Kazakhstan Reflections Part 3 - The Long Voyage There…

One of the last views of the Canadian skyline

I do not consider our travel time on this trip to be horrible, but these days travelling were some of the most mentally exhausting days I've been through (including college exam week).  It was an experience which I hold many fond memories of, but which also hold experiences that I could do without.  Overall, I am grateful that we made it there safely and in good health!

I woke up on Friday May 4th groggy and tired.  I had a few hours to collect all of my stuff, eat, hit the bank and arrive at the Fellowship offices.  Food…I was hungry, and there was so much bacon and eggs in the fridge that would go bad over the course of the trip.  Logical decision: cook them all and feed myself and two of my friends.

Fellowship offices

The bacon was glorious, the eggs were creamy, and soon we were out the door with our bags.  We made the necessary stops to grab last minute items.  After another half hour, we arrived in the parking lot of the Fellowship. 

The rest of the team met there, we had food, talked and prayed with other members of the Fellowship who commissioned us, and began rehearsing the drama.  We ended that night with an attempted Fawlty Towers marathon, which turned into a six episode marathon before we all fell asleep.

Five hours later, we woke up and got ready for next day which was focused on last minute preparations.  There was a band practice, a meeting with someone who had previously gone to Kazakhstan, and one last meeting with our Fellowship contact discussing our expectations and the things that may hold us back.

As we drove away on the airbus, it finally hit me that the trip was beginning and that in a couple dozen hours I would be on the other side of the world.  The sun was setting when we arrived at the Toronto airport and it was completely dark when we got to the gate of our flight.  Little did we know, things would start getting interesting very soon…

Where are our guitars?

When we got the checking desk, we asked if it was possible to claim then as second carry-ons.  The pilot of the flight (who was there at the time) told us that normally he would allow it, but that due to the high traffic on this particular flight there would be limited room to store them.  So he advised us to take the guitars with us to the gate where our guitars could be put on the plane with the baby strollers.  As we boarded the plane, we left them on the ramp hoping that we would see them again.

Toronto Airport

To say that the flight from Toronto to Istanbul, Turkey was long would be an understatement.  We were all tired by then because of our five hour sleep the previous night and the fact that it was midnight when we left Toronto.  The flight was 9 ½ hours, during which I did not get a single ounce of sleep.  It was hot, humid and a baby was constantly crying three rows behind us.  Someone’s alarm even went off continuously for half an hour.  Luckily, this flight had individual movie screens which accessed a database of hundred of titles.  So that helped a bit…

By the end of the flight I was sweaty, stiff and sore from the constant sitting in uncomfortable seats for almost ten hours.  But when we saw the sun rise, we knew it was nearly time to land.  As we were landing, the plane was forced to weave around strong convective currents taking the forms of thunderstorms.  It was a glorious sight as we passed these monstrous, white pillars that looked the sized of a small mountain.  Then we landed…

When we got off the plane, we immediately went to look for our guitars.  I remember the feeling I had clearly when they said, “Not here, got to travel services.”

Great!

So we arrived at one desk of travel services and inquired about our guitars, to which they told us that we need to go to another desk in order to locate them.  With little choice in the matter, we went to the next desk.  It was there that we successfully determined that our luggage was in Istanbul, but that it wasn’t being transferred onto the next flight.  So we got the man to transfer our precious cargo to our next flight and walked away from the desk knowing that in theory, our guitars should make in onboard just fine…

New Friends and the Longest Flight I Have Ever Been On

It was at this airport that we met two more team members; One of the two dancers and the leader of an organization based in Turkey that focuses on using the creative arts to convey a message of love, grace and freedom.

We landed at around 4pm Istanbul time and left at around 8pm.  Everything was great as we were boarding.  Our guitars were (supposedly) on the plane, we had met up successfully with two team members.  It was only a 5 ½ hour flight, no prob!

Then as one of our team members, who was sitting at the window seat beside me, was glancing out the window he saw a luggage handler take a bag from the plane and toss it onto the luggage cart.  He chuckled as he thought, “Man, sucks for that person”.  Then, as he was about to close his eyes for a nap, he noticed a familiar red and white tag on the bag.

I was sitting next to him blissfully unaware and enjoying pre-flight music when I received a gentle nudge on my elbow.  “Dude, that guy out there just tossed my bag onto the luggage cart!  He took it off the plane and tossed it in the cart!  This can’t be happening!”

Istanbul lights

I was sceptical, but he was adamant that the bag in the cart was his.  Unfortunately, at that point, there was nothing we could do.  Our plane was backing up and heading down the tarmac.

I remember looking at the lights of Istanbul amidst the blackness that was the result of the absent sun.  It was very different from the grid like lines of street lights that made up Toronto.  Istanbul looked more like a snake in a spider’s web.  Then, in a moment’s time, the city was gone and darkness was all that was left.

This flight, though shorter than the first flight by a few hours, seemed twice as long as the previous one.  That was in part due to the fact that there was no interactive media device on the seat in front of me, and because I keep dozing for two minute naps and waking up feeling as though half an hour had passed by.  By then I was 15 hours into travelling and 31 hours with no sleep…

On top of that, it turned hot and muggy halfway through the flight and I found myself with a coat of sweat covering my body once again.  Ugh!  But eventually we saw the glimpse of sunlight that brought my heart hope, and then the mountain peaks of the Tian-Shan mountain range.  Almaty was our destination; it was our relief from the flight, but also our next challenge…

The Layover…

The first thing we did when we got through Kazakhstani Customs was to wait hopefully by the luggage conveyor for our bags (one of which we presumed to be in Istanbul) and instruments (which we hoped were not in Istanbul…or North Africa).  People’s luggage came through (some bags were mere cardboard boxes that had been shrink wrapped) one at a time.  Then my guitar case came through with the other instruments close behind!  Yay!

But soon after, the line shut down and my heart sank.  Out of our team, three members did not have their checked luggage, including my friend who had claimed he witnessed his bag’s removal from the plane.  Sigh!

First meeting of the full team!

After spending half an hour at the luggage recovery desk and locating our luggage (our bags were indeed still in Istanbul and would make the next flight to Almaty), we entered the main airport and met our leader, Jon, and the rest of our team.  These were the people we would spend the next 14 hours with during our layover…

In those 14 hours, many things happened:

-we saw the beautiful Tian-Shan mountains before the clouds obscured them later in the day.

-four of us tossed a Rugby ball around in the parking lot, which then hit my leg causing my pen to explode in my pocket.  As I removed it from my jeans, the ink spread everywhere on my hand, pants and shirt…Great!

-six of us went to a restaurant in the airport for lunch.  The waiter then proceeded to take an 80% tip for himself and gave us two pieces of gum…

-I tried mushroom flavoured Lays…not so good

-An elderly man approached us to practice his english.  Good times!

-We walked around the block next to the airport, soaking in the sunshine and cityscape.

-Two of us got offered rock candy from someone who was under the influence of something…

-I found out that the washrooms in the Almaty International Airport did not contain functional soap dispensers, but had western style toilets!

Those fourteen hours just blended into one another.  Time seemed to pass rapidly and agonizingly slow at the same time.  Jon, our leader, described it best by calling it a state of delirium.  Sleep seemed so close, yet I was unable to attain it.  My mind would not stop operating, but I was too tired to read or do anything else that would help pass the time.

Then the moment of truth came…our flight appeared on the board!  Those of us who were asleep were awakened and we all dragged our tired feet to the gate.  We had arrived when the sun was rising and leaving as the sun was setting.  We boarded the plane from the tarmac and I must say that the view of the mountains with rain clouds obscuring their peaks in the light of the setting sun was absolutely glorious.  I soaked that image in and then ducked my head inside the next plane.

This plane was newer and had very comfortable seats.  The flight was only 1 ½ hours and included an in flight movie.  Anything to help pass the time!

We arrived in Shymkent at night and met up with our host and his friends.  Our stuff was loaded into two vans and off we went to our home for the next 12 days.  All I remember about that ride was how fast we were going, how bumpy the road was, and how painful my neck felt after a particularly large pothole gave me slight whiplash as we passed over it at 90km/h.

Finally, we arrive at our host’s house and after a quick meal of bread and tea, we all crashed hard…

A long voyage there: 35 hours of travel time, 52 hours without sleep...and the journey had only just begun…

Kazakhstan Reflections Part 2.5 - More on Kazakhstan...

Geography and Climate

Most of Kazakhstan is Semi-arid rolling plains that are desolate in the late summer, frozen in the winter, and lush meadows in the spring.  There are also a great many areas of mountains in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

When we arrived, it was the perfect temperature (at least it was for me).  There is not much humidity there, as opposed to here in southern Ontario during the spring/summer seasons.  Therefore, the heat was mostly off of the sun…which was deadly hot!  Sure, it is humid here and that makes finding shelter from the heat a hard task as it will follow you into the shade.  But the sun there was so powerful.  Unlike here, you could feel it on your skin like you were standing a bit too close to a campfire.  Luckily, that heat disappeared as soon as you went into the shade.

It was interesting to notice how they construct their houses to compensate for that.  Even the richest of people there don’t just the insulation we do here.  They don’t have drywall.  Instead, they use plaster walls and open windows in their house designs that dramatically reduce the temperature when you go inside.  I remember one day that must have been 34 degrees Celsius (that’s 93 Fahrenheit for you Amer’cans) and inside it was a comfortable 24C (75F)

Rain occurred a few of the days, including the one in which we entered the mountains.  Precipitation there occurs in a different way that where I live.  Here, we have fast moving systems that are generally large.  There, the clouds move slowly and are incredibly potent.  At one of our shows, it began raining during our setup/soundcheck and then again during the opening band’s performance.  It was sunny out, except for isolated clouds that here in Ontario would not produce rain, only shade.  But then there was a massive downburst of wind and rain that nearly destroyed Gino’s guitar! (More on that later)

So overall, the countryside was beautiful and the weather pleasant.

Kazakhstani Culture

The culture of Kazakhstan is much different than the culture here in North America.  To explain the culture, I will refer to a book we were asked to read titled “Foreign to Familiar” and that served as a preparatory guide to understanding cultures around the world.  The book separated cultures in the world into “hot climate” cultures and “cold climate” cultures.  It was not literally connecting physical climate with the cultures that exist in them around the world, but instead referring to hot cultures as “relationship-based” and cold cultures as “task-oriented”.

Whereas our culture is colder with some small warmer spots (not a reference to someone peeing in a pool), Kazakhstan’s culture is hot.  Here are the main differences:

-Kazakhstan is relationship-based, North America is task-oriented.  They will tend to put people before tasks.

-North America is an individualist culture, Kazakhstan favours group identity.  The actions and words of one person will reflect the group as opposed to here where they reflect the individual.

-Kazakstanis are rather inclusive whereas North Americans prefer privacy.  We tend to enjoy having time and space to ourselves, whereas they are group-oriented and do not desire to be left alone.

-Hospitality in Kazakhstan is usually spontaneous as opposed to North America where people tend to plan dinners and nights to go out.

-Kazakhstan is an old culture than has picked up many traditions and “rules” for interacting with one another, whereas America and Canada are young cultures that have not added on as many traditions.

-North Americas value time more than Kazakhstanis.  Where we find that using time efficiently is of value, they consider saving time as unimportant and value experiencing the moment.

Etiquette

So while we were there, we learned Kazakhstani etiquette, tradition and superstition.  Here are some:

-When entering homes, it is customary to ALWAYS take off your shoes.  They view the wearing of shoes inside the house as very disrespectful.  Each house will usually have a small foyer with a bench or stool where you take your shoes off.

-Crossing your legs is risky, because showing someone the bottom of your foot is very rude.

-People will always squat instead of sitting on the ground because they believe you can get diseases from sitting on the ground, and that women can become infertile.

-When coming to or staying at someone’s house, it is customary to bring a gift for the host/hostess.

-The traditional table to eat at is about a foot off of the floor and everyone sits around it on a mat.  Walking on the mat is considered rude at restaurants so you have to shuffle, crawl or crab-walk off of the mats.  Also, stepping on tables is not great manners either.

-It is not imperative to arrive on time, but you don’t want to be more than half an hour late.

Hospitality

People in Kazakhstan are brought up learning hospitality from a young age.  It is part of their culture as efficiency and scheduling has become part of ours.  To be a good host in Kazakhstan generally means that you have brought honour to yourself and your family’s name.

Paul accepting our gifts

While we were in Kazakhstan, we stayed at the house of a man named Paul*.  He, his wife and several volunteers from their church took care of our every need during this trip.  Over the period of two weeks, we learned to respond to their hospitality in an appropriate manner according to their customs.  Things like:

-Tea is served several times a day.  It is generally filled halfway and continually refilled until you turn your cup over.  If someone fills your cup to the top, it signifies that you will no longer receive tea and that they wish for you to leave.

-When you get full, you always leave food on your plate to show that you cannot eat anymore.  If you clean your plate, expect another full portion.  They take hospitality seriously over there!

Near the end of the trip, we went into the mountains of Kazakhstan.  I came back rather muddy (there is a story that will be told for that).  I put my cloths in the washing machine, but it didn’t really work.  The next day, I put my clothes up to dry so the mud would (for the most part) flake off.  When I took them down, Paul’s wife came to me and through hand signals offered to wash them for me.  I declined because we were heading home the next day and I was just going to put them in my bag.  Everything was going to get a wash when I got back anyways

I declined and she walked away rather annoyed.  I later realized that I had taken away from her a chance to serve as a hostess.  She wanted to wash my clothes because it would fulfill her position as hostess, and me denying her that was denying her a chance to fulfill her social duty as a hostess.  I made notes to apologize if we go back there again.

Service

Our drivers and roadies.  So thankful for them!

To end off this extended post, I want to mention the volunteers that helped us all the way through the tour.  There were at least five men who were at every show, unloading gear, loading gear, driving gear from venue to venue.  I didn’t catch their names, but I knew their faces and appreciated their hard work.  Without them, the tour wouldn’t have happened.

Also, our translators were at each show of their own accord.  Without them, we would not have been understood.  They too were part of the team.

I remember thinking, “Wow, if only we were so eager to serve and host at these people are, imagine what would result".  That was the power of their hospitality and service.

Their servant hearts were eager to help out.  God used that not only to ensure that the tour ran smoothly, but also I believe He used that to teach some of us westerners a lesson in humility and service. 

But we must move on…for the story of the journey has yet to be told…

*name has been substituted

Kazakhstan Reflections Part 2 - Destination: Kazakhstan

Many times in my life, I have daydreamt about visiting other countries as a tourist.  Japan, the Caribbean, Switzerland, Italy…but I never thought that the first country outside of North America that I would travel to would be Kazakhstan.  You don’t really hear about Kazakhstan much unless it is in reference to the movie Borat.  Many people don’t realize that it is the 9^th largest country in the world (four times the size of Texas) and is the world’s largest landlocked country.  Or that it became an independent country in 1991 when the remnants of the USSR dissolved.  They don’t know that just over 70% of the population are Muslim and that just over 26% are Christian.

But can you really reduce a description of a country to mere statistics and still maintain an authentic picture of the country and its people?  No, you cannot.  So I will share with you a bit of the culture.

The People

Demographically speaking, the largest ethnic majority groups in Kazakhstan are the Kazak and Russians.  You can generally distinguish between either of these groups, but sometimes it is very hard to tell what someone’s ethnicity might be.

Photo taken as one of our school shows

Russians are fairly easy to identify as they mostly have lighter skin and eyes.  Their occupation in Kazakhstan goes as far back as the 1700s when they came down from the north and settled in the land of the Kazak people.  It is only recently (since the dissolution of the Soviet Union) that Kazakhstan has returned again to the Kazak as the rightful people of the nation.  Even so, many Russians live in Kazakhstan though their presence is in slow decline.

The Kazak people can usually be distinguished by their darker skin.  Their ethnic origin is complex, but it is usually said that they are the descendants of ancient tribes from the Central Asian grasslands, including Huns, Turks, Mongols and various Chinese tribes.  By the 15^th Century, they became an official ethnic group under the Kazak regime.  As a result of this, some of them look more like Turks, others like Mongols, and some more like Chinese.

The name Kazak is taken from an ancient myth of a chieftain named Kalaqiahader who was wounded in war.  A white swan then came to him in his wounded state and rescued him from the battle.  The white swan then turned into a beautiful maiden and married the man.  They gave birth to a boy, who was named Kazak, which means “white swan” or “freeman”.  Even today, they hold the swan in high regard as the symbol and origin of beauty and love.

The Language

The official language of Kazakhstan is Kazak, but Russian is also spoken most everywhere.  When we were staying there, we had translators who were able to translate both of these languages, but for the most part we were translating to Russian.

In fact, the first couple of days we didn’t have any translators, so we were forced to play Charades as our host, named Pavel, made mad gestures and sound effects in an attempt to explain something to us.  We were lucky to have Graham with us for he spoke some Russian and understood words which in many cases helped us understand the meaning behind Pavel’s waving arms and amusing noises.

The Food

When I came to Kazakhstan, I had absolutely no clue as to what they ate.  Then, when I found out what they ate, I was like “This makes sense”.

The Kazak diet is rich in meat and wheat flour, and I suspect that this diet has rubbed off on the Russian population as well.  Also, because of the Kazak’s Islamic faith, there are no pigs there (at least I didn’t see one) for pork is an unclean meat.  So instead, we were forced to eat lamb, beef, most likely goat, chicken, possibly donkey, and most definitely horse.  The meats were amazing and cooked in a way that they were always moist and flavourful…but I digress.

Shashlik

Meats and vegetables are usually contained in a broth or sauce of some sort, and then served over rice or as a stew.  Na’an bread is served at every meal, as is tea (which they call “chai”) of the black and green variety.  The black tea helps break down fats and grease from the food, while the green tea is more for settling your stomach and putting you to sleep.

Breakfasts were one of my favourite meals because they served na’an and a variety of cheeses, sliced meats and dried fruits.  They just seemed like really healthy ways to start your day off.

My favourite food by far was the Russian dish known as Shashlik.  It is a form of Shish Kebab that is usually made from lamb meat and fat that has been soaked in an acidic marinade of some sort.  The result is deliciousness, though the fat content is pretty high.

A cup of warm Kumis

Most of the foods we ate were good.  Even the horse meat was good (yes, I ate horse, get over it!).  But one thing that I think many of us on the tour might pass by again was the infamous Kumis, which is fermented horse milk.  Some of us reacted strongly to this drink, while others not so much.  The most accurate way to describe this drink is to imagine yourself gulping down room temperature carbonated sour milk mixed with lemon juice, but that is just the initial taste of many to follow.  When you have swallowed it and finally breathe through your nose, a mellow wave of vomit mixed with sour milk and smoke fills your mouth.

Does that sound appealing?  Well, the Kazak love the stuff and use it at every gathering and party.  I think some of us even saw some of the roadies with water bottles filled with the stuff at various shows.  They are brought up on it from a young age and love it by the time they are adults.  We were told that many Russians were not so fond of it, but then again our host was Russian and totally crazy about the stuff.

Continued…

Kazakhstan Reflections Part 1 - Introduction

On the fifth of May, 2012, I went to Kazakhstan on a two week trip….

…and came back changed in some way.  My first challenge, aside from remembering what transpired during the trip as I re-assimilate into western culture, is to compile and explain my trip to friends, to family, to my church…

It has been some time since my return and I admit that then transition back into Canada was hard.  I went straight from work into the missions field and then straight back to work again.  I didn't get time off to think about what I’d just gone through and I had little spare time to spend reflecting on all of the things I had just experienced.  I went right back into my old schedule and routine.

What made this even more difficult was the two week period of isolation that I experienced.  My work schedule and other circumstances resulted in two weeks of isolation from my friends, family, and church.  During that time, I didn’t see anyone, let alone talk to anyone.  It was a rough two weeks because I had a lot in my head that I really wanted to digest and share.

Eventually, however, that period of isolation ended and I was able to begin sharing my experiences and thoughts.

I expected that one of the first things to come out of people’s mouths when they saw me was “How was Kazakhstan?” or “How did the trip go?”.  These questions seem like very easy questions to answer, but I find them very challenging questions.  It is very similar to someone asking a painter “What does this painting mean?”.  Often there is an answer, but the painter has difficulty communicating the meaning of his painting to other people.  This is because there are dozens of layers of meaning and emotion in the painting that the painter knows, thinks and feels when he sees his painting.  He remembers the layers of paint that he used as he created it.  He remembers layering paint on top of paint in a way that perpetually formed the meaning of the painting to reflect the emotions of his heart and the thoughts of his mind.  These are maybe things that cannot be properly expressed through the use of words and so the artist painted the picture to communicate them.  So what can the painter say when he is asked what the meaning is of his picture? He will often simplify the answer into something that people can understand.

Like the artist’s painting my trip had many different layers, though they are not made of paint, but rather they are made of experiences.  There were good experiences and there were not so great experiences.  The layers seem to stretch so thick that to say “It went well” or “It was good” seems to subtract from this trip’s meaning in my life.  But if I were to, like the artist, simplify the answer to something that people would understand, I would end up with a statement like “Kazakhstan changed me!”

My pastor once referred to missions trips as “people changing events”.  He compared people to shapes depending on their culture.  Take for instance, Mr. Squarehead.  Mr. Squarehead was born and raised in his home culture of mostly square-headed people.  It is natural for Mr. Squarehead to have a squarehead because he has only really experienced interactions with other squareheads that make up the square society. 

Then one day Mr. Squarehead goes on a trip to another country.  There he sees few squareheads.  Instead he interacts with circleheads.  Eventually he immerses himself into the new culture of circle people that make up the circle society.  Over a period of time Mr. Squarehead begins to change.  His squarehead become less like a squarehead and more like a square-circlehead (or an octagon).  This has taken place as he has been assimilated into the circle culture.  He has begun seeing life through the eyes of circleheaded people.  And so Mr. Squarehead’s head ceases to be a square and becomes instead, an octagon.

What has changed people like Mr. Squarehead, is the experiences that they have had; how they experienced the language, the people, the traditions and rituals, the beliefs and values.  It is essentially how we interact with culture that shapes us (or rather how culture interacts with us).  We are by-products of our culture, no matter how much we want think otherwise.  When we experience a new culture, we soon find that we have to assimilate into it or else become victims of culture-shock.  It is then that the new culture will leave its fingerprint on who we are and how we think.

Of course there are other forces that change us as well, but none that shapes us on the foundational level as culture does.

And then there is God.  I know that in some capacity, I was brought to experience the things that I did because of God’s guidance.  He had brought me to a place where I finally was able to step out in faith and let go of the things that I was holding on to.  For me, going on this trip was a relatively easy decision to make (as I really wanted to go), but the process I had to go through leading up to the trip was not an easy thing to deal with; but I made it and the result of following God’s guidance has been tremendous uplifting.

In the same quality that Mr. Squarehead’s squarehead changed into an octagonhead, I believe that I too have changed.  I still am discovering the many ways that I have turned from a square into an octagon, but this blog series is not going to be about how I am now different from what I once was, but rather it is about the process of how I have come to be changed...