Category Archives: Kazakhstan

Our middle child and tallest graduated Middle School in the summer of 2013.  After six years living in Kazakhstan and attending DAIS it was time to move on to something larger than a school with 50 kids and only eight … Continue reading →

Atyrau is an interesting and slowly changing city.  The main roads in the city are lined with gleaming glass fronted modern office buildings, interspersed with Soviet style apartment blocks.  The back streets are lined with a mishmash of old wooden … Continue reading →

Shopping has always been an adventure in Atyrau not knowing what you are going to be able to buy, and having to go to at least three or four markets or shops across town.  One thing is for sure that … Continue reading →

After nearly five years of living in Kazakhstan we know that it truly is “what you make it” in terms of entertainment.  Middle Schoolers find their weekends filled with an assortment of activities: bike rides  roughly 20k of dusty, flat … Continue reading →

A few weeks back,  I found myself walking on the frozen Ural River a mile or so upriver towards the centre of Atyrau.  Not sure if I was walking in Europe or Asia so let’s say I had a slippery … Continue reading →

In the Bleak Midwinter, not the Gustar Holst version but the Dostyk, Atyrau version.  Here we are in early December and winter is upon us.  However with freshly fallen snow, sun shining and crystal clear blue sky it’s not so … Continue reading →

Firstly let me clarify I am English, writing about Thanksgiving, whilst living in Kazakhstan.  Secondly let me tell you it was marvelous!  Not cosy or intimate because it wasn’t.  We were sitting in a cavernous school gym, but the surroundings … Continue reading →

People say “all things being equal” but they rarely are, and that includes the seasons here in Kazakhstan.  To have four seasons is a treat. It tells you what time of year you are in without having to look at … Continue reading →