How to care for a garden the Kazak way

Being an avid gardener or at least I used to; I noticed how the gardening and watering are done here and just had to share.
The workers build up small mounds of dirt around gardens to create a pool effect so when they water the plants all they have to do is turn on a hose and leave. Sometimes they leave for hours and I have even seen overnight. Sprinklers and hoses are a luxury here so I am assuming this is the best way to get the job done. I don’t know if they realize that once the water goes past the deepest roots it is wasteful.
In addition to the watering they seem to cut off the tops of trees that were just planted. What I mean by trees might be different than you think. Trees are planted here with little to no support and the circumference is a twice that of a pencil. To cut the top of the tree at that size only hinders the tree from reaching its true height.
With little knowledge and very little tree experience I can understand why this can happen. When you fly into the airport you don’t see one tree for miles. As things westernize I am hoping this will get better.

Typical Experience

There are lots of little experiences that happen and you forget to share them with others, but yesterday was interesting enough to post.

When we arrived here the entire house was painted bright white. It starts to get to you since we are used to color and most of our things have not arrived yet, so I decided to paint the kitchen and dining room. Off I went to what I was told was a good paint store. I took my housekeeper (in case I needed a translator) and the boys. It was a small building with paint tubs of different sizes displayed on the floor. I knew the color because I had the code from the swatch.

I ask how much the smallest size was (around a gallon and a half). The response I was told was around $4. I thought that was cheap, but knew I did not want to have to mix paint later fearing it might not match so I asked what the next size up was. (around 4 gallons) I was told $35. I decided to get the larger one. When I went to pay I was told there were no lights. That means no electricity. Common here in Atyrau. I decided to pay and come back after an hour. Next discovery was how much the price changed. The total was now $125. Big difference, but what other choices do I have. Supposedly when you add color the price jumps or did I just get taken to the cleaners? I paid my money, but they did not have change and neither did I. I told them I could bring change back when I came back to pick it up. The change was 7 cents.

As I was buying the paint, the boys were curiously looking around. An older local was talking to them in Kazak and Cameron just looked at him. My housekeeper told the boys that the man was asking what their names are. Cameron told him and then we soon left. I told Cameron in the car that not everyone here understands English so we have to learn another language to communicate better.

When I got home the bug spray man was spraying the house. Back in the states he would spray along the edges of the walls. Not here. The man wore a mask and was spraying the entire floor except for the edges. It must have been strong since he was wearing a mask, but you would think he would be mindful of things in the house such as shoes, furniture, dog bowls, and the boy’s toys. I think you know the answer to that one.

I did get the paint and it is working out well and I will only have the bug man spray the outside next time.

On to the next experience.

More Food Experiences

There are many influences on food in Kazakhstan. It may be from Russia, Turkey, or India to name a few. Most Kazak food is very bland. You never realize how much you miss flavor until it is taken away from you. Luckily some of the spices at the grocery store have English on them, but it is hard to make things when the words are in a different language. Stacey got me this candy bar just for men. You would never see this in the states. At a meat market, I received matches for change. This is a common practice when they do not have small change and since smoking is so cheap and common here it is accepted.

Another change is that customer service does not exist. Instead of getting whatever the customer wants, they just say no and that is it. They will inconvenience you before they are inconvenienced. It seems they are always asking me if I have smaller bills. They say, "melch" which means change. Sometimes I just look back at them and shrug my shoulders as to say this is all I have. Whoever is prepared to wait the longest usually wins.

Happy 4th of July

We do not get the same holidays off as we would being back in the states, but since a local holiday fell on Monday the 7th, Stacey was able to take off then. No fireworks, but they did try and do a barbecue with hamburgers, sausage, and horse meat. Doesn't sounds too bad except that the food does not have the same taste as you would have. You get all excited for hamburgers, but you can't even compare it to what you are used too. Happy 4th.

Arrival of Air Shipment

We received our air shipment. It took almost 3 weeks to get to us. That was expected, but you don't realize how much you miss your things. It really was like Christmas in July. The boys must have run up and down the stairs 20 times putting things in the correct rooms. They were a big help. I let them play in the three boxes the shipment came in after we were finished. Enjoy their smiles. We always do.

Stacey's First Day @ Work

The boys and I surprised Stacey with flowers on her first day at work. (The boys picked the colors red and pink since red is Stacey's favorite color and I like her in pink.) All the local women there loved to bring the boys around to meet everyone and all gave them candy. Do you think the boys want to go back? You already know that answer.

Food

Obviously the food with be different. From the way it is prepared to the different language that is on the packages. We have not tried anything too far off the beaten path although we did try sushi with our new Australian friends. The main shockers so far are the $5 Pringles, the $180 turkey that weighed 15lbs (there was only 2 in the store), and the $20 small bottle of Teriyaki sauce. The people here live for the day so the shopping carts are small and almost no one fills them up. The government regulates the price of staples such as bread and that is very cheap. Vodka and cigarettes are cheap too. You can get vodka cheaper than water and cigarettes for under a $1.

An experience I had a market recently was a pack of little boys followed us to the car asking for money. The older boy was very persistent. He kept asking even when we got into the car. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He then decided to jump onto the floor board of the SUV and ride along. The local driver tried to use words to get him off the car and him even road with him through the parking lot and onto the main street. Once on the main street the driver would take his seat belt off as if to get out of the car and the boy would jump off and start running away, but as soon as the driver would put his seat belt back on the boy would jump back on the car. This happened 3 times before the boy finally stopped. We were not in fear for ourselves, but for this boy. I don't know if his parents put him up to this or if we was really in need. We are discouraged from doing anything since it will only intensify the situation.

TV in KZ

When we arrived it was nice to know that we had a settling in kit which had some food, linens, TV, vacuum cleaner, etc. It is weird to eat cheese for the first time out of a bag you put your groceries in, but you get over it fast. When I turned on the TV for the first time it was funny to see Jerry Springer and TV shows about 5 years old. I guess if I ever missed a show I may be able to catch it now. They have lots of soccer or futbol and or course rugby. Man those guys can hit.

Preparing to move

Moving overseas is quite a challenge. I believe we all get accustomed to having our things, but don't realize it until we have to do without them. We thought we would get to bring most of them until the end of the first day the movers were packing and they told us we were going to be over the 7,500 lbs we are allotted. Needless to say we were a little depressed because for the past 3 months we have been buying new things and getting used to the idea of taking certain items with us. It all worked out in the end, but we had to go to the warehouse where they store our items and off load 1,000 lbs. NOT FUN. We learned from this experience and will not make the same mistake twice.

First Impressions of Kazakhstan

On my first visit to Atyrau, Kazakhstan I had some unforgettable experiences. One of them was when we went to an outdoor market where there was fresh fruit and vegetables. There were also different types of meat and fish. When I ventured into the meat area, I was mesmerized by the sight of what looked like a barn. As I got closer, I noticed blood on the ground. As I got to the entrance a wheel barrow went right beside me carrying different parts on a cow. There was cow heads everywhere you looked. There were also full slabs of beef hanging on the walls. It took me back that these things still existed. At least we never have to see how things are cut back home. In the back of this room was a man cutting the meat with an ancient looking axe on a 2 foot wooden block. I just had to take a picture even though it does not fully capture the experience. After I took a few pictures I was greeted by a worker with a firmly raised middle finger. That was my sign to leave. I walked out thinking it could have been a sight in a movie, but not real life. All the other experiences I had that trip put me in the right mindset to lower all expectations. See the pictures and look closely.