Thank God, Almaty

If you didn't read the title well, you may have missed that it said "Almaty" as in Kazakhstan.  What? It's a pun - I like puns, I think they are punny... 

Sharon spent a few days in Almaty for a professional development conference for her school (see previous blog entry) and she took a few photos while she was there.

Something that you, dear reader, must realize is that in Tajikistan, there really is nothing "American" or what we would call "normal".

Yes, you can find some things that are familiar (see this blog entry) but there are no malls or fast food places here.  Not that malls and fast food is what we want to do, but when you don't have access to something like that, and more importantly don't know when you're actually going to see those things, it becomes a nice relief to go somewhere that does have them and partake in the American ritual of "shopping at the mall" and "grabbing a burger".

And for this reason, the post title is applicable.  Sharon was able to go shopping for some things that we simply cannot find in Dushanbe.  Additionally, she was able to go to some food establishments and other venues to experience some things that we are hard-pressed to find in Tajikistan.

This is what you get at the Dushanbe Airport when your flight is four hours delayed.

That's the Mega shopping mall in Almaty.  

Pretty sure the lights are up all year long & not just the holidays.

Street scene - It's definitely busier at night than Dushanbe.

Fantastic old building!

Of all things in Kazakhstan...an Irish Pub.

A couple of guys were in the corner (out of shot) playing the game console on the big TV.

Wait, is that an old 8mm projector on the shelf?

This is either an "action" shot taken while moving... 

OR an "after a few drinks" shot taken, well, after a few drinks :)

The Mad Murphy's menu.  Conveniently in Russian and English.

That looks like a good pizza right there.

And what goes better with pizza than a cold beer?

*Please drink responsibly - under 21 & over 0.00 = intoxicated*

Good old-fashioned Irish Stew - actually ended up being a Russian stew, but still.

Guess the Mad Murphy's Irish Pub doesn't look as good in Russian?

Ирландские Mad Мерфи Pub - yep, kinda loses something

THIS is just pure genius.  I think this guy also worked on the Manhattan Project.

When you sneak a phone into a concert, you have to be careful not to be seen taking photos.

Sharon (and her colleagues) got to attend a performance which included operatic singers, a choir, and an orchestral arrangement. 

The BEST part of getting out of Dushanbe?  

Finding American peanut butter (peanut butter at all for that matter),

 and bringing 16 POUNDS back in your checked bag for your husband!

In addition to peanut butter, Sharon returned with some cans of chili, taco & fajita seasoning, a pizza (she said it was from Pizza Hut, but it didn't look like any Hut pizza I've eaten before - not complaining because it's better than the pizza I've had here which is none), some cake mix, and frosting.

Guess who's gonna gain back the 10 pounds he lost since he's been here?  Yep, this guy!

If you're still not following the new Twitter feed, you're missing some interesting thoughts that I have while I'm roaming the streets.  Follow here.

Doo, doo, doo, Looking out my back door.

Er, I guess it's my window actually... 

Several people have asked me to post pictures of our apartment, both inside and outside.  

In comparing the apartment to where we've lived in Bend, OR and Lebanon, OR, this is most definitely not our regular standard of living. However, before we arrived we basically envisioned ourselves into "worst environment imaginable" expectations. 

I routinely read articles on lifehacker.com on how to build a makeshift air conditioner because we knew the temps would be 100+ but expected no A/C available. 

Our expectation wasn't exactly mud huts, but knowing this is a former Soviet satellite country, we did picture squat concrete buildings with no windows and no paint or 10-story tenement buildings with dripping water and one bare lightbulb in the stairwells. 

So when we arrived and were asked "how's your apartment, is it OK?", we both said "it's fine".  

Although the outside looks like it went through a war, (which it did in the 1990's), the inside is "modern" and has all the amenities you would expect to find... Tajik-style :)

Next blog: the inside!

Sunrise through the kitchen window... I think it's nice. 

Looking at the "yard" from the kitchen - it's dirt, weeds, and some random detritus (read garbage). The two paths converge on a point where the kids (and some adults) climb the wall to get to the streets behind.

Above the yard it's pretty - trees & rooftops. (Yes, there's security bars on the windows). 

Out the living room window.

Outside (LR side) - that big cable running across @ head level is 480V electrical supply running from one building to another. 

There's the panel box the cable runs from/to.

Side of building - our sidewalk to get into the apartment building entrance. 

Rounding the corner...the blue door on the left is our main entrance. Further along the path is another entrance for the apartments on that end. 

Our building (from the courtyard wall). Top left is our kitchen window. Like I said, looks like it has survived a war (note the right side of the peak is missing the roof).