NU Student Christmas Concert

Back at the beginning of November all of the professors with kids received an email from the director of the NU Choir asking if their kids would like to participate in the Choir’s Christmas program on December 5^th. Three of our four girls were very eager to do it and they talked their unwilling sister into joining them. There were total of 12 kids who ended up singing in the program, our family represented 33% of them! They were given 2 songs to learn in the upcoming weeks: “Frosty, the Snowman” and “Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer”. Together as a group they only had 2 short practices, one of which was just right before the concert. I wasn’t sure how it would all turn out but it turned out AWESOME!

The concert was on Friday night. Our Polina had school that night but thanks to a blizzard it was canceled, so we didn’t have to get her out of school early. We had our friends, the Craigs, over for dinner that night (2 of their kids were also singing in the program) and when the time came, we dressed the kids in their pretty clothes and marched through the blizzard to the NU building where the program was taking place.

The kids were given red Santa hats, ran through the songs a couple of times, and sat down in the first 2 rows that were designated for them. There were just a few people there in the audience with 15 minutes left before the concert. I was wondering if anybody is going to make it there with the blizzard going outside. But … they did! The room filled up completely with people standing in the back!

Kids are waiting for the concert to start

The room starts to fill up

NU Student Choir with their director Jason Lewis (in the Ded Moroz -Grandfather Frost- costume)

The Choir opened the concert with “Silent Night” that they sang in German, English, and Russian, and it was just beautiful. The true spirit of Christmas was so strong there! Then after another song the time was given to the children. They did an awesome job and got the biggest applause!

The cutest bunch ever!

Then it was back to the student choir. They sang a lot of famous Christmas and New Years pieces, and they did a wonderful job! I was really impressed with them! Their director was Jason Lewis, who was a professional musician and a husband of one of our NU professors. When the students found out that he knows a thing or two about music, the begged him to organize a choir. They’ve had the choir for a couple of years now and they have a lot to be proud of!

NU Student Choir

Feliz Navidad

We had a wonderful time at the concert and we’re so proud of our kids stepping up and becoming part of the community! It was a nice way to get into a Christmas spirit!

Merry Christmas to all of you and a Happy New Year!

Here are some video clips from the concert

Our First Winter in Astana

Steppe in the winter. A beautiful view from our window!

The first time it snowed this year was on October 9. The snow was wet and didn't stick to the ground very much. After that we had a lot of cold, rainy, muddy days for the rest of October. However at the beginning of November it snowed again, and this time the winter settled in for good. The average temperatures have been around -15 C (5 F) with lows sometimes down to -31 C (-24 F) for a few days. When you walk just a few yards outside, your eyelashes would be covered in icicles! When the temperatures drop down to -25 C (-13 F), they cancel school for grades 1-4. If the temperatures drop down to -30 C (-22 F), they cancel school for older grades as well. So far our kids’ school has been canceled 4 times, which made them really happy. We've heard that February is a very harsh month and kids miss school a lot in that month.

Our window when the temperatures outside dropped down to -30 C

Nazarbayev University after a big snowstorm the day before. See that yellow plow in the back hard at work?

Lots of snow!

We have a lot of snow here. It is usually pretty dry. For a couple of days we had some very unusual snow, something I haven’t seen before. Instead of snowflakes, we had big crystals that were almost a size of a dime. They sparkle so brightly both in the sunlight and in the moonlight like somebody dropped a handful of diamonds. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture of them with my camera.

The girls are looking at the falling crystals. They were so fascinated by this phenomenon! 

Our little crew!

When the snow falls here, the snowplows go right into work and scrape the roads. They always go in teams anywhere from 4 to 10 plows on each team. It is quite a sight! They all lined up diagonally and cover the entire width of a street all at once.

The city snow plow

Snow plows at work

This was a team of 8 snowplows all lined up in a perfect formation

We also had a couple of blizzards here, and those are scary!  The wind is so hard that it knocks you off your feet, and it blows the snow right into your face no matter where you are turning.

View out of our window during a blizzard

This was a sidewalk in the beginning of a blizzard

This is a sidewalk a few minutes into the blizzard

After the blizzard. The snow where Yuki is walking is about knee-deep but she can walk right on top of it because of its very hard crust.

But most of the time it is just frosty and sunny! My kind of winter! 

Coming home after ice skating.

Returning home to the university campus after a morning of skating at our local ice arena.

Of pumpkins and cookies

Back in September I was looking for a pumpkin because it was fall and I was craving a pumpkin pie! There is no canned pumpkin in the stores here or at least I didn't see any. I was hoping they would have some real ones at the local bazaars but they weren't selling them until October. The pumpkins that were here were way different from the ones I was used to in America and the ones I had in Russia. They are brownish on the outside and a very rich orange color on the inside with just a couple of seeds. The texture is also different, and so is the taste. They are super sweet! They almost taste as if somebody was watering it with honey while the pumpkin was growing! I am not sure what kind of pumpkin it is but we liked it!

I didn't have a pie pan, so I decided to try a new recipe and make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies instead. I found this ginormous 5 kg (11 lb) box of chocolate chips at the local store. 

And the chocolate chips were ginormous as well!

Because everything is ginormous in Kazakhstan! 


Even my cookies turned out ginormous! Oh, they were  good, really, really good! Since October I made them just about every week! They are always a big hit with kids and adults alike! 

So I decided to share the recipe here, mostly so I do not forget it myself! And I have to tell you that if you like pumpkin pie and you like chocolate, you will love these babies!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions: 

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.

3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Our October Visit to the Circus

The Astana Circus Building (not in October)

On October 25 we took the girls to the circus.  Astana, like most former Soviet cities has a permanent circus building and a circus.  Circuses travel around to other cities and so you get different programs throughout the year.  We took the girls to the circus in Krasnoyarsk when we were there visiting in summer 2012.  The program for the circus in Astana was The Moscow Circus.  Yulia got tickets for Saturday afternoon - we had to take Lina out of school for her to attend, but it was worth it.

It was already getting cold in October, so our trip to the circus on the bus was cold (waiting at the bus stop) and then hot (riding in the full bus).  We arrived  in time to check our coats and get our seats and to wait for about twenty minutes.

 The program was a great mix of danger acts, funny acts (with clowns that were actually funny), and animal acts.  The best of the acts combined two or even three of these different elements.Overall this was the best circus I've been to in this part of the world (twice in Russia and now here). After the circus was over we walked to a nearby mall and ate at KFC and caught the bus home.  It was a fun evening for everyone.

Ushers directing viewers to their seats before the show begins.

The ladykids waiting for the show to start.

Dog Act with Clowns.

Cat act.  Its amazing that cats can be trained at all - and these were good!

Horse act - he danced like a Lipizzaner Stallion and it was beautiful.

A talented musical clown, and one that was funny, too.

Djigiti - Old Georgian-Central Asian Horsemen and Warriors. 

The Finale - Tightrope with multiple walkers, including bears (seen on the far stand). Awesome!

With the bear on a tightrope.

Basketball

I have always loved playing basketball, but haven't played really competitively since early in high school.  When I was in the Army, I played three times a week in the mornings with a crew from the armory and from the neighborhood.  While I was in Iowa and Las Vegas, I played a bit at the church.

One of our first weeks at church we met the Craigs.  Brett teaches communication at NU and has been here for three years.  He has been coaching the girls basketball team on campus (actually he does everything for them: scheduling, procuring uniforms and equipment, etc.)  He was quite famous around campus because the girls had some success in the spring at a city-wide tournament.  They invited us over for dinner and while we were there we talked a lot about basketball.  One of my friends from the Army is also here in Astana and he told Brett how much I like playing.  While we were at their apartment, Yulia said that if Brett needs any help I would love to be an assistant coach.

I wasn't so sure how much I would love being an assistant coach.  I was still trying to figure out a new job, a new city, and an entirely new situation.  I was intrigued, though, and the opportunity to play and to be around basketball was appealing.

Game 1: 11/12/2014 - Getting back on Defense.

So I showed up to tryouts.  And I've been going to basketball practice three times a week since then.  We have great students at NU, and the girls on the basketball team are no exception.  Most of them had very little experience, but what they lack in experience we make up for in conditioning and preparation.  I have lost over 30 pounds since I've been here in Astana, thanks mostly to the running that I do with the girls at practice.  I still have a ways to go, but progress is progress!

Game 1 - 11/12/2014

Anyway, the past three months of practice culminated in us playing two games against other universities from Astana last week.  Our first game was a bit of a disappointment.  The girls came out a bit listless, trailed throughout the game, and lost by six points.  The second game was more exciting.  After some tough talk by Coach, the girls resolved to play with the intensity we practice with.  The result was a 29-4 victory over the team that we played.  The team came from the university that won the city-wide tournament last year, but they just sent their freshmen.  Now they are on notice that they need to send their A-team to play NU.

NU Vs. BC Astana Management

On October 7, the local professional basketball team used the NU sports complex to announce this year's roster.  NU was their biggest supporter last year.  As part of the announcement, we had a friendly game between NUs faculty and staff and the management of the basketball club.  The team president is named Valeri Tikhonenko.

The NU and BC Astana Management Teams after the game.  #9 is Tikhonenko - he's about 6-11 and big.  Look at him next to fluffy old me!

The NU team poses after victory with some members of the NU girls team and other fans who came to watch the game. Brett, the girls coach, is on the left holding his youngest son.

He played for the USSR gold medal team from 1988 and was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1987. He played for the management team.  He was tall - about 6'11" and even though he was nearly 50, he was still a gifted athlete.  He kept their team in the game, but our ragtag bunch of professors and staff was able to win the "friendly" game.

After the game in my NU team uniform. 

One of the things that we told ourselves when we came to Astana is that we would remain open to new opportunities and adventures.  Helping to coach the women's basketball team has been one of those adventures.  It has been one of the most rewarding and fun things that I've done here so far.

Digest #1 - Some Odds and Ends of the Last Three Months in Astana

Sometimes something will happen and Yulia and I will look at each other and say: "We need to write a blog post about that."  But the thing isn't huge, and we don't have time right away, or life gets in the way.  So today I just wanted to put together a short digest of some of the things that maybe aren't full blog posts, or which won't be because their time has passed.

Fire Alarms

September and October were the months of fire alarms.  Apparently the fire system in our building is quite sensitive.  This is a problem when individual apartments are hooked into the central fire system.  This means that sometimes cooking mishaps turn into adventures for the entire building - or in our case complex of two buildings. We had a few very dramatic alarms that went off in the middle of the night.

The alarms are piercingly loud and are accompanied by loud instructions in Russian, Kazakh, and English to calmly exit the building.  We did so on a few occasions after the alarm had sounded for 15 minutes in the middle of the night.  That involved dressing the girls, ourselves, and getting the dog and making our way out of the apartment.  Because we had Yulia's mom here for all of September, she also came along!

These alarms turned out to be false alarms.  Some of them were due to a malfunction.  Although we did meet some of our neighbors at this community-building events, after the sixth or seventh alarm over the course of a few weeks we were all ready to be finished.  We haven't had an alarm go off for about two weeks, so we are hoping that the problem has been resolved.

Construction

We are living in the midst of a construction zone.  You can see from the model I am pointing at in the picture below, that the campus is going to be quite large.  As of now, however, we are a long way from complete.  From our building to the main campus (and also the main road with bus stops) we have to pass through an active construction site.  For a few weeks the route through the construction changed every day - sometimes with barriers around large holes, and sometimes not.  In general we understand the inconvenience and work through it, but sometimes it is a bit of a challenge.

Pointing out our apartment (the third building in the diagonal line of square buildings toward you the viewer in this picture). Our building and the middle one are built.  The first one (closest to the road on the left) is not yet built. This model is right outside the entrance to my building (in the background) and you can see my office at the left corner n the second floor - the one with the light on.

View of construction from our balcony window  The building on the right will be the new main administration building.  The two buildings straight out will be more faculty apartments

The "Berlin Wall"  This fence went up right outside our door in the course of a few hours one evening.  It is an improvement over the non-barriers that were there.  This sheet metal construction fencing is the national product of Kazakhstan right now - there is construction everywhere!

New Driver

In our school days posts we wrote about hiring a driver to take the kids to school.  She worked out really well for a few weeks and then began to flake out on us.  At the end of September we had to fire her.  We hired a new driver - and he is truly awesome.  We are paying him a salary between us and our friends the Petersons.  He is available all day from the beginning of school to the end of the day to take our kids back and forth to school. He is flexible and responsible and we love him!  He drives a nice Accura that he maintains very well.  In fact, his relationship with his car reminds me of my dad. He is the main reason that school is doable for us now.

School

All of the girls have had a breakdown by now.  Some of them multiple breakdowns, and some of them multiple times in a day.  School is very challenging for them.  The kids all have great teachers though, and the progress they are making in Russian (and math and even Kazakh) is awesome.  The unpredictability of day to day schedules is something we really have a hard time with, but the quality of the schooling they are getting is great.

Church

One of the great things about being a Mormon is that you always have a community wherever you go in the world.  The same has been doubly true for us here in Astana.  We moved in along with a big wave of church members who are working at the embassy.  My friend Jon and his family moved into our building at NU a few weeks after us after I encouraged him to look into a job here.  In fact, there were some other families from the embassy that we knew.  One was a missionary in Yulia's home city.  He and I had a Russian class together at USU about 10 years ago.  He works for USAID and has been here for about two years.  One of my friends from my national guard unit in Logan, Utah is also working for the embassy.  I hadn't seen him for about six years, but we are now both in Astana.

We have also made some other new friends and are having a great adventure.  Yulia and I were called to teach Institute, which is the church education system for young adults.  That means that we get to work closely with the Kazakh members of the church, most of whom are in their twenties.  They are a great group!

Astana as a Small Town

One of the things that has struck us about Astana is that it sometimes seems like a small town.  Part of that is the areas that expats hang out in are relatively constrained, but part of it is just the city.  There is a man who we flew in with (in August).  He also was missing luggage, so I saw him at the airport a few days later when we picked up our bags.  I have seen him in random places through town on two other occasions.

Just about every time we are out and about we run into someone from either church or the university.  Even though the city is about a million people, we feel like we are right at home in Iowa City or Logan on a lot of days.

Halloween 2014 in KZ!

We just celebrated our first Halloween in Kazakhstan! To tell you the truth it was the easiest Halloween ever! It is not part of the Kazakh culture and so there was nothing to remind you about its approach. No Halloween decorations at the stores, no costumes anywhere in sight, and no Halloween candy screaming at you “Buy me, buy me!” And so it just quietly snuck up on us!

We live on Nazarbayev University campus in a big apartment building. The building itself is somewhat unique (more about it in a different post) and so are the people who live here. In our building we have people from America, England, Netherlands, China, Korea, Jordan, Japan, India, Ukraine, Russia, Czech Republic, South Africa, Italy, Kazakhstan and other countries.

Our friends, the Petersons, proposed that we would have a Trick-or-Treating in our building on Halloween night. They received an OK from the building management, and an email went out to the tenants explaining the Halloween tradition of Trick-or-Treating and inviting them to participate in this American tradition. At first they received a very weak response but then more and more families expressed a desire to participate. In fact some of the people got so excited that they proposed a Halloween potluck party in the building with different activities for the kids. And then the University itself said they would also have a Halloween celebration (in a Kazakh way) that same night where they would show some Kazakh legends and also have activities for the entire family.  So many things to do! So many things to choose from!

Halloween Pot-Luck taking place in the 2nd floor common area. Taken from in front of our apartment on the seventh floor.

Our only problem was that our kids didn’t have any costumes to wear. We didn’t bring any with us from America because we couldn’t fit anything more in our 22 pieces of luggage and to tell you the truth Halloween costumes were not high on our priority list of things to bring to Kazakhstan. There are no costumes being sold here at this time. Not yet. I was told that at the end of November all the shops will be filled with costumes (it is a tradition here for the kids to wear costumes for the New Year’s celebration) but in October there was no costume in sight! I also didn’t have my sewing machine here to make some as I would have done in America and I also didn’t have any free time thanks to our kids’ insane school schedule! Besides that, one of our daughters would have to miss the party and Trick-or-Treating anyway because she has an afternoon school and doesn’t come home until almost 8pm. So, I told the kids that we will probably skip Trick-or-Treating this year but that we would go to the University party and see what our Kazakh friends had up their sleeves. The kids weren’t super happy about it but they agreed.

Then the University party got canceled because they scheduled some other event the next day and had to set thing up for it the night before. And then my friend Shari Peterson (the instigator of Trick-or-Treating in our building) said she would help me with the costumes for the kids and convinced me to join in trick-or-treating. Since the decision was made on Friday afternoon, we only had 4 hours to prepare for the evening! I told Veronika (our 9 year old) that if she wanted to wear a costume she would have to decorate our front door. In America people who want Trick-or Treaters come to their door, turn on their porch light. Here we had to put some sort of Halloween sign on the outside of our front door to let the kids know that they can ring the door bell and ask for candy. Veronika enthusiastically went to work and an hour later we had a nicely decorated door!

Our door decorated for Trick-or-Treaters

Also the 31st of October was the end of the 1st Quarter at the kids’ school, so everybody finished early, and our Polina who would have totally missed the event, arrived from school just in time to go out with her sisters, well just with two of them (one had to stay behind because she decided to try on a costume of a very naughty kid earlier in the day).

Three trick-or-treaters and one naughty kid! 

For Spencer and I it was really fun to stay at home and meet all of the Trick-or-Treaters while the girls went on their own on the candy hunt! It was so fun to see the excitement on kids’ (and their parents!) faces and see families from all of different cultures participate in this American tradition! Our girls came home happy with the bags full of candy, helium filled balloons in hand and a handful of French fries! Yes, some people were giving out hot French fries! Thank you, Shari and Jon, for organizing such a fun night!

Returning with loot - including balloons!  They already ate their french fries.

Eating part of their haul.

Three piles of candy - what's left after two days.

The Trick-or-Treating was taking place from 7pm to 9pm. It was pretty much done after about 8:15pm, so we let the girls have a few pieces of candy and put them to bed. And Spencer and I took our dog Yuki for our evening walk. When we got back home at about 9:30pm we found this sign at our door! Veronika and Polina said that after we left people were still coming and were waking them up, so they left some candy out for anybody who might stop by late!

We are looking forward to our next holiday in Kazakhstan!