Nauryz

I know I haven't been able to write a post recently. I'd love to say it's because I haven't had internet, but I've been struck down with a bout of lethargy, so I'm hoping to pound out a few posts to try and catch up. Who knows, I might get it fully updated.
So this first one involves Nauryz. Nauryz is the Kazakh new year, so it's all about the Kazakh culture. In general, this involves eating lots of beshbarmak (boiled mutton and noodles), baursak (fried dough balls) and drinking kummyz (fermented mare milk). To be frank, the Kazakhs are not brilliant culinary masters. I mean, kummyz tastes like a mix of buttermilk and stale beer. The entertainment is a little better. There's kokpar, which is polo played with a headless goat, and kizku (bad spelling), which is a man chasing a woman on horseback trying to steal a kiss while the woman hits him with a riding whip. This would have been great, but unfortunately they didn't do either one of these sports, so some of the excitement was not there.
So, I met up with a few volunteers in Astana and we made our way to Shymkent. To go from the North to the South or vice versa is usually a 24 hour trip, so the only way to keep your sanity is to have a lot of entertainment or some people to chat with. Check on that list. So we arrived there and with a large amount volunteers split into various rented apartments. I love being around other Americans, but sleeping on a floor with 8 other people can fray ones nerves.
Anyway, we went to Turkestan, which is one of the few ancient parts of Kazakhstan. Most of the country was nomadic, so history is a lot of conjecture and hearsay. Turkestan is close enough to the Silk Road. Anyway, in Turkestan was a mausoleum to an imam, which was pretty and interesting in itself. My great genius forgot my camera, so I should hopefully get photos from other volunteers. Anyway, the tilework on the mausoleum was cool, but the interior was plain and barren. The funny thing for me is that the Kazakh Muslims consider 3 trips to Turkestan equivalent to one trip to Mecca. I'm not sure how Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia would agree to that logic. So after a few hours wandering around in glorious heat, which is much better after 4-5 months of constant negative degree temperature, we returned to Shymkent.
As is normal with groups of Americans, we went out to a night club, which was actually a good way to let off some steam. However, as usually happens when people and alcohol are mixed together, drama ensued. I don't feel like getting into the depths of it, partly because it's personal, partly because I don't fully remember all the nights. Suffice it to say Peace Corps is a small community and rumors and gossip tend to fly much faster and much farther in small communities. Toss in locals here who can be a bit eccentric at times and the proverbial can hit the fan.
So, to be able to stay there a bit longer, we had to do a little work. So, Phil, one of the local volunteers, had us do a project with some of his students from college and university. He has a lot of students who will work in the local service industries and as interpreters, so they need practice working with native speakers. So, most of us went on tours with local university students and we wandered around asking questions. I was surprised at their level of English, but then of course my starting point are 17 year olds who can't answer the question "how are you." So it was refreshing talking English and correcting English from a more advanced speaker. Plus it doesn't hurt that she wasn't hard on the eyes. :-)
Finally, the most important part of this trip: FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!!! Food in Kazakhstan is not like food in the U.S. The seasons are adhered to strictly here because most people buy their food every few days. Also, with most of the country blanketed in snow for long stretches of time, there's none available. So, just the ability to buy fresh apples and peppers and other things that are not potatoes and cabbage was such a refreshing experience. One of my first experiences was buying 2 pounds of apples and eating them right away. It's the little things in life that count.