Blog#2- Read earlier email first

Arriving in Kazakhstan as a tourist is a rare thing to the locals. The tourists Kazakhstanis usually encounter in the North come from Russia so language isn't an issue. However, when Americans come over with no Russian, communicating the simplest of requests becomes an art. Hence, when my parents visited for a week, my Russian fluency increased dramatically.

The three of us visited Astana first and it was a first for all of us. Astana is an exception to Kazakhstan. After the cleanliness and modern facades of Astana, we headed to 'raw Kazakhstan.' My parents enjoyed Lesnoye and expected less accomodating conditions from a village of 900 people. Their hearts are more at ease now after being warmly and generously welcomed by the locals.