Back at it

Minneapolis, MN

This is a post to get myself back in the habit. I finished my first year of graduate studies at the University of Washington in Central Asian International Studies under the aegis of the post-Soviet regional studies school. My area of interest is the bazaar and how that place reflects changes in the political economy an transmits these shifts through cultural icons (like the mosque). 

And this last summer I returned to Widjiwagan to work as the trail building coordinator. It was great to get away from reading, writing and studying language for a taste of gear repair and food prep. 

But now its back to Central Asian studies and with a vengeance. I am taking off for Bishkek on the 10th of September where I will live and study until at least April. I'll be doing interviews and other forms of 'fieldwork ' at the bazaar while studying Kyrgyz language. I will start with a few weeks of rural homestay to get my language geared up again (it really has fallen off a cliff, and I fear onto jagged rocks, over the summer). But after that I will be in Bishkek.

I am not yet sure how I will use this blog - as a personal journal or to percolate the research and such - or both. Anyway, I would love to hear from any and everyone - so comment, email and write.

-Anders