The Goodbyes Part 1: Karabulak and Taldykorgan

No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth.
- Robert Southey

Over the last 27 months, I've met some really awesome people in Kazakhstan, and I am doubly lucky because not only do I know them, I call them my friends. They picked me up when I was down and showed me how to live and survive in a foreign place. We spoke different languages, had different cultures, but still found a lot to laugh and communicate about. We made great community projects, talked about some serious stuff, then laughed at each other for hours. And now with a week and 5 days until I leave, seeing my friends one more time to say goodbye and thank you is one of the most important things right now to me.

The first part of my goodbyes took me back to the friendly confines of Taldykorgan and Karabulak. Although volunteers cannot travel during the last 90 days of their service, they can go on business trips, and although I had a great time hanging out and drinking chai with my Karabulak friends and beer with my Taldykorgan pals, there was work to be had.

My goal in Karabulak was to give my old director the final report for our grant to establish Kazakh Courses. We reviewed the report together and made some corrections. She also gave me letters that were written by some of the adults who attended, as well as the teacher. Once I translate them, I'll include them in the thank you packet I created with my director to the people who donated to the project. This means that I'll make a final trip to the most stressful place in Kazakhstan, the post office, but it is the best way to convey the gratitude and thanks that the people and my director in Karabulak have.

After that, I saw my host mother one more time (she apologizes to my mother because I am so thin) and my host sister (she told me to "stay cool"). Even the woman on the 3^rd floor of the Akimat who hit on me constantly until I changed towns even came down to the 2^nd floor to say goodbye, but not without being awkward one last time by telling me it was a shame I never agreed to go on a date with her while her boyfriend was standing next to her. Everyone thought this was funny. The boyfriend did not. I just felt awkward. And on that note, I hopped into a taxi and left Karabulak for Almaty.

To get to Almaty from Karabulak, one must find a taxi in Taldykorgan. Because I had some time to kill, I took a long walk around town for the last time to reminisce in my own head about the good and bad (but mainly good) memories that happened there. I started by the (in)famous club Luxor, now renamed, renovated into a café, and not as shady, although I will never ever go inside again. From there I walked past "the apartment"; the place where almost every male Kaz-19 volunteer in Taldykorgan lived at one time or another. There used to be a cat that lived under the door (the local kids called it "garbage"), but it's not there anymore. From there, I went past the Oblast Akimat, past Hessen Pub, turned left at Shashlyk Place and strolled down the Arbot. By then, it was time to go.

(Photo Captions:1^st: Kazakh Courses in Action. Currently 44 adults and 8 youth attend the classes.

2^nd: Counterparts, friends, and my babushka in Karabulak. They'll always have a place in my heart, even though they loved to laugh at the awkward things that would happen to me.)

Why Taldykorgan is so awesome

This weekend, I went to Taldykorgan to celebrate a birthday of a good friend. We kept the party low key, with a cake, lots of movies, and just hanging out and talking.

In many of my posts, and in many conversations, I've raved about the awesomeness of the city. However, I've never explained why this city is so great and why is my favorite in all of Kazakhstan. Don't get me wrong, the other cities I have visited in Kazakhstan are nice, like Kostanai, Ust Komegorsk, Almaty, and Shymkent. They have great qualities: Kostani has insane ice sculptures in winter. Ust feels almost European. Almaty has everything you could ever want. Shymkent is very green, very Kazakh, and gets spring really early.

I know I have a personal bias, because my first site was 20 min from Taldykorgan, but even after living in Almaty's shadow for 8 months, I still think that But Taldykorgan (usually called Taldy) is the best. In fact, Taldy is one of my "top 5 cities I would want to be in right now."

Why? I'll list 5 reasons:

1. Weather, population, climate: Kazakhstan is a country of extremes, with temperatures ranging from -40F in winter to over 100F consistently in the summer, depending on where you are at. However, Taldykorgan doesn't have any this problem. While their winters are cold, it doesn't get as cold as northern Kazakhstan (which still has snow) and doesn't get as hot as the South Kazakhstan. It's not dusty, and the city is very green. Taldykorgan is also a very small city. Almaty dwarfs it, as does Karaganda and Shymkent. But even so to me, Taldy gives off a small town middle america vibe that reminds me of my hometown, Davenport Iowa. It's large enough to be in a city, small enough that if you want, people will remeber your name. And there's something in that which I like.

2. History. One would think that Almaty, because it was the old capital of Kazakhstan and the largest city in the oblast (state), would also serve as the oblast capital. However, Taldykorgan was awarded this status in 2001. I always love it when the small guy wins against gigantic odds.

3. Food: Taldykorgan has some of the cheapest good food in a city in all of Kazakhstan. For the price of 1500 tenge (about 10 dollars), you could eat out for 3 meals, and eat well. 1500 tenge could get you through 1 meal, maybe 2, in Almaty. Taldy, despite its size, has a wide variety of food:

• Laghman place: Get plates of laghman as big as your face for about 300 tenge!
  
• Blini (pancake) place: Denny's, Kazakhstan style.
• Hamburger place: Get *almost* American style hamburgers here
• Shashlyk + place: Eat shashlyk (meat on a stick) outside on a huge patio, and watch the world go by. Now upgraded with nifty couches, a tent, and beer.
• Hessen Pub: The only place mentioned by name. The other places have names, but it's just tradition to call them by the food you can buy there. Hessen pub is a German style restaurant that brews its own beer. It's not bad. Although the most expensive place in town, you can eat, drink, and be merry for under 1000 tenge (if you are smart!) That's practically impossible in Almaty!
• Kvass place: Kvass is a lightly fermented drink from bread. I love this stuff, and Taldy has a place that sells Kvass to go!
• Korean Place: You can eat some pretty ok Korean food in Taldy. It also serves dog. I haven't tried it, although I haven't ruled it out. I have to figure out how I feel about eating something that usually tries to eat me.
  

4. Soccer! Taldykorgan has a soccer team, FC Jetiszu. For the size of the city, it fields a good team and usually finishes middle of the pack in Kazakhstan's premier league.

5. The people: The top reason why I think Taldy is the best city in Kazakhstan is because of all the awesome people, both from Kazakhstan and America who live there, or who have lived there in the past. And there are also the great memories of the PCVs before (including myself) who called Taldy home. Every time I go, I meet someone new that is cool, find a new "place" or get to know someone better.

What's to not like about that!