Unsettling In

The opening day of term at the NU was an interesting one, not for the countless speeches, but for the feeling of anticipation at the beginning of what should be something momentous, for meeting the students who all seem so enthusiatic and for finally getting under way - after weeks of build-up, we have now crossed the start-line and are up and running. There were television cameras all over the place and seemingly several of the staff made brief appearances on Kazakh TV....!

For the rest of the week, students had introductory lectures and lessons in this and that and various tests. It was not, however, until Friday that I got to properly meet my class of 15 for our first lesson - impressions are that they generally seem nice enough, and mirror the enthusiasm shown by most others I have spoken to in the course of the week. The timetable proper starts on Monday, although some elements will not kick-in until the following week.

I had a bit of a night out with one of the Biology lecturers, an Italian (Emanuele) who speaks Russian, on Tuesday, which was good. We went to a rather expensive (£5 for a beer!) and empty bar first , before going to one he already knew, which was great - busy, and normal prices! - where we managed to talk to a few locals - or rather he did, as most don't speak English. It is such an advantage to speak Russian....

I had heard about the 'Singing Fountains', but found them rather by chance on another evening. It is when one of the countless fountains - at the front of the vast square in front the the President's Palace - is accompanied by music and flashing coloured lights. Worth a look, but much better was the discovery of the large square which leads upto the President's Palace, and which I had somehow managed not to find until now. I went as close as I could to the Palace and one of the security guards offered to take my photo!



Later in the week, I was struck by a stomach bug which seems to have been doing the rounds and was not able to go to work on Thursday. I felt better on Friday, so did my intro lesson and started to sort few things out for next week. I even went out in the evening - and discovered a bar which will definitely be worth another visit. The bug returned on Saturday and I felt pretty rough for most of the day. Feeling rather better, I did venture out in the evening on my own, more with the aim of finding some places, checking where they are and what they are like for future reference, than for a night out. I feel it is quite important, particularly before the weather turns cold, to find a few decent places to go in the evenings. Sometimes when I have been out, we have ended up waiting or wandering around for quite a long time before finding somewhere suitable - which just will not be possible in the depths of winter.

That's all for now...sorry there are not many photos!

One Week, Weak One

As I sat at breakfast this morning, I reflected on the week since I first sat there, having just stepped off the plane. I'm not sure if I showed my first impressions to be as negative as they really were -  I tried not to! They were not terrible, but the excitement of being somewhere new, somewhere different and slightly off the radar was tempered by an impression of sterility and soullessness - shiny new buildings, but no character, and people seemingly not even remotely interested - and the thought of three long years in such a place seemed a daunting prospect. My impression has gradually but significantly changed. The more I have walked and bussed around the city, and the more contact I have had with various people, the more I like it. The futuristic architecture, far from being sterile, actually gives it a great deal of character, and in a few years, I can see this city being a model which others follow - it is that imaginative and impressive, and the variety is wide. Contact with locals has also increased - from a few people at work, to meeting some of our new students, who seem so keen and ambitious that hopefully they will make the job easy, to getting out for a night or two, and mixing with locals enjoying themselves.

Taken from hotel - Tent far left, Bayterek right....

....and on the same line in the other direction, president's palace, pyramid, and beyond to the never-ending flatness....

Having been out on Wednesday with a couple of colleagues just to the bar of another hotel near here, I ventured further on my own on Thursday, and went to the old part - or perhaps I should the say the older part. I found a cafe, and drank beer while watching the locals watch 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Still keeping themselves to themselves, but perhaps just flickers of interest when they thought I wasn't looking.

That was in complete contrast to the following night, when, after a sort of reception for us all to meet embassy staff from our various countries, to which not many of them actually came, a whole group of teachers decided to hit the town. I managed to steer clear - not my idea of fun at all - and went out with one other teacher, to see what we could discover. We went to a couple of restaurants - which, it seems, later become dancing places - and had some beer. In the first, we were invited to sit with some young men near our table and drank a bit of vodka with them, but it was a bit early for that, and they didn't speak much English, so we decided to move on. We ended up in what seemed to be a Moroccan themed restaurant, where a belly dancer was dancing as walked in - which seemed like a good enough reason to stay! People were eating, but that soon gave way to dancing, and it was great to see - they really seemed to be enjoying themselves, letting their hair down. We were the only foreigners there, and they were friendly and welcoming to us. Sam went off to dance, and I was soon accosted and persuaded to dance by a woman who spoke next to no English - but it didn't seem to matter, as it was all about having fun. We were given more vodka, and what was supposed to have been a quiet drink ended in the not-so-small hours! Alas, no photos...



After a very late start on Saturday, I went to the pyramid for a look around. I wanted to save going inside for another day, but it is quite a spectacle, and is in a line with several other buildings - the president's palace, Bayterek and the tent - so there is a good view looking back.

When I went the other side of the pyramid, its front, I was amazed to find a bevy of beauties! It seems the thing to do on one's wedding day is go on a tour of the city's monuments having photos taken next to each one, but I have never seen so many brides in one place, and as they left, more arrived. I counted eight at one point, with all the limousines parked nearby, and other impressive new buildings across the road.

After breakfast today, I went out to try and find out what some of the new buildings actually are, and even on going inside, it is not always clear. Later, FC Lokomotiv Astana were playing at home in a free to enter match, so I went along to the (unsurprisingly) brand-spanking-new Astana Arena, which was interesting and quite entertaining. They won 1-0.

Work will get a bit more demanding this week (it's been nice to have a gentle introduction), so not only will there be less time to write, but there will not be so many things to write about....

Re-charged

Finally, lastnight, I slept well, and can perhaps say I have adjusted to the time change. This was helped by not having to go to work until 2pm, and being able to sleep until I woke. When I was ready, I resumed my search for a battery charger. The whole process has been a bit like a treasure hunt, getting a step closer each time, being given clues by different people, and following them, only to find I was not there, but was a step closer...I went across the river to an electrical shop, where they had chargers, but not the right one, but they gave me a couple of addresses...the bus ride over there was interesting - I took a different one from before - many buses go to the other side, but they all seem to take roundabout routes, and this one was the most roundabout yet. I went close to the Pyramid (another Norman Foster creation) and beyond it were still more futuristic looking buildings....another day I will get off and have a closer look. The bus also went through a poorer, more rundown area where I will also get off another day.

I had to be at work for 2 to meet a Notary and sign a piece of paper. That was the extent of work today :-) It was also the first day for students, who were introduced to the university and registered, etc.

After that, I asked a local at work about the battery charger, and was helped by a couple of phone calls, and told where I could (hopefully) find one. I went there, found the place, bought a charger, came back and left the battery to do its stuff and went for dinner. When I came back, it was clearly working, and I have since been for a drink, and when I came back it was fully charged and so I have been able to add a couple of photos to the previous post, and a couple here...this one is taken from the 'tent' end of the main avenue in the new part...Bayterek in the middle, and the president's palace beyond

and this one taken from a classroom in the university to show how flat it is...

I'll take some from the top floor of the hotel before we leave...

New NU

Monday morning was free so I went back across the river to see the real part of the city again - just wandered around and tried to get some bearings, but it is hard when all the street names and shop names are written in Cyrillic script. If you can't read something, you can't remember it. I am gradually learning the letters and trying to read things - when I can read them, I can often understand as many things are quite similar to Polish.

The highlight of Monday was, bizarrely, going to work. From the outside, Nazarbayev University doesn't look much, but when you get inside, the main hall is the size of a very large aircraft hanger, with a lot of trees and plants, and (not yet working) fountains. It is impressively huge. To use a cliche, it will be great when it is finshed - very much still a work in progress, and perhaps even years before it will be completely finished.

 (this photo doesn't do it justice, but you can see the person walking down the left, less than 1/3 of the way down...)



Our part is almost ready, and they seem to be working hard to make sure it is. For those who don't know, the NU aims to become the top university in Central Asia, and a significant player on a world scale. To this end, it is forming partnerships with leading universities from around the world, including UCL and Harvard. Timing still seems a little unsure, and plans seem to change quite often (the President, after whom it is named, has decided not to visit and give a lecture next week), and the nobody seems quite sure when teaching will start. At the moment, it seems unlikely it will be this month, but when it does, we will be the first teachers giving the first courses to the first students to attend this university.


Still not adjusted to the time difference, feeling tired at funny times, and wide awake at others. Weather has been gorgeous - cloudless and sunny every day, in the 20sC.


Today we had to go back to work this morning, but apart from a meeting with my 'team', there was nothing else to do. I had lunch in the newly opened canteen on the campus, which was surprisingly good, and pleasantly cheap. Most of the food seems more Russian than Kazakh - and a lot is, again, quite similar to Polish. I had borscht and golabki (stuffed cabbage leaves). I went into town before returning for my first Russian lesson, from which I didn't learn much for a few reasons - other people had a lesson last week, there were too many people in the class, and some were really annoying as students - I pity the students who will be in their classes...

This is my office (with a couple of colleagues), as we move the furniture around - it has already been moved again, and will probably be moved some more before the week is out...but that is my desk in the middle...

Back to the hotel for dinner - a buffet breakfast and dinner are provided here, and as there will be plenty of time for going out and sampling the local fayre, and it is free here, there seems little reason to go elsewhere for the time being. It is fine without being spectacular, and is quite typical hotel food - not much that stands out as being particularly local or traditional, except that they did have some horse meat one day - cold. It tasted nice, but I will try it properly in a restaurant some time.


Unfortunately, my photographic nightmare is ongoing - the charger I bought doesn't work, so having run out of battery, I cannot even upload any more photos for the time being. My trip to town this afternoon was a fruitless search for a charger, which will be resumed tomorrow morning and hopefully I will be able to add a few photos to this some time tomorrow. While I was looking, I had more cause to speak to people than before, and it seems that younger people know some, but often not a lot, of English, but anybody older than about 30 probably won't know any. A couple of people I spoke to could speak reasonably well.


Anyway, I'll sign off for now....

Astana Dawn

As I flew into Astana Airport, the sky was still still dark, apart from a few slivers of light creeping into the eastern sky. By the time I came out the other side, it was morning, dawn had dawned. I was taken to the hotel, and the first thing that struck me on the way was the flatness of everything. The road was straight, as have been all the other others I have seen so far - no need for bends when it is soooo flat. Once checked into the hotel (and very nice too), we were informed breakfast was being served, and since they happened to mention that it was on the 23rd and top floor, in a revolving restaurant, and it was already a clear, sunny day, I could not resist going up to see. Excellent views of the city all round, needless to say, and a chance for some orientation. What was also even more apparent was the flatness.

Leisurely breakfast done, and I had to go out for a look around - the hotel is very near the iconic Bayterek Tower. 

I wandered around for a couple of hours, up and down the main drag (in the new part) and even across the river. It is all quite impressive in terms of gleaming new buildings, but they are all quite spaced out, the roads are very wide, and it is not very pedestrian-friendly. It was also eerily empty - hardly any traffic and very few people - perhaps because it was Sunday, and perhaps because it still relatively early. The President's Palace lies at one one end of this broad and very long largely pedestrianised avenue, heavily adorned with fountains and flower beds (it is the building in the middle).

After a couple of hours, fatigue was catching up with me, so I came back to the hotel, and slept for perhaps 5 hours. Feeling much better, I went to the other end of the central avenue, and came across 'The Tent' - which looks decidedly ordinary from the outside, but how looks can deceive. Inside the Tent (or Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre - designed by Norman Foster) is an amazing number of shops, but also apparently there are squares, cobbled streets, canals and a mini golf course - none of which I saw - and a small monorail, beach (where I saw people playing with beach balls, swimming, sunbathing, etc), and loads of other things - I will go back for an extended look around soon. As I was leaving, I bumped into another tutor who, like me, was coming back to the hotel for dinner.

After dinner, I decided to go the the real centre, the old centre - not really old, but just not new. I never quite made it. I had asked which buses I could take, and got a suitable one, but there were two difficulties, neither of which I managed to overcome - one was that is was dark and I couldn't see much outside the window, and the other was that even if I had been able to see, I didn't know what the old centre looked like. So I stayed on the bus, which was quite interesting in itself, looking at the people. Some look very Chinese - I suppose they could actually be Chinese, but perhaps too many look like that. Some look dark-skinned and wizened. Some look obviously Russian, and there are a few who are clearly foreigners. Some of the locals seem curious and occasionally interested, most barely acknowledge. Anyway, after a while, I tried to ask the conductoress where we were, and she showed me on the route map - well past the centre. She helped me out and just told me to stay on the bus. We went right to the end of the line, where the bus ceased to be in service, and the after consulatation with the driver, they 'taxied' me back to somewhere close to the old centre, from where I could get another bus back to the hotel, which I did as it was getting a touch late. I found a bar near the hotel for a quick one, which the barman kindly gave me despite being closed, and we had a little chat about the city and the people.

Just a couple of other things which stood out - the sun was glaringly bright all day - not complaining, but it is relentless, as is the wind - it was not strong, or particularly cold, but it was constant, and in the depths of winter, at minus 30 or whatever, it will make a huge negative difference. 

If anybody is actually reading this, please feel free to email me if there are particular things you would like to know, and I will see what I can do. Also I am not sure how often I'll write here, but I will try to do it regularly, and will try to continue even after the novelty begins to wear off, but perhaps not for the whole 3 years...this is after all, just the dawn...