Coffee is a powerful force in human history – it unites people, transcends cultures, and kindles the imagination. A cup of coffee is a cup of inspiration. For centuries, coffee has been used as a tool to invigorate the mind and ...
This past week in Kyrgyzstan, two holidays were celebrated: Ak Kalpak Day and International Women’s Day. How are these two holidays connected? Well, they’re not, but both got me thinking about the role head-coverings play in how both ...
Although history is often talked about as something as objective as mathematics, it, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. That historic events happened is perhaps the only thing semi-consistent across cultures; but how these events were ...
From the outside, it looks like pure chaos. Men are shouting and pulling reigns. Horses are protesting and charging from one direction to another. Hooves beat the earth, sending dust soaring in the air. A man in a blue ...
In Kyrgyzstan, food culture offers insight into Kyrgyz cultural values which impact the way identity and religious identity are perceived. (Photo: Toby A. Cox) Food is not just something we eat to enjoy and to give us nourishment; it is ...
I’m sitting in a shared taxi en route to Talas, the region to the west of Bishkek. The sun is descending and night is falling. The inside of the taxi is dark – the only light coming from the small ...
To be 26 years old – an age between young adulthood and actual adulthood and a time when many begin to ask themselves questions like “who am I?” “what defines me?” “where am I going?” more frequently. As a 26-year-old, I ask ...