[UPDATED] I Love a Parade

[Updated below with a link to a news story on the parade.]

written by Kevin

We're in the middle of a three day holiday in Kazakhstan. (Didn't we just have two holidays last week?) Yesterday was Defender of the Fatherland Day, a new official holiday celebrated here on May 7 for only the second year. Tomorrow is Victory Day. Today, I guess, is just a holiday to connect the two so we're on a road trip with colleagues to get out of Astana and see a national park. More on that later.

Robyn and I made sure to find our way to the big military parade yesterday. With many roads closed and buses to the parade route filled beyond capacity, we walked the two miles there. We were not alone. With lots of sunshine and a breeze, it was a great day for a walk -- and a parade. 

We searched for a good location to watch the parade but really had no idea what would be best. First we tried one site next to the US Embassy but we felt claustrophobic with the crowds and it was hard to see much of the road. After a walk to a spot a block away, we found ourselves closer to a review stand and with a slightly raised ledge to stand on. It turned out to be a much better if not ideal view. We even saw Kazakhstan's President (for Life) zoom by us before his car stopped and he got out to wave to the crowd and jump in a convertible complete with a standing platform so he could continue waving. (Sorry, but I was too slow on the shutter to catch him with my camera.) The Khazret Sultan Mosque was the background for most of what we saw. There was lots of military hardware on display. Soldiers, trucks, tanks, anti-aircraft guns, missiles and jets. (Some would say it was ALL of the country's military hardware.) Much ribboned hardware on the chests of officers and veterans too. Things ended in a flourish with a smoke-filled sky fountain pattern courtesy of six MiGs. 

When's the last time you saw a military parade? 

Where are those missiles pointed?

A fly-by with colored smoke to match the Kazakh flag. 

Photo with a pretty girl

"I want to be a soldier."

(Pardon the brief writing. We're mobile today and don't have access to the best blogging tools.)

[Update: Additional photos are available at Tengrinews.kz]

People's Unity Day

written by Robyn

Kazakhstan prides itself on a long history of welcoming other peoples of different faiths and traditions.

Part of the ancient Silk Road, there have always been traders and travelers crossing its land.  More recently in the Soviet era, Stalin forced resettlement of many ethnic groups to Kazakhstan, and the Steppe was the destination for a number of people deported within the USSR or imprisoned in Gulags in its harsh climate, far from Moscow. Continuing its long history of taking care of its visitors, there are stories of the Kazakh people sharing food with suffering prisoners during the long winters, and welcoming them on their eventual release from prison, when many chose to stay locally.

I see this legacy today, even among my relatively small group of colleagues. There is the ethnic German who's married to a woman with a Kazakh father and a Ukrainian mother.  There are two Kazakhs, only one of whom speaks Kazakh (as she was raised in a village by her grandparents), and another who has a Kazakh father and a Chinese mother.  A Ukrainian colleague is ethnically Russian but grew up in Uzbekistan (so after one attempt at the subject we stopped talking about current Russian/Ukrainian politics), and an ethnic Ukrainian colleague was born and raised in Kazakhstan. Oh, and his wife is Polish.   And I always thought it was only Americans and Canadians who got so mixed up!

Hence, People's Unity Day is a fitting holiday, and worth celebrating in a region where there are many ethnic conflicts.  It is celebrated on May 1 and 2 (or whatever it takes to make a four day weekend).  While not a holiday for me, Kevin and I took a long lunch break to enjoy some of the local festivities including a Festival of Nations.

In the large square close to the Palace of Independence, a small village was set up with houses and costumed hosts representing the various ethnic communities living in Kazakhstan.  Some we can guess, some we don't have a clue.  Any ideas?

Who is this strong man?

Typical architecture...but from where?

Great pitchers, right?

Georgia?

Cossacks?

Uzbeki?

or is this Uzbeki?

Moldova?

Kazakh!  or maybe Mongolian?

This tower is a clue...just not for me.

Jewish diaspora

We recognized the Ukrainians!

Clearly we need to learn more Russian to be able to ask where people are from... And in terms of we modern-day Western visitors to Kazakhstan? We'll have to get our own booth next time.

Nevertheless, a worthy occasion.  I think we could all use a day to celebrate unity, despite our different backgrounds.

And... we're back

Written by Robyn and Kevin.

We know we've neglected our blog for the last several weeks, but have some new stories and adventures to share in the coming weeks, and some practical tips for living in Astana.

A few highlights:

Spring has arrived in Astana.  We were out of the country for two weeks.  When we left, the river was frozen and snow was on the ground.

When we came back it was suddenly spring.  Tomorrow's forecast is for 86 degrees F (30 degrees C). The city is looking very different without a mantle of white. Trees are budding and some are just barely starting to leaf out. The snow and ice of winter that turned to puddles of water and mud that we just became used to dodging while walking the sidewalks have now turned to dust on the frost-heaved pavers.

We're sorry to share that it was family events that took us out of town.  Kevin's father passed away on April 6, after several months of declining health.  And, in an incredible coincidence, Robyn's grandmother passed away, at the age of 98, while we were in New York, so we returned to KZ after two funerals instead of just one. We miss both of them every day.

Just prior to traveling to the US, we took a quick trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to renew visas. We have yet to experience a more diverse place. Our flight back from the Emirates consisted of Uighurs sitting in front of us (square embroidered hats on the men, flowered silk scarves on the women), two women in black burkas a few rows back, an urban Kazakh family to our right (tank tops and skinny jeans), German businessmen immediately behind, and an older couple with covered heads sharing our row.  Just an example of what you might encounter on a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

There's been one more move in our Astana lives. Not another apartment this time, but my (Robyn) office has moved from the Diplomat Hotel business center.  We had this amazing view, but no steady internet, truly a requirement for doing business these days.

Former office view

  

View from the new office (a hint of a riverview)

Thus, my colleagues and I have traded the new city for the old, moving to the other side of the river to the business center at the Radisson hotel. As the weather is milder the longer commute is fine (now a 15 minute drive instead of a 5 minute walk).

And, we survived the winter.  Perhaps that's the biggest news of all.  While it wasn't easy, it wasn't as bad as we had feared, not least of which is because it is almost always sunny.  No mountains or ocean to keep in or change the weather, just the winds across the Steppe blowing away the clouds.  So the winter is cold, but it's not often gray, a pleasant surprise for these transplanted Los Angelenos used to a daily dose of sunshine.

One thing that doesn't seem to be changing...the wind. It is almost always windy in Astana.

More from Astana soon.  Thanks for "tuning" back in.

We've moved

Written by Robyn on February 10, 2014, but neglected to post until now.

Yes, we're still in Kazakhstan. But we have changed apartments after 2 months.

While there were things we  liked about our former apartment, it had been completely renovated before we moved in. Before we moved in that sounded like a good thing. But after living there we realized it was unfortunate.

Astana, being such a new city, does not yet have a high level of service available, and there is a dearth of competent workers - as in plumbers, builders, electricians, tilers. What that meant for us was a number of things that didn't work, including some essentials. Drains that wouldn't drain. A brand-new dishwasher that didn't work. An enormous television that was useless. Of even greater concern was that every few days we would encounter new problems, some of them nervewracking (cracking and sinking shower floor!), leaving us to wonder what else would disintegrate.

When we asked our landlady to fix these problems, she would make a fuss, and eventually decide it was too much trouble and she was going to sell the apartment instead of trying to manage it. We had a one year lease, but that didn't seem to matter.  Regardless, we didn't push back, considering ourselves lucky to be out of the place and the problems that we hadn't yet discovered. And, on to find another apartment.

On the up side:  Kevin and I were able to look at places together and choose something that suits both of us. And, it was a little bit of sightseeing to tour new buildings in new neighborhoods.  We also had the benefit of a few weeks on the ground. Not long, but it gave us some sense of what location we'd like to be in. and a perspective of what type of apartment we'd be more comfortable in.

On the down side: while we had help moving through my company, we had the hassle of moving again, in sub-Arctic temperatures, and this time without the assistance of professional packers and movers. While not a full move -- we moved from one furnished apartment to another just a few blocks away -- there were still our 8 suitcases, 12 boxes' worth of air freighted items  and groceries to pack, transport and unpack.

The move itself took less than 2 hours to transfer our belongings from one place to another, with help provided by some locals. But after all the packing and unpacking of the last few months it's taken about 3 weeks to gather steam to empty all the suitcases and boxes.  Last one finished last night.

But we are much more comfortable in the new place. We ended up in an apartment that had been owner-occupied, which means that things work (well, for the most part). and there are hooks in the places we want them. and lights where we want them. We'll do a virtual tour of the new digs at some point. but here's a sneak preview of some of our oh-so-snazzy lights.

Kazakh style

How many times have you moved lately? 

Women's Day

Posted by Robyn.

I had no idea.

Sure, I've heard of International Women's Day. and thought it was a Soviet relic of a holiday...celebrated perhaps with parades of women, marching in rows of healthy, smiling damsels wearing neck kerchiefs, and a few special honorees receiving small wildflower bouquets from a dear leader.

   

I was wrong!

This is a fun, and quite modern holiday in Kazakhstan.

For one, it is a national holiday and as often as possible made into a long weekend. This year it falls on Saturday, March 8, and Monday is a day off.

For two, Men Take It Seriously.  My male colleagues produced flowers, boxes of chocolates as well as cake and adult beverages to honor their three female colleagues (on Thursday, a day early, because they were all going away to spend the long weekend with their wives).  And today, Friday, Astana restaurants were full of women being treated to lunch by their male colleagues.

For three, women take it seriously! Kevin was advised by his female classmates that he should plan to really celebrate his wife, and it wouldn't hurt for him to remember the ladies in class at their next session, either. and I was given a gift by my assistant - and to my complete surprise, I was given flowers by her best friend!
I'm experiencing Women's Day in Kazakhstan as a combination of Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Secretary's Administrative Professionals Day all rolled into one.

The first tulips are from Kazakhstan, too

Did you know it has its own website?  where I learned that "International Women's Day is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honoring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc. with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers."

Do try this at home!

Have you ever celebrated Women's Day?

+2 hours from Sochi (Сочи)

Posted by Robyn

Only 2 hours ahead of Sochi, we are getting lots of live coverage of the Winter Olympics. In Russian. and in Kazakh.  (The Russian channel has higher production values. more breaks, and a lot more shots of Vladimir Putin).

For most of the coverage there is a single feed with names and athlete standing in English. so we can follow along without commentary, but you know what? We confess to missing the athlete-profile-centric coverage provided by NBC English-language media.  Although we don't miss the hype and marketing of so many of the Olympic sponsors. Or the endless commercial interruptions.

Kazakhstan has about 50 athletes competing, but just one, the male figure skater Denis Ten, who is a serious contender.

and we hear he's been training in California for the past few years

So the locals don't seem that into it, and to our surprise, we haven't been able to find local coverage of all the events, even some of the more popular events like figure skating. We do feel like we're a little more interested overall than most of our new neighbors. Except for the US v Russia hockey game this coming Saturday evening that is. That will be big. We have a friendly bet with our friends Sasha & Natasha on the outcome. (Want to guess who is betting on which team?)


So when Kazakhs are not competing, it seems like they will root for Russians/other former Soviets over the rest of the world. While we can't yet understand the Russian commentators, local friends tell us they celebrate when Americans fall or fail. Doesn't seem very sportsmanlike, does it?

We did enjoy the opening ceremonies live... high definition picture on our TV, narrated by BBC commentary streamed over the internet with the help a VPN to overcome network geographical restrictions.  Technology!

What are you following in these Winter Olympics? 

20% Off

Posted by Kevin

As of this morning there's a 20% off sale on your travel to Kazakhstan. Well sort of. The Kazakhstan Central Bank announced a devaluation of the Kazakh tenge this morning. News spread fast. Notwithstanding the recent interest in the Sochi Winter Olympics, the national television networks had their top story for the day. ATM's around Astana were switched off and some businesses screeched to a halt as they reevaluated their pricing. Our primary grocery story seemed to be operating business as usual with no changes as of yet. What will tomorrow bring?

For us, the devaluation may have a limited effect on our lifestyle here as we live off an income stream of US dollars. The effect on many of the locals many be less forgiving. Local friends and colleagues have effectively lost 20% of their tenge denominated savings. Although I have observed that the country operates on a semi-parallel currency system with many ATM's dispensing either US Dollars or Kazakh Tenge, this seems to be more the case for those with real estate and other hard assets of foreign origin.

What will happen to my 35 cent loaf of bread, my 40 cent bus fare or my one dollar yogurt? It looks like they will cost more tenge.

Have you lived in a country during a currency devaluation and have tips to share?

Polar freeze

That polar vortex blasting the US of late?  That is typical winter weather in Astana.

Having said that, until the last week or so, Astana has been having what for the locals is an unusually warm winter -- having dipped below zero °F only 3-4 times so far. But that recently changed with a typical polar freeze taking over and with temperatures falling to -31 °F (-35 °C).

How do we survive?  We do as the locals do (minus the fur coats).

Essentials for surviving the polar freeze?

For humans?

• Base layer - something that wicks away from the skin (thermal silks).  Fleece or fur-lined boots. Ugg boots and a pair of wool socks have kept my (Robyn) feet warm on even the coldest days so far. Columbia boots (rated to -25 °F) and plenty of SmartWool™ socks have been keeping Kevin's toes very comfortable.
• Regular clothes - fashions are similar to what we've been wearing at home: jeans, dress pants (except we have not seen any khakis/Dockers so far, maybe in warmer weather?)
• Sweater or fleece jacket - this is the key: adding another layer or two underneath a coat.
• Down coat with a hood, plus a scarf and a hat.  You absolutely must cover your face against the wind.

For cars?
While some residences have parking garages, many cars are parked on surface lots.  So no garages, no power to turn engine heaters.  Instead, many people have remote starters... a colleague has an automatic starter that will turn the engine on for 30 minutes whenever the temperature dips below a certain threshold.

It is not uncommon to see a parked car running for several minutes, no driver in sight!  Those without remote starters have to get up every 2-3 hours on nights when it's -25 °F to turn on their engines.

For homes?
NO PROBLEM.  Every indoor space we've entered so far has been way overheated by American standards.

Radiator heat is everywhere. Winter has been an exercise in bundling up to go outside, and then stripping down to short sleeve shirts indoors!

Are you staying warm this winter?

Rhythm and blues

It's hard to know yet what the normal pace of life is here...

Things seem to start later, end earlier and take longer than we're used to.  The sun in this season comes up after 9am, and sets after 5pm.

Children, even small ones, stay up until 11pm or midnight and sleep until 9am.

Morning rush hour is from 8:30 - 10 am; evening rush hour is from 6 - 7:30 pm. And there's a lunchtime rush hour from 1-3pm as a lot of people head home for lunch. During all of these periods local traffic slows to a crawl.  Everyone seems to take a full lunch hour -- if not two.

Meetings take place without much advance notice - call someone and if they're available then you head out immediately for a meeting.  Schedule it two weeks in advance and they will be called away when you show up at the original time.

Simple repairs take three weeks for parts to be delivered, but you can get water delivered the same day.

Are you carrying your foreign passport on your person? No? Watch out!

The common theme seems to be: rules and stamps.  (Remember the notaries?) People love to make up rules as to why something can't happen. You've followed all the instructions you were given?  Good. But you also need this one last document or hoop to jump through.   And every transaction or interaction demands a certification by stamp.  Attending a workshop? You need to show a stamped certificate of attendance to your boss on your return to the office. Purchasing office supplies?  Your receipt must be stamped for you to exit the store with your purchases.

Kazakh Style

The first time I arrived in Kazakhstan, I was struck by the well-dressed passengers waiting for luggage with me... designer bags, fur coats, nice boots.  As we live across the street from Astana's highest-end mall, the Keruen Centre, we continue to see the high end of Astana fashion and style. Our neighborhood shops include Tiffany, Frette, Hugo Boss, Dunhill, Mont Blanc and more.  Prices are high due to very high customs and import fees, so those who are shopping here are not worried about price - or would rather not fly all the way to Dubai or Moscow to obtain their luxury items.

One sign of wealth to me is the plethora of fur coats around - Kevin pointed out that even in the food court or at the movie theater many women are wearing fur coats. Even at KFC. By far the most common fur coat is mink, but there are many others.  Ethics aside, there are some really stunning fur coats around.  I don't know enough about fur to be able to say the type of animals keeping my new neighbors warm, but the less common range in color from white or very light, to gorgeous copper/mid-brown coats (maybe red fox?).

I had never seen fur vests like I've seen here as well - not the ones that are trendy recently, but long, exotic creations that are worn over formal wear - no street style pics to share, but more along these lines.

In terms of fashion influences, Moscow seems to be the style capital. Although the wealthy from Central Asia travel to Dubai to shop.  As Kazakhstan develops, there is an interest in nurturing and promoting local design and cultivating a local style.  For instance, a local television personality has opened a store featuring Central Asian designers, http://sprezzatura.kz/store/index.php/clothing.html.

At the other end of the spectrum, in my workplace, my local colleagues so far have worn basically the same thing every day, with a change or two of their shirts, but the same pants/jeans and tops. Although I can't say if this is typical, this has been true for all 3 Kazakhstani staff in my office including two men and one woman.

For Your Consideration

Pretty much every day we run into what we affectionately call "business opportunities" to provide a good or service that could be of value here.

Are you an enterprising businessperson looking to expand into an exciting new market in Central Asia?  Here are some hot prospects: For Your Consideration!

• Improved packaging materials.  Adhesive on cardboard boxes is strong but doesn't easily open.  We have yet to open a cardboard box (e.g., baking soda, table salt, aluminum foil) without having to rip off the entire top of the package.  Plastic wrap and aluminum foil are also flimsy compared to common US brands. 
• Body Armor or elbow and wrist airbags for your winter coats. The winter streets and sidewalks of Astana are full of snow and ICE. This combined with the poor choice of highly polished marble steps and walkways surrounding most buildings and public plazas makes for very dangerous walking.  Friends at the local US Embassy tell us there are always a few employees with broken wrists every winter season. 
• Plumbing supplies.  All pipes we've seen in residential construction are flimsy, pliable accordion plastic tubes. Bonus opportunity: plastic-pipe compatible Drano.
• Ikea/Container Store/Bed Bath & Beyond or some store providing home-storage solutions.  There is a limited stock of Chinese manufactured products, but quantity and quality are low even though prices are high (one of the better options we've seen was a glass Pyrex brand dish with a rubber lid - $40 here, but seen online for $10). I showed two colleagues a picture of a stepladder online and neither one had ever seen anything like it.
• Recycling.  While Kevin is delighted to not feel compelled to recycle or compost, I think there must be opportunity to reclaim some of the many glass and plastic bottles that are part of life (no one drinks the tap water; umm, vodka?).  OK, the economics for recycling programs are tight even in bigger markets, but surely there is some profit to be made. This concept doesn't seem to exist - I asked a colleague the first day if there was recycling and she said there was - but what she was talking about was getting bottled water delivery for the office and our apartment, which she then helped us to do. [Kevin: Two 5-gallon plastic bottles of water delivered to our home (of which the bottles are reused) costs us about $6.50. Not bad unless you figure in the $100 water bubbler we had to buy to get it all started. Hopefully we can sell it at only a slightly depreciated price when it is time to return to Los Angeles -- where Kevin drinks unfiltered tap water and Robyn doesn't.]
• English-language tourism support.  With Astana's growing expat population and pursuit of economic development, this seems like a no-brainer... Yelp? A walking tour app that can be downloaded? an English-language tourist map with local sites?  English-language menus?
• True-to-life menus - food stylists & photographers, take note! We have been to multiple restaurants and relied on photos to order something, only to be told that the image was downloaded from the internet. This is a big opportunity (see also: tourism support).

...and so many more.  Don't hesitate to contact us to express your interest in any of these exciting opportunities!

KCCMP

What is KCCMP?  No, not an acronym of a former Soviet Republic, but it is the acronym for what has brought us here to Kazakhstan.

I (Robyn) am helping to launch a new Kazakhstan climate change mitigation program (KCCMP). This is a three-year program funded by the U.S. international development agency to do three things:  1) support the government of Kazakhstan in implementing their new trading scheme for greenhouse gas emissions, 2) help the business community in Kazakhstan be able to comply with the new green economy regulations, and 3) develop training programs to dramatically increase the number of energy efficiency experts.

Kazakhstan has two measures intended to help improve their economic & environmental performance.  The first is a Law on Energy Savings that sets energy efficiency standards.  The current energy generation fleet  is mostly Soviet-era coal-fired power plants now coming to the end of their designed life and there are regular power shortages in the south (not often in the north where we are as most of the power is generated here).  The second is a Green Economy Concept intended to promote sustainable economic development through a variety of measures, but including a carbon market. Part of our work is to help companies be able to successfully meet the reporting and performance requirements of these two laws that include some overlapping obligations.

A number of donors are providing support in Kazakhstan including the German government, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, as well as the Norwegian Government. My new program is the largest to date, and thus part of our role is to coordinate the support of the various donors.

The program director is called the Chief of Party, and I am the Deputy Chief of Party.  We have a relatively small team - we will be eight people when we are fully staffed.  Currently there are six of us including the Chief of Party, me, a local economist, an energy efficiency expert, the office manager and our driver.  In addition, we will also have a number of experts who will spend several months each year working on the project including energy efficiency experts & trainers, economists & policy analysts, and carbon market specialists.

I'll share more as our work progresses. At this point I'm trying to get a handle on a new company, a new country & culture, a new language, and a new client with very specific requirements.  This involves reading the local laws, talking to local companies and service providers who are trying to comply with the regulations, talking to other donors, learning from my colleagues, my counterparts in the government here, and generally getting a sense of what my top priorities should be.  I've signed a one-year contract, although it seems like there's flexibility should we want to stay longer; we will see how it goes.

Hello from Kyrgyzstan

That is not a typo.  Today we are in Kyrgyzstan, just a short flight from our new home in Kazakhstan.

As it's worked out, Kevin and I have come to Kazakhstan with different visas.  While we both have multiple-entry visas, his permits stays of 90 days and mine only 30 days.  As we approach the end of our first 30 days here (that went fast), it's time to head out of the country in search of my own 90 day visa.  Where to go?

While this is one of my favorite games to play, in this case we narrowed the list pretty quickly to locations that: 1) won't be closed for Orthodox Christmas on Jan.7, 2) are a direct flight from Astana, and 3) we don't need a visa to travel to. This left us with two easy options: Abu Dhabi or Bishkek.

While the UAE with its sun and sea is tempting, for a variety of reasons we'll save Abu Dhabi/Dubai for 90 days from now (when we'll be desperate to shed our warm coats!), and we are heading to Kyrgyzstan (current temperature 41 degrees F; current temp in Astana is 12 F).

Mountains, mountains!

Kyrgyzstan (pronounced: Keer - gheez - stan) is a country that didn't really exist before the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Because of the nomadic populations until modern time, today's boundaries, like in so many countries, don't accurately reflect the ethnic makeup of its citizens and there have been some ethnic conflicts as recently as in 2010. However, over time, what is today Kyrgyzstan has been the historic home of the ethnic Kyrgyz, who are related to the Kazakhs. Their language is similar, their religion is the same, and the Kazakhs seem to feel some affinity for them.

With a small population, just 5 million, the territory is almost entirely mountainous. Sandwiched between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, Kyrgyzstan is if not the poorest, close to the poorest country in the region.  Lacking Kazakhstan's oil, Uzbekistan's agriculture, Tajikistan's warmer climate, or China's size, they are struggling to develop. In addition to seeking investment for their minerals (gold, uranium) they are working to develop their tourism industry beyond serving as a shopping & weekend destination for the wealthier citizens of Almaty, just a 3-4 hour drive when the mountain passes are not closed for winter weather.

All of the travel sites describe the amazing outdoor recreation opportunities - hiking, trekking, horseback riding, beautiful lakes and mountain scenery.

The climate, while still cold, is much more temperate than Astana.  And, there's a US military facility adjacent to (operating?) the international airport that serves Bishkek.  Which makes it not totally surprising that there's a Mexican Cantina in Bishkek.  It's only been 6 weeks, but we are ready for some (perhaps-not-quite-authentic-but-still-comfort-food) tacos.

We anticipate needing at least a week waiting for my visa, so expect to get a pretty good sense of Bishkek and, weather permitting, more of Kyrgyzstan.

Follow the Bouncing Suitcase

Our route to Kazakhstan involved two stops after leaving Los Angeles.  Thus, we shipped some of our excess baggage - items we'd need on arrival - straight to Washington DC from where we would check it on the plane with us.  Unfortunately, due to the holiday, one of our suitcases didn't make it to DC in time to travel on with us (in retrospect, perhaps it was lucky that three of the cases did make it to DC in time).

Below, in reverse chronological order (pardon the formatting), is the path it took via first,UPS and later DHL, before being delivered to our doorstep on Christmas afternoon, our "Christmas miracle."

Merry Christmas Happy New Year Merry Christmas!

As the calendar approached December 25, our thoughts turned to stockings, trees and the traditions that we love at this time of year.  A white Christmas in Astana was guaranteed, *just in case* you were wondering.  There was absolutely no doubt about that!

But, December 25 was just another business day in Kazakhstan.  For the two-thirds of the country that are Muslim, Christmas has no religious significance.  For the quarter of the population that might celebrate Christmas, they follow the Russian Orthodox holiday calendar, which celebrates Christmas on January 7.  and thus December 25 is just a date a few days before the holidays start.

I haven't really known why the different dates are celebrated other than a vague sense that it related to different calendars. With the help of my friends at Google, I learned that this is in fact true:  we Westerners switched to the Gregorian Calendar (in 1582!), but the Russian Orthodox church prefers to keep using the same Julian Calendar it's been using for over a 1000 years.  There are 13 days difference between them - hence Christmas on December 25 in the West and January 7 in the East.  

I also learned that Orthodox Christmas celebrations start with a 40-day Lent during which practicing Christians do not eat any meat. Lent ends with the first star in the night sky on January 6, symbolizing the birth of Jesus Christ...and the start of the Christmas dinner, which may or may not be followed by attending a Christmas Eve church service. 

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks banned Christmas, and many of the Christmas traditions morphed into New Year traditions, and during the secular Soviet era this played out across the Union, including here in Kazakhstan.  Thus today, New Year's is by far the bigger event, celebrated with customs that we know as Christmas traditions - getting an evergreen tree, exchanging gifts, spending time and enjoying meal with family, exchanging holiday greetings.  But, while his picture is around, I haven't heard that Santa makes any house calls on New Year's Eve.  He will probably still be resting up from gifting to the Western world just a few days before, right?

Blending the Christmas and New Year traditions of the West, we can attest that New Year's is also celebrated with fireworks at midnight!  Lots of families around our building set off their own fireworks - we witnessed over an hour of everything from Roman candles to the more impressive bursts well above the rooftops just from our 5th floor windows. 

Fireworks for sale

As seen from our window - not bad for a home-grown display!

We did celebrate on December 25, helped by the arrival of our air freight (containing Christmas decorations, presents and all of our cooking & baking gear) just 2 days earlier, and then our final suitcase showed up at last on December 25 proper, a Christmas miracle :-). We spent Christmas Eve with some fellow Americans, and hosted my colleagues for an American-style Christmas Day dinner.

Our "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree

Although we are far, our hearts and thoughts are with you, our family and friends, and we wish you all a wonderful holiday season and wonderful new year whatever day you may celebrate.  Merry Christmas from Kazakhstan, and our sincere wishes that 2014 will be a wonderful year in all of our lives.

A Little Dirty Laundry

Last night I loaded up our front load washing machine with clothes and detergent and started it up. Later I went to empty it but instead found the door locked and full of wet clothes with water above the bottom of the door. What? Is it broken like our brand new dishwasher? Did the power go out? Did I break it?  

Can you read this?

"без слива"/No Drain

After playing with the dial and buttons that are labeled in Russian and running through two more cycles, I still couldn't open the door -- or get the water to drain. The Russian-only owners manual was of no help. What to do? Too late to introduce myself (in Russian?) to the neighbors and ask for help. Aghhhhhhh! I need some clean clothes. 

Come morning I had some great suggestions from facebook friends but still couldn't get it open. Many thanks to everyone for their help. Finally, problem solved. My Russian speaking sister-in-law was key to getting us back into clean underwear. I had somehow set the machine for без слива (No Drain) (or in English speak "Rinse & Hold") and that's exactly what it did for all three cycles that I ran it. (Interestingly, I had helped her a few years ago in Shanghai (上海) translate her washing machine markings from Chinese into English.) Later and with great difficulty, I finally found an English language manual for a similar model washer on the LG Pakistan website. I'll be better prepared for my next laundry adventure.

Our now empty washing machine.