Merry Christmas to all and happy New Years!
I had a great Christmas here -- we had anohter big gathering, with a huge amount of amazing but not exactly traditional food (chili, cornbread, salad, carrots and onions, mashed potatoes, and "Korona" brand champagne), but it was still festive and very fun. We had a secret santa, a christmas tree of paper taped to the wall, and a special performance by the 15s of "The 12 Days of Christmas" that was hilarious. None of you would understand it, but trust me, it was hilarious.
We also had three days of food planned, from the bean dip, ranch dressing, and spaggheti Christmas Eve dinner to yesterday morning's hashbrowns, "tomato yumminess", and scrambled eggs. Sarah and I somehow became the ringleaders of the weekend, which was surprising to me, but nice since it all went so well.
Kyrgyzstan is getting ready for Janga Jill (New Year) celebrations. It's funny to me how this country has picked up America's Christmas traditions and turned them into Janga Jill traditions, without any hint of irony. Everyone has fancy "Janga Jill trees", kids are waiting for Santa to come and bring them Janga Jill presents. They even changed the words of "Jingle Bells" to a Kyrgyz version about Janga Jill.
I will probably be spending Janga Jill with my host family, seeing what Kyrgyz families do for the holiday.
Otherwise, school is pretty much out for the semseter. My school has a 10 day break, followed by me going to Bishkek for a week-long training, so I won't really be back until the last week of January, when my counterpart and I will work on next semester's Calendar plan and a teacher training she and another volunteer have been planning.
Our little family here is breaking up a little -- 2 volunteers are going to America for a month (remember -- if you want to send me anything, Susan will bring it back with her -- her address is in the previous post), and two others are going to China for vacations. It will be strange to have them gone, but I'm sure it will be over faster than I think. It's weird and exciting to think that, if I follow through on my plans, I'll be the one heading home for a vacation at this time next year! Mark your calendars, people, only about 365 days until you can see me again in Charleston!