New Year 2011

The first semester is over now and all students hurry to go home for three weeks holiday. Yesterday they had their last exam and New Year and farewell party as well. We celebrated the up-coming 2011 year yesterday at the University. The party was the first students-only-prepared organization. The girls were in their best dresses, and the boys looked pretty nice. The first New Year of their student life and of Nazarbayev University began with a wonderful concert, where the performers were only NU students and guests invited there. Students go on surprising me. This is the generation of talented and independent children. Students sang “Once upon on a December”, “New Year” and many other songs. The University dance group surprised with their new dance. “Alter ego” boys and girls getting more and more popular within the borders of our University.

At the same time, there was a Swedish table organized for students. In a word, there was everything for spending your time well. After a nice concert students thought “Show must go on”. And it went on. DJ Pride did his best to make the New Year dance party kindle. A great deal of Santa Clauses (students wearing Santa caps) danced in the atrium.

So,  getting so tired to the end of the party, we run to our bus with a desire to get home quickly.

 

The first Christmas

Our PDP classes is over and we have holidays nearly for three weeks. The beginning of our holiday was not bad. We had the first Christmas party with our PDP teacher. Actually, she is leaving for America and won’t be with us on Christmas. So the party we had yesterday was a great fun. Nearly all our PDP students were there with their presents for each other.

To tell you the truth, I knew my teacher as a very good teacher, in addition she is an excellent cook and housewife. I was in our PDP teacher’s house for the first time: it is warm atmosphere and comfort. A small Christmas tree in the corner added the feeling of holiday. The candles were lit and the table was laid up. There were different pizzas, fruit, drinks, cakes and my favourite apricots. I tasted cider drink prepared by our teacher, it was super!

The most interesting part for all of us, I guess, was exchanging our presents. It was nice to play gift exchange under “Twas night before Christmas” poem. During 5-10 minutes our presents went right and left and left and right before it reached its final receiver. The present, I prepared for Christmas, consisted of a small snowman and Christmas tree that I made with my own hands. In a gift exchange it went to Sunny ( one of my fellow students) and I got a nice Santa Claus candle. I liked it very much – an appropriate thing for Christmas night. Further we played another game: I call it gift-exchange-stealing. A gift passes two people until a person can finally save this gift for himself. If you like another person’s present, you can steal it from him. At the same time, there is the third person, who can steal it from you and have it for himself. First, I got a collection of marble stars and a moon, but one of me collegues stole that present from me and got another present: a lovely photo frame and a bar of chocolate. All the presents were nice, especially a box full of small Pakistan flags.(laughing) Jake, volunteer at NIS, won that present. There was a lot of fun about the present.

Further we talked, laughed and joked. I absolutely forgot about the fatigue of that day and got home relaxed. I thank my teacher for a lovely night and wish everybody Merry Christmas!

 

This weekend Astana

After 12 days of continuous working days the weekend was success. As usual I spent the day-off in a company of my relatives. In Saturday we often are in front of the TV set. But Sunday is a day of fun and pleasure. Last Sunday we visited Winter Charity Bazaar and bought a lot of interesting things. Especially, toys for my little cousin. There were a great deal of them as well as national souvenirs, books, candies, clothes, what not. The Charity bazaar gathered such countries as Kazakhstan, the U.S, the U.K., Korea, China, Japan, Brazil, Germany, France, Finland, Turkey, Pakistan, even India and many other countries. The countries had a great deal of things to offer. We bought a nice T-shirt with “the best child in the world” inscription on the Ukraine language for my cousin. In addition, tastes from different countries cuisine, children puzzles, American bag, souvenirs, Chinese key-rings, and toys. The atmosphere of up-coming Christmas and New Year holidays was felt through decorations and Santa Claus from Finland. It was funny, and being so tired we went home. Akhmet (my cousin) even fell asleep in the car on the way home.))

The New Year mood was still continued in the evening at home. We were busy by building New Year town for Akhmet: fairy tale palace, snow man, ice town, New Year trees and children figures. All the figures were made of salty dough and watercolour. Tired we went to bed at four at night. Only in the morning we were able to see what we were building for five hours. “We are sculptures” exclaimed my aunt, being glad to see The Land of Fairy Tale.

It is a pity that the real life is far from it. It is sometimes too dangerous. The same day in the morning we witnessed a fire occurred in one of the samsa cabins near our region. We entered the shop and everything was still in the street, 5-7 minutes later we went out hurrying to the Charity bazaar and saw that fire( on the photo).

The Summit is over, but it is still spoken about in Mass Media of the country. The weekend news had many things to share with people about the summit passed. National TV broadcast channels prepared special programs for the last event of the last month of the year. People returned to their every day routine and are proud to organize the summit with safety. Denizens of Astana accepted the stopgap measures with patience and understanding. Nearly 55 representatives of different countries met again to accept Astana Declaration, the document accepted 11 years after since the last OSCE summit. So, the summit was held successfully and it is turn for Asiada to follow the same route.

President N.Nazarbayev are going to visit our university tomorrow. With the hearts open we are ready to meet our President.