Happy New Year

There was so much more that I wanted to blog about when I was in Kazakhstan, but it always seemed like I was running out of time. I don’t think I really talked too much about Semey/Kazakhstan. For those of you that know me, you know that I love to travel – especially to foreign countries. I like to experience different cultures although admittedly, not TOO different. Kazakhstan was definitely not like anywhere else I have been. Here is a list of the differences I noticed and I am not making judgement on whether good or bad – it is just things that are different.

1. Shopping
When you go into a store, it may actually be several shopkeepers sharing a bigger space. One person will be selling souvenirs, another person is selling DVDs, and a third person will be selling toiletries. This is all within about a 900 sq ft space. I bought some children’s books in the backroom of a flooring shop.

Conversely, they also like to group similar stores all together. There is flower alley which has about 12 florist shops all connected. Each one has their own separate entrance and is about 80 sq ft each. So if you want to buy flowers, you go to this section of town. Why you would buy from one over the other, I don’t know. They all looked like they had the same flowers. There is also baby alley which had several baby stores connected and sports alley which, well, you get the point.

2. Restaurants
If you come to Kazakhstan, I hope you like shish kebab and rice. Luckily, I do. But try not to come to the restaurants too hungry, because you are never sure when you will get your food. I don’t think their kitchens are equipped to handle many orders at the same time, so when a large group comes in (which was often for us) they have to cook the food in stages. The food will come out as it is done. So one person may get their food and the next person won’t get theirs for another five minutes. The last person may get their food 45 minutes after the first person had theirs. If you are lucky, you may get your side dish (rice, potato, etc.) sooner because that will not necessarily come out at the same time as your entree, so you can nibble on that while waiting for the rest of your food.

Hmmm. How did he get French Fries so quickly?

3. Snow Removal
Doesn’t happen. Once the snow falls, I think it will probably be there for the rest of winter. Sidewalks do not get shoveled, streets do not get plowed. However I did see one guy shoveling by the side of the road and he was shoveling the snow into his van. I have no idea what that was all about.

4. Fur Coats and High Heels
Every single woman has some sort of fur coat. If it is not a full fur coat, then there will be fur somewhere on the coat – collar, cuffs, etc. They also will wear high heel boots in the winter. We all marveled at the fact that they were not wiping out on the snowy, icy sidewalks. They also all wear fur hats and if you have no hat on at all, they look at you strangely. I bought my fur hat at the bazaar. Again, about thirty shopkeepers in a row, all selling fur hats.

I think we would all win at playing Can You Spot the American? Sorry, Emily!

5. Exercise Equipment
What looks like a children’s playground is actually exercise equipment. They have several of these public places throughout the city. It’s not quite Venice Beach, but impressive. I also went with my translator a few times to her health club. It was very well-equipped, but I don’t think they are able to update their equipment as often as our clubs tend to. Most of it had bright blue covering over the seats/benches – think upholstery coverings for an old car. They also had those machines that you stand on and it shakes you – I think we stopped using those in the 70’s. Weighted hula hoops are also a big thing. They were at the health club and were being sold in all the stores at sports alley. I am not sure if this was a craze here that I missed or will be coming soon to a health club near you.

6. Speaking Russian
Sometimes when people speak Russian they just sound angry. When our driver Pasha would be speaking to our translators, he always sounded like he was yelling at them. One time when we were in the car, it sounded like he was yelling at Helen, our translator. Once he finally got done barking at her, she very sweetly told us that Pasha wanted us to know that we just passed the fire station.

The wonderful Pasha

The demands of nine American families can be exhausting!

7. No Dryers
Most homes will have a washing machine but not a dryer. Many of the apartments have enclosed balconies and people tend to hang their clothes on a line there to dry. Surprisingly, our clothes would dry in a day. What was really perplexing was the amount of clothes that you saw hanging outside to dry in subfreezing weather. Not sure how long it takes for those to dry and I wouldn’t want to put that underwear on too soon.

8. Buildings
Many of the buildings, including the apartment buildings, are government owned and from the outside look very drab and rundown. I am sure for some of us, as we first were brought to our apartments, we might have been greatly concerned about the places we would be living for the next month. Luckily, most people take great pride in making sure that the insides of their homes are very nice.

What's wrong with this picture?

9. Dogs
There are a lot of dogs everywhere! You will usually see packs of four or five dogs throughout the city. Many of them will hang out by the dumpsters of the apartment buildings. Oddly, I never once heard a barking dog. Must have been too cold and hungry.

10. New Year’s Lights and Trees
At this time of year, people’s homes, buildings, and public places throughout the city are decorated with lights and tinsel. Big pine trees are sold and put up throughout the city – looks just like Christmas time at home. However this is not for Christmas. This is all done for New Year’s which is a much bigger celebration than Christmas. I think Christmas is downplayed here because 60% of the population is Muslim and many of the people grew up under Soviet rule where religion was very much downplayed. Also, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7, but I was told that it was not a big celebration like what we have.

For the New Year celebration, families come together on New Year’s Eve and exchange gifts. Father Frost looks surprisingly familiar with his white beard and red suit. He brings presents to the children. Children will often dress in costume – as Maya’s orphanage did for their New Year’s Pageant. After midnight, people gather in the squares/parks and watch firework displays. On New Year’s Day, people go out and visit family and friends – your home is open to anyone that wants to stop by.

New Year's Lights in Central Park

Rehearsal for the New Year's Pageant

For those of you that are waiting to travel, I can tell you that I loved Semey and the people there. I hope one day I will be able to go back. Go there with an open mind, knowing that it will be different, but different is okay.

So with that, I wish you all a joyous new year. I can’t wait to have Maya here to really get mine started.