The Kazakh Dream

For those of you who don't know, I attended a summer program at the Goethe Institut in Göttingen, Germany last year. The majority of the students there were from Muslim and East Asian countries, but there was a substantial American minority. Anyway, there was one guy from Kazakhstan, Igor, who roomed with a British guy, Tommy. I always thought Igor was a bit weird, but I didn't have any clue until I received this email the other day. It is disturbing stuff:
Gruss aus Kasachstan

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	Mon, Apr 10, 2006 at 6:35 AM
hi, how are you? I have decided to earn some money, but I didn't know how to do it. now a good idea has come to me. well, first of all, some facts. Russian women want to marry a foreigner because it is unbearable to live in our country. so, why won't we make a business? I can find brides and you will find grooms. the grooms will pay us for information about the girls, i.e. photos, short resume, then they will come to Kazakhstan or invite a girl. I'll get the money, let's say $1000 from a groom. BUT it is well known that a Russian wife is ideal. she is beautiful, shy, honest, etc. I'm sure the foreigners don't have any problems with getting Kazakhstan's visa. the groom transfers some money in advance and I meet him. well, you can count how much we can get each. think it over. I'll wait for a letter from you. with best wishes, Igor

The thing is that this guy really wasn't that weird. There must be something going on here that I don't understand, something which I think it would be unfair to hypothesize about without a better knowledge of Kazakhstan, its people, and Igor himself. The world isn't flat just yet. There's no other explanation for this guy's insult to the institution of bourgeois friendship.