Presbyterians must be doing something right

My wish came true. The rivers of mud have finally relented as of the last week of November. The temperature finally dropped enough to solidify the sloppy slushy mess that I had been bemoaning for the last month or so. Although the snows haven’t come just yet, winter has officially begun with our first really cold day on December 1st (-15 oC). But the weather is old news and not as surprising or noteworthy this year. More interesting things have been happening in my Kazakhstanian life. (Note: Kazakhstan just officially changed the English adjective form of Kazakhstan from Kazakhstani to Kazakhstanian. Don’t forget.)

Zerenda, a small village near Kokshetau (the oblast center of the Akmola oblast) three hours south of Petro, was invaded this past weekend by fifteen turkey and pumpkin-pie crazed Americanians (KZ is onto something with these –ian endings.) PCVs from three oblasts joined Jackie, Zerenda’s lovely hometown PCV, for a Thanksgiving blast that stood up to, if not surpassed last year’s Turkey Day Extravaganza. We stayed at the same resort center as last year, paying 1000 tenge (8 USD) for two nights on a metal spring bed, and bringing along enough food to feed forty people for a week. The spread included potatoes to be mashed, pumpkin pies to be devoured, stuffing to be – well – stuffed, soup to be savored, salads to be crunched, and two Kazakhstanian turkeys to be… shashlik-ed. That’s right. In a brilliant blend of US meets Kazakhstan, West collides with East, Tradition fuses with Innovation, the turkeys met the skewers and the barbecue pit. And what a delicious combination it was! The familiar Turkey Day bird of honor never tasted better than hot and smoky fresh off a pit of white-hot coals. The main dinner showcased toasts from the veteran Kaz-19s, celebrating their halfway milestone, as well as from the newly sworn-in Kaz 20’s, bright eyed and energetic (read: young and inexperienced). It was great to meet the new volunteers as well as spend some quality time with old friends. It’s amazing how a year in a foreign country can forge such strong friendships so quickly, making friends “old” in a matter of months. We toasted the cooks, the hosts, the new volunteers, the old volunteers, our friends and family back home, and even the cat with no ears that was meowing loudly throughout the whole ordeal. We were very thankful. That night we paid for two hours of hot and naked banya time, and we experienced something new when at the suggestion of one of the 19’s we poured some beer on the hot sauna coals. For your information, the steam from beer smells like freshly baked yeast rolls from O’Charley’s. No lie. The weekend wasn’t complete until we played the traditional Newbies vs. Old Foggies football game. Just like last year, the veteran team prevailed, and I’m happy to say this year I was on the winning team.

Back at site now, I am preparing to leave on friday for a week in Almaty for our Mid-Service Training (MST) conference. It will only be three days long, but 30 hours each way plus an extra day in Almaty to spend with PCVs will round it out to a full week away from site, and hopefully from the cold.

Time is rolling on. Life is… normal.