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Dear friends! We proudly present for your attention an interview with our "Guest of the Month" event winner for January, 2016 - Osipova Svetlana Nikolaevna! She's been our loyal visitor for 5 years already, and she was all the more happy to answer questions... 

- Hello, Svetlana! Please, tell us a bit about yourself and your job. 

- Greetings! My name is Svetlana, I'm a native Almaty resident. I live together with my husband, Alexey, and our cat Arseniy. For 10 years already I've been working as an accountant in an appliance shop that specializes on kitchen appliances, namely - special surfaces, ovens, cooker hoods and such, and I love my job. I and my husband, we really like to go to "The White Whale", and we try to visit you often, despite the economic crisis. 

- How did you discover "The White Whale"?

- Well, our boss, he's one of your patrons. One day, like 5-6 years ago, he invited me to "The White Whale" to discuss certain business affairs. So I came, ordered a tiramisu, tasted it, and voila! - I'm constant visitor ever since! 

Dear friends! We proudly present your the interview with our "Guest of the Month" event winner for December, 2015 - Berlizev Maksim Alekseevich! He's been constantly visiting our coffee shop for more than 8 years already, and was happy to answer our questions... 

- Hello! Please, tell us a bit about yourself.

Greetings! My name is Maxim. I graduated from our local State Polytechnical University and have a degree in authomatics and telemechanics. Right now I work at a big bank as a lead ATM maintenance engineer.  

- And why did you choose such a job?

- Well, it happened quite a long time ago, back in 2002, thanks to a fortuitous combination of circumstances. I was offered a job of ATM engineer in one of the biggest banks in Kazakhstan. I've accepted the offer, got employed and started working and learning the peculiarities of this profession. In the end, I quite liked it and well got into it for many years on. 

- What about your leisure time? What are your hobbies or interests?

- Unfortunately, I don't have many of that, for my job is really time-consuming. I like travelling though; was on business trips around Kazakhstan, visited almost all of its big cities; also got to see Turkey, Germany, and a bit of France and Austria... That's it. Another thing I liked to do since I was a kid is tinkering with all kinds of radio equipment and household appliances. I like it very much. 

Dear friends! We proudly present for your attention an interview with our "Guest of the Month" event winner for November, 2015 - Brichevskaya Galina Viktorovna! She has been regularly visiting our coffee shop for 8 consecutive years, so she was glad to answer some questions... 

- Greetings! Please, tell us a bit about yourself. What's your occupation? What are your hobbies and interests?

- Good day! My name is Galina Viktorovna Brichevskaya. At the moment, my occupation is being the CEO of "Navigator-Kazakhstan" company that deals in the field of raw material shipment for dairy factories. As for my hobbies, I regularly exercise at a gym. Honestly, I like to keep my body in good shape, so I additionally visit swimming classes and stretching seancees. Some time ago my main activity was interior design. I had good results in this trade and I liked it very much, but after I've headed the company, it's transformed to just an other hobby. 

- Why did you deicde to head such a company?

- I have rich experience in the trade. I had worked at a dairy factory for a long time, so I'm very well aware of all the peculiarities that exist in this field. When an opportunity to establish my own company came up, why, I took advantage of it. And isn't it just awfully interesting - to run your own business?! You get to know a panoply of new things, you make important decisions, you move your company on and on... I just love the process! 

Dear friends! We proudly present to you an interview with our "Guest of the Month" event winner for October, 2015 - Karimova Karina Alexeevna! She's been visiting our coffee shop for 11 years already and was happy to answer our questions... 

 - Greetings! Please, tell us a bit about yourself.

- Hello! My name is Karina, and I've been working as a driver for my whole life. I started as a personal driver for the high-ranked government officials and their children. Now I run my own company - "Pegas Company" LLC., that deals in the field of children transportation services. Of course, there were other experiences: I worked as a manager, established some car repairing stations... But one way or the other, it all came down to automobiles and driving. While running my own company, I am also employed in a security agency. 

- What's your favourite ways of relaxing? Do you have any hobbies?

- Well, I love to hang in calm places, drinking coffee and relaxing... Also, I love animals and constantly support a local animal shelter called "White Bim" with funds, some cars and drivers at their disposal. 

- Do you remember the first time you visited our coffee shop? Tell us about it. 

- It happened back in 2004. We came here to have a get-together with my friends and their children, and we quite liked it here, so we started visiting it regularly for leisure. I always recommend this place to every and each one of my friends and acquaintances, and though I don't know how many of them became patrons here, a good 80% of them have already been here, of that I'm sure. 

Meet our constant visitor - Anna Borodovitsina! She's won this month's "Guest of the Month" event and answered some questions for our site, sharing her thought and impressions with us... 

- Please, tell us a bit about yourself.

- Well, I'm 35. I have a great family: my husband's been by my side since high school. Our son is 10 years old, and is a very funny and smart fellow. I work with finances, I love my job and I manage to build my career quite successfully, in my opinion. We live in the mountain countryside, where we've built a house several years ago. We love to spend time at home, occasionally inviting some friends to hang with us. 

- How do you like to relax?

- I adore traveling, so almost every vacation I and my family fly over to different countries, seeking to pick something special every single time. I don't have any favourite country to rest, because I'm interested in all variety of places one might go to: communicating with their habitants, tasting their cuisine and experiencing local climate... I try to cherish every moment and memorize all details, and I'm very happy with the fact that although we've visited quite a lot of different places, there are still many more to explore, many possibilities to have another great trip. As for some regular leisure time, we tend to spend the majority of it at home, with a company of friends. Whether it's a good bathing seance or an evening of movie-watching by our fireplace, it's always relaxing and energizing at the same time.

Dear friends! For your attention we proudly present an interview with our Guest of the Month in August - Timur Turganbayev! He answered our questions and shared his impressions with us... 

- Tell us a bit about yourself.

- Well, I have a degree in engineering, and I've been dealing with technical jobs until quite recently: for example, installing high voltage equipment on electrical substations. Now I'm in the process of establishing my own business that has to do with some green wine I've brought here from Italy. Although it's only the first shipment, I hope that the citizens of Kazakhstan will like it. 

- Why did you choose such a scope for business?

- Some time ago I went to Italy for professional training. Lived there for two months in a small village and liked it very much. The wine I'm selling is a common drink for the Italians: you can buy it everywhere on tap, so I drank it myself and took a fancy for it.   

- What is it that you liked the most during your stay in Italy? 

- I resided in Toscana region, and what I liked there was the benevolence of the locals and the purity of environment. People there respect it and keep it clean. The place I lived at was not far from Florence. I used to visit Florence every weekend. As far as I know, Florence is the center of cultural heritage of modern Italy, so it was very spectacular for me! 

- How did you come to a decision to change the nature of your main activity so drastically? 

- Month and a half after I came to Italy, my wife followed me. She saw me all refreshed because of the environment, fresh air, fine Italian wine and all that... Anyway, I've concluded that the wine contributed greatly to my recuperation. You won't encounter poor wine in Italy, because any wine there is dry and aged. So I thought that Almaty residents might also like this wine, so I've decided to ship it here.  

We proudly present you an interview with the winner of "Guest of the Month" event for July - Evgeniy Zhumanov, a famous Kazakh TV host, actor and theatre director (trivia on Evgeniy Zhumanov from Wikipedia).  We asked him a few questions and here's what he told us... 

- Tell us, please, what are you working over? 

- Right now I'm working over two original projects that will occur this week already; one of them is planned for July, 23 while another will take place on July, 30. The event will happen in "Tengri-Umai" gallery. Can't remember the exact address, though... You remember those two highrises on Arbat? Well, there's a cellar in one of those where the second stage of russian Youth Theatre was located, remember? It was one of the cultural hubs in our city, and many interesting and creative events had occurred there. At present, there is a gallery of modern art called "Tengri-Umai", but both the stage and the auditorium are still there and still intact. 

Anyways, on July, 23, at 19-30, there will be a presentation of my original project called "Message", and I'm happy to invite you! This project is somehow a surprise even for me, because I'll be fulfilling a different role there. During the event I will be saying poems and reading my self-written opuses. By the way, my writing ability surprised even me, because my works were deemed interesting by other people, and that was double a surprise. I checked them on a narrow circle of people whose opinion is important to me, and they said: "Yes, it indeed deserves attention and fame! It is a good thing to read!".

We proudly present you the interview with our "Guest of the Month" in June - Anna Steblyakova. 

— Tell us a bit about yourself.

— My name is Steblyakova Anna. I am a family woman, have a lovely husband and a 9 years old daughter - Masha, whom I love very much. I have a degree in economics and a job in Halyk Bank. As for my hobbies, I adore traveling, while committing totally the rest of my spare time to the job and family. I value fine cuisine, and I've developed quite a taste for good food, although I was no gourmand in the beginning. I think that "The White Whale" is the reason behind this development, for their courses are just amazing, and they serve as a sample of ideal culinary skills for me. When I happen to visit other establishments, I compare the dishes served there with their likes in "The White Whale".  

— How did you know about "The White Whale"?

— Approximately 3 years ago we had a family dinner, and my daughter-in-law by the name of Sasha cooked a very delicious spinach salad. I so liked it that I asked her about the recipe and the place it is cooked. She told me about "The White Whale" coffee shop in Almaty where she had been working back then, and so I've decided to visit the place. I liked it from the first time, and we started to come very often. Nowadays we always have lunch in there, because it is not far from our workplace, the atmosphere is cozy, the food is great and the personnel is very attentive and inobtrusive.  

We're proud to present you the interview of one of our patrons - Anton Badikov, who's become a winner of our "Guest of the Month" promo. We're glad that such good people choose our coffee shop as a place to relax for many years on! 

- Tell us a bit about yourself. 

- My name is Anton, I'm 33. I'm a native Almaty habitant and I love my city. I've acquired a degree in jurisprudence and I'm doing jurisprudence for 13 years already. I like active recreation and sport, even used to be into martial arts earlier. But the circumstances altered, and now I devote all of my spare time to my family. Not more than a year ago our daughter was born. It was a grandiose event for me as a grown man! Watching her grow, express emotions, learning something new every day, and being a part of it is a pure miracle and happiness for me. I also like reading, and if I manage to squeeze some time from my schedule to read a book, I feel very satisfied, for it is a great pleasure. 

- How did you get to know "The White Whale" coffee shop for the first time?

- Many years ago, in 2004, one of my colleagues brought me to "The White Whale", and I noticed that this place stood out among other cafes. You could see intelligent people sitting around, drinking coffee, reading a book, or writing, or creating something... and it really was some peculiar atmosphere I've never seen in any other cafe. I liked it very much and started to visit "The White Whale" to relax, have a good feast or a get-together with my friends. It was a good place for business meetings, so I did some here, too.