Now Ken and I are teaching in Almaty while Otto is in Bishkek which is about a three hour drive away (counting the arduous border crossing).  Several days ago Otto wrote the following in his blog which fits with what I've been writing about concerning Ron Vossler's writings.  The two researcher/writers have not met yet but have written and reviewed each other's work in the past. 

Funny how my two worlds have come together with the people I meet simply because of knowing about the tragic event of the Holodomor. Maybe there are so few of us who really know the impact on millions of peoples lives of such a terrible event that happened 75 years ago. May it never happen again!

Displacement, Diasporas, and Descendants

 

Lately I have been reading and thinking a lot about diasporas. In particular I have noticed that many diasporas are the result of multiple displacements and thus have multiple homelands. The connection to the "original" homeland thus becomes attenuated considerably. The Afro-Caribbean diaspora in the UK is an example of one such multiply displaced group as are the Sephardic Jews expelled from Iberia.

The ancestors of the Russian-Germans now in Germany originally left Hesse, Baden, Wurttemburg and other states in Central Europe to the Russian Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries. In between their initial settlement in the Russian Empire and the migration of their descendants to Germany in the 1990s these families often experienced as many as five or six displacements. For these people homeland has variously referred to not only Germany, but also to areas in the Russian Empire and USSR. These homelands have ranged in size from individual villages to the entire Russian Empire. For most of the Tsarist era the primary geographical identification of most Russian-Germans remained on the local level of the village. But, other larger geographical affiliations also developed and co-existed with this identification. On the largest scale, most Russian-Germans considered themselves loyal subjects of the Russian Empire and later loyal citizens of the USSR.

Exactly how various Russian-Germans have over the course of generations viewed themselves variously as villagers of Norka, Volga Germans, Soviet Germans, and Russian-Germans would be an interesting subject to research. The existence of multiple geographic identifications due to both the displacement and modernization of internal diaspora groups in the USSR would make a fascinating comparative study. How for instance do the Russian-Germans differ from the Russian-Koreans in their emotional connections to specific territories?

"If you look at Beijing's history of architecture and design as being about monumentalism, about the grand statement, then why should these sport venues be any different?"

[caption id="attachment_72" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="New Opera House in Astana by the Presidential Palace"][/caption]

The article covers some of the same issues I wrote about with all the new buildings in Astana, where new architecture is used to bolster the image of the new state. The presence of an authoritarian government in China also plays a big role in the size and scope of these buildings, and Kazakhstan has a similar ability to harness state resources for infrastructure and public buildings.

"Authorities can simply order 1,000 of the country's best welders to leave their homes and come weld the 'Bird's Nest' together in Beijing," said Ming. "This is what can be done here."

Further of note is the fact that Almaty will be hosting the Asian Winter Games in 2011. While the stage is not as big, the government will clearly look to these events to do the same type of thing. It will be interesting to see how they move to 'clean up' the city as they draw nearer. More designer bus stops? So far the money is being poured into the facilities of Shymbulak and Medeo- the mountain skating and ski resorts just south of the city.

Finally, the article brings attention to something Kazakhstan is missing for its new buildings: cool ernicknames. Beijing has 'The Bird's Nest' and 'The Dragon's Back' (designed by our pals at Foster). Kazakhstan has 'The Lighter". Any ideas for nicknaming some of Astana or Almaty's new gems? Or some that already exist and I may not know about?

Before talking about Almaty in specific, let's consider in general what gives a city it's character, a sense of place? Certainly there are things that make each city unique. Perhaps it's quantifiable, e.g. x number of quaint curved streets plus y meters of glittering waterfront times z colorful citizenry. Or maybe its not so specific, an atmosphere, a rhythm. Whatever the case, even without thinking about it whenever you visit a city it doesn't take long to get a sense of where you are. After some time in Berlin, you are in no way mistaken as to where you are. Tokyo is definitely Tokyo, Paris is Paris, Istanbul is... well you get the idea. The identity of a city is also tied to its country and citizens. Tokyo is quite Japanese, Paris undoubtedly French, modern, sprawling Istanbul is (despite a long and varied multinational history) Turkish.

'Duh,' you are probably saying to yourself. What does this have to do with Kazakhstan? Almaty, the former capital and largest city in the country (think New York), lacks a distinct sense of place. Being here almost a year now, I am just beginning to get past this outer layer and discover the unique features of the city, but why so long? If you can list characteristics that make a city unique, can you do the opposite and analyze something generic? What does this say about the country and its peoples? To start with, I can find three superficial causes from three different time periods.

1. No "Kazakhness" of the city. If Tokyo is Japanese, and Paris French, Almaty is not a historically "Kazakh" city. In fact that term itself is somewhat of an oxymoron. Kazakhs were, until the Russians came in the 19th Century, a nomadic people, so not much developed in terms of settlements. Almaty was founded as Verniy, a Russian outpost. And until independence was still heavily Russified.
2. The Soviet Factor. The city dates back to the mid 19th Century, but most of the development occurred in the Soviet era. The predominant face of the Almaty is therefore the same grey 5-6 story apartment blocks you can see from Vladivostok to East Berlin. So it's not just a 'Russian thing'.
3. The 'modern' new architecture. Alongside these old apartments have sprung up over the past several years many new 'modern' high rise apartments. Many of these often beige, orange, blue or glass treasures are of questionable aesthetic and structural quality, but have added an additional layer to the cityscape. More height, boldness, to Almaty's nonexistent skyline.

Almaty does have a character, does have its own soul, but it's not so easy to find out. These are just some of the obstacles, just on the surface, that you have to get past to find it.

The country of Kazakhstan is an old country but yet young as a democracy, like this young boy on a horse.  This statue is on the main square in Almaty, former capital of Kazakhstan but now they are celebrating the 10 year birthday celebration of Astana (means capital in Kazakh) this weekend.  Almaty is still very much the financial capital of Kazakhstan.  The following poem is from Streams in the Desert.

O Thou of little faith,
God hath not failed thee yet!
When all looks dark and gloomy,
Thou dost so soon forget--

Forget that He has led thee,
And gently cleared thy way;
On clouds has poured His sunshine,
And turned thy night to day.

And if He's helped thee hitherto,
He will not fail thee now;
How it must wound His loving heart
To see thy anxious brow!

Oh! doubt not any longer,
To Him commit thy way,
Whom in the past thou trusted,
And is 'just the same today.'"

Тарихқа үңілсек қызық мәліметтер көп екен: SOS белгісі бойынша 1909 жылы құтқарылған ең бірінші лайнер «Кунар» деп аталған.

Негізі бұл белгінің шығу тарихы былай екен:

1902 жылы хылықаралық радиотелеграф конференциясында ортақ апат радиобелгісі ретінде мына кодты ұсынады S - S - S - D - D - D . Бірақ түрлі пікірлерге байланысты, ол қабылданбайды. Ол кезде кейбір фирмалардың өз белгілері бар еді, мысалы, «Маркони», фирмасының аппаратурасы орналасқан кемелерде мына белгіні қолданатын – SQD.

Төрт жылдан кейін Берлинде екінші халықаралық конференцфия өтеді. Ол жерде SQD кодын қабылдауды ұсынады, бірақ оған да қарсы шыққандар көп болады. Сол кездек тағы бір неміс фирмасы «Арта» SOE комбинацисын ұсынады, оны да қабылдамайды, өйткені Е бір нүкте арқылы берілетіндіктен, көбінесі естілмей қалады екен. «Титаник» апатқа ұшырағанда корабльдің телеграфисті SQD кодын жібереді, бірақ оған көп назар аударғандар болмайды, ал SOS деген белгіні жібере бастағанда көп кемелер назар аударып көмекке келген екен дейді. Сонымен бірге SOS белгісін жіберу үшін арнайы аппаратура да қажет емес екен.

SOS-тың қысқарған сөз емес екенін тағы айта кетейін. Бірақ оны түсіндіруге тырысқан талпыныстар да аз болмаған: "Save Our Ship", "Save Our Souls", "Save Our Skins", "Save Our Stuff", "Shoot Our Ship", "Shoot On Sight", "Sinking Our Ship", "Survivors On Shore",and "Signal On Sand".

Көбінесе ол мына екі мағынада көп қолданылады: "Save Our Ship" немесе "Save Our Souls".

I'm going by the upper road, for that still holds the sun,
I'm climbing through night's pastures where the starry rivers run:
If you should think to seek me in my old dark abode,
You'll find this writing on the door, "He's on the Upper Road."

from Streams in the Desert

A total arch of a rainbow is an awesome performance but when there are TWO, well there are no words to explain nature's translucent beauty.  We were at Alatau sanatorium this past weekend and after a rain on Friday night, I was able to capture a fourth of the beauty on my camera!  It seems to go with this poem from Streams in the Desert about the original function of rainbows was God's promise to NOT flood the earth again.

There shall be a performance of those things
That loving heart hath waited long to see;
Those words shall be fulfilled to which she clings,
Because her God hath promised faithfully;
And, knowing Him, she ne'er can doubt His Word;
"He speaks and it is done." The mighty Lord!

There shall be a performance of those things,
O burdened heart, rest ever in His care;
In quietness beneath His shadowing wings
Await the answer to thy longing prayer.
When thou hast "cast thy care," the heart then sings,
There shall be a performance of those things.

There shall be a performance of those things,
O tired heart, believe and wait and pray;
At eventide the peaceful vesper rings,
Though cloud and rain an dstorm have filled the day.
Faith pierces through the mist of doubt that bars
The coming night sometimes, and finds the stars.

There shall be a performance of those things,
O trusting heart, the Lord to thee hath told;
Let Faith and Hope arise, and plume their wings,
And soar towards the sunrise clouds of gold;
The portals of the rosy dawn swing wide,
Revealing joys the darkening night did hide.

by Bessie Porter

Ruslana Korshunova, 20, died around 2:30 p.m. in a fall from a building on Water Street, in Manhattan's Financial District, The New York Post, the Daily News and Newsday reported. The newspapers cited unnamed officials and police.

Originally from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, the almond-eyed, flowing-haired Korshunova appeared in advertisements and on runways for such designers as Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci and DKNY. British Vogue hailed her as "a face to be excited about" in 2005.

Her break came when modeling booker Debbie Jones noticed her while perusing an in-flight magazine article about Korushnova's hometown of Almaty, according to the Vogue report.

"She looked like something out of a fairytale!" Jones told the magazine. "We had to find her and we searched high and low until we did!"

Руслана родилась в Алма-Ате, 2 июля 1987 года. В модельном бизнесе начала работатьв 2003 году. В 2005 ее назвали одним из главных открытий Нью-йоркской недели моды. К 2008 году Коршунова приняла участие в рекламных компаниях DKNY, Christian Dior и Nina Ricci, а также появилась на обложках французского выпуска журнала Elle и российского Vogue.

Biography на Википедии уже обновлена: 1.Early life and career. 2.Death

"God hath His mountains bleak and bare,
Where He doth bid us rest awhile;
Crags where we breathe a purer air,
Lone peaks that catch the day's first smile.

God hath His deserts broad and brown--
A solitude--a sea of sand,
Where He doth let heaven's curtain down,
Unknit by His Almighty hand."

Thanks to American taxpayer dollars there were about 200 English teachers from all over Central Asia. I enjoyed meeting those especially from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan since they come from some real hardship posts.  Many difficulties to get their necessary paperwork done for some of these participants whose governments are rather suspicious of conferences such as this.  Some of those teachers I spoke with were SOOOOO very grateful for this opportunity to be exposed to learning new strategies on how to teach reading and writing in English better.  Andrea Schindler did an amazing job pulling this conference off as a Regional English Language Officer with her office and staff up in Astana. Yelena and I felt VERY privileged of the few of us who came from Almaty to take part as presenters and participants in this Central Asian Teachers of English conference.  I met many wonderful people and Yelena saw her Kazakhstani friends from years ago when she used to be president of TEA (Teachers of English Association). 

My friend and co-presenter, Yelena kept saying, as only a native Russian speaker can with their stress and intonation, "I LIKE this conference!"  Heavy emphasis on "LIKE" which almost made it seem like two words rather than one.  Yes, I did too and I felt the money was well spent on deserving teachers who are dedicated to the craft of teaching. I also believe that the setting is one of Almaty's well-kept secrets!

My good fellow, Cuthbert Breech-Thompson, and myself, Archibald Quentin Swift, are at present in Kazakhstan.  We've found it to be a colourful place with it's own distinct flavour, far from the imaginings of Mr Baron-Cohen.  Luxury cars fill the streets, from sleek Mercedes and BMWs to gargantuan GMCs and Infinitis along with gorgeous people to match.  We have, of course, drunk both Kumys and Shubat, or Horse and Camel milk, though did not find it quite to our taste, but have enjoyed many of the foods we have tried.  All are very friendly and accommodating to our lack of linguistic ability (both Russian and Kazakh), but prices are high (relative to our travel budget) for the two young venturers.  It is with regret, therefore, that we will leave this place, though we are looking forward enormously to our proposed journey though Kyrgystan to the Irkestan Pass into China and on to the ancient Silk Road City of Kashgar.  We have both expressed a desire to return in the near future.  I will be adding a week by week account of our adventures, with the first due in the next few days for 18th to 25th June, so please stay tuned.

Archibald 25.06.08

Отчеты о результатах пока немногочисленны. (Вероятно участники еще не проспалисьснулись;) и отчеты нам придется подождать. Из найденных мною:

zerlegmuur. Лайвблогинг с конфы - Фотки, мнения, тусовка.

Газета.kz. Обзор, аналитика.

Бекжан. Отчет на казахском.

Асхат Еркимбай. о первом дне конфы, продолжение ожидается. (на казахском)

Miss Lucky & Crazy пару постов (фото) (вот и вот)

Еще tuganbaev.

И Лена, одна из организаторов (Tengri Saatchi&Saatchi) тоже начала выдавать в эфир итоги конфы.

megakhuimyak - все остальные ссылки на обзоры, аналитику, мнения.

«Интернет-Альтернатива 2008» ставила своей целью организовать конструктивный диалог между всеми заинтересованными сторонами - государственными структурами, некоммерческими организациями и бизнесом. Получилось ли это?

Say to this mountain, "Go,
Be cast into the sea;"
And doubt not in thine heart
That it shall be to thee.
It shall be done, doubt not His Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!

Claim thy redemption right,
Purchased by precious blood;
The Trinity unite
To make it true and good.
It shall be done, obey the Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!

Self, sickness, sorrow, sin,
The Lord did meet that day
On His beloved One,
And thou art "loosed away."
It has been done, rest on His Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!

Compass the forwning wall
With silent prayer, then raise--
Before its ramparts fall--
The victor's shout of praise.
It shall be done, faith rests assured,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!

The two-leaved gates of brass,
The bars of iron yield,
To let the faithful pass,
Conquerors in every field.
It shall be done, the foe ignored,
Challenge thy mountains in the Lord!

Take then the faith of God,
Free from the taint of doubt;
The miracle-working rod
That casts all reasoning out.
It shall be done, stand on the Word,
Challenge thy mountain in the Lord!

Personally, when I first knew I was moving to Almaty I looked about for information on 'real life' here. I tried to find even some pictures of the city, and found them extremely lacking. Most of the international coverage is on politics or economic development.  Even having studied Central Asia, the only ideas I had about Almaty came from my experience living in another Soviet Bloc city: Sofia, Bulgaria. For a city of over 1.5 million people, and one called the most 'cosmopolitan' city of the region, that should not be the case. I hope to try and fill in that gap.

Kazakhstan (and even Almaty) is generally lumped into the generic 'silk road' category, so one of my other goals is to deromanticize this place. Maybe I'm already cynical, but it's not quite as exotic as some think. I'll rather write about my observations of the day-to-day sights, sounds and feel of the city. And while the main topic will be the city itself,  I'll also try to give a sense of character to the different cities/regions in this 9th largest country of the world, and the near abroad. 

So this site is basically geared towards someone like I was a year ago. Someone with an interest in Central Asia, the former Soviet Bloc, or just foreign cities in general, but who hasn't have the chance to travel. Or maybe someone who is thinking of coming to Almaty and wants to learn about it, or already has been and wants to reminisce. Enjoy!

Our Internet has been down for over a day and Ken is trying to remedy the situation.  We are coping with withdrawal symptoms of not getting our news or e-mails from friends and family. Technology, love it or hate it.

Yes, modern technology has finally arrived in Kazakhstan, such as it is.  Our landlady called the other day to ask if there was a speeding ticket in our mailbox.  Ken told her no.  The only thing we get in the “snail mail” is the usual monthly bills for Internet, water and electricity.  According to her, there are now hidden cameras in specific intersections in Almaty that can catch license plate numbers which triggers a photo and time of speeding infraction.  She was afraid that she could get a worse penalty if she didn’t pay what might have been a traffic violation. Traffic technology has arrived in Kazakhstan to hopefully protect the innocent in other cars or on the sidewalks from predatory, high speed drivers.

Yesterday I was told by our British friends that a Kazakh woman who was crossing the street to her place of employment at 8:30 a.m. was knocked face down onto the pavement by an errant driver of a car.  Her colleagues witnessed the accident from the office window overlooking the street.  Brian, being the good boss that he is, took her to the emergency room of the hospital but she was not treated until three hours later when they eventually switched her to another care facility and three hours after that she was mercifully put into a wheelchair, given a glass or water but she was still bleeding all over.  An x-ray showed that her nose was broken.  She has many more bruises to recover from but at least she was not killed.  I know another American who witnessed a man get hit by a car, he was thrown into the air and he died.  It took her months to get over seeing that tragedy.

Moral of the story:  don’t get hit by a car in Kazakhstan even if you are legally walking on the white and black “zebra lines.”  Pedestrians don’t seem to have right of way here.  I’m not sure if the guilty driver in this recent accident will pay for the damages suffered by this young woman or if he will even be fined for his carelessness.  If he is rich enough, he will be able to buy off the system. In any case, it is good to know there is an ultimate Judge in matters being “under the sun” on hot pavement.

************************

The book of Ecclesiastes, supposedly penned by King Solomon of old, has the term “under the sun” at least 28 times that I counted and only several times wrote “under heaven.”  Seems strange that a king of his stature, whose life was fairly cushy with a plethora of servants and concubines, would even be exposed to a moment “under the sun.” So pampered would King Solomon have lived befitting a king under fans of palm branches and under the shade of thriving grape vine leaves.  “Under the sun” seems more appropriate as a phrase that a manual laborer would use while picking cotton or cultivating the field behind some beast of burden.

Most all know that the punch line of wise old King Solomon’s life which depicts “vanity of vanities” comes in the last chapter and verse (12:13-14) FEAR GOD!  However, there are foreshadowings of this bold statement in other places of Ecclesiastes such as 3:14 “I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever.  Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.  God does it, that men should fear before Him.”

Also in 5:7 we are warned to keep our vows: “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity.  But FEAR GOD!”  And again in 7:18b “…For he who fears God will escape them all.”  We can take hope in 8:12 “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who FEAR GOD, who fear before Him.”

Finally, the whole duty of man is summed up with, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: “FEAR GOD and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.”

Of course, Ecclesiastes has other familiar quotes of wisdom, such as from chapter 3: “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die…a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance…”  Or later in verse 11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

First day of summer seems strange to read on our western calendars when we have been enjoying summer for almost two months already in Almaty, Kazakhstan.  The roses are about kaput, but the petunias and marigolds flourish everywhere.  The landscapers are changing all the wild, blue flowers into rubble and then eventually sod to plant grass seed.  They are making way for the "new park" look with grass growing to a ferny, luminous green with sprinkler systems encouraging the growth.  The early sunup with puffy, pinkish clouds was something to capture from our balcony the other morning.  We rarely see clouds here like we do on the flat plains of northwestern Minnesota.  I wonder how our garden is growing back home?  This is what my Mom wrote in this morning's e-mail to me:

"I transplanted the spirea bush this morning to the front of the house.  Dad helped me take out the shrub that was there, using the van to pull it out.  The potatoes at the farm are growing fast and will bloom soon.The beans I planted have been chewed off by some critter that likes them.  I did some spin trimming around the sidewalk and we weeded the sweet peas at the yard light and got the fence up. The corn is not germinating evenly.  I have not put the rose bush outside yet. The killdeer nest is all gone."

Ken and I get up VERY early (note 5:00 a.m. sunrise) to go to our health club down the hill 15 minutes away.  On Monday Ken had commented on a small tree that was growing on the roof of a deserted elementary school, it was about 2 meters high.  When I came back two hours later it had been cut down.  Thus, I will call this phenomenon "The tall holly hock syndrome" because these nice flowers are blooming right in front of where the tree was cut down.  It had tried to flourish in the WRONG place.  May that not happen to us!!!

The following is what I wrote to my sister yesterday with accompanying photos:  "we really do feel blessed and small wonders what a health club membership can do to keep us here in Almaty.  It really is cushy, we get thick robes, all the towels we want, free health drink at the bar (apple or orange juice), the Turkish sauna is my favorite place, the swimming pool is Ken's favorite.  There is only one exercise bike so that is in high demand and four walking-in-place machines.  I'm getting used to the leg press and other machinery there but the hardest part of my workout is walking uphill home to our apartment which is five stories up."

The landscapers have done a magnificent job of cleaning out the rubble and planting new grass seed just west of the President's Palace, it is a nice pathway.  I actually saw my first wildlife which usually belongs in parks, a red squirrel.  Ordinarily I hate these pests that feed off our bird feeders at home, but it was nice to see him flit about in this new environment.  May his tribe increase.

I was told yesterday the adventure we took up to Big Almaty Lake on Sunday is risky especially in June because of washouts of roads.  Better to go in July or August when it is dry and no threat of rain.  I can actually imagine in several places where the road was washed away, so narrow was the road at times over huge culverts and makeshift bridges where only ONE car could possibly pass.  I can't even picture tour busses going up to the manmade lake which was created by exploding a hole in the mountain and then building up a mudslide dike so that the city of Almaty below would not have an avalanche of falling rocks when real gushing rains would bring the sides of the mountain down.  The barricades were probably built fifty years ago and a huge pipe the diameter of about a meter carries the lake water down to the city of Almaty.  I was amazed that people were walking down this pipe but it was perhaps easier to do than being in a car taking all the twisting, dysfunctional roads.

Yesterday I told one of my Kazakh administrators about our adventure in the mountains.  She invited me for tea in her office, she and her colleague were just waiting for a guest to treat.  Such is the hospitality of the Kazakhs.  Then the truth came out, she admitted that she was jealous of my passion and love for Ukraine, so much do I talk about my former country of employment.  She smiled when I told her that it is about even now, that I am finding that I LOVE Kazakhstan.  I didn't love it fifteen years ago (because I had a Peace Corps training job, the hardest job I ever had) even though this is the place where my romance started with my husband.  I told her that my friend Yelena has done a great thing in taking both of us out of the city into the country.  Almaty is NOT Kazakhstan and I want to see other places and parts of it.  I had travelled all over Ukraine and got a feel for the terrain but to stay cloistered in a city like Almaty and feeling trapped in a working environment, well, one cannot make a fair assessment of any country under those conditions.

More Odds and Ends:  My Kazakh friend told me also about the history of her parents just in passing.  She said that her father had been a victim during the Stalinist period but despite that, her mother adored Stalin.  She was such a devotee of his and only blamed the underlings in Kazakhstan for the demise of her husband.  I need to find out more about her parents' story.  There are MANY stories here in Kazakhstan that need to be unearthed.  In fact, I met a woman at church on Sunday who works with babushkas by feeding about 100 of them.  She assured me that she indeed has stories from these older people who invested so much into the communist system and now are paid pennies in their pensions while the food prices continue to skyrocket in the former capital of Almaty.

Yes, there are many odds and ends to put together about this very dynamic country which is full of history, sad history, but with GREAT potential looking into the future. 

What do I mean by that?  Since my husband and I are "guests" as Americans in an institution that is a "guest" kind of western styled university in Central Asia, we are viewed with much skepticism if not outright derision.  Our institution of higher learning is really an anomoly among all the others in Kazakhstan.  From the Commander in Chief Nazarbayev, our place of employment has had his blessing from 15 years ago when it started up to now.

That could all change once his leadership baton passes to the next.  Leadership at our institution should and must change if we are to sustain a distinction of being a western university in a land proud of their own traditions.  As foreigners, we have NO job security and to pretend that there is a tenure system in place for us as it would imitate what exists in America or other western countries is laughable.  We are at the mercy of whomever doles out the work permits.  Someone in some ministry somewhere in the capital of Astana decides if there are too many westerners and that the job can be better filled by a native Kazakh employee.  Work permits are seemingly becoming tighter with each passing year.  As foreigners we are dispensible and should be easily disposable.

If last Sunday's graduation ceremony was any indication of how many foreigners actually teach or are administrators in our western organization in Almaty, we will all soon be quickly disposed of.  Our expertise in whatever given subject we have taught in or have experience in as administrators will all eventually be taken over by Kazakhs.  So, essentially we are working ourselves out of our own jobs.

Education is a tricky thing, especially when it leaves God out of the equation which is what much of western academia has essentially already accomplished.  That is a given, western educators have done so with the zealousness of a communist atheist.  So much puffed up ego is involved with supposedly knowing more than the next person and having a title to PROVE that you know more is part of the game played.

What I've witnessed about Women Studies programs in many universities and what angry women have done to promote themselves as "womyn" saddens me.  Their tactic is to the detriment of what is really true and good in educating our young people.  They hold up women as far superior to men with this "feminine goddess" idea and that men are to be reviled as mere sperm donors.  These "educated" women (there are feminist men too) would want all people to continue with this "logic" that men are dispensible and disposable.

In the former Soviet Union, especially in countries like Ukraine and Kazakhstan, men as fathers and husbands were systematically taken out because of the communist ideology.  Many men were branded as "Enemies of the People" if they happened to be good breadwinners and worked hard to earn a living for their family.  (Seems that lazy men who later became thugs were safe.)  These unfortunate family men were targeted as either farmers or stockbreeders.  They were simply doing what men were equipped to do, be the head of the home raising and protecting their wife and children. Once these men were "kulakized" and either killed or sent off to the gulag, there were women and children who were forced into the collective in order to survive and expected to tout the party line.

What is the connection between what happened in the past under communist times and what is happening to us as western educators in Central Asia?  First, I am reminded of my experience of teaching in China in 1986-88 where we as foreigners told ourselves that we were being used.  The phrase "being chewed up and spit out" often came to mind during my two years of teaching English.  In a country of one billion people, what is one little American's quality of life matter?  Second, I think we have some things to offer the Kazakhs but they are either not ready or willing to accept it yet.  Third, their own pride of not wanting to appear needy factors in.  Fourth, there have been some abrasive westerners who came in with their seedy ideology, such as the women's studies example.  Tough to sort out the good from the bad, so the Kazakhs need much wisdom of what to embrace and what to dispose of from our western form of education.

Finally, I'm reminded of what Paul wrote to the Corinthians 4:10-13 about being a fool for Christ.  In my case, while teaching in Kazakhstan, I have to take solace in what Paul experienced as being disposable, "And we labor, working with our own hands.  Being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we endure it; being defamed, we entreat.  We have been made filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now."

A complimentary response from one of my blog readers in the U.S. made my day yesterday:

“Kazakhstan was a so-what name till I read your posts here. Whether you stay or not, know that your fine hand brought it alive for me, with real people and their superstitions, Kim, boulders, wildflowers and pine-scented towels.”

Yes, it is a real privilege to be a part of a maturing country, such as Kazakhstan, which simultaneously has a very old history.  To put past and present together with three languages involved (English, Kazakh and Russian) is the challenge of all educators and administrators in Kazakhstan. I believe that Kazakhstan is a well kept secret and it would flourish as a stronger economy if tourism were promoted more.  I believe Kazakhstan should open it's door more for the rest of the world to know about its hidden wonders along the Silk Road route.  Better yet, I need to encourage my writing students to write about their fine country in English for others to learn just what a GREAT land this really is!!!!

My husband and I were planning on celebrating our own important holiday of Fourth of July by flying up to the new capital of Astana as of 10 years ago. (Since I have to remain in Almaty anyway for my summer session one grades to sink in for my masters students in the six-week reading and writing course I’m teaching.)  It WAS a good plan until my husband read in the Russian newspaper (my Cyrillic reading isn’t so good) “Delovaya Kazakhstan” No. 23 (120) June 13, that very weekend is the 10 year anniversary of Astana being a capital.  The photo is one of the new memorials in Astana to commemorate those who died under the Soviet “repressions.”

Scratch those plans of our intended Astana visit, it will be far too busy at the newly built up capital to the north on OUR Fourth of July weekend.  Maybe instead we will travel with my colleague friend Yelena and explore what life was like in a yurt out in the countryside instead to help celebrate our Independence Day. We hope to go to Astana next fall upon our return from Minnesota after visiting our family and friends for a month. 

No, Kazakhstan is NOT a “so what?” country, but one of immense consequence if only people knew more about it.  Thank you, dear reader, for your kind input.

Баспасөз қызметінің ақпаратына сүйенсек, Алматы қаласындағы қоғамдық көліктердегі жеңілдік тарифі ақылы немесе грантпен оқитындығына қарамастан барлық ЖОО мен колледждердің студенттеріне тиесілі болады. 1 шілдеге дейін студенттер үшін жолақы құны жалпы құнның 50 пайызын, яғни, 25 теңгені құрайды. Сонымен бірге, биыл 1 шілде мен 1 қыркүйек аралығында қоғамдық көліктердегі жолақы құны еш шектеусіз барлық студент атаулыға 50 теңгені құрамақ.