Hello again!

Hi kids! 

How are you?  I hope you are learning a lot every day!

I am doing great!  Dr. Appelgren and I are seeing so many places all over Kyrgyzstan, and I want to tell you all about it! 

Do you remember when you looked at the map of Kyrgyzstan with Mrs. North?  Do you remember the big lake?  I got to visit it last week.  It is very pretty!  It is called lake Issyk Kul (you say it like "iss-ick cool").  It is up in the mountains, and all of the water comes from melted snow.  The water is very clear!  Let me show you some pictures:

Me at the lake!  It was very cold, but I went for a swim anyhow! :)

The water of the lake was very clean and clear!  Those are Dr. Appelgren's feet!!

OK, now I am going to open up my backpack and see what other questions you have.  Let's see....

Michael H. wants to know: Do you have the same clothes like us? 

Some people wear clothes just like the people in Rock Hill, but some people wear traditional clothes that people have been wearing here for many, many years.  One of the traditional things that men wear is a special kind of tall hat.  Some women wear scarves to cover their heads.  Here are some pictures to show you:

Here I am with some of my new friends!  They are wearing very traditional clothes.  I tried to ask them about their clothes, but they were very quiet.  I think they must be shy!

Here is a nice family that I met during my trip.  What are they wearing that is the same as what your family might wear?  What is different?

OK, I have time for one more question today.  Amari M. wants to know: Do you have alot of open land in Kyrgyzstan? 

This is a very beautiful country!  Yes- there is a lot of open land!  I will show you a picture from the area near Issyk-Kul lake:

There is a lot of land that has no buildings on it, so people can use this land for farming or for raising sheep and horses.  In the north part of the country, people grow hay, wheat, and potatoes.  In the south part, people grow cotton and sunflowers.  What things do people grow where you live?  Why do you think that people who live in different places might grow different things?

Well, I have a big day tomorrow so I need to get some rest!  Good-bye everybody!  I will send you another letter soon!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

Hello from Kyrgyzstan!!

Hi Kids! 

How are you?  I hope that you are having fun and learning a lot in Rock Hill.  Thank you for sending me to Kyrgyzstan with my friend Dr. Appelgren.  We are having a great time here!

It takes a loooong time to get here on a plane - 2 whole days!  I was so tired!  We even have a different time here!  Since we are on the other side of the earth the sun rises at a different time.  For example, in Rock Hill right now it is 8:30am and you are probably starting your day at school.  Here in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, it is 6:30pm and I am almost ready for dinner!

Thank you for sending such good questions!  Let's see if I can answer some of them for you.  First, Cierra wants to know: do people speak English? 

Well, very few people do.  Most people speak Russian since Russia is close to here, and some also speak a local language called Kyrgyz (you say it like Keer-geez).  Some of the words sound like words in English, but most words sound very different.  They also use a different alphabet from ours.  It is called the Cyrillic Alphabet.  Some of the letters are the same, and some are different.  Some even look the same but make different sounds!  It is very confusing, but Dr. Appelgren and I are trying to learn.  Look at the picture above.  The first word is "cafe"- they use k instead of c to make the first sound because here a c sounds like an "s".  The funny circle with a line through it makes the f sound!  So now you can read the word cafe in Russian!

Next, Jamari wants to know:  Do they have the same cars as our country?

Well, what do you think??  I think that some things about cars are the same, and some are different.  What do you see in the picture that is the same or different?  Where do you think the cars are in this picture? 

By the way, look at the big white sign in the background with blue letters.  It has a funny symbol (looks sort of like a b) and then AHK.  Well, the funny symbol is how they write a "B" and the H sounds like "N."  Can you tell what the sign says??

Well, I'm off to have more adventures.  I'll take more pictures and write again soon!

Your friend,
Flat Stanley