Even the Cats are Freindly

Taking a moment to appreciate the finer things in life. A village tabby! Note the bricks in the background. This is typicall building material out here as they are quarried from limestone chalk probably a bit further south in the desert. Also, the adobe material is used still quite a bit in the villages I noticed.

Locals on a motorbike with a sidecar

These guys look like they were really enjoying themselves. They seemed exceedingly freindly as they were actaully posing for this shot.

Our Spring Break

Carrie and I took a small day trip to a viallge south of Atyrau and got as far as the pavement would take us. If it was truly mud that stopped the German army from taking Moscow in WWII I now understand why. Watching local village trucks struggling through deeply rutted mud roads after a fresh rain on the steppe give me a greater respect for this place. Living out here fairs in stark contrast to the urban ammenities of a Atyrau. We made our way to a small village on the banks of the Ural river. It was quite, very quiet; just the sounds of gulls and crows feeding on the river, a few rusty boats, a lot of carp washed ashore.
Here, Carrie and I struck a pose with one of those large river tugs you see a lot out here.

Instead of leaving cattle, you should leave a tree.

"Instead of leaving cattle, you should leave a tree.” This catchy Kazakh proverb captures the spirit of spring I think. During Nauryz the entire aul (village) would go to greet the sunrise. From early morning men would then dig irrigation ditches and begin to plant. The women would water the trees. In this tree-starved steppe, I can appreciate the utility of even a single tree. I've often wondered after our trip to Aqtau this past October, how people survived out there with apparently only a handful of trees as shade from the sun in the summer. In this scene, we have a bactrian camel paraded down the street for the festival...another lifeline on the steppe.

Hamming it Up with Mark

I saved my best smile for this photo in front of a yurt. Mark is a teacher at the school as well.

Kazakhstan Celebrates: Nauryz

March 16 saw the beginnning of Nauryz,the celebration of the new year on the Kazakh calender. Students and staff at the school, sang traditional songs, and played the dombra, a tradtional 2-stringed instrument similar to the guitar. In the public square, the whole town came out with the addition of a few visiting villages from the surrounding area. There were a lot of yurts set up, a lot of live stock on display including the proprietary horse and camel, and lot of good smelling food. The whole scene conjured images of the state fair writ small.