Traffic Laws

My goal is to write something here every time I get to use the internet... So surprise! I am in the city right now buying train tickets (to PARADISE) to Shymkent for the end of March. I will experience Kazakh culture as they celebrate the New Year (which begins March 22nd) and most importantly, I will experience warm weather and sun on my arms and legs for the first time in months.

So this week I made a pretty important discovery. Over the summer my village got its first traffic lights. They have created a safer environment on a couple of our most busy streets, they have also caused a lot of angry cursing from people who are used to whizzing by without giving our town a thought. Anyway, I was walking home, about to cross one of the newly-lit intersections when I looked up to see a horse-drawn sleigh approaching. I'm used to the horse-drawn things, but I suddenly thought "does the horse-drawn sleigh have to stop at a red light?" And I know he SHOULD, but will he? So I stopped dead in my tracks and stared (because if I've learned anything about the culture here, it's that it is never inappropriate to stare at anyone or anything) intently, waiting for my answer. The answer is no, the horse-drawn sleigh does not pay attention to the red light. Nobody was coming to cross, so there was no one to challenge its decision, but there you have it. Drive a cart or sleigh and you can speed on through.