Yurt

With the approaching Turkic New Year and "spring holiday", the school erected its yurt in the atrium.  During the last week, classes have been held inside it, plus other meetings.

The Yurt

It is surprising spacious; accommodating nearly 30 adults sitting inside.  Clearly, that would be fine for temporary shelter for a short meal or gathering, but that number would be a tight fit if they were to lie down and try to sleep in the yurt in the countryside.

The Area for Women in the Yurt

This was a "show" yurt not designed for the weather and rigours of outdoor life in the steppe.  Its function is to educate the students and the visiting overseas teaching staff about the heritage and culture of Kazakhstan.

The Area for the men in the Yurt

The items are laid out as they should be in a true "working" yurt which do still exist and get used further away from the urban centres.  The shape is supposed to represent the universe, the links in the ceiling linking the people of the world together.

The bed and Cradle in the Yurt

The Mongolian ger is similar in structure if not the same apart from its name.  The Mongolians, however do not like the word yurt, which they said was the Russian for tent, and their ger was nothing like a tent!  Semantics aside, both habitations are very similar in construction and purpose and have served the nomads well for generations in the steppes and mountains of central Asia.

Snow Day

I left work early yesterday to go to the bank.  I was a fortuitous move as the weather was closing in further.  The snow had started to fall as I arrived at the school in the morning and fell steadily such that about 20+ cm had built up against the window by the time this picture was taken about 1030 later that morning.

Oskemen Street Scene

Heading in the town, it was difficult to see far ahead through the bus windscreen and stepping off, I encountered first hand the drifts that the traffic had been bursting through.  The snow was light and dry and, even though the drifts were thigh deep in places across pavements, it was easy to walk through.  The difficulty was in making out where to go.  Park benches and road edges could not be seen and the surface was a uniform smooth white.  Looking at the entrance covers over doors to apartment blocks, I could see that by 4pm almost two feet or 50cm had built up in the day on flat surfaces sheltered by the trees from the wind blasts.

Blizzard at Irtysh Hotel

After finalising preparations for the next school day, I received a text at 9pm while the storm still continued, telling me that the schools would be shut today in the city and not to bother turning up to work.  Snow Day!

 Snow piled up!

The clearing of snow has started this morning.  There is a lot of the white stuff to move. Down by the River Irtysh, the promenade is covered in drifts and the river bed has white ice on it and little ice flows on the surface.

Icy River Irtysh

Amazing Place - Ust' Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan

Trees at Kirov Park

A few years ago,  my future plans for jobs were fairly clear cut.  An over-riding priority was to work in a warm country.  Then China happened. Well, more specifically, the rapid development of chinese industry and the demand for raw metals in particular has led to the sudden wealth of several countries which supply those materials.  That wealth has allowed the governments of previously less economocially developed states to invest in their education systems.
I ended up in one such programme for 3 months earlier this year in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  There the government has bought into the Cambridge International Examination board's IGCSE and AS/A-Level system so that all their students across the country will have access to a portable qualification accepted by universities world-wide.  Arriving in early March the temperatures started for me at -30C at night.  The last snowfall was on the 1st of June.
Returning home in mid- June I then was accepted into another nationwide educational project in Kazakhstan, namely the Nazarbayev Intellectual schools.  Cambridge are involved with this reform project too. Getting ready to go I visited the LD Mountain Centre in Newcastle (UK) where they were having a summer sale.  They had equiped folks before for Altai mountain expeditions so, being aware that my location for the next year was close (Ust' Kamenogorsk) I took advantage of the sale and bought a North Face "Vostok" 700g/litre goose down jacket and some Sorrel Caribou snow boots (rated to -40C).  I thought that that would be it for temperatures.  In August in Astana it was in the +30s C and then in Oskemen (a.k.a Ust' Kamenogorsk) it was similarly warm and then very wet.

Winter Sunset 

I was beginning to think that perhaps I had overdone the cold weather gear.  After all, the latitude was similar to Cherbourg in Normandy and the city altitude was only 300m above sea-level.  Stories of the weather over the previous winter from teacher who had been here a year suggested little snow and not too cold.
I was convinced by my research.  It would get cold and there would be snow.  The last year had to have been an anomaly.
I consulted with locals.  What bad weather had their parents and grandparents seen in the past?  The stories came back of cold and snow.  What was the average start of the first snow?  First week in November cmae the reply.
This year the first snow fell in October.  The 24th to be exact and hasn't melted since then.  The temperatures have dropped and the lowest was on the night of the 19/20th December at -44C.  We have taken delivery of a marvellous new set of atlases on Kazakhstan at school and Oskemen comes top of the lowest winter temperatures for a city for the whole of the country at -49C.  We're not that low yet, but, it is only December and the area has been cooled already.
The river water in the Irtysh is relatively hot and steam is contantly rising and blanketing the surroundings in fog which then freezes as a frosty coating on street signs, trees and the bridges. The latter have the appearance of a ship that has spent a trip in the high Arctic where the rigging is layered with ice.
So here I am, enjoying the chill air, the snowfall and the frozen landscape.  The opportunity for photos is huge.  Icicles on old buildings, log cabins, fir trees, misty rivers and silver birch.  For a place that will give the perfect Christmas card image, this could take some beating, even when you get the mosque in the shot!

Frosted Trees

Just out of curiosity,  I took a picture of snow building up on the balcony roof on 9th December and took the second one on 26th December and the third on the 7th January for comparison. The whole thing came off on 9th January as the wind picked up and temperatures rose.

The balcony cornice

Most of the extra snow accumulated on the 25th December.  

And then it was gone on January 8th.  Snow did return with temperatures also going back into the minus teens and twenties but by the 24th January the thermometers were reading over zero and up to +5C on 25th at lunchtime with some rain.  The compacted snow and ice now have a wet, slippery, smooth and very dangerous surface.  The sooner it melts completely, the better and safer it will be.

Early December 2012

The snow has continued to fall and stay mostly in place since 24th October.  Temperatures have plunged further and touched -31C at 6am on some mornings.  So, we have established that winter in Oskemen in Eastern Kazakhstan is cold. It is going to get colder too.  The forecast has most nights this coming week dipping to below -30C.

Empty streets early in the morning

There is the possibility of students staying at home (though teachers still have to attend the school and sort out the web based learning that will occur via a Google system).

Wrapped up well

However, I am looking forward to scenes of frosted trees and "winter wonderland" images appearing.  Christmas trees are being placed and decorated around the city, in addition to the lights that were already about.

Some of the trees just need snow for decoration, though my breath did freeze in front of the lens while taking the picture at  -30C!

Fir trees dressed in white

Back in town the snow is piling up as fast as it is being cleared by the municipal authorities. They are, in fact, keeping completely on top of the job with (to my knowledge anyway) no roads being blocked by snow or ice.  The roads in the mountains were closed by the authorities on Thursday (13th December) night as a precautionary measure, and orange rescue helicopters have flown out from Oskemen eastwards over the school on Thursday morning and Friday morning on patrol for people in trouble.

Winter street, Oskemen

Taking a walk down by the river to see the mist and the ice produced some interesting pictures on the 15th.  The water temperature is about +3C and the air is below -30C.  Overnight prior to taking these pictures below, the temperature (without wind chill taken into account) was -41C.

Whitened silver birch.

A rather snowy pathway.

Sun trying to break through the mist.

The riverside promenade.

First Snows in Oskemen

Eventually it arrived on Monday 5th November.  After torrential rain all the previous day the temperature dropped and finally the precipitation went from liquid to solid.  Unfortunately, all the rain created large puddles and damp ground so most of the snow in the city was slushy.

Out in the suburb of кшт (Kuh-Shuh-Tuh), the snow was far more crunchy and the roads were still only visible as tyre tracks by the end of the working day.  The snow continued pretty much throughout the daylight hours.  It was almost a relief to have had the white covering appear.

I have discovered we are located in the South Siberia weather map area, which should give a clue as the kind of weather to come for the rest of the winter - more snow, ice and rapidly disappearing temperatures. 

As I left the Nazarbayev Intellectual School on Monday evening, the slush was hardening up and pavement and steps becoming treacherous.  The icy base layer to found the winter on had been laid.

And the temperatures plummeted further as the skies cleared.  On Friday morning (9th) it was -25C at 6am.  The wind picked up, and snow that was on the roof was been blowing off as a fine powdery glitter, finding its way into drifts.

On Sunday 11th November I had a walk along the River Irtysh.  A cold wind was still blowing from the east.
I took these images of the river port and the Kazakhstan Flag monument on the hill behind it.

The river docks along the upper reaches of the Irtysh must be in the running for ports furthest from, but connected to, the salty oceans by navigable rivers (in this case the Irtysh and the Ob connecting to the Arctic Ocean).

I also managed to catch the mosque on the road to кшт in a good light; such that the minarets were all reflecting off the main blue dome.

Autumn thoughts

I am pleased with the success of White Sands, Green Trees  ebook,  with the pictures being the big attraction for those purchasing it perhaps.  Interest has been generated in this and the two historical adventure books from the Pinterest site with people seeing the "ancient charts" and other images from the books.  

I think that possibly the same can be said for the the steady sales of Teaching Overseas - A Short Guide. Clearly it is filling a gap in the market for teachers needing advice before taking up, during or in preparation to leave their posts internationally.  Images from the travels around the world posted on Pinterest by me and used in Twitter tweets must be grabbing some attention.

I'm looking forward to receiving the final trout illustrations for the Fishing Trip and putting that together in time for Christmas.  The species included are mainly from Europe and North America, and have been chosen for their colours as well as to enable identification of the more common types by young anglers.

The current location is Usk'-Kamenogorsk (Oskemen) in Kazakhstan and information from this post will be feeding into a future update of the teaching guide.

My latest camera to combat the predicted cold, rain and dust is a Fuji XP10, with which I intend to get some winter pictures to offset the large number of hot desert jungle and tropical island images I already have.  I have taken some test shots as it were to get used to its functions and its ability to cope with cold conditions.  Over the course of 24 hours the temperature here plummeted from +10C to -6C and what had been muddy wet conditions have been freeze-dried.  Check the weather at the bottom of the page for current conditions.  I can see why log cabins are the common form of accommodation outside of the city.  Fur hats and coats are the favourite item for winter amongst the populace here in Central Asia. The wind certainly does blow cold.

So far (and one can only ever say that) things have gone well here.

Guest Author

At last, a chance to meet some fans.
At a time yet to be confirmed, I have been approached and accepted to meet the aspiring writers and young readers at the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Oskemen (Ust'-Kamenogorsk) in East Kazakhstan.  The meeting has been arranged by Mr. Zenon Kozyra (a Canadian librarian at the school).
If any of the students would like to bring copies of my books: the prize-winning "Any Means to an End - The Lost Diaries of Richard Buchanan" and  the follow-up "Protective Craft - The Lost Diaries of Richard Buchanan" in for signing I shall oblige.
For the local weather, please check the gadget at the base of this blog, things are starting to get chilly here in Oskemen.