This post is mostly for my Mother and paleontologists, so if you don't fall in those categories... sorry? Mom keeps asking what it's like getting to where I'm working (the Kyrgyz Seismic Institute) and what I do there, so I took pictures on my walking in today and that of my largely really excruciatingly boring work. I'm living in a very nice apartment on the 9th floor. It's rather new and as a result (like an overwhelming amount of new to newish buildings in Kyrgyzstan) not really finished.
There is a lovely little children's playground outside, which doesn't have many children this time of year. I'm that weird American who does a pull-up on the monkey bars each morning and evening (maybe soon it'll be two?). I walk between some older apartment buildings trying to not disgrace myself on the ice/snow abomination coating the ground.
I've never lived somewhere where the now just doesn't politely melt after a few days. There is a little shopping center with a 24 hour market on my left. These markets appear to be all over Bishkek and have basically every need. It's quite convenient to go get cash at a bank-o-mat (ATM), put minutes on your cell phone, buy lunch, and pick up random other items. There is also a school to learn English at, a cake shop (danger danger!), and some stores I haven't explored yet.
Most importantly there is a latte stand called Giraffe Coffee. I stop every morning and the barista knows my order already. The coffee is decent (not great), but she is very nice and speaks a tiny little bit of english. I also learn really useful things like “Careetsah” (phonetic version) is cinnamon. I think in Kyrgyz, but I'm less clear on that part... next I have to cross the road... Now Kyrgyzstan is overall really safe (despite whatever you've heard). No one is going to mug you or take horrid advantage of you or anything like that in the streets. They are really nice people! Unless they are in a car. In a car all Kyrgyz seem to turn into maniacal speed fiends intent of world (or at least road) domination. It's that “extreme” Gulnara told me about. I look both ways a lot and than scuttle across the road while still trying to not fall on my ass in the snow/ice stuff.
I get to walk through a neat little market with produce, pickled veggies, cell phones, and you name it (but mostly food) being sold.
Apples originated in this region (Kazakhstan to be exact) so there are a great diversity of apples. Even the little stands often have eight kinds of apples! Alas, at the end of the market, lies the busy road.
This road nominally has crosswalks, and occasionally drivers stop for you. This action I actually find to be far more nerve wracking than just waiting for an opportunity to run, as I feel like they are gunning their engines waiting for me to be a hairs breadth past their bumpers. I have one more block past an unfinished (likely to never be finished) church, auto shop, Uzbek cafe, and sauna before I get to the little patch of trees and shrubs in front of KIS.
The building itself it soviet era cement and nothing to be excited about. I share an office with several other geologist, but usually I only really see Azat in the office.
I have a desk by a window and sit there to work on fossils. We left many fossils there last summer, so I'm just slowly working my way through the stacks trying to remove extra matrix (rock/sediment attached to the fossil or that the fossil is embedded in) and glueing together the many shattered bits.
Once things start to look a little better I can also work on identifying (ID'ing) what taxon (biological classifications like family, genus, species) and what bone each fossil belongs to. It's also a good reminder of just how fried your brain can get during fieldwork. I'll pull bones out of bags clearly labeled in my handwriting and think “Wow... How did I not notice this was a _____?” Plus my field-hands didn't always know what was worth collecting or we didn't know how much better the fossil would get at other sites. The only real downside to the "office" is the lack of heat. I guess there was an increase in the price and now they can't pay for it. Most people work from home (and I admit I come in at 10am and leave between 3 and 4pm.) As a result this is how I dress in the office!
