Happy Holidays

Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! Sorry it is a belated message. Our first round of holidays in Kyrgyzstan proved to be much merrier than I expected. I must admit that I was very cynical about my favorite time of the year. I am not proud about the attitude I had, but everything turned out wonderfully.

On Christmas Eve Eve I traveled to a village 2 hours outside of the city called Pokrovka. That night we made macaroni and cheese with hotdogs in it. We also baked some sugar cookies and made them into holiday shapes. Lisa’s mom sent some ‘Just add water’ cookie mix for our celebration. Later in the night we went to a disco. Basically, it was a high school dance that Ian, another volunteer, is the DJ for. All of the kids dance and there are no wallflowers. We had a fantastic time and danced to our hearts’ content. On Christmas Eve we made baked chicken, potatoes and broccoli. Broccoli is not a native vegetable to the Kyrgyz people. Kathryn’s family sent her vegetable seeds. Last summer she grew some veggies and froze them for the coming winter months. She was kind enough to offer up some of her stash to us. Props to Kathryn. When we finished our meal we went to a different village called Kirovka, which is only 1 hour from the city. That is where we had Boozin’ Christmas. [Kathryn was uncomfortable with some of the drunken antics of the male volunteers at last year’s Christmas]. I bought 2 bottles of red wine, which turned out to be the best ones I’ve had in country. I also contributed one of my Christmas gifts: a bag of crunchy Cheetos. [Mom – the volunteers send their love and thanks]. Everyone brought wine, champagne or bad vodka. Betsy made an apple pie, which is quite a feat these days. We were mightily impressed. So we drank, ate, played cards and sang songs. On Christmas Day, my dear friend Ian told a big fib. He and Erich went Frisbee golfing and had invited Jesika and me to go along. I was tired and didn’t want to do too much walking. He assured me that there was very little walking involved, and so I agreed to go. This ‘very little walking’ turned out to be a 4 hour hike in the snow and hills. I was a little peeved, but we had such a good time and I can’t stay mad. The exercise was good and we even had a couple snow fights. No one can complain about a good snow fight.

For New Year’s, I went to Ian’s house and hung out with his family. The holiday parties are definitely different from those that my family throws. My family parties are also different from any other I know, so I will probably never stumble across something that feels familiar. Anyhow, we all sat on the floor around a table and ate for 7 hours. They have the salad and tea round and then the main course and tea round. Afterwards everyone went outside in the freezing cold to dance. There was a contest and I won first prize! Ian says they’re rigged. That night he put it to the test by putting as little effort into dancing as possible to see if he would still win a prize. And he did. I think its nice that they try to make us feel welcome. At midnight we all went outside again for champagne and fireworks. The kids all run around lighting fireworks and sending them off in any direction. It’s very dangerous, but nobody stopped them. I had a few near fatalities, but I’m a survivor.

And last but certainly not least: my 23rd birthday. It was today. I played hooky from work and stayed in my pajamas. Jesika and I had a sleepover the night before, and we stayed in our beds and watched movies. I made a sweet breakfast for us too. It was relaxing and perfect. For my birthday dinner, my family made the one Kyrgyz dish that I refuse to eat. Its called Besh-Barmak which translates to Five Thumbs. They boil meat and with the broth cook ramen noodles in it. Then they poor melted butter and cooked onions over the noodles and put the meat on top. That’s the dish. You eat it with your hands, thus the name. They usually cook the noodles until they are a pulpy, mushy mess and cover it in grease. I don’t think it’s hard to imagine why I detest it. I was shocked when I saw it in the kitchen, because my family knows I won’t eat it. I later discovered that my host sister who lives 7 hours away made it without knowing my feelings on it. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I ate a plate of it. It was the best that I’ve had, which means it was edible. But that was not a big deal. My Apa is in the kitchen making Manti right now (along the lines of periogis). I plan to spend the rest of the evening reading, which is my favorite way to spend my free time. All in all, it was a great birthday. This weekend the rest of the volunteers are coming into the city to go to the café and then to my house for cocktails. Twenty-three looks like it will be a great year!