The hero of my blog post today is my grandfather, Bassibekov Temir Sabrgalievich. My grandfather was born in 1950 in Western Kazakhstan in a large family. He is a very hardworking, active and funny person. I took him as a hero, because of the colour of his eyes, atypical for Kazakhs, is green. Also, he visited many countries and saw a lot. My topic is an eye-sight, thanks to Nargiz Makhmudova.
- Ata, where were you born and spent your youth?
- I was born in 1950, I am 68 years old. Born in Western Kazakhstan, the Ural region, Chapayevsky district in the village Lbishchensk. In childhood and adolescence, I was fond of everything. Played chess and checkers, volleyball and football. I studied at a rural school and then studied in Moscow, graduated from the Moscow Institute of Engineering and Geodesy in 1974.
- What did you do after graduation?
- I got into the project research institute “HydroProject”, which was located in the Moscow region, worked there until 1997. After that, I returned with my family to Kazakhstan.
- Were there any interesting trips while working at HydroProject?
- Yes, they were. I went on a business trip to Angola, the city of Rwanda. I was there from 1986 to 1987. We designed the construction of the Kapanda HPP. In Angola, I learned Portuguese as most of the locals were Brazilians. Every evening we played football and volleyball with them. In football, our team lost, and in volleyball – we won.
From 1993 to 1997, I was sent to the Syrian-Arab Republic. I went with my family – my wife, daughter and son. Here I was engaged in designing the Tishrin hydroelectric complex on the Euphrates River.
- What countries have you visited?
- My very first trip was to Finland in 1977, I went as a tourist. Then I was in the USA, Germany, Austria, Holland, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and of course Russia. The last time I was in Italy in the summer of 2018, visited Verona, Venice and Milan.
- What was the memorable moment from the trip?
- In Angola, I played football with colleagues, locals and Brazilians. Also, we played with the military of the Soviet Union, who prepared the right wing of the ANC (African National Congress) on the border of Angola and South Africa. They recruited the ANC refugees to prepare from them so-called terrorists and sent them back. I am probably the only person in Kazakhstan who played the most football with the Brazilians.
To my random question about his eye colour, he replied that he got it from his mother, my great-grandmother. She was fair and light-skinned and I was born this way into her. The eyes are the mirror of the soul, they see everything in life. So my grandpa saw lots of things in his life.
erverta 