Almas Yeskenov

Irish Diaries, part 4: Searching for my Galway Girl

2022-02-26T09:08:35.950Z

On the last weekend of February, falling on the sixtieth day of the leap year and the first day of spring, I decided to travel to Galway, one of Ireland's most popular tourist towns. Despite a storm warning, a complete lack of a plan and some unforeseen circumstances, the trip was atmospheric in its own way and was another unusual experience gained during my time in the land of the green clover.

Quay Street

This article was originally published in Russian on May 04 2020. Mostly translated by deepl.com (Free version)

Where is Galway?

Galway is the sixth most populous city in Ireland and is located in the western part of the country. Despite its small population, Galway is rightly considered a town of fun ("Party Town") with many different cafes, restaurants and of course, pubs. It hosts a wide variety of events and festivals. For 2020, Galway has been chosen as the European Capital of Culture, along with Croatia's Rijeka.

I should probably start by saying that this trip was full of spontaneous decisions. I left for Galway in the afternoon and it wasn't until I got on the bus that I found out that a "Red Weather Alert" had been declared for the region with high winds and the risk of minor flooding. The weather in town was indeed rainy, but the storm seemed to have abated a bit by the time I arrived.

As a true budget tourist, I had pre-booked one of the cheapest hostels on booking.com. For €18 I rented a bunk in a 4-bed room and amazingly, breakfast was included. The hostel was very cosy and was located on the touristy Quay Street, which is full of various cafes and pubs. As such, even though there was a storm warning, you could hear the noise of the Irish partying in the street at night, but for €18 I wasn't expecting any noise isolation. The hostel had a very nice lounge room with an artificial fireplace, guitar and even a pool table. It was standard to have cereal for breakfast, make yourself toast with butter and jam and drink coffee or orange juice.

Hostel's lounge room. Photo from booking.com

A Modern Movement #2

As on my previous trip to Cork, I decided to attend a music event and so found a random concert on eventbrite.com beforehand. The ticket cost €10.85 and in the best Irish tradition the concert was held in one of the local pubs. The musical evening brought together various Irish alternative artists, and I, as a person who knows nothing about live music, liked it in principle.

One of the bands performing at the festival

City

As I had mentioned earlier, I had no practical plans for this trip, and on the second day I mostly just wandered around town looking for something interesting. Before the trip I had put together a small list of places to visit, which included the city museum, the market and a few other attractions. On arriving at the museum, I found out it wasn't open and then made a futile attempt to find a street bazaar. As in other Irish cities I have visited, Galway has practically no high-rise buildings and has a comparatively large number of medieval buildings-bridges, churches and small castles. Walking around the town, I also noticed that there are a very large number of shops selling handmade wool products. Plain and designer jumpers, scarves, toys, slippers and blankets are all made from the finest Irish sheep's wool.

Galway Cathedral

One of the wool shops

Food

Separately, I'd like to talk about my gastronomic adventures. Before my trip to Galway, I searched for vegetarian restaurants beforehand and with my limited student budget I was only able to eat at two places. On the first day, I had dinner at The Gourmet Offensive, a small cosy falafel bar with a very pleasant interior. The second day I went to The Dough Bros, a family-run pizzeria ranked in the top 100 best restaurants in Ireland. For €11 I got a veggie pizza called Hey Pesto, cooked in an authentic Neapolitan style (or so it just looked to me).

This is what a €11 pizza looks like

Galway Mosque

One of the top places to visit on my list was the Galway Mosque - Maryam Mosque, named after the mother of Prophet Isa (a.s.). After having a hearty breakfast, taking the bus, driving 20 minutes to the outskirts of the city and walking around the area several times in search of an entrance, to my great regret I discovered that the mosque was closed.

Maryam Mosque

Kazakh Hospitality

On the first day of the trip I got in touch with Miss Kuralai, a Kazakh woman who married an Irishman and lives in Galway. I met her at the house of Miss Anel, a Kazakh woman living in Limerick, who had previously invited me to manti. On the second day, I stopped by to say hello and thought I would just have tea and head back to Limerick. On arriving at her house I met her children, to whom they had given their Kazakh names, Daniyar and Gaukhar. Both, despite their young age, are Liverpool fans, and I, remembering the names of every English football team I know, tried to keep up a dialogue about the English Premier League table which they follow quite actively. After my last cup of tea, I was already thinking of going home, but Kuralai Khanim decided to show me Dunguaire Castle, one of the local attractions. After introducing me to her husband and treating me to a home-cooked meal, she walked me to the bus stop and only after waiting with me for the bus to Limerick, she said goodbye and wished me a pleasant journey home. Despite the fact that we barely knew each other, she showed hearty Kazakh hospitality, and left the best impression of the trip.

Conclusion

All in all, this is how I spent my second and essentially last trip to Ireland (The rest of the trips and plans fell through due to the COVID-19 epidemic). Galway is a very interesting and cozy city, which is sure to please fans of music festivals and pubs. In a day and a half in the city I did not have time to visit all the local attractions, and to fully experience the atmosphere of the city. To sum up my trip, I would say that it's probably better to go to Galway in large groups, preferably by planning your route in advance, or renting a car to be able to visit the surrounding villages and towns, and enjoy the beauty of the Irish nature.

Travel & quarantine during pandemic

2022-02-26T08:41:52.966Z

Well, due to some circumstances, I decided to fly from Ireland to Hong Kong after all. Given that flying during a pandemic is quite an adventure, I decided to share my experience, as well as the details of my home quarantine in Hong Kong.

Original article was published in Russian on April 22 2020. Mostly translated with deepl.com (free version).

Aviation in a pandemic

I should probably start by saying that during a global pandemic, the air passenger industry is going through its worst period in decades. Passenger traffic at many international airports has fallen by at least half (compared to the same period last year) and from the looks of it, this is only the beginning.

I flew to Hong Kong on a Qatar Airways (QA) flight from Dublin to Doha to Hong Kong. I got two interesting bonuses during my airfare purchase. The first, the airline launched a promo code called TRAVELHOME, which allows one-way flights to be purchased at a 10% discount. The second, in gratitude for the trust placed in me in such difficult times, was a $100 voucher which can be used to buy a ticket until December 15 of this year.

ICAO forecasts for international passenger air travel for the first half of 2020

Airports

Passenger numbers are kept to a minimum at all airports. There are virtually no queues and you are asked to keep a two-metre distance everywhere. Duty Free shops are closed at all three airports but Doha and Hong Kong airports do have some food outlets. It's just like in post-apocalyptic movies, where all the shops are closed and there are hardly any passengers in the huge airports. Since many countries open and close borders very frequently, during check-in staff are very careful to check all documents and in my case I had to wait about twenty minutes for them to call the Hong Kong office to make sure I wouldn't be turned back at passport control.

Dublin Departure flights for April 20

Doha Airport

Flights

There were about 20-30 passengers on both flights and it seems to me that even though the airlines make their main profit from carrying cargo rather than selling tickets, they still either fly at zero or at a loss. At first I thought we would be seated further away from each other, spread out in different parts of the plane. On the flight from Dublin to Doha, all economy class passengers were fully packed in the back of the plane and the front rows were completely empty. Perhaps this was done for the purpose of proper weight distribution, or it is easier for the airlines to clean up after passengers this way. One empty seat was left between passengers seated on the same row in order to maintain the proper seating arrangement. On the flight from Doha to Hong Kong, one passenger per row was seated, making exceptions for people flying together. All aircrew were wearing masks and gloves and, in addition to the standard QA safety briefing video, also ran a video on proper hand washing and the importance of social distancing.

Doha - Hong Kong flight

Quarantine

At the end of March, Hong Kong imposed a ban on the entry of foreigners, making exceptions for certain categories of people, which include holders of work and student visas. Upon arrival in Hong Kong everyone fills out a standard medical form. The interesting thing is that it can be filled out online in advance and you can simply show a QR code instead of a paper form. After arrival everyone is tested for the virus, and if you indicate on the form that you have any symptoms, you are immediately taken to the hospital. The tests for the test take place in a separate facility near the airport, where you will be taken by bus. Before you take the test, all the necessary procedures are carefully explained to you and a video is shown with instructions on how to spit in the test container correctly. After the test you have to undergo a mandatory two-week home quarantine with a special wristband, but people arriving or staying in particularly infected regions are quarantined in a hospital (UPDATE: From April 22 until the test results are announced, all visitors will be checked in a hotel). After taking the test and receiving the bracelet, you can go straight home and activate the tracker via an app on your smartphone upon arrival. A few details about the tracker:

Officially, they ask you to wear the tracker at all times until the end of quarantine, but since it is not sealed, there is nothing to stop you from taking it off (Either this is an oversight, or the government just trusts its citizens).
The mobile app for the tracker was produced in collaboration with local startup Compathnion Technology Limited (It's cool that the local startup community can do its bit in the fight against the virus too)
Judging by the fact that the tracker can simply be thrown away after quarantine (as the instructions for use say), it's pretty cheap.

Bracelet tracker

On the 12th day of quarantine, you need to retake the tests and for this you are given a special container in advance to spit into and take to one of the nearby hospitals. The container can be handed over through family and friends who live with you, or you can pay HK$100 and call a courier (here again, the government is helped by local start-ups, whose apps can be used to order this service). The nice thing is that almost all the processes are fine-tuned, and at all stages of the process all employees take the utmost precaution. According to the latest data, the Hong Kong measures are quite effective, as there were no new cases in the city on March 20 and all the new cases found afterwards were imported (i.e. found from people who came back to Hong Kong). If the trend continues, maybe after May 5 the government will relax the social distancing rules.

The post-Instagram era in Kazakhstan: How the popular social network shaped society, business, media and political life in the country.

2022-02-26T07:30:26.748Z

Credits: https://www.behance.net/gallery/57578071/Instagram-addiction

Instagram has been around for about 10 years, but in the last few years it has become one of the most popular social networks in the world. Despite being only second most popular social network in Kazakhstan, Instagram is a versatile and quite important platform for most Kazakhstanis. In this post, I would like to look at how Instagram has influenced various aspects of life in Kazakhstan, namely social, business, media and political life.

This text was originally written in Russian on March 11 2020. Mostly translated with deepl.com (Free version).

Social

Social lift

Perhaps, the biggest change that Instagram has brought to our lives is the way it has become a social lift that can easily make you the new internet sensation. Of course, even before Instagram came along, video hosting platforms and social networks like Facebook and VKontakte had long ago cemented the concepts of influencer and blogger. But it was after the appearance of the vine.com platform and the subsequent popularization of a new category of content, which we now call vines, that the entire world, and Kazakhstan as well, gained another category of stars - "viners". Over the past few years, we saw a huge number of individual and group vine projects. Many bloggers who once started making vines as a hobby now have a multi-million audiences and are professionally engaged in the production of entertainment content for their pages, all while making good money.

The number of followers and likes on social media, and Instagram in particular, has become a new form of social capital that for some people has become an indicator of their importance and influence. It is important to mention that in November last year, Instagram stopped showing the number of likes under other users' posts. In the early years, users used to post simple snapshots from their everyday lives without any fuss, but today people spend a huge amount of time processing their photos and videos and even more time writing the most pathetic and insightful descriptions for their posts, which are sure to emphasise their personality.

Resolving social issues

As befits a popular social network, Instagram has also become a tool to help draw the audience's attention to various social issues. For Kazakhstan's progressive youth, Instagram has become a platform where they can express their discontent with the conservative values of Kazakh society through their posts. Postings with hashtags like #uyatemes (not shameful) have declared a revolt against traditional foundations and became some sort of tool to fight for freedom of expression. The recent uproar over the situation with the singer @dequiine drew public attention to the problem of sexual harassment, and it is thanks to Instagram that this topic has gained such a public resonance. Eco-activists have been able to create pages and raise public interest around environmental issues, think @auagroup for example.

Charity

Charity could probably be covered under community issues and movements as well, but I still decided to put it in a separate category. Thanks to Instagram's ease of use and accessibility, a large number of different charitable and social projects have appeared on Instagram, making the lives of thousands of people a little better. Hundreds of pages have appeared on Kazakhstan's Instagram to raise funds for ill people who cannot afford treatment abroad. With the support of popular bloggers, projects like @asarume have sprung up to help build homes for families in need.

A new pool of professionals

It is thanks to the enormous popularity of vines that a large number of young professionals who are engaged in the production of photo and video content have begun to emerge in Kazakhstan. In the past few years, video production has reached a professional level and a large number of young professional directors, producers and cameramen have stepped forward. Young professionals in marketing have also begun to appear, and in general, it's the popularization of Instagram in Kazakhstan that has awakened the interest of young people in the industry.

Media

The main channel for attracting traffic

Instagram has become the main channel for attracting traffic for a huge number of news portals and media resources. Almost all of Kazakhstan's large news portals and popular publications have their official Instagram pages, and actively use them to attract audiences to their main websites.

New media and artists

It is worth noting that the popularization of Instagram has led to the creation of new media resources. The most famous example is Salem Social Media, a media resource that specialises in creating entertainment content. Although most of their content is created for YouTube, it is their collaborative projects with viners and their Instagram page @salemvines that has propelled them to popularity. Separately, it is also worth mentioning the attempts of Instagram projects such as @yuframe and @batyroff to become media groups, who have tried to launch a huge number of different YouTube projects and even started their own music labels, "YuMusic" and "Batyroff_Label".

Instagram has become a very important platform for illustrators and artists who have gained massive popularity through their pages on this social network. Illustrators and artists like @qantars and @muratdilmanov and internet comics like @shapalaque have gained mass popularity. For example, you can read about @kanat_n, who thanks to his Instagram page has received offers from Nickelodeon and Disney.

Impact on other social networks

To some extent, Instagram has influenced the development of other social networks and platforms. The emergence of the Telegram channels of popular Instagram stars has made its own small contribution to the popularization of Telegram in our country. Two years ago, the portal hommes.kz compiled a rating of popular Kazakh Telegram channels where the top five were the channels of Instagram stars (the situation didn't change much in the last two years). YouTube channels of popular Vine projects have also contributed to the development of this video hosting in our country. (For some reason, I immediately remembered the Irina Kairatovna Show, which initially mocked popular viners for starting to create YouTube channels en masse, but eventually created an Instagram page themselves (Correct me if that wasn't the case). Of recent examples, we can think of TikTok, which also became popular because of Instagram reposts.

Business

Traditional business

Just as with traditional media, businesses in Kazakhstan have begun to making their Instagram pages en masse in recent years. Every self-respecting business now actively maintains its own page which in some of them serves as a landing page, customer support and even an online shop. Signs and names of businesses with Instagram-nicks have become something commonplace, and asking establishments to publish a story or create a post for a small discount doesn't seem as a something impolite.

Instagram business

Besides enriching themselves through promotional posts and business partnerships, Instagram bloggers have been active in starting their own offline businesses, which instantly become popular because of their online audience. The most common of these are catering businesses and beauty salons. Some examples: @zhekas_doner_house, @yuframe_burger, @space.astana, @oks.beauty. It is interesting that according to my observations the trend of opening their own business exists only in Kazakhstan and CIS countries, while abroad, most Instagram Influencers focus on selling their own merchandise. From examples known to me the most successful Kazakh Instagram-blogger, who started his own merch, is Beibit Alibekov (@alibekovkz and @alibekovstore).

Separate attention should be given to Instagram-stores that sell various goods ranging from Korean cosmetics to copies of watches and trainers. Instagram and other social media have, to some extent, lowered the market entry bar, reducing customer acquisition costs. When opening any goods shop, the biggest problem has always been attracting customers, and now, thanks to the wild popularity of Instagram in Kazakhstan, even people far from business have started trying to open Instagram stores.

Content marketing and personal branding boom

The popularity of Instagram in Kazakhstan has raised the bar in terms of social media advertising. Ordinary product photos and videos have long become boring and businesses have started using content marketing. Catering establishments, educational centres and various shops are actively releasing their video content that is entertaining and informative.

Also with the popularization of Instagram, users have begun to think more about personal branding. In order to increase the number of clients, Kazakh entrepreneurs began to actively maintain their Instagram pages, where they talk about their personal life and business. It is worth noting that personal branding has become popular not only among celebrities and entrepreneurs, but also among ordinary users. "Highly successful" entrepreneurs have begun to launch their own entrepreneurial courses, where they teach people the basics of building a successful business, SMM and working with government tenders.

Political life

Government recognition

Infiltrating every aspect of our lives, Instagram, as a social network, has also gained recognition from the government. Last year, incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that social media had become a major source of information, and urged officials to pay special attention to working with it. On April 1 last year, he created his Instagram page, which now has more than a million followers. Mayors and other servants of the people have actively started using their Instagram pages, including for monitoring political sentiment in the country.

One of the indicators of the importance of the recognition of Instagram as a social network, and of viners as Influencers, can also be pointed out by their presence at the opening ceremony of the Year of Youth last year, where @yuframe project manager Rasul Abdullayev came up with the idea of creating a marketing ministry.

Speaking of politics and Instagram, one cannot help but mention Gabidulla Abdrakhimov, the former mayor of Shymkent, who lost his credibility after publishing a video from London on his page. The case is an example of how a spontaneous Instagram post can impact a political career in Kazakhstan.

Opposition and new movements

The opposition, just like the current government, actively uses Instagram. The most famous example is the page of fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov. According to some publications, it was because of his live broadcasts that various social networks were blocked in the evenings for months in Kazakhstan.

It is also worth mentioning the #MenOyandym (I'm awake) movement, which went viral on Kazakhstan's Instagram space last year. Various movements for political reforms, such as @oyanqazaqstankz, also conduct their activities mainly through Instagram. In general, probably it should be said that the main political activity in Instagram is created by young people, and it is because of the speed and convenience, this politically active youth has some influence on the situation in the country. One example is last year's presidential election. It was through the frequent updates of independent observers on Instagram that people were able to learn about the numerous irregularities at the polling stations, and thus influence the transparency of the elections.

5 perks available for students in Hong Kong

2022-02-26T06:30:10.677Z

During my 2.5 years studying in Hong Kong, I realised that there is a huge number of facilities for students that have become something commonplace for us. In this selection, I've put together five of them that make life a lot easier and help save money.

Logos of 10 Hong Kong universities (8 of them UGC funded). Source: Google

1. Universities via CSL

Universities via CSL is a Wi-Fi network run by CSL, one of Hong Kong's big cellular operators. The network is mainly available at MTR stations, but there are also phone boxes in the city that are also access points. To connect to the network, students log in via university email addresses. It might be worth mentioning that free public Wi-Fi networks are also available in metro stations and on some buses, but Universities via CSL is much faster and more convenient.

2. Notebook ownership program

At the beginning of each year, most (if not all) Hong Kong universities launch a "Notebook Ownership Program", a programme where students can buy a laptop, tablet, and various peripherals at a very good discount. Each university partners with different companies, so the choice of equipment varies from university to university. In addition to the discount, some laptops also come with different gifts. For example, Apple laptops usually also come with a case, film, adapter and printer or clicker.

3. Microsoft Office & other software

Throughout their studies, all students have access to Office 365 which includes Office, PowerPoint, Excel and other software. At our university these can be installed on up to 5 devices. In addition to this, universities also provide free antimalware software, and other programs, a list of which can usually be found on the university's tech support site (At our university, students in the computer science department also have access to Microsoft Azure).

4. Library subscriptions

Libraries in universities in Hong Kong, of course, deserve a separate post. In addition to access to the huge databases and the possibility of ordering books from the libraries of other institutions, they offer subscriptions to various publications and services. Our library gives full access to The New York Times and the PressReader application, where you can read about 7000 different newspapers and magazines published in 60 countries.

5. Overseas trips insurance

The university provides students travelling abroad for various activities and programmes (including academic mobility) with free travel insurance. The insurance is available for all students, and is active during foreign trips organised by the university. Most universities in the world probably have something similar, but I can't help but say that it is unspeakably convenient. The biggest convenience is that it helps a lot in the visa application process, in which having insurance is usually a must.

Extra: MTR Subsidy Scheme

Off the list, I've also decided to mention the government transport subsidy, which is available to all public transport users. Generally speaking, students can get a student travel card, with which underground rides cost half as much. However, people who spend more than HKD 400 (~20000 KZT) per month on public transport (including buses) may get one-third of the exceeded amount back on the card (subsidy is capped at HKD 400). The best part is that the entire transaction can easily be done via a mobile app.

Irish Diaries, part 3: Trip to Cork

2022-02-26T06:22:17.217Z

Throughout February a local bus operator was offering a €10 discount to students, and as a cheap student I couldn't pass up such an opportunity. I decided to go to Cork, Ireland's second largest city, with a population of over 210,000 people. The distance between Limerick and Cork is about 100 kilometres and it takes about two hours by bus.

This post was originally written in Russian on February 24 2020. Mostly translated with deepl.com (Free version).

First impression

I should probably start off by saying that I haven't technically travelled to any city in Ireland yet, so I have nothing to compare Cork with. In Dublin I have only been to the airport and the hotel, and I have only been to Limerick itself, which is kind of where my university is, three times, so I haven't had much time to walk around. Cork is a very small city, so I walked around the city, and in 1.5 days I managed to walk about 14 kilometres. At the train station in Limerick I made a small checklist of places to visit, and when I arrived to the city I just opened Google Maps and started with the nearest attraction. So, the first places I visited in the city were two vintage shops. The first shop had a huge selection of different things, from typewriters, crockery, old pianos to various elements of decor. The second shop had mainly books and women's clothes, and there I decided to buy the book "451 degrees Fahrenheit", which only cost me 2 euros.

First shop - Mother Jones Flea Market

Second shop - Vintage market

Cork - the food capital of Ireland

Cork is often referred to as the gastronomic capital of Ireland, and by some as a separate state, the People's Republic of Cork. The former is most likely because of the huge number of cool cafés and restaurants (including vegetarian restaurants), and because there are so many different farms near Cork that you can always find fresh, organic, locally produced produce in the city. There is also a market in the city that has become a tourist attraction - The English Market. The market is very atmospheric and interesting and there is a famous café on the first floor which serves traditional Irish dishes. One of them is Irish pudding (Irish 'white pudding' is a sausage made from pork and oatmeal, and 'black pudding' is a sausage with pig's blood added).

The English Market outside

The English Market inside

Cork - the city of bridges

Cork is built on two canals of the River Lee and so there are more than 30 bridges in the city. As in Limerick, most buildings in Cork are three or four storeys high. The first mentions of Cork date back to the 6th or 7th centuries, when a monastery was founded on the city's grounds. Although the city is relatively small, there are many different churches and cathedrals. There are also a large number of different brand shops in the city centre.

St. Fin Barre's Cathedral

Fountain on one of the central streets

Cork at night

"Right here right now" festival

During my trip to Cork there was a music festival called 'Right here right now', which I found out about on the way to the city. On the bus I picked out and bought one of the tickets for Saturday's Anna Mieke concert as part of the festival, but I had no idea who the performer was or which songs she was playing. The ticket said it was taking place at the Cork Opera House, but it turned out to be in a small pub inside, the entrance to which is not marked in any way, and is in the back. Despite the fact that there were at most 10 chairs and 4 tables, the concert was very atmospheric indeed. The opening act was by Big Children, who played their own songs. To give you an idea of the genre Anna Mieki sings in, here is a youtube video.

Big Children

On the second day I walked around town to the local university, University College Cork, which was founded in 1845. The university has a very large area, and is often mentioned in the list of recommended places to visit on various tourist portals.

One of the buildings oon UCC campus

The university also has a gallery named after Lewis Glucksman. Unfortunately, I couldn't visit it.

Hostel & budget

I really hoped that someone will pick me up on couchsurfing.com, left an application there, and even wrote to some people asking to stay with them for one night. Not getting a response, the night before the trip I booked a place in a hostel for 26.5 euros. On the first day I had a vegetarian burger for €4.3 at McDonald's (honestly, I didn't like the burger at all), had a falafel dinner at Istanbul Kebab and took a burger to go, all together for €12. On the second day I had tea and a muffin at the "plant-based" café on the seafront for €6. The ticket for Anna Mieke's concert cost 11.5 euros. In total, with the round-trip ticket, which cost 8 euros, it cost me 68.3 euros, which is a lot for such a small trip.

8-bed room at the hostel

Summary

In summary, Cork is a very interesting and colourful city with its own unique atmosphere. Due to dietary restrictions, I wasn't able to appreciate the gastronomic palette of the city, but judging from the signage, many local establishments are considered the best in the whole of Ireland in their category. It's possible to visit all the attractions in a day if you plan the trip in detail, but I find it's impossible to get completely absorbed in the atmosphere of the city in one day, so I usually plan trips that last at least two days.

Huge respect if you read the post to the end.

Irish Diaries, part 2: That famous accent, pubs on campus and Kazakhs in Ireland

2022-02-26T00:52:12.549Z

My third week in Ireland is just about to end, and in this post I decided to tell you a little about the Irish accent, the huge university campus and how I got to know the local Kazakhs.

The post was originally written in Russian on February 17 2020. Mostly translated with deepl.com (Free version).

Irish accent

During the three weeks I lived in Ireland I've had more than enough of Irish accent. First of all, as in many countries around the world, it varies from region to region. According to various videos on YouTube, even in Dublin they have two different accents. Secondly, it's not all bad. I had no trouble at all in most of the lectures, but in one lesson I did struggle to understand what was being said.

Saoirse Ronan teaching Stephen an Irish Accent

A huge campus

After Hong Kong, the most unusual thing is that the campus is huge, and every time I can't help imagining how many buildings Hong Kong universities could have built on it (CUHK doesn't count). Most unexpectedly, there are two pubs on campus where you can have a pint of Irish beer in between classes and hang out in the evening (one of them has a DJ - a 60-something grandpa who's been playing mostly the same tracks for a few years).

Campus map. Red buildings are student hostels, yellow ones - study blocks

I think I've counted about 3-4 fountains on campus

Glucksman Library, a size of about 3 blocks of HKBU

Department of Physical Education

Because of the weather conditions between some blocks there is an analogue of SkyWalk analogue from Nazarbayev University (more a pathetic parody, of course).

Academics

For this semester I've enrolled on 6 courses (or modules, as they are called here), which is a lot by local standards (the average exchange student takes 4-5). The most interesting thing is that I was able to fit all 6 courses into three days (Monday to Wednesday), as some modules have only two hours of lectures per week.

IT Portals

Let's start with the fact that there are too many of them. There is a separate general student portal where I can see my study progress, enter bank details for tuition fees and etc. There is also a separate timetable portal where I can see the timetable for the individual modules (with a decent amount of mistakes), a personalised timetable and information about classes and exams. In order to find out information about a module, you need to go to a separate website book of modules, and do a shitload of operations to get information about the course, among which there is nothing about the assessment method. There is also a separate portal "sulis", which is a platform for interaction between lecturers and students. The Computer Science department probably decided not to bother with this system, so many professors there use good old moodle (which HKU, EduHK, LingnanU, HKBU and even NU use).

This is how "sulis" looks (in case you're interested)

Kazakhs in Ireland

On the third day in Ireland, thanks to @madlennqu, I found out that a graduate student Aigerim had also come to the University of Limerick and immediately arranged a meeting with her. I thought that would be the end of my contact with Kazakhs in Ireland, but it wasn't. Last week I got on facebook and found the group "Kazakh Society in Ireland", and I wrote there that I came to Limerick for a semester, an exchange student, etc. As it turns out, there are about 100 Kazakhs in Ireland (according to a WhatsApp group), among them there are students and expats working in the local offices of big corporations, as well as women who married Irish men and moved here. One of them is Miss Anel, who immediately wrote me that she has lived in Limerick for fifteen years and invited Aigerim and me to her house for Sunday manti (traditional Kazakh dumplings). She also invited some Kazakh friends from other cities and in three hours we enjoyed vegetarian manti and baursak, told our stories and discussed a myriad of topics ranging from the problems of Kazakhstani tourism to Ireland's education system. As it turned out, students and local Kazakhs organise a Nauryz gathering in Dublin every year, and it seems this year will be no exception.

I completely forgot to take a picture together, so here's a picture of the vegetarian manti

On that note, I'll probably end part two of the #IrishDiaries. If you notice any mistakes in the text, please email me (@yeskenov). Huge respect if you read this post to the end.

So fresh: 15 Netflix Originals released this year

2022-02-26T00:32:19.339Z

Netflix has been heavily investing in creating original content over the last few years, and in the first months of 2020, the platform has already seen a fair amount of new films and TV series that you might be interested in. In this post I've compiled 15 new releases, including the provocative Messiah, a documentary about Taylor Swift, a new Sci-Fi series and more.

This post was originally written in Russian on February 08 2020. Mostly translated with deepl.com (free version)

1. The Pharmacist
A documentary mini-series about an ordinary pharmacist from Louisiana who, after losing his son, begins his own investigation into his murder and then investigates the massive pharmaceutical lobby and opioid epidemic in his own state. The story is about an ordinary man struggling with a major problem and is rated as a must-see for fans of documentaries of this format.

IMDB: 8.1 / Kinopoisk: - (Please note that the series only came out on February 5)

2. Messiah
The story is about a CIA agent who begins to investigate a man who calls himself the Messiah and claims to have saved Damascus from an Islamic State raid. The series, as openly stated by the author, is provocative and acclaimed by one of my best friends, so it's probably worth your attention.

IMDB: 7.8 / Kinopoisk: 7.4

3. October Faction (Season 1)

Based on the popular comic book series, the series is about two teenage twins who find out that their parents don't actually work for an insurance company but for a monster extermination organisation. Kind of like Men in Black with elements of family drama. In spite of a very good trailer, the series fails to catch on after watching the first episode, so I safely abandoned it.

IMDB: 6.1 / Kinopoisk: -.

4. Airplane Mode

A Brazilian film about an online influencer girl who is sent by her parents to a village without internet, where she is likely to discover the joys of a simple life and find true love. Started to watch it, but closed it because of the terrible English audio sync (Maybe they'll fix it soon). Judging by the reviews, it's a regular budget flick, but may be enough to pass the weekend.

IMDB: 5.1 / Kinopoisk: -

5. Rise of Empires: Ottoman

A documentary mini-series which details Mehmed II's campaign to conquer Constantinople. It is the rare case where the documentary is truly epic and interesting, so I can safely recommend it for viewing.

IMDB: 8.2 / Kinopoisk: -.

6. Miss Americana

A documentary about Taylor Swift that talks about the difficulties she faced on her ascent to Olympus, sexism, her political views, controversial image in the media and much more. The director is said to be quite good, so it's easy to watch and overall quite interesting in its own right (at least that's what I read).

IMDB: 7.6 / Kinopoisk: 7.4

7. Cagaster of an Insect Cage (Anime)

In the story, a disease has been raging in the world for thirty years, turning people into huge insects. The story is about an exterminator named Kido, who is asked by a dying man to help his daughter find her mother. The anime has 3D graphics and judging by the number of reviews, it's not very popular yet.

IMDB: 6.5 / Kinopoisk: -.

8. Locke & Key

Based on a popular graphic comic book, the series tells the story of the Locke family, who, after the brutal murder of their father, move into an abandoned family home and try to start a new life. In the house, the children discover magical keys and then an evil monster hunts for those keys. Mystery, elements of horror and family drama. Possibly has the potential to become the new under-the-radar series.

IMDB: 8.0 / Kinopoisk: - (The series was released on February 7, so the rating is still raw)

9. Pandemic: How to prevent an outbreak

A documentary mini-series about the people who are contributing to the fight against different types of influenza and trying to prevent future global outbreaks. Symbolically, the series was released right around the time of the 2019-nCov coronavirus outbreak. Not a massive product, but probably will appeal to someone.

IMDB: 6.2 / Kinopoisk: -

10. Ragnarok

A Norwegian-Danish-produced series in which serious climate changes in a small Norwegian town herald a new Ragnarök, which the trailer suggests will be fought by teenagers, who of course are not like everyone else. Elements of Norse mythology, good rating, only six small episodes, probably a really good series.

IMDB: 7.6 / Kinopoisk: 6.78 (Released January 31)

11. Luna Nera

The main character is a teenage girl who discovers that she is destined for an unpleasant fate, as her entire family is of witch lineage (copy-paste from seasonvar). The setting is 17th century Italy, where witches are not particularly favored. Cherry on top - girl's boyfriend is a descendant of the witch hunters. Based on the reviews, not a bad series with a rather uncomplicated plot.

IMDB: 6.2 / Kinopoisk: - (The series was released on January 31)

12. The Stranger

Everything in Adam Price's life goes good on until a stranger comes along who discovers his wife's terrible secret and gets him involved in an even more confusing story. Judging by the reviews, it's a good enough detective thriller, with a minimum of formulaic dialogue and plenty of interesting plot twists. Based on the novel of the same name by Harlan Coben (in case you are familiar with his works).

IMDB: 7.6 / Kinopoisk: -

13. Spinning Out

After a serious injury, a promising figure skater played by Kaya Scodelario (Theresa from "The Maze Runner") gets the opportunity to return to the ice now with a partner, and tries to balance love, family, and shaky mental health (attempt to translate verbatim from IMDB). Judging by the reviews, the series focuses more on the emotional suffering of the main character rather than on the figure skating. If you like different soap operas, you should go for it.

IMDB: 7.8 / Kinopoisk: 6.87

14. My Holo Love (Korean Drama)

The main character, Han So-Yeon, suffers from prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces) and decides to shut herself off from the outside world. But suddenly, she reveals her heart to holographic assistant Holo, whose appearance is based on the developer Ko Nan-do (copy-paste from Kinopoisk). Suddenly, she meets and kisses the developer, and so on.

IMDB: 7.2 / Kinopoisk: - (The series was released on February 7)

15. Uncut Gems

The film was actually first screened at an international film festival back in August 2019, but it only appeared on the streaming platform in 2020, so I added it to this list after all. In the story, Howard Ratner (played by Adam Sandler) is the owner of a small jewellery shop who can't imagine life without betting on games, so he's up to his neck in debt and constantly hiding from creditors (copy-paste from Kinopoisk). The movie has good ratings, and some say it is one of the best performances of Adam Sandler's career.

IMDB: 7.8 / Kinopoisk: 7.3

Irish Diaries, Part 1: Green meadows, cool neighbors and The Ring of Kerry

2022-02-26T00:09:06.786Z

Today is the 12th day since I've arrived to Ireland, and I finally decided to sit down and write a short post about my stay in the homeland of Oscar Wilde and Guinness beer. For those who don't know, I'm currently an exchange student at the "University of Limerick", which is in the suburbs of Limerick, a small town of about two hundred thousand people.

This post was written in Russian back in Feb 06 2020. Mostly translated with deepl.com

First impression

Obviously, like most people, my introduction to Ireland started at the airport. I arrived at Dublin Airport, where from passport control onwards I was imbued with Irish friendliness. The people I came into contact with on the first day were very friendly and helpful, which was unusual at first. I arrived late at night, so I decided to take it easy and spend the night in a guesthouse near the airport, which I had pre-booked on booking.com. The room cost €59, which is a bit pricey, but the hotel was very close to the airport and also included breakfast, so in general, I think it was worth it.

Guesthouse room

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, I boarded a bus to Limerick, which is two hundred kilometres from Dublin. In general, European (Ireland is a member of the European Union, although not part of the Schengen zone) intercity buses are really another level of comfort, they have a toilet, free wifi, power outlets and reclining tables. In the two and a half hours I've had plenty of time to enjoy the view of green Irish meadows, which looks like the wallpaper on Windows XP.

A view from the bus

Hostel and neighbors

Having arrived safely in Limerick, I finally found a university and checked into a hostel. The hostels are organised in a student village format, with four to eight students living in each apartment. As a poor and frugal student living from scholarship to scholarship, I chose the cheapest hostel with eight people living together. Despite the fact that in the preferences I had indicated that I wanted to live in a single-sex hostel, after checking in I was surprised to find out that my roommate was a girl, and then it turned out that there were five girls and only two guys living together. The apartments are two-storey, each floor has four rooms and one bathroom, and one common kitchen on the second floor, which already has all the necessary utensils. The hostels also have a free bicycle hire service, and having heard about it, I immediately took my bicycle and managed to ride 12 kilometres around the city on the first day.

My modest room

Each room is equipped with washbasin

Shared kitchen. There is also a large communal table, a sofa and a TV

I should probably also tell you about my neighbours, who also happen to be very cool guys. A Kazakh, girls from Austria, America, Iceland, Spain and two very positive Germans living under the same roof. In the best European tradition, one guy is gay and one girl is vegan :). All the guys are extremely friendly and before I knew it, during these twelve days I had a chance to go to the cinema with them, attend a few parties, discuss a lot of interesting topics and with a dozen of guys from around the world, cook a lot of different dishes and watch my first Super Bowl.

A trip around the Ring of Kerry

Almost every week the university organises trips to different tourist destinations in Ireland. Last Saturday we toured the Ring of Kerry, a hiking route that takes in local natural and historical attractions. I'm not particularly good at describing the natural beauty, so I'll just share some photos from the trip.

My first pic captured on drone

This will probably be the end of my first post in my "Irish Diaries". In fact, there are lots of things I hope to write about in future posts, ranging from a heavy Irish accent to the details of studying at an Irish university.

My respect if you read this post to the end. :)