Travellers in Kazakhstan are most likely to be encountered with the traditions, associated with guest reception. Here are some examples of them:
Konakasy - a custom associated with treating of a guest. As mentioned above, Kazakh people since ancient times have been famous for their hospitality. Kazakhs always reserve the tastiest food for guests. Guests are divided into three types: "arnayy konak" is a specially invited guest, "kudayy konak" - a random stranger (uninvited), "kydyrma konak" - an unexpected guest. All these guests, despite of their type are offered a rich table – Konakasy.
Konakkade - a tradition under which a host has a right to ask a guest to sing a song or play a musical instrument (of course, as long as a guest is known for his or her talent), thus ensuring some fun and joy during the feast.
Erulik - if new settlers came to a village erulik was arranged in their honour, i.e. a small celebration that allowed newcomers to quickly adapt to the new location. Also, the custom erulik includes assistance in settling of the newcomers, when neighbours provide them with firewood, drinking water, etc. for the time being.
Toy dastarkhan - a special form of celebration, organized for holiday or during it. Sports competitions, music, singing competitions (aitys) and horse riding competitions are organised in addition to the gatherings during Toy dastarkhan. Very often, dishes of Kazakh national cuisine are served during such occasions.
The Educational System of Great Britain
The educational system of G.B. is extremely complex and bewildering.It is very difficult to generalize particular types of schools as schoolsdiffer from one to the other. The department of education and science isresponsible for national educational policy, but it doesn't employ teacher or prescribe curricula or text books.
Each school has it's own board of governors consisting of teachers, parents, local politicians, members of local community, businessmen and sometimes pupils. According to the law only one subject is compulsory. It is religious instruction.Schooling for children is compulsory from 5 to 16, though some provision is made for children under 5 and some pupils remain at school after 16 to prepare for higher education.The state school system is usually divided into 2 stages (secondary and primary).The majority of primary schools are mixed.They are subdivided into infant schools (ages 5 to 7),and junior schools (ages 7 to11). In junior schools pupils were often placed in A,B,C or D-streams, according to their abilities. Under the pressure of progressive parents and teachers the 11+ examination has now been abolished in most parts of the country. There are several types of schools in G.B.Grammar schools provide an academical cause for selected pupils from the age of 11 to 18. Only those children who have the best results are admitted to these schools. They give pupils a high level of academic education which can lead to the university.Technical Schools offer a general education with a technical bias and serve those pupils who are more mechanically minded. The curriculum includes more lessons of science and mathematics. Secondary modern schools were formed to provide a non-academic education for children of lesser attainment. The curriculum includes more practical subjects. Comprehensive schools bring about a general improvement in the system of secondary education.
Healhty Way Of Life
Scientists say that in the future people will live longer. With healthier lifestyles and better medical care the average person will live to 90 or 100 instead of 70 and 75 like today. When the human genome is decoded, we'll probably live up to 150. Incurable diseases will be cured and "bad" genes replaced.
But that's tomorrow. And today, we continue to stuff ourselves with fast food — chips and pizzas, hamburgers and hot dogs. We are always in a hurry. We have no time to enjoy a home-cooked dinner with family and friends. We want to eat now and we want to eat fast. What is tasty is not always healthy. Doctors say that chips and pizzas are fattening, cola spoils our teeth and coffee shortens our lives.
If we eat too much, we'll become obese, and obesity leads to heart disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses. But the world today is getting fatter and fatter. America is the world's leader in obesity, but Europe is quickly catching up.Lack of exercise is another serious problem. We spend hours in front of our computers and TV-sets. Few of us do morning exercises. We walk less, because we prefer to use cars or public transport. Research shows, however, that young people who don't take enough exercise often suffer from heart attacks.
It's common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Cigarette-smoking, for example, kills about 3 million people every year. Many of them die from lung cancer. Some aren't even smokers. They are people who live or work with heavy smokers. Yet many young people smoke and drink. Why? One answer is that tobacco and drinks companies invest enormous sums of money in advertising their products. For them cigarettes and alcoholic drinks mean money. For us they mean disease and even death.
We all know that the healthier we are, the better we feel. The better we feel, the longer we live. So why not take care of ourselves?