Celebrating the Day of Knowledge

I recall, that when I was very young each September heralded the start of school.  When I look back at those years I cannot help but think that some sort of ceremony, a red letter day, would have gone some way to alleviating the feelings of dread that I recall in my very first year as I stepped up to face the unknown or, in later years, the sense of disappointment I felt as my summer freedoms and family time came to an end. 

My very traditional British boarding school understood this well and had a ceremony called 'handshaking'.  All pupils were expected to attend a chapel service to mark the start of the school year, the prefects would then usher us out class by class, youngest first, and we would proceed slowly down the corridor shaking the hand of every member of staff from the Headmistress to the most junior house-staff. As we had 80 staff and about 480 pupils this took some time but it did mean we felt we knew what our teachers looked like.   Here in Kazakhstan, and indeed across much of the Russian speaking world, they also understand the need to make pupils feel comfortable in their schools so they have a special ceremony to mark the start of the school year.  

My own daughter insisted on having white pom-poms
in her hair.  It is a local tradition for 1 September.  

1 September is  known as the Day of Knowledge and marks the end of summer and the beginning of Autumn and another school year.  I have, this year, joined my husband in working at the same school that our children go to so the last week has been spent setting up and making preparations so that the school will look like a welcoming and exciting place to be.

All schools will be open on the Day of Knowledge, no matter which day of the week it falls on.  Parents spend the run-up preparing their children's uniform (complete with white hair pom-poms for the girls) and getting the right bags and equipment to see the children through the year ahead.  Many pupils both old and new, bring flowers, chocolates or other gifts for their teacher.  The pupils and parents go to the new classrooms and meet their teachers and classmates.  The whole school then gathers for an opening ceremony.  At our school the pupils traditionally gather together to listen to an address from the Headmaster before releasing balloons into the air (one per pupil).  For most schools, however, the tradition calls for one of the youngest girls in the school to ring the Первый Звнок (first bell).  

At our school pupils love releasing balloons into the air for 1 September.

There are no formal classes and most pupils will leave shortly after all the ceremonies are completed, ready to return the next day and settle in to their very first lessons.  The day itself is a very sweet tradition.  It helps to ease new and possibly nervous pupils into their school environment and it is lovely to see the city full of children with their white pompoms in their hair proud of their shiny new shoes, uniforms and bags and, more than anything else, proud of their school community. 

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Nauruz - A traditional Kazakh New Year Celebration

Nauruz is the Kazakh name for the month of March – it is also the name of the Kazakh New Year and spring festival.  This is a traditional festival now celebrated across central Asia.  During the Soviet years Nauruz was not celebrated but, since independence, Kazakhstan has returned to celebrating with gusto. 

Spring is, of course, a time of new beginnings and the start of a 'new year' indeed.  In years gone by the UK celebrated New Year on Lady Day, 25 March, the remnants of this tradition can be seen with the end of the tax year being 5 April (due to the days added during the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar). 

We are actually able to to celebrate it this year as our snow is melting and our temperatures are above zero.  Last year it was well below freezing and blowing a blizzard which meant that celebrations were rather muted.  Over recent days the city has been gearing up for the celebrations.  All the women’s day decorations have stayed up and have been joined by even more flowers and banners.  Yurts have sprung up at parks and cross roads around the city as a base for special events and a light display is showing on and around the Baiterek. 

Nauruz displays around the city.

Traditional Yurt

Nauruz is celebrated on the equinox.  The children have time from school for Nauruz itself and the following week so the school celebrated the festival today.  They go to an English school, Haileybury Astana that runs the British Curriculum but has children of all nationalities in the classes.  They love their school, while most lessons are in English they also learn both Russian and Kazakh. Our son in particular is very proud of speaking Kazakh and practices every day; he takes it very seriously and will even correct our pronunciation, he has been looking forward to Nauruz for some time.

School Children Celebrate Nauruz

This morning the children all came to school in national dress, beautifully embroidered coats and hats for the men and stunning frilly dresses and tall feathered hats for the girls.  The school’s Kazakh department put on a special assembly all about Nauruz.  There were games for the children and staff – a timed wordsearch in Kazakh, a test on the ingredients for a traditional Nauruz dish Nauruz Kozhe and a game of Kaz Kouuu.  Kaz Kouu is a traditional game played on horseback (as horses would not fit in the assembly hall it was done with pretend horses Monty Python style).  The game is a race between a man and a woman – if the man wins he gets a kiss, if the woman wins she gets to beat him!  This morning the women won.  The event finished with Bata – a blessing and Shashu – a shower of sweets which is, of course, the children’s favourite part.

Traditional Kazakh homeware

In the afternoon the school held a ‘Kazakh Princess’ competition which I was invited to judge.  I was a little apprehensive about judging a ‘beauty contest’ particularly one that involved girls only rather than a joint male/female event but it was rather fun, rather reminiscent of a may queen celebration.  The older girls of 11 and 12 competed in a number of categories including crafts (they had to make their own Kazakh Hat), music, taste tests and mental dexterity.  The girls had obviously worked hard to prepare for the day and showcase their skills in front of all the children and parents. 

One of the things we love about our expat life is being able to celebrate not just our own traditions but also enjoy learning about and celebrating the traditions of our host country.  Over the next few days we will enjoy the holiday as a family and have fun exploring all the special Nauruz events in Astana.  

Nauruz Kuttuh Bolsuhn!

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Coping with Snow and Cold in Astana

Coping with snow is big business in Astana as the city lives at temperatures below freezing from November through to March.  Of course the cold brings some advantages because other than the very start and end of winter when the temperature can get warm enough to bring some melt water to the streets we do not have problems with freeze-thaw.  Astana is typically very dry so we do not get too much snow, this year we have had much more than usual making the job of clearing much more difficult but the city has kept functioning. 

Astana is beautiful in the winter

All that said the snow, even heavy snow, really does not affect daily life at all.  When we were living in the UK a single fall of was usually enough to keep everybody indoors.  Having grown up in Norway it tends not to faze me but our neighbours would marvel that I was ‘brave’ enough to drive to town following a 5cm snowfall.  Here life goes on, even in the extreme cold or after a very heavy, sudden snowfall. 

The reason life is able to go on so well here is that  Astana has a huge team responsible for clearing the roads and some wonderful pieces of machinery to help them along (794 specialist units and 227 units for courtyard clearance and snow removal according to the city authorities).  The snowploughs go out in convoys of about 7 or 8 staggered one behind the other to make sure that a whole road of multiple lanes can be cleared in one go.  They drive around the city on a continuous cycle.  The snow that has been pushed to the side of the road is then collected either by a combination of an excavator and snow truck or with one of the amazing snow elevators that shovels the snow up onto a conveyor belt and into a snow truck.  

Snow Conveyors waiting for the snow trucks to start loading

Keeping the Park Paths Clear of Snow

It is a very well run operation and quite a pleasure to watch, particularly the conveyors which have moving 'mandibles' at the front to push the snow onto the conveyor belt.  The car park for the park opposite our house is used as a rest stop for the ploughs and snow trucks over the winter so we can watch them come and go.

Snow builds up on the sides of the roads

Which is then collected by specialist equipment and sent to landfill

All the roads are kept open although to what extent depends on the part of the city – our children’s school is out in a newly developing area.  It is serviced by broad avenues but as there is still very little accommodation out there the ploughs clear only 2 of the 4 lanes of the road, enough to keep the roads open.  We did have one morning, following a very heavy snowfall, where we drove in before the ploughs had been through but they came through about two hours later.   Even the airport is kept clear.  I have flown out of Astana despite heavy snowfall and low visibility that would shut many others.  It is not unknown for people to be grounded in Europe while the airport in Astana continues working safely in much worse conditions.  The biggest problem for the aircraft is the lack of hangar facilities.  Flights that land and then return don’t suffer because they spend very little time on the ground but flights that originate in Astana can be delayed in very cold weather because it takes so long to warm them. 

Road out to school just before the ploughs clear the open lanes.
The lamp posts on the right show the right edge of the road

As well as having snow to deal with over the winter Astana suffers from very low temperatures - it is the second coldest capital in the world..  We have had a very warm winter - mostly above -20 but just before Christmas we had temperatures below -40 for some days. Last winter we had much colder weather for a much longer period of time.  The quid-pro-quo being that we had less snow.

When we first arrived in Astana it was the middle of summer and beautifully warm at +30.  I struggled to imagine how the city would cope over the winter.  From about October the fountains are drained and covered and the flower beds dug up.  The malls which have wide open doors in the warmer months start to change their entrances.  Most seem to have an 'airlock' system of sequential doors.  You go in one side, say the left and enter an outer hall, walk to the right and go in to the next hall, there can be up to 3 or 4 zigzags in some buildings depending on how cold it is. Once inside it is very warm and every mall, attraction and restaurant will have a fully staffed and efficient garderobe for outdoor clothes.

Underground parking is very popular in the winter because of the strain the cold places on the car battery and engine block.  Most cars have automatic starters which people activate before they start getting their outdoor clothes on so that the car warms up for them. If a car is not in a garage this has to be done every few hours to make sure that it stays healthy.  Our starter is broken so we try to park indoors as much as possible.  Entering and leaving the underground parking is done through a series of garage doors to retain the heat and I have noticed that hospital ambulance bays have a similar system.  

The last week or so the temperatures have been creeping up and there is an unmistakable feeling of spring in the air.  The snow is starting to look rotten and the other day I noticed the tiniest of buds on the trees, despite a temperature of -22.  The following day the thermometer was reading +1 and we had rain for the first time in months. Unfortunately this means that the pavements and roads have become very treacherous because the temperatures soon plummet again giving sheet ice with no traction at all. 

The Akimat – the city authorities have been making a concerted effort to clear away as much of the snow as possible before the melt sets in proper in order to minimise the effects of flooding.  Although snow is cleared from the parks and pavements and sent to landfill throughout the winter the process really steps up in March.  I read on the city website that over 4 million cubic meters has been removed from the city to landfill this winter.  We can now see hedgerows and benches in the parks that were hidden for the past months, another sign that winter is drawing to a close and Astana has started its annual metamorphosis from a snow city to a garden city.

The thaw creates problems on the roads

As much snow and ice as possible is removed before the melt

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How to Start a Family Pancake Day Tradition

Shrove Tuesday; children around the world get to enjoy pancakes for pudding at school or as a treat when they get home.  My mother would always have pancakes ready for us when we got home and I try to do the same for my children. 

I usually cook pancakes or waffles for breakfast on a Saturday morning but I held off last weekend and promised the children pancakes for supper today.  It always surprises me to see pancake mix on the shelves of the supermarkets in the UK.  They are the simplest things in the world to make and when I read the instructions on the side of the ‘ready made’ mixes they usually say ‘just add milk and an egg’.  Since the basic ingredients are milk, egg, flour and baking powder I am at a loss as to what people think that they are buying.  I did once buy a packet to see whether it had a special ‘ingredient x’ that made the pancakes taste superior to my own but I was underwhelmed. 

I never measure my pancake mix, I just add the basic ingredients by judgment and mix them up – more milk for crepe’s and a thicker mix with a little more baking powder for American style pancakes.  If I want a richer taste I might add an American cup measure of yogurt or ricotta.  Sometimes I use a cup of sourdough starter instead of baking powder.  I always fry my pancakes in butter, it gives a much nicer taste than oil.

Melt the butter while preparing the mix.  The pan has to be very hot.  

Brown and ready to eat.

When I was a little girl my mother would sometimes add sugar and apples to the mix.  She fried the pancakes in a beautifully heavy, thick bottomed, cast iron pan.  This was never washed in soap but always oiled and layered in kitchen paper before being put in the cupboard.  It is a thing of beauty and I truly covet it.  I thought about taking it home with me when she died, it traveled round the world with her but sadly it is too heavy to bring abroad on our limited baggage allowance.  I have left it with my father for now, I use it sometimes when I visit him and it always brings me fond memories. 

My beautiful Uzbek Pancake Serving Dish

This year I have been able to start a tradition for my own family.  Uzbek pottery is beautiful stoneware decorated in colourful patterns making it a feast for the eyes.  We know a potter who comes to Astana a few times a year.  Sukrob brings plates directly from his own workshop and is able to fulfil individual requests.  My Christmas present last year was a full dinner service that my wonderful husband ordered for me.  He also bought me a pancake server.  This is actually a ‘plov’ dish, designed to keep rice warm but it works wonderfully for pancakes or just about anything else.  I look forward to the day when I can cook my Shrove Tuesday pancakes on my mother’s frying pan and serve them to my family in my plov dish.  I wonder what my daughter will add to the pan and the dish when she passes them on to her children.

Pancakes in their dish.

All rolled up and ready to eat.

Settling In To Our New Home in Astana

Some friends of ours have just moved to Astana which started me thinking about the whole process of moving.

There  is something very strange about coming to your new home, it is where you live but it is strange and alien to you.  So – how do you make it yours as quickly as possible?  I adopt a system of making sure that everything is set out in the same way as every other home I have ever had.  Of  course not everything can be put in exactly the same place but by and large I try to make things as similar as possible. My kitchen is a case in point – my sister can come into a new home of mine and know where to find everything straight away without looking through hundreds of cupboards.  The cutlery and pans are usually to the right of the sink, the cooking oil is by the left of the hob.  My wardrobe is arranged in exactly the same way in each home as is my dressing and bedside table. 

When we moved to Astana I had to settle the children in quickly.  I moved many times as a child but I never got used to it, I would get nervous stomach aches and feel very unsettled.  This time it was worse because although I was not concerned about the move I was worried for the effect it would have on my children.  My mother would always try to minimise the disruption any move brought to our lives and I followed her system.  We packed the children's bedding in the excess baggage suitcases so they woke up under their duvet in one home and went to sleep in the same duvet that night albeit in a different country.  This feeling of home helped a lot.  I let them choose which toys came in our handbaggage/airfreight so they knew what they would be playing with when they got to their new home – some  old favourites and one new treat each.  When our shipment arrived (if that is the right phrase for boxes brought to a landlocked country) the children unpacked their own rooms. Strictly speaking given their ages  at the time we unpacked under their supervision but this gave them ownership of their new bedrooms and made them feel more settled.  Funnily enough I noticed they did exactly the same thing I did and tried  to replicate the layout of their previous bedrooms.

Even with all this it took our son some  time to settle into his new life.  At almost 5 years old he missed his extended family and while Skype helped he wanted to see his grandparents and his friends. When we went away from home for weekend trips he started fretting and asking if we were moving again.  Our daughter who turned 3 shortly after we arrived was not concerned at all;  I am not sure whether this is age or character driven, to be honest it is probably a little of both.  Starting school really helped to settle them, making friends and having them back home to play was a very important step in making them feel at home in Astana.

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