April 17, 2008
In regards to what makes a city a city, Greensboro, NC and Waco, TX are superior to Kyzylorda in several ways. They have taller buildings, more people, and an actual working public sanitation system. There is one important area however, in which Kyzylorda has them beat, reliable public transportation. In Kyzylorda, from 6AMto 8PM you have two main choices for getting around, buses or marshootkas. Marshootkas are basically slightly larger than normal minivans and are extremely uncomfortable. The conductors pack far more people in than there are seats so you are usually forced to stand and often find yourself awkwardly squished against several other people. Furthermore, you cannot even stand up straight and are forced to contort yourself just to fit inside in the first place. The crazy thing though, is that even though marshootkas are more awkward to ride in, they are actually more expensive than buses! In Kyzylorda, Marshootkas cost 35 tenge per ride, but the buses only cost 30 tenge! I know that they cannot fit as many people in as a bus can, no matter how hard they squeeze, and that the extra five tenge is supposed to make up some of the difference, but I figure that if I am going to subject myself to that sort of punishment willingly, they could at least give me a price break. One may wonder why I take Marshootkas if the buses are roomier and cheaper, but unfortunately buses do not frequent the outskirts of the city where I live, so usually I just have to bite the bullet and ride the marshootka.
Still, these cramped rides to work are not all bad and have had a few positive results. Primarily, I think it has made me more comfortable in large crowds and more willing to speak to complete strangers. Perhaps due in part to of geography and manifest destiny, but American’s are generally accustomed to and seek open spaces. Even in crowded cities, people try to maintain at least three feet of personal space. In Kazakhstan, though this idea of personal space does not really exist there is, it is measured in inches rather than feet. Thus, over the last few months I have been forced to get over my own personal space needs and as a result I now find myself more comfortable with new people both in regards to physical proximity or in making conversation, and while I have yet to make a lasting friendship with any of my dance partners on the number 15 bus, I would like to think it has perhaps made me a bit more outgoing.
понедельник, 28 апреля 2008 г.
четверг, 10 апреля 2008 г.
A Quick Note About Food
April 8, 2007
For those of you who worry about whether Peace Corps volunteers are starving to death or suffering from malnutrition because we only eat meat potatoes, I hope that this post will set your minds at ease. While the Kazak diet is primarily meat and potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and carrots, are also important fixtures in any Kazak meal. Furthermore, Kazak food is not the only thing we eat. Here in Kyzylorda, we also have the option to eat Uzbek, Korean, or Russian food too. To be sure, the Uzbek, Korean, and Russian cuisines have been Kazakized to some extent, but they still maintain most of their unique qualities, which is good because as they say, “variety is the spice of life.”
My two favorite Kazak dishes are definitely besparmak and Monte. besparmak, or “five fingers”, is a dish made of meat, potatoes, and onions, spread out on a large plate of wide, flat noodles. It is called “five fingers” because you eat it with your fingers, with everyone reaching out and grabbing pieces of meat, noodles, and onions from the shared plate. To wash this delicious and healthy meal down, you drink a concoction called sorpa, which is basically just piping hot meat broth. I know that this meal does not sound very healthy, but I swear that you feel 100 percent better than you did after eating it. Also, if you are thinking of ever coming to Kazakhstan, you are going to need to like it, because it is the national dish and at any party or “konnak” there is a fifty/fifty chance that besparmak will be served. Monte is my other favorite Kazak dish, probably because my host mom makes the best monte on the planet. Monte are basically steamed dumplings, but they are folded up differently and are usually larger. The monte are usually filled with meat and onions, and you eat them by the dozen with either ketchup or mayonnaise, delicious.
Besides besparmak and monte, the next most popular dish in Kazakhstan, at least here in the south is definitely palay, also known as plov. It is actually an Uzbek dish and is particularly popular here in the south because we are so close to the border. I do find it interesting and a little confusing that Kazak people will make derogatory remarks about Uzbeks while downing their food by the pound, but I guess that is one of those mysteries that has not yet revealed itself to me. palay is made of rice, carrots, and of course meat. Like besparmak, palay is eaten off of one collective plate but this time at least they give everyone large spoons. If I have one bad thing to say about palay it is that it is often kind of bland, as is the case with a lot of Kazak/Uzbek dishes, but with a bit of hot chili sauce mixed in, palay goes from ho-hum to awesome.
As one would expect after over 70 years of Soviet occupation, Russian food is also plentiful and popular in Kazakhstan, even in the south. My two favorite Russian foods are borscht and belashsee. I imagine everyone knows what Borscht is, a sort of beet stew with cabbage and potatoes, but there may be a few people who have never heard of nor tasted the belashee. Belashees are kind of like meat donuts. They are simply dough wrapped around a small roll of ground meat that is then dipped in oil and fried. A heart attack waiting to happen I know, but when eaten with a bowl of borscht they are part of a perfect lunch. Anyways, I usually work out in the afternoons, so I do not think I am too much at risk.
Finally, a cultural cuisine that is surprisingly popular here in Kyzylorda is Korean food, particularly the dish Kukci. It is a soup made up of noodles, diced meat, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers, all simmering in a soy sauce broth. It quickly became one of our favorite dishes because it was the one way we could get fresh vegetables in our diet during the winter. It is also one of the spicer and saltier meals available. I was definitely was not expecting to get such a steady diet of Korean food in Kazakhstan, especially in Kyzylorda, but apparently area has a rather sizable Korean population, and in fact you cannot find Kukci outside of the Kyzylorda or South Kazakhstan oblasts.
Thus, as you can see are, we are not suffering from a lack of culinary choices at all, but in fact have a large variety of food at our fingertips. So if you come to visit, prepare to eat hardy that is, unless you are a vegetarian, and in that case you might starve.
For those of you who worry about whether Peace Corps volunteers are starving to death or suffering from malnutrition because we only eat meat potatoes, I hope that this post will set your minds at ease. While the Kazak diet is primarily meat and potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and carrots, are also important fixtures in any Kazak meal. Furthermore, Kazak food is not the only thing we eat. Here in Kyzylorda, we also have the option to eat Uzbek, Korean, or Russian food too. To be sure, the Uzbek, Korean, and Russian cuisines have been Kazakized to some extent, but they still maintain most of their unique qualities, which is good because as they say, “variety is the spice of life.”
My two favorite Kazak dishes are definitely besparmak and Monte. besparmak, or “five fingers”, is a dish made of meat, potatoes, and onions, spread out on a large plate of wide, flat noodles. It is called “five fingers” because you eat it with your fingers, with everyone reaching out and grabbing pieces of meat, noodles, and onions from the shared plate. To wash this delicious and healthy meal down, you drink a concoction called sorpa, which is basically just piping hot meat broth. I know that this meal does not sound very healthy, but I swear that you feel 100 percent better than you did after eating it. Also, if you are thinking of ever coming to Kazakhstan, you are going to need to like it, because it is the national dish and at any party or “konnak” there is a fifty/fifty chance that besparmak will be served. Monte is my other favorite Kazak dish, probably because my host mom makes the best monte on the planet. Monte are basically steamed dumplings, but they are folded up differently and are usually larger. The monte are usually filled with meat and onions, and you eat them by the dozen with either ketchup or mayonnaise, delicious.
Besides besparmak and monte, the next most popular dish in Kazakhstan, at least here in the south is definitely palay, also known as plov. It is actually an Uzbek dish and is particularly popular here in the south because we are so close to the border. I do find it interesting and a little confusing that Kazak people will make derogatory remarks about Uzbeks while downing their food by the pound, but I guess that is one of those mysteries that has not yet revealed itself to me. palay is made of rice, carrots, and of course meat. Like besparmak, palay is eaten off of one collective plate but this time at least they give everyone large spoons. If I have one bad thing to say about palay it is that it is often kind of bland, as is the case with a lot of Kazak/Uzbek dishes, but with a bit of hot chili sauce mixed in, palay goes from ho-hum to awesome.
As one would expect after over 70 years of Soviet occupation, Russian food is also plentiful and popular in Kazakhstan, even in the south. My two favorite Russian foods are borscht and belashsee. I imagine everyone knows what Borscht is, a sort of beet stew with cabbage and potatoes, but there may be a few people who have never heard of nor tasted the belashee. Belashees are kind of like meat donuts. They are simply dough wrapped around a small roll of ground meat that is then dipped in oil and fried. A heart attack waiting to happen I know, but when eaten with a bowl of borscht they are part of a perfect lunch. Anyways, I usually work out in the afternoons, so I do not think I am too much at risk.
Finally, a cultural cuisine that is surprisingly popular here in Kyzylorda is Korean food, particularly the dish Kukci. It is a soup made up of noodles, diced meat, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers, all simmering in a soy sauce broth. It quickly became one of our favorite dishes because it was the one way we could get fresh vegetables in our diet during the winter. It is also one of the spicer and saltier meals available. I was definitely was not expecting to get such a steady diet of Korean food in Kazakhstan, especially in Kyzylorda, but apparently area has a rather sizable Korean population, and in fact you cannot find Kukci outside of the Kyzylorda or South Kazakhstan oblasts.
Thus, as you can see are, we are not suffering from a lack of culinary choices at all, but in fact have a large variety of food at our fingertips. So if you come to visit, prepare to eat hardy that is, unless you are a vegetarian, and in that case you might starve.
пятница, 4 апреля 2008 г.
Reading List Update
April 4, 2008
16. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Gentlemen of the Road was written by the same guy who wrote the novel Cavileer and Clay, the fictionalized history of Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, so I knew ahead of time that it was going to be good and it did not disappoint. This is one of those rare books that is not only a good airport reader, but also an interesting, complex novel. It is really short so a person can easily finish it in about 6-8 hours, but you are likely to spend the next four hours thinking about it. The novel follows two honorable yet criminal highwaymen as they travel around the fictionalized nation of Kazaria. Just as they finish another scam they are roped into escorting and protecting a “prince” of Kazaria whose father was deposed and murdered, and the two “gentlemen” who prefer solitude and anonymity become entangled in palace intrigue and war.
17. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
This memoir follows one of Waco, TX’s favorite sons, Steve Martin, from his early life and career as a small time magician and comedian to America’s number one stand-up act, and explains why, at the top of his game, Martin left stand-up comedy forever. Martin is a great writer, and he paints a vivid picture of life as a stand-up comedian and the struggles that one faces in achieving success in that field. I have to admit that before I read this book I generally thought that stand-up comedy was mostly a mixture of talent and luck, but this book shows just how much work it actually is and how success can bring with it the depression, drug use, and addiction that prematurely ends careers and lives as was the case with other great comedians John Belushi and Chris Farley.
18. Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks
If you have ever turned on CNN and wondered what the hell is going on in Iraq and why are we even there in the first place, this is the book for you. It follows the War in Iraq from the lead up to war in early 2003 to the surge of 2007 and details how a the machinations a few key political figures, conflict between the military and the Bush Administration, and the inability of our generals and political leaders to a new type of warfare led to a “fiasco” in Iraq and has landed us in a quagmire that threatens to be the most embarrassing and damaging foreign policy action in United States history. What was great about this book was that as the author goes through all of the mistakes that had been made, such as Bush’s false claims of WMD’s, Rumsfield’s insistence on fewer troops, Gen. Tommy Franks’ lack of overall strategy, and mistreatment of detainees, the author does not engage in partisan attacks but lays blame where it is due, regardless of political party. In fact, early on in the book he condemns democrats and the “liberal media,” for refusing to investigate the administrations claims more thoroughly and rolling over because war was “inevitable.” The book also was interesting in that it lays out the most likely end results of our actions in Iraq, civil war or, even more worrisome, the rise of a new caliphate.
19. Heartfire by Orson Scott Card
20. Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
I may not like Orson Scott Card’s political and social ideas, and he is a bit of a jerk in person, but I have to say that I still really like his books. This is the second time that I have read each of these novels, and they were just as much fun the second time around as they were the first. Heartfire is the fifth novel in the “Alvin Maker Series” that takes place in an alternate early America where people have special powers and abilities. Furthermore, the United States was never created; rather the continent is made up of various small states like the Crown Colonies, Apalachee, and New England. I think what I like most about this series is comparing the true history of the United States with Card’s version and seeing how if certain events had played out differently our country would indeed look and feel much different than it does today.
Shadow of the Hegemon is nearly the complete opposite. It is part of the “Shadow Series,” a spin-off from Card’s “Ender Series.” Shadow of the Hegemon continues the story of the super intelligent child general, Bean, and his efforts to save his friends, defeat his greatest enemy, and bring peace to a fracturing world. The one thing I do not always like about this series is that Card’s ideas about International Relations are not usually that accurate and always run too conservative in my opinion. Overall however, I have no big complaints. After all, Card has my hometown of Greensboro, NC still going strong in 200 years!
16. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Gentlemen of the Road was written by the same guy who wrote the novel Cavileer and Clay, the fictionalized history of Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, so I knew ahead of time that it was going to be good and it did not disappoint. This is one of those rare books that is not only a good airport reader, but also an interesting, complex novel. It is really short so a person can easily finish it in about 6-8 hours, but you are likely to spend the next four hours thinking about it. The novel follows two honorable yet criminal highwaymen as they travel around the fictionalized nation of Kazaria. Just as they finish another scam they are roped into escorting and protecting a “prince” of Kazaria whose father was deposed and murdered, and the two “gentlemen” who prefer solitude and anonymity become entangled in palace intrigue and war.
17. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
This memoir follows one of Waco, TX’s favorite sons, Steve Martin, from his early life and career as a small time magician and comedian to America’s number one stand-up act, and explains why, at the top of his game, Martin left stand-up comedy forever. Martin is a great writer, and he paints a vivid picture of life as a stand-up comedian and the struggles that one faces in achieving success in that field. I have to admit that before I read this book I generally thought that stand-up comedy was mostly a mixture of talent and luck, but this book shows just how much work it actually is and how success can bring with it the depression, drug use, and addiction that prematurely ends careers and lives as was the case with other great comedians John Belushi and Chris Farley.
18. Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks
If you have ever turned on CNN and wondered what the hell is going on in Iraq and why are we even there in the first place, this is the book for you. It follows the War in Iraq from the lead up to war in early 2003 to the surge of 2007 and details how a the machinations a few key political figures, conflict between the military and the Bush Administration, and the inability of our generals and political leaders to a new type of warfare led to a “fiasco” in Iraq and has landed us in a quagmire that threatens to be the most embarrassing and damaging foreign policy action in United States history. What was great about this book was that as the author goes through all of the mistakes that had been made, such as Bush’s false claims of WMD’s, Rumsfield’s insistence on fewer troops, Gen. Tommy Franks’ lack of overall strategy, and mistreatment of detainees, the author does not engage in partisan attacks but lays blame where it is due, regardless of political party. In fact, early on in the book he condemns democrats and the “liberal media,” for refusing to investigate the administrations claims more thoroughly and rolling over because war was “inevitable.” The book also was interesting in that it lays out the most likely end results of our actions in Iraq, civil war or, even more worrisome, the rise of a new caliphate.
19. Heartfire by Orson Scott Card
20. Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
I may not like Orson Scott Card’s political and social ideas, and he is a bit of a jerk in person, but I have to say that I still really like his books. This is the second time that I have read each of these novels, and they were just as much fun the second time around as they were the first. Heartfire is the fifth novel in the “Alvin Maker Series” that takes place in an alternate early America where people have special powers and abilities. Furthermore, the United States was never created; rather the continent is made up of various small states like the Crown Colonies, Apalachee, and New England. I think what I like most about this series is comparing the true history of the United States with Card’s version and seeing how if certain events had played out differently our country would indeed look and feel much different than it does today.
Shadow of the Hegemon is nearly the complete opposite. It is part of the “Shadow Series,” a spin-off from Card’s “Ender Series.” Shadow of the Hegemon continues the story of the super intelligent child general, Bean, and his efforts to save his friends, defeat his greatest enemy, and bring peace to a fracturing world. The one thing I do not always like about this series is that Card’s ideas about International Relations are not usually that accurate and always run too conservative in my opinion. Overall however, I have no big complaints. After all, Card has my hometown of Greensboro, NC still going strong in 200 years!
IST-Almaty
March 31, 2008
We got to Almaty early in the morning of the 24th after a long and sleepless bus ride. To be sure the bus was definitely cheaper and faster than the train, but I definitely wondered if the ability to lie down might have been worth the 1000 tenge after all. The first stop when we got to Almaty was the Peace Corps office, which promised free Internet, a shower, and drinking water that did not require a three-hour distillation process. A few hours later after checking email and a breakfast of Ramen noodles we were ready to head out again. IST did not start until the 25th so we had a full day to explore the city as we saw fit, and for the Kazak Language group that meant heading home to Chamalgan to visit our families for the afternoon. I had a great visit with my “mom” and “dad.” I think they were impressed with how much better my Kazak had gotten, and they were interested to hear what I had been doing and Kyzylorda and how much I liked it. I also met a few new relatives. An elderly Russian aunt came over and for a minute she actually thought I was a “blond” Kazak of the North who because of my fair complexion and the fact that I spoke Kazak. Just to give a bit of background, many people in Kazakhstan think that the ancient Kazaks of legend were blond haired and blue eyed before the first Mongol invasions gave everyone more Asiatic features. Thus, my aunt was saying that I reminded her something akin to the Lost City of Atlantis or maybe Troy. After the visit we headed back to the city to check into the Sanitarium and to get ready for long three days of meetings.
Most of the meetings during IST were pretty good, but nothing special. There was however, one session that everyone agreed was pretty mind-blowing. Andrea Schneider, who helps American teachers working in Central Asia, talked about our purpose here in Kazakhstan and our most important responsibilities, to speak English in class as much as possible, to hold our students accountable to higher standards. She argued that we were not just to provide schools with a native speaker, but also to present students and teachers with a grassroots example of and alternative education system. The Kazak system is good but it has a few fundamental flaws. First, cheating is widespread. Students regularly engage in “cooperative work” on tests and important assignments. The bigger problem however, is that far too much responsibility for a student’s success is put on the teacher’s shoulders. If for some reason after cheating on their test a student still fails, the teacher gets yelled for not teaching them properly, rarely does anyone blame the student for simply not studying. Thus, teachers often give students higher grades than they deserve simply because they do not want to get into trouble. The cheating and misplaced responsibility may not seem to be a huge problem like such a big deal, but the unfortunate result is that the diplomas become extremely devalued. I do not know how easy it will be to follow Ms. Schneider’s advice. We are often treated more like guest lecturers than real teachers, and giving grades is almost impossible since we are not allowed to write in the books and the teachers rarely accept the grades we give them. Still, I was definitely affected by her talk and am going to try to turn over a new leaf in the classroom as soon as possible. I believe that making real change is much more possible by making my students accountable than by doing grammar drills and role-playing exercises, and as a bonus I will not be insanely frustrated at the end of two years.
We got to Almaty early in the morning of the 24th after a long and sleepless bus ride. To be sure the bus was definitely cheaper and faster than the train, but I definitely wondered if the ability to lie down might have been worth the 1000 tenge after all. The first stop when we got to Almaty was the Peace Corps office, which promised free Internet, a shower, and drinking water that did not require a three-hour distillation process. A few hours later after checking email and a breakfast of Ramen noodles we were ready to head out again. IST did not start until the 25th so we had a full day to explore the city as we saw fit, and for the Kazak Language group that meant heading home to Chamalgan to visit our families for the afternoon. I had a great visit with my “mom” and “dad.” I think they were impressed with how much better my Kazak had gotten, and they were interested to hear what I had been doing and Kyzylorda and how much I liked it. I also met a few new relatives. An elderly Russian aunt came over and for a minute she actually thought I was a “blond” Kazak of the North who because of my fair complexion and the fact that I spoke Kazak. Just to give a bit of background, many people in Kazakhstan think that the ancient Kazaks of legend were blond haired and blue eyed before the first Mongol invasions gave everyone more Asiatic features. Thus, my aunt was saying that I reminded her something akin to the Lost City of Atlantis or maybe Troy. After the visit we headed back to the city to check into the Sanitarium and to get ready for long three days of meetings.
Most of the meetings during IST were pretty good, but nothing special. There was however, one session that everyone agreed was pretty mind-blowing. Andrea Schneider, who helps American teachers working in Central Asia, talked about our purpose here in Kazakhstan and our most important responsibilities, to speak English in class as much as possible, to hold our students accountable to higher standards. She argued that we were not just to provide schools with a native speaker, but also to present students and teachers with a grassroots example of and alternative education system. The Kazak system is good but it has a few fundamental flaws. First, cheating is widespread. Students regularly engage in “cooperative work” on tests and important assignments. The bigger problem however, is that far too much responsibility for a student’s success is put on the teacher’s shoulders. If for some reason after cheating on their test a student still fails, the teacher gets yelled for not teaching them properly, rarely does anyone blame the student for simply not studying. Thus, teachers often give students higher grades than they deserve simply because they do not want to get into trouble. The cheating and misplaced responsibility may not seem to be a huge problem like such a big deal, but the unfortunate result is that the diplomas become extremely devalued. I do not know how easy it will be to follow Ms. Schneider’s advice. We are often treated more like guest lecturers than real teachers, and giving grades is almost impossible since we are not allowed to write in the books and the teachers rarely accept the grades we give them. Still, I was definitely affected by her talk and am going to try to turn over a new leaf in the classroom as soon as possible. I believe that making real change is much more possible by making my students accountable than by doing grammar drills and role-playing exercises, and as a bonus I will not be insanely frustrated at the end of two years.
Nauryz!!
March 23, 2008
After seven months and Kazakhstan and four months at site, I was in serious need of a vacation, and “Spring Break” arrived just in the nick of time. On Monday, I am headed to Almaty to meet with the rest of the Kaz 19’s for five days of meetings and hopefully, bonding. This weekend though, several of us came to Shymkent, the second largest in Kazakhstan for the annual festival of Nauryz. Nauryz is the traditional Kazak New Year and is the biggest holiday of the year, especially in the Shymkent, where Kazak culture is dominant. We decided to take the bus from Kyzylorda because it was only seven hours vs. nine hours on the train, but now I can see why people like to take the train. The bus was comfortable and definitely faster, but we probably would have been much quieter on the train. We ended up sitting right next a young family with a baby that would scream every few minutes. That would not have been a problem except for the parents’ inability or unwillingness to shut the kid up. One of the female volunteers who has become rather disillusioned with the Kazak male said that this was because Kazak families spoil their sons rotten. Anyway, we eventually got there at around 8 P.M. and headed to the café to meet up with the rest of the volunteers and figure out where we would be staying for the weekend. After a few hours at a small café, reconnecting with fellow volunteers that we had not seen in the last several months, we headed back to the apartments to get over the super long bus ride.
The next day we went to Aksu, a small village next to Shimkent, where Eric, a fellow Chamalgan trainee, is living and working, and unlike many other Kazak sites, Aksu is predominantly Uzbek. The Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan border is only 50 miles away, so at first I thought that the Uzbek majority might be due to recent immigration, but it turns out that in fact the Uzbeks have been there for generations, and the only reason that they are living in Kazakhstan is due to the way that the Russian’s drew the borders! Even though it is a village, Aksu is nicer than most Kazak cities I have seen. It is certainly more beautiful than Kyzylorda! Most of the streets were paved, there was green grass, and it was amazingly clean. Eric took us to his college and introduced us to a few of his best students. The students were very friendly and clearly liked “Mr. Eric, so it was obvious that Eric was doing a good job. After the visit to the college we went to meet Eric’s family. Eric lives with an Uzbek family, and their house reflected their background. They live in a huge compound that the grandfather had built room by room with his own hands. Furthermore, unlike the typical Russian or Kazak house that is usually square, Eric’s Uzbek house is u-shaped. After a late lunch, we headed back to the city and then headed out for a night on the town.
The next morning was Nauryz, the traditional Kazak New Year, and as Shimkent is the largest predominantly Kazak city, it was ground zero for the festivities. At 11:00 we went to the hippodrome, which was five times the size of the hippodrome in Kyzylorda and settled in for an exciting day of traditional Kazak activities! First, we sat down for a light lunch of pilaf, shashleak, and Shimkent beer. Then we settled in to watch Kyz Kou, Kokpar, and some good old-fashioned horseracing. Kyz Kou is a game where a pair of riders, one man and one woman, chase each other on horseback. The first time they race, the man chases the woman trying to kiss her before they get to the end of the track. They then turn around and the woman chases the man while trying to hit him with a whip. It was pretty neat looking, and the female volunteers were particularly entertained. Kok Par is a lot like polo, but instead of using a ball and mallets they drag a goat carcass around by its hair. Don’t worry, they cut the head and legs off and sew it up before hand to make a kind of a goat suitcase, so it is not that gross. After such a large dose of Kazak culture, many of us were looking for something a bit for familiar and as fate would have it, Shimkent provided that too in the form of the Mega Center. The Mega Center is just like an American Mall, complete with ice rink, food court, grocery store, expensive clothing boutiques, and even an apple store. Needless to say, it was a rather trippy experience, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It was also nice to know that whenever I get homesick, I can just take the bus down to Shimkent for a weekend of retail therapy and I will soon be put to rights.
The last day in Shimkent was rather low key. We just packed up and got ready to leave for Almaty. Some of us went back to the Mega Center to do some shopping or in my case play video games, and then finally at 8:00 PM it was time to go to the bus station and catch our bus for the 12-hour ride to Almaty. I will not go into details but let me just say that between other bad movies, infrequent rest stops and other volunteers getting car sick, it was not that much fun, but at least we had memories of Nauryz to sustain us.
After seven months and Kazakhstan and four months at site, I was in serious need of a vacation, and “Spring Break” arrived just in the nick of time. On Monday, I am headed to Almaty to meet with the rest of the Kaz 19’s for five days of meetings and hopefully, bonding. This weekend though, several of us came to Shymkent, the second largest in Kazakhstan for the annual festival of Nauryz. Nauryz is the traditional Kazak New Year and is the biggest holiday of the year, especially in the Shymkent, where Kazak culture is dominant. We decided to take the bus from Kyzylorda because it was only seven hours vs. nine hours on the train, but now I can see why people like to take the train. The bus was comfortable and definitely faster, but we probably would have been much quieter on the train. We ended up sitting right next a young family with a baby that would scream every few minutes. That would not have been a problem except for the parents’ inability or unwillingness to shut the kid up. One of the female volunteers who has become rather disillusioned with the Kazak male said that this was because Kazak families spoil their sons rotten. Anyway, we eventually got there at around 8 P.M. and headed to the café to meet up with the rest of the volunteers and figure out where we would be staying for the weekend. After a few hours at a small café, reconnecting with fellow volunteers that we had not seen in the last several months, we headed back to the apartments to get over the super long bus ride.
The next day we went to Aksu, a small village next to Shimkent, where Eric, a fellow Chamalgan trainee, is living and working, and unlike many other Kazak sites, Aksu is predominantly Uzbek. The Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan border is only 50 miles away, so at first I thought that the Uzbek majority might be due to recent immigration, but it turns out that in fact the Uzbeks have been there for generations, and the only reason that they are living in Kazakhstan is due to the way that the Russian’s drew the borders! Even though it is a village, Aksu is nicer than most Kazak cities I have seen. It is certainly more beautiful than Kyzylorda! Most of the streets were paved, there was green grass, and it was amazingly clean. Eric took us to his college and introduced us to a few of his best students. The students were very friendly and clearly liked “Mr. Eric, so it was obvious that Eric was doing a good job. After the visit to the college we went to meet Eric’s family. Eric lives with an Uzbek family, and their house reflected their background. They live in a huge compound that the grandfather had built room by room with his own hands. Furthermore, unlike the typical Russian or Kazak house that is usually square, Eric’s Uzbek house is u-shaped. After a late lunch, we headed back to the city and then headed out for a night on the town.
The next morning was Nauryz, the traditional Kazak New Year, and as Shimkent is the largest predominantly Kazak city, it was ground zero for the festivities. At 11:00 we went to the hippodrome, which was five times the size of the hippodrome in Kyzylorda and settled in for an exciting day of traditional Kazak activities! First, we sat down for a light lunch of pilaf, shashleak, and Shimkent beer. Then we settled in to watch Kyz Kou, Kokpar, and some good old-fashioned horseracing. Kyz Kou is a game where a pair of riders, one man and one woman, chase each other on horseback. The first time they race, the man chases the woman trying to kiss her before they get to the end of the track. They then turn around and the woman chases the man while trying to hit him with a whip. It was pretty neat looking, and the female volunteers were particularly entertained. Kok Par is a lot like polo, but instead of using a ball and mallets they drag a goat carcass around by its hair. Don’t worry, they cut the head and legs off and sew it up before hand to make a kind of a goat suitcase, so it is not that gross. After such a large dose of Kazak culture, many of us were looking for something a bit for familiar and as fate would have it, Shimkent provided that too in the form of the Mega Center. The Mega Center is just like an American Mall, complete with ice rink, food court, grocery store, expensive clothing boutiques, and even an apple store. Needless to say, it was a rather trippy experience, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It was also nice to know that whenever I get homesick, I can just take the bus down to Shimkent for a weekend of retail therapy and I will soon be put to rights.
The last day in Shimkent was rather low key. We just packed up and got ready to leave for Almaty. Some of us went back to the Mega Center to do some shopping or in my case play video games, and then finally at 8:00 PM it was time to go to the bus station and catch our bus for the 12-hour ride to Almaty. I will not go into details but let me just say that between other bad movies, infrequent rest stops and other volunteers getting car sick, it was not that much fun, but at least we had memories of Nauryz to sustain us.
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