First Update
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Pauline Pearl
09 September 2015 | Kazachstan, Alma-Ata
Hello from Almaty! And thank you for reading my blog :D
You might notice that this one is in English, contrary to my previous one. This is mostly because I do believe everyone that I know who might want to read it will probably be capable of speaking English (except for my grandma, sorry you will get a personal letter instead!) and it might offer some other exchangies on their way to Almaty some insights.
Also, I won't elaborate too much on the trip previous of my arrival in Almaty, it was shortly said absolutely amazing. Turkmenistan, with its extremely closed and incomprehensible culture but so superfriendly people, Uzbekistan with the beautiful landscapes, delicious foods and superfriendly people and Kyrgyzstan with the lively city of Bishkek and again the superfriendly people (seriously, never met people as kind and as helpful as here in Central Asia, their hospitality is according to the Lonely Planet 'the stuff of legends' and I can do no more than agree).
I arrived in Almaty on the 28th of August, meaning that I have been here for two weeks almost already. Im staying in the dormitory on campus, which is mostly cheap. It doesn't offer that much, a simple bed and desk in a shared room and an empty kitchen, but it is very lively and I only have to walk an average of 2 minutes to my lectures. Also, I was very lucky to be sharing my room with a sweet Korean girl, who is very easy to live with!
My studies here are mostly in the field of International Relations, and the material covered in the lectures is very interesting! Contrary to the way it it being taught. People are quite young here when they start university, 17 is average and are furthermore very young in their mindset. University anticipates on that by making attending all your classes mandatory, giving a lot of homework and mid-semester quizzes. Also in the dormitory this childishness is present, no guest allowed after 9 pm, no alcohol, not allowed to play cards etc. Overall there is an excessive amount of rules which is quite annoying, but to be fair, it also offers the possibility to break some rules which might be quite fun.
The city is amazing, lots of pubs, restaurants, parks, musea and a very Western nightlife. When not covered in clouds, you can see the impressive rim of mountains at the Southern side of the city. Been there hiking once already and definitely going to go there again!
That's it for now! I will be going to a place called Baynkol this weekend (close to the Chinese border) and will write something again after that.
Ciao!
You might notice that this one is in English, contrary to my previous one. This is mostly because I do believe everyone that I know who might want to read it will probably be capable of speaking English (except for my grandma, sorry you will get a personal letter instead!) and it might offer some other exchangies on their way to Almaty some insights.
Also, I won't elaborate too much on the trip previous of my arrival in Almaty, it was shortly said absolutely amazing. Turkmenistan, with its extremely closed and incomprehensible culture but so superfriendly people, Uzbekistan with the beautiful landscapes, delicious foods and superfriendly people and Kyrgyzstan with the lively city of Bishkek and again the superfriendly people (seriously, never met people as kind and as helpful as here in Central Asia, their hospitality is according to the Lonely Planet 'the stuff of legends' and I can do no more than agree).
I arrived in Almaty on the 28th of August, meaning that I have been here for two weeks almost already. Im staying in the dormitory on campus, which is mostly cheap. It doesn't offer that much, a simple bed and desk in a shared room and an empty kitchen, but it is very lively and I only have to walk an average of 2 minutes to my lectures. Also, I was very lucky to be sharing my room with a sweet Korean girl, who is very easy to live with!
My studies here are mostly in the field of International Relations, and the material covered in the lectures is very interesting! Contrary to the way it it being taught. People are quite young here when they start university, 17 is average and are furthermore very young in their mindset. University anticipates on that by making attending all your classes mandatory, giving a lot of homework and mid-semester quizzes. Also in the dormitory this childishness is present, no guest allowed after 9 pm, no alcohol, not allowed to play cards etc. Overall there is an excessive amount of rules which is quite annoying, but to be fair, it also offers the possibility to break some rules which might be quite fun.
The city is amazing, lots of pubs, restaurants, parks, musea and a very Western nightlife. When not covered in clouds, you can see the impressive rim of mountains at the Southern side of the city. Been there hiking once already and definitely going to go there again!
That's it for now! I will be going to a place called Baynkol this weekend (close to the Chinese border) and will write something again after that.
Ciao!
-
09 September 2015 - 18:09
Aranka:
Fijn om te horen dat je het zo naar je zin hebt :)
Snel een keertje skypen ;)
Dikke kus uit het 'hoge' noorden xD xxxx -
09 September 2015 - 21:28
Martina:
Hoi, gezellig, leuk om te lezen. En ik lees hele andere dingen dan in ons gebruikelijke Skype-gesprek. Fijn weekend - wij gaan maar even naar ....België. -
10 September 2015 - 23:02
Thijs:
Hieroo ook excessive rules... Niet drinken, geen tabak, maar wel op elke hoek van de straat fastfood. Ook geen lawaai na 11 uur. Waren eens een film aan het kijken en een paar dagen later kreeg ik mail dat ik regels had overtreden maar dat het dit keer bij een waarschuwing bleef. Leuuuk. Maare Paulientjee, veel plezieros he! -
21 September 2015 - 06:42
JokeeneriK :
Leuk, een blog! Hebben we iets meer tekst bij de foto's die al op facebook staan ;-) Zag er mooi uit die bergen, zou ik ook zeker naar terug gaan! Ik reageer verder nog even op je mail: ga je nog een andere (nieuwe) sport uitproberen nu blijkt dat frisbee daar geen optie is in de wintermaanden? liefs
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
