My Day Job

Wonder what I do as I wander?

Mindful Teachers just posted an interview that may make you wonder or want to wander.

Enjoy the read!

Warriors of the Steppe

Recently, we enjoyed a four-day weekend and decided to get out of town while the getting was still good. It turned out to be a windy, but beautiful fall day and we traveled about 2 1/2 hours from Astana to Lake Borovoe. Watching the Steppe slowly change into hills and rocky outcroppings surrounded by water and trees was magnificent. Highlights included meeting up with friends from Astana almost everywhere we stopped (hey, there isn't a lot of nature accessible from the capital city), buying delicious honey on the roadside, paying for a "special" zoo tour on its day off, roaming around the lake path and meeting a group of young men from Aktau who were excited to meet foreigners, and just chilling out away from home.

Here's my favorite picture from our visit - three of us nomadic types getting ready to fight the onset of winter (or those rival tribes?).

More pictures, for your viewing pleasure:

Balbals and Kazakh Cowboys on the Steppe

We headed out in late September for an adventure on the Steppe. With no mountains to climb or forests in which we can forage for mushrooms, we are left to wandering on the flat and breath-taking plains together with the herders, cowboys, and ancient hand-made statues or балбал. A day out in the countryside of Kazakhstan, about two hours outside of Astana, felt refreshing. Gorgeous blue skies and crisp fall weather -- a perfect day to get out of town. Out there, in the middle of nowhere, is the "real" Kazakhstan. Vistas of hundreds of miles, windswept hills, and lone cowboys working the land or livestock. Somehow, Kazakhstan still feels an awful lot like Wyoming.

Desperate to get outdoors on a beautiful fall day, the Outdoor Adventure Club convened before we journeyed out to our destination (3 hours outside of town).

Our caravan of a dozen vehicles cruised off-road and onto the Steppe in search of Balbals. 

This lone Kazakh cowboy saw us walking and left his herd to come say hello. With pop music blaring from his motorcycle and a stylish skullcap, he seemed to be iconic and authentic.

Our first Balbals -- statues from the Bronze age that are scattered throughout Central Asia (and Turkey and Romania and elsewhere) denote a leader who was buried in the same place.

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Our group had two leaders and amateur anthropologists who helped explain the significance of the half dozen balbals we visited.

A man with pitchfork (but where is the hay?)

Gorgeous outcropping of rocks offers some relief and a nice vantage point of the Steppe.

Visitor in the Capital

One of our most frequent visitors who seems to make it nearly everywhere we've ever lived came for a whirlwind day-long visit to Astana. Properly, we showed her the sights and vowed to reunite next year in our warmer and less land-locked onward post.

In the Baiterek

Our next post? It's only 7,210 kilometres from Astana!

Twelve time zones

The distance from my home state and Kazakhstan could not be any farther, and, yet, it sometimes feels like one is the other's alternative universe. On a day trip to the nearby town of Atbasar yesterday (and nearby in Kazakhstan, just like in Wyoming, means a three-hour drive!), the similarities were striking. I am beginning to believe that if my niece and nephews began to dig a hole straight into the ground from Gillette and kept digging until they came through the crust of the other side of the earth, their shovels would break ground somewhere near Atbasar.

For your viewing and reading pleasure, here is the evidence:
- The drive to Atbasar covers huge expanses of land, without the relief of roadside rest stops, small towns, trees, or mountains. It's just wide open space--what we would call prairie, but here it's the steppe.
- The monument at the entrance of the town is a tractor.
- There is a coal mine on the drive in and a place to purchase coal for heating on the roadside.
- City folk think that Atbasar is a village, but those that live there are proud of the 30,000 inhabitants and consider themselves civilized when compared to other nearby small towns.
- There is one museum to celebrate the heroics and grandeur of the town; in reality, the building houses  pictures of everyone's grandfather, stuffed wildlife, and a couple of paintings.
- People are absolutely down-to-earth, friendly hosts, and full of wild stories that make you laugh and like them even more.

Winter on the Steppe

We went for a stroll through the park today and learned why winter (even when the temperatures are subzero) is never dull on the steppe.

Frosty trees framed by clear skies chases the blues away

Furry hats with earflappers keep you warm and stylish

Late afternoon sunshine makes the Triumph building look even more stately

Record amounts of snow this winter make the town look crisp and sparkling 

Ice sculptures along the promenade make winter special

An ice slide onto the river provides fun for sledders and onlookers

Whizz! This is a speedy slide

Brave locals take a winter dip into the frozen river -- refreshing!

Hardly a wink during this long winter's sleep

Howdy friends and family! My blogging activity has lulled to a slow, and you might have wondered if the bitter blasts of cold air on the Steppe had finally driven me to a hibernating slumber during spells of more than -40 this winter. Nope! Rather, I've been busily meeting new friends (and reuniting with some old ones) and trotting around the region. My Nomad Club Card is worn with use, my feet have covered a lot of territory, and I have been richly blessed. Here are some highlights just to catch you up.

In early November, I zoomed south after a trip to northeastern Kazakhstan to visit Turkmenistan. It's a 2,000 mile journey and the difference was palpable as I went from frigid Pavlodar, where it was -20 Centigrade to +24 Centigrade in Ashgabat all in one day!


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Turkmenistan was the biggest, cleanest marble city I have every seen. White buildings lining spotless boulevards lined by fountains and statues in every direction. It was spectacular, particularly as the city emerges from a desert. From the plane window I only saw desolate sands in every direction as far as you can see. There are camels being traded at the market and, I've since been told, cobras swishing around in those deserts (ai ai ai). My highlights included visiting markets and marveling at the beautiful handicrafts and carpets (see pictures, below) with new co-adventurers I met along the way.

Carpet and hat escapades brought me back home just in time for the Annual Marine Ball in Astana where I got to glide around the room with my husband and feel fancy for an evening.

From 2012-11 Marine Ball

From 2012-11 Marine Ball

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In December, I once again escaped the cold Astana temperatures and ventured south to Uzbekistan. I fell in love with cosmopolitan Tashkent and felt surrounded by history in rich tapestries, the old city of Khiva, and even in the dust of Urgench. The trip was spectacular and I felt at home (after all, there was still a hanger with my name on it in the coat closet at the Embassy!) in the green city. I cannot wait to go back next summer and hope to visit Bukhara and Samarkand while I am there.

One quirky detail about Uzbekistan: The national currency, Som, come only in denominations of 1,000 (2,000=$1 USD). Here's what it looks like to pay for dinner in a restaurant!

My final travels in Kazakhstan last year were up to the northwest in the city of Aktobe, where, among other things, I had the pleasure of viewing traditional dances, songs, and dombra performances by local school children.


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A whirlwind of new faces and new places, and I do have to admit that it did leave me dizzy and tired and very much in need of a long winter's nap.