Kok-tobe

My last week has been pretty tame, since medical issues previously mentioned did not clear up, and I’ve been exhausted a lot. Tomorrow I have a more serious exam of my intestines. To prepare for this exam I have to drink 3 liters of water, filled with a delightful powder which will “cleanse” my digestive system. It tastes a lot like carrots. I am nervous for tomorrow, but at the same time it will make it a lot more clear if I have something more serious going on, or if I just have an infection that wasn’t intimidated by the army of antibiotics I delivered to it. Someone in my building is cooking some delicious borsch or something, which is rather tantalizing to smell while I sip on my laxative water.

So that’s slowed me down some. Last week I presented my research ideas to my advisor and a few other professors from the kafedra. I prepared a powerpoint with photo examples, and an outline of the areas that I am interested in. Anyways, I was fairly proud of myself for putting together a presentation with 2 days notice all in Russian. It was very negatively received, unfortunately. It was explained to me that my objectives were not rigid enough and that it wasn’t clear why my project was important. It was suggested that I make a clearer thesis and make my project “of the soviet method”. This got me very frustrated, because 1. I made it clear that I am still exploring my topic, and that I will not be ready to make a definite thesis for another month. 2. most of my presentation had explained the usefulness of my project and my explanation that it would probably benefit western academia far more than here.

So it’s been a rough week, and I’ve been really slipping on my research reading and Russian studying. I am having a one month crisis already, thinking about how much more I have to accomplish in just 9 more months.

On Sunday, Kulyash and her daughter Janna, who is visiting from Turkey, went to Panfilov Park, and then Kok-Tobe. It means “Green Hill” in Kazakh. It’s a 20-30 minute walk to the top (alternatively, you can take a gondola back and forth in 5 or so minutes), and there’s a pleasant view of the whole city and a recreational area. There is also a Beatles statue. Obviously. We also stumbled across a rather funny mural painted by a child, of a what appears to be a fish riding what appears to be a bicycle. I explained Janna and Kulyash the expression “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” and after a few minutes of clarifying that no, I really didn’t actually mean to say water, I earned a chuckle. I find that laughs are hard to earn when speaking in another language.

This weekend, I discovered ebooks, and read “Half the Sky” by NYTimes journalist Nicholas Kristof and his wife (also a journalist) Sheryl Wudunn. It’s about the oppression of women in the developing world, and a must read.

I’m typing up a post about my research…. really this time.

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