All across the former Soviet Union, and much of Eurasia, people celebrate every March 8th as International Women’s Day, a day to remember the accomplishments of women. Originally started in 1909 during the women’s suffrage and worker’s rights movements, the holiday was promoted by the Soviets, and has become a…
Meeting with some of the teachers over lunch the other day in the cafeteria, we somehow got to talking about cannibalism — perhaps it was the frigid Astana winters? Did the words Donner party come up? “Whenever I eat doner kebabs, that’s what I think of — cannibalism!” Ben grins. He’s…
So after that long day out in the cold with insufficient clothing, Lisa was still mysteriously hale and hearty, but I came down super-sick. We’ve been told we can’t take single sick-days, though. So I came into the the next day feverish and crying into my tea at the…
So my friend *Lisa came to visit just as winter was setting in here, and we chose an extremely cold Monday morning to go walking around the city, catching a street-taxi to the left bank and seeing the sights. It’s bitterly cold, and a few days earlier the temperature…
I don’t normally watch TV much, but house-sitting for a friend recently, I found the blur of channels, sports and American dramas to be completely engrossing. Below are some rough notes of what you can expect to find if you visit me, and, being the good guest you are……
Caught the bus home with a colleague recently, and she told me her daughter is coming to visit tomorrow. I was shocked. Your daughter? I ask. Yes, she says. Your daughter? She nods, and turns down her mp3 player, which every young person wears on the bus these days….
One of our local communications gals, Zulfiya, drops by my desk at work frequently, usually with some member of the press in tow that wants to see our library. Late this evening, she walked into the library with about ten guys from Russia, documentarians who set up giant cranes…
My friends here are constantly teasing me for my, umm, constant talk about boys. “Do you really want to be an oil wife?” Molly asks me, as she pauses in her story of the expat wives. Bored expat wives, see, meet in the mornings at the local cafe and…
When I mentioned the removal of volunteers to my Russian colleague today, she looked sad. Our university is one of the most prestigious in Kazakhstan, and admits only kids with high English test scores. We admit over 95% urban kids, and that’s because – like in most countries in…
I’m often working nights at this point, and I take dinner in the cafeteria. Sitting down one evening with a pear, tea, and a pastry, I was joined by a young woman named Yulya. I learned that she is at our university this year for “PHP,” or professional development…