Living in a Video Game

Winter time in Kyrgyzstan has its amusements! One of them being, walking around the city. You see, we do get snow, probably nothing compared to CNY, but snow just the same. Though, in NY we have, snow shovels, snow plows, sanders, etc, all the things to battle the winter elements- but not here! So, what happens to the snow? Well it mostly gets melted on the roads due to so much traffic, but the sidewalks are a different story! The snow gets matted down. It is first, bumpy and uneven, then becomes smooth, slippery, and in many places, still uneven! The sidewalks become more like skating rinks than ways to walk on. They even have a tv show that shows people slipping, sliding and falling while attempting to get from one place to another! But some of the best parts come a little while later….the accelerators! This is where my reference to video games comes in. While crossing the streets may be like Frogger; the sidewalks in the winter time can be like…well, perhaps Need For Speed (or any racing game with accelerators). Many racing games have an area(s) on the track that if you hit some colored arrows, you get a burst of acceleration, well here on the sidewalks, we have ice accelerators! Strips if pure glare ice! You can walk and slide on them, or the person you’re walking with can run and pull you as you slide along! It can be a lot of fun- unless you happen to fall. I hope to get a picture posted. They are great!