Reflections on the Way to Work

I barely finished packing my suitcases when the the knock on the door came, the driver arrived earlier than scheduled, it was 3:30am in the morning some 20 years ago, the place Almaty, Kazakhstan.  The car, a Lada, a small car  that was going to take two people plus the driver and some very large suitcases to the airport.   We managed to squeeze everything in.  The driver and the other passenger, both “A” type personalities were very anxious to get moving in a hurry.  As we began to drive away, in the rear view mirror, I saw Vladmir, my translator running towards us.  He had come a long distance in the middle of the night to say goodbye and join our trip to the airport.  Unfortunately, there was no room in the car.  Our driver was excitable as was the other passenger.  There was no time for talk or goodbyes with Vladmir.  All I could do was wave goodbye with sadness and guilt that he had made the journey to say goodbye in the middle of the night only to capture a wave through the window.  My final memory of Vladmir was a young man running towards the car and the car driving into the sunset.  I felt terrible but the driver spoke little english and neither he nor the other passenger had the patience or propensity to stop so I could say goodbye to Vladmir, a Russian Kazakh.

It was 1996, just a few years after Kazakhstan declared its independence.  I had the distinct privilege of doing advisory work at that time in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country and former Soviet republic that extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia.  It is one of the only two landlocked countries in the world that has territory in two continents.  Kazakhstan is a beautiful country and at the time, Almaty was its capital, which has since moved to Astana.  Not only is the country beautiful but so are its people, which include approximately 131 ethnicities with the majority being Kazakhs, with the next largest group being Russian.  Kazakh is the official state language, however, Russian is its official language.  Since declaring independence in 1991, President Nursultan Nazarbayer has lead the country.   To learn more about Kazakhstan you can go to the discover page on the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan website.

During my time in Kazakhstan I worked with an incredible group of young, bright, enthusiastic and smart men and women, of Kazakh and  Russian ethnicities.  One of the first things that stands out is how bright and well educated they were compared to Americans.  Most were fluent in 4 languages – Russian, Kazakh, French and English.  They knew more about world history and literature than I will ever know in my lifetime.  While each one of them was special, I became close with two, in particular, “tall” Aizhan, a lawyer, and Vladmir, our translator.   Immediately after my arrival back in the states I kept in touch with both Aizhan and Vladmir, but as is common with long distance friendships, time passes, communications lessen and finally all contact is lost.

Given the “Iron Curtain” and Cold War that previously existed between Russia and the US, there was a mutual mystique between and about Russians, Kazakhs and Americans.  So while I was there to provide technical guidance and advise on regulation, I was also a citizen ambassador for Americans and in particular, New Yorkers.  When you are one of the first Americans that people meet and interact with, you want to make sure that you reflect positively on America.  

We shared a sociological and anthropological curiosity about each other.   We were intrigued by each other’s country, political views, geographical beauty and soul of its citizens.  What you quickly discover is that despite the cold war, people were really not that different.  Irrespective of the jurisdiction, we all had dreams, hopes and aspirations.  Aizhan and I in particular shared a special kindered spirit and philosophy on life that was not so different.  Vladmir was a writer, smart and intrigued by America and New York.  He shared his poetry and love of literature with me.  Separately, Vladmir, Aizhan and I shared some very deep philosophical discussions.  Over the years I have thought about them often and tried to reconnect but to no avail.

Then one day, in 2014, on one of my favorite sites, LinkedIn, I received a message, it was from a man named Vladmir and his message said something to the effect, I am not sure if this is the same Janet that worked in Kazakhstan, but if it is, this is Vladmir……..I was so happy to reconnect with Vladmir, who is now married with a beautiful daughter and living in the states; he is still a translator.    On a  recent trip to Washington, D.C.  we were able to meet and catch up.  While time marched on, it was like we had never skipped a beat in our friendship.

A couple of weeks ago Vladmir sent me a book, “Here is New York”, by E.B. White, with a note, “it made me think of you, twenty years after”.   I am embarrassed to say, until Vladmir sent me the book I had never heard of it.   I was intrigued  to see what E.B. White said about New York and to see how and if I represented New York and New Yorkers as E.B. White portrays them in “Here is New York”.  White opens the book with the following statement “New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy”.  He goes on to say, “New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation”.  I wonder when Vladmir read the book if it is what he thought of New York and if it was how I represented it to him some twenty years ago.  I hope I captured the spirit of New York City that White so well portrays in his book when I spoke about it and as they  observed in me when interacting with the first New Yorker that they encountered.  I also wondered which type of New Yorker Vladmir really thought I was characteristic of in White’s book.

If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it.  It is short, but each sentence engages contemplation because it is a timeless essay on New York City whose characterizations have not changed, just the faces and facades and you reflect on each sentence to bring it to New York City as it is today.  As White says, “To a New Yorker, New York is both changeless and changing,” which couldn’t be a more true statement.  E.B. White says in his foreword, “it is the reader’s, not the author’s duty to bring New York down to date, and I trust it will prove less a duty than a pleasure!”   If you are a New Yorker or have visited New York or commute to New York, you will have your own perspective on how you bring your interpretation of “Here is New York” to date based on your own experience of New York.  I can say from my perspective, how E.B. White captured it remains true today.

Enjoy his book and New York City!  Thank you Vladmir for once again introducing me to an incredible piece of literature.