Adventures in Kyrgyzstan: December 2010

It finally feels like winter around here. After weeks and weeks of fantastic fall weather, we were lucky enough to have a taste of winter last Friday evening. Although it tried to snow all day on Friday, it was more of a snow drizzle (snizzle?) all day, amounting to not much more than a touch of white on only the coolest surfaces. About the time we arrived home (5:15ish?), it began to really snow.

Katie and I went for a walk, which was beautiful.

As it does anywhere, a fresh layer of snow transformed the city into an entirely new place. Sounds are different, the light is different, traffic changes pace; it's all new again, for the first time. There's something invigorating to me about snowfall. It's not unlike the first rain of autumn, or the first day you see your breath, or the first time you pass through the tunnel and find yourself at Tunnel View.

On Saturday, it was clear and cold. We walked to school just to enjoy the snow. It was a beautiful day.

Now, about the air pollution... it's worse when it's cold and calm. A serious inversion took up residence for a few days. Thankfully, it has improved recently, but we worry it will be quite common through the winter.

A dear friend recently told me, "Time for a new blog." And she was absolutely right. So, first off - Thanksgiving.

It was a bit bizarre to work on that Thursday, to have no plans to be with family, and not to get our usual double Turkey feast :). I felt a bit better about life when I realized that even though we didn't get the day off, I could still do Thanksgiving activities with my kids. Here's a brief story about one of them. I found a cute project online - making pilgrims using plastic spoons as bodies. I knew, or thought I knew, that we could get the spoons at the "Super Market" nearby. So, Wednesday night Peter and I go there, and encounter 0 spoons. Peter offers to walk to Beta store - a larger store that is further away. We part ways so I can go do shopping for dinner at the bizarre. He calls me from Beta and says, "They only have 8 blue spoons and a bunch of forks." We decide forks might work and my kids could glue on faces. Let me tell you about the forks - their twines were dirty, they had been rewrapped, they were extremely cheap...hmmm... a new recycling method anyone? I would like to see Raley's or SPD or Save-Mart selling obviously used plastic silverware :)

Back to Thanksgiving...
That Saturday truly felt like Thanksgiving. The "foreign hires" at school all pitched in to put on a real feast for the whole staff. The hustle and bustle of getting everything prepared was so much fun. Peter and I (with help) peeled, sliced, cooked and mashed 25 pounds of potatoes. Oh, and we made some delicious apple cider. There were three oven-baked turkeys (delicious), one deep fried turkey, and ham and pineapple. Green bean casseroles, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, an oriental salad, rolls and I'm sure a few things I've forgotten filled the table. Here are some pictures of the preparation. We used the school kitchen and then loaded everything up and took it to our director's home.

These two lovely people are Linda and Earl. Linda teaches 5th grade at the school. She and her husband got to school at 6:30 in the morning to cook the turkeys, make green bean casseroles and so much more! There wouldn't have been a feast without them.