Cultural Tidbits: List # 1

I have comprised a list of some cultural "tidbits" that I think will be both therapeutic for me [in the sense that I get to write it all down] and hopefully entertaining for you as well. So, here we go:

# 1: Да, Да, Да [DA]

It is a well known fact that the two languages spoken with the most prevalence in KZ are Russian and Kazakh. What most people say when they end a phone conversation follows the same kind of formula as I mentioned before for other parts of the culture. Most often the response I hear for a plethora of different yes or no questions is not just one YES, but three in a row. DA, DA, DA. It's definitely become a reflex for me now when I call a taxi to come to my apartment, they call back telling me they have arrived and I automatically reply with da,da,da and I hang up the phone. It's also followed with "Da-vai" which stems from the russian verb for "to give". This slang phrase equivocally means something along the lines of "alright" or "OK". In the context of a phone conversation, saying da, da, da. da-vai and hanging up, is the normal sequence of events when ending a cellphone conversation.

So, why bring this up? Why even talk about it? Because EVERYONE here has a cellphone and they are on them constantly. In class, out of class, at home, at the post office while being served, at the dinner table during someone's toast, you name it. This leads me into my next cultural tidbit...

# 2: CELLPHONES

Growing up in the American school system has conditioned me to deem certain times for cellphone use as appropriate, especially as a student. In Kazakhstan, no distinction between inappropriate and appropriate uses exists. I teach in a high school like I've said before and these kids are the WORST when it comes to cellphones in the classroom. No cultural taboo exists for letting your cellphone ring during someone's speech and even answering the phone while the teacher is lecturing is seen as something excusable. I'm not sure where this cultural difference stems from but I'd love to know the source. I usually don't get through one lesson without someone's phone going off, luckily my kids understand now that I don't tolerate it and have finally begun to not answer the phone right there in class. A small concession, but hey you take what you can get.

# 3: No Voicemail

Piggybacking off of the last tidbit, maybe this is where the urgency for answering phones comes from. There is no voicemail in KZ. I should rephrase, you can buy voicemail, but the service providers are a hassle and most people don't see the use for it anyway [at least it's been my experience]. Some landlines carry voicemail but most people just hang up and call back without leaving those messages anyway. So, with no voicemail what happens? The phone can ring for as many times and the person dialing wants it to, there is not cut off. This can lead to one hearing the same loop of lady gaga's poker face 7 or 8 times before the dialer finally gives up. If the ringtone is good it usually goads people into creating an impromptu dance party. Usually some Russian pop song that's been popular for the last 4 or 5 years or a mildly catchy rap song is played over and over and over and over and over and over and over......

# 5: Girl

The word in Russian is девушка [dee-eh-vuh-chk-a]. One cultural norm that I will never get comfortable with is yelling "girl" at waitresses and women in customer service. Anywhere you go, mostly in restaurants, magazines and clothing stores this word flies around like it's a simple greeting. Mainly it's used to get the a woman's attention when something is needed from her, like the check at a restaurant. There is also a subtle difference in the way you use this address. One way is extremely patronizing [which I feel includes any way you use this] and the other is more respectful and almost equates to an "excuse me". I've seen it employed both ways and the reactions are drastically different. Simply amazing. If there are a group of girls together some people may address them as "girls" and this encompasses a "hello", "how are you" and "nice to see you" all in one word. The other way it's employed is with close friends, in Kazakh it's Қыздар [Kuz-dar] and can be used to address the entire group. For example,

Қыздар, таңдайсындар маған! [Kuz-dar, tang-dae-son-dar magr-an]

Girls, Listen to me!

ғ in маған is a gutteral "guh" sound with a soft rolling r, like in French.

More cultural tidbits to come.

Stay Tuned.