Is it possible, that we've been here a month already?!
We arrived in the early morning on the 2nd of October, having had no sleep on the flight from Istanbul to Bishkek, dragging a bunch of very heavy plastic bins/luggage out of the airport, with children falling asleep on hard plastic chairs as we waited in line to get our 30 day tourist visa, to being sick with some kind of stomach bug the first week or so we were here....ahhh, what memories!
But, as usual, the Father provided in a mighty way. I was able to stay well enough to scope out the area the first few days, our friends had previewed a few apartments, and we had confirmation through prayer and rent amounts dropping that the place we were choosing was where He wanted us to be.
So, without further ado....here is the street where we live!
This is the local magazine, or quick shop, for your basic grocery needs. One of the amazing things about Bishkek is that there seems to be a "grocery" store, called Narodni (народныи), every few blocks. Between that, and being about 5-6 blocks from the Osh Bazaar, we have access to quite a bit of food.
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This is our apartment building, from the street side.
This is our balcony, it runs the length of the apartment (along the back side of the boys' room, the living room/dining room/school room combo, and our bedroom.) We use it for storage and to dry laundry, when it's warm enough.
This is the park area in the courtyard between 3 buildings. Our building is the one you can see in this picture. There is also one behind me and to my right in this picture.
Our living, dining, school room combo....plus, when the weather is cold we bring in the laundry to dry. It's a bit "cozy" but it works!
Looking at the living room the other way. You can see the doors on the right, they lead into our bedroom. The doors straight ahead, lead into the hallway and then onto Sissi's room, if you turned left, you would come to the bathroom and the kitchen.
In essence, when you walk in the apartment, it's a hallway with the boys' room, living room, and our bedroom on the right. The bathroom, kitchen, and Sissi's room are on the left.
Looking into our bathroom. There is a tub/shower in there on the right.
The kitchen. You can see the brown line on the floor, that is where the kitchen was renovated and expanded to take up what used to be the balcony on this side of the apartment.
Excuse the mess, these pictures were taken this weekend, as we were beginning to do some canning.
Looking at the kitchen from the back window. You can see out into the hallway and just a glimmer of light from the living room is visible.
The opposite counter and storage area.
The boys' room...they were reading when I came in to take the picture.
Sissi's room. You can see the door on the back wall that leads out to the small balcony that is left on this side of the apartment.
Looking back into Sissi's room from the balcony door. You can see a peek into the living room from her room.
She wanted a picture of her getting into bed.
Clean sheets and we're ready to get all comfortable.
This is the balcony off of Sissi's room. It has been renovated and has new windows so it's much warmer. Also, the floor was refinished and so it's not just concrete and cold as the other side is prone to be this time of year. She loves it and uses it as her "play room."
Our bedroom. You can see the door to the balcony and our extra luggage, camping gear, and storage.
Standing at the back door and looking at our room from the other side.
Leaving our room and looking out into the living room at our new bookcase.
The apartment was fully furnished when we moved in. The only thing it was lacking was a place to put books. I could have bought a few, but for now, this one is doing what needs to be done, and I am very happy with it! Thanks for getting it for me, honey!
