Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope everyone had a good Christmas and have exciting plans for New Years!  A lot of people have asked me what I did for Christmas and how Kazakhstan celebrates the holiday and I have an answer for both!

The volunteers in the Aktobe Oblast (my region, remember) all gathered in the city for a Christmas dinner and a chance to score some high speed wifi.  Jon, Sarah, Lauren, and I came into the city Christmas Eve but most of the other volunteers came in Saturday morning.  Jordan (one of the city volunteers) came to the apartment and cooked an amazing meal, gravy, eggnog, the works and as other volunteers trickled in more and more food was prepared (garlic bread, mashed potatoes, green beans, etc) and then we ate around 7pm.  It was a feast fit for a king and we devoured everything in less than 45 min.  After dinner we exchanged our Secret Santa gifts and enjoyed a mound of cookies, candy, and the rest of that eggnog and basically talked, joked, and laughed late into the night.  Even though we were away from family and many of us were missing age old Christmas traditions I think that all of us can say that we’ve never had a Christmas like it.

More exciting than Christmas itself was my trip home for the city.  Jon and I left the city around 4 o’clock so that way we were well on our way before sunset.  The road right now is pretty dangerous because everything is covered in ice and you don’t really want to be traveling at night so we had to leave extra early to make sure we were home on time.  At first we were lucky because when we got to the taxi stand one of the women waiting for a taxi worked at Jon’s school and so she would make sure that we weren’t cheated and that we each got home alright.  It also meant that she could answer questions for us and we didn’t have to struggle through the language.  But the taxi she picked was a piece of crap.  Note to self: never get in a taxi that has to be pushed to start—take a different taxi.  One of Jon and I’s biggest fear is having the car break down on the road (esp in the winter) and being trapped outside all night long.  You can literally freeze to death here.  So, we were driving and I guess we hit some sort of an incline and the car stalled out.  Luckily we were still on the main road and so almost as soon as we stopped another car stopped and some guys helped us push the car until the clutch engaged (or whatever it does) and the car started.  Then we went on our way.  But our driver was driving really slow so it was taking a lot longer to get home then we had planned, so it got dark before we were even close to where we needed to go.  Anyways, so we made it to Jon’s village, dropped him and the other teacher off, and then I went on to Kobda.  On our way out of the village (but before hitting the main road again) the car stalled out again.  But this time it was worse.

So this time, when the car stalled out, it was just me, the taxi driver and his friend in the car.  We also stalled out in a place where no one gets phone signal.  And it was pitch black.  And the snow outside was ankle deep (thank God I had my boots on.  Thanks Brenden!(ps: this does not mean I am referring to you as God, calm down….hahahaha)).  So I got out of the car with the guys and we pushed the car, fiddled with the engine, and tried hotwiring the car for about 20 minutes.  Luckily my phone has a flashlight otherwise I don’t think we ever would have gotten that thing to start.  I was contemplating our chances of walking back to Jon’s village to get help when the car finally jumped and we had power again.  But then it was a really awkward car ride to my village where the friend kept trying to talk to me in Russian and Kazakh and I just kept telling him I didn’t understand.  It was harmless talk but I really just wanted to be home.  When I finally got home I was looking forward to whatever my host mom and made for dinner until she brought out what she had made that day.  I have no idea what it is (though she keeps bringing it out at meals and making me try it) but I’m pretty sure its something like shredded cow’s foot gelatin.  And no, its not good.

Kazakhstan doesn’t really celebrate Christmas like we would understand it, instead they put a lot of emphasis on the New Year and everywhere you go you see decorations and signs about the new year.  But it’s very similar to Christmas in the states.  They have a tree, they have a Santa figure, and they have a lot of concerts.  On New Year’s I will be going Конак-ing (which translated means: guesting) and everyone will have feasts (I am SO stoked about it).  I’m sure I will eat a lot of bec barmeck and sheep’s head so keep your fingers crossed for my stomach.

But that’s the adventure of the week for this volunteer in Kazakhstan.  Have a happy and safe New Year’s everyone!