In november it was official that I would go to Kazakhstan.
In the past 3 months I searched for information about Kazakhstan and Aktau. Kazakhstan is real big country, with different climates. I was pretty happy when I found out that the climate of Aktau isn’t very extreme. Aktau lays in the west of Kazakhstan, near the Caspian sea. In Kazakhstan live about 16 million people (just like in the Netherlands). The mean language is Kazakh, but people speak also Russian. So for Christmas I got books to study Russian.
On the internet I saw many pictures of beautiful buildings in Aktau. But there were also a lot of pictures with sad looking concrete apartments on it. Kazakhstan is a formal USSR country. So I expected that a lot of things would be the same as in Bulgaria and Croatia who I visit before.
I also found out that Kazakh people play a kind of polo, popkar. Not on a nice lawn, but on a bumpy field. The rules aren’t strictly and they don’t use a ball. They use a death sheep or goat. After the match there is a party and they eat the cheap. The idea to eat that cheap made me sick. But on the other hand I was also inquisitive.
Mostly my brother made jokes that I would be kidnapped, that I had to wear a headscarf and live like nomads for the rest of my life.
The first three weeks of my internship took place in Deventer, the Netherlands. In this way it would be easier for me to learn about the project and to get known of the habits’ of the company.
The project:
Beneath the Caspian Sea there are a several oil fields. A co-operation of oil companies invested to create islands in the Caspian Sea. When the islands are completed, they can place there drilling machines on it and drill for oil. Witteveen+Bos is designer and adviser for the co-operation. They make drawings for the set-up of the islands but also make calculations. For example: What kind of Sheet piles do we need? What kind of forces work on it, how big are these forces. They also have to design the set-up and topside of the island: drainage, foundations, water intakes etc.
In the first week I also met Arjan. He is the student who had his trainee in the first half of the school year in Aktau. He was really enthusiastic and couldn’t stop talking about his experience. He gave me use full tips like don’t give attention to taxi drivers on the airport. For fruit and vegetables you go to the market area. And people in Kazakhstan don’t like vodka, so they have a big glass of orange juice with it. But never mix it with the orange juice! Yes, I promise. We ended our conversation traditionally with vodka.
After three weeks Deventer I was ready to go to Kazakhstan. I couldn’t wait any longer!
