Lessons From Kazakhstan

I was introduced to a new colleague today, Well, not really new since he had been working in the company for a number of years, but “new” as in this was the first time I was meeting him. Apparently, my company is doing some major projects in Kazakhstan, so every few months, certain staff will be rotated to be posted there for a few weeks to a few months. In fact, my boss himself just came back from there a month ago. Anyway this colleague I just met came back to the office only today, after being in and out of Kazakhstan for the past year.

He gave us some insight into the culture and people there. Here are some pointers in case any of you may want to go there some time in the future, be it for a holiday or work.

1. The people there are tall. The shortest people he came across have a height of 1.70m. Goodness, I will be a midget if I ever go there!

2. There are Russians and the native Kazaks. Russians are the Caucasians. The Kazaks are those who were descended from the great Genghis Khan, so they neither look Caucasian nor Asian, resulting in a blend of exotic looks. For instance, someone can look Asian yet have natural blonde hair, but both parents have black hair. Someone can have a darker olive skin yet borne to parents who look more Caucasian.

3. The Kazaks are modern yet traditional. The women are very independent. They can go out and work in high professional jobs and draw huge salaries, as compared to the neighbouring countries like Azerbaijan, Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, where women are still being trodden upon. The Kazak women have no qualms to just go up to guys they fancy and declare that they love the guy. How I wish I can be this daring! Yet, married women serve their husbands and listen to the husbands in whatever they do, even the highly-educated career women, not unlike the Japanese and Korean culture.

4. The Russians are the ones with the high-life; the natives are those with the homely life (at least from my colleague’s observations).

5. There are four extreme seasons with extreme climates. During summer, the weather can be even hotter than our climate, more than thirty degree celsius, yet can drop to ten degree celsius at night. In winter, the temperature can drop to a freezing fourty-five degree Celsius below zero.

6. In winter, the cold weather makes one tear, but the tears will freeze on your face and you have to remove them manually, or else wipe them away quickly before they freeze.

7. Learn basic Russian before going there. The people there still speak Russian and little English. And speak by rolling your tongue.

8. The local food is very expensive. There are hardly any food courts around, so meals have to be taken at restaurants. Each main course (without the set) can cost S$20.00 at the least.

9. The people there prefer eating meat over anything else. Their high-protein diet probably explains their build. Their main form of meat is mutton.

10. The women are very beautiful. Exotic, tall and elegant. A mind of their own, yet submissive to their husbands.

Now, any of your guys thinking of going there yet?