The past two weeks have been extremely exciting. Joey and I have decided to quit our jobs here in Kazakhstan and move to Thailand for a little bit. It is amazing to think that with the rent I have saved from living with Joey the past month and half (because my landlady abruptly kicked me out of my rented room at 10 pm) I can pay for one person’s entire living expenses for a month in Thailand. But, there are also many good things about Thailand besides prices. The people are friendly and generally smile, even the ones walking on the street. The restaurants are cheap, offer multinational cuisine, and good. I don’t have to wear 5 layers to walk to the grocery store and I have access to other SE Asian countries.
However, there are negatives about leaving Kazakhstan. The biggest negative is leaving the friends I have made at KIMEP. KIMEP differs from the outside environment, in the fact that people are very willing to help, talk, smile and be kind. My two favorite people at KIMEP have been Dinara, the EC organizer, and Yelena, my team leader for the course Academic Reading and Writing. Dinara and I have had many outdoor trips together and she has been especially helpful with transferring money and other logistics. Yelena has been a great mentor while I was learning how to be a teacher. She provided advice, was supportive and understood the difficulties of teaching KIMEP students. She also has an American husband, Paul, who has been friendly and showed concern about my well being. Other KIMEP staff have also provided or offered help and been willing to talk and relax to me. All of these efforts are appreciated. Thank you KIMEP.
I will also miss my private students, whom I have tutored since September. Two women in the same family, Lazzat and Salta, I had on average 6 hours a week per student. I taught them at their home for most of the time, so I was able to befriend household staff. I also enjoyed being in a nice home with a family environment. I didn’t have that anywhere else. They invited me to a dinner or two, which was a nice experience. My other regular student is Assel. I taught her at KIMEP for one hour a week. I didn’t get to know her as well because I had her less frequently, but I did learn a lot about Kazakh culture, the school system, and family life from her.
The goodbyes have been both sad and enjoyable. The past few weekends have been filled with farewell activities. Here is a brief description of what we have been up to:
JANUARY 11-13
Two weekends ago we had lots of activities. On Friday night, we went to a local bar to dance with Gulmira (KIMEP staff), Dinara and a few of her friends. All the women spoke English, so we had some good discussions while the band took breaks. The live band played international music, so it was enjoyable and good for dancing. No techno is played at the bar, which is a requirement for Joey and me. Our one experience at KIMEP with techno was enough for us.
Saturday, we had a few people over for dinner and games – a Uygur couple (David and Nargiz) originally from Kazakhstan but who have recently moved back to Kazakhstan after studying in the US, and the daughter of one of Joey’s co-workers. All were pleasant and good sports during our games. We had pizza, gnocchi, and chocolate cake for dinner. And we played spoons, or PIG, afterwards. I somehow lost that game, but it was SO close. See the pictures below.
On Sunday we had lunch with the family who we met in the airport waiting for our flight to Thailand in December 2007. Meeja, Jay, Allyson, and Aaron were wonderful hosts for us that afternoon. Meeja is Korean and cooked Korean dishes for us for lunch. Jay and the kids gave us a tour of their home, which is very nice. Jay works with USAID, so the government pays for their housing. It is very similar to a home in the US – two floors, dining room, living room, den, nice kitchen, etc. It was a nice change from the apartment. After lunch, we talked, showed Thailand pictures, played games, ate some snacks, etc. It was a very nice afternoon. I will miss them, even thought they are our newest Kazakhstan friends.
Them in Thailand!
That evening I went to my last Kazakh ballet, Sleeping Beauty, with Dinara and Gulnara (one of Dinara’s friends). After the pleasant performance, we went to Dinara’s for apple cake, karaoke and talking. For some reason, Joey had to “work” and missed the ballet and dessert.
POST OFFICE AND WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
During the week, I have had private students, revised syllabi for a few classes, revised entrance exams, etc. I have also been busy researching our move to Thailand.
This Tuesday we had another frustrating Kazakhstan experience. We wanted to ship our winter clothes back to the US because we wouldn’t need them in Thailand and we didn’t want to pay over weight fees. The airline we are flying on to Thailand ONLY allows 20 kilos per person; the number of bags is irrelevant. In pounds that is about 44 lbs, which is only one of our big suitcases. So we were going to have to pay a lot of over weight fees if we didn’t ship.
We did a post office scouting trip the week before with Nargiz, who speaks Russian. She was very helpful and patient during the whole process, which is definitely appreciated. On our scouting trip, the post office employees told us that it would cost about $4 per kilo. With at least 10 kilos to be shipped each that would be relatively cheap. We were ok with this option. Joey and I dumpster dived the days before shipping to find appropriate boxes. We reinforced, labeled and packed our boxes at home and then caught a taxi to the post office where Nargiz would meet us.
Nargiz came and we got in the packing line. This is where a postal woman goes through your entire package and itemizes everything. We got to the lady and asked her again how much each kilo would be to ship. This time, she said it be about $8 per kilo, plus additional costs for every ½ kilo over 10 kilos. This is in addition to a packaging fee and taxes. This was incredibly surprising and we told her that last week the price was half that.
With this information we decided to try another postal service in Kazakhstan. I stayed with our boxes while Joey and Nargiz went to the other shipping place. They came back about 30 minutes later with bad news – that place was even more expensive! It also was more expensive than what they said last week. Figures!
(Please keep in mind that Kazakhstan postal employees are rude, difficult and short-tempered during this whole process. Talking to them, let alone arguing with them, is painful, difficult and maddening.)
So, we decided to go with the least expensive option, Kazpost, even though we really didn’t want to. Lucky for me, I had to leave right about then to go to work. This is one of the few times I was happy to go to work. J Unfortunately, Joey and Nargiz had to stay and wait in line again.
Joey filled me in later in the afternoon about the process; here is a quick summary. Each of our boxes was about 14 kilos. There were numerous items in each box including gifts, sweaters, pants, coats, shoes, socks, etc. Once Joey and Nargiz got to the packing lady, the lady had to take out every item and weigh it. Nargiz then had to write in Russian the item and how much it weighed. Then the postal lady put the items back in the box. I had things organized in bags – sweater bag, gift bag, etc. Needless to say, the postal lady didn’t put the items back in the way she took them out. She then taped it up and put string around it. While this was going on, Joey and Nargiz copied the itemized, weighed list of things on two other forms. These are declaration forms used by who knows what agency, but I can guess the post office, customs control, and an extra for them to burn for fuel because of how cold it is here.
Once the forms are done and the package is taped, the postal lady has to put it in a bag, similar to a large pillow case. However, my box was so big that she had to sew 6 small bags together to make one. She did this by a machine, but it still took a while. Meanwhile, all the people in line were getting annoyed at how long this box was taking. They asked Joey how he could send so much stuff, etc. Joey eventually went to buy them candy bars to appease their complaints. However, I don’t think the people in line even saw the second box that had to get done after mine.
Once the bag covered the box, the postal lady has to hand-sew the bag closed and seal the bag with red sealing wax, like you see used in old movies. My box was finally packed. For about $11, I was ready to go to the next station - mailing.
However, before they could move on with mine, Joey’s box had to go through the exact same arduous process. Joey’s box got itemized, with each item weighed. Joey and Nargiz also had to copy the items twice on different forms. They had to wait for the lady to sew a new larger bag out of 6 bags for the box and get the red sealing wax put on the bag. Joey also had to pay about $11 for this packaging process. After approximately 2.5 hours, this process was done. Joey and Nargiz could now move on to the mailing station.
They took the packaged boxes to the next station and waited in line for about 30 minutes. Once at the counter, the postal lady said that Kazpost wouldn’t send our boxes. She said they were too big and heavy. Luckily, Nargiz was able to convince the lady to send them. I don’t know what Nargiz said to her, but I hope the lady felt some pity for them because they had gone through the whole packaging process and weren’t told there that the boxes couldn’t be sent. So maybe the mailing lady felt obligated to send them. I think Joey would have had to go to the hospital if the post office didn’t mail those boxes.
The lady asked if they wanted insurance. Joey asked how much it would be and the cost would be twice the price without insurance. By that point, Nargiz and Joey were ready to leave and Joey skipped the insurance. Instead, he just paid for the boxes to be sent to the US and got out (4 hours later). The boxes should be expected by our respective mothers in three to four weeks. Maybe my Dad will have his present by his birthday! But, I wouldn’t bet on it.
As you can tell, the Kazakhstan postal service, Kazpost, is the epitome of efficiency and customer service.
JANUARY 18-20
The following weekend, this past weekend, we went out to a club, Soho, with David and Nargiz to celebrate David’s birthday. The bar was ok, not my favorite, but worth a visit. The company was very pleasant and the bands were above average, by Kazakh standards. So it was a nice evening overall. Saturday was also Joey’s English Club. So we spent Friday night preparing for that and then Saturday preparing and leading it. The school provides no help organizing, so I try to help as much as possible. Sunday we watched a movie, grocery shopped and relaxed.
On Sunday we also booked flights for a trip to Cambodia! I can’t wait! It should be wonderful. We are going to Phnom Penh, the capitol, and Siem Reap, the area with Angkor Wat. Joey’s aunt is going to join us for this trip, which is wonderful. She is a friendly, easy-going person, who will fit in well with Joey’s and my travel style.
WEATHER
The most unique thing here in Kazakhstan is the weather. It is frigid, the coldest I have ever experienced in my entire life. You should know though, that I have purposefully lived below the Mason-Dixon Line my whole life. However, this winter isn’t just cold to me. It is also cold to the Almaty natives; some have told me this is the coldest winter they have had in 12 years. I guess it is fitting that fate puts me here just in time to experience this extreme weather. The high for the past month has not been above 23 F. When the sun isn’t out, it reaches the negatives. COLD!
THIS COMING WEEKEND
This weekend I have KIMEP’s English Club and then Joey, I and a few others will go to Dinara’s for goodbye tea and desserts. That should be a nice evening. Saturday morning we will say goodbye to Meeja and company and then in the evening we have been invited for lasagna at Yelena and Paul’s. Lasagna is difficult to make here, so I look forward to tasting his rendition. All time in between these activities will be spent packing, cleaning, completing resumes, etc. The next few days will be busy!
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