All other countries have inferior Potassium: Shymkent, Spring snow, and smooth, silky and sultry songs

Several weeks ago – Monday, the 22nd, more specifically – Kazakhstan celebrated its annual spring holiday, the Kazakh New Year, known as Nauryz. If you’ll recall, I went two years ago when I was just a lad (in volunteer years) and had a nice time. This time was a bit different as I knew almost none of the new volunteers there. But, my good buddy Zach still lived in Shymkent, and so I spent a good amount of my time with him. We basically just relaxed and had a nice time enjoying the warmer weather, going to a coffee shop with cute waitresses everyday, hanging out with his friend Losha, and a trip to the banya. I only had a couple days down there, but it was nice to get out of Almaty for a couple days and down to the (slightly) warmer south.

But in spite of the fact that it’s now officially Spring, the weather is playing tricks on us. Two-three days of warmth, then snow and cold – back and forth it’s been now for at least 3 weeks. Just yesterday, we got about 3 inches of snow!

I can finally break the good news on the blog – I found and have started a new job! One that pays more, has benefits and vacation days, will take care of my visa requirements, etc. I’ve taken an administration job at KIMEP, the best and most qualified university in the country. Here’s the job title: Assistant Director of the office of the Executive Vice President (Заместитель директора – офис исполнительного Вице-президента). Basically, I’m the only English native speaker in his office and therefore, I’ll be taking care of a lot of communication between our office and other departments, inside and outside of the school. I’ll also be a general second hand to the vice president, helping with projects and dealing with different issues. The job description was a bit vague and the vice president himself realizes this, but he says that if I have an open mind, learn quickly, and use common sense, then I’ll make sense of everything soon enough.

KIMEP is interesting because most of the professors and higher positions are filled by foreigners. My boss, the vice president is from Bangladesh, has a PhD in physics from Canada, the president of the school is a guy from Korea, and there are many professors from America, England, etc. One of the other requirements for working there is that you have a Master’s degree, which I don’t have, so I have to be enrolled as a student and working on a master’s program. I’m not against it! I’m going to start in the summer semester on my Masters in International Relations, a degree that will put me more on track with what I’d like to be ultimately doing with my life.

I’ve also found a new apartment, I believe. I need to get some of my own space and the place is in a nice region of the city, in the upper part, closer to the mountains. The air is fresher, the courtyard is a quite and clean one, and I see it as a place where I can make a life here for a year or two. Pics when I move in.

And jazz concerts galore! I went to one two weeks ago and now there is a jazz festival going on with groups from all over Central Asia and Europe. Tonight there was a group from Kyrgyzstan (bless their hearts) and a group from Germany. Both groups were phenomenal! The Kyrgyz had a lot of soul and did both some of their own stuff (with a Kyrgyz twist) as well as some classics. The Germans had all of their own stuff and played contemporary, minimalist, and very soothing (though sometimes rockin’, too) music. Two more nights of jazz to come – I love Almaty!