Written by Sophie Papp, Summer 2024 FLAS Fellow for advanced Russian. Sophie is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a dual major in Russian and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Disability Studies.

This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to study Russian in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I hit a language plateau during my sophomore year, and I knew that if I was to get past it, I needed to be fully immersed in a Russian-speaking environment. Thus, I spent the spring writing: writing applications for the program, for passports, and for numerous grants and scholarships. Fortunately, I received funding from both the Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies and the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures — their support (financial, personal, and professional) is what made my trip possible. I spent eight weeks in Kazakhstan, and around the fourth week, I developed a rhythm. Like any data-driven person, I am compelled to somehow quantify and categorize these rhythms, which is to say I am trying to turn the ephemeral into the permanent. A scholarship I received from American Councils came with a blogging requirement, and I thought it would be fitting to write a Spotify Wrapped-esque piece — a short collection of data pertaining to my experiences in Almaty during the first half of my trip. 

Times I refilled my transport card: 2 

My first experience with Almaty’s public transit system was with my host mom. It was the first day of in-country orientation, and rain was coming down in sheets, thoroughly soaking my shoes as I plodded to the bus stop. My host mom hopped on our bus the moment it arrived. For a half-second, I stared at her in disbelief: the bus was so packed that she had to elbow others to get in the door. Surely this was some sort of fire safety violation, surely she didn’t expect me to get on. However, it appeared that this was nothing out of the ordinary — my host mom did indeed expect me to get on the bus, so I squeezed my way in just before the doors closed. I managed to tap my transport card on the card reader, but that was the only movement I was able to make: there were so many people around me that I physically could not move for the entire rest of the ride. Though the amount of people on my first ever bus ride was overwhelming, I eventually grew used to such conditions. Of course, I preferred to get on a bus that allowed me to have a bit of personal space, but there is a sense of community present on a packed bus that I am hard-pressed to find elsewhere. The way seats are immediately given up when an elderly person gets on, the collective protection of children, how your transport card can be safely passed through several pairs of hands on its journey to and from the card reader — this, to me, is the purest form of care. 

Snacks purchased: countless 

Like most people, when I travel my top priority is trying local food. I ate my fair share of Kazakh food in Almaty: beshbarmak made with horse meat, onion-y samsas, and freshly made manti. I’ve also had wide access to a variety of dishes from countries that were formerly parts of the Soviet Union — Georgian khachapuri, Russian okroshka, Ukrainian varenyky, and Uzbek plov, to name a few. However, I’m always interested in the convenience foods that exist in any given country, as they say a lot about the preferences of its inhabitants. After a week or two, I figured out my ideal Kazakh version of a gas station candy/chip/drink combination: a mango-passionfruit Ai Tea, a bag of crab-flavored Lay’s potato chips, and a Хрутка (Khrutka) chocolate bar. Mango-passionfruit is the best Ai Tea flavor, crab-flavored Lay’s are a staple in this part of the world, and Хрутка bars are so good that I rarely ever leave a grocery store without one in my pocket. These items are best purchased in a mildly air-conditioned Magnum grocery store after a long day of classes, and are best eaten in a park as you try (and fail) to beat the summer heat. 

Times visited Coffee Original: 9 

I fell in love with this cafe the second I entered their Baitursynova Street location. A five minute walk from the building our classes were held in, Coffee Original is a student favorite due to its calm atmosphere and wide selection of food and drink. The US dollar stretches quite far in Kazakhstan, so while I may not frequently patronize cafes like this in America, I went to Coffee Original the second the wish to do so entered my head. In just my first three weeks in Almaty, I visited Coffee Original nine times. In addition to a variety of coffee and tea, their food menu boasts an expansive range of cuisine from all over the world — blini with salmon, spicy chicken ramen, curried chicken, tiramisu, and so much more. Even though it was nearly impossible to go to Coffee Original without seeing another student from my program, the atmosphere remained incredibly intimate. It was one of my favorite places in Almaty, from the plants on the light fixtures to the Ahmet Baitursynov mural on the back wall. 

Shows seen: 1 

I went to see QULAN with my cohort on an absolutely scorching Thursday. After a full day of classes plus half an hour on a crowded, non-air-conditioned bus, I arrived at the Alatau Theatre of Traditional Art both mentally and physically depleted. When the house lights finally dimmed, I was grateful that my only task was to be an observer, to sit in the dark and witness. Maybe I just hadn’t seen a piece of live theatre in a while, but this show was absolutely magical. QULAN is part opera and part ballet, and performed entirely in the Kazakh language. The fact that I do not know Kazakh did not stop me from leaving the theater as if in a trance, unable to form words in Russian or English. Even now, months after I’ve seen it, I cannot find the language to describe it. This is my favorite kind of art: the kind that leaves the observer stupefied by its beauty. 

I hope you all enjoyed my attempt to pin down the butterfly that was my first few weeks in Kazakhstan! If nothing else, I hope that this article serves as an advertisement for studying abroad — if you have the drive, resources, and time, wonderful experiences are absolutely within your reach.

Applications for summer 2025 and academic year 2025-26 FLAS funding will open November 1, 2024. To learn more about this opportunity, click the link below.

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