27th October

27^th October

“Friendship should never be taken to the point of self immolation” August 1914

No, this quote isn’t related to anything in particular, but I just liked it. The wording is very hyperbolic, but gets its point across.

I am actually really enjoying the book, even with its heft, and I wish I could get hold of the other 2 in the series. But I hate to think how much the postage would be, a hardback of 650 pages weighs, well, rather more than an African swallow can carry. (10 points if you understand the reference)

The author, by the time of writing the book, had been exiled from the Soviet Union for unpatriotic comments, and its clear to see - even in this book, which writes about a time before Communist Russia – how his words could have been taken in the wrong light.

The following two quotes I found very interesting, mainly as they seem to describe my current situation in Kazakhstan. Part of me is gladdened to see that some of the things I dislike about Kazakhstan are not unique to here, but have been part of Russian life for rather a while. Of course, the other part of me is just as angry, as if these things were seen as negative 100 years ago, and still haven’t been fixed, then what hope to I have in 2 years.

“Soldau, like all German country towns, did not sprawl and take up good farmland as Russian towns do; it was not surrounded by a derelict belot of rubbish dumps and waste land; wherever you entered it, you at once found yourself passing neat, closely built rows of tiled brick houses, some of them even three of four stories high.”

The waste management in rural Kazakhstan is, frankly, anarchistic i.e there seem to be no rules at all. People burn most of their rubbish, but, at the same time, they dump a lot of it, especially the un-burnable items, like all of the vodka bottles. There is no recycling to be seen, and no designated dump. My village is also about 80% bungalows and nothing taller than two floors, with only 1 paved road.

“Plan! There was something so un-Russian about the word”

The concept of planning ahead (or at all), also seems to be an alien one to many people here, with events seemingly decided at the last minute, and ensuring that the end result is never what it could be.