Poly GIP Kazakhstan

  Day 12 - Traveling Home Each student choose one journal entry to share as they reflected on the trip (In no particular order) Max I: I have learned many a few things about Central Asia during my trip so far. One of the biggest parts has been the shift (in comparison to America) towards community rather than individuality. Similar to the strong aspect of community described by the Uyghur individual, the village where people did not really hesitate to do things with others, even if they did not know them, or simply the warm hospitality we have felt everywhere. I feel like this is an aspect of life that is more or less scant in the American culture I have experienced thus far, and one I would love to add to my own life. Jack S: I’ve learned that I should learn new languages. I’m also now motivated to do so. This trip has been especially difficult sometimes since I don’t know Russian or Kazakh so I haven’t always been comfortable. I know that I want to keep exploring the world and to...

  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...

  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...

      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...