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Musings from inside, outside, an
http://claresays.wordpress.com/
A politically-minded social researcher's view of the world, work, and life in general. Life in Chile, plus snipets from my past in Cambodia and Moldova
116 articles
The downside of growing up in the Lysol-age
From Musings from inside, outside, an, Yesterday, Read 0 times. Similar articles
If you get a group of Peace Corps volunteers together, I guarantee that you can get a wide variety of stories the involve outhouses– the good, the bad, the funny, and the unbelievably disgusting. I will assume that the readers here, don’t want to hear about that. For better or for worse, my stomach grew up in a fairly sterile (on world standards) environment. My parents never had to worry that the water I was drinking would have ecoli or a variety of other bacteria and gunk. The...
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Check it out!
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 1 weeks ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
DSC04643, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.
The very first weekend we were here, some friends took us to Kapchagay. This is a reservoir, man made lake, about 1 hour north of the city. I have to say that most of the other foreigners in my office are not real excited about the place– but we had a great place.
The main problem with the lake is actually the people. Sadly, like too many of the places I have lived, trash is a problem. Littering is too. People go to visit these...
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Falcon Show
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 3 weeks ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Over the weekend, S and I went to Big Almaty Lake. This lake, up in the mountains above the city, is the main water source for the city. While there we also visited an observatory and a falcon show. More about the lake and the observatory later. Today, I wanted to start to talk about the Falcon Show.
When we signed up for this trip– it was a little something organized by my office for some out-of-country visitors, we had no idea what the Falcon Show was. Basically, historically, in...
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Riding in Style
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 4 weeks ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Kazakh Wedding, originally uploaded by coming2cambodia.
I will talk more about Kazakh weddings and traditions as I learn about them… for now, I just want to show you some of the cars. All of these were taken today in the hour or so that we visited Almaty’s New Presidential Park.
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New flavors
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 1 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
It is official. Tonight we ate Mr. Ed. Verdict: not bad. Even S. thought so.
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Enough to get me in trouble
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 1 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
Here is what 7 months of intensive Russian has gotten me: Enough to get me in trouble, but not nearly enough to get me out.
S and I are planning a vacation in Moscow. One key ingredient of this, of course, is a visa. A local guy from the office told me to call a particular travel company for help. He suggested talking to Elena– but told me two Elenas worked there: one who spoke English and one who didn’t.
I called and a woman answered. “May I speak with Elena”, I...
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Evening the score
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 1 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
S. and I were born in the same year; a mere 42 days apart. Statistically, as a Chilean male, he will live to 73 years old. As an American woman, I am expected to live to 79. During our first week in Kazakhstan, Seba may have leveled the playing field; he may have taken 6 years off my life expectancy. Reason: fear!
To tell you this story, I need to give you a little background data. We have a SIM card for S; we do not have a phone. We went to TSUM, a large soviet style shopping center'also...
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Can you say ?Global Warming'?
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 1 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
A couple weeks ago, I posted about the Chilean boat that was thrown into the shores during a wind storm. That was wierd. This is weirder:
This is where I grew up. I have driven past that corner, that accounting shop, thousands of times in my life. Dan and Helen live maybe a mile away; my parents too!
According to the local paper, “The damage caused by a near-record deluge that flooded basements and swamped businesses exceeded $28.5 million in Milwaukee County, according to the initial...
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On Traffic
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 1 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
I want to be sensitive on this topic, because I have at least one reader (Hi Kyle) who was actually seriously hit by a car in Santiago (and I am so glad you were okay). However, here in Almaty, I do feel a bit like I am taking a leap of faith every time I cross the road.
Who has the right of way' This is an important question in any city. Of course, it is necessary to remember that who has the right of way is not always respected.
Here, in Almaty (I don't want to speak for the rest of...
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Seriously' What is going on with the weather'?
From Musings from inside, outside, an, 2 month ago, Read 0 times. Similar articles
So, we are going to interrupt the regularly scheduled introduction to Kazakhstan pieces, because I woke up to see this in the news:
This is the city of Valparaiso, where I went to college (1 semester) and completed my Fulbright. It is my dream to live someday in Valparaiso and its sister city, Viña del Mar. My host home country of Chile has already suffered so much this year with the 8.8 magnitude earthquake, resulting tsunami, and hundreds of aftershocks. I hate to see Mother Nature taking...
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