sofasurfers

Sergey and Yelena, a young married couchsurfing couple invited us to dinner in their bedroom. Diner au lit (for we actually ate it sitting on their bed) consisted of ‘potato’ cakes (so-called for their look, not their ingredients), aubergine ‘caviar’ (so-called for its…je ne sais quoi, not its ingredients), halva, apricot kernels and sunflower seeds. (NB: can you see - in the far left hand corner of the bedroom - a stash of pumpkins?!)

On the menu for discussion was Borat (“I love it!” proclaimed Sergey. “I have watched it maybe 20 times. It’s illegal to sell it or hire it here, but you can download it. It’s only the Kazakhs that are offended by it. They don’t understand the joke. There was not the point to discriminate against Kazakhstan. The makers selected Kazakhstan because no one knows it – it could be any country.” And now apparently, Borat lives in Almaty – and he’s a member of couchsurfing. That is, ‘Borat’. Seems he was on the run when I tried to find him.