We arrived in Astana early morning with an over night flight through Moscow. The stop in Moscow was only for two hours. But I had enough of the culture shock in such a short time. People were stressed and rude. Sometimes I feel like a foreigner there. And I feel like I have to be mean to people, so I dont’ get abused by them. And being mean is a difficult task for me.
Astana is a new, modern city. It was founded in 1998. Till then it was known as Akmola. And it is a capital of Kazakhstan. Even though it is the 2nd largest city after Almaty.
All the buildings in Astana are new. Our hotel was one of the modern buildings with views of the city. A view of a big Kazakh flag flying in the wind displayed from our window. You know how French people say, you can see the Eiffel Tower from all over Paris? Well, I feel like you can see this flag from anywhere in Astana.
As we decide to lay down and take a nap, we get a call from Kazakh Federation. They want Galina for press conference. And it’s in an hour. There is no way of saying “NO”, so we rush to get ready and run to the courts.
During the press conference funny questions were asked. Like, “How many medals do you expect your players to win at this tournament?” or “Can you please repeat the answers in Kazakh?” I look at the long table with men’s and woman’s tennis teams. There is only one player who is from Kazakhstan and even she doesn’t speak Kazakh. The rest of the team are Russians and one Bulgarian, who can only understand half of the question asked. Don’t get me wrong, these are all good players. And they now have an opportunity to play Fed Cup, Davis Cup and Olympics for Kazakhstan. Which was almost impossible to do while playing for Russia, because of the stiff competition. But I still think the reporters should research about the people they are about to interview. And business these people are in.
Of course our first practice was like sleepwalking in the night. Except it was day and I couldn’t even pick up balls. They just kept falling out of my hands. That’s how tired I was. And I am not even talking about Galina. Actually she played very well considering a sleepless night and eight match marathon tournament in Baku. Where she got to the semis of singles and finals of doubles. Overcoming tremendous heat and tough opponents.
No wonder Galina was dead tired when she got to her second round match in Astana. Her energy level was so low, that I was considering to pull her out of the tournament. Because it was getting almost dangerous for her to play so tired. But like all the Russians, she has a big heart and plays all or nothing. Somehow she found enough energy to win the tournament in doubles.
There was a “fun day” in our visit in Astana. Players party! Most tournaments organize parties for players with food and drinks. Some have an entertainment program. Astana party had an entertainment that involved participation of players. Some even won money prizes like $700 for first place and $350 for second.
Vice president of Kzakh Federation wanted Galina to participate too. So when the announcer called out to players, Galina stood up. I didn’t quite understand where she was going, so I told her I am coming with her. Later, when I found out what we were going to do it was already too late to back out.
The announcer told us that we are being visited by a female group called “Viagra” and a male pop singer Meladze. Of course, since I don’t live in Russia anymore I don’t know who these people are. So I turned around to see if they are coming to sing for us. Just to find out, that it was us who were suppose to portray them. The three girls, Galina, me and Ekaterina Bychkova. Meladze’s part was played by a Kazakh player Golubev.
After a couple of practice moves we get to do the whole dance. Too bad, there was no reward for best dancing. Because we would’ve won it! As different as the four of us were, somehow we all understood each other and what we had to do. I guess a pro tennis player will always understand her/his comrade! 
)))