Nobody... Calls Me Chicken...

Real quick update on grub. Here is our Thanksgiving Meal (we actually had it this past Sunday):

-Rotissere Chicken (no Butterballs - at least fresh ones - here)
-Mashed Potatoes / Gravy
-Broccoli Casserole
-Green Bean Casserole
-Corn
-Biscuits

Amanda whipped up a delicious choco-pie. Thank you ShopRite for the graham-cracker crust!

Everything else is rollin' like the number 5 down Maryland Avenue. Busy with school. I am giving an hour and half presentation on 'ART' this Saturday - and I'm not talking Vandalay Industries... This past weekend, we went to a basketball tournament to see several KZ teams play. I was glad to go despite the slow pace of International Ball. Unfortunately there was no hustle, but great shooting! We also walked around some of the snow lined streets near the stadium and Kazakh circus.

I've also gotten a crash course on DVD Regions. For the less tech savy - DVDs are encoded by different regions - so for us in American - it's Region 1. Over here, Russia and former USSR are Region 5. On laptops and DVD players, the player you use doesn't like to switch back and forth (I think to avoid pirated DVDs, especially from China.) In fact, the player will lock you out of certain regions (as has happened to Amanda's laptop). So I've downloaded some 'region-free' software that I will try out soon. DVDs keep us going through the Kazakh nights and we watch a lot of DVDs in English (although made in Region 5 Asia). Amanda really enjoys the Scrubs Set I got her. I lean towards the more sophisticated genres, such as the epic "Ghostbusters 2." (Ah, Bill Murray - such a master of the theater!)

Here's Amanda concentrating on a movie, I think it is Blood Diamond (I loved it so much I got up and started doing laundry and taking pictures...)

A few realizations: 1)I haven't gotten a hair cut since I've been here (trying to pull off the Cole Hamels look), 2)Ironing shirts gives me the fits, 3)Under Armor socks are worth it.

Holler at your boy-ski...

Tryptophan-tastic!!!

So I've always had an affinity for Thanksgiving Day. Maybe because it's not too religious, maybe because my nickname should be "Mr. Mashed Potato Head", or maybe it's because I played Squanto in a bang-up grade school Thanksgiving presentation.

Regardless, I hope everyone's has a good one and that your green beans are casserole-riffic. Amanda is 'moving' apartments and we are both busy with work today, so it's left-over Mexican from last night. I'm sure one of the Native Americans were named 'Ortega', right? This is actually the first Thanksgiving ever that I haven't spent with my family. But, I hope my parents have a sliver of cranberry bread for me before they go to Lamberti's Cucina with Grandmom!

All I can say is "Spasiba" (that's Russian for 'thanks'). This year I'm thankful for: 1)The 2 hours of internet I get a week to try to chat with most of you, 2) my parents understanding my trip to what can best be described as a 'disheveled Portland', 3)deodorant and all the good people that wear it, 4)ShopRite for having products that I can buy in KZ, 4)those that have given Thailand advice, 5)the St. Joe's Hawk message board, 6)Miguel Cervantes for giving me something to read (I started it 1.5 months ago!), 7)those that are sending me packages, 8)the 24% of RHCP tracks that still play on my scratched up double CD, 9)my trusty Kazakh companion - Amanda, 10)and finally ALL my family and friends!

Enjoy the parade. And look out for Santa at the end....

A Polygon with 4 Equal Sides and Angles = ?

In my opinion, the city of Almaty needs a square. One, or a few, central places for people to go, hang out, and enjoy life. In Madrid (I know I was spoiled) you had Plaza Mayor - where the four sides of the historic square were dotted with souvenir shops, restaurants, street performers, and life. Not to mention the countless other squares/plazas all over the Spanish city. Philadelphia has some oldies but goodies - Rittenhouse, Washington, Franklin and even some good circles (have you ever seen the Hallahan girls jumping into the fountains at Logan Circle on the last day of school?) Someplace to meet, someplace to people-watch, someplace to overcharge the pedestrial consumer. Heck, even Wilmington has Rodney Square and Trolley Square (I still refuse to pay a cover to get into LoHo).

Almaty has few. There is Republic Square and the 'Old' Square But they are surrounded by 4 lanes of Land Cruisers and Ladas. They do close them off during celebrations I am told, but then it's right back to the traffic jam. I've been through Panfilov Park and it has the inklings of a square, but it isn't really contained.

I'll keep looking for one. And if I find one... be there or be square!

Roll Call!!!

Here's a quick update on my students/jobby-job:

The school is working me quite hard and there are some pretty long days. The turnover at the school kind of high and according to a few people it is one of the more expensive English Schools in a pretty pricey city. I am also, seemingly, the only one in charge of English Club & we had our first successful meeting yesterday - think back to high school "Spanish, French, German Clubs". Also, there are no resources at the school, I have to scrounge for dry erase markers, scotch tape, etc. Teachers share books and audio CDs and most of the time if you aren't there first - you have to wing it.

Guakhar - She's a favorite pre-intermediate student of mine. She's ambitious to learn and loves talking about things I like - music, food, film. I found out recently that she is the editor of a very popular magazine here in Kazakhstan - kind of like their 'People' and she's a successful jouranlist. Unforturnately, she's very busy with work and I don't think she looks at her English homework till way after midnight. She also recently auditioned for a movie being shot in France.

Elena - She started out very nervous and quiet as a pre-intermediate student. This older lady originally from Siberia is more comfortable and doesn't rely on her electronic translator like she used to. We use the same material as Guakhar and it's amazing how different they learn. Some concepts are easy for one and some are more difficult. I asked her for her favorite comedy film and she said Pulp Fiction.

Yulia - A new student who last lived in Moscow. She is originally from Siberia but went to Moscow to become a doctor. She ended up marrying one of her patients, a man from England so now she needs to know the language; plus she's going to Indonesia to meet his children in December. She is in Almaty because her husband moved here from work. We meet everyday for 1.5 hrs and on the first day she prescribed medicine for me because I sniffled. Haven't quite gotten it filled.

Dimash and his friend - Two young teen boys who are intermediate level (all these different levels mean different books, prep, etc.) They really want to learn and like soccer. I think they get a kick (no pun intended) out of my teaching. They both study at a Math & Physics school. Gotta try to remember the friends name.

Symbat - A young teenage girl who for some reason loves German. She studies all in German at school even though she is Kazakh. Very quiet but clever. She is my easiest student because she is elementary but I really think she faked her test, because the lessons are so easy for her. However, this class is usually late at night until 8:00PM so I'm pretty whupped. She wants to go to England or Germany (of course).

Elementary group (Natasha, Alea, Arman) - Three students who come everyday; they aspire to go to an English speaking university here in KZ. I teach them on Wednesdays - very enthusiastic. Arman asked me the other day what a "husband" is, but it came out like "who is your husband" and the 2 girls were rolling.

Upper-intermediate group (God help me if I can remember their names) - They all love to learn but some are more advanced than the others. One girl, in particular, is a bit of a kiss-up. I asked them to write about stereotypes of thier country and she turned around and gave me homework and asked me to write about American stereotypes. One of the students is around a 40yr old lady - very nice and lives in the same apartment complex as me, so we usually talk about whether we had hot water that day. This class is at the WONDERFUL time of 630 - 800PM on FRIDAYs.....

One of my favorite students, Nurdulet (young boy who loved to talk sports & play hangman w/me) no longer can come. Apparently, he is very sick - bronchitis or something hospital worthy. I was bummed on his last day and told him that of all my students, he was the best - which was true. I mean the kid goes to school for 10 hours a day, than came to me for 1-2 hrs of English every day. Another student, Malika, a stubborn teenage girl, also finished her classes. Won't miss her too much - more preoccupied with her phone and when it was time to write she would say her wrist hurt.

So... those are some of Joey's Kids (even though half of them are older than me.) I do enjoy seeing them progress and they all look up to me. I think having a native speaker is important. They don't have the safety-net of me dropping into Russian if they don't understand me. And fortunately, I have some creative body language - you should have seen me trying to demonstrate what Thanksgiving 'STUFFING' is! Just like in most jobs there are times I like it and times I can't stand it. Also, like back home, actually doing the work is fun and enjoyable, but all the administrative issues drag you down. I definitely talk a lot more here. My throat gave out on me last week. It was common at Tetra Tech to go through a workday(s) with rarely having a conversation.

Yesterday, we held English Club. Unfortunately, it was the Joey show with the only help coming from guest speaker Amanda. The theme was American Family Culture and everyone really enjoyed it. Lots of icebreakers to get them to speak English. Since my immediate family is kinda small, Amanda presented on her family which is kinda big. The students (for some reason) thought I looked a lot like my dad in one photo (scary.) We also played the Sister Sledge song, "We Are Family" to both their and my enjoyment. The discussion got a little heady when I started talking about differences in American culture. They were quiet and fascinated by 1)Happy Childless Marriages 2)Adoption of Different Races, Cultures, Etc. and 3)Elderly Care or lack of in the U.S. I also told them of the family trends of smaller families, people living longer, and non-traditional families (same-sex, single family, etc.) They found all this different but loved hearing about it. I lightened the mood with some family words - family heirloom/reunion/vacation/(other families like work family/school family/teams/and friends ie 'calling someone your brother' even though there is no blood. For family recipe Amanda and I made cream cheese brownies and they grubbed 'em up. I was just about finished when I asked them if they wanted me to go on and talk about Thanksgiving. They all did and listened attentively. They loved hearing about the history, the meal, the parade, etc. The ladies loved hearing about 'Black Friday' and I told 'em how my mom gets up early and doesn't come back till late. We finished up by eating and drinking a little bit before it was time to clean up.

All the Turkey Talk made me definitely thankful for everyone and everything in my life!

Time... is on my side. No it isn't!

So I woke up this morning with a strange pain in my back, right around 7:30AM (aka 9:30PM Tues Night Madison Square Garden Time). It wasn't from the lumpy mattress; it was from the familiar dagger of another Hawk loss in the last seconds of their game with No 25 Syracuse...

While I will be a little gloomy looking over the boxscore (no streaming for me) and taking in the dreary/drizzly Almaty weather today, I do like Tasheed Carr's game and the fact that we played tough in front of a crowd. I remember our Carrier Classic tournament (99-00). The place was dead in game 1 and raucous with Orange in game 2 - seemed atmospherically the same this year.

I managed to print up the Hawks' schedule. It is posted in my apartment (green highlight for wins / red highlight for losses). I also have Duke's marshmallow schedule (just kidding!) right next to it for Amanda's alma mater. I can only hope that I use as much green ink on SJU's as the Blue Devils this season...

Well There's No Place Like Phuket for the Holidays!

Last week I booked a flight for my X-mas / New Years. I will be celebrating the "12 Days of Thailand." More details to come and more details from anyone who has been are wanted!!! Especially since I've formed a blog bond now with the News Journal.

I'm dreaming of a Thai... Christmas!

Wit' or Wit Out???

So I had Philadelphia night the other night, which meant cheeseteaks. I put on some G.L.A.S.S., my Phillies hat, and started slingin' steak. I deviated and did chicken cheeseteaks. Chopped nice and small, with a sauteed mushroom, onion, red pepper tasty topping, and fresh tomatoes. I even managed to find some respectable (although not Del'asandro rolls). No whiz but I utilized some orangey cheese labeled 'cheeseburger cheese' that did just fine.

Here it is... bangin' son. Bangin'.

No Tastykakes or Soft Pretzels, so I ended up making these sweet lil' jewels. Some w/ milk chocolate and some with dark chocolate.

Warning, Cheesesteak Rambling ahead!!!: So, I don't really care for Pat's or Geno's. I more like the experience of heading to 9th and Wharton after a Sixers game (loss, probably) or for fresh air after Illadelph Nightlife. I have never had a steak from Geno's, I always end up at Pat's. I think it is because that's where my dad took me after sporting events. I remember him saying he knew I was a man (at the ripe age of 10 yrs old) when I finished an entire cheesesteak under Pat's freak-show yellow lights. He was probably more sad than happy, since he didn't get my leftovers anymore. I do prefer the cheese fries from Geno's, although I don't prefer the radiation from all the neon. Regardless, it all gets washed down with a Cherry Cola.

For cheesesteaks, I prefer Jim's on South Street or the newest compettion, S.O.S (Steaks on South). I always end up with a Whiz/Wit Out. For chicken cheesesteaks (they're healthier right?) I LOVE Ishkabibbles (also on South). I also like pounding Ishkabibbles signature drink, the Gremlin (a mix of Grape soda and Lemonade). In West Philadelphia, I prefer Larry's Steaks - Home of the BellyFiller (also usually go with chicken, but I put brown mustard on it & go with American for some reason). For sheer size, I prefer Mama's steaks on the way to Manayunk. Gallery Pizza in Wilmington has underated cheesesteaks and pizza. And a Deerhead steak (although small) is also a favorite.

So, let me know how/where/why you like your cheesesteak. Do you like to smother it in onions? Or maybe add some buffalo sauce and blue cheese crumbles to it? Let me know, I'll patiently drool, I mean wait on your comments!

Some other hot cookin':

Why must the only food with my namesake be "Sloppy Joe's?" They were good, served up with mac n' cheese and some hickory baked white and pink beans.

Tuna casserole - so versatile, so colorful, so good with a little HOT SAUCE!

Amandwhiches - roasted eggplant, tomato, cheese, drizzled in a salty vegetable glaze!

So you must be wondering why am I posting about food and not other things. Well, it's because I've reached that point. Yes, the last COMBO. I savored every last moment of it. And now it is gone....

Deejaying the Big Party in Heaven...

I heard the sad news from friends that a great person we all knew, James Blunt, suddenly passed away this weekend. “J.B.” was a Wilm. local and everyone in the neighborhood knew him, especially since his wide, jovial smile was visible from blocks away! I knew this big man had a bigger heart because:

-he deejayed EVERY dance/party of my childhood - grade school, high school, graduation/birthday parties, youth socials,............
-he was constantly involved in our sporting events, from timing track meets at Conrad to Saturday and Wednesday swim meets at Crestmoor pool.
-he was an awesome chef at the Charcoal Pit; he served up my first Rootbeer Float and Pit Special!
-he was a fantastic friend and hanging out with him transcended class/race/age
-he was my old-school philosopher (Kevin - remember how he said that CDs would never last and that they were the 8track of our generation? I guess he was right with mp3's taking over!)

I could fill pages with stories upon stories about J.B. Especially since I, like many others, deejayed with him at all the hot spots on Friday and Saturday nights. Blunt definitely influenced my love of music (and my particular niche of late 80s / early 90s hip hop!) I’ll never forget one particular story that reminds me of the good times I had as part of J.B. Express…

It was a cold, frigid night and J.B., Juan, and I had just loaded up his broken down/beat up YELLOW van jam-packed with crates of records and all the speakers/mixers/amps/lights. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground (with the top ½ foot being all ice). We drove (more like slid!) to the reception hall by DelMemBr to deejay a party – I think his hoopty van was even leaking fuel along our icy trail... When we finally got there, we saw that the party was on the 3rd floor, with no elevator. As I was cursing his heavy crates full of Rob Base “It Takes Two” and Digital Underground “Humpty Dance” albums, we carried them ALL up the stairs. We finally set up the equipment when the hosts invited us to grab some catered food before the guests arrived and we powered up. J.B. and Juan came back from the buffet with MOUNTAINS of food and boy did they grub! Eventually, the hosts said they were ready to get the party started and that we could start the music. I looked at J.B. and Juan and the only music they were making were deep snores as their empty plates rested on their Buddha bellies! So 13 year old D.J. Gee Q (my J.B. appointed deejay name) proceeded to dig in the crates and deejay the party while they slept deep in a food coma with happy smiles on their faces. J.B. and Juan didn’t stir until the end of the bump, but I had a blast making the crowd move and I definitely poked fun at both them on the treacherous ride home. But before we exited off 141 and reached home, we had to stop and get a signature Big Gulp for Blunt at 7-11…

I’m deeply sorry J.B. has passed on to the last dance. I will keep his family in my prayers. His charisma will definitely play as encore after encore in my memories…

Put the needle on the record.....

Triple Lutz!

This Saturday (Nov 2nd) I took a ½ day trip up to Medeu, a winter playground for the people of Almaty. Medeu is a scattering of buildings around a huge ice skating rink. It’s also on the way to Shymbulak, one of Central Asia’s top skiing destination. The rink was pretty crowded and we skirted the $7USD entry fee and just peeked in. For another $3USD you can rent skates (I avoided getting all Donald Brasheer on them). Built in 1972, it is made for speed skating and we saw a couple of high-fliers in the mix with mostly casual and first date skaters. I heard WHAM's “Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart” on the loud speakers – very strange.

Towards one steep side of the rink, we hiked up and up and up (850 steps to be exact)…. to get some great views of the valley below. Amanda further climbed a nearby mountain, while I caught my breath (final stages of a cold) and took photos. We saw a few wedding parties, a couple cars heading further to Shymbulak ski resort, and what looked like a forest fire up one of the mountains.

We than walked down past Medeu and towards an area Amanda had hiked around before. It was a different kind of hike, through an apple orchard, and up hill. We grabbed lunch in the sun and went down (actually slid) a gorge. On the other side we ended up on private property and we acted innocent in order to get ourselves off the homeowners’ property! We finally made it back to the bus stop and homeward bound.

Chef-Boy-R-Gee!

Bam! This week I pulled off the following meal: 1)Sweet Cucumber & Apple Salad 2)Flounder Florentine Almondine 3)Chocobrownies. The cucumber salad was easy and was peppered with sweet/sour flavors. The fish (I’m sure it wasn’t flounder, but I'm sure it was a good, white, flakey fish) was also fun. I (of course) washed it, than seared it on the stove top in a little butter. The inside was a tasty mix of lemon, garlic, almond slivers, onion, butter, and spinach. I baked the fish and Florentine for a while than added a creamy chive sauce. Served it over rice. The Brownies weren’t my best – it’s tough without a measuring cup (everything is metric anyway) and my difficulty with the Russian language. They ended up on the crunchy side because I apparently used too much chocolate (who would’ve thought there was such a thing as too much chocolate!)… but all the brownies went!

I would love to have some submissions for more meal ideas! Send them my way on gmail if you can. A couple of culinary considerations – I have limited pots/pans, no microwave, it’s getting cold (think soups/chili), and groceries are expensive. Also some food is darn near impossible to find or expensive (cream cheese, liquid vanilla extract, choc chips, lunch meat, out of season fruits/vegetables), while others are readily available (chicken breast, ground beef, cabbage, apples, pasta). So dust off your cookbooks and let me know which dishes are delicious!

Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake

Last weekend, we took a morning--> turned afternoon jaunt to nearby “Big Almaty Lake.” The morning started out rough, with an overpriced taxi ride, which I decided to abort for Joey’s taxi (my New Balances). And the walk up towards the lake area was pretty unscenic (it felt like I was walking up Blue Mountain). The temperature also began to fall like my spirits and I was beginning to think “Big Almaty Lake” was going to be “Big Almaty FLOP.” We finally reached a hydroelectric station with a large, black pipe (which signaled only 2 – 3 more hours of hiking). This was no walk through Rockford Park – the hike was straight up an icy, steep, mountain (all along this black pipe).

After lots of rest stops and a couple graceful slips, we eventually made it up to the lake. Big Almaty Lake (2500m elevation) was very nice and worth the adversity of the AM. As you will see below, it was very picturesque and we caught it during a nice turquoise color, thanks to the melt from a few warmer fall days. It rests in a bowl at the foot of the Zailysky Alatau Mountains and it felt like we were the only ones there. On the other side of the mountain range is the Kyrgyzstan border. During our stay up at the lake, we scrambled around a bit and eventually found a sunny spot to eat some lunch in the cold. Apparently, further up the mountain (2800m) there is an astronomical observatory from the Soviet-era and more sights at great heights!

What goes up must come down and thanks to gravity, the trek down was a bit easier. We saw a lot more people on our way down and I of course smiled and told them it was only a “bit further” (suckers!) We gradually made it to the bottom of the pipe and started walking along the road back towards civilization. There were several groups of people hanging out along creeks and rock formations. They were grillin’ and chillin’. We made up for the pricy morning taxi by walking and taking a bus back to Almaty. It was a very long day and my muscles ached from the vertical venture.

On the way home we stopped at Mega – a huge shopping mall. There was a large grocery store, bowling alley, rock climbing wall, and lots of stores. Not quite as big as Christiana, but a good spot for people watching. Yes, there was even a Sbarro!

Plenty of pics below (hey I hiked that much, I'm gonna take pictures!!!)

The Photos from Big Almaty Lake

Up the pipe...



...and up the pipe some more!

sweaty in sub-zero?

take in the wildlife and the view!


...will this hike ever end???

...more mountains! where is the lake???

...and more snow!

...ah. could that be it???

finally!!!




now time for some Amanda Holiday Card shots!





...hey let's throw Joey in there!


bye big almaty lake...

until later....