The massive weekend.

Far out. Where do I begin?

So lets start on Thursday. I went to the national committees house (MC house) in almaty. I was surprised. We played charades, I failed, (I had peter pan, like seriously, how long since Ive read a fairy tale), although I was very impressed by Zanas depiction of AIESEC as well.

So lets start on Friday. So Friday was david my room mates last day in Almaty. He had spent a year here. Seriously we will miss you David. You are such a nice guy man, and I wish you the best for the future. I have learned alot from you, and you have been very generous to me. I hope you enjoy your stay in Italy.

We went to this bar Stout, and I was amazed at the amount of western songs they played. My favourite (and I can hear someone saying gay when I say this) gloria gaynor I will survive, it was so good man. The band was pretty good, admittedly the accent was a bit off, but thats part of the fun of kazakhstan. I attempted to dance, and if you know me i have three left feet. Yes three. Go figure.

I left Almaty at 8:00am for Charyn Canyon. I slept in the car. The people taking me were from work and have been very hospitable towards me. I really do appreciate their friendships. Anyway, Nadya (from work) invited me to this thing, and it was her birthday and she invited 20 of her friends!!!. I met many people. I met Nadyas husband, brother, etc etc etc. The father in law Jane was hilarious. Seriously. If you ever have met a belarussian saying (I listen to ze beatles, and the beegees, do...you...know the zong which goes like dhis). Seriously man he was great. I learnt alot from him and he was trying with his english. We spoke much about the aboriginals of australia, and their reconcillation with mainstream australia. We spoke of their instruments, uluru and many other things. He does paragliding and has invited me to do at some point. He is part of a club that does it. He is very interested in Australia. (As I am typing this i realise my english is getting worse, my apologies).

On the trip there was some incredible sights. I mean it reminded me of Australia. (On facebook, you can see) The buzzword for this trip has been breathtaking and it sure was. I took as many photos as possible.

We got to our first destination which was a campsite/hotel/hot spring swimming pool. It was a very homely place. Met some more people- a ukrainian girl who I swear was crazy, some engineer dudes, and some more mothers and significant others etc. I was welcomed as a guest into this house, and was invited to try some of the lovely food. Igor, nadyas husband said to me, "You must start with beer, then to wine, then to vodka" lol I so I did. These guys know alcohol. I made a toast to nadya (it was her 26th birthday).

We then went swimming in this pool. The natural hot springs there are so good. I mean I could have stayed in that water forever. There were two pools one hotter than the other. You feel so relaxed and carefree. Jane explained that it was the minerals in the water. I am beginning to believe it is the minerals and a significant placebo effect, but no matter. I loved it. Everyone is so friendly, however their english was small, but we got around the language barriers with some drinking so it was ok.

Igor showed me how to start a fire (like with the fishing trip). It is very hard, particularly because Almaty has nearly no wind, so you have to fan the flames quite rigourosly. We continued with the festitivites, and they started to tell me some stories about russia, belarus and kazakhstan. They mentioned in particular the propoganda of the USA. And I do believe some of this. I mean seriously, these people just want peace and happiness. They dont want war. And they treat foreigners very well.

They kept complimenting me on my strength as well as my heritage. They love Australia, of which I am proud. But as my facebook message stated there was some arm wrestling. It started just almost instantously in the pool between igor and one of the engineers. I wanted a go (for people who know me I like a challenge). I beat the engineer no problems. But igor. I was flattened, and he had no more muscle mass than I did. It was then he told me he was 5 time kazakhstan arm wrestling champion. And I can see why. His technique was flawless, and his wrist had a special flex to it. I said I did Judo, he said show me some of it, I did, and he was so quick to disable me. Seriously. Like he was so quick like a snake even. Then his friend, I think alexei, did a jujitsu hold on me. It was then I realised to not pick a fight from anyone in this region. They are very strong people.

We then migrated to the Sauna(bayna). It wasn't a true sauna, but it had elements of it. It had a pool in the middle which was very very hot, (I mean burn your hand hot). and ALOT of steam. There were alot of scented oils and other things put in to this pool. I finally got the courage to go in, and it was then I just felt. I did not think. I dunno if it was the hot water, the alcohol, the scented oils, but the effect was mesmerising. Like my whole body was electrified lets say. There was no cognitive processes happening. It was just my body reacting to senses. I got out after 10 minutes and needed some fresh air and ALOT of water. This stuff dehydrates you to the max. But afterwards I felt so cleansed.

After that I was exhausted and went to bed. I slept nearly 12 hours!

The next day was more swimming and having a relaxing time. There was also a snooker table on the second floor of the hotel. Okay, if you think your a master of a billiards, pool or snooker table, think again. The pockets on this table were so narrow relative to the ball that you couldn't use my technique(hit the ball as hard into the corner so that it has to go in). I had to be so careful, but thankfully I was just playing by myself.

Our car load of people left the others and we went to charyn canyon. We were testing out the Suzuki 4wd ability (which is limited, it doesn't have enough ground clearance). We concluded that a land rover or a toyato landcruiser would be more suitable. Anyway, we got to the canyon, and I finally breathed in the air I was looking for all trip. Pristine clean air, and silence.

The canyon was breathtaking, and apparently they do a lot of filming there instead of the grand canyon (dont ask me why) It was an insane experience. the views were breathtaking, and have never seen anything like it. And the echo from the canyon was significant. The dog they brought with us (his name is oolf) when he woofed, it travelled the entire canyon lol. We took many photos, and I loved every second of it.

I found out today that a very beautiful thing happened on the canyon. Alexei, one of the men there, proposed to his long time girlfriend at the canyon and she said yes. I think it was one of the best places to propose (truly it is beautiful) and I wish them all the best.

As a side note, on the trip, there was a guitar and piano, so I was finally able to play some music. I played hotel california on the guitar ( which some of the people joined in with an accent which was hilarious) and played moonlight sonata and some jazz on the piano.

Apparently Nadya is going to organise a saxophone for me for the corporate party this weekend. Not sure what I will play. Maybe fly me to the moon, rock around the clock, slammin and maybe bumble bee lol.

You never know what you will find out in kazakhstan. I was talking to Igor about music, and we talking about rachmaninov, shostakovich etc, then we went onto writers. Maybe Im ill informed, but they knew so many writers. They knew some of Mark Twains quotes. I was amazed. Considering some of the stuff they have had to put up with, to have such knowledge is incredible, at least to me.

Thats it from me guys. Check out the photos, comment whatever.

I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference (quoting someone)

Regards

Bryan (a.k.a strong man)

On Sunday

Hi everyone!!!

So twas an awesome weekend!!!! Lots of stuff.

Lets digest.

I went fishing. Yes fishing. Metropolitan, Urban Bryan went fishing. It was so good man. And so quick. Imagine efficient fishing. Well thats what happened, cos we were fishing out of a fish farm lol. I have pictures on facebook if you wish to see. We caught some awesome kingfish! It was only 1600 tenge for a kilo, which is around 11 aud! There was also some fish for $100 usd per kilo, they must be some awesome fish.

On our way to the place (we were driving a mitsubishi pajero), these guys put a new meaning on vodka. These were work mates and his friends. They dont and drive, they drink WHILST driving. Not the driver, but everyone else.

After we caught the fish (I know im meandering, my apologies), we went to a place to cook them, something like a shelter of sorts. We made a fire, and if you have ever tried to make a fire in -10 degree, its so hard man. Seriously. I learnt how to fillet a fish too, and the water there in the river next to the shelter was so pure as well. The air there is so clean, unlike almaty air which is so smoggy lol. But yeah, was awesome. We also bought some shaslicks and bought them, and one of the guys wife had made some pastries, some salads, and stuff it was awesome. Yes there was more vodka, and the guys there taught me how to drink it. Well they should know, there were two kazakhs and one russian...

The craziest thing though was the russian guy. He, and wait for this, had a wash in the river! It was -10 degrees and he stripped of to his underpants. I mean Ive seen crazy, but this puts it to a whole new level. I mean seriosuly man, hypothermia much? I had three coats on, my toes were literally frozen and numb, my legs were working sometimes.... These people are evolutionally different than me.

I wore my first hugo boss jacket today. Was quite the awesome!

So we went to the indian guys place and had an indian dinner. Was awesome man, home cooking ftw! There was a guy called Joy. Yes joy. Dont laugh. Anyway, he was from India, then went to NZ then went to almaty. So I have met two new zealanders, but no Australians yet. My mission, to find an Adelaidean. Seriously.

After that I just walked home with a friend, talked about stuff and had an early night.

On Sunday, I started by doing mountains of AIESEC work (I am actually doing AIESEC work ek, please be advised I am trying), then went to Panfilov park with a friend, and some walking. We went inside the church today.

When I say this place was beautiful, you have no idea. For anyones information, Im agnostic. But this place made me want to be Russian Orthodox. I mean it was so quaint, with beautiful architecture, paintings and displays. I was speechless. The candles as well were mystical. A guy came up to me, and asked something religious, cos he thought I was russian (People think im russian, which is good, but im not sure how lol). My friend was able to convince him that I didn't speak russian which is all good.

We then went to this coffee/tea joint. It was pretty cool man. They said good morning to me, sensing I was a foreigner, which failed miserably considering it was 3pm... we ordered some tea, and I ordered some rum concotion that was strangely hot. Im gradually migrating to tea (and I mean gradually.....). The cocktail was ok, but the atmosphere of the place was great.

Walking some more, finding more stories. Which reminds me, I need to learn Spanish. When I get back to Adelaide, or here in Almaty, I need to take Spanish classes. For people who ask why, I say that it is a very useful language. Lets just leave it at that.

So here I am writing my blog, doing AIESEC stuff and feeling hungry (im going to have some sardines, bachelor much?:P)

So everyone remember to stay safe, live every day with more intent than the last, and don't dwell on negative things. It just puts everyone in a negative mood. There is an expression. Shit happens. Get past it, and your fine.

Kind Regards

The bry bry.

On Thursday

Hi everyone! I see there are a lot of people my blog nowadays so Ill make sure I make it interesting!!!

So yesterday. It was bloody cold. -11 degrees or something. And due to my tardiness in getting up, I was late to work. This can be partially be my fault, plus the stupid 63 bus being as full as a japanese train! Seriously people were hanging of it lol. so I decided to get a taxi. Im like abaya leniya shi ti rhi star! (place and price).He agreed. IT WAS A FRICKIN LADA. Omg it reminded me of a volvo 124 (forgive me Hayden if I got the model wrong) with a long throw gearbox lol. The guy dropped the two girls of in the back, and then immediately starting talking to me. I tried to say harosho (good) and da and niet every now and then. I kinda got the feeling he knew I was a foreigner and said english or something, and I said Austrailan, and a big smile was on his face, so I was a little afraid lol. We then talked about Almaty, and it being my first destination outside of Australia. The funniest bit however was when he referred to the girls of kazakhstan. I have been asked this question by many different people,"How do you find the girls in kazakhstan?" to which I usually reply "They are very beautiful". Since he didn't know female or girl in english, he made a suggestive, obscene reference to the chest of a girl, all while driving at 60 km/hr in peak hour traffic. It was hilarious!

Got to work and got straight into it. At the moment Im trying to get as much information as possible on the marketplace that I am researching. Of course its a little harder cos most of it is in russian but nonetheless I am coping. My executive director helped me as much as he could, but language barriers again didn't help. Tried to absorb a lot of macroeconomic reports of almaty and kazakhstan in general to see where the economy is going. Turns out it is relatively booming, which is good for us! Im filling out most of the elaborate marketing plan template on www.wikipedia.org. Wikipedia is quite the awesome. Oh and I met another guy from Phillips from Turkey would you believe. He was cool, he was much an engineer, (AIESEC adelaide, picture Steven Burnside but from Turkey).

I went to the Local committee meeting for AIESEC. I have taken over Olessya's role now, and she is going to come to Australia to do VPTM Adelaide University :P. Apparently I have taken over Galimovas role as well. So busy time for me :P Seriously though, I met some new people, for whom I cant remember their names (sorry guys, but I remember faces though so dw). I think there should be a Talent Management Corner.... Di Man, what do you think? two heads are better than one....

To those people who are unsure why I generally dont kiss girls on the cheek when I greet them, its because Im not use to it. But Ill get into it dw.

IT WAS LUCAS BIRTHDAY TODAY, HAPPY BDAY TO HIM!!!!!! Today, i managed to get up and get the right bus which was surprisingly empty. Then it stopped though, and the driver shouted at me to get out, so I walked up furmanova to get to my work, it was ok but frickin cold. I still need to go to baraholka and get those woolie undergarments. Got to work, talked to the executive director. We were talking about markets, and how we are present in most CIS countries. Something they didn't tell me before was that a customs union is getting passed between Russia Kazakhstan and Belarus. Which means Russian products and companies will able to invade on my territory. Which is more competition dammit. so I have to deal with Russian companies like the company I work for, Russian cheap companies and Cheap Chinese companies. So the rest of the day I was playing strategy over strategy in my head, like when I did so in chess. I came up with a strategy, but I cant mention it on here of course, but I think it should work. I do need a devils advocate to test it though. For Lucas birthday we went to Ultras, which was awesome. We all got Japanese food (yes in kazakhstan go figure) omg it was so good. Tempura prawns, salmon salmon salmon, soup and sweet rice. I MUST PERSONALLY THANK JACQUELINE FENG AND REST OF PEOPLE FOR TEACHING ME HOW TO EAT RICE WITH CHOPSTICKS. YOUR ADVICE REALLY PAID OF TODAY. It was so good. AND PEOPLE SPOKE ENGLISH THERE. Its so good to hear english in a public establishment. And then I heard it again at a computer store!!

The guys from work have decided its easier to teach me Kazakh and Russian then teach them english lol.

Fishing confirmed for Saturday, and Snowboarding for Sunday.

No philosphy today, need inspiration, I figure fishing is so boring it will give me inspiration lol.

OH and some of the work mates want to take me drifting. I wont be driving dont worry, but I do wanna see it. Petrol heads, if you think bag tires on a car slip alot, try normal tires on ice lol. they slip up real good!

Oh and we had more cake today. What is this country about with Cake. I mean seriously. I love cake, and this cake is awesome let me tell you. I saw a xmas display today as well. Was pretty cool.

Random thing from the other week was something that amazed me and I wanted to say Crikey! You know those cable cars? Like the train or trams that have electrical wires protuding from them onto a electricity rail up the top? Well they have a few of them in almaty. I was walking past one, one day and to my disbelief is the driver getting up on top of the train, moving the electrical wires back onto the rails because they had fallen off. I mean these things are serious voltage and serious current, I mean I saw the spark from them lol. I swear these kazakhs have balls man. Australia might have spiders, but kazakhs have different dangers altogether.

Saw an accident today actually. Quite a different post outcome experience though. In Australia, the two cars go to the side of the road, exchange details, and call insurance companies. Here, there is an accident, a few police come, they paint the tires of the offending vehicle, and let them drive on lol! And the glass that was on the road they dont clear up at all!

Ahh the police here are so corrupt. My friend was telling me if you go through a red light you can get a $150 fine. Pretty stock standard fine. But if you negotiate with the police officer, he will accept a bribe of $20.

Anyway guys.

Open as many doors as possible, so when you lose the key, you can still get in.

Regards

Bry bry.

On Tuesday.

Hi guys, well work is picking up! Yesterday I had a day of trying to figure out what Im going to do with the marketing plan. To complicate things a little, I had a meeting with the phillips marketing manager for Kazakhstan, as well as some other chick. They were cool, and they emphasized the planning needed for any marketing plan. Its apparent that my company previously wasn't planning things ahead of time. The girls proposed some PR events and promotion for the Winter Asian Games, which I think is essential. They will be the entire central asia region watching this event, and perhaps further abroad as well, so it would be in everyones best interest to make the most of this opportunity.

Its great how the company, and its director, are really introducing me to so many people, and treating me like an equal. I realise I have negligible experience, but im very willing to learn. Its funny with a challenge, your never sure where you are or where you stand. But thats part of the joy of a challenge. Getting of your ass (I notice the hypocrisy of me writing a blog on my ass) and challenging yourself is pretty awesome. Sure they are little pitfalls here and there, but in the end, you learn something. Which is the main thing...

Today I went to work and was not sure what to do. I was trying to do a combination of competitor analysis together with a formation of an marketing plan. Later on though I was introduced to a representive of Abloy, a lock manufacturer (their parent company owns Yale locks, which we should be familiar of in Australia). The rep was pretty awesome, he was from the ukraine. It was good to speak to another english speaker. He was telling me he was considering Australia as a permanent destination, but visa problems stopped him in his tracks. He was a very knowledgable guy. I was trying to get as much information on how we can compete with the largely chinese competition. He said it is very hard, and requires a lot of feature and value added selling. Though I knew this to an extent, it brought a realisation to my head-

I never realised China was such a massive force in the world economy till now. I mean taken locally in kazakhstan, their influence is everywhere, in banking and energy for example. Now consider the chinese influence and investment in American and Australian institutions, like law firms and BHP biliton respectively. Whatever your opinion is of China, I do believe that it wont be a world power in the next 10 or 15 years, but when it is, god it will be strong. With continuing investment outside of China, they will control the US dollar, not the other way round.

We also went to a designer today, I think they are called Nomad designs. They were all female lol. Zhaniya was with me, so she helped translate what I wanted. I should point out this designing is for a calendar, and not a new promotion. The calendar will be a gift to our clients. They showed us alot of designs today, of particular importance was some local art produced by kazak artists. Some of it was really beautiful. I would like to buy some of it myself lol.

Approaching the executive director with our proposal of a calendar with local artists, was difficult. He believed that most businesses would want historical buildings and sights of kazakhstan. I hesistantly agreed, but we will see.

The question in my head was, would local artists paintings invoke a sense of nationalism in our companies product brand, and would that be beneficial? Considering the kazakhs marketplace of buying foreign products, I was wondering if this would be good or not. Its hard to fully explain my position on the topic but to summarize, Im still unclear how to invoke nationalism and patritiosm whilst still portraying a company who sells european products. bah Ill figure something out.

There were some other designs too, of historical figures in kazakhstans history, taken with black and white cameras. The real problem in these photos is that they weren't smiling. I mean im writing this as listening to Britney Spears born to make you happy (shutup critics, britney was good back in the day, before the fed, the baby, the shave and the weight).

Anyway I just realised I have blogged about calendars and designs for far too long, my apologies. You want interesting stuff!

Well I got driven in a Volvo today :P The girl that drove me said she lost her licence on the weekend, but it was cool to drive without a license; its no problem. I was little taken aback, particulary by her driving. She was on the mobile, doing a u-turn, and accelearating a volvo like it was a v8 supercar lol.

Madina and I went shopping tonight. I really found out I looked like a westerner, when I bought pepsi, water and was going to buy chips lol. So I decided to buy eggs and, omg what is the name of it, its a meat thing in dough.

I was also teaching madina about Australia, she is particular taken with the lyrebird from the adelaide zoo lol.

I have to sign off now cos lucas wants the internet to download anti virus for his pc (No comment).

Take it easy guys.

Bryan Harrell. Brie and cracker eater.

PS: On my political leanings, and I know ill get letters or something, they are more strongly reinforced to Center-Right. but no questions about politics in Australia please.

On Sunday

Well in a much better mood than last post lol.

So not much happened on the weekend- except it SNOWED!!! zomg it was so cool man, like it was like a fairytale. Cars had so much ice on their windscreens it was great.

Im slightly over my homesickness. I think a weekend of relaxing fixed that. Like today I have pretty much done nothing, except watch gossip girl, pineapple express (lol Fork da police), californication, rush hour, and boondocks lol. But I needed some time to get my bearings. Like for the last I dont know how many days it has been all go. Now I corrected myself, it should be good. My other responsibilites like VPTM will get a good work output this week, so be prepared Ek.

Im a little afraid of work tomorrow. I need to go in there with confidence and tell them what we will do over the next 11 weeks or so. But I can do it. Madina was showing me some motivational videos, one of a man who lost his arms and legs. His approach to life was so inspired, I was touched (shoosh people who think im a girl) the video can be found by searching "the best motivational video" in youtube. Im in favour of the one by Will Smith. "If you want something, go get it, period." And its dam true.

I may be getting slightly off kazakhstan, so let me get back. Ive been relaxing with the company of friends. Saturday night we began with pre drinks at the apartment followed by going to Chacotka, and then another friends house. I have to say the ice is slow slippery now. Like you can slide everywhere lol.

I had a burger combo from Kind Burger today lol. Since no real western companies or chains are allowed in Kazakhstan, the local population is free to create copies, like kind burger, king burger, Mcburger etc. However they do have a real KFC though. Btw everything is sweet over here, particulary the coke...

Ive been coaching Madina a little on a member of hers. From her explanation, it seems the member is very old fashioned, more than a bit sexist, and is very cynical. I suggested quite a harsh tactic- If this member thinks he can run the team better than Madina, why dont u give him the reins for a week. That should sought him out. If he does a good job, then good for him. If he doesn't, in which case he will fail, maybe he will reevaluate Madina as a leader and the responsibilities of such a leader.

I can tell you (as you would know already) saying something and doing something are very different things. Really. Ive sold exchange and AIESEC to a fair amount of people. But doing it is so different. Like its not the trips to the mountains, nor the escapades to the various bars and clubs (btw did I tell you about cocacabana? it was an awesome cuban salsa club. I actually danced with Sasha, but dont expect me to get any better lol) The reality hit me when I was sitting and enjoying Pineapple express (the movie). Im living a dream, and with my current music selection (hotel california by the eagles, I miss my guitar btw) its feeling good.

Im starting to see how it is for someone living on there own. There are alot of things you must think about. Washing, groceries are the main ones, but there is so much more. I

Anyway guys. Ill have a much more eventful day tomorrow lol.

Take it easy.

Almaty on Friday.... I thought I would update more often lol

well what has been happening?

Yesterday was filled with corporate things. First there was a meeting to decide the corporate party which is like for 2 days, everything payed for I think, SO I AM there lol. Then we had another meetin/celebration for this executive director coming back, in which I had more cake, oh omg it was so good. And then they invited me fishing next week, and then to a canyon sometime next week as well. They are very nice people. Then they took me to Medeo again (The mountain place and yes I know I cant spell it lol) I was in a meeting with the Head of the Construction Department of Almaty (A politician) and 20 other contractors. It was pretty intense, made even more intense that they were only speaking russian lol. But it was a good experience for me nonetheless.

The company has an english learning program. It was good to mark some tests...

Im learning more about the company and its problem everyday. Let me break it down. I work for a company who markets and sells other peoples products. The products we mainly sell are European. Now we are having fierce competition from China, due to their prices being 1/5 of ours, though their products aren't as good a quality as ours. I was going to try and play the nationalism card, and see if I could get some patritiosm in the Kazak people to buy european products from a KAZAK business. However, unlike australia, they dont trust their own countries companies.... So we may have to play denationalisation. (Yes I know its the wrong term but you get my point) We will have to try and disguise the brand of my company to be not so Kazak, so people are more willing to buy from us. Still the company has no or very little brand awareness. I was asking the so called sales manager/ marketing guy about promotion and branding, and he says their is no reason to cos they are a project based company. No reason?!?!?! Your kidding me. So yes I need to speak with the director on Monday about that. Thats crazy. They have the tender for the lightning at the skating rink at medel, and they aren't going to do any endorsement, branding or promotion? bah I will teach them...

In the night though I had fun, my friend Sasha cooked some Russian Pancakes (They are just regular pancakes, but massive, and you have them with rasberry jam yum). Her house is quite the awesome. She has velvet upholstery (I use big words) or something but yeah it was cool. And wait for this guys.... I watched love actually with Sasha, her sister, and David. I forbade myself to watch romantic comedies, but I was voted out. Though I have to say Keira Knightley has gotten better, she was way too thin in that film. And Qui-Gon from Star Wars episode 1 was there. And Rowan Atkinson. Sif he wasn't given a bigger part..... And yes Hugh Grant you need to smile at some point in your life. Overall, it was ok... Oh ye and I had more vodka. I know i mention it a lot, but this stuff you could get around the corner in a deli lol. I also tried cognac. I have to say I like it better than Scotch but ye, thats about it.

I finally got to ring my mother last night, I was getting really homesick..... the tears were there like they were in Maos Last Dancer.. but it was good to here her voice. Im glad the family is going well and is safe. I cant believe I have been here like 10 days, and I already miss people so much. Especially my family. The people around here are being so good, I need a family of friends atm.

Sasha doesn't believe me Natalie Imbrulia and Hugh Jackman are Australian.... I cant get to a printer but when I do Ill print out IMDb and Wikipedia lol.

So today it was quite up and down. I was sick from work, and if you know what Imodium cures, then you know what I had. But on a happier note, I did my first cooking for the time that I have been here. Something classic: Scrambled eggs. Yes the great Aussie/English thingo that I love. I had to cook on a gas stove though.....God they heat up fast....

Tonight Im going with Galimova to somewhere, but it apparently is quite the awesome. It will be good to get my passport back lol. For those of you that don't know, I had to give my passport to the authorities so that they could register me. So 3 days without a passport. quite an experience lol.

(the rest of this is philosphical, read on if you wish)

You know how they say the world is getting smaller? In theory yes, we have internet communication and better telephone and snail mail services, but for the majority the world is one big enigma. Consider the people here in Almaty. They have all heard of Australia, but to tell me alot about it is a stretch. And this is not one sided. I know nothing of Kazakhstan from my education. It seems that we only learn the key centres of the world, The UK, USA, Europe and Asia. For Australians, we learn about New Zealand because it is close, same as Kazakhstan learns about Russia. But where is the information? Just because our two countries are on opposite sides of the world doesn't mean we have to be strangers. Like I was telling the AIESEC people here that Australia doesn't like to be referred to as American or American Influenced. And they were a little taken aback. So this misinformation is everywhere.

There is a saying "I took the path less travelled, and that has made all the difference". Look im not asking everyone to go to sub saharan africa, but to learn about it in school would have been nice. I mean consider the Modern History subject in Year 11. All we learnt is wars. Boer war, WWI and WWII, Korean Vietnam Gulf and Iraq. I mean honestly there is so much to life other than war.

What about a project where we examine the effects of the move from communism to democracy in Russia. I dunno, maybe Im just hating Australian public school education (Why couldn't I learn russian in school?) but Ill get back to my point.

This world is still massive. There is so much to explore. But we still pay incredible plane flight ticket prices, visa problems, everything to prevent us from going to these places. I dunno, I wished I lived in a world without borders. Thats not to say people lose their national soverignty, but just that its much easy to see and do and work in different places in the world.

Consider North Korea. Now whatever you think of the government, I really would like to go there sometime in my lifetime. Its like I want to learn about their country first hand, not see it on tv.

So yes the world is still to big. A collapsing of invisible borders would be nice.

Almaty first week

Zomg!!!!! What a fuckin week. So much to do, yet so much to experience!!!!

Where do I begin?

Lets start from Wednesday. Im living with two guys and a girl. They are Lucas from Brazil, David from Columbia and Madina from Kazakhstan. They are so cool. Lucas is the cook, David is the funny guy, and Madina is the leader of sorts. Its quite different fending for myself as it were, doing my own washing, making my own breakfast.... Oh and on wednesday I went to baraholka. This is quite a scary place. Imagine Adelaides market, but bigger and with more how should we say... crooks? But I got an awesome jacket there are some fur lined (fake) shoes.

but anyway, interesting stuff. Vodka. One word. Cheap. ZOMG this place is crazy on alcohol. I started drinking on Thursday and had at least a drink every night till sunday.

Meeting so many people. It is true what they say, these girls are incredible. Im sorry if I sound sexist, but these girls are like my god so beautiful. And they outnumber guys 7 to 1. Yes 7 to 1.

So what did I do on Thursday? Let me remember.... I drunk I think? I think we went to this place called Stout, which is an awesome place, had some beer. Yes beer. I like beer now. Incredible isn't it? But yes the beer over here is very good. ahh yes I went with Median to 24 Panfilovs. It is a soviet war memorial to those who fought in world war 1 and 2. It was breathtaking. Really, the architecture was something I have never seen before. I saw the never ending flame (I thought it was like the one in the world is not enough, that is fueled by molten lava and such, but unfortunatelly I was dismayed when madina told me that it is fueled by an underground gas tank lol) Then we walked to the Ascencion Cathedral, this is a place entirely made out of wood. Again it was breathtaking. Im having so much fun here in almaty, and some of the most beautiful things I have seen are here.

Friday was my welcome party, and what a welcome it was!!! We drank, did aiesec games, ate, drank, drank, drank. We went to chakotika (sp?) and the vodka and company there was awesome. Met a new zealander and a englishman! The fresh vodka over here is something special. Met some awesome people, including a guy from India whose like the smoothest guy in the world. We also went to Da Freak and danced the night away. Funny story is that I was given condoms the second I went into the club. It was pretty awesome club though, the music was cool and the lightning also cool.

On the Saturday we went to Medeo, (You can see the photos on facebook in my photos album named almaty first pictures) Medeo is essentially a huge set of mountains that overlook almaty. It is one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. I was grinning the whole way. I saw and touched snow for the first time. It was so great. And so fucking cold! OMG . and I did a fairy thingo in the snow. Ahh it was great. Though tiring so many godforsaking steps. And we didn't even reach the top! We will do so later on.

In the night we went to the indian guys apartment, and since it was his last day at the apartment we had an awesome party. I learnt many things at that party... Particulary about 9/11 but other things as well. The apartment was so good man, like bloody jacuzi and like remote control shower and everything. I so wanted to live there.

On the Sunday I had a walk around with one of my friends. She was awesome, she showed me around almaty, particulary around the government buildings, cos she is new to almaty herself, she comes from Russia. We had an awesome day, and Im starting to get into the culture of almaty at this point. Its hard to describe, you really have to experience communism masquerading as democracy with corruption about to the level of cuba. It is such a dynamic place to live. We went to Stout again, drank more lol.

Btw as a side note, Taxis are only about 3 dollars from where I am to where I work. But I still take the bus for 25 cents....:)

Monday was my first day at work. Met alot of people that dont speak english, and was not exactly sure what I was doing, but I stook with my instincts and researched and strategized. It was so cool kinda being self actualised, doing what I think is right, and people wanting my opinion. The company I work for Skymax Technologies, has alot of engineers and salespeople but no marketers lol. This day was the first day I stopped drinking. However, I still have vodka in the fridge that needs to be drunk....

Tuesday my friend who speaks english zhaylina or something was doing an exam, so I was left on my own. But I was ok, the guys took me out for lunch at this call canteen place. Everyone looked at me weird when I ordered lemonade when it is usual to drink tea lol. But all in all, a good day. So much research I did on competitors and everything. Was kinda reviatiliing to use the stuff I had been tought about 4 weeks earlier and put it to practice. Also I got my exam results that day! 3 results have come out and I passed them! Even better I got 2 credits which is good for me lol. Im still waiting on Micro but I think Im fine with that. Oh and in the office we ate cake, and the cake is NOT A LIE lol. It was nice. Later I spend some time with Sasha, and she took me around the city, to abart, a kind a mini mall, and she took me to see the panfilov square again, to see the Cathedral.

Wednesday or today as I am writing this, has been murder. My god. I had a 2 hour meeting with the company director, he was giving me his history and the companies history (he is the founder of the company) and the various projects the company is doing. I had to go in there and basically say all his promotion needs to change. But he respected my opinion and we go forward with avengence! I just starting using coral draw today for some advertisements. How cool is it? My god I just like having fun with it. Anyway, I got the girl zhalina or whatever (dont get the wrong idea, I think she is great, and cute, but I have problems with Kazak names) to think of slogans and she has a pretty creative mind. Im really impressed. Then I went to LCM with the AIESECers and slowly relaxed.

I am here now righting on a laptop, and hacking into someones internet connection, cos the one we have in our house has a modem that requires a stupid driver. Bah I will fix it sometime.

The weather here is something to get used to. You really dont know what this weather feels like until you have experienced it. And this is hot for winter (0 degrees) but still, im getting used to it.

I also tried the Kazak national drink today. Its a milk derivative of some sort. Im going to be honest and say it has a very strange taste. My friend molhit from work asked me to describe the taste and I couldn't. However, I think its a combination of full cream milk to taste at the start, with a strong citrus to end. Nonetheless I got my peach ice tea after that lol.

Anyway guys I have to go to bed. Long day tomorrow, somethings happening somewhere for somebody. My life is transforming at a very fast rate. I have never felt myself with such new areas to explore! Like we take for granted that we can go to Hungry Jacks and order a chicken royale meal. We forget that with little or no language skills, it is actually very hard to express what you want. On that topic my russian is getting slightly better. With a combination of rolling r's, and other sounds Im slowly getting it.

Dobrenoche (good night) Everyone. Sleep well, Stay safe, Live long and prosper.

There is another expression I like from Star Trek: Own the day.

Live every day as it were your last.

You only get one shot at life. So make the fucking most of it y'all

Toodles....

First day in Almaty

Hello everyone!!!
I arrived in almaty yesterday, was so cold !!!! omg I love it though. Its nothing like I read or saw or even thought about. Martin there are no horses. Went to the markets today, I thought I was going to be run over, but it was so crazy omg! but ye its an awesome place Galinova has been so cool and awesome and taken me everywhere, she is quite the good buddy.

I will upload photos later on when I remember to pick up my camera from the apartment. There are so many mercedes benz here as well! Umm, now I dont know what to say, just that Im having the time of my life here and it only stands to get even better!!!!

Regards
Bry bry

First post before I get to kazakhstan!

Hi everyone! Please subscribe or bookmark my blog! I will be updating it as regularly as possible!

regards

Bry bry