So, as a full year in Kazakhstan draws to a close, there comes a time were some kind of evaluation or assessment has to be done. What have I learnt? What have I gained? What will I remember forever? What would I rather forget? Everything needs to be drawn to a close and the results contained, like some kind of bad election with no UN oversight.
Or some kind of crap. I guess this post will have to be drawn to a much shorter close, as there are many more details that need to be added to this blog.
A year in Karaganda has changed first and foremost my perspective: on life, on work, on many other things. As the first step in the adventure that will last from now until the day I finally exit this world it will of course be memorable. The places, the people (especially the wonderful people!), the food, the beer (although it's mostly crap, but meh); they're all things that I could never forget even if I tried.
Karaganda is a strange place, a long time ago I said that it was a city divided by it's Russian and Asian identities. But it's more than just that. We could take the negative parts, the city buily on human misery, the greying disgusting Soviet style. We could take the good parts too; the (mostly) friendly people, the sense of home, the unique spirit. But I'd prefer to take them together. That's all part of the adventure.
So, in closing, I would like to say thank you to all the people I met during the year I spent in the town made famous by an old Soviet joke. Где? Где? В Караганде. Only it was no joke, and its people deserve better.
Спасибо, Караганда. Спасибо большое.
But now, the adventure continues.
Or some kind of crap. I guess this post will have to be drawn to a much shorter close, as there are many more details that need to be added to this blog.
A year in Karaganda has changed first and foremost my perspective: on life, on work, on many other things. As the first step in the adventure that will last from now until the day I finally exit this world it will of course be memorable. The places, the people (especially the wonderful people!), the food, the beer (although it's mostly crap, but meh); they're all things that I could never forget even if I tried.
Karaganda is a strange place, a long time ago I said that it was a city divided by it's Russian and Asian identities. But it's more than just that. We could take the negative parts, the city buily on human misery, the greying disgusting Soviet style. We could take the good parts too; the (mostly) friendly people, the sense of home, the unique spirit. But I'd prefer to take them together. That's all part of the adventure.
So, in closing, I would like to say thank you to all the people I met during the year I spent in the town made famous by an old Soviet joke. Где? Где? В Караганде. Only it was no joke, and its people deserve better.
Спасибо, Караганда. Спасибо большое.
But now, the adventure continues.
