Summer in Kazakhstan

July 16 until August 28 2008

 

It was a priviledge to finally travel to Kazakhstan - something I've been wanting to do for several years.

 

In 2003 I met a group from Kazakhstan with their Swiss leader in an international leadership course for scouting in the Netherlands. It was great to finally meet them again and dive into their culture.

It is amazing what they are working on in summer camp ministry.

 

A friend of mine from Switzerland was able to come with me for the first three weeks. It was a blessing to have her there.

We stayed at our friends' place for the time when we weren't in camps (3 out of the 6 weeks).

 

Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

A long trip...

  • The trip went from Zurich to St. Petersburg and then to Almaty.
  • the first evidence of us travelling together :-)
  • To wait for the connecting flight can be very tiring.
  • Welcome to Almaty - after midnight
  • train station Almaty 1
  • Only half of our luggage were personal belongings! Really!!
  • Ready for a twelve hour train ride?
  • My attempt to comunicate with the other passengers...

Impressions of the country, the city, life in a village...

  • Out of the airplane in Almaty
  • The weather was sunny, dry and hot - every day!
  • There are some mountains somewhat close by.
  • Where is the animal?
  • Oil and gas industry
  • overview over the city
  • A big shopping mall in the center of the city... with prices as we have in Switzerland.
  • A traditional way of selling "Kwas" - a local drink.
  • The villages look somewhat different...
  • preparations for the heating in the winter

Sports camp

  • We load as much as we can!
  • The infrastucture of the first "camp ground" was great.
  • Every day I taught swimming to a group of interested kids
  • Hockey, football, basketball and volleyball were part of the programm.
  • And we enjoyed a bunch of other games as well.
  • communicating with almost no Russian!

Mountain camp with teenagers

  • A meal together is always a great start to a new adventure.
  • Packing the backpacks was a challenge. We had to bring everything needed for 20+ people for 5 days.
  • The adventurous hike went up along a little river.
  • Here's the camp ground!
  • What an outdoor-kitchen!
  • Everyone helped cooking.
  • "Priatna apetita"!
  • The river was freezing cold!
  • We heard stories everyday.

Kazach children's camp

  • Amazing that car!
  • Our camp ground in the valley
  • Each group was asigned a room in one of theses houses.
  • This is where the children slept together with their group leader.
  • A typical Kazach summer stove
  • There was a big kitchen crew...
  • The children also ate in their groups with their group leaders.
  • Twice a day we sang and...
  • ...heard / saw a story.
  • Every day the children learnt a Bible verse by heart.
  • Hockey was their favourite sport...
  • ... together with taking a bath of course.
  • But we also played different games every day.
  • All the leaders and helpers...
  • 60 children

Life in between camps

  • Enjoying life and the great weather with friends and family...
  • Visiting the Rehabilitation center for former adicts in a village near by.
  • An Usbek team was there (including these musicians).
  • Where there is music one has to dance!
  • Third day in Kazakhstan - first time in the Samal Bazar
  • You can buy everyhing at the bazar. You just need to know where to find it or a lot of patience to look for it.
  • My attempt to buy a bottle of water failed... hey, who doesn't like Fanta instead?!
  • We met this lovely lady who clothed us in traditional clothes for the picture.
  • On Sundays we went to church. This is the small Kazach church.
  • The local post office... Since the lady only had stamps for 10 letters I went back two days later to send the other four.
  • A main activity was to go grocery shopping on the bazar for the camps.
  • It was great to buy a lot at a time.
  • The "meat hall" was slightly disgusting...
  • How about some Kurt? An interesting tasting Kazach snack in the form of a small white ball...
  • Here we went to pick up 60 loaves of bread.
  • It came straight out of the oven...
  • Our friends invited us to a Kazach dinner at their house.
  • "Bishbarmak": self made pasta with meat - very tasty!
  • Here you see again the typical low table called "Taptschan".
  • On my last evening I was able to attend an Usbek wedding.
  • Typical Usbek dress
  • Even the old "Babuschkas" danced
  • We went together with friends from the Rehab center and had a great time!