Cultural Divide
Your frame of reference will determine how
you adjust to living in Kazakhstan. Most Western foreigners find it hard to
adjust, especially if you have not lived abroad before, because the cultures
and living environment are so dissimilar. Things are just different here... do
not expect anything to operate or work in the same way as it does back home.
It seems that even those that come from comparatively
similar cultural backgrounds to the Kazakhstani culture can find it difficult
to adjust. But again, it all depends on your mind-set, your experience with
other cultures and of course the support that you receive from the company,
co-workers, community and your family.
The local culture can be described as
collective as oppose to most Western cultures that are described as being more
individualistic. The welfare of the family is more important than the welfare
of the individual. Family members will get an extra job or quite their existing
job just to assist the rest of the family... for example when a sister is on
maturity leave. Children are also very important to the family, so much so,
that girls are expected or even pressured to have children at a relatively
young age (19-21years of age). It seems to be culturally more acceptable to
have a string of children and divorced by the age of 25, than to be childless
and/or unmarried by the age of 28. Having children is so significant in the
local culture that some companies even provide unpaid maturity leave for up to
3 years.
The local society tends to have a high
power distance (Hofstede) which means people tend to accept the concentrated of
power and decision-making. This large discrepancy between the powerful and the
less powerful leads to a greater importance placed on status symbols (according
to Hofstede), and explains the unusual fascination with fake luxury goods.
The culture might be described as high in
uncertainty avoidance, which is evident by the complex bureaucratic procedures and
the various guidelines and rules existing in each and every aspect of the environment.
Time is not as important as in some Western
cultures and few people arrive on time for appointments or get-togethers. There
is also a sense of doing things at the last moment, especially in the work
environment. Preparation and future planning are also aspects that are lacking
in the local environment and reflect the lack of long-term orientation of the
people here.
In most cases each and every aspect will be
different for Westerners living and working in Kazakhstan. I suggest to adjust effectively and quickly
you will need a lot of patience, expect that things will take longer than usual and
might be done differently than compared to back home. I also believe that some basic
knowledge of Russian is key to adjusting in Almaty... as in any culture, people
will appreciate it if you can speak a word or two or just say ‘hallo’ in their
language.
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