Osh is an incredible place.
Between the people, the food, and just the overall feeling that you get when you arrive, you know that Osh is awesome. I don’t think that I’ll find a place quite like it anywhere else in the world.
Osh is the second biggest city in the country of Kyrgyzstan, which doesn’t actually mean that it’s too terribly large. Most people walk where they can since driving is a little bit life-threatening. There are coffee shops and little restaurants that say “Pizza” or “Friends” or any other English words that might catch your attention EVERYWHERE. If you’re looking for something for cheap or maybe Kyrgyzstan specific items, you might make your way to the bazaar.
For team Ruak (that’s us, we’re team Ruak), we spent a large amount of time in one place. Brio.
Brio is a café just on the corner of the street down the way from our hostel. It has everything an American could need in Kyrgyzstan: good food and English speaking staff. Between having at least one meal a day there and then maybe a meeting or two, Brio became more of a home than our own hostel! But Brio wasn’t our only hotspot.
Grenki (we’re not really sure what the theme was but it had good ramen) was another favorite, and of course we could never go wrong with the shawarma place on the corner.
Now obviously we didn’t just eat, there had to be ministry and fun too. Our ministry was pretty simple. We would go to a university two times in the week and do a “talking club” with the students there. Now, most of them spoke better English than you or I but they signed up anyways to get to see some real Americans. We would teach a grammar concept or go over American culture, and then maybe even play a game or a Kahoot! Then, the students would give us their contact information, and we would meet with them (in Brio).
And for fun? Volleyball! Turns out that volleyball is a pretty big deal around here. Still don’t think they take it seriously? Just play a couple of sixteen year olds and stack your ego up extra high so that they can topple it by spiking on you. Trust me, it’s a big deal.
Of course, you can’t forget about the snow. After all, it’s still winter here! Just a short 45 minute drive away is the best bunny hill you’ll ever go to! You can ski it, snowboard it, sled it, heck you could probably penguin slide. But if you’re willing to walk up a little further, you’ll find over a foot of untouched powder ready and waiting.
We loved Osh, and I’m now writing from Jalal-Abad, our final city in Kyrgyzstan. The Lord may not have had the same thing in mind as me for what my ministry would look like, but He brought me joy in that time and an excitement for what is to come.
Though I could talk about that city forever, even with only two weeks of living there, I feel it best to just let Osh live on in everyone else’s mind as an amazing place. That’s what it was to me!
