“What should I know before I go?”

"What should I know before I go?" This is a question that I've received a lot recently, and one that is the most difficult to answer. Usually I tell people to search on the internet for information, but I think that's a copout answer because I believe that the best way a person can truly know about Kazakhstan is to actually go visit, and the only way to truly know about Peace Corps is to do it. Blogs, pictures, and conversations can only explain so much. And there is only so much information on Kazakhstan available in the US, unfortunately. Want to learn more about French history? Piece of cake! Want to learn more about early Kazakh history? Good luck. But I think it is smart for a person to learn more about a place where they will be living for the next two years before they get there.

So when I get this question, I usually recommend a book. As Dr. Seuss so eloquently said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

3 books about Kazakhstan and Central Asia that I found very interesting and aren't boring

1. Apples are from Kazakhstan: The Land that Disappeared by Christopher Robbins. This is a travel log of the author, who went around Kazakhstan doing some pretty cool things like hanging with guys who hunt with Eagles, eating Kazakhstan's national dish, and even spending time with the president of Kazakhstan. I found it very funny, random, and real, and would recommend it to anyone who is coming to Kazakhstan, or has someone that will be going in the near future.
   

 

2&3. Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia and The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia, both by Peter Hopkirk. Before the Cold War, there was the "Great Game": the race between Russian and Great Britain to colonize Central Asia. While Kazakhstan only gets a shout out in these books, I highly recommend them because they give a good account of historical events in Central Asia during the 18^th, and early 19^th centuries and the countries that were influencing these events. Don't let the size or content of the book intimidate you. While it is chalk full with historical references it reads like a cross between James Bond and Hatchet with people getting body parts chopped off, daring chases over mountain passes in winter, honor and glory, epic land battles and general acts of courage and badassness. They are pretty sweet.