Astana Days

We returned to Astana from our vacation in Utah (which we still need to do a lot of writing about) at the end of June.  July 6 is President Nazarbayev's birthday, and it is also a holiday (The Day of the Capital).  We missed the celebration last year because we were in the US.  We decided to go to the festivities that were held near Khan Shatyr (the giant tent mall that is one of the famous landmarks of the city).  We went with our friends the Petersons who were getting ready to leave the next day for the US where they took a new job.  We also met our friends the Stice family, so it was a good time.

The kids posing with an eagle used for hunting.

The square across from Khan Shatyr and the Opera theater was set up with tents, yurts, and stadium seating.  There was a lot on display - local crafts, local dances and singing, and eagles (for hunting) and horsemanship displays.  We looked around at what was going on for a few minutes, and then went and took seats for the horse show. We picked seats on the front row, and that ended up being a problem because it filled up and people stood, making our seats the worst ones.

The horse show was amazing - lots of acrobatics, shooting, and trick riding.  We really enjoyed it.  After the show, we wandered around and looked at the other displays for another 90 minutes and ended our day with a meal at Khan Shatyr.

It was a fun day and a nice way to spend our last day with our good friends.

And this post is mostly about the fun pictures below!

Kazakh folk dance on the main tent stage - we peaked in.

Women riders. They were part of a chase game traditional among Kazakhs.  If the boy wins he gets a kiss.  If he loses, the girl gets to whip him the next time around. Fun!!!

Demonstrating Falconry

Horse game traditionally played with a goat carcass.  This was a bundle of wool.

Taking turns attacking using spears and bows.  Thinking about Ghengis Khan sweeping across the Steppe with his cavalry.

One more with the lady riders.

Nika was interviewed for the local news.  She did well - her first television appearance.

Alexandra poses in front of some Yurts.

Lexa with her Mama - her favorite person in the world.

A booth with crafts - leather and wood.

The end of school year

We haven't been writing lately mostly because our life got super busy, and we were traveling but we'll try to catch up on our adventures.

The kids finished school at the end of May. All of them did awesome and overcame the challenges that came their way. Nika had to pass two final exams (math and Russian), and she got 5 (A) in both. She also participated in the National math competition among the 5^th and 6^th graders and she took 2^nd place. Somehow I didn't take any pictures of Nika at the end of her school year.

The twins finished the school year with flying colors and were ready for the summer break. 

The last day of school. Lexa and Sophie.

The last day of school. Sophie and Lexa.

Lina graduated from the 4^th grade and from the elementary school. This post is mostly about her graduation.

Last year Nika graduated from the elementary school and had a big graduation ceremony. This year it was Lina's turn. It was a bit of a pain in the lower regions for the parents to say the least. We had to pay for decorations, the flowers for the administration that didn't even show up to the event, for the choreographer who was supposed to teach the kids two kinds of dances including waltz but only practiced once with them, for the certificates of achievement and other things. They also give teachers big presents at the end of the year (and a few times during the year), and of course the parents had to pay for those as well. With all of that they allowed only 10 parents from each class (there were seven 4^th grade classes with 30 kids in each) to come to the graduation. Ridiculous! After all the money they asked us to put into this thing, they wouldn't even allow the parents to see their own kids in the program! They were afraid that too many people would show up, and they didn't want their VIP visitors to have a bad impression. Well, it turned out that none of the VIP visitors came, and 2/3 of the hall was empty because the parents thought they weren't allowed to come. Things like that happen all the time here, and it makes me really frustrated.

The kids though put up a good graduation program, and those that came enjoyed it. I am really proud of their accomplishments. Here are some pictures.   

"Good bye, Elementary School"

Lina in her ball gown, all ready for the graduation.

Lina with her 4th grade teacher, Kseniya Viktorovna

4 "V" class

Dancing waltz

Dancing flash mob dance

Our little graduate

Looking at her school pictures

Good bye, 4th grade!

Lina with both of her teachers (Aizhan Alpysovna taught her last year, and Kseniya Viktorovna  taught her this year)

Last day!