I'm still loving living here with Gulzira and Meirambai. In the evening when he's taxi driving, she prepares dinner and in intervals dances in the living room in the dark, wearing her apron, to Kazakh pop music on the TV.

Today I hitched a ride home after ice skating and the driver asked if I was a Nazi. He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it was common to encounter Nazis. ….Strange.

I've been realizing more and more the tradeoffs of having a communal society. As said before, people eat off the same plate and bathe together. I see 10 year olds hitchhiking to their friends home because people view each other as family. Kids help each other in class all the time. These are cool things. But it all comes at the consequence of lost indiviualism and freedom of expression. When you ask someone about themselves they say, “We believe that...” or “Us Kazakhs do this or that” as opposed to “I think that....” They're so used to agreeing with each other and thinking as a collective. In class, if you ask each student what their favorite dish is or if they like garlic and onions, their answers are always the same: “Beshbarmak” and “No!” I don't see much of a variety in haircuts, clothing styles, views on religion, opinions on government, food tastes, music tastes, interests. I've reached a point where I get excited if I see a guy with a red scarf or hear a person decline milk with their tea. They're a rebel to me. Haha.