Day 59: Winds of Change

Today as I cycled to work, I could see the glimmer of yellow undertones in the trees lining the river and the park. Last weekend, we had cooler temperatures and had to bring out our sweaters to stave off the chill. Yes, it seems that fall is upon us here in northern Kazakhstan. The temperature variance is still big. Waking temperatures in the morning this week were around 9-11 degrees Celsius (48-52 Fahrenheit). It's a departure from the scorching summer temperatures just a few weeks ago, but I think that the slight cool tail on the breeze is a welcome change. Fall reminds me of the start of a fresh school year and new beginnings. Many more veteran internationals in Kazakhstan keep forewarning (a bit sinister, I must say) that winter is coming, and of course it is.

The Waking

Theodore Roethke

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.

I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?

I hear my being dance from ear to ear.

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?

God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,

And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?

The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do

To you and me, so take the lively air,

And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.

What falls away is always. And is near.

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I learn by going where I have to go.

As for me, I can't wait for the colored leaves and settling in of the season. I take my waking slow...

Day 58: Nothing of General Interest

Some days are just routine, and this was one of them. It is a good sign. A sign that life is beginning to settle and take on a bit of normalcy. Work is good. Life is good. God is good. We must be in exactly the place where we are intended to be. Even if there is nothing of general interest today, I can say that it feels good to be routine for a day or two.

Day 57: Differences in Time

Today's battles seem to have all been won in the last hours of overlapping work hours. The ten hour difference with the West Coast of the United States--and twelve hour difference with Wyoming--is brutal. Coordinating overlap for work or with family is tricky at best. The jet lag is over but I still haven't figured out the communication lapse. It is both a good and a bad feeling to know that the world is working while the you sleep and you are working while the world sleeps. I guess it is always balanced that way, but I've never had the feeling of being quite as remote as we are out here in Northern Kazakhstan.

Day 56: When the Melons Bite Back

No mango here. Just saying that we can relate here in Central Asia.

From the New York Times:

WELL: When the Mango Bites Back

Despite decades of immunological research and a recent surge of interest in the bacterial garden of the human gut, diarrhea remains the most unpredictable travel-related illness.

Day 55: Sumptuous

The weather cooled down today (highs in the 60s) and I started to prepare for winter...

Day 54: Trying to Keep it Clean

I grew up with a washing machine that had three or four settings - hot, warm, and cold - and a dial with cycles such as delicate, cotton, and permanent press. I've finagled washing machines that were boxes that turned water before I had to hand carry laundry to a separate spinning device. I've refashioned my tub into a washing machine. I've done laundry in Europe with strange symbols, temperature displays (so much more complicated than the simple hot/cold distinction), and three hour cycles. In my Kazakh apartment, I am spoiled. I have a new newfangled "Candy" washing machine that has more options than I care to understand. Today, I tried with the manual (in five languages and as thick as a phone book) and managed to get into an argument with the machine. After spinning and sputtering, I put a stop to it, flooding the floor of my bathroom. I guess we know who won that argument! 

Day 53: The Trailing Spouse

Today, I played the part and attended a reception of faculty at Uli's new place of employment at Nazarbayev University. I felt prouder than a peacock to see him strutting around campus (amid the fantastic indoor palm trees and state-of-the-art architecture). Take a look for yourself.

Day 52: Google Translate Failed Violent will be set a penalty

Posted in the elevator of a friend's building in Astana:

Day 51: Запрещён

Forbidden. Denied access. Today was not a good day for cyclists in Astana. On my ride to work, I was stopped by a pedestrian policemen who wanted to know why I was cycling on the street. I explained that the  path under the bridge running parallel to the street was disrupted by construction. (In Russian, the conversation went more like "The Street. Broken. I can't go over. I go to park.") He repeated that cyclists cannot ride on the street and I countered by pointing at the path and the huge crane and pipes sticking out from the path next to where he stopped me. He insisted and then with a smile and some good humor let me continue across the street to the park where it is okay to ride bicycle.

My husband rode his bicycle to work today to be told that bicycles could no longer enter the parking lot with cars. The parking attendant told him that it was forbidden to go "пешком" or by foot into the parking lot. My husband dutifully replied that he was actually going "на велосипеде" or by bicycle (not by foot). He was released but given a warning about his two-wheeled ways.

Who knew that "verboten" (forbidden in German) would also be a popular phrase in Kazakhstan?

Day 50: Bounty

Today we enjoyed the most wonderful vegetables and fruits of the season. I visited the market on Sunday and brought home peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, herbs, corn on the cob, and peppers. We were guests at a home with a decadent garden on Sunday evening and came home with a gallon of fresh garden tomatoes.

Seasonal feast of plenty this evening -- corn on the cob, potato salad, fresh tomatoes... finished by ice cream with strawberries on top.