5-star hotel living as an expat in Almaty

Hello from Almaty! I've been quiet lately, so there's lots to say...

My 40th birthday came and went without much fanfare… I was in Astana (Kazakhstan’s capital city since 1997 – before that it was Almaty) teaching for 2 days. Even though I was all by myself without anyone I knew to celebrate or raise a drink with (cue the violins), I had a good day of classes and great students, and the hotel was top-notch (the pillows were particularly nice), so I felt good. And I flew business class, which was really nice – I could get used to that. I’m supposed to be able to fly business class most of the time when I fly on Air Astana, even when I’m not flying for work, so I think this job might spoil me for economy class, which I’m not entirely happy about, to be honest.

I’ve adjusted to living out of a hotel quite easily. I really don’t mind it, and I kind of like it. Perhaps it’s because I used to dream of touring the world as a rock musician and fantasized about living in hotels, I don’t know. Perhaps the novelty hasn't worn off yet. I think I’ve only ever stayed in a 5-star hotel once before (at Whistler Mountain, BC Canada – and that was only because Joanna’s friend worked for the hotel’s company and got us a huge discount).

A daily breakfast buffet is included, which includes everything you’d expect in a Western hotel buffet. I usually have a bowl of fruit (usually pineapple and honeydew melon) then a bowl of muesli. On the days I don’t work, I might get a bit decadent and have hash brown patties with baked beans. On workdays, I catch the Air Astana shuttle-van at 8:00am. It drive to the Air Astana office (adjacent to Almaty airport) usually takes about 40 minutes. On the way home, traffic is usually worse and it might take an hour. (Perhaps the chauffered transportation to/from work also makes me feel like a rock star. ;))

Because we’re on our own for lunch and dinner, I usually put some nuts and dried fruit into a plastic container to eat for lunch, but sometimes I go with the other teachers and eat at one of two nearby local canteen restaurants with the local Kazakhstanis – but there isn’t much to eat there for me, as a vegetarian, although a cabbage dish seasoned with spices (I’m guessing chilli pepper and paprika) is pretty good.

For dinner, there are a few restaurants around. However, unless you eat at the canteens I mentioned above, it’s surprisingly expensive to eat (and drink) here… Look at this list of the most expensive cities for expats to live. Almaty is the 30th most expensive place to live in the world (up from 52 the previous year, and it didn't make this list at all two years ago)! My favourite restaurant I’ve found (within walking distance) is an Indian place called Namasté, which is reasonably priced compared to most, and lots and lots of veggie options. Another is an Italian restaurant La Terraza. Considering I love to hang out at coffee houses, I’ve found a good one: John’s coffee, a chain started by a Danish guy in Turkey, is a 15 minute walk from the hotel.

To me, not being able to cook my own meals is the main downside of hotel living. I have a small refrigerator (I had the hotel staff clean out the mini-bar supplies), but I can’t cook here. A lot of Air Astana expats move into an apartment if they’re here for any length of time for this reason. Another reason is that if they have a local girlfriend, they won’t come to the hotel because prostitutes hang out at the bar every night, so they don’t want to be mistaken for one thereby avoiding judgemental glares from hotel staff. I’d imagine I’ll want to move to an apartment eventually soon as well, but in the meantime I’ll try to make use of the perks like the breakfast buffet, room service (which is reasonably priced compared to the local restaurants after factoring in the 30% Air Astana discount), and the hotel gym (I’ve been trying to ride an exercise bike regularly, but haven’t yet used the pool or Turkish bath).

I’ve been trying to learn a bit of Russian (all of the locals speak Kazak, but they all know Russian too, so it’s more practical to learn Russian), but so far only have a few basics. But hardly anyone knows English – more so that anyplace else I’ve travelled, so my motivation to learn a bit more Russian is increased – I’m hoping to find a teacher for weekly lessons soon.

There’s so much more I could write about – I’ll write again soon. But overall, so far so good. :)

Here I am in Kazakhstan

I made it! Since I arrived here early Wednesday (Jan 8th) things have been quite hectic and a bit of a blur. I’ve got my first day off on Sunday, then on Monday the 14th (which just happens to be my 40th birthday) I’ll have to wake up early to board a 6:15am flight to Astana, the capital, and I’ll teach there Monday and Tuesday, returning to Almaty Tuesday evening.

Tonight there is a party for all Air Astana employees which should be an interesting time. (Even though I’m contracted through a school in Ireland, Air Astana are essentially my employer, and we teach in their office adjacent to the airport). Apparently they happen only a few times a year, and they’re a big deal, so I guess I’m fortunate to arrive when I did. It's being held at some fancy-schmancy venue downtown. Interestingly, no spouses/partners are allowed at the party, which should make things especially interesting as the (free) liquor flows and the night progresses.

I’ll write more about my impressions later, and try to take a few photos with my new camera I got as a birthday present (thanks Jo), but for now I’m at work and should get back to my lesson planning.

Snow Leopard Country

I may be leaving for Almaty, Kazakhstan in less than a week (although I don't know the exact date yet), so I'm trying to get everything prepared and organized before I go.

I didn't know much of anything about Kazakhstan or Central Asia before I was considering this job, so lately I've been doing a large amount of reading up on it. Like anywhere, there are pros and cons.

Here's a recent New York Times article.

And here's a 4-page photo gallery from a guy who spent some time around Almaty while renewing his Chinese visa. I got especially excited looking at his photos of the surrounding mountains and lakes on Page 2. It will be nice to be around large mountains again (they're an hour's drive away). And I was also excited to learn that this part of Kazakhstan is habitat for the almost mythical snow leopard.

I recently saw the first close-up footage of a snow leopard ever filmed in its natural habital on the BBC Planet Earth documentary. They're amazing and rare animals, I thought I'd share that exact excerpt (which I found on YouTube):



And I discovered that the snow leopard is on the seal of Almaty:

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing that part of the world. It's really not that far (relatively speaking, at least - Asia is pretty large) from Tibet or Mongolia, and it's not too far north of the Silk Road (the trade route that connected China to the Mediterannean). So it seems pretty exotic and exciting, even though Almaty is supposed to feel more European in many ways, so it hopefully won't feel like too much of a culture shock.

So while a large part of me is sad to leave my life in Edinburgh (it's the most interesting place I've lived), and of course to leave my partner of the last nine years - another part of me is excited to discover and experience this new part of the world, and to see what the future holds as I begin my (yikes!) fifth decade on this earth.

Finally, for those of you that need a brief geography lesson of Central Asia (like I did), here's a map to help orient you where Kazakhstan and the city of Almaty is. Almaty is near the center of the highlighted circle, in the Southeast of Kazakhstan near the Kyrgyzstan border (I know the text is small - it's the only city shown in SE Kazakhstan though).

Coming Soon: Brett in Kazakhstan

In the previous post I mentioned I might have a job teaching English in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Well, it didn't happen as soon as I thought it would, but it looks like it will happen!

I'm awaiting the paperwork, but it definitely sounds like a go. I'd be working for a school based in Ireland that has a contract to teach English to the non-native English-speaking pilots working for Air Astana, Kazakhstan's national airline. I'll be one of their Subject Matter Experts (SME), as I've got an education/background in aviation. I'll mostly be teaching English but in an aviation context, and then I'll be creating lesson materials for about a third of the time. Additionally, I'll travel to Beijing, China and Dubai, UAE to teach at their other schools when needed.

I've been reading voraciously about Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia, and it sounds really interesting. I've got a really good feeling about it and I think I'll like it. And whether I do or not, it's a great opportunity and exactly what I was hoping to do when I started teaching English. It feels like a new adventure is starting, and I've always wanted to travel more in my work.

The downside to taking this job is that I would be away from Edinburgh for a long time. Joanna has been 100% supportive, but we have been going through some soul searching of our own, and what we want in the future as a partnership.

Recently we've decided to separate, as we are both looking at future possibilities that may not be compatible. We want all of our friends and family to know that we still love each other very much, and we're simply giving each other some time and space to explore some things on our own. And while we'll miss each other, we do feel that this separation is necessary, and if we decide to get back together in the future we'll be the better for it.

Teaching English

Where does the time go? This summer sure went fast... and I've obviously been horrible at updating my blog! Sorry 'bout that...

Anyhow, I had a great summer in Edinburgh and a very enjoyable time teaching English. I've improved my teaching and have met many great people from around the world. I do think I've found a career I will find interesting and rewarding for the foreseeable future, which is a great feeling.

One thing that teaching English as a foreign language (in Edinburgh and elsewhere) often lacks is 1) a good livable pay rate, and 2) reliable year-round available teaching hours. When I decided to switch careers to teaching English, my strategy was to get around a year's experience in "general" English first, but ultimately I planned to specialize in Aviation English (teaching pilots and air traffic controllers whose first language is not English), thereby leveraging my past aviation knowledge/experience - and thereby making more money, having more flexibility, travel, etc. I was hoping I could find an Aviation English position for the autumn/winter...

And, I might have found one! Nothing's been promised or signed yet, but I've tentatively agreed to teach pilots in Almaty, Kazakhstan for Kazakhstan's national airline Air Astana. I still don't know all of the details yet, so it's too early to count my chickens, but I'm very excited about the opportunity... more info to come!

Holiday Photos

Here are some photos from my recent holiday...

Ljubljana, Slovenia:


Various places in the Cinque Terre, Northern Italy:





Lake Como, Northern Italy:





Duomo di Milano (aka Milan Cathedral), Milan, Italy

I love my job and my neighbourhood

Hi Everyone, I'm long overdue for an blog update, so here it goes...

I've been doing very well, but I've been real busy. For the last three weeks I've been working full-time at ECS, an English school in Edinburgh. It's a great school - great atmosphere, nice people, small classes (maximum 5 students), and it's less than 10 minutes from my flat!

I'll be working there full-time until September at least. It's on a great little residential street with lots of charm. It's without a doubt the best work "commute" I've ever had. I've never walked to work before, and Edinburgh is such a beautiful city, and I live/work in such a beautiful area, I'm feeling yet again that I live a charmed life.

I'll take more photos soon, but here's one from a student that shows some ECS teachers and students from Germany, Estonia, Spain, Poland, and Taiwan. This photo was taken outside the school.

Family photos

My parents recently had a bunch of their old slides digitized, so I thought I'd share a few (for this first batch I'm going to be self-centered and only include ones with me ;-)).

They're a lot of fun to see, and it makes me a bit sentimental, but viewing them also makes me extremely grateful that I had a safe and happy childhood, and have a very nice loving family. I know not everyone can say that, and I try not to ever take it for granted. Thanks Mom and Dad, you're the best!

With my Mom...

and Dad.

With my older brother Todd (in the orange shirt) and Pugsy on the left

Todd and I again.

Family portrait (nice tiger jammies, eh?)

On a boat

13th birthday (with Cleo, pug #2)

Our first Santa photo (I'm almost 1, Todd is 2.5)

One of our last Santa photos, I think I'm around 10ish.

Mexican in Edinburgh

One thing that Scotland doesn't have much of is decent Mexican food. (Although, they make up for it by having lots and lots of Indian food, in my opinion.)

Our friend Jason (also an American expatriate living in Scotland) recommended a restaurant called Mariachi in the heart of Edinburgh, and we went there with our friend Stephie who was visiting from the Bay Area. It was very good, and after dinner we went on an underground ghost tour.

Thanks for the dinner, Stephie, and come back and visit soon!

Edinburgh flat photos

OK, as promised here are some photos of our place in Edinburgh! We'll post more in the near future (as Joanna "feng shui'd" the living room and it looks even better as I sit here and type this).

Freya lounges in the living room's bay window - it's her new favourite sunny spot

We love the kitchen - much more room than our Aberdeen place, and a big window looking out to a cricket field (to US readers: That's the sport, not the insect ;-)) and Inverleith Park.

Looking out the living room window to the right/west

Freya peeks in the bathtub...

...but doesn't want to jump in (smart cat)

There's a long hallway between the bathroom/kitchen end of the flat and the bedroom/livingroom end. The coats are hanging on the entrance/exit door, and we're looking into the bedroom, and to the right you can see into the living room a bit (and I just noticed you can still spot Freya in her sunny spot :-)).

Another living room shot - we like the wooden floors

The gas fireplace in the living room is Freya's favourite evening spot.

Notice the ceiling trim - it looks like a fertility motif

First Edinburgh job

Jo and I decided recently that traveling back to Aberdeen to teach English 2 days per week wasn't worth the cost/time/effort. I've been handing out CVs/resumes interviewing at some Edinburgh English schools the past few weeks.

Today I was offered my first Edinburgh teaching gig! 2 hours every Monday evening for 8 weeks, teaching Business English to a Chinese accountant. It's not much, but it's a start -- it's a nice way to end the week.

More photos

In the absence of new photos from Edinburgh, here are a few oldies but goodies...

Hiking in the Cairngorms National Park:




Here's Kate and Kenneth (Jo's parents) staying at a B&B in Kingussie.


These were taken in and around Dunkeld, Perthshire - one of my favourite areas in Scotland that I visit often:



Finally, here's the 2nd time I rented a kilt to wear to a formal event (I do plan on getting my own sometime, by the way):

Photos Of Our New Flat: Coming Soon (I Hope)

So, we've rented this great top-floor tenement flat in Edinburgh, and we've taken some photos of the place, and the views outside... but, I think I left the camera-to-PC connection cable in our old flat in Aberdeen. D'oh! So, those will have to wait.

Speaking of our Aberdeen flat, we've arranged for a guy to do the final repairs this week, so we'll be able to rent it out beginning in April, we hope. At any rate, I'll be making a trip back to Aberdeen soon to check the progress and pack the rest of our stuff (including the connection cable, of course).

So, please check back soon for some Edinburgh photos! :-)

Aberdeen vs. Edinburgh

It was a over four years ago (January 29th 2003, to be exact) that we moved to Scotland. It's hard to believe it's been that long. Until a few months ago, we lived in Aberdeen. As a city, it's nothing special. The surrounding countryside is amazing, but if you're going to live in a city in the UK, Aberdeen would not be people's first choice (unless they had family there, or else worked in the Oil & Gas industry). It can feel quite "hickish" and isolated. The grey granite buildings, while impressive, reinforce the grey clouds that are seen all too often. The air connections are few and expensive.

Because we moved to Europe to travel, and we didn't work in the Oil & Gas industry, it wasn't a perfect match for us. That said, we did enjoy our time there and made some lasting friendships. Some of Jo's extended family lives there, and they were a great help and support particularly as we got settled. As I said, the countryside is beautiful...

Nonetheless, on an almost daily basis, we find ourselves saying to each other how much we love it here in Edinburgh, and why didn't we move here sooner? Well, for most people, I think sometimes it's easier to stay where we are -- even though we know in our hearts it isn't ideal -- particularly when compared to the many unknowns (e.g. having to find a place to live, work, new friends) and the hassles (e.g. new mechanic, new food stores, new hairsylist, etc) of moving...

But on the other hand, when things work out a new city can feel so exciting. Jo's new job is working out great so far, and we looooove our flat! I'm still working on finding work, but I'm optimistic.

Sometimes we humans can get in a rut, but we're not always aware it's a rut, because we lose our sense of perspective. Until recently, the only city in Europe we'd lived in was Aberdeen, so we had nothing to compare it to. But now we know, our life in Aberdeen doesn't compare to our life here. There's no way we would ever go back. Our future is in Edinburgh, and we're so happy to be here!

Edinburgh is often hailed as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I'll agree with that (at least, compared to the cities I've seen). So, it's really not fair to compare Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Aberdeen's OK. But we don't want to live in an OK city. Why settle for OK -- in cities or in any other part of your life -- if you don't have to?

I think sometimes we forget how easy it can be to change our circumstances, and change our attitude and point of view. And a move to a new city can't help but feel like a new beginning, and makes you feel like you're getting a new perspective on life.

Stovehaven, Aberdeenshire

My brother Todd came to visit in February when we still lived in Aberdeen. About 20 miles south of Aberdeen is Stonehaven and one of Scotland's most spectacular castles, Dunnottar Castle. It was a beautiful sunny, but cold, day - it had snowed the night before.