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Team Kazakhstan

DAY 3 ~ DAY 12

  DAY 3   This morning, I was greeted by Mother Sun extending her warm, golden reach across the bustling city of Almaty and in through the thin veil of the hotel curtain onto my resting face. Awoken, I arose from my bed and engaged in the now-familiar routine of calling my Poly GIP family’s rooms with the hotel telephone to coordinate the consumption of our first satiable feast of the new day – breakfast. Having devoured the nourishment available at the hotel buffet, we departed in search of Bus 95. As we raced to the bus stop, many paused in awe as they finally caught a glimpse of the stunning mountains that envelop Kazakhstan’s largest urban center after many days of foggy, polluted air. Unfortunately, our amazement cost us the convenience of catching the desired bus, leading us to “hop on” Bus 121, our new ticket to the mountains. After a long bus ride, we arrived at the foot of the towering mountains, greeted by the highest outdoor ice rink in the world and its accomp...
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Day 2

  Today, we woke up to a majestic sight: every corner of the block was covered with fresh powdery snow, which only magnified our excitement for the day ahead. We started our adventure with a trip to a Kazakh grocery store, called a “Magazine”. There, we were astounded by the variety of snack options that the shop offered. We bought several exotic chip flavors such as lobster, kebab, and cucumber flavored Lays.   Next, we took a 40-minute bus ride to the outskirts of Almaty to visit a village. Once we arrived, we instantly noticed the improved air quality and cozy vibe of the village compared to the city. We took a quick stroll to the house and were immediately greeted by several of the dogs living there. We learned about the international school program and the intriguing backgrounds of the various teachers and planned what games we were going to play with the Kazakh children who were going to visit later. Once the children arrived, we split into three groups by age and pl...

Day 0 and 1

      We kicked off our journey meeting up at LAX, ready for our 13 hour flight to our 6 and a half hour layover in Istanbul. Excitement filled the air. Once we arrived in Istanbul, we enjoyed some Turkish food and played some games to get to know each other. After getting some time to explore the airport, we boarded our flight to Almaty.      Despite not sleeping enough, it was suddenly 9:00 am, leaving a full day ahead of us in Kazakhstan. We grabbed a quick lunch and the bravest of us tried horse meat sandwiches. After lunch, we managed to catch the end of the Nowruz celebrations in the city. Justin and Jerry arm wrestled some locals and lost terribly while Max and Lauren went about holding an eagle and Celine tried archery. We got dinner at a Georgian restaurant where we enjoyed some Khinkali and Tarhun. Those of us who didn't already fall asleep at the restaurant got the much needed rest after checking into our hotel, thus concluding our first experien...

Day 10: Going strong till the end

Today, we took one last stroll through the neighborhood, visited a beautiful gallery, trekked to a well-renowned artist’s shop, and explored a supermarket. Suffice it to say, on this last day, we helped contribute to Kazakhstan’s economy. We also stopped in at the US Consul’s Space Maker for a Q & A with a US diplomat. The discussion lasted much longer than expected. The diplomat was very generous with his time, addressed many complex and challenging questions, and was forthright about representing the US. We closed the evening with a time of reflection, acknowledging how our group members made this travel program so fun for each other and highlighted key themes from the two weeks. It is now 2:20 am, and we are packing up for the airport. We cannot believe that this adventure in Almaty has ended, but the memories, the lessons, the conversations, the discoveries, and the pushing of our comfort zones have certainly made this travel program a truly transformative experience. We thank ...