We met a semi-nomadic herder after we set up our campsite in the hills of rural Kyrgyzstan. When I say semi-nomadic, I mean that during summer the couple spends time in the high alpine mountains caring for their animals but during winter they move to a lower elevation to maintain their lifestyle. He was herding his 400 sheep and invited us to his yurt for tea. We met his wife and she offered us dinner while he finished bringing home the sheep. She had just made fresh bread and it was heavenly! We learned all about their family and got to share about our families too by playing charades and showing each other photos. They have two daughters and one son, all in their 20s.

Their yurt was extremely cozy and warm, they even had solar set up charging a power bank for their smart phones!