Kazakh wine tasting is unlike any wine tasting that you might see in the States. It started promptly at noon, with great groups of people waiting anxiously at the gate. Families with small children, grandmothers, people of all ages. Once the event was opened to the public, people immediately ran to tables to get their free samples of wine. They were a young, fresh Kazakh red and white (circa 6 September). Sarah and I thought that the event included the stomping of the grapes. Instead, it was the snatching of the grapes. A wooden cart full of green grapes was brought out and was instantly surrounded by hordes of people grabbing all that they could. It was rather like a Great White feeding frenzy. Amazing. From start to finish, the entire event lasted less than one hour. The goal seemed to be to drink as much (free) alcohol as possible—it reminded me of grad school, in a way. However, in school people would not be giving wine to small children.
Afterwards, we walked back along Gogol Street towards the Zelony Market. Along the way, we passed the Coca Cola Almaty bottling plant, complete with its fleet of Lada’s out in front. Globalization in action! The Cold War ends with the logo of a huge American corporation on the side of the ultimate Soviet era automobile.
Tomorrow will be a quieter day—I’ve been asked to review applications for the Junior Faculty Development Program for the US Embassy in Tashkent, and will be reading these applications tomorrow. They don’t have any Fulbright students/scholars in that country this year due to the political situation, so the applications were passed along to the Consulate in Almaty. It’s a rather daunting task for me, as I am charged with deciding which applications should be considered for the next stage of selection. Only ½ of the applicants will make it to the next round, and the decisions that I make can have substantial influence on the lives of other individuals. As I’ve seen first-hand here in Almaty, having been selected for one of these US-sponsored programs opens many doors that would otherwise remain closed. So, these are not decisions that can be made lightly. So, after breakfast tomorrow I will make a pot of tea and sit at my table looking out over the mountains and begin reading and evaluating the applications. According to the program directives, the focus of the exchange is to send scholars from this region to the US to learn about teaching methods and, upon their return to their native country, apply what they have learned in their own courses and at their university. So, many many thanks to Shannon O’Lear’s teaching seminar. It is helping in ways I never imagined!!
(I'll upload pictures as soon as possible--the connections are rather slow, so some formats need to be changed first)
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
in Almaty
After a rather long flight (about 30 hours of travel time), I finally made it to Almaty in the very early hours of Thursday morning. The airport was a fascinating experience--fortunately, I was met by someone from the embassy who was able to cut through all of the bureaucratic red tape very quickly (it involved going to the head of a long line, as diplomatic credentials--his, not mine--have priority). Others were not so fortunate, and I hear the wait was about 3 hours for some. By the time luggage was coming off of the plane, there were not enough people to collect theirs and so it was just falling off of the conveyor belt and causing the belt to stop moving. Then there was the traffic...but that is another story entirely!!! Let's just say that in comparison, Massachusetts drivers drive like grandmothers and grandfathers.
On the way into the city, I saw my first melon stand (for those of you unfamiliar with Central Asia, the region is famous for its melons. There's even an atlas of melons, I hear--right, Shannon??). Fruit stands are everywhere, and the produce is abundant and extremely inexpensive. Tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, apricots, eggplant, and many that I can't even name. Thus far, I've spent about $5 on food--with the exception of going out to eat one night. That was a comparatively expensive $12 for a wonderful invention called the lula kabob (ground, spiced chicken grilled over an open flame and then served wrapped in a flatbread--just add tomatoes, dill, and a spicy tomato sauce and it's heavenly).
I've figured out the buses, with the help of a fellow Fulbrighter--Sarah. She's been incredibly helpful--letting me stay at her house until I get an apartment, showing me around, and translating quite a bit. My Russian is okay, but I'm still not quite confident in my skills. But..I did get to use some French when speaking with a prospective landlord. She doesn't speak English and my Russian is not good enough yet, but we found a common language.
As to the city--well, it's beautiful in a way that I can't quite describe. It's clearly an oil city, and there is a great deal of money within the city. There are more Audis, BMWs, and Lexus's than I can count. Small loans have resulted in everyone having a (very nice) car. The gas stations are all named after oil companies (small surprise), and there are signs for Kuwait Corporation and others all over the place. Government buildings are tall, elaborate, and quite beautiful.
I've done some exploring thus far, and will post pictures when possible. I slept through Constitution Day (the day I arrived), but have some pictures from later events. And, of course, one of a poster of a favorite movie--Bourne's Ultimatum. No, that' s not a typo. It's how it translates into Russian.
Now it's time to head off to the city center to look at another apartment. And then, it's off to the Turkish baths, and a visit to one of the huge and famous department stores in town (hmm...maybe there will be some Georgian wine there). Tonight, Sarah and I might head up to the television tower (always an attraction in a former Soviet city).
Cris
On the way into the city, I saw my first melon stand (for those of you unfamiliar with Central Asia, the region is famous for its melons. There's even an atlas of melons, I hear--right, Shannon??). Fruit stands are everywhere, and the produce is abundant and extremely inexpensive. Tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, apricots, eggplant, and many that I can't even name. Thus far, I've spent about $5 on food--with the exception of going out to eat one night. That was a comparatively expensive $12 for a wonderful invention called the lula kabob (ground, spiced chicken grilled over an open flame and then served wrapped in a flatbread--just add tomatoes, dill, and a spicy tomato sauce and it's heavenly).
I've figured out the buses, with the help of a fellow Fulbrighter--Sarah. She's been incredibly helpful--letting me stay at her house until I get an apartment, showing me around, and translating quite a bit. My Russian is okay, but I'm still not quite confident in my skills. But..I did get to use some French when speaking with a prospective landlord. She doesn't speak English and my Russian is not good enough yet, but we found a common language.
As to the city--well, it's beautiful in a way that I can't quite describe. It's clearly an oil city, and there is a great deal of money within the city. There are more Audis, BMWs, and Lexus's than I can count. Small loans have resulted in everyone having a (very nice) car. The gas stations are all named after oil companies (small surprise), and there are signs for Kuwait Corporation and others all over the place. Government buildings are tall, elaborate, and quite beautiful.
I've done some exploring thus far, and will post pictures when possible. I slept through Constitution Day (the day I arrived), but have some pictures from later events. And, of course, one of a poster of a favorite movie--Bourne's Ultimatum. No, that' s not a typo. It's how it translates into Russian.
Now it's time to head off to the city center to look at another apartment. And then, it's off to the Turkish baths, and a visit to one of the huge and famous department stores in town (hmm...maybe there will be some Georgian wine there). Tonight, Sarah and I might head up to the television tower (always an attraction in a former Soviet city).
Cris
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A few more days of summer
Just a few more days until I fly to Kazakhstan. In the meantime, I'm enjoying as much of the Cape Cod summer as possible. Mom, Dad, and I went out on a whalewatch earlier today. We're fortunate enough to live right near the summer feeding grounds of a large group of humpback whales--Stellwagon Bank is right off of the coast of Provincetown. It's an amazing (and humbling) experience to see these enormous mammals swim right by the boat. Today, we even saw a young humpback calf flirt with the boat--swimming right up to the edge and slapping his (her??) enormous flippers in the water and soaking us all with salt spray. I'll definitely miss the ocean while I'm in Kazakhstan--the next time I see a fishing boat, it will likely be one that was left stranded when the Aral Sea shoreline receded. It will be an exciting trip, though, with quite a few new experiences to write home about.
That's all for now--I'll write again once I'm settled in Almaty. Now it's time to go find Dad to see if there are any margaritas in the making. After all, it is a sunny summer afternoon on Cape Cod!
Cris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)