Sunday, August 4, 2013

another year over…

IMG_0324 this photo above is one of the first ones I posted on this blog………………….

Today marks the end of our 2nd year here in Atyrau and tomorrow will be the beginning of our count into the 3rd..  

I can’t say for certain how many more years we have left,  but i do know this for sure - I better get out and explore this country some more.

whenever I’ve gone back to my last blog (http://kbquiettimes.blogspot.com/), just to read I realize that compared to Thailand I  haven’t explored much or ventured out into the community. I think that’s evident in my lack of blog posts about this adventure of mine here.

I can’t say for certain why but here are a couple of reasons why I think that is,  just off the top of my head;

Firstly, this place, Atyrau is a working city – this town makes a whole lot of money for this country – literary.  It’s definitely not the tourism. so here the locals aren’t  interested in selling this place to us.  After all you only end up in this city for work.  And maybe because of this there really aren’t many places to go and see.  Unlike Bangkok – well that is a tourist destination.  Tourism fuels their economy!

Another reason maybe the language. I’m not going to kid myself – Russian has been difficult for me to learn.  I know enough to get me through the market or grocery shop, but its a tough barrier to cross.  having a full fledged conversation in Russian is hard!!  Funny thing  I’ve noticed though is when the locals here come across an expat they see that as an opportunity to practice their English.  their opportunity to converse.  talk about getting lost in translation…...

Anyway these are the only 2 reasons I can think of right now.  there maybe more out there. 

Their pathetic reasons I know, pathetic!  So……….  starting tomorrow I’m going to make an effort.  An effort to get out there to explore and engage.  And to also  remember to carry my camera with me and just take photos.

I’m also going to try and not be embarrassed about my Russian and just give it a go!!

IMG_0009 this photo is of my market lady friends – the chicken lady, the ham lady and the pork lady.  they are always happy to see “the expat”.  I could just buy  all that I need from one of these lady’s but I always find it hard to do so (but that story is for another time!!)

1 comment:

Mari said...

Hi Kari - it's good to hear from you again. Glad you're back in your own home again. I can't imagine learning Russian. :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...