Twenty-eight-year-old Scott Goddard came to Kyrgyzstan not so long ago. Therefore, every day he strives to learn, see something new and capture it. «I love to make videos to share knowledge and information about different countries, and to promote education. For me, this is priority number one. In the case of Kyrgyzstan this is even more crucial and important since there are many people across our planet, who have not heard of your beautiful country,» he told. Scott shared his impressions with 24.kg news agency.

— Scott, where are you from? What do you do?

— I am from a medium-sized town called Bolton. I do not suspect many of you have heard of it. It is not the most beautiful place — but at least the people are friendly and will greet you with a smile. My town is a short journey from Manchester, and is in the North West of England.

As far as a job goes, I mainly support myself through investment — however, this is not too sustainable, so I am now doing my best to create entertaining and educational videos for others to enjoy, in the hope that I can turn it into a full-time job. If I can support myself by making videos, this would be a dream come true.

— How did you end up in Kyrgyzstan?

— That is a good question! To answer it we have to go back in time by five months. The month was July, 2021, and as I was exploring the beautiful country of Turkey, I made a new friend. This particular friend was from Tajikistan, a country which at that moment I did not know anything about. He was very kind and invited myself and another friend, called Chris, to travel to Tajikistan and attend his wedding, which was due to take place in August. This was an offer that neither of us could refuse — and since we both love the element of spontaneity, we booked our plane tickets, and took a spontaneous trip to Tajikistan.

After the wedding — which, by the way, was an amazing experience, and one that enabled me to learn a lot about the unique Tajik culture and traditions — I travelled around the country for 2.5 months. After Tajikistan, since I was a short journey from Uzbekistan, I decided to travel to the great, historical city of Samarkand. Another two months past, and then since I was close to Kyrgyzstan, I made the decision to travel to your beautiful country.

— What was your first impression of the country?

— To answer this question, I would like to tell you about my first encounter with a Kyrgyz person. Unlike most tourists, I entered Kyrgyzstan via the land border between Andijan and Osh. As I walked across the border, wearing my chapan and big Cossack, Russian hat, a Kyrgyz solider was intrigued by my outfit. I said: «Salam aleikum, bratan, kak dila?» to him, and then, of course, he replied in Russian. Unfortunately, because my Russian is very small, I could not understand him. But even though I only speak a couple of words in Russian, and he only spoke a couple of words in English, we shared laughter and smiles, and I can confidently call him my friend.

Since the day I arrived in Kyrgyzstan, I have done my best to learn and improve my ability to speak the Kyrgyz language. First and foremost, I love to learn the local language because of the reactions I receive from local people. I believe local people massively appreciate it when a tourist learns their language. Whenever I make eye contact with someone, I will always greet them by saying: «Salam alekum, kandaisyz?», and the person always replies with a giant smile across their face. On, perhaps, six occasions random Kyrgyz strangers have paid for my meal. They always justify their kindness by saying I am a guest.

Whenever I have an interaction with a local person, it is always quite amusing, because I will speak a little bit of many languages. The main three languages I speak whilst in Kyrgyzstan are of course: English, Russian and Kyrgyz. Interestingly, sometimes when I make a new friend, they can speak Turkish, in which case I speak a bit of Turkish with them.

All languages are barriers to communication. This is the reality — however, we have a choice to adapt and overcome. This is why it is important for me to the learn the local language.

— I am here to learn about the unique Kyrgyz culture, traditions, language, and food. Whenever I visit a new country, I love to embrace a local lifestyle — which means wearing the national dress (every day I wear my kalpak!); eating the national food (I often eat plov and, less frequently, beshbarmak — of course, I eat both of these meals with my hand); and lastly, learning and speaking the local language.

— What surprises you in Bishkek/ Kyrgyzstan?

— I knew that Kyrgyzstan has a reputation for amazing nature, but it is only when you see it for the first time that you truly appreciate it. This happened recently when I took a trip to the Ala-Archa national park. A second aspect that has surprised me is how much culture and traditions have been retained and are still held dear and sacred, since many years ago. It is awesome to see a country continually celebrating its past, through its cultural practices and traditions. When the world as a whole is becoming more modern and homogenous with each passing day, it is amazing to see a country like Kyrgyzstan hold onto the traditions and culture of its ancestors.

The Kyrgyz tradition that I admire the most is how sacred the family unit is. Sadly, in the Western world, for example in England, I feel like there is a tendency for family to grow apart, and become less close. Here in Kyrgyzstan, on the other hand, the family connection is extremely strong.

— What regions have you visited? Did anything remind you of your hometown here?

— So far I have visited Bishkek, Osh, and a small village called Kyzyl-Dobo. Each place has their own charm — Bishkek, for example, is interesting for me, because you can walk around, getting lost between the Soviet-era architecture. You can take a trip to one of the many interesting bazaars. In the village, on the other hand, life is much more peaceful and calmer — the sounds of traffic and people are replaced by either silence or the sounds of nature. As far as comparing my country, England, to Kyrgyzstan, I would say that both societies put a high value upon the farmer and agricultural produce.

— The most shocking experience I have had is without a doubt when I ate beshbarmak. My first time eating the national dish was not at a restaurant, but instead, it was at my friend’s family home. I was able to watch the preparation process, or in other words, I saw how all the pieces of the sheep were allocated among the different guests. Intestines! Lungs! The head! It was shocking for me.

— How do you feel about the Kyrgyz national cuisine?

— When it comes to food, I would describe myself as open-minded. I am willing to try most things. What is a disgusting in one country is considered a delicacy in a different country. I love Kyrgyz cuisine: every day I eat laghman, borsok, ganfan, plov, sfmsa, manti, and so on. I will admit I was very hesitant to try some parts of the beshbarmak.

— What do you like and dislike about Kyrgyzstan?

— The things which I like about Kyrgyzstan massively outnumber the things that I dislike. My favorite aspect about your country is the hospitality of the people. Secondly, I love the abundance of nature you can find here. Thirdly, the Kyrgyz culture is so rich with unique traditions, and it is great to see how proud people are of these. The one aspect that I dislike is the poor air quality in Bishkek.

I would like to thank 24.kg news agency for the opportunity to share my story. If anyone wants to follow my journey, they can do it on my YouTube channel. I upload a new video every two days — it’s not easy, but I love it.