turkey day take 2

The rivers of mud are getting tiresome. I remember being a bit surprised last year at how quickly winter set in, but this year I’m wondering when it’s coming. I don’t think I’ve said this before in my life, but I WISH IT WOULD HURRY UP AND FREEZE! As the days continually get shorter and the holiday season strolls in, I want to send some early holiday wishes back home. Thanksgiving is this week, and for the second year in a row, I won’t be spending it on the same continent as any of my immediate relatives. Last year was a little depressing, having missed out on a huge Montgomery gathering in Illinois, but I was also challenged and embraced by the situation I was in. I celebrated Thanksgiving Day with my host family, city PCVs and school colleagues in Petro, and then Friday afternoon I headed to Zerenda, a PCV site 3 hours south of here to spend with 25 other volunteers. The older volunteers did an amazing job arranging food and lodging for us as we celebrated a traditionally American holiday nowhere near America. Not to slight my own amazing family at all (or to dismiss my mother’s “You feel so far away!” tears), but I felt welcomed and possibly even more full of holiday cheer than I would at home with familiar faces and dishes. There was something special about claiming each other as “family” supporting each other in a situation we knew was difficult, albeit in varying degrees, for everyone.

This year will be some variation on that same theme, as we will probably make a dinner at Mike’s house on Thursday for the city volunteers, and then Tim and I will go back to Zerenda for the Second Annual Turkey Day PCV Extravaganza. Due to tighter budgets and stricter travel policies, the number of attendees will be closer to 10-12 this year. Our new volunteers plus Mike and Ashley are going to stay and do their own gathering on Saturday. I, however, am looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting the new volunteers from that oblast. I don’t feel the homesickness I was feeling last year. I’ve graduated to the position of “Veteran Volunteer” and I hope I’ll be able to help support and encourage the Kaz-20s who are just finishing their first month at site. More updates to come next week. I hope you all are finding warm and welcoming places to enjoy time with your loved ones.