Spring Break

Kazakhstan has a spring equinox celebration, whether or not it is actually spring, called Nauryz. (It's pronounced Na-ruze).   Because of the importance of this celebration, the school has spring break to coincide with this.  I'm told some years the celebration is delayed because of snow.  Yeah, think about that Punxatawney Phil.  The last day of school before break we held our Nauryz celebration.

There were dancers, singers and a short play about spring.  The kids played games and candy was thrown.

Ms Janar, our school counselor.

The instrument he is playing is called a dombra.  It has only two strings.  His music was kind of rock and roll.  Paula called him the Kazakh Elvis.

My class playing tug of war.  They also had games of strength, such as wrestling, and the traditional "pull your partner on a scooter."

Candy!

 

A yurt was constructed on the school grounds.  The covering inside was heavily embroidered.  It was very nice.  In a real yurt the wall coverings are made of felt that is quilted and about 1/4 inch thick.
     The spring weather this week was cold, snowy, rainy and windy, snowy and windy, cold.  Today I walked across the street to school to do lesson planning.  The sun was shining, the sky was clear blue, and the temperature was 20.  On the way home, I couldn't walk fast enough.  The wind had started blowing, making it feel much colder.  I really, really, really hope spring gets here soon.

A Couple of Things

There is a building here in Astana that has ads, pictures, and other things projected on its side like an electronic bulletin board.  I tired to upload a video, but it was too large.  I tried to upload it on YouTube, but, again, wouldn't load.  And I couldn't find it online.  It's amazing and cheap entertainment.

Today I went to the grocery store.  Look what I found in the beer isle.

I guess Santa needs some way to relax!

Here's one way to clean up the snow.   On Saturday morning,  I saw seven dump trucks taking away snow.

Snowy night view from my back porch.

This 'n That

I joined a group called Astana Outdoor Adventures.  Last week they went to Borovoye, which is north of Astana.  I did not go because I felt I should rest after my long journey, which I did by sleeping 12 hours a day all weekend.  This weekend the adventure was in Vishnevka.  Vishnevka is about 43 miles southeast from Astana.  I met the school director, Sandy and her husband at Mega supermarket.  We took the bus (first time for me) to the train station.  The train station is in the "Right Bank."  This is the older part of the city.  I'd been told this, but was still surprised to see how run down the buildings were.  The train left at 10:30 and we arrived at the station around 9:50.  We had to wait in line, people cut in front of us, and as it neared 10:15 we started to panic.  Sandy and Andy had bought their tickets online.  Finally Aigereem, Sandy's admin assistant, showed up, talked to the cashier and she gave me my ticket with 6 minutes before the train left.  We did an Amazing Race through the train station and made it on time. 
     Although it is March and therefore spring, it still snows most days and the temps are still low.  Also the wind blows.  Here are some views from the train window of the area leaving the city.

Vishnevka is a small town.  And bleak.  We crossed a frozen river a couple of times, snowshoed through the rushes and back into town.  There were 11 of us.  Three really fast snowshoers, 5 not really trying to impress anyones, and 3 cross country skiers.  In our company was the Czech ambassador, an American embassy worker and a Russian recently arrived in Astana.  The first picture below is of the river.

 

We took a taxi to a cafe to eat lunch.  The roads there were terrible.  The driver drove on the right side of the road, then the left side, weaving back and forth to avoid potholes and oncoming traffic.  After lunch we then had a fun filled return trip on the train.

 Today, Rose and I walked down to Khan Shatyr, the large shopping center.  It has a beach on the fifth floor.  You have to pay to use it or even look at it, so I had to content myself with taking a picture that is on the wall outside the entrance.

And, yes, there are dinosaurs in the shopping center, too.

Bayterek Tower

Sunday is International Women's Day, which is observed by not having school on Monday.  It feels like I should be going somewhere, so my roommate and neighbors and I did a little touristy thing.  We went downtown to the Bayterk Tower.  This tower is a representation of a bird named Samruk, who laid its egg in a poplar tree.  (I'm not sure what the significance of this is.)  This tower is contains an observation deck 97 meters above the plaza.  I did not realize we could go inside the monument, so this was exciting to me.  

From the observation deck, the Presidential palace to the east and Han Shatyr to the west are visible.

Han Shatyr and the Arch in front of it

Some gal who just had to be in the photo

The Presidential palace with the triangular Peace and Reconciliation Building barely visible behind it.

The pictures look a little green because we are looking through the gold glass.  Also in the observation deck is President Nazarbayev's hand print.  You are supposed to place your hand in his hand print and make a wish.  There is a pedestal with world religions listed on plaques radiating out from a central globe.

  Looking west you can see where the city ends, there is really nothing but flatness.  The city was apparently set down in the middle of nowhere.

There are a lot of really large shopping malls here.  They have everything.  I blew up my hair dryer and also wanted to buy a pillow.  At the appliance store, buying the hair dryer went like this:  I show a customer service rep the hair dryer I want.  She takes a box off the shelf, hands me a credit card-like plastic card.  I go to the cashier and hand her the card.  I pay.  She gives me a receipt which I take to a booth where my hair dryer is.  He opens the box, plugs in the hair dryer, makes sure it works, writes the date I bought it on the warranty card, then gives me the hair dryer.  I'd hate to have to buy a riding lawn mower!

After our shopping experience, we stopped by the river.  It is still cold, but everyone says spring is coming and exclaim how warm it is.  It was -12C (10F) this morning when we set out.  The wind began blowing this afternoon, which made it seem much colder than it was.  It has not got up to freezing yet, so the river is frozen.  Someone was driving a snowmobile and a man was walking his dog on the river.

Not so pretty now, but I'm told this is a lovely walk in the spring.

I'm Here!

Day 1
I arrived in Astana a little after midnight March 3.  Vlad and Aigerim picked me up at the airport and drove me to Rose's apartment.  According to my time, it was 10AM, so I wasn't very tired.  I had tried to not sleep on the plane so I would be sleepy.  I slept about 7 hours and felt good when I awoke.  But a few hours later I was ready for a nap.  Gulmira picked me up to take me to school, which is just across the street.  Cathy, the vice-principal took me on a tour of the school and introduced me to all the teachers and staff.  There was a quiz later concerning names.  I did not pass.  Rose, Paula and Paula's husband Tom took me to dinner after school.  It was hard to stay awake.  When we got back home, I immediately went to bed.

This is the karaoke place across the street from the apartment.  The red brick building behind it is the school.

Day 2
Today I was tired, but spent most of the day at school.  I'm taking over Mrs. Hollowell's 8 year old class.  There are 10 students.  Another 8 year old class has about that many students, as well.  The students seem calm and studious.  The students are from Israel, Kazakhstan, America, Turkey, and Korea.  Their parents work for the embassy, the university, or the oil companies. The teachers in the school are also international.
All the teachers tell me I've come at a great time.  The weather has warmed up and the skies are clear.  When they say warmed up they mean it gets up to 23 degrees!  So it must have been really cold last week.  The overnight low is around 10. 

                        This is my apartment building.  Actually it is 3 buildings.  I live in the middle one.

The view looking southeast.

                                                             The view looking north. 

Day 3
I have successfully stayed awake all day!  After school I took a walk.  It doesn't seem like it is 23 degrees.  With the sun shining, it seems much warmer.  I found the local convenience store.  It is on the first floor of my building.  The first floor of these buildings is occupied by businesses.  There is a doctor's office, pharmacy, day care and some other businesses I couldn't decipher what.  The big grocery store is down the street about a mile and there are restaurants near the grocery store.  Monday is International Women's Day.  School is closed, so I'll have some time to explore.