The young man on the left in the NYC shirt and his uncle come from a small village on the shore of Lake Issyk Kul in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. The young man said he graduated with a law degree, but as there were no jobs at home, came to Russia. He said he worked 2.5 years on Yamal Peninsual, Russia’s main gas producing region, which lines on the Arctic circle. He loved the region’s nature, but found it tough to bear -45c. Now he works as a cashier in Moscow and says he is satisfied with the work and pay. He dreams of earning enough to buy a car and build himself a home in is village in Kyrgyzstan. He then showed me a few photos of his village at the foot of Lake Issuk Kul with the Tian Shan Mountains rising in the background.
