So What Does Someone in International Development Do?

I now have an action shot of me at work.

One of the biggest parts of international development work is encouraging people to do the things that they really ought to be doing. In this example, the majority of Tajikistan's population does not have access to safe drinking water. USAID has a project to assist communities with instituting the necessary legal regulations and building the necessary infrastructure.

I represented USAID at the first meeting of a working group dedicated to resolving these issues. My role was to be the American and give a short speech on the importance of the work the group was embarking on. There was a pretty active discussion that followed the speeches and presentation by the head of the state agency responsible for water and sanitation services. The key thing is making sure that discussion turns into actions on the part of the ministries and agencies that need to work together to get the job done.

Tajikistan Update

Even though I forgot to bring the cable to move photos from my camera to my computer, I wanted to post a quick update on how things have been going during my six-week assignment at our country office in Tajikistan.

Work at the country offices tends to be more fast-paced because things can come up much more quickly than we see at the regional office in Almaty. Within the first couple of days here, I was asked to go to a meeting of a group dedicated to improving access to water and sanitation. It was a choice of me going or no one going, so it was nice to have someone there to represent USAID.

This is also the time of year where we start getting our budget allocations for this year. The US Government fiscal year runs from October to September, and we usually don't have our budget approved until Summer. This year was a bit tougher with the near-shutdown of the government, so we go things even later than usual. I helped prepare some documents for projects we plan to do next year, and it was good experience to see how that part of the job goes.

So far, the best part has been representing USAID at the handover ceremonies for a couple of projects that were recently completed. Access to clean water is a problem in the rural areas of Tajikistan, and we helped provide new water piping into two villages in the north of the country. In another village nearby, we helped to renovate a school gym and provided some equipment to a bakery where women learn to bake and sell their goods.

As the guy from AID, I got all the thanks and just had to make speeches at each location. The people in these villages could not have been nicer, and I got a few invitations to have plov (a local rice dish). At the ceremony for the gym, some of the older kids played volleyball, and one of the guys from the local government jumped in and started playing with them. He took a lot of pleasure in spiking the ball and invited me to join. Instead, I took the opportunity to shoot baskets with another guy from the local government. My first shot missed everything but the floor, but my second one swished through. The crowd cheered. That's probably the only time I'll ever get a loud cheer from a crowd for making a basket.

Pictures to come in about three weeks.

Quick Update

I was looking at some older posts, and in the Cinnabon post, I mentioned the possibility of Hardee's opening here in Almaty. I'm very glad to announce that Hardee's opened on Thursday, and I went there for lunch with the folks from the Commerce office.

So good. I actually thought that my trips to Bangkok may not have to be organized around visits to Burger King.

A representative from Hardee's was there at the opening, and I took the chance to talk to him about branding. Several years ago, Hardee's was purchased by Carl's Jr., which I was familiar with from living in California. The Hardee's here in Almaty is called Hardee's but features burgers with names from Carl's Jr -- the Famous Star and the Super Star. (If I'm wrong about this, and Hardee's does offer burgers with these names, I'd be curious to know.) However, they had curly fries but not the fried zucchini that I love from Carl's Jr.

The Hardee's guy told me that fried zucchini is actually an unprofitable product for the chain, but they continue to offer it in the US because so many people know that Carl's Jr. has it. I was sad to learn that Hardee's does not offer fried zucchini at all internationally. I told him that I'd stock up when I visit the US.

Visit to Astana

For the past two months, I've taken a temporary assignment with the US Foreign Commercial Service office in Almaty. Their job is to promote US exports to countries overseas, and I thought that was the natural extension of my AID job of promoting economic growth.

One of my tasks as part of the assignment was to organize a roundtable discussion for local business people, Commerce staff, and representatives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD was formed to assist economic growth in developing countries by providing loans with low interest rates or equity investment in promising businesses. The organization was having its annual meeting in Astana, so it was an opportune time to put local businesses together with bankers from the EBRD. For me, it was also a good excuse to get a trip to Astana and see some friends from language class who are working there.

In this picture, you can see the Kazakh "White House" in the middle, with two government buildings on each side. The white house was a good distance away, so it's hard to understand how big that building really is. I talked to my friends about whether the White House in DC was the same size if you took into consideration all the below-ground stuff.

Opposite from the view in this photo is the Bayterek monument shown in a picture below, and further in the same direction is the yurt mall with the indoor beach. As I was walking through this area, I was struck by the similar layout to the Mall in Washington DC. On the Mall, at one end, you have the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial at the other. I'm pretty sure that the yurt mall doesn't have the same significance in Kazakhstan as the Lincoln Memorial does in the US.

Much further behind the white house are a couple of other distinctive buildings, one is shaped like a pyramid, and the other can only be described by the local nickname for it -- the dog bowl. I went to a meeting that was held at the very top of the pyramid, and until that time, I had never been in an elevator that moved sideways as well as up. It was a very cool site for the meeting.

Indoor Beach

Not long after I arrived in Kazakhstan, I heard about the giant yurt in Astana that would open soon with a bunch of stores, amusement park, and -- the best part -- an indoor beach.

When we would talk about this, the comparison to the over-the-top opulence of Dubai and its indoor skiing was a natural. Of course, any visit to Astana could not be complete without a visit to this wonder of human achievement, so I went with a friend of mine to see what an indoor beach looked like.

As the picture shows, I was not disappointed, and I appreciated the fact that what we found was much more reasonable than I expected. The beach is part of a spa complex in the mall where you can buy a day pass (for a reasonable price, I thought) and just hang out in the pool, get some drinks and food at the bar, and escape the bitter cold in winter. If I had been assigned to Astana, I'm sure I would be at this place every weekend during the winter.

Bayterek Monument

My Lonely Planet guide to Central Asia says that this tower represents a legend about a bird that lays a golden egg, containing all the secrets of human desire and happiness.

It's a rather impressive structure, and the golden sphere at the top offers a panoramic view of Astana.

Near Total Recall

This picture is from the ball at the top of the Bayterek monument. The views of Astana are quite spectacular from there. It's about 300 feet up, and you can see virtually all of the new construction that's taken place since the capital was moved to Astana several years ago.

What I was told was that visitors can place their hand into the form at the center of the viewing deck, and music comes on and a light shines down, giving the visitor an amazing experience.

Of course the first thing I thought of was the scene at the end of Total Recall where Arnie puts his hand into the handprint, and the Martian machines that create breathable air start up. If someone had told me that placing your hand into the print would have turned up the heat in Astana, I would have gladly done it.