Archive sections: ‘From an Expat’
Shortly after we opened our hotel in Bishkek we held a “review meeting”, to see how things were going, what needed attention, and so on. One of the staff expressed the view that things were going well, that we had been through all of the situations we could expect to meet, had dealt with them [...]
One of the most important aspects of our job as a tour operator is to think ahead and try to foresee what could possibly go wrong, and then to plan to avoid that situation or, at least, to plan a course of action to minimize the problems that are caused as a result.
Today, I am not sure what to write … the events of the last few days, which you will have seen in your news programmes and newspapers, seems to have thrown the whole picture into turmoil once more. Up until Thursday night everything seemed to be settling down into a typical long hot summer. Working [...]
One of my acquaintances has his birthday on June 12th … and he says that the city always gives him a birthday present. “Is he somebody important, that the city gives him a present on his birthday?” – no, he’s just an ordinary citizen, with a wife, three children, a car which he can call [...]
Some friends of mine, here, have taken one particular British tradition to heart … that of the “Loyal Toast“. A loyal toast is a salute, (or toast), given at a formal gathering such as a Dinner or Reception, to a head of state who represents and symbolizes the nation, (even if they not are actually present [...]
In recent times the question of ethnic rivalries and disputes has reappeared in Kyrgyzstan.
In a previous postcard I used the phrase, “No news is good news”. Well, this week has been an example of that … which means that Kyrgyzstan has settled back down to its usual “sleepy” self … and that this week’s postcard is, mercifully, shorter. That’s not to say that nothing has been happening … [...]
As a former schoolteacher, and a teacher of RE (Religious Education) at that, I have taken my fair share of school assemblies. For those readers who are not in the UK, and indeed for many who are in the UK, the idea of the school assembly might need a little explanation. The Education Act of [...]
I am not a great fan of Internet Chat services. Don’t get me wrong, they can be very useful, especially for someone like me, living so far away from home, with business partners and clients scattered all around the world. I have registered and signed up for a couple of services but, to be honest, [...]
Following last week’s “massive missive” … which could hardly have fitted onto an ordinary “postcard”, I had hoped that this week’s contribution will be shorter, reflecting a more peaceful, if less “interesting”, period. Perhaps that was wishful thinking. Sorry.
