Last weekend was the big Halloween party in Osh city. It was held at a restaurant/bar and felt like a real American Halloween party. There was red beer, a DJ, party lights (with a fog machine!), and a lot of people all dressed up and ready to have a good time. The party was a lot of fun – we pretty much all danced for 4 straight hours, and the weekend as a whole was amazing. Osh is such a beautiful city! We also ate way too much food at an American-style restaurant (California Café). Throughout the weekend, I had pesto pasta, burritos, French toast, cheesecake, and brownies all ordered in English! Besides the party and eating, I also went to the bazaar (one of the largest in Central Asia), saw the largest Lenin statue in all of Central Asia, walked through the beautiful park, and even climbed a mountain which is the third holiest site in the Islamic world. From the top of the mountain (okay, so climbing it meant 15 minutes of stairs, but it’s still cool), there is such a beautiful view of all of Osh (which feels so huge now, compared to Jalalabad) and all of the mountains that surround it – into Uzbekistan even. It was also really great to see all of the other volunteers I hadn’t seen since we all left Bishkek over a month ago. The trip there and back was also really easy and beautiful. The marshrutka (a minibus which is the best way to get around here) was about two hours through beautiful countryside and only cost 100 som (about $2.85). I’d been sick for most of last week and definitely still was for the weekend, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me from having fun. On Monday, I found out officially it was yet another case of giardia (third time’s the charm?), which has pretty much cleared up with the help of some amazing medicine… I’m proud that I could still dance for 4 hours and climb a mountain, in that condition. What can I say, I’m hardcore.
I’m headed back to Osh next week, because some other volunteers are doing a special class on the American political system, and then watching the election on international CNN, so we’re probably going to spend the night at the “American center” (where they get CNN) and watch as history is made! I’m really excited because I was sure I was going to be completely cut off from the whole process, but now not only do I get to see it, but it should be really fun too.
For Halloween, a bunch of us are all getting together today. My weekend plans are this: spending Friday night in a creepy abandoned boarding school, watching Halloween movies, and going hiking in the world’s largest walnut forest on Saturday. Just your normal weekend, here in Kyrgyzstan…
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and upcoming week.
Here’s hoping the news on Tuesday is good!
Osh City from Sulleiman Mountain
More of Osh
Halloween -- Christie, Nate, and Lauren
Volunteers and Pakistani med students made up a lot of the party.
Before leaving -- The girls
Osh people went with the 80's theme...
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