New Friend

I am so happy right now! I made a new friend from work who is really nice and is almost exactly my age, and she is a Christian. Christians are rare here, and it is such a blessing to make a friend who shares something that is so important to me. She picked me up this evening a little after 6 p.m. and took me to this very modern, very Western style 3-story shop that's like a mall. It had the Gap, Levi Strauss, and other chain stores with clothes at least as expensive as in the U.S., perhaps more. Whew. There was also a big grocery store with all kinds of food, dishes, skin products--all very bright and clean and expensive. It was fun to walk around and enjoy the air conditioning, and most of all, the company. We had such a good time chatting about our families, the places we'd traveled, work, etc.

As far as the shopping goes, I prefer Durdoy b/c of the great deals and the necessity of digging and digging to find great stuff at great prices, but for just a pleasant evening, this complex was great: air conditioning, comfortable places to sit, plenty of room to walk, and, best of all, real cappuccinos!!!! Oh, heaven. Here people drink tea or instant coffee. I have been having hot tea with nothing in it or water in the mornings. If I'm desperate, I'll have some instant coffee--no milk. Having a real espresso drink made with nice coffee was unbelievably nice. The price was about what you'd pay in the U.S.--$3--so for Kyrgyzstan it was incredibly expensive. But it was a lovely, lovely treat.

It's late here, and I'm off to bed, but more later, plus pics.