Intercontinental Almaty

... We found out at the last minute that the District Rotaract Representative would come to visit us in a couple of days. The afternoon before he was to arrive, Aigerim, the president of the Rotaract club called me up frantically, asking me if I would go over to KIMEP and register for the conference hall in the New Library. We could not meet at our normal meeting site because it was a weekday that the Representative was coming (last Wednesday) and we ...

... from Russian to Kazakh? The younger generations, who grew up in deep Soviet times, do not speak Kazakh so readily. I’m not sure about my generation and younger, who grew up at the end of Soviet times and in independent Kazakhstan. Do they speak Kazakh very well? Do they prefer Russian? So far on KIMEP campus, I’ve heard mostly Russian. When I start to meet more Kazakhs at KIMEP, hopefully I’ll gain some impression of what ...

... only wanted tourist visas, and were conscious of how frustrating it must be for the Uzbeks not able to get in to see their own Consulate. And we doubt the Consul, single handedly running things inside, knows what goes on outside. Perhaps if there were Uzbek guards it would be a different story for them. For tourists, I'm not sure it makes much difference. The Consulate told a couple who took our passports in on day one to see if they could get our ...

... get my residency status for the year, and the list goes on. It has been quite an adventure so far. There is no list to help new students know what they need to do to be able to go to KIMEP. I just keep talking to different administrators and different students and with each encounter and as I accomplish each task, I find out about several more tasks I must complete before I can actually register for classes. Although this description sounds like life ...

... evening with the family. We couldnt believe our luck! The food was amazing, all fresh and handmade. The area is called 'honey mountain', and it was fantastic. Watermelon in this heat makes alot of sense and has been a regular breakfast throughout the trip! We learned lots about Kyrgystan, how Uzbek hates them because they have 5million people in a huge country with gold and natural resources and water, uzbekistan being half desert and 40million people. There was a rickety bidge ...

Not a great deal to say about today, it was very much a driving day. We managed just over 600km on our way to Almaty. The only event of note was being pulled over for the obligatory fine which Dave managed to get the cop to downgrade from his ambitious figure of $50 to $5 and a few tenge.

Found a ...

Nachdem die geschäftlichen Besucher der letzten Woche alles zwischen lustig und unhöflich waren, wurde das Wochenende gut genutzt: Zwei Tage Wochenende, zwei nette Touren durch die Berge. Samstag zum Pionier Pass, Sonntag von Medeo über Schimbulak, Pik Schimbulak, Pik Panorama und Pik Furmanova wieder nach Medeo. Unterwegs mit einem Freund, Aggey, der in der kasachischen Bergsteigenationalmannschaft klettert ...

... ein bisschen was tun. Die Wirtschaftskrise scheint wirklich bei der Polizei angekommen zu sein, es ist nicht zu fassen wie die Kontrolldichte erhöht wurde. Eine Kontrolle diese Woche (der Grund war nicht so ganz ersichtlich, wohl einen Zebrastreifen nicht vorschriftsmäßig überquert), die aber auch gut ausgegangen ist. Mit soviel Sprach- und Gebräucheunkenntnis muss man einfach Mitleid haben.

Meine Russischlehrerin hat neulich mal angemerkt, dass sie ja nicht in Afrika leben wollen würde. Man hört nicht viel von Afrika, sagt sie, aber was man hört sei nicht gut. Kriminalität, Korruption, wirtschaftliche Stagnation. Hm, hört sich doch irgendwie an wie Kasach... ah, never mind. "Nicht so schön wie hier, ne?! Is ja schon was anderes." sagte ich höflicherweise und die Ironie in meiner Stimme war offensichtlich nicht so groß wie ihre Vaterlandsliebe. Aber ...

... hlen prinzipiell (wenn überhaupt) nur einer funktoniert, bisher musste ich noch nie vor dem Haus übernachten. In diesem Zusammenhang sei einmal die besondere Beschaffenheit unserer Treppen erwähnt: Hundertwasser hätte seine Freude, jede Stufe ist unterschiedlich. Verschieden breit, hoch, schräg, spitz zulaufend, geneigt, es gibt eigentlich keine Variante, die es nicht gibt. Die ansich immer relativ gleich langen Treppenabsätze haben mal 10, 11 oder 12 Stufen.