"I'll spread my wings and i'll learn how to fly,
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
and breakaway..
Out of the darkness and into the sun
but I won't forget all the ones that I love
I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change
and breakaway..."
This was the song and the emotion with which I left from Mumbai...and was on my way to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Well, it all started months back- the search, the applications, the acceptance and then the final arrival of my visa. But for and.therefore.i.am it will start from the day I got my very first jitters of going to Almaty for my 1 month internship in Almaty Institute of Power Engineering and Telecommunication (AIPET). It was when I turned my head to give a final look at my mom and sis through the taxi window, their figures diminishing with every jerk of the cab. Dad was coming with me till Delhi. Then from Terminal 3 to the Almaty airport and further on, it was a journey I had to make on my own.
Impressions
Almaty came to me as a surprise. Nothing like what I had imagined or heard of. Most people after hearing Kazakhstan think of burkha clad ladies and men with AK47. Dude! Every "-istan" is not Afghanistan or Pakistan. Kazakhstan is a blend of the European and the Asian culture.
The Women
A friend of mine in India had told me that the male to female ratio in Kazakhstan is very poor. This place is every bachelor's paradise! The women here are smoking hot! Every other girl looks like a super model. Slim, fashion obsessed and dolled up. What I really liked is that even though being a Muslim dominated country you will never get that feeling while you're here. It is one of the most liberal countries I have ever been to. There are absolutely no restrictions on eating or dressing on its people and no rules that make it compulsory for you to pray 5 times a day. Many don't even go to the Mosque or Mishet, as they call it. There was hardly anyone in Almaty who wore just a plain tee and jeans let alone wear a burqa/ hijab. You will find the ladies here in mini skirts, shorts, tunics, woolen nets over bikinis (yea, you read it right. Once I spotted a lady in this outfit carrying an office bag. Was she really going to turn up for work in that?!), high heels, matching bags and all things a Vogue- literate girl would wear. Even my Univ professors were in tunics. For the first time, being fully covered up made me feel awkward and stared at. I wish I had carried some short skirts along! The devuchki(Russian for girls) also had poker straight long hair. How do they do that?! I mean c'mon, not every girl in Almaty can decide on getting her hair straightened! Was it an epidemic I was unaware of or were they born this way?! I wish I hadn't cut my hair short before coming to Almaty. And how can they possibly manage to walk everywhere in those stilettos! So I decided to figure it out. I bought myself a pair of pretty blue heels (honestly, it was just a platform. But still higher than the heels of my daily sports shoes) and set off to give it a trial run (read: stroll). All determined to act like one of those pretty Kazakhi devuchki. Only to be back home with a sprained ankle. :(
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
and breakaway..
Out of the darkness and into the sun
but I won't forget all the ones that I love
I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change
and breakaway..."
This was the song and the emotion with which I left from Mumbai...and was on my way to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Well, it all started months back- the search, the applications, the acceptance and then the final arrival of my visa. But for and.therefore.i.am it will start from the day I got my very first jitters of going to Almaty for my 1 month internship in Almaty Institute of Power Engineering and Telecommunication (AIPET). It was when I turned my head to give a final look at my mom and sis through the taxi window, their figures diminishing with every jerk of the cab. Dad was coming with me till Delhi. Then from Terminal 3 to the Almaty airport and further on, it was a journey I had to make on my own.
Impressions
Almaty came to me as a surprise. Nothing like what I had imagined or heard of. Most people after hearing Kazakhstan think of burkha clad ladies and men with AK47. Dude! Every "-istan" is not Afghanistan or Pakistan. Kazakhstan is a blend of the European and the Asian culture.
Kazakhstan, then a part of the USSR has Russian and Kazakh as its major languages. Though they are taught English in schools, no one here seems to speak much of it due to lack of practice. Youngsters can still manage a bit of broken English.
I was picked up from the airport by 3 beautiful women and an awesome car. Samal was the first friend I had made there. She smiled and laughed whenever she got stuck with some word. We both carried Russian-to-English dictionaries. My first impression about the city was formed while sitting in Samal's car (on my way to the hostel from the airport) listening to the radio. It played all the top US charts- Katty Perry, Adel, Pitbull, Ludacris, Rihana and so on.
It's surprising how one can listen to songs without knowing what they mean. I had once asked a girl if she gets what they sing or rap in English. She said she doesn't bother figuring it out. She just loves the way it sounds. I had also heard Kazakh pop music and Russian rap. The plumber in our hostel would often play it on his mp3 player in such a loud volume that irrespective of my choice, I had to listen to it. And I 'loved the way it sounded.' ;) Youngsters here are huge fans of heavy metal and Indipop. Also many (esp the old) are big time fans of Bollywood music and dancing. Will tell you more about that in just some time.
I was picked up from the airport by 3 beautiful women and an awesome car. Samal was the first friend I had made there. She smiled and laughed whenever she got stuck with some word. We both carried Russian-to-English dictionaries. My first impression about the city was formed while sitting in Samal's car (on my way to the hostel from the airport) listening to the radio. It played all the top US charts- Katty Perry, Adel, Pitbull, Ludacris, Rihana and so on.
It's surprising how one can listen to songs without knowing what they mean. I had once asked a girl if she gets what they sing or rap in English. She said she doesn't bother figuring it out. She just loves the way it sounds. I had also heard Kazakh pop music and Russian rap. The plumber in our hostel would often play it on his mp3 player in such a loud volume that irrespective of my choice, I had to listen to it. And I 'loved the way it sounded.' ;) Youngsters here are huge fans of heavy metal and Indipop. Also many (esp the old) are big time fans of Bollywood music and dancing. Will tell you more about that in just some time.
The Women
A friend of mine in India had told me that the male to female ratio in Kazakhstan is very poor. This place is every bachelor's paradise! The women here are smoking hot! Every other girl looks like a super model. Slim, fashion obsessed and dolled up. What I really liked is that even though being a Muslim dominated country you will never get that feeling while you're here. It is one of the most liberal countries I have ever been to. There are absolutely no restrictions on eating or dressing on its people and no rules that make it compulsory for you to pray 5 times a day. Many don't even go to the Mosque or Mishet, as they call it. There was hardly anyone in Almaty who wore just a plain tee and jeans let alone wear a burqa/ hijab. You will find the ladies here in mini skirts, shorts, tunics, woolen nets over bikinis (yea, you read it right. Once I spotted a lady in this outfit carrying an office bag. Was she really going to turn up for work in that?!), high heels, matching bags and all things a Vogue- literate girl would wear. Even my Univ professors were in tunics. For the first time, being fully covered up made me feel awkward and stared at. I wish I had carried some short skirts along! The devuchki(Russian for girls) also had poker straight long hair. How do they do that?! I mean c'mon, not every girl in Almaty can decide on getting her hair straightened! Was it an epidemic I was unaware of or were they born this way?! I wish I hadn't cut my hair short before coming to Almaty. And how can they possibly manage to walk everywhere in those stilettos! So I decided to figure it out. I bought myself a pair of pretty blue heels (honestly, it was just a platform. But still higher than the heels of my daily sports shoes) and set off to give it a trial run (read: stroll). All determined to act like one of those pretty Kazakhi devuchki. Only to be back home with a sprained ankle. :(
