Central Asia: Curb Appeal

One thing I can't get around here is the language, which means, literally, I can't get around. Today I took the marshutka, which is a van/minibus- a jitney bus like in New York or Manila, almost by myself (one of my hosts road on to another stop). When you have to stand you can only see the curb looking down through the windows, so I'm learning to remember the number of turns and the way the curb looks. I paid my 8 som and practiced Russian for "Please stop at the bus stop" and "yes, yes." 

It's roughly 45 som to the dollar, making a marshutka ride one of the only things cheaper than in the States. Lunch is a bit cheaper too--200-300 som--at the cafeteria down the road from the office. The Ex-pat co-owners go home and eat a kit-kat respectively, so I've been eating with the two other employees, women around my age, one Russian, one Kyrgyz. They both speak English & we have great lunch conversations-- I wish I could zap my friends from work here to be part of it. 

I feel like I've already settled into the work. Probably not really, but I have been helpful. We work all in one room, just as I do at InterVarsity, and there are always multiple projects to work on, so the pace is similar. I've worked on a book cover, an identity and diagrams to come this afternoon, gone on a client visit, and will give a little typography presentation to the office non-designers tomorrow. With me doing some of the design and educational work, the creative director has gotten in a little time to research new opportunities--a good sign.