I finally experienced the much anticipated branch-wacking ritual during my weekly sauna bath. Two Russian dudes appeared while I was bathing and the older one actually spoke kazakh, which was super convenient. After a few questions in the dry sauna, he told me to lay on my stomach. I did as he was told and got whipped with a thick branch full of dry leaves. He whipped me head-to-toe, told me to turn around and repeated it on the front of my body. It was cool, for obvious reasons. Then he made me follow him to the bathing quarter where he dumped a bucket of cold water over me. Minutes later, he gave me one of his beers and the three of us sat naked, talking and sipping on beer and tea.
Then he invited me over for dinner. I had tea with his family that night and some of his children spoke some kazakh because they grew up in a predominantly kazakh village. It was crazy to hear them speak it. The son invited me to go fishing with him this summer.