December 20, 2003

Happy Holidays!

From the land of no Christmas…L I am still amazed at the stark differences, and similarities, between Kazakhstan and the States when it comes to the holidays.

The “Holidays” exist here, but the focus is New Years, not Christmas. However, they treat New Years like Christmas in some respects. Let me back up a bit. Kazakhstan is primarily Muslim and Russian Orthodox, delineated by ethnic groups (Kazakh/Russian). Here in Ust, the mix is about 65/35 Russian/Kazakh.

So with the Muslims, there is no clear “Holiday” season (with the exception that perhaps some of their more distant cousins in Iraq are out shopping for some special gifts for our troops…). The Russian Orthodox religion I don’t quite understand. They have a Christmas, but its Jan 7, not Dec 25, and I’m not quite sure what its about. The birth of Christ doesn’t resonate with anyone I’ve spoken with (I don’t like to talk religion here, it creeps me out because its pretty much a Godless society).

So whenever or whatever their Christmas is, its not relevant to the overall public celebration of “the holidays”. I think I exaggerate when I say they are completely Godless, I just think religion is a much more private subject here, due to GENERATIONS of it being outlawed. After all, its been just a decade or so since they’ve had the freedom to express their religious views publicly, and even now that’s suspect if you don’t follow the “accepted” religions. So you don’t see public displays of a religious nature. They have a huge pine tree in the town center, decorated with tinsel and ornaments, but it’s a New Years Tree. Weird.

Funny thing is, some people do celebrate our “Christmas”, but they call it “Merry Christmas” (I think its something from their English books, they all use the same books to study by so they all make the same language mistakes). For instance, Pragma will have a holiday party on the 25^th because its Christmas. We exchange gifts also, but I’m still unsure if its for our holiday or just an early exchange of New Years gifts.

I wish I had more light to shed on the holidays, but its confusing. And its about to get more confusing, read on…

Let’s talk about Santa. Santa is here, sort of. They know about the man, but not the role, the reindeer, the sleigh, the chimney thing, etc. He’s second fiddle, though, to another guy, called “Det Morose”. That means “Father Freeze” or something close to that. Now I have issues with this guy, he IS Santa Claus, except that his coat is white, he has no hat, and he is always inebriated. It gets weird though, because now sometimes the two guys end up together at gatherings, sort of a Good Santa/Evil Santa duet.

If I sound too critical of the local custom, I’m about to change that. Local custom has something we sorely lack: the “Snegorichka” or “Snow Princess”. This is always an extremely hot, model-type girl in a cinderella costume, who parties right along side Mr Frost. Last year I was in Astana for New Years and I got to dance all night with the Snow Princess (even got her phone number..shh). I think there’s a pic on the site of me kicking up my stubby legs doing the white-man’s overbite with this lovely little darling, check out “NY in Astana”. They say if you hook up with the Snegorichka, you’re in for a great year.

So as you can see, there are pluses and minuses of all cultures J.

This year’s holidays will be a bit different. I’ll be here in Ust for the 25^th, but I leave that very night for Almaty, where I’ll be for a day before heading to Thailand for VACATION (as if I need a vaca). I’ll be there for two weeks. I can’t say I ever had Thailand as a vaca destination, but its common here, because its inexpensive and not too far. I’m going with three other guy volunteers, and our plan is to (no, not spend all two weeks in Bangkok Greg) go to this remote island for a week to relax, hang out in bungalows, get cheap massages, drink umbrella drinks on the beach, etc. Then we’ll do some exploring in the jungles, I want to go to this town on the River Kwai that has the bridge that was blown up in WWII (remember that movie, Bridge Over the River Kwai?). Oh, and we’re also going to this island that has a famous “Full Moon Party”, which is a huge rave of like 5,000 people. My friends at home now have families, their kids mostly in school by now, while I am moshing with 5,000 screaming foreigners. Yes, I’m perfectly normal.

I’m sure January’s journal will have some interesting tidbits and a few unique photos.

Some people asked where are the journal entries, and I got to thinking, I just don’t feel like things are that interesting or unique anymore, and that led me to think man, people are SO adaptable. I still get frustrated at cultural and language differences, and life is far from normal for me, but I’ve learned to exist here and each day is no longer a challenge. Yesterday I had a great meeting with the owner of a chain of toy stores, where I was helping him do some strategic planning and will help him set up a budgeting process. I thought afterwards how far I’d come. Yes I still need a translator for these meetings of course, but my ability to hit the ground running and work closely with the locals has really taken off. They say the worst thing about the Peace Corps is that just when you get good at your job its time to go. I agree with that assessment.

Speaking of leaving, after my Thailand trip I’ll be all about post-PC planning. I KNOW I’ll be a basket case of planning. I’ve started already, but I don’t want to share too much until I get some tangible plans in place, otherwise its just a lot of hot air. I’ll just say that I plan on reentering the IT field, somehow incorporating two years of working with Russians into my plans. In retrospect, I think there was NO better time for me to do Peace Corps. The economy is just now rebounding, the IT sector is still not healthy, but hopefully by next summer it’ll be better. I was worried that two years was too long of a commitment, but in retrospect, it may not be enough in terms of the US economy. Man, what a recession eh? My hope is that in five years me and all of my IT buddies are back in the saddle, flying high again, all with a common bond that we all made it through this slump and came out of it slightly different in a good way. One of us may come out of it with a Snow Princess on his arm J.

Ok, that’s my holiday journal. I’ll spend Christmas morning alone again, but don’t shed any tears, it’s a pretty uplifting and surreal experience for me. I’m not sure if I can explain it clearly, but being immersed in a society without the amazing holiday season, and knowing that all of those great memories still exist, with many more ahead because I CAN leave anytime I want, gives me this overwhelming sense of thankfulness, which is, after all, the feeling we all try to generate during the holidays, right?

So I’ll have a coffee, put some holiday music on, and I’ll slowly open the few precious gifts that made there way from Corinth, Maine and Huntsville, Alabama to Ust Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. While I do this I’ll imagine all of the past Christmas’ and where I’ve been, always with family of course, and I’ll smile to myself (I really do this!) I’ll also think about present time, and since you are about a half day behind me, you’ll be settling into a Christmas Eve as you’ve done for years, and I’ll again thank God for the random fact that I was born in the U.S.A.

Then I’ll pack for Thailand, leaving Santa, Det Morose, Snegorichka and the rest of the gang behind for New Years.

Take care all, and Snovem Gorum! (Happy New Year!),

Andrew