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‘Hybrid’ Kids: Identity in the Age of Globalisation
Growing up, I felt like an ugly duckling, an experience with which I am sure many mixed kids can relate. For me, half Russian, half Kazakh, born in Soviet Siberia, raised in Kyrgyzstan, and now an American living in London, identity has always been a complex issue. Even today, when people ask where I am from, it takes me a moment to answer what seems a simple question. While sometimes I long for a strong cultural identity, and one place to call home, I’ve also come to appreciate my unique background, and feeling a true ‘citizen of the world’. Usually you hear that mixed, or ‘hybrid’, kids, born into intercultural…
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Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Return of the Prodigal Daughter
Every time I land in Bishkek, I am filled with mixed feelings – excitement and worry. On one hand I look forward seeing my family and friends, on another – I always wonder: will I connect with the city? Will it recognize and welcome me, the prodigal daughter who has left it in the end of the 1990s? I have visited Bishkek in the last couple years several times. I hardly go to new trendy places and popping everywhere Western-style cafes. Instead, I look for clues to put together in my mind the image of the city I used to know. I have grown up and moved on, so did…
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Travel Across Cultural Borders: Intercultural Marriages
Today I share my observations on travel across not georgraphical but rather cultural borders. As someone who is quite familiar with intercultural relationships and is a product of one, I had to write my thoughts about them. I hope you enjoy my article originally written for AGI Magazine (Dec 2013-Jan issue 2014).
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Cinnamon Culture: a Gastro ‘Spa’ in the Middle of Bromley
My first restaurant review (originally published in AGI magazine, August 2013 issue)!
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Indian Wedding and My New Delhi Adventures
No matter how many guidebooks and blogs you read about India, nothing prepares you for this country of contrasts and contradictions, thrilling experiences and exotics, splash of colour and array of aromas. Spending a week in New Delhi, for my best friend’s wedding, I try to soak it all in. (Originally published in the AGI Magazine October 2012 issue)
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Kenya: Africa’s Untouched Paradise (Part II)
Now that you have read about my Kenya adventures in Part I, here I am sharing some tips on additional places to see and shop. I hope you find them useful! Other places not to miss in Kenya: Mount Kenya – a national park not far from Nairobi. It sits on both sides of the equator at the foothills of the second-highest peak in Kenya – Mount Kenya. The park is home to rich flora and fauna, and wild animals like rhinos, buffalos, lions and leopards can be spotted here. Maasai Mara – the most famous of the national parks in Kenya, located in the southwest of the…
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Kenya: Africa’s Untouched Paradise (Part I)
Time slows down in Kenya while yesterday’s deadlines and the noise of the big megapolis become irrelevant and remote. After a 9-hour flight from London, I finally land in Nairobi, where the sun is scorching and a dry wind blows in my face. Throughout my trip, I try to soak it all in – the amazing landscape, which changes from savannah to green oasis and tropical flora, the sights of exotic animals and birds everywhere, and the diversity of architecture – from giant trade centres to modest huts and street mini-markets. Kenya is a colourful kaleidoscope – a mix of modernity and traditions, exotics and simplicity, different cultures and traditions.…
