March 29
Another beautiful day here in Taraz. The kids played on the playground in the morning and in the afternoon we headed back to the bazaar. We walked there and back to use up some of their energy! This time we saw another side of the bazaar we missed on the first trip. I think we could go back each day and see more but it's too exhausting. We were looking for some souvenirs and found a few but we've been told the best place to buy souvenirs is a shop in Almaty. So we'll have to shop there next week.
We're planning to leave for Almaty this weekend. It will be hard to leave Taraz, we know the city center pretty well by now and we have many friends here, but we're definitely ready to move on. Some people have noticed that we haven't started calling Vasya by his new name yet. We plan to make that switch in Almaty. Going there will be a big deal for them, we don't think they've ever been to that city and they've never been to a hotel before. Julia was on a train once but Vasya has never been on one so he's pretty excited.
Wendy
Traffic here is a pretty accurate picture of Kazakhstan at this point in time. This really hit home to me the other day as I saw a Mercedes S600 roar past a little wagon pulled by a donkey. It’s like the wild west with a well entrenched bureaucracy. Wyatt Earp would fit right in if he could stand the paperwork.
Their driving habits are built around either maximizing efficiency or terrifying foreigners, perhaps both. Here are the rules of the road:
· Traffic lanes are a fluid thing—a two lane road can become a four lane road if two vehicles can fit in one lane, then move to a five or six lane road if no one is immediately in the oncoming lane.
· It is preferable to risk death in a head on collision than to hit a pothole They do have some very impressive potholes here, but it’s unnerving to swerve far into oncoming traffic to avoid what we consider to the lesser of two evils. Slowing way down to carefully bump through the pothole is not an option.
· A yellow light is as good as a green—for cross traffic. If you run a yellow here, you are going to be in an accident. Yellows display on both halves of the intersection, so when they appear, the folks who have been stopped immediately take off.
· The horn button is a powerful tool, and must be used often. This is appropriate when anyone has the audacity to stop or impede your progress in any matter whatsoever. We witnessed a bus giving two deafening, 10-second horn lasts to two unfazed pedestrians who were visiting as they serenely crossed the street. All the subsequent cars were honking at the bus. The city bus system here is heavily used and appears to be really efficient transportation. It seems pretty obvious to me that a city bus is going to stop often and take on and discharge passengers. Folks here get stuck behind them and honk at them every time they stop
· We don’t need no stinkin’ emission controls. Anyone with money drives a German car, there are a moderate number of Japanese cars and most of the still upwardly mobile are stuck with old Soviet junk— Lada’s, Volga’s and Mocoviches. We got behind a Volga that was belching white smoke and our driver said “old….Krushchev, Breshnev". They drive them well past their expiration date. Our coordinator told me stories of the Moscovich he owned 20 years ago “I had to take out the…umm…. engine to rebuild three times because of the knocking, and the transmission two time because of the (high pitched humming sound) and then again because of the (low pitched humming sound) and the…ummm….differential as well because of the leaking.” It seemed like the Soviet goal was not to build reliable transportation, but to provide on the job training for the largest cadre of auto mechanics in the world. Roadside repairs are a common sight.
· Community standards work pretty well as long as everyone is aware of the standard. We’ve only seen one fender bender since we’ve been here. We don’t understand the standard, so we still have to run like Chicken Little every time we want to cross the street. We decided early on that sacrificing dignity for survival was a worthwhile trade. We tried the strategy of following a Kazakh and crossing when they cross, but they don’t seem to have a problem with standing in the middle of the street while cars and busses race by 8 inches to either side of them.
The ultimate irony--We cheated death by car once more on our way to an amusement park, went to the Bumper Car ride and saw the kids drive around in slow, well spaced, orderly circles. Textbook defensive driving. They probably all had their hands at the 10:00 and 2:00 position on the steering wheel. No bumping going on here. We were appalled. Since we figured it was our only chance at revenge, we all bought tickets and wreaked absolute havoc.
Russ
We're planning to leave for Almaty this weekend. It will be hard to leave Taraz, we know the city center pretty well by now and we have many friends here, but we're definitely ready to move on. Some people have noticed that we haven't started calling Vasya by his new name yet. We plan to make that switch in Almaty. Going there will be a big deal for them, we don't think they've ever been to that city and they've never been to a hotel before. Julia was on a train once but Vasya has never been on one so he's pretty excited.
Wendy
Traffic here is a pretty accurate picture of Kazakhstan at this point in time. This really hit home to me the other day as I saw a Mercedes S600 roar past a little wagon pulled by a donkey. It’s like the wild west with a well entrenched bureaucracy. Wyatt Earp would fit right in if he could stand the paperwork.
Their driving habits are built around either maximizing efficiency or terrifying foreigners, perhaps both. Here are the rules of the road:
· Traffic lanes are a fluid thing—a two lane road can become a four lane road if two vehicles can fit in one lane, then move to a five or six lane road if no one is immediately in the oncoming lane.
· It is preferable to risk death in a head on collision than to hit a pothole They do have some very impressive potholes here, but it’s unnerving to swerve far into oncoming traffic to avoid what we consider to the lesser of two evils. Slowing way down to carefully bump through the pothole is not an option.
· A yellow light is as good as a green—for cross traffic. If you run a yellow here, you are going to be in an accident. Yellows display on both halves of the intersection, so when they appear, the folks who have been stopped immediately take off.
· The horn button is a powerful tool, and must be used often. This is appropriate when anyone has the audacity to stop or impede your progress in any matter whatsoever. We witnessed a bus giving two deafening, 10-second horn lasts to two unfazed pedestrians who were visiting as they serenely crossed the street. All the subsequent cars were honking at the bus. The city bus system here is heavily used and appears to be really efficient transportation. It seems pretty obvious to me that a city bus is going to stop often and take on and discharge passengers. Folks here get stuck behind them and honk at them every time they stop
· We don’t need no stinkin’ emission controls. Anyone with money drives a German car, there are a moderate number of Japanese cars and most of the still upwardly mobile are stuck with old Soviet junk— Lada’s, Volga’s and Mocoviches. We got behind a Volga that was belching white smoke and our driver said “old….Krushchev, Breshnev". They drive them well past their expiration date. Our coordinator told me stories of the Moscovich he owned 20 years ago “I had to take out the…umm…. engine to rebuild three times because of the knocking, and the transmission two time because of the (high pitched humming sound) and then again because of the (low pitched humming sound) and the…ummm….differential as well because of the leaking.” It seemed like the Soviet goal was not to build reliable transportation, but to provide on the job training for the largest cadre of auto mechanics in the world. Roadside repairs are a common sight.
· Community standards work pretty well as long as everyone is aware of the standard. We’ve only seen one fender bender since we’ve been here. We don’t understand the standard, so we still have to run like Chicken Little every time we want to cross the street. We decided early on that sacrificing dignity for survival was a worthwhile trade. We tried the strategy of following a Kazakh and crossing when they cross, but they don’t seem to have a problem with standing in the middle of the street while cars and busses race by 8 inches to either side of them.
The ultimate irony--We cheated death by car once more on our way to an amusement park, went to the Bumper Car ride and saw the kids drive around in slow, well spaced, orderly circles. Textbook defensive driving. They probably all had their hands at the 10:00 and 2:00 position on the steering wheel. No bumping going on here. We were appalled. Since we figured it was our only chance at revenge, we all bought tickets and wreaked absolute havoc.
Russ
posted by The Petersons at 6:28 PM
4 Comments:
Hey guys! Wow! Things are a lot different there than in America. Its amazing to think of the things they do that are completely different to us in America. This I am sure is quite an experience for all of you.
It sounds like you are all doing so well. I love reading your comments each day. Its great reading them everyday to see all the different things you are experiencing.
Things are going great here too by the way. Zoe and I are having a blast keeping each other company!
Now I know where Brooke receives her skill in writing! It simply runs in the family, doesn't it not? Your blog is so much fun to read. You should publish it! It has been a high point in my days. Today's post exercised my liver -- isn't the liver the organ that gets exercise when one laughs? Anyway, thanks for taking the time to right to us. It brings us joy!! Many at TRC are reading. Tonight at our book study you were in our conversation as we shared our favorite entries. We love you and miss you tremendously. Tell Vasya that, other than light rail and the kiddie train at Bellevue park, I too have never been on a passenger train. He'll have to tell me all about it.
Laura Flanders
Your postings are awesome. I've been reading them every day. You'll have to continue when you get back to the States for those of us that aren't near to ya'll.
Suz McCarron, Atlanta
Y'all kill me with your posts. If you ride the bumper cars again, please give 'em a good nudge for the Bentleys. More than once I thought they (the real cars) were aiming for me in my gym clothes.
Tsum's stuff on the 3rd floor is great. Some of you've seen before (and cheaper), but things like t-shirts, baseball hats, and Soviet insignia keychains, etc. weren't something I'd seen in Taraz. Definitely bargain since all the vendors have similar stuff.
Also, Anne & I hit two restaurants I think you guys would enjoy - PBC which has a great kitschy Soviet theme and "the Chinese restaurant" which I didn't get the name of but thoroughly enjoyed.
Have a great time on the train and we'll be praying for you guys!
- Jim & Anne
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