A Day Off

These are two relaxed kids taking it easy on a Saturday. Our weekends are usually very busy, but not in a bad way. We’ve been regular Saturday skiers and Sundays are still reserved for church in the morning and hiking or something outdoorsy in the afternoon--remember, most of our shopping is performed outdoors. Staff parties, checking out cultural Kazakh events and craft fairs, or playing and biking in the secure playground at school takes up the rest of our time. So sometimes, as above, we ask the kids “Do you want to take the day off and just stay home?”

They usually agree.

Kozhe Soup

I sincerely don’t want to offend Kazakh people but there’s no way to not present as xenophobic in this entry. This is kozhe soup. It’s a seasonal delicacy. Full of clumps and lumps. Warm, yogurty milk. Overboiled noodles, lots of salt, chunks of congealed, slurpy horse fat, rice or oats, and a few items I’d rather not know about. Example: those aren’t olives floating around in there. Be sure to 'click' on these images so you can examine the clumps, grit, gel, and oscillating layers.

Prepared at home, lugged out to the park in 10 gallon increments, and sold by the communal bowl; that is, they wipe out the bowl used by the last customer and then fill it up for you. Oh, yeah; no spoon--you gotta wrap your lips around that bowl. Mmmm.

But I had some yesterday. It’s not bad. But I’d be lying if I said it was good. So, as a culinary critic, not a xenophobe, I’m saying if you get a chance to sample Kozhe, take a pass.

Goat's Head Soup

One of our favourite outdoor markets had a special on sheep’s heads. We tried buying a new pet for Kyla, it only cost $2.40 but she didn’t want one. Actually, this is the Zilli-oni
Bazaar, otherwise called the Green Bazaar. It was featured on “The Amazing Race.” So many people e-mailed us about that, but we haven’t seen it. If one of you out there has a copy or sees the August 2008 episode, could you make a copy for us, please?

The Faces of Almaty

It takes a lot of effort to learn the Russian language and a regret I have is not having enough time to study it well enough to speak with characters like these. I’m certain that they weren’t born in hospitals and that their life’s chances were dramatically shaped by living under Soviet conditions.

A highly recommended read: “Apples are from Kazakhstan” by Christopher Robbins. It’s a very easy, educational read, part travel book, part social critique, and part history. It’s an excellent source of context for us and I think most people would enjoy reading it. Example: About 10 city blocks away from our home is Leon Trotsky’s old apartment. He arrived here in 1928, exiled by Stalin himself. Solzhenitsyn was also one of Joseph’s guests here on his way to being banished (whereupon he began writing "The Gulag Archipelago" and "One Day in the the Life of..."). And apples really are from Kazakhstan.

The point: I would really like to sit and talk with gentlemen like the above and ask them the sorts of questions you would ask a grandfather, but it’s almost impossible.

Almaty Ballet

There are so many ways to be surprised by this country. As we approach summer, we find ourselves talking about ’home’ a lot. Not in a homesick sort of way, rather in a way that makes us anticipate “the familiar.” That is, Edna wants a glass of milk, Cody wants to go biking with free abandon, Kyla wants to hang out with Tina or work in 9a‘s classroom, and I would like to be able to drive past a cop without having my blood pressure fluctuate.

But we have been surprised and amazed by literally hundreds of things. How about Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake?” We went to see our first ballet on Friday night. It was amazing. A live orchestra and about 50 dancers, 36 were swans. It was world class--another remnant of the Soviet influence is the highly subsidized and easily accessed fine arts. Opera, ballet, orchestra, and children’s Saturday theatre--puppet plays, magic shows, clowns, etc.--can be attended for as little as $2. We had third row seats for “Swan Lake” that cost $10 in a beautiful theatre. And it can start as early as 5pm in order to accommodate families.

Kyla just finished 6 months of ballet at school so she thought it was great. Cody enjoyed it, but it was a bit long: 2.5 hours.

Birthday 09

Hey Veenies, look closely at the photos below. We had a pretty big party at our apartment for my 43rd birthday. A perennial challenge here in Almaty is finding an address or trying to explain to a Russian or Kazakh speaking taxi driver where you want to go. We use a lot of hand-drawn maps because, for example, after being here for 8 months, we still don’t know the name of the street we live on. The whole block is called Mamyer and it’s broken up into numbered parcels that makes sense to everyone but ex-pats.

So our “invitation-map” had lots of arrows and buildings for reference, but the final marker was that great bright red Canadian hockey jersey that you guys gave me, hanging in the window. We’re already known in the neighbourhood as the cana-dee-ans--now it’s official.

We had friends from South Africa, Siberia, Eastern Russia, The States, New Zealand, and of course, several from Canada. Numerous of them have made several “stops along the way” in their careers. Of the 50 people on our teaching staff, we are the least interesting in terms of cultural experiences. Last night, there were representatives here from every one of the ‘stan’ countries, several from Africa, one from Venezuela, and one elderly lady who was born in Turkmenistan during the height of the Soviet Empire (she was a bit mysterious about that).
In June, four of our teaching peers are moving to Chennai, India, two are going to Bratislava, Slovakia, two are going Sanna, Yemen, and one is going to Prague. The family we had Christmas dinner with in Thailand are moving north to Atyrau, (otherwise considered the armpit of Kazakhstan).
Everyone is from somewhere else or they are going somewhere else. When I was in Vancouver last week, a few people asked me what I thought was the best part of this “project.” Without hesitation I always respond in the same way: the dinner conversations. We have met so many interesting people who have worked in such obscure places and I never really get tired of listening to their stories.

Here’s one: this couple we work with lived in Azerbaijan for two years--very fundamentalist Islamic place. They were walking through the open bazaar and James said “Wow! Look at this place. You could buy anything here. Probably even opium.” His wife was horrified that he said that out loud so she kind of shoved him and told him to be quiet. In a micro-second, one of the male vendors whipped off his belt and gave it to James, suggesting he use it to keep his woman in line. Edna took away all my belts.

We had a great party last night even though we may have a offended a few Kazakh traditionalists. They’re very superstitious. Apparently, it’s considered bad luck to have a birthday party before your actual birthday. But I’m still alive. My head really hurts though.

Have a great weekend everyone. Congratulations Brad and Laurie! (Brad: I taught Kyla to say “Boys are Bad!“ as soon as she could string together a sentence--it’s never too early to start.)
Pax, Dave

Down Hill Skiing

Outdoor activities are hard to come by and something we have really missed. When Dave went back to Canada last week he managed to find some used ski equipment for the kids and he took some of ours back to Kazakhstan too. We have made it up to the hill twice and the kids are doing really well. All the X-country ski lessons have paid off.