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This is in response to Marina's posts dated 28 August and 29 August.

Hi Marina

What a busy weekend you've had - not only have you had time to write two posts, but there's also been the small matter of jumping from a plane! I am joking here of course - what an amazing feat! It must have been so scary, I can't imagine how you must have felt that minute before leaping out of the plane. I'm not sure that I could have done it. I don't have a fear of heights, and love standing on the tops of hills, mountains, even tall buildings, but there is a difference between standing ON something, and falling through the air. Anyway, well done on conquering your fears, and on landing safe and sound too. And I am sure that the cows were relieved that you managed to steer away from them!

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Hi friends!

Well, it's time to say goodbye! I haven't been thinking for a long time what I'll write about). I've just reread all your comments and discovered some unanswered questions. So I'm going to answer them now, guys.

Danny: How the individual defines his own national definition? There are several options: by his language? by his place of birth? by his religion? by his historical roots? How these matters effect you? With whom do you feel the greatest solidarity?

I really feel like a cosmopolite). Honestly, the whole world is getting mixed, although it's a bit sad. I believe that every nationality should keep its originality, culture and traditions.

��ѿ��ý_fan: Wow! Three celebration of New Year is more than enough! What is your favorite one? :-)

You see, my favorite New Year is traditional one, which is celebrated by the majority of people at 1st January. I really like a New Years tree and especially presents that are usually hidden under it). I don't know why, but there is one essential thing for me which came from the Soviet times - mandarins are the main thing on the New Years table)). The former Soviet citizens will understand me, I'm sure.

Mbagema: I see Almaty is green city and there are many beautiful mountains near. Are you mountain skier?

Unfortunately, I'm not. But I will!

Beatriz: Why are many children brought up by their grandparents in Kazakhstan?

You see, Beatriz, parents couldn't afford to hire a baby-sitter. To be precise it wasn't a norm in the Soviet society. That's why grandparents brought the children up.

Emat: Marina, is Taraday Belorussian surname? I know, it isn't of Korean one and neither is Polish.

Taraday is the Ukrainian surname. My grandfather was Ukrainian.

Emat: Did you ever heard about Aral Sea's ecological disaster? Do you know, Is our Old Man (and his ministers) taking any measures as regards to safe the Sea??

Of course I've heard about that problem. There is even a social foundation in Almaty that is trying to solve it. And I also know that the situation is getting better now, am I right?

Kim: Are Russian and Kazakh spoken equally, or are there parts of the county where one or the other is more widely spoken? What languages are taught in schools?

As far as I know, Russian language is used as equal as Kazakh one. But there are more Kazakh-speaking people in the south part of our country as well as in the countryside (auls). There are only three language that normally are taught in shools: English, German, and French.

Cross_the_Bridge: I've never tried sunflower seeds and even for me it is hardly possible do find them. What do they taste like? Why are they supposed to be useful? Maybe because in the past people had little to eat?

Well, the sunflowers seeds contain sunflower oil. That's why they're useful). They taste like nuts or something like that. I don't know exactly where the habit of eating them came from, but in our country the sunflowers are being sold everywhere and are quite popular snack.

Maria: On the latest Monday I also was in Warsaw. Do you like our capital city?

Of course I do. I've been there for two weeks and almost fall in love with Warsaw! As I noticed there are plenty of houses that look similar to ours ones of the Soviet time. As far as I know the historical center of Warsaw was rebuilt because it was completely ruined during the World War II. And I liked very much the Polish people attitude to their country.

Maria: How the Kazakhs treat their history, especially the period of being one of the republics of the USSR? The Kazakhs consider its as an occupation or rather as an normal situation? And what about now? As the nation do you like the Russian and politics that they are leading or you are rather more skeptical about them?

I can't talk for everybody. In my opinion Russia gave a huge boost to the development of Kazakhstan. I really don't have any suggestion what our country would be in case of another scenario. Of course there are people who blame the Soviet regime but the majority of us keep tolerance.

Kim: So you graduated 5 years ago? Where and what did you study?

I was studying Journalism at Almaty Institute of International Studies.

Emat: you don't by any chance know, how much does a single-room flat to rent in Almaty? What will it cost (without any furnishings, this I had to see for myself) to have it rented?

It depends on the area of the city. From $ 400 to $ 800.

Lana: I've one question to you, is it really you have in Kazachstan Yssyk lake? I always thought it is in Kyrgistan? Or have you a smaller one with the same name?

We have Issyk Lake in Almaty. I know what you were talking about. I've been to Issyk-Kul in Kirgizstan once! And I really liked that place - the water was so clear and warm!

Natanael: I'd like know about your job, I understood that you work a company like a newspaper company (am I right?). My last job was on the sport newspaper called Diário Lance, like "Marka" from Spain, or "Gazzeta Dello Sports" from Italy. So, tell me more, about your job and your challenger there.

It's an Internet edition which updates 24 hours. We write news from the whole world. But, unfortunately, on-line journalism isn't so popular and developed in Kazakhstan. Anyway, I hope in the future it will.

Beatriz: Congratulations Marina! Your new experience was a success. Are you going to repeat it?

You bet! I'm looking forward the next weekend!! )).

Doming: Who encourage you to try parachute jumping? I'm sure not your mom and dad. I think it took a lot of convincing to get their approval, isn't?

You see, it was my old dream. I've been prepared for that step for a long time. But I'm not going to stop there)).

OK guys, there is one more thing! I really liked the idea of some of you to visit Almaty one day! And I've caught you friends!)).

Ashish: And, I wish if I were there! If it happens somehow, meeting a Pocahontas with the nice hairstyle (highlighted in the photograph titled 'In the process of work') will also be a bonus. I really look forward to the day.

Elisabeth: I must remember the place next time we think about where to go on vacation...

Negee: You never know, may be sometimes I visit your country.
Friends, welcome to Kazakhstan!

I've really enjoyed this month. Thank you guys! And many thanks to Kim and the ��ѿ��ýLE!!!

Take care,

Yours, Marina the Pocahontas ;)

Hi guys!

There is always something that happens for the first time with us. But, in my opinion, the older we get the less "things-happen-for-the-first-time" we have. It's quite sad, isn't it? I think we should make our life more diverse considering the fact that our routine is sometimes eating us alive. Don't you think so, friends? Of course people are different, so are their interests.

Friends, I'm going to tell you about my first parachute-jumping experience)). Well, it was new and unusual feeling, although it didn't live up with my expectations! Honestly, a steep waterslide in Aqua Park seems more dangerous to me). May be I just didn't understand what was happening as the duration of flying wasn't so long - only 4-5 minutes; and the free fall lasted only 3 seconds. BUT! I felt like screaming "aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" when the door of the airplane was opened. As a result I've got a huge bruise on my knee and my nails broken, and of course I've got my adrenaline going! :))).

OK, let's start from the beginning. We came to the airfield Bayserke at 10 o'clock yesterday and started training which lasted 4 hours. Our trainer was telling us about the theory of jumping and describing how the parachute works. The main canopy of the parachute Д-1-5у ("jellyfish 'chutes") we have jumped with is round and has 82, 5 square meters in area. Can you guys imagine! It could cover up to three big cars! These parachutes are the USSR made and still have no analog.

Well I was a kind of model for our instructor. And, friends, I must say those parachutes are so heavy!!! The main parachute weighs 16 kg. and an emergency one is about 8 kg. You see, guys, it was quite hard to wear them both as my weight is only 49 kg.) But, believe me in the air it hardly does any matter :).

The main rules are quite simple:

1. You have to weigh from 40 to 95 kg. and be over 16 years old.
2. No alcohol, drugs or energetic drinks.
3. You have to be examined by doctor: your blood pressure and pulse must be standard.
4. You have to sign a standard contract, get the insurance, and pay the money.
5. And of course you are forbidden to wear skirt and high hills during the jumping)))).

After we got a portion of theory we began to train how to jump out of airplane (there was a sort of "door" on a training field, which was removed from an old airplane :)) and how to land. You see, guys, if you don't follow these rules you will break your legs in the best case. So we were training until our instructor told us it was enough. To be honest, I felt like a soldier in the army :)).

Finally it was time to divide us into the groups of 10 because the airplane has only 10 sits. I was in a second group. So before jumping we had to be examined by doctor who then decided whether you're allowed to jump or not. Unfortunately, my companion had some problems with his pulse and he was excluded. I myself had a classic combination of blood pressure and pulse. I was near to scream: Hurraahh!! :)).

Our group of 7 boys and 3 girls went to big field where our parachutes and the airplane were ready. The trainer assistants helped us to put on parachutes and helmets. And finally we followed our instructor towards the airplane!

Inside the airplane our 10 parachutes were attached to the cable so that they could open automatically in 3 seconds after jumping. Well the airplane took off! Guys! Despite my skepticism it was just fantastic! Boys and girls was screaming and cheering each other up :)). When the airplane got altitude of 1000 meters our trainer opened the door! I was so excited and looking forward to my turn to jump, although I was the last. First our instructor allowed going 4 boys. Then the airplane made a circle and another 3 boys jumped out. You see, guys, according to the rules of parachute jumping the lightest person goes the last. Finally it was girls turn! When I looked down I saw the whole city! It was really amazing!

Well, jumping down was the best moment! After a few seconds I felt a rapid leap up - my parachute was opened and after that my helmet fell on my eyes :). You know, it was so quiet in the air! I was really enjoying the moment!

But after one minute I remembered the rules we were told about :)). I had to direct my parachute towards the white cross that was as orienteer for us. When I finally discovered the sign I was trying to fly towards it, but I realized soon that it was in vain. I noticed a herd of cows as well and was getting closer and closer to it :)). Fortunately, I managed to fall nearby :)). So every cow is still alive :))). One of the instructor's assistants was watching me during my flight and met me on the ground.
I arrived home safe and sound, and happy of course!

So guys, I feel really good because it was another "fear-overcoming" for me. Now I know for sure I'm not afraid of heights!

I hope you'll share your stories with me, friends!

Take care,

Yours
Marina

Hi friends!

I'm glad you liked Almaty! That city is really beautiful and magnetic. And I hope someday you will visit it. Well, friends, some of you have questions about the spots of Almaty. That's why I decided to continue my writing about it and describe more places.

Dear Kim! It's really a coincidence! We also have a long weekend in Kazakhstan. August 30 is the Day of the Constitution in our country. It's usually celebrated in all Kazakhstani areas and cities. According to tradition, there are mass celebratory festivities and concerts of amateur artists.

Akyn with dombyra

Usually we have performances with girls dancing in national costumes, and "akyns" singing with "dombyra". "Akyn" means "singer-improviser"; and "dombyra" is Kazakh musical instrument. There used to be a nice old tradition to hold a competition between the akyns from different parts of Kazakhstan. Of course it still exists, although isn't so popular.

There are also yurts, which are put during the celebration, and everyone can go inside to drink or to eat national dishes. The student "Hohhot" from Mongolia was wondering if we still have yurts in the streets. We don't. There are some which are used as national restaurants.

The yurt

OK. That's enough for the holiday). Answering Kim's question I'd like to say following - if I could I would change the system of public transport here. It's really far from ideal. There is no any schedule of buses, so it's difficult to use them for students and pensioners. I think it's a great disadvantage. I myself have lived in Almaty for eight years so far and hardly use the public transport. Actually, I rather prefer walking. Another thing that I'm thinking about is our roads. To be precise I'm talking about pedestrian area and cycle lanes. These things are far from ideal as well.

Well, as I promised I'm going to tell you about other beautiful places.

The Issyk Lake is situated in Issyk gorge that is 70 kilometers east from Almaty. This place is really beautiful, although there are always a lot of locals there, especially at the weekends. I was there last Sunday. And I must say, the water is very cold!

The Issyk Lake

The Turgen gorge is famous for its waterfalls. It takes around 2 hours to get there and another 30 minutes to reach first waterfall. It's not required any special training as the way is quite easy.

The Turgen gorge

The Waterfall "Kairaksky"

The Tamgaly-Tas tract is 120 kilometers north from Almaty near the Ili River. "Tamgaly-Tas" means "stones with the signs" or "images on the rocks". There are about 1000 different rock signs which belong to the late Middle Ages. The most famous of them is Buddha image. This place is believed to be holy.

Tamgaly-Tas

Buddha image

Just to lift the mood :)

OK, guys, that's all for now! Tomorrow I'm going to make my first parachute jump! My training starts at 10 am at the airfield Bayserke. And at around 2 pm tomorrow I will be jumping! So wish me luck, friends!

Looking forward to your questions! And can't wait to share my "parachute-jumping" experience with you!

Take care,
Marina

Hi Marina

Thanks for your latest post about Almaty. The photos of the city look spectacular. The countryside looks stunning - and I like the mini Eiffel Tower! It appears to be a very multicultural place. Is this one of the things that makes you love the city? How long have you lived in Almaty, Marina? Are there any aspects of life in Almaty that you would change?

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Hi dear friends!

Welcome to Almaty! Why do I call it "my first love"? Well, you see, I really adore this city! And we also have a musical festival here that is held every year and called "Almaty - my first love". I'm hundred per cent sure that every person first time visited Almaty would love it forever.

'Almaty' or 'Alma-Ata'?

Some people believe that "Alma-Ata" is Russian city-name and "Almaty' is Kazakh one. But they are wrong of course. During the Soviet times the city was called "Alma-Ata" which meant "Father of apple" ("Alma" means "Apple", although "Ata" means "grandfather"). There is a legend which says that the name "Alma-Ata" was created in 30 minutes time during the meeting of the Soviet leaders. Later, when Kazakhstan got its independency, the city became "Almaty" that means "apple" (in a meaning of adjective) and it sounds more Kazakh now.

You see guys, the city used to be famous for its apple orchards. There were plenty of different apple sorts; the most noted one was "aport". Can you imagine - one fruit was as big as a baby head!

"Aport"

But where are those apples now? To all people great surprise the most of the apple orchards were cut down. Instead the new buildings have been built. And now we buy the apples from Uzbekistan or China. Quite sad, isn't it? We all are still really disappointed in that authorities' decision. But there are still apples, peach, and plum trees near houses here. Anyway the apple still remains the symbol of Almaty.

Kok-Tobe Park

One of the places where the apple orchard used to be became the First President Park. And that park is amazing, I must say, although I keep thinking that nature couldn't be replaced by human being's creation.

The First President Park

Almaty is the biggest and the most beautiful city in Kazakhstan. There are about two million people currently living here. I like it for its relatively calm traffic; despite the fact that locals really love big cars. The city attracts a lot of foreigners. As I live in the so-called "business-center" of the city, almost 50 per cent of my neighbors are the foreigners. But I love the historical center with its buildings of the soviet period. There are some quiet streets where I love to walk especially in the autumn.

Business center of Almaty

Almaty is green city surrounded by mountains. When it's not raining you could see the proud peaks of the Trans-Ili Alatau.

The city

There are also many students from different countries who are studying Russian language or teaching English or other languages. Almaty has a number of twin cities: Tucson (USA), Rennes (France), Daegu (South Korea), Moscow (Russia), Kazan (Tatarstan), Sankt-Petersburg (Russia), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Minsk (Belorussia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Istanbul (Turkey), Riga (Latvia), Tel-Aviv (Israel), Budapest (Hungary), Alexandria (Egypt), Urumqi (China), Federal state of Lower Austria, and Varna (Bulgaria). Every year youth from these countries visit Kazakhstan for a cultural exchange.

When I asked my friends what their favorite place in Almaty was they just gave me so many answers that I thought "OK, it's getting quite tough to choose". So I simply decided to attach the pictures of the most beautiful places which are around the city.

The Big Almaty Lake

Charyn Canion

Copy of Eiffel Tower in the center of Almaty

The Medeo Ice rink

Chimbulak

Well, friends, I'm looking forward to your questions! What would you like to know about Almaty?

Take care,

Marina

Hi Marina

Thanks for your latest post, and for giving us some information about higher education in Kazakhstan - and its problems. Interesting to read the comments made in response to your post. As Negee says, the UK is not exempt, and indeed higher education has been in the news recently as A level results have just been released. More students than ever have applied to go to university this year but there are not enough places and 28% of applicants are still without a place - many will have to wait another year.

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Hi everyone!

Just to kill two birds with one stone I'm going to do my homework and answer Maria's (from Poland) questions, guys. Don't you mind Kim? :)

You see, friends, yesterday I read a rating of World's best countries that has been published by the one American magazine. It says that Kazakhstan scored 14 out of 100 in the educational area. To be honest, people in my office were quite surprised as the majority of our population really doesn't consider the education system here to be such an excellent. But I may mistake as it's been almost five years since I graduated and 20 years since Kazakhstan got its independency. Maybe we judge too strictly? In the meantime, is it enough for the whole system to recover so quickly?

OK, friends, I'll try to explain what I mean. In 1991, when the USSR collapsed, the education system in Kazakhstan wasn't good as well as the whole situation. It was very bad, actually. You see, all of the educational institutions used to be under Moscow control. Of course there was a chaos after we got independency. Schools, universities and other institutions had a very poor financing and a half of them just were closed. But the situation began to change in the 1998-99th when the private universities were growing like mushrooms. It's true fact that almost all of them didn't have any license for their activities.

So, friends, I was unhappy to be taught at that kind of university. Now lots of graduates don't even be able to confirm their diploma as that university was closed. Thus they are not competitive at all, if you see what I mean. As far as I know having a Western diploma is a must for working on some big companies in Kazakhstan and making a good carreer. Doesn't it prove that our education is far from ideal? I just won't describe every aspect of that time. But, who knows, maybe it was just inevitable scenario for us as for the former member of the USSR (?).

So, Kazakhstani people tend to get a Western education for getting a better job. But only a few can afford it because it's quite expensive. The great thing is that in 1993 our President set up the "Bolashak" scholarship which gets an opportunity about 1,000 talented students to study abroad (just for comparison: there are 142,000 graduates in 2010 in Kazakhstan). We also have a variety of International Fellowship that makes the studying abroad possible for us as well.

On the other hand, there are some optimistic points. In fact many students from India, Pakistan and some other countries come to Kazakhstan to get the Medical education. Over the past few years lots of youth organizations in the education area have been set up. Honestly, we all believe that the situation is getting better. And I hope that the next generation of the Kazakhstani students will be far more lucky than I was.

Ok friends, I hope you'll share you point of view and the situation with education in your countries. I'd really want to know what is your attitude to this topic.

PS. Kim, I haven't used the example of "would" yet.

So here it is: In 2004 I was studying at the university. I would skip my last lectures because of the social work. :)

Take care,

Marina

Hi Marina

Thanks for the latest post about your grandparents. I love the description of your grandma eating all those sunflower seeds. For a number of years I taught English in Spain, to children as well as adults, and the children would often be snacking on sunflower seeds (they called them 'pipas'), and the classroom floor and playground would be covered in the husks. Their seeds were salted - did your grandmother salt hers too? As I mentioned before I also have an allotment, and have grown some sunflowers too, though not as a crop. I don't think I will have enough to be able to supply us with snacks for the rest of the year. More likely, they will keep the birds in food over the winter.

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Hi dear friends!

Yesterday I was looking at my family's old photographs. You see, when I was a child my family used to have a nice tradition. We just were sitting together at home with a cup of tea and were listening to the story of every picture telling by my grandma and later by my mum.

Well, while I was looking at those pictures of my grandparents I was thinking of what kind of associations I have with all of them, what memories are in my mind. You see, in Kazakhstan many children are often brought up with their grandma and grandpa like I and my sister were. I've been living with my Polish-Ukrainian grandparents for almost six years. Naturally, I was kind of influenced by them :).

My Polish-Ukrainian grandparents

People in our neighborhood used to spend their free time sitting with neighbors outside,playing dominoes, speaking about life, mostly political issues (sometimes discussing situation in the USSR), often arguing, drinking tea or beer and eating sunflower seeds. You see, friends, sunflower seeds were an essential thing among women as well as cigarettes among men :). I just can't imagine my grandma without them (I mean sunflower seeds of course). For me, as I was a kid, it was just one of the numerous amusements. But now I really don't think it's a good idea to eat them (may be just without husk? ;)). I mean they damage the teeth although the eating of them is useful. Anyway it looks like a bad habit as well as smoking :). What do you think?

My grandma grew up the sunflowers on her allotment. In the autumn they were harvested and seeds were dried in an oven.

Honestly, I just can't believe now how we managed to eat three huge bags of sunflowers seeds (my grandma often prepared three or four) per year! Anyway the smell of the ripe sunflowers seeds really reminds me about my childhood (it's quite sad but in the center of Almaty, where I live and work now, I can find the sunflowers at the florist's only, without any seeds of course).

Do you like a cherry jam? In our country we call it "varenie". I adore it and the way my grandma used to cook it though when I helped her I wasn't good at pulling pits out of cherry :)). I remember the smell of berries that was fantastic! And it tasted delicious of course!

"Varenie"

The "tea ceremony" with my grandparents was my favorite part of the evening especially in the winter. Grandma prepared tea with the different dried herbs - mint, currant leaves, and chamomile etc. And the Russian "samovar" of course was in the centre of our table :)). But we had the "modern" samovar - electric one (in case some of you don't know: the Russian samovar is normally worked with using firewood). So during the tea grandma was telling some interesting "scary" stories in a "World War II" style or grandpa was reading me the "fairy tales" from a sort of "red soviet soldier" magazine. It was quite funny to listen to those stories considering the fact that I understood only a half of it :).

"Samovar"

I loved them very much as they were like my second parents :). From them I learnt a lot of important things. It's thanks to my grandfather, Feodor, I became an addictive reader. My grandmother, Evdokia, in her turn taught me how to get by without medicine (or at least to replace some of them with herbs); I often use her recipes of herbal coctails.

Evdokia and Feodor

As to the countries where they were from, I've been only to Poland once. This is quite strange that I've never been to Ukraine as it is closer to Kazakhstan than Poland. But I'm sure I will :).

Warsaw, Poland

My Korean grandparents

You see, friends, my Korean grandfather, who constantly had the pipe in his mouth like Sherlock Holmes, was married twice. I never met my biological grandmother who was from Belorussia. I have only the pictures of her.

Grandfather with Belorussian grandmother Maria (and my daddy ;)

But my memories about my step-grandmother are really fantastic! For me she was like a mysterious fairy and looked like a porcelain doll. She was Korean and never spoke any other language that made her more mysterious. Every visit to their house was like a small celebration for me as I visited them rarely. Honestly it was quite a different world :).

My step-grandmother

First of all I love Korean cuisine a lot especially sweet rice cakes - "chimpeni". The cooking of them is a real art. And I've never managed to do it like my grandma did.

"Chimpeni"

Secondly, she had a stunning clothes and accessories that were from South Korea. You see, in Soviet times people wore the same clothes and looked pretty similar because of the political regime. So it was just unforgettable pastime to play with that grandma's stuff :). The thing that I adored most of all was a big box of Chinese face powder with a smell of violets! :).

There's another remarkable thing that I'd like to tell you, friends. Although my grandparents had the Korean names, people called them by Russian ones. Yan In Hua (grandma) became Julia, Pak Don Su (grandpa) became Mikhail. And again, I've been to South Korea but never to Belorussia :). Quite odd, isn't it? :)

South Korea, Busan

And the last thing, friends. Ashish was asking about a Korean birthday tradition. This custom is quite old and people don't follow it anymore. But as my daddy told me the celebration of child's first birthday has its own history. Hundreds of years ago infant mortality was much higher than now. And every survived baby was treated with a special care. The Koreans used to celebrate the "pek il" when a baby turned 100 days (it means that baby overcame the most dangerous period of life) and "tole" - when it turned 1 year. Traditionally, parents sent the rice cookies to relatives and friends (in return the baby was given the money or the gold ring). But I know almost nothing about "hvegap" history - 60th birthday celebration.

It's just great that you can close your eyes and see the past.

OK, friends! It's time to go now!

Looking forward to your opinion!

Yours,
Marina

This is in reply to Marina's latest post

Hi Marina

Thanks once again for completing your last task so promptly, and for making good on your promise to tell us all about your native town (notice how 'make good' is used here!)

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Hi dear friends!

As I promised I'm going to tell you about my native town Zhezkazgan. I was quite surprised to meet here two people from there (Vadim and Askar). Anyway I'm sure they'll recognize some places I'm going to describe in this entry.

I never mentioned that people in Kazakhstan speak two languages - Kazakh and Russian (as Kazakhstan was the part of Russia for almost 260 years). They both are official in our country. There're three members of our family who speak both Kazakh and Russian languages - my father, sister and nephew. Neither my mother nor I speak Kazakh. Actually people who moved to Zhezkazgan in the 1950s (like my grandparents) don't speak that language either.

In a nutshell

As I've already mentioned in my first entry Zhezkazgan means "copper mine". The city is situated in the centre of Kazakhstan; to be accurate - in the territory of the Great Sary-Arka Steppe. It's known that almost three thousand years ago copper was found in that territory. In 1909 the English bought the Zhezkazgan deposit and in 1913 planned factory building. But they had to leave that idea because of the Great October Revolution in 1917 and the Civil War in the 1920s when Kazakhstan joined to Soviet Russia (later USSR). So after that in 1928 the factory started working.

In the same time the group of soviet geologists was studying the territory. Later Zhezkazgan copper deposit was recognized the biggest one in USSR. In 1940 the Kengir reservoir, which now supplies the whole city with water, was built.

The Kengir reservoir

After the World War II (1941-1945) my ancestors came to build the industrial settlement "Big Zhezkazgan". By the end of 1954 almost 30,000 people had been living there and later the settlement officially became the city.

My grandparents. The builders of Zhezkazgan

Now there are about 100,000 citizens in Zhezkazgan. The well-known "Kazakhmys Corporation" - the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan - is based there as well.

Sightseeing

There are many historical places and monuments near my native town. In my opinion the most significant of them are the ancient mausoleums. My mother used to teach geography to students and she knows these places well. To my shame, I've visited only The Alasha Khan Mausoleum once.

The Dombaul Mausoleum, 8th-9th century AD, is situated 58 kilometers north-east from Zhezkazgan.

The Alasha Khan Mausoleum, 10th-11th century AD. Alasha Khan was well-known historical figure who merged the Turkic nomads and created first Kazakh state.

The Jochi Khan Mausoleum, 13th century AD.

Taraday Street

One of the Zhezkazgan streets is named in an honor of my uncle Victor Taraday. He was killed at the age of 20 in Afghanistan war on May 26th, 1980. He was a sergeant of Soviet troops and posthumously awarded the Red Star Order.

"Died in Afghanistan paying his international duty"

The towm itself is quite small as you could understand. The most of houses are belong to Soviet architecture period that's why Zhezkazgan looks like the other small towns in Kazakhstan.

Dear Emat! Am I right saying that the first and the biggest cosmodrome - "Baykonur" - is situated near your native town Aralsk? There are two monuments in Zhezkazgan that dedicated to the first space flight of Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961. There's also the "Сosmonauts Alley" where the Kazakh and Russian spacemen planted the pine-trees. Actually "cosmonaut" is a soviet word and as far as I now the more convinient word to use is "astronaut".

We don't have any mountains here like in Almaty. There is only steppe around the town. But I love this view very much especially the smell of tarragon - a plant that is normally grown on the steppe. And honestly, there is only one place on the planet where the stars' shine is the brightest - home town.

The steppe

That's all for now friends!

Yours,

Marina

Hi Marina

Thanks for your latest post, and for answering everyone's questions. It sounds like you've had an interesting career - how did you move from social work to journalism? That's quite a jump. What is the 'society' section of the online newspaper that you edit - Lifestyle? Events? Or people? I am now imagining that you have a full and exciting social life as part of your job! Is online news popular in Kazakhstan? Has online news had an impact on people buying and reading newspapers offline?

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Hi everyone!

As usual let me thank you for commenting my blog and sharing your opinion. Well, I think it's a logical step to write about my job in this very entry because my last post has raised many questions.

Dear Ashish your guess about my workplace was wrong. I'm not a Souvenir shop assistant I work in the media. Actually I'm a journalist. To be accurate I'm an editor of the 'society' section of one Internet edition. We write the news online. Normally we have an eight-hour work day. Twice in a month we have a night shift but it compensate with a day-off during the work week. Answering Kira's question I must say I'm absolutely satisfied with my job! You know I just do what I love to. By the way our staff is fantastic! I almost never get tired (saying nothing of my eyes).

Actually I always write something even in my free time - stories, essays etc. This is my hobby and when I got an inspiration I could create whole night! Now I'm working on the script and hope one day it'll be made into a film which I'll make with my friends. We aren't going to make our movies for the 'big screen' but for 'art-house festivals'. This is my dream anyway. So wish me luck friends!

In the process of working :)

Every two hours I just breathe on a balcony. Isn't there an impressive view?! In the background you can see a 'tower'. Actually this is a television tower that is situated on 'Kok-Tobe' mountain (1070 m). Just five minutes - and you are in a peace and quiet in the mountains.

As to my photo with stuffed animals, I just was passing by the souvenir shop that day (!) and was quite surprised to see a wolf. So I decided to take a picture and share it with you. Danny was wondering if the wild animals are protected in Kazakhstan. Of course they are! There are many species that in the Red Book.

The snow leopard is the symbol of Almaty city and forthcoming Asian Olympic Games 2011. There are only 100-120 species left in Kazakhstan.

The golden eagle is in danger of extinction. There are about 200 species in Kazakhstan. For hundreds of years the golden eagle has been using for hunting. And now this tradition is still exists in our country. Training of these birds is required high special skills. It's great art that usually passes from father to son.

What can I say about wolves? It known that every year the government allocates money for shooting wolves because they damage farms and attack people and domestic animals. Hunters shoot them and sell their skins to craftsmen and finally they are in a souvenir shop. The wolf skin is quite popular in our country. It's used for decorating floor or walls in some houses. As I've known a lot of tourists are very interested in buying them.

Well OK. In conclusion I just want to attach some pictures of mountains in Almaty that I love so much!

See you friends!!

Yours,
Marina

Hi everyone,

Well, Andrew is off on his adventure and is currently somewhere on the way to Mongolia. He's promised to try and update us on his travels in the staff blog.

In the meantime, you're stuck with me again. So today I thought I'd ask you a question. When you think of London (or Great Britain), what iconic symbols do you think of? Apparently, most people would immediately say: a double-decker London bus, a telephone box and a post box - all of which happen to be red. It got me thinking: why red?

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This is in reply to Marina's third and fourth posts

Dear Marina

Gosh - you have been busy this weekend, haven't you? Thanks very much for both of your posts. It was certainly interesting to read about the different religions that co-exist in Kazakhstan (a nice word to use by the way - although you don't need to add 'together' too).

Thanks for putting up the photos of the various places of worship - the Orthodox temple is beautiful. I had never heard about the 'temple of all religions' - the Pyramid of Peace. I just looked online and have seen that it was designed by the UK architect Norman Foster, and that it has an opera house underground - have you ever been inside?

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Hi dear friends!

Well, you see, Pary from Iran (thanks a lot Pary!!!) left me comment today. Dear Pary no offense but I will quote your words here (don't worry; I'll do that only once). So you wrote: "I have truck loads of delayed works, wish me luck ...see you". You know it rang a bell with me! You just won't believe how many times I have heard that phrase from some friends of mine! And usually it sounds quite sad for me and I suppose it would for all of you.

OK, it's time to explain what I am trying to say :). In my opinion majority of people in Kazakhstan (especially younger ones) pay too much attention to their work. I mean some of them are kind of "workaholic" as they work approximately 12-14 hours per day. (Those "twenty-something" probably should have enjoy their lives but instead they are trying to earn all money on the Earth). Beyond all doubt I appreciate their lifestyle and intention to earn much money. But people, tell me for goodness' sake what all this money for if you hardly have any free time to have a lunch? We have one appropriate collocation in our language "работать так, что света белого не видеть". It means "to work so hard that even don't be able to see the day light".

I myself used to work like crazy from 8 am till 10 pm (sometimes till 12 pm) trying to prove something to somebody. One day I just felt empty; there was nothing to talk about to me but my work, nowhere to go but to the office. I've been totally "lost" for the rest of society. It's quite sad, isn't it? :). But, friends, don't worry. Finally I took a right decision - now I have only an eight-hour work day and take things easy, though I earn less than I used to.

You see, young people here have a sort of "addiction" to material things especially posh ones. I mean expensive cars, clothes, mobile phones (e.g. phone in platinum :)) and other similar stuff. There is kind of "showing-off-competition" among them. So it's quite easy to understand their intention to earn as much as possible. But what the price they pay working all those long hours. I'm not going to judge them. I'm just sharing my point of view. In my opinion, we live ones and the life is too short. I'm sure we should catch every moment and live it for ourselves not for "job", although every person has own priorities.

As to all those material things, of course it's important to have things you want to and definitely we all have to work to get them (we are law-abiding, aren't we? :). But I think that life is not only "earning and spending". For me life is "learning and opening new things every moment". There are plenty of things that we just can't buy - the light of the day :), smile of our nearest and dearest, health (!!!), and freedom. I believe that each of you has your own "don't buy for money" list.

Well, we each choose what is right or wrong for us. The main thing is not to confuse the "cost of living" with the "price of life". (I'm not sure whether these two expressions are translated in the same way like in Russian, but Russian-speaking could 100% understand what I mean. We frequently confuse the meaning of them in the process of learning English).

And traditionally one pic of me :)

Looking forward to your opinion,

Yours,

Marina

Who are you: agnostic or atheist, Christian or Muslim? Actually, this question is not so important, you may think. As one friend of mine like saying, doesn't really matter what religion you belong to the main thing is what kind of person you are. And, for many reasons I agree with him. But in the same time the theme of religion itself is quite interesting and significant especially in our time.

I am very proud for my country being not only multinational but "multi-religion". The truth is that historically many different religions co-exist together in Kazakhstan. The most important thing is that almost every person could choose own faith; but sometimes it depends on family lifestyle. Well, as I'm surrounded by people of various nationalities we quite frequently have discussions about the faith. There are always the questions like "believe or not", "is the faith really makes you stronger" etc. I myself agnostic but I respect opinion and choice of other people. Answering Kim's question about the Korean Diaspora I must say that about 100, 000 Koreans currently live in the country. Naturally, I've lots of Korean friends. Some of them are the Buddhists and others are the Christians. It might be sounds odd having Buddhism or Hare Krishna in "considered-to be-Muslim" country. But! There are the followers of Hare Krishna even among my friends.

Hare Krishna, Almaty

There is an only Krishna's temple in Central Asia as I know. Actually, they called it "farm" and people who "lost" their way live there having sort of "work therapy".

Hare Krishna Temple, Almaty

The fact is that Islam and Christianity have majority of followers in Kazakhstan. I really enjoy a view of mosques and churches when I pass by.

Mosque (is being reconstructed), Almaty

Orthodox Church, Almaty

Catholic Church, Almaty

Synagogue in Astana

We used to never discussing faith's topic in our family, because of the Soviet time, perhaps. As you probably know, before the beginning of the World War II almost every temple on the present CIS territory had been destroyed by so-called "red army" led by Stalin. People had to hide their connection with religion, because "to believe in God" was prohibited. There is one Almaty legend that connected with that time. It said that two monks Serafim and Feognost dug in the Kyzyl-Zhar (means "red cliff") Mountain a big hole and hid the church in there. Later they were founded and shot by "red soldiers". Their remains are still in perfect condition and they are considered to be saints. The "hidden" church is still there near the "Medeo" (place where the Asian Olympic Games 2011 will be held).

Memorial in honor of the saints Serafim and Feognost, Almaty

I'm glad knowing that nowadays people don't have to hide any more. Moreover we have "temple of all religions" in capital city Astana. People call it "pyramid". Every three years the leaders of word confessions (about 200) will be gather in this palace to take a part in Forum.

"Pyramid", Astana

This is the globe with 17 parts where signatures of religious leaders were left, Astana-Bayterek

Well, friends, am really looking forward to your point of view!

Yours,
Marina

Hi Marina

Thanks for doing your homework so quickly, and for your latest post too. I think I can echo everyone's comments here and say how lucky you are to be able to celebrate so many different festivals, including three New Year celebrations!

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Hi everybody! I'm so pleased with all your comments! Thank you! That's also so unexpected to meet my countrymen here! More excited was to hear from Vadim from St.-Petersburg, who's Zhezkazgan-born like me!! Actually I'm trying to be in touch with all my friends from Zhezkazgan who live in different countries now.

I'm going to tell about feasts we normally celebrate in my family in a nutshell. At first, I must say that it's really complicated question what nationality I more belong to as everything became quite "mixed" - traditions, cuisines, the way of living etc. I'm just trying to take all the best things from every culture. As to celebrating, we have three New Years in a year :). On 31 December we celebrate European New Year like most of people around the world, in the middle of February - Korean, and on 22 March - Kazakh "Nauryz" as we live in Kazakhstan and really love the way it is held.

Girls are dressed in national outfits, Zhezkazgan

After celebration, Zhezkazgan

Actually, people in our country adore different sorts of events - national holidays, wedding and birthday parties. In short, as many nationalities you have in your family as many feasts you can celebrate. (If your family contained all 150 nationalities living in Kazakhstan, the celebration would never stop :))). And that's very funny, I must say!

Back to my family, we celebrate Christian Easter as my mum is half-Ukrainian. As Korean we allowed to celebrate birthday only twice in our lives: when we turn one and sixty years old. BUT! Don't worry; we do it every year like common people, though my grandfather never did. The dishes we serve during the celebration are also "mixed". For example, my dad, who as you already know is half-Korean, cooks Kazakh national dish "beshbarmack" with some alterations, he adds a lot of Korean spices and red onion.

Normal Kazakh "Beshbarmack" :)

And vice versa my mum adds potato to Korean soup which is quite unusual, I must confess.

I promise to give more description to "Nauryz" as it's a really important and fascinating event. And I'd love to cook one of our family "mixed" dishes in my kitchen and publish a "photo-report" for you, my friends :) Oops! Have to go now as its 2 am in Almaty.

Enjoy yourself!

Yours, Marina the Pocahontas :)

This is in reply to Marina's first post

Hello Pocahontas - oops, I mean Marina!

Welcome to the ��ѿ��ý Learning English student blog. Thank you very much for introducing yourself to us - I am really looking forward to hearing more about your life and your country.

You have a really interesting heritage - Korean, Polish, Ukrainian and Belorussian. How did your grandparents come to meet in the settlement that became 'Zhezkazgan'? Anyway, I see that you are planning to tell us about the town so I won't ask any more questions about it. I am sure we will be hearing more about Almaty too.

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Hi from multinational Kazakhstan! First of all I want to say to previous blogger Enayat - everything is going to be OK, just believe in yourself and move forward despite the circumstances!

Well, let's back to 1 August :) Today's my first day of blogging and am so happy to have an opportunity of sharing with all of you some information about my country. Actually there's so much I want to write about and I'll try to "show" you as much as I can. I'm sure you'll be interested in our national customs, history, and cuisine. I really hope you will love Kazakhstan as I do!

Let me start my blog from writing about me, my friends. So selfish you could think :). But! That story is not about my height, weight, and color of my eyes or whatever. That's about my nationality. It's quite odd to have a note "Korean" in my ID's nationality column, because I don't look like Korean at all. People always ask me what my nationality is and, honestly, they never can guess. But there are always a lot of versions: some people suppose me to be Russian; the others believe that I look like Kazakh or Tatar. And, imagine, one girl thought I was Indian! That's why now my friends call me "Pocahontas" - a character from the famous Disney's cartoon, remember?

Do I really look like Pocahontas?? :)

But the truth is I'm so calling "half-blood" as I have four nationalities - Korean, Polish, Ukrainian and Belorussian. And that's no wonder in our country, that's kind of "norm". In fact there are people of 150 nationalities who currently live in Kazakhstan. Most of them, including my ancestors, moved here after the World War II to build new cities. My grandfather, for example, was from South Korea and my grandmother from Belorussia. So my dad is "half-blood" as well. My mum's parents moved from Ukraine and Poland, that's why, probably, she is so beautiful! So, as you could understand, my grandparents met each other in a small settlement which became later the town named "Zhezkazgan" and where I was born! "Zhezkazgan" means "copper mine" and I will dedicate one of my post to describing that place.

photo by Sergey Bolotin, Zhezkazgan

But now I live in the former capital of Kazakhstan - Almaty. I love that amazing city so much! And you will understand why from my next blog posts! See you soon and enjoy the last month of summer!

Yours, Marina the Pocahontas :)