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 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...

Day 1: games and engagements in a nearby village

Cori, Rebecca and "A" in the "backyard" After 30 long hours of travel, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We had an assortment of fruits, breads, juices, and rice. Soon after breakfast we hopped on a van and challenged ourselves by sitting next to people in our group we didn't really know yet. Despite this, we had great conversations about Poly life, sports, Kazakhstan, math, food, and the gym. Finally, we arrived at the house we spent the next 7 hours. There, we met the owners of the house in the village. The husband served us great home cooked meals and talked about his experience shopping in Kazakhstan and finding different kinds of meats, cheeses, and other ingredients that not many people know how to find. While we ate, the wife talked to us a little bit about the Kazakh children we were about to meet. We learned that most children in the village only attend school up to Grade 9, and although they may continue until grade 11, most are requested by t...

Day 4: Religious Culture Day

Monument to Kazakhs who fought for USSR A Monument WWII USSR Brendan downs a doner Central Mosque entrance ...

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