It's been almost 2 years since we updated this thing, and it's time to dust it off. Greetings from our new home, Almaty. Many of you may remember that our youngest, Alma, is named after this city. For Rose and Jim, Almaty is a perfect setting for our version of, "Back to the Future."
We arrived in early August, in the early AM (2AM to be exact). A short 3 hours later we found ourselves (with Judy in tow) in our new apartment. Furniture count, beds (4), table (1), chairs (6) and that's about it for our 4 bedroom, 2 bath place. However, for the first time overseas, we have a large refrigerator. We domicile in a brand new apartment building just across from the school (just across, shanked pitching wedge distance).
Weather when we arrived August 10, about 90 and sunny. Weather today, October 8, first snow flurries of the fall. It's going to be a long winter.
That's us, you might see us waving, right hand side of this apartment unit, occupying the 2nd and 3rd floors. The place was/is cavernous, but we're slowly decorating. A shipment of our personal goods arrived from Bosnia at the end of September, resulting in our first wall hangings. Photo is being taken from the school, yep, it's close.
A section of our new school at sunset. Those are the Tien Shen mountains in the background. Talin begins her 4th grade year and Alma her 2nd grade year at Almaty International School.
http://almaty.qsischool.org/
Rose is molding young math and science minds in the Middle School, while Jim is corrupting history and government minds in the High School. Total population of the school is 550 or so spread over Pre-School thru Grade 12.
The mountains are also close, but not this close. These images come to you from a night hike Jim took with another teacher. Hiked up to the summit of Panorama Peak (11,000+) from 9PM-2AM, slept for a couple of hours, then took these shots.
Reminiscing!! This is the former site of the Peace Corps Headquarters in Almaty. The office took up all of the top floor. Rose and Jim attended a party at a nearby Indian Restaurant and thought something looked familiar. So what has changed about downtown, the streets are wider, there is street paint dividing lanes, and there are a lot more cars. Sad to say, Lada's no longer dominate the roadways.
Also a blast from the past, Panfilov Park, one of the first places Peace Corps Volunteers were taken to upon arrival in Almaty. Naturally, it's one of the first places we went. Nana with the girls next to the eternal flame, Ascension Cathedral, and the Tyvand clan in front of the WWII Memorial.
Scenes from Family Fun Park (the actual name), a short drive from our home. Soviet style city park (kind of updated) with rides and green space. It is already a favorite.
On the left the girls sit in front of a map of Kazakhstan, caption, "My motherland - Kazakhstan". On the right, the girls first day of school, Talin 9, Alma 7. It seems like a long time ago when we first walked a not yet 2 year old Talin to her first day of school in China.
More to come from the Kaz.
