Kyz kui (Catch the girl) is a traditional game where a man tries to catch a woman on horseback. If he catches her, he gets to kiss her. The fun part is that she has a riding crop to beat him off with! And sometimes they do it in reverse where the woman chases the man! Dzigitovka (Manly sport?) consists of show-riding like riding standing up on the saddle or climbing on and off the horse and full gallop. It’s really impressive and derives from hunting and war skills that all nomads had to have to survive in the olden days. The name indicates that it was also a chance for young men to show off and hopefully impress a girl or two. However, it does look like the parks will be full of interesting traditional displays so I’m looking forward to walking around the Festival of Nomad Civilization.

Normally Astana Day (which coincides with the president’s birthday) lasts for a whole week. I assume the financial crisis has forced the government to cut its budget a bit. Still it should be fun.

So what are you looking forward to on the upcoming holiday? Or do you plan to stay home and sleep late?

Besides being a horrible story, I personally feel connected not only because she is Kazakh but also because Port Chester is my old stomping ground. In fact if I remember correctly, Leonard Street (where she lives), is home to a It’s not the safest town in the world, but it’s hardly a haven of crime. It’s also a region that is surrounded by more wealthy neighbors like Greenwich, CT and Rye, NY. Great medical care in these well-off suburbs of New York City, but high bills for that care! So if you feel moved to help, check out her facebook page.

How to send money:
1. if you are in US and would like to write a check, please write a check to Madina Tagasheva. However, on the envelope, please put the name of Laura Tagasheva and her address. You can get Laura Tagasheva’s address by calling at +1(914) 907 3855 or emailing enlila@yahoo.com.

2. by PAYPAL
PayPal account: almaty.kazakhstan@yahoo.com

Also, you can call Laura at the following number: +1(914) 907 3855
Or email her at: enlila@yahoo.com

For any questions, feel free to contact Shakhnoza at shakhnoza@live.com

Also a more detailed article on Laura here.

And a sidenote to those surprised that such a typically English name like Laura is also a typical Kazakh name (or thinking that her real name is Lolita or Lyazzat and she took an American name), it turns out that the name Laura is typically Kazakh, but is pronounced La-URA, A and U as seperate vowels, stress on the U.

I was also interviewed a few months ago for Culture Shock, run by Kristie Dugan, an expat living in Norway. She’s done a series of interviews with expat bloggers focusing on what it’s like to live in another culture, how to adjust and practical advice for expats. Check out all the interviews here.

Anyway, in case you didn’t know, today at 16:00 GMT or 21:00 Kazakhstan time, England and Kazakhstan will meet in the World Cup qualifiers. If your local station isn’t covering it, or someone else in the house is watching the French Open, Eurosport looks like it will have nice play-by-play coverage online.

We will remember that the last time Kazakhstan and England met, in October of last year, Kazakhstan lost 5-1. Here’s hoping the homefield advantage will play out. It does look like even though the match is taking place in Almaty, the England fans will be in better shape to cheer their team on. According to a Neweurasia post, locals are relegated to the east side of the stadium where there is no roof and the afternoon sun gets in people’s eyes. Of course since the match starts at 21:00 here, it should be ok. But it is sad to see that the powers-that-be can’t resist making even a football match about brand imaging by giving foreigners better seats than locals. I have never heard of a stadium segregating people by nationality before, let alone being biased against its own citizens.

In more positive news the England team is having a great time in Almaty, very impressed with the warm welcome from fans everywhere they go. And they are giving back, even going to an orphanage here and training the children! Although amusingly enough, the FA has warned team players not to use unlicensed taxis here–maybe because they are dangerous or technically illegal? How are else are they going to get around? The bus?

And the fans that have come to watch are having a great time as well. Contrary to all expectations the biggest disappointment appears to be the lack of horsemeat:

“We were looking for some horse on the menu at lunchtime, but there was nothing on the menu,” Scott Holmes, 24, from Wapping in east London says, sounding remarkably disappointed.
“We have to try some before we leave. We had kebabs earlier - but if we can get a horse kebab that’d be very nice,” he adds wryly, his ‘Mr Grumpy’ T shirt at odds with his vivacious personality.
But on a neighbouring table, it becomes clear he’s been beaten to it in the culinary stakes.
“It was delicious,” says John Brister, 45, from Leeds, with a hint of sarcasm.
“I think it might just have been a horse I lost twenty quid on on

It all goes to show that Kazakhstan actually is a nice place to visit and officials don’t actually need to be working so hard to make people like it.

So Dzhakishev’s removal was already newsworthy before the general prosecutor’s office announced they were arresting him for corruption; specifically he is accused of using shell companies to buy state-owned uranium mines for (presumably) himself and his friends. Dzhakishev is known to be close to Mukhtar Ablyazov, an opposition leader and ex-head of BTA Bank, who is also under investigation for corruption. Some claim that evidence that Ablyazov and Dzhakishev were working together came up during the investigation of BTA Bank. Others claim that the move is purely political; Dzhakishev’s friendship with an opposition member is simply unacceptable as the government tries to consolidate power and influence. Still others say the arrest is part of a larger campaign to weed out corruption, one that has already seen the removal of top management in Kazakh Temir Zholi and KazMunaiGas.

The reason I mention it now is an article by the AFP makes an intriguing point:

“Our information confirms the illegal tranfer of more than 60 percent of the state’s uranium deposits into the property of Dzhakishev and the companies he owned,” a KNB spokesman told reporters in the capital Astana.
Authorities did not explain how Dzhakishev managed to steal more than half of the country’s uranium deposits out from under the government’s nose. All uranium deals in Kazakhstan are heavily monitored and audited by the state.

Thanks to Neweurasia’s videoblog.

The most interesting footnote in the article is that there is a Russian Tea Room in Lyndhurst, NJ. Must be a lot of Russian emigrees there!