What's in a Name? Karaganda, Kazakhstan

I had honestly never heard of Karaganda before I applied for the job here. I knew of Kazakhstan of course, and not just because I had seen Borat. But my view of Kazakhstan was still not exactly the most glittering: a forgotten, post-Soviet state that had some kind of history that no-one really cared much about. What possessed me to apply for a job in a country that I couldn't even name the capital of? Anyone who knows me will tell you that my knowledge of Europe is excellent, but Kazakhstan is somewhere in a vast amount of space "over there somewhere".

It was a mixture of things that made me apply for the job, the most prominent being that I wanted some kind of natural introduction to all things Russian before I actually go and live in Russia herself. Karaganda thus offered an interesting proposition; the school is overwhelmingly Russian in it's ethnic population and Kazakhstan is a country where pretty everyone speaks Russian in their daily lives apart from the most staunch Kazakhi nationalists. I also think the romanticised view I hold in my head of the Kazakh steppe being a land of horse-riding nomads had something to do with my desire to see Kazakhstan before inevitably travel out to Russia; as an adventurous sort of person I sometimes like to picture myself as Genghis Khan, riding out with the tribe.

Ultimately my picture of Kazakhstan so far has been shaded by what little information I have found on the internet and speaking with my Russian friends. In spite of their scepticism, I have come to see it as a beautiful land in its own way. I know that pictures are very rarely ever indicative of the reality of a situation, but I still like to marvel over the look of a post-Soviet city caught between it's Russian and Asian identities. Probably only such a thing could ever appeal to me. I don't really care. I have come to appreciate Kazakhstan as more than just a precursor to Russia, and I can't wait to go and discover a culture steeped in thousands of years of history. So far people have either thought I was crazy or have gently encouraged my ambitions. As for the whole teaching aspect, I haven't even given it any serious thought yet.

It's only two days now until I begin the greatest series of travels that I will likely ever embark on in my lifetime. I have most things sorted now, and the apprehension has given way to a feeling of excitement. I am unsure how the internet situation will be out there, but I promise I will update everyone as soon as I possibly can.

And now, a list of the things I am mostly looking forward to:

• Shashlyk
• Going to a banya
• Conversing with strangers in broken Russian
• Horse-riding on the steppe
• Hitting the beaches on the Caspian Sea
• Soviet-era beer
• My own sense of freedom again
• German bakeries
• That insane sense of confidence that comes with being a teacher

Until next time, compatriates.