Тәуелсіздік күні (Independence Day)

On December 16th, 1991 Kazakhstan became it's own nation, it was formally the KSSR (Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic) under the USSR. During the Russian reign since the mid 18th century, there were many projects on Kazakh soil, including infamous nuclear testing sites in the northeast. Here is a comprehensive outline of Kazakhstan's Independence that I got from orexCA.com. 

"On 16^th December, 1991 Kazakhstan adopted the Constitutional Law on the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2001 Kazakhstan celebrated the 10^th anniversary of its independence.

Kazakhstan is a very young independent state. But during this short period, large-scale institutional changes have occurred in the country. The people of Kazakhstan voted for a presidential form of government. A two-chamber Parliament was established, a court system created, the new capital determined. Fundamental national legislation was passed on the economy, social security and security. More recently, executive powers such as the Armed Forces, the Republican Guard, the Frontier Troops and the Navy were created.

There are 16 political parties and over 2,500 non-governmental organizations in the country, ensuring political plurality and social stability.

Selected landmarks of the creation of Kazakhstan:

25^th October 1990 - Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR.

5^th October 1991 - People's Party Congress of Kazakhstan.

16^th October 1991 - Law on elections of President of Kazakh SSR.

10^th December 1991 - The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic is renamed the Republic of Kazakhstan.

16^th December 1991 - Law on elections of the President of the Kazakh SSR.

Today and tomorrow I have no work. Many kids were setting off small fireworks in the streets and most everyone had shortened classes. There were also many concerts in the kazakh schools celebrating only the 19th year of independence. Kazakhstan is such a young independent nation even though the history of the land goes back to ancient times. It's amazing what a name and a few boundaries can do for a nation's state of mind. 

Today my family and I went to a large celebration at a very nice cafe in Zhezkazgan. They served us plovf and yes, horse meat. I only tried a tiny bit because, one i'm not a huge fan of meat in the first place, and two, I knew I might get sick from not being used to it. Horse meat in this country is so expensive and prized. They especially love the liver and intestines. Subsequently, the word liver in Kazakh is бауыр [baou- ur]. This word also is used to describe a close person, or жакын адам [zha-kan  a-dam]. So if you want to say "my daughter or my son or my close friend, you can call them a liver. Very кузык [kuh-zuk] or interesting. There is another word I learned that is also a weird way to say "to be irritated". Lungs in Kazakh is өкпе [ook-peh], and the verb, to be irritated is өкплеу [ook-peh-leyoo]. Why did they decide that "to be irritated" needed to come from the word for lungs? Maybe because we waste breathe with people we are upset with? Whatever the reason is, I find these kind of associations to be the most amusing part of learning a new language. It is fun to learn these kind of different word combinations in this language and there are plenty to find, that's for sure. I will post again soon.