Nauriz- Kazakh New Year

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Things keep happening that I want to write about, but then I decide to wait for the pictures and... wait- I think I've been down this road before! :) Anyway, if things go according to plan, there may be 2 or 3 new entries in short order to make up for it. We'll see. :)

Anyway, this past week we celebrated the Kazakh New Year, called Nauriz. It's a celebration of spring (although we had a blizzard on Monday, by Thursday it was really quite nice!) and Kazakh culture. One of my favorite parts of the festivities is when they block off the main street in town and all the major companies and organizations in the city set up yurts, the traditional Kazakh dwelling. Most of them had all kinds of food and amazing decorations and traditional items (artwork, musical instruments, etc). And though they seemed to mostly be reserved for people affiliated with the different organizations, my status as a guest in their country opened a few doors.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

Inside a yurta with Vera, feasting on baursaki and chak-chak
(delicious local food) and kiwis (not so local, but still delicious!)

I've said it before and I'll say it again- what are holidays for if
not making a fool of yourself in public/taking crazy pictures?

Afterwards a bunch of our friends went to a restaurant and then over to our place to hang out. The rest of the long weekend was spent hanging out with them. One night we played Russian billiards, and I have to say- if I can ever master that, I'll be unstoppable at American pool! The table is at least 3 times as big, and the pockets are smaller. We went shopping for spring boots with Vera, and watched another classic Russian film (with subtitles of course). It was a crazy, action packed weekend. I was almost ready for the work week to begin again so I could have a break! But it was a ton of fun.

And now that the new year has begun, bring on the spring! We are sooooooo ready for it!