For my two months in Kazakhstan, I am living with a host family in their apartment. My 23-year-old host sister let me interview her to provide a little insight into everyday life in Kazakhstan. The following Field Note is written from her point of view.
My full name is Aigerim Radinova.
I grew up in Balkhash (Kazakh: Балқаш, Russian: Балхаш), Kazakhstan in the Karagandy Region. This is a small city on the northern shore of Lake Balkhash, the 15th-largest lake in the world. When I was eighteen, I moved to Almaty to go to university at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU). I have been living here for the last five years.
Almaty is a beautiful city. It is the largest city in Kazakhstan by population (with more than 1.7 million residents) and served as the nation's capital until 1997. Almaty is a lovely city to live in. It is very green, with trees and other plants along every street. The mountains are nearby and easily accessible to go on weekend hikes and picnics.
I live in a quiet neighborhood in the center of Almaty. There are a lot of trees outside our five-story apartment building. I live in a comfortable, spacious two-bedroom apartment with two balconies. We also have a bathroom and a doorless kitchen.
