Almaty: Refreshment and Envigorating in the same breath
Almaty is a city that is completely and utterly refreshing than Turkmenistan. Sarah and I spent the majority of our first day of travel on airplanes or stuck in the Moscow transit terminal and apart from a taxi driver who completely ripped us off when we first arrived the trip has been refreshing and energizing.
While I have not been able to travel and see all of the surrounding areas that I might have wanted if I was here on vacation, it is absolutely refreshing to be in an actual city where people do not stop and stare as you walk past. The one thing that Sarah and I both found that was remarkable was the amazing amount of civilization. We saw Panfilov park and walked around the city of Almaty, which I would compare to a cross between Reno, Washington DC, and Boston.
As we toured the Zeloni Bazaar, not only was I amazed with the amount of food that had taste, but the friendly nature of the people or the wide aisles that actually allowed you to walk through without rubbing up against the 75 year old babushkas, but the fact that I never felt like I had to be on guard about being robbed, swindled, gawked at, or clicked at from the locals that dont approve of our shoes.
The conference participants themselves are PCVs and FLEX alumni from Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrghzstan with the training staff being mostly Americans that have either lived in Russia or are currently living in Russia.
The one thing that I noticed above all was the inate curiousity of other PCVs about Turkmenistan. Much like people that are still back in the states and have only heard the rumors of the land that we have chosen to serve two years of our lives in, I got questions about the somewhat odd and illogical nature of Turkmenbashy and the Tukrmen culture. I felt a certain amount of respect, that I never felt while being in country. Even the FLEX alumni and PCVs from Azerbaijan (another country in the watches of KGB) were amazed when I told them some of the stories of Turkmenistan.
Sarah and I came to a unanimous decision that if we were to serve in Kazakhstan and our hub sessions were in Almaty it would be a completely different service than being in Turkmenistan. Not that the service is without its challenges, but that you could come to a major city were the terms "customer service" still exist and thrive.
I hope to bring back a number of pictures to Turkmenistan to show you where we are staying and what we have experienced, but more importantly I will take back with me to Tstan a renewed sense of energy and drive that I could slowly sense slipping into a bitterness into my life in Tstan. This revival of energy is due in part to being part of a conference that not only is informative but also very practical and helpful in my day to day to life.
While I have not been able to travel and see all of the surrounding areas that I might have wanted if I was here on vacation, it is absolutely refreshing to be in an actual city where people do not stop and stare as you walk past. The one thing that Sarah and I both found that was remarkable was the amazing amount of civilization. We saw Panfilov park and walked around the city of Almaty, which I would compare to a cross between Reno, Washington DC, and Boston.
As we toured the Zeloni Bazaar, not only was I amazed with the amount of food that had taste, but the friendly nature of the people or the wide aisles that actually allowed you to walk through without rubbing up against the 75 year old babushkas, but the fact that I never felt like I had to be on guard about being robbed, swindled, gawked at, or clicked at from the locals that dont approve of our shoes.
The conference participants themselves are PCVs and FLEX alumni from Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrghzstan with the training staff being mostly Americans that have either lived in Russia or are currently living in Russia.
The one thing that I noticed above all was the inate curiousity of other PCVs about Turkmenistan. Much like people that are still back in the states and have only heard the rumors of the land that we have chosen to serve two years of our lives in, I got questions about the somewhat odd and illogical nature of Turkmenbashy and the Tukrmen culture. I felt a certain amount of respect, that I never felt while being in country. Even the FLEX alumni and PCVs from Azerbaijan (another country in the watches of KGB) were amazed when I told them some of the stories of Turkmenistan.
Sarah and I came to a unanimous decision that if we were to serve in Kazakhstan and our hub sessions were in Almaty it would be a completely different service than being in Turkmenistan. Not that the service is without its challenges, but that you could come to a major city were the terms "customer service" still exist and thrive.
I hope to bring back a number of pictures to Turkmenistan to show you where we are staying and what we have experienced, but more importantly I will take back with me to Tstan a renewed sense of energy and drive that I could slowly sense slipping into a bitterness into my life in Tstan. This revival of energy is due in part to being part of a conference that not only is informative but also very practical and helpful in my day to day to life.
posted by Schirm 2605 | 11:33 PM
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