Ranga Welaratne
44 years old, hometown — Colombo (Sri Lanka), general manager RX Central Asia and the Caucasus
About life
I live in Almaty for three years. I moved here in because of the appointment of RX general manager for Central Asia and the Caucasus in the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi with the head office in Almaty.
I live here with my family. I come from Sri Lanka, and my wife is from the USA, we have two children. Our family is international, we often go to Australia, the States or Sri Lanka, where our relatives live.
Kazakhstan today is our home. For some time my wife was on treatment in the States, but she was happy to return home to Almaty. When we moved, my eldest son was three months old. Now he is three years old and speaks Russian very well and a little Kazakh. He goes to Montessori school, where children are taught in three languages: English, Russian and Kazakh. My second son was born in 2017 in the States, but despite this, when he is told something, he as older brother immediately responds in Russian.
About Almaty
I hadn't heard about Almaty before I got this job, but I knew about Kazakhstan. My first impression of the city was not the most pleasant, because for the first time I arrived here from Germany in January, at four o'clock in the morning. The weather was cold, and I did not like the Almaty airport. But this was only the first impression. During this time I fell in love with Almaty and miss the city when I go somewhere. The first impression of the country you came to may be wrong.
I really like Almaty, the city is really open, beautiful, and in winter you can ski almost in the city. Over the past three years, since I arrived, in the city opened a lot of coffee shops, developing restaurant culture. Almaty close to many interesting places that can be visited: mountains to hike, Kapchagay reservoir, on the inland dunes or Medeu.
I love Almaty for the sun and mountains
I love Almaty for the sun and mountains. From the city emanate positive vibrations and you get a positive charge of energy. Almaty is a wonderful city to live in.
About food
Here is the most delicious barbecue from young lamb and sheep meat.
I like spicy food, but in Kazakhstan, it is not very common. I love beshbarmak and pilaf, but they're not spicy, so I add spicy seasonings.
About infrastructure
Many things in the infrastructure of the city are changing for the better. I have not used public transport, mostly I drive a car, but I know that many foreigners use buses, especially new electric ones, I have heard a lot of positive reviews about them.
Transport circulation has improved thanks to the new road rules.
I think a lot is progressing in Almaty. In summer it is sunny, everywhere flowers, trees, gardens, there are many bicycle paths.
About people
I have many friends in Almaty. Every weekend we go to restaurants, visit each other, we have a small international community here. I also have local friends who all speak English.
Sanofi employs more than 200 people in Kazakhstan and 90% of them speak English. The younger generation impresses me, and they are twenty years old and all speak foreign languages, many have master's degrees. I also see people here are very hardworking. I admire the women in your country who successfully combine personal life and work. For example, in our company 70% of employees are women.
People here are nice and warm, family-oriented. For example, in Sri Lanka people also cherish family and traditions.
People here are nice and warm, family-oriented
And here people love sports, especially martial arts. In other countries, I have not noticed so many people engaged in boxing or jiu-jitsu. Not far from my house many people play football and pull-up.
I also try to do sports and run in the warm season. Sanofi has been a partner of Almaty Marathon for the fourth year in a row. For the years of its holding, I run a distance of ten kilometres with the staff of our company. At the finish line, everyone wants to take a picture with me, especially grandmothers because I'm the only black person in the marathon, and it's very funny.
