A year ago, I had just arrived in Kazan' and my host sister, Lena, and her family took me to Sabantui, my first taste of Tatar culture and Tatar food. I have very fond memories to the festivities. When I saw that Sabantui would be here, in Almaty, I was very excited. Unfortunately, but probably not surprisingly, it paled in comparison. I arrived an hour before I was suppose to meet with Jessica and took the time to walk around Gorky Park. Then it started to rain. It had rained all yesterday, putting a damper on any spontaneous exploration. I waited in under the roof the entrance gate until the rain stopped, which it did just in time for Jessica's arrival. We walked around the park, waiting for the festivities to start. While walking, my camera broke, or more precisely, the door that keeps the batteries in wont stay closed, making photography difficult. We sat through nearly an hour of "thank yous," present giving and speeches. There were a few songs in Tatar and then more speeches. They were not even selling Tatar food and I had my heart set on gubadia. Ed, the English guy from the Dushanbe office of EFCA, joined us and instead of sticking around for the competitions we went for Lagman.
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I noticed this when I entered Gorky Park. The sign on the left, "Y," means the driver is a student.
The sign on the right is a high heel, I assume this is suppose to warn other drivers that the driver is a woman. Supposedly, women drivers are worse than men. |
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| Gorky Park and the mountains, Madeu. |
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| It's raining, it's pouring.... |
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| Gorky park is also a Theme Park, these poor souls were off to entertain small children. |
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| The prizes: Two sheep |
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| and a chicken |
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Here are some random pictures from the week.
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| Medeu |
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| The Circus |
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| "Brave" |
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