Moving day!

This past weekend, I finally moved out of the hotel and over to what will be a home away from home for a while. The move, settling in and shopping for basics meant no time for a post...

The place is called the Rixos Residences, and while it's about 10-12 years old (considered "older" here), it's in decent shape. It has a gym, pool and restaurant in the building, and is attached by walkway to the Khan Shatyr mall -> It's secure, with a front desk staff on 24/7...and the flat security is over the top. Opening the front door is literally like opening a vault:

⇮⇮Finally, a door worthy of Cam Kos, 12 pins top, bottom and side ⇮⇮

And a quick tour:

After moving my 5 hockey bags of gear over, I got settled in, then went to Line Brew for supper with an old Cameco colleague who just moved to Astana as well (sorry dad, wasn't a church, but the chain looks like a ↓medieval church↓, so that counts in my mind).

Sunday was spent shopping - after brunch. A colleague - Nurik - former CEO of some state-run companies, current KAP VP of Strategy (all by age 35), a former professional gamer and very smart dude - took me to the St. Regis hotel for a popular brunch. Was ~CAD$50, with incredible executive chefs prepping whatever you want - pick your steak (tenderloin/NY/strip) - they cut it off -  game hens, shrimp kabobs, crab legs, whatever, too much to name, they grill it up while you pick up the rest - breads cheeses (every kind), shrimp, caviar, fruits, vegetables, name it. And/or pick pasta with exotic sauces - point to the fresh pasta and they cooked it and brought it to the table. Desert area had about 20-30 different exotic tiramasu, mousses, cheesecake, lemon merague...whole thing was unlike anything I've ever seen, maybe if Jeff Bezos opened a Bonanza. And the St. Regis hotel - beyond the Ritz or Shangri-La in Toronto or Four Season in London, and room cost starting around $300/night...that won't get you a drink in the Library Bar in the Toronto Royal York.

After brunch, Nurik graciously took me for a shopping tour since I needed some stuff. Went off the beaten path - to the "locals" mall. Got a duvet, sheet sets, pillows, bathroom decor (soap dispenser, etc) and a ton of hangers, since the flat had none. The selection of everything was impressive - rather than picking from 3 options and the store having 10 in the back, they have 30 options on the floor (beds, couches, sheet sets, whatever) and when you buy it, it's gone. Even Ikea is setup that way. Well kind of Ikea. "Swedmart", where they just import Ikea items (one of each) and offer them for sale!

After getting dropped back off, I hit the mall walkway for some other essentials - coffee maker, water jugs, some tupperware, more hangers...

...thought I'd also get groceries, but had to make two trips. Being stupid, I shopped like I would in Saskatoon, filling my cart with everything I needed - paper towel, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, cloths, etc - and everything I wanted to try (orange infused cold brewed coffee, pickled button squash, horse meat salami and pepperoni, cheeses, random drinks). Considering I was in a grocery store in the basement of a mall, I was drawing stares. Cashier indicated in broken English - "I've never seen a full cart here, how are you getting it home?" I hadn't considered that. After a couple of attempts to hold about 20 grocery bags and explaining to non-English speakers that I was walking up a floor, across the mall and over the catwalk, a greeter-type dude agreed (I think?) to let me take the cart if I promised to bring it back! All worked out well. Settled in for a pirated episode of "The Orville" and dinner.

Learnings for the week:

- I've set all my clocks and phone to 24-hour time, as that's all everyone uses

- I don't have any English channels on my TV
- linens are "just the right size"...sheets and duvet for a king JUST cover the SURFACE of the bed, nothing over the edge and no fitted sheets! (was same at hotel)

- My "washer" is actually a washer/dryer. Load and set it with a single cycle from washed clothes to dried clothes. If only it would fold. Stuff came out wrinkled AF and as I started to iron my pillow cases, I thought "waiiiiit a minute! WTF, I'm the only one here. Screw that. I'll sleep on wrinkled sheets, thanks." I'll iron when Kim comes over in July.

- While the climate is similar, I find the people are not as "hardy" as us Canadians...so I do feel a bit tougher in this weather. Nobody could believe I'd consider walking to work (literally <3 blocks) in my dress coat ("consider"...the driver picks me up. I feel like a tool the entire 2 minute ride, but also don't want to put a dude out of work). People drive to work in Canada Goose jackets. I got a nice sheep wool duvet and the sales person asked Nurik if I had problems with heating in my flat (common). I said no, I sleep with the window open, like I did when in a tent in the winter during my exploration days. She shook her head and said something to the effect of me having brain trauma at some point in my life.

And with that...I'm in...welcome to Kazatomprom...

Week two developments

Experience in Astana continues to be positive - generally as expected, but always a surprise or two with personal reactions ranging from "Huh, that's different", to "WTF".

Driving
I have a driver assigned to me - Vitalii - not a word of English, but we've started to figure out a bit of back-and-forth with Google translate. One of the other expats (there are four of us in the company in various roles) has been here for nearly 2 years, and he indicated that in that time, his driver has not picked up any English...or so the driver says. Driver is probably fluent and listening to everything...but if we ever needed to be protected, they definitely look like "ex-security" types!

Driving is a constant game of chicken. Edge your way in until traffic has to either hit you, or let you in. Lots of lane-splitting - with cars, not bikes - squeeze in between two lanes until they separate and let you through! Once in a while, it's ACTUAL chicken when an oncoming car crosses over the centre line to pass on the left and see how far ahead they can get. Sweetest example was a car wanting to go straight through an intersection, but they were behind a dozen cars that were waiting to turn left...so the one going straight darted out across the centre line into our lane to pass a few left turning cars and then weaved back into its own lane to go straight. Parking is also awesome - just wherever - normal parking lots become a clusterf*ck as people start parking BEHIND the cars parked in normal stalls. Hey, whatever works.

As expected, the majority of cars are fairly "bruised up" - would be a great place for Kavia Autobody to set up shop (speaking of which - 2019 has brought with it not only a change at my end, but my wife has also taken an ownership share in Kavia as of yesterday!)

More on air
Most days are OK, but when the wind stops and the breeze is in the wrong direction, industrial area pollution can move over the city. I added an air quality app to determine if I should open the window over night or not. Thursday was bad, as shown in the pictures - everything smelled like an electrical fire. I was checking the global maps that morning and determined that among US Embassy measuring stations, Astana's air was the worst in the world (worse than China). Thankfully, it's considered rare and even the other expats indicated it was among the worst they seen in years.

Work
My work permit and visa was expected Friday...but the Mayor of Almaty (?) had to move the meeting where the process to approve the use of expats takes place (limited number of slot available). Hoping for Tuesday, because so much depends on that permit. It's required to get an IIN (their social insurance number), which I need to a) file with the tax department so I can open a bank account b) sign a contract with Kazatomprom c) sign off on internal documents d) get paid back for expenses e) sign a lease agreement for an apartment d) even activate a SIM card in a cell phone. Fun stuff.

I'm continuing to navigate insane differences in bureaucracy. Everything regarding decisions needs physical signatures, getting on an agenda for a senior level meeting requires significant documentation and approval by a senior level committee, weeks ahead of time If you're hosting a meeting, there's an expectation you provide minutes prior to the meeting (predicting the meeting's content), which you then edit as the meeting proceeds, reflecting actual content. That then goes back to the meeting attendees for review, comments, and of course, a signature to approve.

Regardless, colleagues are patient in getting me up to speed, many speak English and thankfully, for most meetings, senior folks ask the room if it's ok to proceed in English. Once in a while they do go off in Russian, but after the discussion, they catch me up, so all good. All in all, a great work environment with many young team members leading the new governance, legal, compliance, and financial frameworks required to continue transitioning the company from a state-run focus, to being an international, public company.

My IR team is great and recognize the need to change some aspects of how things are done, so they're hoping I'm able to make the changes! All English (with one actually stronger in French, so that's handy for me to relearn a bit), and all with a solid understanding of IR processes.

Food
Still all great, with new things here and there.

I did need a decent dirty martini yesterday though, so I had to teach the bartender. With the language barrier, I couldn't get the concept of "olive juice" across - only understanding "juice" as being squeeze, so olive oil. Had to go to the kitchen and we worked it out. And they looked at me like I was on crack, using salty brine and olives in mixed drink. Had to use some funky Turkish olives, but it worked...

The event of the week was ordering a burger, which came with black rubber gloves. At first I thought WTF, but actually, in a culture where I've usually shaken about 40 peoples' hands before I get to my office (lobby, elevators, halls, meetings), I guess it makes sense.

My kids also insisted I check McD's for a McHorsey, but no such luck.

Picked up some Starbucks beans for the office barista machine and an americano, and wouldn't you know it, they got my name RIGHT!

Language
It's slow going, but coming along with language lessons soon starting twice a week for an hour over lunch. For now, I'm picking up the basics, including:
Кори Кос (Cory Kos), Доброе утро (Good morning), привет (Hello), Спасибо (thanks) and always important for a Canadian, извиняюсь (sorry), пожалуйста (please, but also "you're welcome"!)

After last week's interesting purchase experience to get a portable phone battery...it went and DIED on me. Initially, I was writing it off - if it took that much to buy, I can only imagine what it would take to return (and I tossed the receipt). But it was too cool to leave - built in cable that worked for both lighting AND android with USB C (have never seen a cable like that)!

Android side                           Apple side

So I took a shot at it...a few language bumps but in the end, handed me a new one and walked out! Thanks Technodom.kz!

Still at the hotel...
Without an IIN, can't sign a lease, so living at the Rixos Hotel. Can't complain, as it's pretty nice and it's to the point that they know how I like my morning coffee. Though I'm starting to have to dig a little deeper into my five packed bags, which I didn't want to unpack too much until I was in a flat, but it just means a little re-packing.

It's an entertaining hotel in the diplomatic area - this week, there appeared to be some kind of rich Turkish heiress-type and her investment banker, meeting with a Russian business woman. From what I could gather (their common language was English), the business woman represented a yacht builder or sales company, and the heiress was negotiating terms for a $15 million boat. Tonight, there were metal detectors and military everywhere, so someone important is about.

I did find a place - just had to fork out a few hundred US to hold it, and a few hundred more to pay the real estate agent (will get paid back...but again, the company can't cover anything until I'm on the books with that IIN!). Will be living in a nice flat (middle tower in picture) - room for the wife and kids when they come over this summer, 2-3 block walk to work, attached to the mall by sky walk, includes pool and gym, cleaning and dry cleaning pickup available with restaurants. Style isn't quite perfect, but based on the ~dozen I looked at, ranging from solid gold color fixtures (including toilet) with purple zebra print walls, to purple and teal couches with water beds...this one fit my requirements perfectly. And the landlord lives next door, working as personal security escort for diplomats in the city.

 

Transition
Obviously some tough days on both sides with the family missing dad and dad missing wife and kids, but overall everyone at home is doing well. The 12-hour difference is actually not too bad for texting, calls and the odd video chat - it seemed harder to communicate when I was doing North American travel, as it was always the busy morning or busy business afternoon times when we were trying to connect.

With that time difference, I was able to catch the Canada-USA gold medal final for the IIHF U18 Women's tournament in Japan last weekend, where Grace Shirley, one of my daughter's Saskatoon Stars teammates was competing on team Canada. Took home gold in OT, and the Japanese announcer's play-by-play did not disappoint - CA-NA-DAAAAAAAAAA!

Here's to hoping week three brings a move to a flat!