Did I mention I had dinner at an American diplomat's apartment with some American and Kazakh friends?

So much copyright infringement

Did I mention how fun the Cabbage Festival was?

Kok Tobe, yes we love it, yes we love Almaty

Who says it's unsanitary

Like children/like a member of this random family

Удобно

Too proud of myself for SCALING A CLIFF to care about my uneven tan or my lack of a shirt

Maybe now I get it, why that poet would talk about something like falling in love with the waiter!

Подруга подруга

This aesthetic ~ I didn't take these

How much fun we had watching the US Air Force band play in front of bayterek

Взрыв на макаронной фабрике

This is the only way to describe my feelings at the moment...this phrase I just learned today literally translates to "explosion at the macaroni factory" and from what I understand it's just a mess... How to even describe the prospect of leaving this place that I have become at once so fond of and simultaneously so confused by... I'm still left with more questions than answers. In St. Petersburg, everything was about answers, history, information. Here it seems like everything is confusing, limbo, and basically an explosion at the macaroni factory. In coming back from Almaty, I realized I missed a lot of the aspects of Astana that I've been adapted to. But also that Astana is such a thin window through which to view kazakhstan. Here, I am a matryoshka (yes, a Russian nesting doll) the littlest matryoshka, in fact. Inside my bubble of American students inside the bubble of nazarbayev university inside the bubble of Astana itself. It's comfortable to be so nested but also suffocating!!!! In Almaty I was independent for a second. Refreshing independence!! Here in Astana i am being looked after. When I got back on Sunday I hung out with sultan and Alisher and the science girls from Harvard and we ate at a sketchy Korean restaurant and maybe not surprisingly I got food poisoning. But all the people asking after me and offering me medicine made me realize I have a real family here in Astana. I am stuck between wanting independence and dependability. Which is better. In the US I have both. Sometimes I think I have a гораздо greater understanding of Kazakh culture and ценности and at other times, I think I am on another planet here! Remarkably similar to the earth with which I am familiar, but a different земля nonetheless. I use words like очень and ужасный in casual conversation in either language because they seem more authentic and more appropriate in Russian. Saying something is horrible is not as satisfying and doesn't get my point across like something being ужасный. One of the science girls had to stop me and ask "what's an очень?" Sitting in class for three hours per day is only bearable because of the knowledge that it is temporary! I've learned гораздо больше from my daily life interactions than from class. The post-it notes on my wall must have been written by someone else, at least so it seemed when I returned from Almaty. How can I think about penn state alternative breaks when I'm on an entirely different planet! The thought of cabbage or anything pickled makes me queasy. I imagine eating kraft mac and cheese as if it's a rare delicacy. Explosion or not, take me to the macaroni factory.

In case you want to see us ~featured~ on our Karaganda trip

Shymbulak - flowers in my hair and matching hats with Gulzhan!

This city! Almaty!

Adopted by a Kazakhstani family