Sunday, March 27, 2011

The President's Cultural Center

Friday, 25 March 2011

Hello, spring! We'd been planning on going to the bazaar (one further away than the big one I've been too) but the weather was downright icky. Winds at 30 km per hour and higher; a mixture of rain and sleet falling from the clouds; the ground a messy mix of snow, slush, ice, dirt, mud, and water. Going to an outdoor bazaar did not seem like such a great idea today.

So we looked through our "Lonely Planet" and my little Astana tour-booklet, and we decided upon the President's Cultural Center, a short bus ride away.

We still had to walk to the bus stop, and then the bus drove right on by the Center and went on for quite some time before stopping, so we waded through slush and water to get to the place. Parts of the side streets were flooded, or, as I like to call them, lakes.

The President's Cultural Center is a huge, fancy, new museum, five stories high. The center is a large circle with a blue dome on top; there are four "wings" that stretch out from this center.

Admission was free, which was nice, and we were offered an English-speaking guide for 50 Tenge per person (about 33 cents per person). A good deal, but we declined.

The center room on the ground floor contained many displays, all of items that had been gifts to the President of Kazakhstan from various countries and businesses. It also contained large replicas of Baiterek and the President's house (I think these were also "gifts".) There was a large wooden globe, a gift from a representative from France.

A side room contained clothes and ornaments from Kazakh people from the past few centuries. We oohed and aahed over the ladies' dresses and jewelry. Fancy, clunky jewelry; a bracelet that was attached to three rings via a chain.

The next room contained more clothing (fancy robes) as well as armor and weapons. I liked the fancy leather container for the bows and arrows. The spiky-ball-on-a-chain thingy looked scary. Sophia noted that you might hurt yourself while using it, so I said that first you must practice, and she replied that you would hurt yourself even while practicing!

Another room had a yurt, its doors open so we could see inside (but a rope barring us from entering). There were more clothing; a decorated horse; tools, decorations, etc. for use inside and outside a yurt; and photographs of people from a hundred years ago. There also was information about hunting with eagles, photos of men with their pet eagle, and a display eagle with head armor (yes, even the eagles wore armor!)

We then went to the top floor and saw colorful and interesting paintings. At this point Sophia became really bored (and vocal about being bored) so next we went to the gift shop, which was similar to all the other souvenir shops I've seen (there are a lot!)

We then left and went ice skating--but it was definitely a worthwhile visit. And since it's free, we might go again some time. A few days later, Sophia surprised me by recounting in detail all that she had seen and learned. Although she had claimed to be bored, she had been paying attention and was quite excited to tell her grandparents about it.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

French Cafe!

Yes, there is a French cafe in Astana!

At the Radisson Hotel one day, my co-worker and I picked up a little brochure, a list in English of restaurants in Astana. One of the restaurants listed said it was a French cafe, with coffee, tea, and dessert. Google maps placed the restaurant near the Radisson (which is across the river and two or three bus stops from our home).

So on Thursday, 24 March, we decided to try it out.

It's behind the Radisson, which is an immense building, and on a tiny side-street, so it's hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for. It's across the street from a German restaurant that looks promising.

This cafe, La Belle on Irchenko Street, is absolutely adorable. It has two sections for dining--the bar side, with super-tall armchairs and dim lighting; and a lighter section with fancy tables, comfy couches and armchairs, and a light-green-and-white, flowery, "I'm in a garden" kind of feeling.

We relaxed at our table and spent quite a while poring over the menu. The Russian menu had pictures, the English menu had, well, English, so we needed both menus.

I chose a banana tort--a fancy cake with bananas, white cake, and chocolate mousse--as well as a cappuccino. My co-worker chose a Belgium waffle with "creamy" sauce and some tea. Sophia chose cranberry juice, chocolate ice cream, and a grilled cheese sandwich.

The banana tort was divine, as was the waffle. The whole experience was heavenly and pleasant--a relaxing afternoon. The bill was rather high for Astana, but what you would expect from a French cafe. Around 700 to 1000 tenge per dessert (about $5 - $6). The tea, though, was a surprise--a pot of English Breakfast tea cost 1200 Tenge, and the milk was extra! This in a town where hot tea is plentiful and usually the cheapest option and milk in your tea is taken as a given, not an extra side-item.

Definitely a pleasant afternoon!

Ice Skating!

So I bought Sophia a pair of ice skates, and now I tote them almost everywhere in hopes to make use of them--make them worth their money.

There's a small ice-skating rink in front of Mega, the mall that's near our house. One Friday I brought the ice skates to school, as well as an extra pair given to us by a friend (too small for Sophia, though). After school, I took Sophia and one of her friends to the Mega ice skating rink.

We had intended to go across the street to "Ice City"--a parking lot that in winter was turned into a mini city of ice, with an ice-brick wall surrounding it, ice slides, and an ice skating rink. However, this had already started to melt and was being taken down.

The rink in front of Mega was still open so we went there. It was 300 Tenge per skater (about $2) and I let them skate for about an hour. It's a small, oval-shaped rink, nothing too exciting, and parents were allowed on the ice to monitor their kids. I began to wish that I had rented skates for myself--it gets cold standing on ice for one hour!

Sophia skated much better than her friend--the half-hour lesson in Almaty really paid off! Her friend, however, falls much better than her--she fell dozens of times, each time getting back up with a smile on her face.

On Wednesday during our spring break (23 March) I dragged Sophia to the school so I could get some work done, promising her ice-skating afterward. So I took her to Mega on the way home. This time I rented skates for myself (an extra 200 Tenge). However, this time, the rink was pretty awful due to the recent spurt of 0 degree weather and the bright Kazakh sun.

One part of the rink was un-skateable. The ice crushed under the weight of your ice skates and you had to waddle through.

The rest of the rink wasn't in very good shape either. But Sophia had fun, she even enjoyed crunching on the loose ice and wading through the bits of water that seeped through.

On Thursday, after dessert at a French cafe (next post), we wandered by the river. It looked a bit scary--thawing, after all. But really, the water that we saw was not the river water, but the melting of the foot of snow that had fallen on the frozen river. The river was still pretty frozen; people were ice-fishing and the skating rink was still open.

I was happy that I had her skates with me, and we put them on and she skated on the river. I just watched, but it was fun to watch. There were a few other people ice skating, and two boys sharing a bicycle that they rode across the ice.

There were cracks in the ice, but it was because of these cracks that you could see how thick the ice was. Some of the cracks were a foot below the surface--meaning the ice was at least a foot thick, most likely thicker.

Sophia ended up tripping over a surface crack and hurting her knee. But she got up and continued skating.

And now I can check that winter to-do item off my list--skating on the river.

Then Friday I took her to the indoor rink near the Eurasia shopping center. This time I rented skates, and we skated on the large, smooth, indoor surface. The rink was almost empty--just three other people, who left soon after and then it was just us. We had an entire rink to ourselves for almost an hour! It was a lot of fun.

At 5:35 we left and noticed that a group of beginner ice skaters were coming in for lessons. So that's why it was empty--they were closing to the public soon for lessons. So 4:30 - 5:30 seems like a pretty good time to ice skate there!

We'll never be professionals, but we do enjoy ice skating!!

Nauriz 2011 - Spring!




Nauriz is the Kazakh word for "March." It is the holiday celebrated each year on the spring equinox; it comes from the Persian New Year holiday, which, according to my Iranian student, is the biggest holiday in Iran--Iran's version of our Christmas.

Nauriz was on Tuesday, 22 March, this year, and so Sophia, a co-worker, and I went downtown for the festivities. I had gone last year, and it wasn't too exciting, but, hey, it's something to do.

There are festivities all around town, but the main one is around Baiterek (the funky tower in the "new" downtown, by all the space-age buildings). Dozens of yurts were set up around the tower; there was a stage with music and another stage with wrestling. A woman was singing while random children in snowsuits climbed onstage and started dancing.

People in traditional Kazakh dress stood in front of the yurts and posed for pictures. Just like last year, I was unsure if the yurts were open to the public or private. I believe that they are private--rich people celebrating Nauriz downtown, coming out of their yurts to pose for pictures. Just odd.

Last year, we popped into one, and when it was discovered that we were Americans, we were invited inside and offered food. But I suspect we really weren't supposed to be inside, and this year I didn't feel like trying my luck.

Last year, too, there had been a camel and some swings. Just a little something more than this year.

A group of people were crowded together, so Sophia and I pushed through to see what it was--an arm-wrestling competition. I noted that Sophia and I were the only females watching this.

We bought some ice cream and soda from a stand and then went inside Baiterek. It was far more crowded than I've ever seen it--but when you consider that this is Astana's "Eiffel Tower" it wasn't bad at all. Tickets for adults are 500 Tenge (less than $4); Sophia's cost 150 Tenge (about $1). We waited a few minutes in line to push ourselves onto the cramped elevator and go up 97 feet to the observation platform.

I've seen it before, but it's still nice to see Astana from up high. You can really see how the city is laid out--a huge stretch, more than a mile, of the new downtown--a straight east-west line from the pyramid in the east to Khan Shatyr in the west. The sun rises over the pyramid (and president's house, which is in front of the pyramid) and sets over Khan Shatyr.

My favorite part of the view is, and has always been, the abrupt end of the city. These fancy, modern, funky buildings--a cityscape--suddenly and dramatically give way to a flat expanse of nothingness.

My co-worker and Sophia both waited in line to put their hand in the imprint of the president's hand--make a wish!

After Beiterek, we crossed the street to a business-and-shopping-center I've never been in. A new Ramstore (supermarket that sometimes has peanut butter) was there, which was our motivation for going that way.

Inside was a small crowd watching a guy do magic tricks. Later there was dancing, involving women in Kazakh dresses as well as children from the audience.

The Ramstore did not have peanut butter, but there was a small cafe, so we ate some sort of cabbage mixture and drank tea while Sophia colored.

That was our day--nice, nothing too exciting, but a good Nauriz nonetheless.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Winter in Astana

Today or tomorrow is the first day of spring. Tomorrow (22 March) is Kazakhstan's celebration of Nauriz--the first day of spring, the Persian New Year. It's one of the biggest holidays in Kazakhstan.

So now's a good time to reminisce about winter.

This year's winter has been SO MUCH WARMER than last year's, it's hard to believe. Here's proof that it's been warmer: Last year, I waited patiently for winter to end. I derived a certain satisfaction from being able to out-do all my friends when it came to talking about the weather. (My Chicago friends finally admitted that I was much colder than they were.) And on March 21, 2010, I was able to proudly say, "I survived a sub-Siberian winter." I was quite proud.

This winter I was better prepared--a down-filled Lands' End coat instead of a polyester-filled coat from the bazaar; ski goggles to protect my contact lenses; lambskin mittens; a Wii Fit so I could exercise without leaving the house.

While the Lands' End coat turned out to be a disappointment (not good for weather colder than -20 Celsius), that was alright. I hardly used the Wii Fit because I spent so much time outside. As we entered February, I started to despair--was winter going to end so soon? My weekends passed swiftly, and I just didn't have enough time to do all that I wanted to do. And now, as winter finally ends, I have yet to go ice skating or skiing on the river, yet to take Sophia sledding more than once--and the ice thins on the river, the snow melts and turns to slush.

Winter is over.

It maybe got to -40 once. I never saw it on my computer, but a student claimed that his dad woke up in the middle of the night and it was -40. Of course, I don't lament the end of -40 weather. I lament the end of a frozen river. It's fine with me that we never reached -40.

But that's Astana's claim-to-fame--the land where the temperature gets to -40, the land where Fahrenheit and Celsius meet. And it didn't happen this year.

We had a couple mornings that were around -30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) and, yes, it was awful walking to school. But with my ski goggles on, not a part of my skin was showing, and, really, I was okay. Sophia, however, didn't have goggles, and she was not happy. This summer we're looking for ski goggles for her.

-30 C is so cold that your forehead--usually the only piece of skin that still shows after you're bundled up (the part between your eyes)--hurts terribly. So it became a measure of how cold it was. One "warmer" morning we went outside, all bundled up, and, yet, it wasn't as cold. "If your forehead isn't in acute pain," I told Sophia, "then that's good."

It got so cold that for a couple days we said no outdoor recess. Most students didn't mind.

It got so cold that touching metal with your bare hands could burn you. I learned this last year, when I took off my gloves to get my key and then opened the door to the apartment building--ow!!!

This year at the school, we have 5 buildings to go between, and so often we run outside not as fully dressed as we should be--in -20 we might wear our winter coats but not gloves. So I burned my hand touching a door handle. So did a 7-year old. So we had to announce to the entire 2nd grade class--don't touch door handles with your bare hands! Use your shirt sleeves if you don't have gloves!

Never thought that would be a rule I'd be telling a group of 7-year olds.

(The burns weren't bad, just hurt.)

I was better prepared this year--I bought expensive "insulated" boots that are good enough quality to last several years (versus the bazaar shoes I had last year--fashionable and warm, they barely lasted one season). My lambskin mittens, around $10 from the bazaar, kept my fingers warm. Last year I came home one day so cold that I collapsed in front of the radiator on the first floor of my apartment building, unable to go any further until the burning pain in my fingers subsided.

(Notice how extreme cold more resembles "burning" than "freezing".)

And then, towards the end of January, a co-worker who lives in the same building as us, asked us if we'd like a ride to school. She and her husband had recently bought a car, and she had meant to ask us earlier, but it had slipped her mind.

So from then on, Sophia and I had a ride in the morning. There was only one more week of god-awful, -30 Celsius weather, but I'm glad I missed walking in that! And -20 isn't exactly fun to walk in either.

The co-worker has since returned to the US to have a baby; her replacement has been driving us since then. We're getting lazy in the mornings.

Now the snow is turning to slush, the roads and walkways are filthy. And the water refreezes at nighttime so black ice is everywhere.

And, yes, there's still a ton of snow. And the river is still frozen (just thawing)

Spring is here!

Windows and Heating

Winter, 2009 - 2010, 2010 - 2011

It's amazing what a difference windows make. And it's funny how the Kazakhs do heat.

As I found out last year, most people (maybe all?) do not get to determine how much heat they use. Some agency controls this. The heat is turned on in mid-October and turned off sometime in April. You don't get to decide.

The agency or whoever it is, determines how much heat you get. You don't. So if you're boiling hot, you must open the windows. Even if it's -20 outside. And, yes, it is possible to get boiling hot when it's -20 outside.

You must pay for the heat that you use, although you have no control over how much you use.

So, if the weather starts to cool off before they turn the heat on, you suffer in coldness. I was quite miserable for most of October this year.

And if, by some chance, your heater doesn't turn on when the building's heat gets turned on, you need to know enough to ask for someone to help. Both years that I have been here, my heat didn't come on when it was supposed to, and I didn't know that everyone else's heat had been turned on. So I suffered the cold for a couple extra weeks, before I learned that everyone else was warm. Then some maintenance guy came over and fixed my heaters.

And, both years, I was only warm for a little while.

Both years that I have lived here, my windows have let in cold air. (FYI, I've lived in two separate apartments.)

So, as the air outside got colder, so did I. In around-freezing temperatures--October, part of November--I was fine. And then, as everyone else stayed warm (and complained of being too hot), I got colder and colder.

Last year, the science teacher came over with some stuff to seal the windows. This worked so magnificently that I became one of those too-hot people, opening the window in -20 weather.

And I didn't pay attention to the name of the stuff he used, assuming everyone here knows what it is.

This year, as I became colder, I started asking about that stuff, but no one at my new school knew the name of it. And first, we had to check that my heater was working. This took weeks, as the maintenance people never showed up when called.

Finally, they sent one of the guards to my house to tape the windows. He used a tiny bit of masking tape, which did nothing.

When I returned after Christmas break, my house was as cold as if I'd had the windows open for all of break. Lying in bed, covered by dozens of blankets, too cold to shower even though I'd been flying for 30 hours, I considered quitting my job, just so I could get on a plane and go someplace warm.

I came to my senses and instead decided to tape the windows myself, with some gorilla tape I'd brought with me. I could feel the winter wind blowing in through the windows (where the glass meets the edge). I taped and taped and taped. The tape became really cold. But my house warmed up.

I used two mini-heaters and the principal gave me a huge heater that he said could heat up my entire apartment. He said it was safe to leave on during the day. So I went home, turned it on and--poof! Out went my power. After last year, I was quite used to sudden power outages that can be fixed by flipping switches in the fuse box. But this didn't work. Thankfully, the school secretary answered her phone and called the maintenance guy until he came over (and then talked to him since obviously I couldn't). I decided that the mini-heaters were good enough.

I could still hear the wind howling on windy nights, and after a few weeks of using mini-heaters and listening to the wind, I got out the ladder and taped the tops of the windows. The wind had been blowing inside for so long that the ceiling was cracking and turning black.

Now, the wind no longer howls and I can wander around in shorts and a t-shirt even when it's -30 outside.

Yet, I don't get boiling hot. I'm comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, not sweating. So I don't have to open the windows.

But it's amazing what a well-sealed window can do.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Sledding Day - Friday, 4 February 2011


Every year our school has a "Sledding Day," which I think is a great idea for an international school located in such a cold climate. The majority of the students are not from Kazakhstan; many are from places where it doesn't get too cold, and this is their first real winter. So why not take the entire elementary school to the river one day to go sledding?

So for 2 hours in the afternoon of Friday, 4 February, we went to the riverbank by the principal's house and went sledding.

Kids who had their own sleds brought theirs, and everybody shared. When not using a sled, children enjoyed running down the hill, chasing other sleds, talking, and drinking hot chocolate (provided by the school).

The school van drove some people; everyone else rode in a car with a student's parent or driver--enough parents signed up to help drive that we didn't have a transportation problem. We did have a seatbelt problem--every kid had to be seatbelted in. I was assigned to ride with 3 students and their driver. There were no seatbelts in the backseat, and the driver could not understand why I was making a fuss about it. "Ne nada," he said--"No need." The mother was there in her super-fancy SUV and she agreed to drive us. This car not only had seatbelts but several TVs.

We went to the riverbank by the principal's house, so in case anyone had to use the bathroom, one was available. (Smart idea. In the end, everyone was too excited to think about using the bathroom.)

We went to the riverbank because Astana is flat and the riverbank is the best place to sled.

We lucked out, the weather was sunny and around -10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit). Sophia and other children started sweating under their winter clothes. I had to let Sophia unzip her coat and air herself out; she was sweating really badly.

Two kids spent the time crying because they were cold--one boy (from New Orleans, so obviously not used to the cold!) tripped and fell at the beginning; his gloves came off and got snow in them, so his hands became really cold. He cried until his mother arrived.

Another girl was wearing a warm coat, but not a waterproof coat. She fell and the entire back of her coat became wet. Needless to say, she was freezing and not in a good mood.

Everyone else had a blast, though, including the adults. I went down on a sled once--they go really fast and it was almost scary! My daughter enjoyed sharing her sled with everyone--she has one of the nicer, big sleds (a present from Santa last year that we've hardly used).

It was a great idea, and tons of fun. A good end to the week!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Asian Winter Games - Figure Skating Day 2



Saturday, 5 February 2011

The schedule listed 3 Figure Skating Events for today: one at 3 pm, another at 7 pm, and another at 8:30 pm. I figured we'd do the 3 pm one, then maybe go somewhere to eat, and then decide if we wanted to come back. I didn't realize we'd end up spending over 6 hours at the arena. It ended up being a long and totally worthwhile day.

The arena wasn't packed, but it was far more crowded than on previous days. First, about 17 women skated; I think it was a "long program." This lasted for over 2 1/2 hours, with a few breaks.

The women, I must say, were better than the men. Stronger, more confident. Yes, after 2 1/2 hours of watching, I was tired. But I was exhilarated. So amazing to watch their boundless energy, their twists and turns, their jumps and spins, the positions they could get their bodies into.

I was learning how to follow them along with my camera on zoom, my finger on the button, keeping the image in focus. I learned to recognize the movements that led up to a jump, so I finally managed to get some decent shots of skaters in the air.

At 5:30 we realized we would not have time to go somewhere to eat, so we headed to the cafe, downstairs.

The cafe was tiny and not at all prepared to handle hundreds of hungry, tired people. We waited in line for close to an hour. During this time, a friend who had better seats--courtesy of her husband's company--decided that she wouldn't stay longer and gave us her tickets. Then my friend and her sister decided that they were exhausted and they left. Sophia and I stayed.

It was extremely crowded. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is worse. Paris on Bastille Day is worse. But I suspect many people here aren't used to such crowds, and the pushing and shoving that comes along with it.

When we got to the front of the line, we learned that they were sold out of most of their items. Really. This place was unprepared for the massive amounts of guests they had, although wasn't this what Kazakhstan wanted? Tons of people coming to an amazing event?

So Sophia had M & Ms and a soft drink for dinner.

At 7 pm, some friends joined us in our newer, closer seats. We watched the first pairs' event. At first I wasn't too impressed--synchronized dancing, but no throws. Later, when I looked at my pictures, I realized how amazing these performances really were. Skating fast, the man carried the woman, whose body was contorted in an impossible position (impossible for me, at least). Sometimes the woman stood on the man's leg while he held onto her leg--if the man didn't hold her up properly, then her skate would cut sharply into his leg. Sometimes a man held a woman up, high in the air, with just one hand. Seriously, she had to have the utmost confidence in him. And one time, the woman abruptly stopped skating while on her knee. I saw the ice fly as she skidded to a stop. Shouldn't that really hurt her knee?

At 8:30 I asked Sophia and she wanted to stay. So we stayed. This pairs' event was the one with all the throwing. The man would throw the woman, the woman would spin, and then either he would catch her or she would land gracefully. All while skating fast. Amazing.

We ended up staying very late, because then there was the awards ceremony. When we finally got home, we were exhausted. Yet it was an amazing, thrilling day and evening.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Figure Skating - Asian Winter Games 2011 - Thursday, 3 February






The first event for today was listed as starting at 4 pm, and I was rather nervous that today would end up like Tuesday--missing about half of it, due to the schedule being changed.

Then I got a call from my friend R (who's also my transportation) that she just found out that her daughter's ice skating class was going to all the figure skating events. So she was already there, could I catch a taxi and meet her there? (I had the tickets.)

I know that every Kazakh takes "taxis" without problems, and that most foreigners do so too. But I still feel awkward hitch-hiking, which is what "taking a taxi" is here (except you pay here, but still, it feels just like hitch-hiking! In a foreign language!)

In the end, she found her daughter's teacher and drove to pick up Sophia and me, and we made it there around 4:30 pm.

It was much more crowded than Tuesday, but still not packed. Our tickets were checked this time.

We came in during a pairs' event, sat through another pairs' event, and then watched the men.

I spent a lot of time trying to get decent photos. These people move so fast, and digital cameras are slow--by the time I've clicked the button to take a photo, they've already jumped, twirled, and landed.

The men looked more like boys and weren't as exciting as I had expected. (I later heard others saying that the competition hadn't been all that great; someone said they thought there were other events going on in Europe, which had attracted the better people.)

Still, it was very, very exciting. Until moving to Kazakhstan, I had only ice-skated a few times, and never as an adult. Now I've ice skated many times, each time getting better and faster. I enjoy practicing going backwards (very slowly and shakily) and doing a beginner's spin (very, very shaky!) So watching these people fly backwards and forwards effortlessly, spin with legs in the air or in various poses, jump and twirl and land on one leg--this was all very amazing and breath-taking.

Denis Ten, Kazakhstan's competitor, was by far the best performer. His jumps were high and sturdy, he glided effortlessly over the ice. He was amazing to watch. (And take pictures of.)

Misha Ge, from Uzbekistan, was the most fun to watch, although he was a bit shaky and fell once or twice. He looked so young--his cheeks bright pink from the cold--but he dressed in red with flair, and he definitely had flair to his movement. He had attitude and confidence, which helped him in the points department.

It lasted several hours, and during a break, we got up and wandered around. We managed to find better seats, closer to the ice, and no one bothered to look at our tickets. I'm sure we were in the 3000 Tenge ($20) seats now.

Behind us were two men with enormous cameras. One man spent most of the time sleeping, only waking up when a Japanese guy skated. He took dozens, perhaps hundreds, of photos of this guy.

All in all, a fun and thrilling evening. It was so much neater to see this in person than on TV. And made me want to go ice skating again! Although I now realize just how poorly I ice skate compare to these people!

Below: Denis Ten in black and white; Misha Ge in red.

Speed Skating - Asian Winter Games 2011 - Tuesday, 1 February


There was only one speed skating event held after 4 pm, and so that was the one I got tickets for. The schedule said that one event was at 3 pm, and another at 5 pm. I have a planning period from 3 - 4 pm, so I got permission to leave early and see if anything was going on at 4 pm. (Maybe the 3 pm event would last until 5...?)

My friend R (whose daughter, A, is close friends with Sophia) picked us up and we went to the Speed Skating Arena, not too far out of town. Traffic was not bad--nothing like on Sunday (Opening Ceremony day).

We arrived around 4 pm and to our astonishment, no one looked at our tickets! We did go through security--a metal detector and we had to open our bags and turn on our cameras for the security officers. Surprised, R joked to the security officer, "Do you want me to show you pictures of my daughter?" He smiled.

I'm an American, which means when I have a ticket, I expect that it means something. So I led R all the way around the building until we found the exact section where our seats would be, and I spent some time trying to find our exact row and seats. Someone (a volunteer, I think), told R that we could sit wherever we want, which in the end we did. No one seemed to care whether or not we had tickets, whether or not we sat where we were supposed to sit.

Why had I paid $10 per ticket when I could have come for free?

A few people were skating around the rink--an enormous rink, with beautiful, smooth, shiny ice. After a while we realized that an event was taking place! It was the 500 meters race, two people racing at a time. They started on the other side from us, so it was difficult to figure out what was going on.

But once we figured it out, it was fun. They announced which countries were racing, we listened for the bang! signaling that they had started, I positioned my camera in hopes of getting a good photo, and Sophia and her friend cheered for opposite teams. (Sophia rooted for China and Japan; A prefers Korea.)

Then, at 5 pm, was the awards ceremony. It was over.

Wait a second. Hadn't the schedule said that there would be an event at 5 pm? My ticket said 3 pm, the time of the first event, but the schedule had listed two events, one at 3 and one at 5. A schedule that a volunteer had listed the events as running continuously from 2 pm, ending around 5.

Well.

So, yes, it was fun, and at $10 a ticket, it wasn't that expensive. But it was short and could have been free. Disappointing.

On the way home, we stopped at the park in front of Khan Shatyr, which had a huge torch and a statue of the snow leopard mascot. We took some pictures and then made it home by 6 pm--earlier than I usually get home from work! At least that was nice.

Two more events (figure skating) to go!

Asian Winter Games 2011

(Picture is of the Stadium used for the Opening Ceremony)

The Asian Winter Games came to Kazakhstan this year, which was a very big deal. Billboards and posters were everywhere tooting this event, saying in 3 languages, "Unity of Spirit." An adorable snow leopard is the mascot.

This is the first time the Games have been held in Kazakhstan, and the first time, I think, that they've been in a country other than China, Japan, and Korea. The skiing events would be in Almaty and the skating events in Astana. Three new, huge, stadiums were built in Astana for this purpose.

The principal's wife bravely volunteered to get tickets for everyone--she printed out a list of the events and times; we signed up for what we wanted; and we gave her the money.

Yes, this is Kazakhstan, where nothing is as easy as it should be.

Over the course of several days, she went to several different places (several places each day), all over town, trying to get tickets. Some tickets were not being sold yet. Some were just not being sold at the location she was at (at least not on that day at that location). At least once she was told that she couldn't buy as many tickets as she wanted in seats that were next to each other. She had to divide the large group into two smaller groups and get 6 seats here, 6 seats there.

She managed to get me tickets for a speed skating event and a figure skating event. Another day, I went with a student's mother to Khan Shatyr (big tent-like mall) to get tickets for the other figure skating event that I wanted. We couldn't get them there, but later she found them at another mall. (By the way, the principal's wife had already tried both these locations, with no luck, for the same tickets.)

The ridiculous thing was--none of the events were sold out!!! The figure skating event that I had had so much trouble getting tickets for, was so empty that they'd covered huge sections of seats with giant "Astana-Almaty 2011" tarps. And they weren't selling tickets at the door.

On Sunday, 30 January, was the Opening Ceremony, the most expensive event at 7500 Tenge per ticket. (Most events were around 1500 Tenge - $10 - per ticket.) We didn't go, and we missed seeing the torch being run through the city. Sophia and I walked on the river not long after the torch obviously passed through--a path was laid out, with "Astana-Almaty 2011" flags--for the torch-bearer.

I learned later that the Opening Ceremony had been on TV--oops, we hadn't thought of that.

I also learned that it was an amazing and spectacular event, kind of like an elaborate circus. And that the city hadn't fully planned on transportation. Everyone had to ride buses to the stadium, they got on the buses at various locations around the city (mall parking lots, etc.) At the end of the event, everyone poured outside of the stadium in the freezing cold, masses of people waiting for the buses. The buses had little signs on them saying where they were returning to. (If you parked your car at Asia Park Mall, you wanted to ride that bus back, of course!) Crowds of people pushed and shoved to get near the buses as they approached, people straining to see if it was their bus, pushing and shoving to get on.

My friend waited about an hour in the freezing cold before finally spotting a regular city bus that she knew would take her near her home.

So, definitely an experience, but I'm OK that I missed it!