IUPUI’s Mark and Mary Grove recently returned from an academic/administrative mission to work with administrators at the Taraz State University in Kazakhstan as they convert to a credit-hour system. IU and TarSU have forged a partnership of knowledge transfer through a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Mark recently retired as registrar at IUPUI and Mary recently retired as director of Passport, a program jointly funded by IUPUI and Ivy Tech-Indianapolis. But, of course, that doesn’t mean they are truly retired.
The Groves have generously allowed the IU Home Pages to reprint their electronic correspondence sent to friends and family while in Kazakhstan.

Letter #1
As we write, it is Monday evening and 12 or 13 hours ahead of you, depending on your time zone.
We arrived healthy and are being very well cared for. We hope the same is true for the one piece of luggage that was delayed in making it out of New York and, as a result, sits at the airport in Almaty—10 hours away from here, until we return to the city for our trip home. Alas, for Mary, it had both her pair of work/office shoes and her tennis shoes, so she had to rely on her Birkenstocks from Tuesday (our departure) until yesterday when she bought a pair at a large bazaar in Taraz. <

We have been fed within an inch of our lives, including a multi-course dinner of ethnic Kazakh food at the home of our main hostess, Akerkin, the head of the international relations office. Managed to avoid the vodka, but finished off more wine than we'd planned ("Mark, Mary: More to drink! Eat more!") The main dish, "five fingers," has lamb, horsemeat, pumpkin, potatoes and carrots on a bed of flat pasta. Not to mention three types of salads, cookies, pastries, bread and more. The table (and we) was sagging. As a thank you, we demonstrated a bit of a Greek dance we remember as well as a waltz and a polka. Mark then gave Akerkin a quick waltz lesson (she is 26 and is considering getting married next year).

Akerkin accompanied us home, and we found the outer door to the building locked and we could not make the key work. Akerkin stepped back and called upstairs "Lena! Lena!" A window opened on the third floor and, with some persuading from Akerkin and the taxi driver, Lena came down and opened the door. We told Akerkin the next day how lucky it was that she knew Lena.
"I don’t know her. It is just a common name, and I thought I would give it a try. If that didn’t work I would have called for Anna."
Akerkin is quite resourceful.

Taraz was founded 2000 years ago and is a city of about 300,000. We'd earlier spent a night in Istanbul (visiting Haja Sophia and the Blue Mosque as well as lots of walking), and a night in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, following our arrival. Then, by overnight train, to Taraz.

We had our first day of meetings today with two vice rectors and then with the registrar. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead!
More tomorrow.

Love,
M & M

To continue our adventures in Kazakhstan, we were met at our 5:30 a.m. flight by Akerkin Eriliyeva, who also arranged an apartment for us in Almaty-K's major city--and two whirlwind days of touring. One thing we learned early was that every car is a potential taxi.You have to know the language and custom; so Akerkin did all the work. The customer stands at the side of the road, lifts her arm about 15 degrees, which is the signal for the car (taxi), to stop. At that point, the customer says where she wants to go and negotiates a price. If the deal is agreeable, you jump into the taxi; if not, it ends amicably and you wait for the next car (taxi). We took about 14 taxis while we were in Almaty, and the prices ranged from 75 cents to a top price of $37.50--the latter for a driver who drove us up a mountain, waited while we ate lunch, stopped a few times at lovely overlooks for picture-taking and drove us to our apartment, which was several miles away. We tied up his time for several hours, but he seemed happy for the fare.

Another adventure: Taking the night train in a sleeping compartment. We actually got some sleep on the 10-hour train ride; sleep had been a problem for us because of jet lag. We are 12 hours ahead of Indianapolis time. Arriving at Taraz at 4 a.m., our destination and home for two weeks, we were relieved to find that the same "taxi" custom is in effect. We were met by several potential drivers; Akerkin did the negotiating, showed us our apartment and we settled in and took a nap. Her assistant, Kamilla, came to the apartment later that day and took us to a restaurant for lunch, then the bazaar, where I got shoes, then (by taxi) to the grocery store. Since almost everything we bought is labeled (or not labeled) in Kazakh or Russian, shopping with Kamilla was a lifesaver. On Sunday, I went to a hair salon, supposedly to get a shampoo and trim--but that is a story in itself that involves immense amounts of hair spray and 31 large pins--then to Akerkin's for a huge dinner and a great time.

Monday and today (Tuesday) we spent talking with various administrators (vice rectors and the registrar) at the university, but today we also had a large lunch with Akerkin's vice rector for international programs and a trip to the 11th-century mausoleum which is connected with a "Romeo and Juliet"-type Taraz story. We also visited the university’s small museum.

Among its features is a room dedicated to the university’s collaborative relationships with other institutions, such as IU. Looking at the display case of photos of the rector’s (president’s) visit to IU last fall, Mark was surprised to see a photo of himself being presented a small yurt by the rector. This, of course, only confirmed the opinion of some IUPUI colleagues that Mark is a museum piece, but such is the lot of a registrar.

Now we are trying to catch up by working late. So I'll sign off. Love to all. We are having a very interesting trip in an unusual country--but people are the same all over the world. We love it.

Mary and Mark

They are very committed to education, though there is so much to be done in this country in terms of basic infrastructure. The people are bright, very hard working and quite stylish. The women's shoes often are somewhat elongated with pointed toes. The vice rector next door to us wears them (she is in her late 30s) with sparkles on the front portion along with a very stylish wool and silver threaded shawl. Even the shoes Mary bought at the bazaar are elongated, but not as pointed.

Physically, the people are smaller than Americans, especially those of Kazakh heritage (they make up just over 50 percent of the population). Other groups are Russian, Chinese and other central Asian peoples. We are struck by how petite many of the women are--extremely fine boned.

We are enjoying ourselves. We have been working until 7:30 or so at night (things open around 9 in the morning) and then back the two blocks to our apartment. The kitchen has a nice seating area, with the sink and stove on a porch just outside. We have a living room, a bedroom, and separate rooms for the toilet and tub/sink. There is one faucet for both the tub and sink that swings into position as needed. We listen to the BBC at night and Voice of America in the morning (changing reception day and night). This morning over breakfast, we had Part 8 of an English skills program called "Building a Nation," featuring the issues leading up to the election of Franklin Pierce. All spoken very deliberately for non-native speakers. We can’t wait until next week’s installment of "Building a Nation" to learn about the presidency of Franklin Pierce; a real attention-grabber. The difference in time zones is still funny for us. As we had breakfast Thursday morning, Wednesday night's debate between Kerry and Bush was about to start.

We've managed to handle ourselves with some light shopping (pointing helps) along with a few Russian phrases. In a meeting with the deans, vice rectors and a number of department chairs yesterday, Mary began our presentation by saying in Russian "Good morning. My name is Mary Grove and this is my husband, Mark." This brought smiles and applause from the 50 in attendance. The media attended the meeting and we were interviewed by the local TV station for a couple of sound bites. We understand it will be broadcast tonight.

Can you imagine deans sitting still for two hours? We are spending the afternoons meeting with the new registrar (the institution's first), just appointed last month.

The weather continues to be beautiful, with crisp mornings and highs in the low 70s. Everyone is crediting the warming trend to our visit. Who are we to argue?

For those of you who don’t know, our son, Paul, and his wife, Sarah, had their second son, Alden, on Tuesday. Sarah and Alden are doing fine. We are very happy for them and look forward to being with them in about two weeks.
Have to go now and prep for our morning meeting.

Love,
M & M

But we are ahead of ourselves.

For the last two days, we have been visiting different schools at the university. On Wednesday, we spent most of the afternoon in the School of Light Industry and Textiles. There students design and make clothing, shoes, rugs, leather and other materials. We watched students operate large looms, practice their drawing and design skills and toured a number of laboratories where materials are developed and tested. While one room had computers to work on designs, most were decidedly older.

We visited a much newer building yesterday, completed only two years ago. It is a combination of student center and conference center, with very nice auditoria (registrars, even retired ones, always are on the look-out for good rooms) and common spaces. It has been named the Student Palace. We accompanied Akerkin, our main hostess, and a vice rector, Fatima, and had one of the standard giant lunches. But that was only a warm-up for Thursday evening.

We spent Thursday morning with the dean of business and economics, a number of his faculty, students and faculty advisers. Five students from the school recently participated in an international competition, sponsored by Students Interested in Free Enterprise, that was held in Barcelona. The TarSU students represented Kazakhstan at the competition, and we must note that the American contingent came in 13th. Today (Friday) we attended a ceremony at the Student Palace recognizing the team.

Meetings often have multiple conversations going on simultaneously with no great effort to make the sidebar talks quiet. We think it is more the case here, but especially noticeable when a number of people are speaking around you and you have little or no idea of what is being said. They aren’t being rude; it is just a way to move things along.

We went to lunch with the dean and a student who served as translator. At least we didn’t have too many courses.

We’ve mentioned how everyone has been so welcoming and makes a fuss over us. There are some protocols that must be followed, of course, including placing Mark in a position "above" the women, though at some tables, there is no clear head. Even sitting in the mausoleum on Tuesday (more below), the imam changed the seating for the three of us before starting his prayer for us. Seating at the wedding reception also followed the protocol.

And speaking of the wedding reception…
The son of one of the faculty in the School of Water Management and Ecology was being married Thursday night, the eve of Ramadan. We, of course, were invited.

Fatima and Akerkin picked us up, and we were able to stop and buy flowers for the mother of the groom on the way to the hall. The couple had already been married and made its visit to the mausoleum of Aysher-Bibi, a Juliet-like figure from the late 11th century. We had visited this site outside of Taraz on Tuesday, driven by Sultan, the head of athletics and coach of a gold-medal winner boxer at the Athens Olympics. There is an additional mausoleum for a handmaiden, and we also were prayed for there. With all these blessings, we are ready to try anything, feeling we’ve gotten some kind of advanced approval even if we are bad.

The banquet hall is modern with high ceilings and lots of long ferns and lights hanging down. Large tables flanked both sides of a central corridor/dance floor. The bride, groom and their two attendants were placed on a dais at the other end with strings of lights flashing behind them.<

The master of ceremonies worked the crowd and would periodically call groups of people to the back of the hall where representatives of each group would make brief "best wishes" statements to the bride and groom who would stand to receive them. Following these speeches, everyone in that group would dance to one song and return to its places. Groups, generally a table of 16, would include members of the bride’s family, groom’s family, colleagues from work, parents’ friends and, in our case, the administration of the university where the groom’s father is a member of the faculty.

Our table had three vice rectors, two department chairs, spouses and us. We followed the greetings/blessings from the grandparents and parents, and so what was supposed to happen wasn’t quite clear. Since the speeches were in Kazakh, Fatima and Akerkin would give translations or tell us who people/groups were.v We stood in a semi-circle at the far end of the hall while the M.C. explained who we were. The chief vice rector made his speech and handed the microphone back to the M.C. More talk with "America" mentioned and then the dreaded words "Professor Mark," handing Mark the microphone. Everyone turns to see the curiosity. Mark "brings greetings and best wishes from America and wishes the couple a long and happy marriage." This is far shorter than anyone else’s speech, but when Akerkin realizes he is done, she translates. All speeches receive applause, and each of us got a gift (a picture and stuffed toy).

One more member of our group speaks (both men and women speak), and the music begins. We were prompted by members of our group to begin the spotlight dance so had to choose one quickly. The music was fast, and as we say here, "in for a Tenge, in for a pound," so what else was there to do but polka? We added a few swing steps as well. This was all a big hit with the guests, including a department chair who bowed with a broad smile and kissed Mary’s hand. We then returned to the table.
Sixteen people sat at each large square table, which was covered with 26 plates and of many kinds of salads, cold meats, cheeses, fruit bowls plus two baskets of bread and drinks-wine, cognac, vodka, Fanta, apple and orange juice, mineral water, etc. Amidst the speeches, the first course was served. First soup, then the choice of chicken, fish or both, then a croissant filled with meat. Lots of toasts and drinking among the people at the table.

Later—two hours later—the main course will come on 24 flaming trays in a darkened room. The 2nd course (if you can call it that) is a Kazak dish of crisp thinly sliced meat, rolled and covered with egg, served with potatoes, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots. During the dinner, guests are served everything. A waiter or waitress puts the salad, soup, fish, chicken and meat course on each plate, pours your wine, vodka, juice, water, etc. Plates are continuously changed so you always have a clean plate. Mary made the mistake of offering to pour water for one of our table-members and there was some chattering about our not being treated well if guests felt they should serve.

The dancers: Seven beautiful young women, alternately attired in Kazak, Uzbek, Arabic (belly-dancing) and contemporary attire, performed ethnic and modern dances throughout the evening.

And speaking of dancing, one effect of our earlier spotlight dance is that we had numerous requests to dance from people at other tables. Dancing alternated between what you may see American couples dance at a wedding to large circles all dancing in an "adult contemporary" fashion, with individuals or couples sometimes pressed into the center. Some women had very stylized arm-movements over their heads and Mary, ever the good trooper, picked this up.

We were reminded of the common use of gold in tooth repair among Kazakhs, with the smiles really flashing brightly.

One man, (a "Turkman," we were told) came over to ask Mark’s permission to dance with Mary. The two of them were a big hit with all kinds of arm motions and where parts of the Turkman’s dancing reminded us of Flamenco steps.

And then more toasts. We learned early—though not early enough—the value of keeping the toast cup (about four ounces) filled with apple juice lest it be filled with wine, cognac or the dreaded vodka. We each had our shot of vodka and were only a few minutes later for work this morning.

In a couple of cases, the person making the toast also handed you a fork with a piece of horsemeat on it. Drink first, then eat and you receive an extra thank you from your new friend.
The evening closes with more gifts (Mark receives a dress shirt that doesn't begin to fit and Mary a lovely piece of fabric). More small stuffed animals, the platter it all came on, and a bag stuffed with left-over food.

We finally arrived home just after midnight and got to bed at 1:00. When we awoke this morning, we had 2 inches of snow on the ground, and it was still falling. The many flowers, including roses, were bent over under the weight and at least one large tree limb had fallen, partially blocking the road on the way to our morning meeting at the Palace (note how we have dropped the modifier). It stopped later in the morning, and it is now once again clear and sunny, though not the 70+ of much of the past week.

We also note we are the only people in the city who do not have cell phones.

It is a six-day work week here, so we are back in on Saturday morning for more fun. And we are having fun as well as, we hope, providing some useful information and advice.

Your intrepid reporters,
M & M

We wandered around the square before entering the museum, which had a separate striking round building of black-and-white marble with steel banisters and railings.This building held a replica of the "Gold Man," believed to be as old as 7th century, but looking something like a Caucasian medieval knight. The main exhibit was made up of many bulbuls —ancient, primitive stone carvings of faces and bodies dating to ?? (before recorded history and the city of Taraz is 2,000 years old) and collected around the rocky countryside of the Zhambyl region. It was hard to make out dates of many things in this building, but there are also some gold ornaments.

The next building we visited was an art gallery, with many landscapes and some good still life’s, all by Kazakh artists, and then another building with a collection of big pots, ceramic platters and vases, burial containers for skulls, glass, earthenware, oil lamps, gold ornaments and a lovely small gold male figure. Finally we went to the main museum and saw displays of Kazakh. wild life and a beautiful yurt. There was a lot more to see, but we didn’t have time for everything because we were meeting Kamilla, who had, unfortunately, been waiting for nearly two hours to take us to the bazaar.

Having the comfortable Birks was a relief, especially since we planned to walk a lot on Sunday. Dear Kamilla from the international affairs office walked us hither and yon to buy a camera and found the best place at the best price, and then walked us home, which is quite near her home.

We had eggs and sausage for a light supper and then a relaxing evening. There’s no work or school on Sunday; so we could laze around in the A.M. and did.

(Editor’s note: Photos from the museum may be seen by visiting page 3 of:
http://www.tarsu.kz/taraz2000/foto.htm
Photos of the university and local sites may be seen by visiting other pages on the site).

We walked back to the Café Istanbul, the first place we’d eaten with Kamilla, had a late lunch, stopped to see more kids entertaining at the central square, and bought supplies at the local grocery store and street fruit vendor. After a good supper of soup, we took our last walk toward the street with flower shops we had seen on Thursday. It was filled with activity—many street vendors, including a lady with a scale, perhaps to pay her money to find out how much you weigh. Then a stroll back on the "lovers’ lane" of TarSU (Taraz State University) and in for the night.

This strip of land is just below a number of university buildings and also has monuments to soldiers lost in World War II and Afghanistan. There are a number of fountains and benches along the sidewalk where numerous couples cuddle. We also saw on several evenings a cow grazing on the grass with a minder nearby. As there is not a great deal of grass in other parts of the university, we thought this might be a way to keep the grass under control.

We draw our share of stares from children on our walk to-and-from work, though we have become regulars in our little neighborhood. We shop for groceries at a couple of small stores around the corner and, occasionally, are greeted with "hello" from the students at TarSU and two other neighboring universities.

Shopping is a bit of an experience as things aren't always packaged as we are used to. We found corn flakes breakfast cereal in a bag. Similarly, soup is not in cans but comes dried in pouches. Just add one liter of water and in our case, some noodles.

Restrooms don't typically come with toilet paper (or towels of any kind); sometimes you stand, sometimes you sit. But you learn to carry enough TP with you just in case. TP comes in a number of varieties, from very rough to not-so-rough to just like in 'merica (as W would say). The last even comes with an opening to mount it on a roller, not always the case with the others. We found the high-quality stuff a few days ago and it even comes with perforations. We thought we had gone to toilet paper heaven.

We watched a Russian movie about a very slim young woman (she looked about 19) married to an older very wealthy man (who looked about 62). Not having the language didn’t stop us from coming up with our version of what was going on, including our own dialogue.

Later in the movie, the husband apparently died, and some thugs came into the house and threatened the wife. In the next scene, we saw her wearing black and returning to an empty, though very expensive, house where she set off the circuit breaker and lost electricity while making toast (perhaps her only culinary skill). After spending a night frightened and in the dark (though her she had time to do her hair and makeup), her kindly maid returned. Of course, they go through her money and decide she doesn’t have enough money to maintain the fancy lifestyle; so she joins the maid in her home.

We observed that she didn’t seem to be fitting in too well and decided it was time to stop watching. Mary is trying to read her book, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, as slowly as possible, since that’s the only unread English novel around. We are sleeping well; we like TarSU and our apartment; every day is an adventure.

* a little something extra for our IUPUI colleagues. The IUIE may not always work, but it did this morning from half-a-world away
Manas did a great job with translation, and when he brought us back to the office, we gave him a keychain. He offered to help us further, and we said we’ll have Kamilla contact him if we needed his assistance.

We decided to have a quick lunch in the student dining room and were in line, but a woman who works in our area led us to the front. It was a bit embarrassing, since students were waiting—but we are clearly foreign guests; so the students didn’t seem to mind. We shared a table with the lady who cut us into the line. Mary had Laghman, a vegetable soup with small bits of meat, and Mark had Monte, pasta stuffed with meat, and bread. In the afternoon, Mark worked on his document, which will become part of the proceedings of the November conference, and Mary worked on our trip diary—unfortunately, losing three days of writing when she saved the wrong document. Later, Mark met with Elmira, and Mary worked on a plan for her talk with ESL students on Tuesday. The theme was: "How are we alike and how are we different?"

After returning to our apartment, we shopped, had soup for dinner and listed to BBC radio news and interviews, plus a really funny show called "Just a Minute." We have also listened to Radio Sweden, Deuche Welle, an English-language station from Africa (offering advice on seeking permission to marry), and if we can’t find anything else, the deadly-boring Voice of America. The most impressive interview we heard was 30 minutes with the prime minister of Pakistan (not to be confused with the president, Musharaf). Eloquent, intelligent and interesting. Something we sorely miss in most 'merican politicos.

We have five more days of work (we will work Saturday morning before taking an evening train back to Almaty, arriving Sunday morning), and we will be pressed to complete a number of tasks while still here. The schedule that looked pretty open when we arrived this morning is suddenly filling with meetings and meals.
We had mentioned that we thought we were going to have fewer formal meals due to Ramadan, but we were wrong. Two big meals today (Tuesday) starting with a grand lunch with the rector and a number of his administrative staff; dinner out Wednesday with a vice rector (who is observant of the daytime fast) and probably at least one more. And this on top of the frequent teas and endless pastries!

Your comrades in cakes and sweetbreads,
M & M

We had intended to send this to you on Saturday, but the Internet dropped service--not uncommon in Taraz. We arrived home last night after traveling 23 hours, moving through 12 time zones and six in-flight films. And we are here to tell you that Turkish Airlines puts any U.S. carrier to shame. More leg room, great service, little packets with tooth brushes, an eye covering for napping and warm little socks--with shoehorn. And when was the last time you had silverware with your in-flight meal? Assuming your U.S. flight offers more than pretzels.

Friends:

Today is our last day in Taraz. We just had a formal send-off from a number of the vice chancellors and deans, complete with champagne, chocolates and toasts. We take the train to Almaty tonight (10 hours) and will arrive Sunday morning at 9:00. We are having lunch with an officer of the U.S. Embassy to give her a summary of our trip, followed by more touring of Almaty, the country’s largest city with a population of over two million people. Monday morning we fly to the U.S., arriving in Indianapolis Monday evening after 18 hours of flying time plus time in the airports in Istanbul and New York.

The last several days have continued our patterns of meetings, meals and a bit of meandering around our neighborhood.

On Tuesday, we met with the rector (president) of the university. Mark had met him a year ago when he visited IU. The meeting was covered by the local television station and that night we had our second appearance on the local news. Not the usual place one finds registrars.

We were presented with a beautiful rug made by one of the students in the textiles program. The rug is approximately 4 feet by 2 _ feet and depicts a woman in traditional Kazakh clothing releasing birds, the symbol of Kazakh freedom. It is very bright and vibrant.

In the afternoon, as with several other days this week, Mary met with students from the world languages program to talk about the U.S., student life and higher education and to answer questions. Later in the week, Mary and Mark met with a group of 125 world languages students and after making brief statements about life in the U.S., answered many questions, ranging from how a student can enroll at a U.S. institution to traditions to the upcoming U.S. election.

On Friday, we met with 50 16- and 17-year-old students enrolled in the "college," (a pre-university program) for more of the same and were treated to four performances by their classmates who sang and played the two string dombra. Two young women were in traditional dress and all performed beautifully. We were asked about a number of traditions, including New Year’s celebrations. We described a New Year’s party and finished by singing Auld Lang Syne for them.

Following that meeting, while we waited to get into a car to go to lunch, we ended up signing autographs for about 10 minutes before we were spirited away. At least we were spared the paparazzi. The director of the college took us to lunch in a Kazak restaurant with a name that translates "tradition." The architecture is in the shape of a yurt with domed ceiling and fabrics handing down from the center. The walls were painted with murals of plains and mountains, with camels and yurts and the beautiful blue Kazakh sky.

We’ve met with over 300 students and have been so impressed by their eagerness, intelligence and hard work.

We finally saw another man with a beard, though he was on television. Otherwise, Mark has the only beard in town. On several occasions, Mark was mistaken for IU’s Jeremy Dunning who visited TarSU this summer. They share a passing resemblance in coloring and in beards.

We continued the eat-a-thon, eating at Uzbek, Kazakh, Russian and Korean restaurants. On Thursday, Mary was taking it easy because of tummy trouble, but Mark ate at an Uzbek restaurant with the vice rector for student services<

The highlight for the week was Thursday night, attending a bride’s dinner (pre-wedding). There were about 250 guests and, once again, we were asked to present blessings/best wishes and this time we each did, followed by walking to the bridal table and presenting them with flowers. This was followed by our group dancing with the Groves being prompted to start the dance within a circle of our colleagues.

Everyone dances; no matter the age. The dancing is group-by-group. In our case, administrators from the university; the father of the bride is the head of publications here. On a few occasions, a popular song was played and everyone danced. The music was recorded, though the singing was live.

We were served fermented horse milk which is, as an American we met here said, an acquired taste.

And then it was time to serve the sheep’s head. The baked head was brought to our table and as a guest, Mark was asked to cut it and share it with members of the table, starting with himself. One ear went to vice rector Fatima. At least he didn’t have to serve the eye.

Mark said at his mother’s wake that one of her laments is that he didn’t drink. Just a social drink: Mark’s parents would have a drink or two (known as a "snort") at the end of the day before dinner. Mary Jo (Mark’s mother) saw learning to drink responsibly as part of a child’s social education. Mark, however, never got the taste and as such, never has more than a rare glass of wine.

But then, he had not been to Kazakhstan before and had not been subjected to "assault by hospitality."

Last year, we had several visitors from TarSU and Mark took the dean of business, Serik, and the director of world languages, Irina, to lunch at the IUPUI Faculty Club. The standard drink at the club is iced tea, something wholly incomprehensible to Kazakhs. We have been asked repeatedly about this very strange habit of Americans, as well as another American shortcoming, good bread. And most of us would agree about the latter. The Kazakhs know their bread.
At the wedding last week, we had a large number of toasts, but it was acceptable to drink apple juice from the shot glass. This week, however, we were joined by the very friendly Serik, who would have none of it. Each toast required the men to drink a full shot of vodka, followed by a handshake and a sip of some other non-alcoholic beverage, such as juice. Women could sip from cognac or some other drink, often water or juice.

After the first five shots, Mark tried to substitute water for the vodka, but the evil Serik spotted this, waved it off and ordered a new glass for Mark from the waiter who hovered nearby.

After the eighth drink, Mark and Serik went outside for a breath of air and for as much conversation as they could have considering Mark speaks very little Russian and Serik almost no English. The conversation appeared to be about continued friendship and vodka.

After the tenth drink, while Serik was distracted, Mark was able to dump the vodka into a plate of food and fill the glass with water. Mark thought he was safe for at least one round, but returning from a trip to the restroom, the dastardly Serik found him and they visited two tables of business graduate students and other colleagues where three more toasts were shared.

They wobbled their way back to their table where the last toast was made, this time, with the waiting water for Mark, who expressed immense relief when the apparently-still-sober Serik took his drink and turned the glass over. They were done for the night. Fortunately, we always have drivers; so we got home safely. Later, Mark said he was questioning whether he could stand up straight for a ceremonial bride’s walk down and up the middle aisle of the restaurant, ending with a walk on a white silk runner scattered with red rose petals. By sheer force of will and telling his knees to bend at the proper time (though he had to make several requests before they responded), he made it home, up the stairs and into bed. He was fine the next day, but we heard that Serik was not at his best. With the three shots with others at lunch time and 13 at the bride’s ceremony, Mark had more alcohol in one day than in his entire life, managed to maintain his social graces and did his part for continued friendship between the universities. Mary Jo would be proud.

And Serik really is very nice, though he was able to get revenge for several weeks of being offered iced tea during his visit to the U.S.

Addendum:

Following the note above, we were taken to lunch, of course, and stuffed to the gills with wonderful Russian food and several more toasts. No Serik today, so Mark was safe.

Fatima, our main contact among the vice rectors, was once again able to tell the story of Mark referring to Mary on one occasion in Russian as "my husband." We've told her we see it as part of our mission of collaboration and friendship to keep our colleagues amused. Otherwise, we'd be all about work, and what fun would that be?

After lunch, we finished off several papers for the conference and gave them to our colleagues. We then had a couple of hours to walk around and pack before the night train to Almaty. We were accompanied by Kamilla, the sweet-and-capable assistant from international programs. The fourth bunk in our berth was taken by a retired faculty member from TarSU whose first name translates as Charles. As this is Mark's middle name, much was made of this coincidence and several photos taken.

We spent Sunday afternoon finally getting our last bag that had been delayed in being sent from New York and more walking around Almaty which is a much more modern and cosmopolitan city than Taraz. Things felt much more up-to-date there. But we'll miss our friends in Taraz.

Whatever we may have given them in terms of our expertise and experience, they gave us back so much more in terms of their interest, their generosity and in sharing their world with us.

It was a wonderful trip and a great way to begin our transition to retirement.

M & M