Sunday, April 14, 2013

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!



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15 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 9:52 AM

    Dear Mr.Dent,
    It looks really cool there! Even though baba yaga looks kinda creepy.
    - Madison

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 9:56 AM

    Hi MR.Dent,
    Where do the kids hangout after school? What do the kids do for fun after school?


    from malik

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 9:58 AM

    Dear Mr.Dent,
    Can you tell me more about who is Baba Yaga?


    Nallely

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownApril 19, 2013 at 11:13 AM

      Hi! My name is Emil. I from school gymnasium#10. from Ust-Kamenogorsk. And I can tell you about Baba Yaga if you want)

      Delete
  4. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 10:15 AM

    Dear Mr.Dent,

    Why are the kids hanging out in the middle of the road?


    From : Chris

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 10:19 AM

    Dear Mr.Dent,
    Can you tell us more about Baba Yaga? Also is that the only thing in the park? At what time do the students get out of school? a Do they have break too like us? Do they have a playground at school because I know we don't? Why is there a cat on Baba Yaga's head? Is there like a tradition for Baba Yaga? Well that was my last question; otherwise, good pictures.
    - Erendida

    ReplyDelete
  6. JoyApril 15, 2013 at 11:38 AM

    Dear Mr.Dent,
    The park seems to be really nice. I was wondering what are some of the other widely know folk tales there, and what are the most popular ones? I was also curious about what the students do after school, and what they do in their free time. Please reply.

    -Joy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Colson JJMSApril 15, 2013 at 11:43 AM

    Are you sure the schools aren't fancy? The school looks pretty fancy with the awesome cafeteria.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 11:45 AM

    Are there a lot of historical sights?



    -Ray

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 11:50 AM

    Dear Mr. Dent,
    Kazakhstan has some weird statues, do you know what the meaning of the statues are?

    ~Tobias

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 11:53 AM

    Hello Mr.Dent!
    If you were to live in Kazakhstan, what would you do and why? Kazakhstan seems like a very nice and calm place. How loud is Kazakhstan? [Lowest is Plains Highest is New York City]

    -DaJuan JJMS

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 11:57 AM

    Mr. Dent,

    Is it normal for kids to play in the middle of the street? It seems sort of dangerous.

    a student in mrs. megginsons class.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 1:37 PM

    Dear Mr.Dent,

    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?

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousApril 15, 2013 at 1:47 PM

    Dear Mr.Dent,
    Do they have playgrounds in Kazakhstan?
    from an unknown student

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousApril 16, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    hey Mr. Dent hows it going. also how much different is it than the city in ust-kamenogorsk

    -Will H

    ReplyDelete

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