Summer Break

Dear Readers,
As summer has descended and my schedule has become irregular, I have found it difficult to create time to finish the Kazakhstan history series I began in the Spring.  Panels 6-10 will definitely come to the Wild Apple Grove, but I am not sure when.

Congratulations to the 11th year students!

I have been thinking about the 11th year students at Gymnasium #10, who took their statewide exams yesterday. I hope they went well for all of you!! Now I hope you can relax and enjoy the summer!!

KZ History in Ten Panels: Panel 5--Ablai Khan

Ablai Khan was one of the Kazakh heros or batyrs who led the fight to defend the Kazakh khanate agains the invading Dzungars. While the last panel shows the devastation caused by the Dzungar invasion, this one is decidedly triumphant.

According to the great Kazakh historian Shokan Valikhanov (more about him in a future panel) "their lands were threatened from all sides, their cattle were driven away and entire families were taken captive by the Dzungars, Volga Kalmuks, Yaik Cossacks, and Bashkirs" in the early 1720s. These were the years of the Great Disaster.

In the 1730s, the Kazakhs were able to reverse the tide of the invasion under the leadership of several important batyrs, of whom Bogenbay and Raimbek and Ablai are probably the most famous. Starting in 1726, the three juzes or hordes (Great Horde, Middle Horde, and Small Horde) united in their fight against the Dzungars. They took back control of their homeland over the course of the next decade, though the fighting continued beyond that. The Battle of Anrakai in 1730 was a major turning point in this fight; under the leadership of Abul Khair Khan the united Kazakhs defeated the Dzungars and forced to retreat toward the territory of the Dzungar Khanate (present-day northern China). In 1758, Ablai Khan led a united Kazakh army which forced the Dzungars out of Kazakh lands for good. The Kazakhs were aided by the fact that the Dzungars were under attack by the Chinese Empire at the same time.

To sum up, during the middle 18th century, the Kazakhs took back control of their homeland from the invading Dzungars. While they remained divided into three separate juzes, they sometimes united under one khan. The khans of each juz were selected by the collective leaders of each aul, which is a community with extended family ties. I find the political structure of the nomadic Kazakhs fascinating. While Soviet historians typically described it as a feudal state, current historians more often describe it as a "military democracy," with political authority given to leaders based on military strength and leadership. To learn more about this, check out Martha Brill Olcott's excellent book, The Kazakhs, some of which can be read online through Google Books.

Kazakhstan's History in Ten Panels: Panel 4--The Kazakhs

By the mid-15th century, the successors to Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire had lost control of their territory, split up into numerous kingdoms across Central Asia. In the 1460s, the Kazakh Khanate was born when several "Kazakh" leaders joined together and broke away from the Uzbek-dominated khanate (or kingdom) of Abu'l-Khayr Khan . This is the first time in the historical record when we hear of the Kazakhs referring to themselves as such. There is some argument about the origin of this word, but the most likely explanation is that it comes from the Turkic word qazaq, which means "to wander." Thus the Kazakhs were wandering steppe herders and warriors.

The Kazakh khanate flourished in the middle ages and came to control the area that is now Kazakhstan as well as territory that extended into Southern Siberia and present-day Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. During this time, the Kazakhs controlled much of the Silk Road, including the important cities of Tashkent, Taraz, and Turkistan, all of which experienced a cultural renaissance during the period between the 15th and 18th centuries.  

In the early 1600s, the Kazakh Khanate split into three "Juzes" or hordes. These were distinct political confederations--the Great, Middle, and Small Juzes--each of which had its own distinct geographic boundaries. At times the Juzes were united under a single leader (whom all three agreed to follow), but other times they had no common leader and were politically divided. 

This panel depicts the beginning of the end of Kazakh dominance of Kazakhstan. Notice all of the mourners, as well as the people being taken as prisoners and slaves. The years of 1723-1727 are known in Kazakh history as "the years of Great Disaster." This was the beginning of repeated Dzungar (pronounced Jungar) incursions into Kazakhstan, which coincided with several years of famine and widespread illness across the steppes. The Dzungars were a nomadic people who arose in northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia in the 17th century. In the early 18th century, they pushed westward into Kazakhstan, plundering and destroying Turkistan and Tashkent in 1724-1725. The wars with the Dzungars continued for many years, and they will continue in our next panel.

Kazakhstan's History in Ten Panels: Panel 3--Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan is the star of this third panel of Kazakhstan's history.  That's him sitting under the awning and receiving admiration. Some things to notice in this panel:

• The warrior on the left has two things common to both the Mongols of Genghis Khan's day and the Kazakhs centuries later: the composite recurve bow and the hunting falcon.  The bow was made of layers of horn, wood or bamboo, and sinew which were glued together with animal glue. This design made for a very powerful bow which did not have to be too long and unwieldy (like the English long bow, whose power was a function of its size). Warriors could therefore load and shoot this bow quickly and easily while riding a horse or pony. The mounted archer formed the backbone of the Mongol army.
• The falcon was used for hunting by the Mongols, and it would continue to be used by the Kazakhs. I learned that the Golden Eagles in Central Asia are powerful enough to take down a wolf!
• The musician is once again playing the two-stringed dombra of the Central Asian steppes.
• The seated figure on the right is offering a ram's head, which has long been given to the most important member or guest at a feast.  

Thoughts on the Mongols

The Mongols had consolidated control of this part of Central Asia by 1223.  In my opinion, the Mongols and Genghis Khan are often given an undeservedly bad rap in the West, where we usually associate them with violence and terror. In reality, they were no more ruthless than other soldiers of their day. Perhaps Genghis Khan differed only in his thoroughness in eliminating enemies and rivals during his rise to power and while extending his dominion. The establishment of Mongol supremacy across the Eurasian steppe brought benefits to many of the people who found themselves under Mongol domination. However, the aristocracy--who also happened to be the writers of history--typically were not better off. They lost their power to tax and control the peasants who lived at their mercy and served at their command. On the other hand, commoners experienced many benefits of unification: stability, lower taxes, safe and widespread trade, faster communication, religious tolerance, freedom to travel, and the spread of knowledge, ideas, and technology across previously closed borders.

A little bit about Genghis Khan

The boy who would become Great Khan was born in 1162 (the most commonly accepted date) in the northeast of present-day Mongolia and named Temujin by his father, one of many Mongol chieftains. The Mongols of his day were nomadic herders of sheep and horses. When Temujin was nine, his father was murdered by a rival tribe of Tatars in the continuance of an old feud. Temujin's family were abandoned by their tribe and spent the next few years struggling to survive on their own. With no livestock and few possessions, they had to hunt and gather food in order to survive. 

At the age of ten, Temujin killed his older half-brother Behter, who apparently had tried to bully him one time too many. He was captured and forced into slavery by another group of Mongols, but he escaped around the age of fourteen.  Toughened by his years in the wilderness and educated by his mother in the skills necessary to survive in the Asian steppe, Temujin was recognized as a leader and began to build up a following of his own. By 1206, he had eliminated his rivals one at a time, and he was proclaimed Genghis Khan--which translates to "oceanic ruler," i.e. universal ruler--by a great assembly of Mongols. He had consolidated power and united all of the Mongol tribes. They were now poised to break out of the Mongol steppes and start taking over the rest of the world.

The Mongols extend their reach

Now that Genghis Khan had united the Mongols, they created a formidable fighting force. Using tactics that they had honed in large and organized hunts, they invaded and took over much of China before turning westward, across the Tian Shan Mountains to the empire of Khwarezm.  Khwarezm had its power base in Persia, but it reached eastward into present-day Kazakhstan and westward into the Caucasus. 

Controlling much of the Silk Road, Khwarezm was quite a wealthy empire. According to the history books, Genghis Khan sent a caravan of Muslim merchants to Khwarezm to open trade routes between their empires, and they were massacred by the governor of Otrar, a city in present-day Kazakhstan. When the emperor of Khwarezm refused to apologize or make any sort of restitution, Genghis Khan was provoked to leave his Chinese campaign and invade Khwarezm. 

This was the war that earned the Mongols a reputation for brutality. Mongol soldiers destroyed fields and irrigation works in order to compel surrender. They laid seige to city after city, sometimes massacring entire populations of towns that resisted. By 1223, the Mongols had conquered most of present-day Kazakhstan, and the remainder of Khwarezm would come under their control during the annual campaigns of Genghis Khan's successors.

Genghis Khan died in August 1227 and was buried in a secret place in the mountains, probably close to his birthplace near the Onon River. His successors continued expanding their empire until they reached even deeper into Russia, the Caucasus, the Southwest Asia, and Eastern Europe. At its extent, the Mongol Empire was the largest the world has ever known. 

Why so much about Genghis Khan and the Mongols in a blog about Kazakhstan? Besides the fact that Kazakhstan lies squarely in the center of the Mongol Empire, Kazakhs are close cousins to the Mongol herders and warriors that reigned in the medieval steppes. 

And there will be more on that next time!

Kazakhstan's History in Ten Panels: Panel 2--The Turkic Migration

This panel represents the migration of the Kazakhs' Turkic ancestors to the great steppes of Kazakhstan.  In the center are several Turkic scholars (an astronomer/scientist, a musician, and a writer) who represent the contributions these ancestors made to the arts and sciences. 

Notice the image of the wolf nursing the baby boy in the lower left corner--does this remind you of a famous European city's founding legend?  It looks just like depictions of Romulus and Remus that I saw in Rome.  It turns out that the Kazakhs--and other Turkic peoples--have a similar founding myth. 

Kazakhs are members of the Turkic linguistic group.  This group includes Mongols, Turks, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Uyghers,  Azerbaijanis, and other nations, all of whom share common ancestors from the plains of northern China and Mongolia.  The Turkic peoples migrated to the Kazakh steppes in the 5th or 6th century A.D.  Notice the representation of the yurt in the upper left corner of this panel and the mounted archers on the right.  Both of these are elements of the nomadic Turkic culture that spread across the steppes over the next several centuries.  From the 6th century until the area's consolidation under Genghis Khan in the 13th century, the Kazakh steppes and surrounding mountains were inhabited and ruled by a host of different Turkic khaganates or empires. 

This was also the period of history in which the Silk Road connecting East and West began to flourish.  The buildings in the upper right corner of this panel represent the wealthy and cosmopolitan cities that grew up along this route during this time. 

Kazakhstan's History in Ten Panels: Panel 1--The Scythians

Several of my students, along with some adults, have been asking me questions about Kazakhstan's history.  With the caveat that I am not an expert, I will use the Wild Apple Grove share some things that I learned on my trip.

There will be a lot of gaps here, so I would love for my Kazakhstani readers--and anyone else who is knowledgeable--to add to these posts and correct any mistakes by posting comments below.

In Independence Square in Almaty, there stands a series of ten bronze bas-relief panels that tell about the history of Kazakhstan.  I will use these panels to frame each of my posts.

The first panel depicts the famous Scythian queen Tomyris receiving the submission of the Persians after defeating Cyrus the Great on the battlefield.  According to legend, she asked for Cyrus's head upon her army's victory.  When she received it, the legend states that she dunked his head in a bowl of blood, saying "I told you I would give you your fill of blood--now drink it!"

Who were the Scythians?  They were among the first great horse-riding pastoral nomadic cultures who lived in the vast Eurasian steppes.  They seem to have inhabited the steppes of Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Eastern Europe starting around 1500 B.C.  We know some things about the Scythians from the Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote about their wars with the Persians.

Kazakhstan's famous "Golden Man" (Issyk kurgan) was created between 400-200 B.C., during the Scythian period Kazakhstan.  The Golden Man was unearthed near Almaty in 1969 and dates to the 3rd or 2nd century  B.C. Today he is a symbol of independent Kazakhstan, and there is an impressive statue of him in Independence Square in Almaty.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the successors to the Scythians.  Here's a sneak peak:

Happy May Day

May is a great month for holidays in Kazakhstan. Today, students and teachers have the day off to celebrate May Day.  I am wondering--do you still have parades on May Day in Kazakhstan?

The next big May holiday is Victory Day--May 9th.  This is the celebration of the day that Nazi Germany surrendered in The Great Patriotic War (which we call World War II).  Americans might be confused, because we recognize V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) on May 8th.  The official surrender ceremony in Berlin occurred on May 8th, 1945, but because of the time difference it was May 9th in Moscow (and in the Kazakh republic, and most of the rest of the Soviet Union).  Therefore, Russia, Kazakhstan, and most of the other former Soviet republics celebrate Victory Day on May 9.

This day is very important in Kazakhstan, and schools will be closed for a four day holiday (May 9-12).  The suffering during this war was felt strongly in Kazakhstan as it was in the rest of the Soviet Union, which lost 11,000,000 soldiers and millions more civilians in the war. As a point of comparison, the United States lost 292,000 soldiers and fewer than 6000 civilians, and the United Kingdom lost 264,000 soldiers and 92,000 civilians (all of these figures are from the Encyclopedia Brittanica). 

This eternal flame at Panfilov Park in Almaty honors all
those who died in The Great Patriotic War (WWII to us).

**Update: I had erroneously posted that International Women's Day was celebrated on May 8th, but Lera corrected me--it is March 8th.  Thank you, Lera!  Also, see Lera's comments on how May Day and Victory Day are celebrated today.

How do you say . . .

One of my students asked the following:

• How do you say "Have a fun time" in Kazakhstan?

If anyone from Gymnasium #10 could answer this, it would be great!

Until we hear from you, here's my best shot at answering.

Remember, there are two major languages in Kazakhstan: Kazakh and Russian. 
I learned a little bit of Russian before I went on this trip, and I think that you would say it like this in Russian: весело провести время.  That would sound kind of like "vesyela prehvesti vrayma."  If you want to say to someone, "have a good time" I think it would be said like this: весело проведёте время (pronounced "vesyela prehveedyohtya vrayma).  

Unfortunately, I did not learn how to say very much in Kazakh beyond "rakhmet" (thank you) and "kesh zharyk" (good evening/greeting).  I will definitely need a student from Gymnasium #10 to tell us how to say "have a fun time" in Kazakh.  

 

Funny Sign

Here's a sign I saw in the Frankfurt airport.

How do you interpret this???

Extra-Curricular Activities

Here's a dance class for college students that we
stumbled into while walking around Almaty.
They were teaching how to do the waltz in one of
the city's major parks.

Here's a question from one of my students:

• Do they have afternoon programs like we do?

One thing I discovered was that many children that I talked to in Almaty and in Ust-Kamenogorsk participate in after-school programs. Some of these are done at school, some are done elsewhere (at a dance studio, recreation center, or a specialty school. Some of these are free for students, but some have a fee. I spoke with some teachers who voluntarily run clubs or activities for their students, just like we do here. Here are some of the after-school activities that either students or parents told me about:

• Drama club
• Martial arts (I spoke with kids who did karate and tae kwon do)
• Sports teams
• Horse-riding
• English class
• After-school art class
• Music lessons
• Dance class

Overall, my impression was that these programs are important to families here. Several parents told me that they were willing to make sacrifices in order to send their children to after-school art, music, dance, or other classes.

Questions about School Lunch

Here's the lunch counter at Gymnasium #10.
See the fresh baked goods on the shelf?!!

Cafeteria Food

• About the cafeteria food, do they eat the same thing everyday or do they have choices? 
• What type of food are the students served at lunch? 

They have delicious food here for lunch! It is freshly cooked each morning, and there was very little or no pre-cooked, frozen, or processed food served here.
Here are some things I ate in the cafeteria during the week I was here:

• Main courses were often noodles or rice with vegetables and beef or chicken with sauce. Sometimes they also had meat-filled pastries. 
• There was always soup available too—vegetable soup or soup with some meat. 
• They had lots of freshly baked bread, rolls, buns, and other kinds of pastries. 
• A variety of salads were available each day—these were always quite different from our typical green garden salad.  They usually had some combination of carrots, onions, cabbage, and beets with a creamy sauce. 
• Hot tea 
• Fruit juice 

Lunch is served very differently here. There is not a scheduled time for lunch like we have. Students come to the cafeteria on their own or with a few friends during one of their 15 minute breaks. They choose what they want from the menu and pay with cash.

Freshly baked bread was always available for lunch.

Dealing with Allergies

• How do they deal with allergies when serving food? 

Students who have allergies will avoid foods that bother them. The cooks will tell students what is in each item if they ask.

Ceramic Dishes and Silverware

• Do they use washable plates, bowls, silverware, or cups? 

Yes, they do. They use many, many fewer disposable things across the whole country than we do, and therefore they create much less trash than us. At the cafeteria students use ceramic plates, cups, and bowls, glasses, and regular steel utensils. 

This is the lunch crew at Gymnasium #10.
They are so nice--and great cooks!!

Meat

• When they get their lunches is there horse meat in them, or do younger children and students not eat that? 

Horse meat is a regular thing here; they think of it just like we think of cow, pig, lamb, or chicken meat. Young and old people eat it just the same. I do not know if it was in one of the many different dishes I ate for lunch; it might have been because they nearly always contained meat.

Fancy Cafeteria

• The school’s cafeteria looks like a 4 star restaurant. Are you sure the schools aren’t fancy? 
• The school looks pretty fancy with the awesome cafeteria. 

Are you talking about the cafeteria in the Altynsarin School? It was very fancy, with tablecloths and and decorations. This is not typical of schools here though.

Cafeteria at the Altynsarin School in Almaty.  Even though
this is a public school, families are "asked" to pay extra
money for their children to attend.  I was told that this
is common for the best schools here.

More Student Questions about Kazakhstan

About Kazakhstan

• If you were to live in Kazakhstan, what would you do and why?

If I lived in Kazakhstan, I would love to teach at Gymnasium #10. I really liked the faculty and students there, and I also liked the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk a lot.

Here's a view of one of Ust-Kamenogorsk's two rivers,
the Ulba and the Irtysh.  This is the Ulba.

• It seems like a highly populated place.

I visited two large cities in Kazakhstan, but the country as a whole has a very small population for its size. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world in land area, and its population is the 60th largest. Most of the land in the country is dry steppe (treeless grassland), which is not good for agriculture. Consequently large parts of the country were never settled. To make a comparison, Kazakhstan is larger than all of the United States east of the Mississippi River. The combined population of these states today is around 179 million people, whereas the population of Kazakhstan is just under 17 million.

• How are you doing there? Is it fine, cool, or awesome? 

It has been awesome! I have met so many nice people and had wonderful experiences. I feel like I have made friendships in Kazakhstan that will last a lifetime.

• Are their restaurants fancy, and is their money similar to our money? 

Just like here, some of the restaurants are fancy and some are not. I ate in some of these fancy and formal restaurants, but also ate from carry-out kebab shops and food stalls at the market.

Here's a menu at one restaurant where I ate.

Their currency is called the Tenge, and 150 tenge = one dollar. Here is what their money looks like.

Tenge bills: 10,000, 5000, 1000, 500 & 200

Tenge coins: 100 (front and back), 50, 20, 10, 5, 1

 
• Why was education a priority when they became independent? (from Jordan) 

This is a great question, Jordan. I am going to throw it back to all of you students—why do you think education was a priority for the newly-created nation? After I hear from a few of you I’ll share what I think too.

Suggestion for Mr. Dent

• You should have brought me. 

I really wish I could have! You would have loved meeting these students and experienced another culture. How are your Russian or Kazakh language skills????

Hotels

• When you arrived at 2:00 in the morning were you tired or sleepy, or did you sleep on the plane? How is the hotel? Is it comfy? Do they have good service? 

I was very tired! I did sleep on the plane some, fortunately. Both hotels I stayed in (one in Almaty and the other in Ust-Kamenogorsk) were very clean and comfortable, and the staff in each were very nice and helpful. We have houses here in the USA but in your writing you said there are a lot of apartments. I was wondering, do they also have houses?

Here is a neighborhood of houses in Almaty.

Here are some more houses in Almaty.

Time Difference

• Is there a time difference in Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan has two time zones, and I was in the Eastern Time Zone which is 10 hours ahead of our time in Charlottesville.  In other words, when you are in school in Charlottesville, they are probably home in bed!

How Loud is Kazakhstan?

• Kazakhstan seems like a very nice and calm place. How loud is Kazakhstan? 

The parts of Kazakhstan that I visited were no louder or calmer than Charlottesville.  The marketplace was loud . . . the parks were quiet . . . the countryside sounded like bird songs and the wind blowing . . . the city sounded like cars driving and people talking.

I loved the way they displayed their goods in the market.

Your Questions about Schools in Kazakhstan

Feeling Welcomed

• In the schools, did the teachers and students invite you and make you feel welcome? 
• Did they know you were coming because of the singing and dancing and Snow White play? 

Yes, they had prepared for us. At all of the schools I visited, guests were treated extremely well and shown the highlights of the school—student performances, school awards, teacher awards, and tours of the school. The two visits of Almaty schools were very formal and had been very carefully planned. April’s and my arrival in Gymnasium Number 10 was also a very special event. They welcomed us with a traditional Russian tradition of giving bread and salt and a Kazakh tradition of showering us with sweets. We felt like such honored guests!!

Subjects

• Do all the schools in Kazakhstan have so many subjects? 
• Do they have any other lessons there that we might not have regularly? 

All of the schools here teach that my colleagues and I visited teach at least three languages—Russian, Kazakh, and English. Some of them—like Gymnasium #10 and Altynsarin School #159—start teaching more languages in elementary school, such as German or Spanish. Others are specialty science/math schools and teach extra classes in the sciences. All of them teach physical education, art, music, history, and science. Many of the schools we saw also have a class called “self-actualization,” which was described as a class on personal psychology/well-being/inter-personal skills. I would like to learn more about this one.

My Favorite School

• Which school do you like the most? 

I like Gymnasium #10 in Ust-Kamenogorsk the most, because I have so many friends there now!

Altynsarin School's Awards

• What are some examples of national awards that Altynsarin School #159 earned? 

These are some of the awards that the school and its teachers have won:

• Best school in Kazakhstan (2001) 
• Best school in Kazakhstan run by a woman (2004) 
• Best school library in Almaty (2005) 
• “Teacher of the World” of Innovative Technologies 
• many other faculty awards have been won by teachers, but I don’t remember their specifics.

Swimming Pools

• Do they have pools or other swimming areas there? 

They have numerous recreation centers with pools. I spoke with several students who said they go swimming there regularly.

Performances

• Are there a lot of performances there, or is it like a talent show? (from Hiro) 
• Do they have performances often? 

Gymnasium #10 had a lot of performances while we were there. One was a concert celebrating the 35th anniversary of the school. Kids did some incredible singing and dancing performances. Another day there was a primary school show, and then there was a big celebration of the school’s 10 years as a foreign language specialty school. It’s hard for me to know what they ordinarily to when guests are not here. Also, we have a lot of performances at Jouett, but they are in the evenings; for example: band concerts, plays, orchestra concerts, and chorus concerts in the winter and spring. I think Gymnasium #10 also has a talent show like we do later in spring.

Textbooks

• What do the parents do if they can’t afford textbooks? (Kellen) 

Schools support students who can not afford textbooks. They will give them textbooks.

School Day

• At what time do the students get out of school? 

In many schools in Kazakhstan, it is not uncommon to have students coming and going at different times or coming in shifts. For some come at 8:30 and leave at 2:30, and others might come at 11 and leave at 4 or 5. In one of the schools I visited in Almaty, the primary school students went to school either from 8:30-1:00 or 1:00 to 5:00.

Overall Comparison

• How are the schools compared to the schools here? 

Hopefully all of the answers to these questions and others will help you get an impression of how their schools compare to ours!

• What else will they change besides schools? 

I'm not sure what you meant by this question.  Could you explain what you're asking about?

What books are popular for teens in Kazakhstan?

Students from Gymansium #10,
My student, Simeon, asked a good question which you can answer better than I can. He wants to know what books you like to read. Add a comment below if you would like to answer him.

Here's one that I saw in a bookstore in Almaty today:

Jouett students--does this look familiar????

Yes, Ray and Marcus, they do wear Jordans in Kazakhstan . . .

Here's an advertisement for an
Air Jordan store in Almaty. All they
sold were Air Jordan sneakers, and
it looked like they had a hundred
different varieties.

. . . but not very often. I walked by an Air Jordan store in a very fancy shopping district in Almaty today. They cost even more here than they do in the U.S.! That's probably why I haven't seen anyone actually wearing them.

On recess, playgrounds, and sports

Recess/Break

• Do the children get break, recess, or free time?
• Do students have a break like us too?
• What are some of the favorite and most common sports that the kids play at recess?

Students do not have recess like we do. They have breaks between classes that are between 10 and 15 minutes, and they are free to go outside and play at this time. I did not see them playing sports during this time, but mostly running around and playing with each other or just hanging out. It might be different in later spring when the weather is more predictably warm.

Playgrounds

• Do they have a playground at school, because I know we don’t?
• Do they have playgrounds in Kazakhstan?

Gymnasium #10 does not have a playground, and I think that most schools also do not. They had a large field which was shared by them and another school. However, there are many, many playgrounds here! I saw a small community playground in nearly every square between 4 or so apartment blocks. They are small; here is one example:

Sports

• What sorts of sports do they do other than swimming?

I surveyed one class, and they did the following sports and activities in addition to swimming:

• soccer
• hockey
• basketball
• tennis
• karate
• gymnastics
• horse riding
• volleyball
• track and field
• dance
• chess

On students in Ust-Kamenogorsk

Here are some of the questions you have asked about students in Ust-Kamenogorsk.  I have grouped them because some questions are the same or similar.

Free Time

• What do the students do after school, and what do they do in their free time?
• Where do the kids hang out after school? What do the kids do for fun after school?

Here is what the kids told me:

• go to a friend's house to play
• ride bikes
• play sports, like soccer, tennis, hockey, volleyball, or basketball
• go swimming at a recreation center
• play on the computer (online multiplayer games are popular here like they are at home)
• hang out with friends
• take a class like karate, music, foreign language class, computer class, dance, or something else
• read, draw, write, or do some other things on their own
• play outside
• help their parents around the house

Playing in the street

• Is it normal for kids to play in the middle of the street?/Why are kids hanging out in the middle of the road?

No, this is definitely not done!  In the photo I previously posted, it might like the kids are sitting on their bikes on the street, but they are actually in a section of the street that is like a median where cars do not drive.  It is between the two opposite lanes of the street.  

Dances

• Do they have dances and prom in Kazakhstan?

I don’t think so, but I still have to check on this.

Rules

• Do students ever get to do what the grown-ups get to do, and do they have the same rules as us? (from Destiny)

Destiny, what kinds of things are you wondering about? They have basically the same rules as you—respect each other and obey teachers and other adults, come to class on time, etc.  They might have a few different rules here and there but they are minor. 

Dress

• How do students dress compared to us? (Keshon)

Students wear a uniform in every public school in Kazakhstan. At Gymnasium #10, elementary students wear one uniform and middle and high school students wear a slightly different one.  After school, students dress pretty much like kids in Charlottesville. 

I don't know this young man, but I asked if I could take his
photo, because I have seen people wearing this same
sweatshirt in Charlottesville!  Doesn't he look like he
would fit right in?

Comfort around Students

• How do you feel around the students?  Did you feel like you fit in with the children? (from Min Su)

Min Su, the students here are so welcoming and very fun to be around.  They were always coming up to me and practicing their English.  They would ask me to take a picture with them or ask for my autograph.  I felt like a real celebrity.  The students here remind me of Jack Jouett students.  If they were not wearing uniforms I might forget that I was not back home!

Students had done some beautiful artwork to welcome us.

Now I will answer all of your questions!

Jack Jouett Students,
You have asked so many great questions!  I have grouped them by theme and will answer them in different posts for each theme or topic.

April and I left Ust-Kamenogorsk today and are now back in Almaty. It was very sad to leave the students and teachers of Gymnasium #10. I was only there for one week but felt like a beloved member of the school.

Response to Mr. Kishore's Students' Questions

Xinran, Saqib, Jacob, Nathan, Ryan, Tairon, David, Alec, Sam, Tillar, Tannya, Tammy, Tyler, Diana, Mr. Kishore, and other students,

Great Questions!  I am sorry it has taken me so long to respond; I have been busy learning so much here!   First I want to let you know that I have shared the things you want them to know.  Xinran and Saqib--they were very interested to hear that so many people move to the U.S. from countries around the world.  Students and teachers I talked to were surprised by how many different countries are represented in Jack Jouett school itself.  Mike and Akmal did a wonderful interview in Russian which talked about Jack Jouett, and the students were so pleased to hear Russian-speaking students at our school. Mike and Akmal--they loved this video! 

Also, Jacob--I shared what you said about Americans eating a lot of processed foods (and that fast food is very popular too).  They had thought that was the case based on what they have read and heard about the U.S.  Everything I have eaten here is very fresh and natural/home-cooked.  I also told them that there are many Americans (like my family) who eat mostly fresh foods and not much processed food. 

Here are the answers to your questions:

1. When does school start and end? How many days a week do you go to school? – Nathan, Ryan, and Tairon, 8th grade; David, 6th grade

• School starts at 8:30 and goes until about 2:30.  There are more students than classroom space at Gymnasium #10 (and the other schools I have visited here), so some students come later and stay later.  On Monday students come in earlier (8:00) for an assembly in which students are recognized for special achievements--academic, sport, and other types.

2. What do kids do in their free time? – Alec, 6th grade and Sam, 8th grade

• I have asked many students this questions.  Here are some of the things they have told me:
• go to a friend's house to play
• ride bikes
• play sports, like soccer, tennis, hockey, volleyball, or basketball
• go swimming at a recreation center
• play on the computer (online multiplayer games are popular here like they are at home)
• hang out with friends
• take a class like karate, music, foreign language class, computer class, dance, or something else
• read, draw, write, or do some other things on their own
• play outside
• help their parents around the house
• Do these sound like similar things that you do?

3. Do people have a lot of portable electronic devices? – Tillar, Tannya and Tammy, 6th grade

•  I have seen a lot of students with cell phones, and a few with tablet-type devices. They are not allowed to use the cell phones in class, but they use them in the hallways during breaks sometimes.

4. What holidays do you celebrate? – Tyler, 8th grade

• Nauryz is a big holiday here.  It takes place on the Spring Equinox, and it celebrates the end of winter and coming of spring (kind of like a new year beginning).
• New Year's Day is also celebrated very widely.
• Independence Day is celebrated in October.  It celebrates Kazakhstan's independence in 1991, and it also commemorates a famous student protest against the Soviet Union in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 1986.  Many students participated in this protest and some were killed by Soviet soldiers.
• Some people have told me that they celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th here.
• May 9th is an important holiday.  It is the date of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, which is known as The Great Patriotic War here.  The Soviet Union, including Kazakhstan, suffered tremendously during this war.
• July 6th is Astana Day.  This is a celebration of the birthday of Kazakhstan's new capital city, Astana.  It is also President Nursultan Nazarbeyev's birthday.
• Some people here celebrate Christmas, which they celebrate in January according to the Russian Orthodox calendar.

5. Do they study the Quran in school? – Saqib, 8th grade

• No, as far as I know they do not study the Quran. Public schools are secular (non-religious), like they are in the U.S. They do learn about religions in school though--this is a survey of various faiths in the nation and around the world.

6. What sort of patriotic stuff do you have to do in school? – Diana, 8th grade

• What I have seen in Gymnaisum #10 is that they sing the national anthem during their Monday assembly.  They do not have a daily pledge like we do in the U.S.  They have a school anthem written by a former administrator which is sung at celebrations and events.  

Arrival in Ust-Kamenogorsk

On Thursday April and I came to Ust-Kamenogorsk. Galina and Natalya, two English teachers from Gymnasium #10 (a gymnasium is a humanities-focused school here) met us at the airport, and two more English teachers, Elena and Anastassiya, gave us an orientation to the city. It is exciting to be in a new and smaller town and be able to explore a little more on our own. The city has about 300,000 people but feels quite small and intimate.  Around the city there are many, many factories and tall chimneys belching out smoke. Many people here talk about how poor the air quality is due to all of this industry. Here are a few scenes from the city.

The New Mosque
There are mountains all around the city, and the scenery
here is quite beautiful.

Here are some kids hanging out after school.

Ust-Kamenogorsk has a tram as well as an extensive
bus system. Tickets for the buses are ~55 cents and for the
tram ~45 cents.

Here is a typical apartment block; there are literally
scores of these all around the city. The photo of the tram
shows a good example of these apartments in the background.

Kirov Park is my favorite park in the city (there are many).
Among other things, it has many characters and other
things from Kazakh and Russian folktales.  Above is
a tiny version of Baba Yaga's house.

This is my favorite Kazakh folk character--Aldar Kose. He is
a trickster who is known for getting the better of rich and
greedy people in Central Asian folktales.

Here is Baba Yaga herself!

Some Pictures

Altynsarin School (#159)

This dance class performed two dances for us.

The first of many beautiful songs sung this morning.

A high schooler plays a kui (traditional Kazakh song)
on the dombra (their national instrument).

Cute performance of Snow White . . . and her prince comes!

The director (principal) of Altynsarin School (on the left) is
a no-nonsense leader who also will gently place a
reassuring hand on the back of a nervous student as
she performs in front of the class.

The school library has many shelves and a few good
places to study.  It has books written in Kazakh,
Russian, and English.

This young lady performed a beautiful flute piece by
Kazakh composer Latif Hamidi.

First grade students recite poetry.
They also sang and played the dombra for us.

This is an open room where students can study or
have a break.  Notice all the chess boards!

Students dine in the cafeteria before going home.
At this school, lunch is free for 1st-4th grades and
costs less than $2 for older students. The healthy
meal are cooked here each day.

You can see we were treated to a lavish lunch.

All students at School #159 have swimming
lessons twice a week.

Physics and Math Academy (School #90)

This middle school class begins the performance
by singing Chattanooga Choo-Choo.

Fourth grade students perform a well-rehearsed
ballroom dance.

Another moving kui played on the dombra.

Unfortunately my camera battery died after this!
Here are a few more photos from yesterday.

Around Almaty

This beautiful felt carpet is an example of what the nomadic
Kazakhs would use for the walls and floors of their
yurts in years past.  The shapes symbolize rams' horns.

Memorial to General Panfilov and the 28 Kazakh soldiers who
died as they successfully defended Moscow
against an invading German army division in
World War II.  Here it is known as The
Great Patriotic War.

This square stands faces Panfilov Park and the WWII
monument.  This afternoon a group of local
college students was having a ballroom dance lesson.

During the lesson, the teacher called out instructions from
the top of the steps and blared music on a
portable sound system.

Almaty is famous for its apples! Here are some at the
city's largest market, the Green Bazaar.

The beautiful Orthodox Christian Church of
the Ascension reminds us of Almaty's
beginnings as a Russian outpost and fort town.

I didn't get a close look, but the name of this little
restaurant intrigued me!