Happy New Year, everybody!
I'm back from my journey to Almaty! The trip was really fun. Here's a list of things I did. Keep in mind that I'm excited about all of these:

Crossed the street without fearing for my life (they actually have and follow driving rules!)
Ate amazing pizza, KFC, and cheeseburgers (make that 5 shared pizzas, one KFC meal and two cheeseburgers)
Walked at night without turning on a flashlight (working streetlights!)
Didn't hear the phrase "hello baby" or get any harrassment of any sort. It's like people didn't even notice us.
Drank coffee
Used free wifi on my own computer while drinking coffee
Saw Americans I don't know
I'm sure there's more, but all of that is enough for now. Needless to say, I had a fantastic week in Almaty (aka civilization). Now I'm in the middle of another week-long vacation before I start my last semester of school here in Kyrgyzstan. We're also in the middle of the normal frealishly-warm week in January. I'm not wearing a coat! It's pretty nice.
I hope everyone is having a great winter!