First impressions of Kyrgyzstan, Jonah

We are here in Kyrgyzstan! Here's a quick note about things!
It is ridiculously cheap to call the United States from here. We spent less than one dollar to talk to Mom yesterday. Really cheap. I have my own office with a window and a computer with internet so I can keep in touch pretty well I should think. A random Kyrgyz man who was friends with the last intern found us and offered us his apartment for a few nights until we can find a place of our own. So we didn't even stay in the hostel last night.
It is shocking how much like Siberia this place is, but just in the few years they have promoted free-market principles it has thrived. It is SO much more promising than Russia looked. The streets are about just as dirty and the weather is nasty too, but when we walk around it's so strange to notice all the people! There are people everywhere walking to and from work! Driving cars! Tons and tons of cars! Some of them are pretty nice too. It really looks like this place is exactly Siberia, just with renewed work ethic and from somewhere a great deal of economic inflow. Things are looking really good for the place.
Charlotte and I took shower/baths this morning in warm water!! Though the inside of the apartment looks no better than a Siberian one, there is warm water! That's the type of differences that you see here, subtle but meaningful. I just can't believe all the small businesses and bustling sidewalks, it's great. The economy is really chugging. Keep in mind of course that this is Bishkek, not the sum total of Kyrgyzstan. This city is far and away more prosperous than the rest of the country, I would think. But it is really promising to see the place doing so well. Compared to Krasnoyarsk or Ulan-Ude or Barnaul, this place is exceptionally nice and booming.
Alright, so we are going to be searching for an apartment today. Charlotte is headed for Fat Boys, a local cafe in which the ex-Pats hang out. She's gonna try to make some connections.  She's giong ot try and make some friends and look for jobs and such.  So...I figure by the end of today we'll be running this place. Charlotte is just amazing!

There is one problem, however. The ITC here is under more and more pressure from the new government to disband. The new government is trying more and more to divide up the powers of the ITC here to other agencies. When I asked Irina about the things that I should expect here with my work, she curiously mentioned nothing past March 31st. When I asked her why, she responded: "That's when our contract runs out." Apparently they are trying to renew their contract and fight of the dissolution attempts from the new government and March 31st is their last guaranteed day of existence. It's really sad. KG is doing so well these days because of efforts that those of the ITC here. Of course there are influences from all around, but removing the ITC from KG would be a pretty stupid move. Unless your goal was to turn this place into Kazakhstan: more money in the hands of less people.

Sidethought for the day:
A few years ago, John McCain was reading about the efforts of KG to expand it's economy and become more democratic. You know what he did? I love this guy. He traveled here to purchase a publishing house for an opposition newspaper. Until that point there was only one printing house and all information had to be filtered through there. The government monitored all the activity and prevented the building of a new publishing house by raising taxes and so forth. So John McCain flew here and helped purchase the building and the equipment to set up a different printing house. Now an opposition newspaper (meaning one that is not supportive of the party currently in power) is thriving. John McCain is a great man and the people here who understand the importance of Freedom of the Press remember and are very appreciative of his contribution. While all the newspapers will tell you that the world was in ecstasy over the election of Barack Obama, this is one place where John McCain's loss was particularly sad. I don't blame Obama for probably not knowing where this place is, it is just inspiring that McCain decided to use his money to promote democracy in a country that most Americans don't even know exists.