Taraz City again
Trip Start
Jun 10, 2006
1
6
32
Trip End
Jun 14, 2007
Taraz City,
Kazakhstan
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Sorry I haven't blogged any time sooner. It's been a little tough getting into this new time zone. Let's see, it's almost thirteen hours difference here. That means you are asleep dreaming in California, whilst I am wide awake walking around in the 95-100 degree Fahrenheit weather. Fortunately it's dry, so there isn't much humidity. The environment is a dry high altitude dessert. It kind of reminds me of the Colorado Plains.
The city that I am staying in for the summer is called, Taraz. It is in the south of Kazakhstan. This is the town that Zhanara's family lives in. It's a small city of around 300,000 people. It's more or less been built around the 19th-20th centuries. I find all sorts of little parks with lots of trees growing
kaz
. For the most part, the streets are tree lined. There is a great bazaar that sells produce, meat, Chinese shoes, Korean watches, Uzbek wares, fermented horse milk, dried cheeses, Vodka, and anything else you need. Hmm, what else can I say, Zhanara and I are getting along well. She's great. I wouldn't just leave my job and the country for anyone but her. It's nice spending the days around the house with her.
Usually, every day we spend the morning at the table having tea with her mother and stepfather. When they leave to work, we do various things around the house. I practice my Russian. I read. We clean up. We bake. We take walks around town. There is a garden and a Sauna in the back so, we have the option of bathing there. Around noon, her brother comes home and we make him lunch and then we have tea. We take a siesta around the time he leaves for work. Around 3:00 p.m. we start making dinner and then around 5:00 p.m. Zhanara's mother, father, and brother come home to eat and then we have tea again. We have tea around 4-5 times a day. It's excessive but, they say it keeps you hydrated.
We've been to Almaty a few times to check out our new Apartment
kazakh
. Oh man, This apartment is so crazy. It's on the top floor. It's in the most posh part of Almaty, yet it is old Soviet apartment stock. An old rickety elevator creeps slowly up to the 12th floor to our apartment. It's complete with the furniture built for multipurpose use. Basically, The couches turn into beds and such. The view is great. The view is of the city, the snow capped Tian-Shian mountain range (get your maps of Central Asia out), and of the Kazakh Steppe. We went to see a few art shows with Saule and Kuanash. We got to see the Almaty hipster set with their cigarettes and fashion. We drank some Vodka and ate Korean food in their apartment. Yea, that's right Korean food is everywhere here! They are a long existing ethnic group here on the Steppe.
I guess I should talk a little about the food. I've been doing some cooking with Zhanara. We've more or less have been given the cooking duties here. If you are a fan of horse meat this place has plenty of it. It's good to eat if you haven't had it. For those of you who are a little weary of it, it tastes like beef. The texture is about the same. The produce is good here. A lot of the fruit and veggies come from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran in the early summer. Kazakh produce comes later
kazakhs
. The Cherries grow everywhere and in fact all of the stone fruit are growing like crazy here right now. It's hard to find lime. It's even harder to find Avocado. The Cherries growing everywhere make up for these losses. Marijuana grows all over the place! Bakytjan, Zhanara's brother says you really can't get stoned off of it. So, don't all you stoners don't come flying out here to get "Irie" on the Steppe.
The driving here is 80 times worse than being in Rome. In fact, I wouldn't ride my bike in Almaty City even if you payed me. I rode my bike all over Rome and felt fine, save for the cobble stone streets. Pedestrians and drivers get killed here all the time. They drive crazy. My theory is that since it's a boom time here, many people have purchased cars. There has never been a time here when there have been so many cars. The people here are car crazy. Anyhow, cab rides are pretty wild. It's like driving in the Indy 500 or something.
This leads me to "The Boom Time". Kazakhstan is going through an upsurge in its economy. The new wealth here is incredible. Grocery stores are well stocked. These stores are comparable to European stores
kazakhstan
. They have fine wines and liquors. They have everything from Ketchup to French Bleu Cheese. In the neighborhood our apartment is in, there is a Cartier Jeweler, a Macstore, and Malls that look like the Tokyo Hands Store. Ok, enough for now. I am doing very well here. I sleep in a lot. I take naps, and read. I started with "Andromeda Strain" (I got sick to my stomach during this time, It probably wasn't because of a bacterium. It was probably because how poorly written this book is), I finished reading "Kafka on the Shore", and I am now finishing up "Cities and the Wealth of Nations". The latter two, I highly recommend.
People write to me. I'll try and write back when possible. I'm using a dial up here. So, there are no direct links unless you call me by phone. If you want my address or phone number e-mail me, and I'd be happy to send it to you.
Danielin
