Dear Russian Guy,
Thanks for your message and for your interest. I'm always happy to talk about my experiences in Kyrgyzstan. I was a Peace Corps volunteer, invited by the Kyrgyz government to teach English in public schools. The director of the school worked with staff from my volunteer agency to find suitable housing for me. I was very lucky to have such great host families (one in my training village and one at my permanent site). I learned so much from my host families that go beyond just vocabulary and grammar such as invaluable information about culture and and pragmatics. If you have the opportunity to go on a homestay I would highly recommend it. There's even a tourism organization that organizes short homestays of a few nights in Kyrgyz homes. This is a great way to experience Kyrygyz culture if you only have a short time. Here's the link:
http://www.cbtkyrgyzstan.kg/index.php?o ... &Itemid=29
As for the Kyrgyz language... although Russian is an official language in The Kyrgyz Republic, as it is also referred to, Russian is not so widely used outside of the capital city of Bishkek, except for small pockets of Russian speaking communities. I taught in "Russian schools" where the main language of instruction was in Russian so I did not learn much Kyrgyz unfortunately. My Kyrgyz friends, colleagues, and host family, however, could speak perfect Russian. Most people a visitor is likely to come into contact with - a taxi driver, a clerk at a souvenir shop, or a waitress/waiter at a restaurant - probably will at least speak a little Russian if not fluently, depending on the area.
Best of luck in the future with Russian language learning and as a tour guide.
Sincerely,
Erik
