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 Ms. Bocquin for conceiving of and organizing this travel program, family members for their support of our participation in this unique travel opportunity, and for Poly’s administration for supporting such special learning experiences.

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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 3 ~ DAY 11

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...

Day 0: We arrived- worth the wait!

Greetings from Almaty on Monday night (we are 14 hours ahead of Pasadena). Well after two days, make that three days (actually 30 straight hours) of traveling, we arrived in Almaty. Thanks to Turkish Airways and their three plentiful meals and a collection of movies (comparable to bringing our own Red Box), we kept our sanity. We enjoyed a tasty meal in Istanbul: PIDE (a boat shaped pizza style bread), DONER'S (lamb or chicken sliced over an over roaster) or LAMACHUN FLAT BREAD ( a thin and crispy bread with a spread of tomatoes and ground meat on top). After arriving at the Almaty airport today, we dropped our gear at the hotel and ventured out into parts of the city of Almaty: the Mega Mall, a pizza lunch, city walks, a trek to the Presidential Park, our first subway rides, and a delicious meal with samsa, milk tea, salad and shashlik (chicken or horse meat on a bed of noodles). At dinner, we were treated to hearing from two men, one a Kazakh and the other an America...

Poly GIP Kazakhstan

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