of potato salad, created by a French / Belgium chef in Moscow, Russia. That’s at least what Google says. Anyway, the salad is amazing! I love it and can’t stop eating it! We also always have fruits and sweets to enjoy with or after the food.
This same night, we have a video chat with girls who belong to a kind of study group to which Aisel is the leader. They have these chats always in English, and the topics vary depending on what they want to talk about it. I think is brilliant and I am happy to be part of this session this time.
Next day, we go to the city again but this time to meet a group of my other students. Unfortunately, not all of them can come, but Madina and Adelya came and we had some good time together. The girls are so much fun and I am glad we could meet in person, and spend this time together.
At night, we watch half time of a football match together with Aisel’s family, and then I have to do some planning of my trip. I’m leaving tomorrow, so I want to make sure I have everything settled.
Instead of walking to the border, I can take a bus there. Aisel walks with me to the bus stop and tells the driver where I am going. I say goodbye to this lovely friend, and start a new chapter of my life, this time towards Uzbekistan. Nice!
10 Years Around the World 