KZBlog

Following up on this post about what Americans notice about life in Kazakhstan, Hilary has posted the top 5 cultural tidbits with links to her earlier posts. This final five post hits on some really tricky ones, probably the ones that really show the difference in mentality between Americans and Kazakhs. It is interesting to note when I go home, how much inconvenience is eliminated from life, or how many services and products are advertised because they make life more convenient. Insurance companies assure you that you can go on their site and sign up in 10 minutes, food is advertised as easy to make, and household appliances are loaded with features to make them quieter or to let you press one button instead of two. None of this would sell well in Kazakhstan where inconvenience is seen as a part of life and where people would rather pay less and suffer more than pay more and suffer less.

There’s an old Soviet joke about Khrushchev talking about the Great Socialist future that touches on this a bit. He says that in 5 years, every Soviet citizen will have a huge apartment. In 10 years, every Soviet citizen will have a car. In 20 years every citizen will have a dacha. He is asked when they will have all the food they can eat. “Well,” Khrushchev answers, “in 50 years, they will be able to take their flying cars to the Ukraine and buy as much as they want!”