Bill's Blog

This is my second visit to the wonderful city of Tbilisi and the incredible country of Georgia! It is one of the favorite places I’ve visited. My family and I were here on holiday in the New Years Break. This time I am here for an Experiential Learning Conference. The green leaves in May make it even a more lovely city. Why do I like Georgia so much? The city is set in a mountain valley with tall trees and peaks everywhere. The people have a distinct culture with good DNA, with many handsome men and women. The city has a Belgrade vibe to it, with run-down apartments from the Soviet era to Georgian Orthodox churches and cathedrals. The people are engaging, proud of their country, and love good food and wine and socializing. There is still lots to explore and I hope to come back again.

I am here on business, so I didn’t get a chance to do any sightseeing. I did meet and talk with a lot of Georgians as the conference was hosted by the European School of Georgia. They were exceptional hosts and really wanted to make guests feel welcome. We were wined and dined by the host school and made to feel special.

One of the highlights was being invited to a traditional Georgian dinner for the presenters called a supra. It was held at the Funicular Restaurant on the top of a mountain overlooking the lights of the city. A tamadan or toastmaster leads the dinner with a series of toasts throughout the evening. They toast everything from Georgia, guests, their ancestors, peace, good food, beautiful women, etc. A lot of the presenters, who like to talk anyway, got up and made toasts with the help of the tamadan, who is the DP Coordinator for the school. During the meal also, a group of men sang Georgian polyphony (or mravalzhamier) songs. UNESCO put is on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and I see why. We heard a big group at the opening ceremony and another smaller group at dinner, accompanied by a guitar. Of course, the dinner had dozens of courses and fine wines. The owners of the European School have a stake in a winemaking business called Mosmieri. He said the 20% Malbec grape variety softens the 80% Saperavi variety (the most popular Georgian grape variety). The white as a Kisi variety that was also very good. The Mosmieri botique winery is from the Tsinandali micro-zone of the Kakheti region. We stayed at the Schumann Winery in January that is close to the Mosmieri.

The other social highlight were the two meals my friend Sean and I had after the conference wrapped up for the day. We stopped at 8000 Vintages, a wine “library” that has like 8,000 different wines on shelves in the store. They have a restaurant with Georgian appetizers that pair perfectly with the wines. We had a Khikhvi (ხიხვი), one of the oldest white wine varieties in Georgia. It is even older than the most popular white variety, Rkatsiteli. Plantings of Khikhvi are found on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakheti Region. The 2024 vintage we had was fermented in the traditional clay pots (Qvevri (ქვევრი). I also discovered walnut paste. The Georgians use it in many dishes. Bazhe (ბაჟე) is the classic walnuts mixed with garlic and spices and served with meat and chicken. Satsivi is the famous cold walnut sauce dish, typically made with chicken or turkey, which is a staple of Georgian festive tables. I want to learn how to make it as plain walnuts are my least favorite nut but the pastes were delicious.

I went on a beautiful hike from the top of Amirsoy Ski Resort over to the Kumbel Weather Station. We had clear blue skies, verdant green hillsides and of course, the Tien Shan mountain peaks! What a day! I enjoyed the companionship of my friend Aaron and his two lovely daughters, Chloe and Bibi.

I was most interested in reaching the Kumbel Weather Station. The weather radar system was set up by the Soviets, probably in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I learned that the white fiberglass sphere is called a “radome,” which protects the radar antenna inside. The USSR government built an extensive network of hydrometeorological stations throughout the Tien Shan mountain range. They monitored snowpack and glacial melt feeding the Amudayra and Syrdayra Rivers, two rivers that were key to the cotton industry in Uzbek SSR.

The weather station has seen better days, and I wonder if it is still in operation. There was a caretaker on site coming out of a different building on the site when we approached. Considering the rust and dilapidated state, I don’t think it is working anymore. I guess there are more modern and automated systems tracking weather, including satellites. The Soviet system was heavy on infrastructure and grand projects that have not been maintained by Uzbek officials after independence more than 30 years ago. We were the only people there and had a delightful picnic lunch, and of course, I took my afternoon snooze on the grass. It was quite warm out of the breeze.

We struggled on the way back, going down steep ridges through wild fennel bushes. The hike was over 11 kilometers and I was very tired by the time we got back to the parking lot at the resort. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic at times on the 70-kilometer trip back to Tashkent. Obviously a lot of people were enjoying the mountains on this long Eid al-Adha weekend.

I finished the evening by joining Nadia and friends for a delicious Serbian dinner. It was my first time in the Mirabad Residences so I took a few photos of Mirabad Avenue from the 7th floor balcony.

My friend Aaron and I walked a loop through the Tavaksay Gorge last Sunday. You can see the difference between the late fall and mid-spring views. We were amazed at the abundance of growth and flowers at the bottom of the gorge. We couldn’t recognize the place we had walked just a few months prior. The Kazakhstan border is 15-20 kilometers away and instructs people in the area to show their identity documents “to internal affairs organs and DXX (the State Security Service, Uzbekistan’s intelligence agency) representatives.” We struggled walking along the steep, grassy hillsides on the way up the canyon and then got a bit disoriented on the way back near the river in the middle of the gorge.

The term “say” or “soy” in Uzbek means a rocky, seasonal stream valley. I visited this gorge, or say many times in my time in Uzbekistan, and I always come back feeling better than when I drove out of the city.

Thanks to the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for giving us three days of holiday this week due to Eid al-Adha. Muslims commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice of his son by sacrificing an animal (usually a sheep here in Uzbekistan) and have a big feast for the extended family and neighbors. Our neighbors brought us some plov and desserts from their feast on Tuesday evening. I spent the day mostly catching up at school, working, but did manage some family time as well.

We had high winds on Tuesday that caused a lot of downed branches and trees around the city. The tree to the left is on our campus, and the tree to the right is in our neighborhood. It is difficult to predict which trees will break, and it is a reminder to keep people away from the trees during high winds. Thankfully the winds started late in the day on Tuesday and all of the students had left the campus. We also had a thunderstorm on Wednesday that scared our dog Obi. We needed to put on his “thunder” comforter and put his bed in the bathroom because he shakes when he hears thunder.

Nadia was in the mood for going out so we had a double date with my daughter and her boyfriend. We ate at Tanuki, a Russian-owned franchise of pan-Asian cuisine. Alexander Orlov founded the chain in 2004 but recently sold all his shares in the Tanuki brand to an undisclosed buyer. We had a nice meal except due to translation mistakes, they served Nadia spring rolls full of cilantro/parsley. We then went to the Hyatt roof to look at the city and finish the evening. I marveled at how much the skyline has changed in the Tashkent City development. There seems to be a new skyscraper rising every couple of monthys.

We had a fantastic afternoon/evening after our meetings on Saturday morning in Prague. We took a boat tour on the Vltava River that runs through the city. It is the Mississippi River of the Czech Republic, being the longest river (430 km) entirely within the country. It eventually joins the Elbe River north of Prague. I was fascinated with the locks and weirs on the river. Weirs are similar to dams, but water runs over the top of them continuously. They serve to build up consistent water depths along the river so boats can navigate up and down the river all year round. Water levels dropped due to heavy use of mills along the river and seasonal fluctuations. Through the centuries, city officials developed a system of weirs and locks. We patiently waited for the lock to fill up so we could navigate around the weir.

The iconic Charles Bridge was completed in 1402 and is one of the most famous and photographed bridges in the world. King Charles IV did not live to see its completion, as he commissioned it in 1357.

I noticed this striking statue on the bridge the next day when I walked across the 500-meter bridge. Saint John of Nepomuk was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729. He was the priest for Queen Sophia, the wife of the tyrant King Wenceslas IV. The King demanded John to tell him what Sophia confessed to him and when John refused, the King ordered him to be tortured and thrown off the bridge. When his body hit the water, 5 stars appeared, hence the star halo over his head in the statue below. He is now regarded the protector of floods and drowning.

We finished the day at the Břevnov Monastery (Břevnovský klášter), a Benedictine archabbey founded by St. Aldabert, the second Bishop of Prague in 993 AD. Being from a strong Catholic family, I felt at home on the peaceful grounds and in the St. Margaret Temple. The reason we visited is the monastery is famous for its close to 1,000 years of brewing beer. The original brewery closed in 1889, but the monks hired a brewmaster in 2011 and opened a restaurant brewery in one of the former stables and opened it to the public. The roast duck with Houskové knedlíky (Czech bread dumplings) and sour kraut combined with a Benedict Světlý Ležák 12°, a classic Czech pale lager, hit the spot after a long day. My dad, Charles Kralovec, would have loved it! It is nice to see the monastery restored after the Soviets deported the monks to West Germany in 1951 and converted it to an archive and a State Security Police Annex.

It was an emotional day for our family on Friday because Ocean graduated from high school. She is the last of our three children to graduate from the Tashkent International School. Nadia and I were a mess all weekend as we were a mix of emotions. We were proud of Ocean completing her K-12 education, realizing that next school year we will be “empty nesters”, and sad that our parents weren’t here to see her graduate. Because Ocean is in the Class of 2026 with 42 students, we know most of them closely. It was a beautiful ceremony on our campus and a fitting way to say goodbye to Ocean and her friends and classmates.

Nadia was looking beautiful as ever, and Ocean should be thankful for Nadia’s DNA. I am a lucky man to have two such gorgeous women in my life! Owen, Oliver, and Uncle Jack watched the live stream on YouTube. I would like to thank my colleagues Jeanette, Smita, Rob, and Stefania for their work in creating an elegant and touching ceremony. As you can see below, during our time here in Tashkent, all three of our children graduated from high school at Tashkent International School.

We will spend the final month wrapping up the school year and packing our house. This time of year is always very busy for educators.

Ocean was so beautiful last night at the Tashkent International School Prom. The students chose the Miras Restaurant and as the School Director, I am fortunate to be able to visit and see all the students together for the last time. I love the energy of a prom and seeing the students looking their best. I especially enjoyed Nadia helping Ocean get ready for prom. They picked out the dress together and Nadia was stellar in assisting Ocean for having a great evening. Her boyfriend, Roman, was a gentleman and picked her up with his driver yesterday. I appreciate her kind classmates and the support they give Ocean.

Nadia and I realized while driving to the restaurant that it was the last K-12 school event we would be attending at parents. We’ve been quite emotional this week as it ends almost 25 years of supporting our three children’s participation in school events. I marvel at the woman Ocean is becoming! She is getting more and more beautiful!

I will be posting a lot about my daughter over the next week or so as she completes her senior year at Tashkent International School. Ocean completed her last International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) Exams on Friday, May 15, with Paper 2 of the Mathematics Applications and Interpretation Standard Level course. She is our third child to go through the entire IB from start to finish. Our eldest son, Owen, scored 34 points in May 2021, surpassing his predicted score of 31. Oliver scored a 28 in May 2024. We’ll see how Ocean does. It really doesn’t matter in the long run, as an IB score doesn’t define success in your future professional and personal life. Young people mature and find purpose on different timelines. We always joke that the Kralovec children should “Strive for the 5”, an above-average score in the DP. We want them to enjoy their high school years and find academic success, but not at all costs.

The Diploma Programme has its critics, but it does expose high school students to university-level content and skills, especially in writing. They are better prepared for the rigors of university than their non-IB peers. It also gives a broad perspective with requiring 6 different subjects. My only criticism is that it should have more flexibility to include internships or practical work, and a bit less on the academic side. We are equally proud of all of them!

McEwan’s novel is set in a dystopian future in the year 2119. The polar ice caps have melted, causing much of the Earth to be underwater. Combined with nuclear disasters, it is a diminished world. Two university history professors, Tom and Rose, specialize in our current time, and specifically on the life of a great poet, Francis Blundy. He wrote a famous poem, “A Corona for Vivien,” that he read aloud at a party for his wife in 2014. Copies of the poem were lost to history, and Tom is obsessed with finding it. The world of 2119 is diminished, with England being an archipelago of small islands, travel is limited due to the fall of the rules-based order of the world and less fossil fuel use. He looks back longingly at the abundance and ignorance of societies that led to his world of the future.

He has a lot more data to work from than historians of the past. The entire internet and digital communications were saved. Tom can read emails, texts, social media posts, and even journals that were preserved. McEwan asks the reader in the title (What Can We Know) that even with all this information about the past lives of these people, there is still a lot that historians cannot know. In Part II of the book, there is a big plot twist, with Tom finding map coordinates as a clue in one of Vivien’s diaries. Buried under the location point, Tom and Rose find out about a crime Vivien committed and the consequences of that crime. Researchers could not learn about this through the mountains of correspondence and digital information. It made me think about how much we can actually know about the past. Take, for example, the historical Shakespeare or the historical Jesus; there is not a lot of data to go on to piece together their lives. I wonder how much of my life will be available for future generations? Most people are completely lost to history. On a more intimate level, people keep secrets, and how much do we really know about even people who are close to us?

Historians from 2119 call our era The Derangement (mass migration) and The Inundation (flooding), and I could see McEwan writing this book as a warning to us. He might think, like many people do, that human civilization is fraying at the edges and might be starting a downward spiral. Climate change will be a huge disruptive force in the future, and as McEwan imagines, could easily break down the systems humanity has built to support our flourishing. I see why we don’t reduce emissions into the environment; the pain it will cause is far (I hope) into the future.

I watched 28 Years Later (2025), another dystopian future, but this time, it is the “rage virus” that causes a zombie apocalypse. This is the third movie in the series. The first two were famous for having fast-moving zombies instead of the traditional, Thriller-like slow-moving zombies. In the 2025 film, the UK has been quarantined from mainland Europe, and no one can leave or enter. It is a coming-of-age film that features, “Spike”, who at 12 years old and lives in a civilized community on a small island off the coast of mainland England. They are protected by the sea and the tides. The community celebrates when a teenager makes his first visit to the mainland and gets his first kill of a zombie. An interesting twist, there are now “Alphas” that are huge, smarter zombies that can order zombie followers to attack humans. Spike leaves the community eventually to find a doctor on the mainland. Ralph Fiennes is brilliant as the eccentric doctor. I love apocalypse movies and zombies, so I recommend this. Boyle is famous for Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, although I didn’t like the artistic imagery he added in this film. In researching this blog post, I discovered there is a fourth movie in the series that came out in January 2026. I’ll have to check it out.

The highlight of my first full day in Prague was a run through the Šárka Valley nature area in the hills above the Diplomat Hotel where we are staying for the meetings. It is an official nature reserve covering 247 acres of hills and forests with the Šarecký stream running through it. I ran about 6 kilometers of trails through the reserve. The area was deliberately reforested in the late 19th and early 20th century but park officials chose the Black Locust (I have that tree right outside my office in Tashkent!), which is not natural to this area. Conservationists are planting native species like oak, hornbeam and lindens.

The directors met for a dinner at the Three Fiddles Irish Pub after a long day of meetings.