Old age.

With fear I am waiting for the moment when young people begin to annoy me, when their music seems to be stupid, outfits are tasteless, mores are loose; when I catch myself thinking that earlier the grass was greener, and the water was wetter.

Some of my peers have already started to express such suspicions. However, it has not touched …

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Metamorphosis of words

             Strange metamorphosis occurs with some words.

             For example, here is the harmless scientific word “Negro”. It always denoted the people of the Negroid race. This is not an insult or a compliment. Just a statement of fact. But some people thought that this word contains hidden discrimination, and …

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Everything for learning the Kazakh language.

     Often, in conversations about the need to learn Kazakh language, I hear a hackneyed phrase: there are no good textbooks in Kazakhstan, there are no methodologies, there are no training centers, no teachers.

     I never listened to such arguments, because I was sure that whoever is looking for – will always find it.

     But …

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Alma-Ata and Astana residents

         Every time I go to Alma-Ata, I find more and more distinctions between the Alma-Ata and the Astana residents.

         A lot of civil servants and employees of state companies live in Astana. This leaves an imprint on the general atmosphere in public places. Even on vacation (in restaurants, shopping centers, in the …

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Sport.

     In sport, as in any extreme situation, the human essence is revealed. If you want to find out what a person is, look at him on the football field or on the hockey court.

     If he surreptitiously puts the bandwagon, does not admit his violation of the rules, argues with the judge for a long time, accuses …

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Hazing

Not long ago I remembered my time in the army, when I was young.

I served in the outback of Russia in the Soviet (back then) Army (spring 1986 – spring 1988).

Hazing and communities based on the areas were very common at that time.

In my military unit there were two squadrons. In one commander was a seasoned captain, …

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Atheism

           I’m an atheist.

           I do not believe in supernatural power. I believe in the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, and others.

          But that’s not the point.

          How did it happen that in our society to own up to being an …

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“Agashki” and “bratishki”.

       Here, in Kazakhstan there is such phenomenon, as “agashki” and “bratishki”.

       “Agashka” is not an “elder brother” or an “uncle” from the word “aga”. “Agashka” is a patron, protector.

       “Bratishka” is not a “younger brother”. It is a protégé, guarded.

       I have nothing against such relationship. They exist …

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A palette of qualities

          Eight-year-old son is keen on drawing watercolors. There are multicolored tubes with paints and a palette in front of him. A father is reading a newspaper next to him.

        – Dad, – the son suddenly asks, – is Uncle Akhmet a good man?

        – Well … I …

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