Holidays, Goodbyes, and Snow

In the last few weeks, life here has changed pretty drastically. First, my site mate was medically evacuated, due to ongoing stomach issues. She has until early December to recover or she won’t be able to return. I have all the faith in her and her determination to return, though I am of course worried she won’t be healthy in time, and we’ve heard horror stories about people who were screwed by bureaucracy.

Shortly after she left on short notice, we learned that Ismayilli would not be receiving a new volunteer from the new group. This wasn’t entirely a surprise, but was definitely a bit disappointing. On top of that, my other site mate, a member of the group ahead of me, is finishing his service. So Ismayilli stands to get a bit lonelier.

Lifting my spirits, my host mother celebrated my birthday by baking a wonderful cake, with Hershey’s chocolate icing, and a special pumpkin plov dinner, which my site mate shared on one of his last nights in town. The one benefit of his departure is that I have come into some inheritance, mostly consisting of some great food packets and cooking supplies, as well as an electric blanket, which comes in handy on the days when gas is low. I’d rather continue to have a site mate, of course, but a water heater and better cooking utensils ain’t too shabby neither.

Right after my former site mate left for medical leave, we got a huge storm, which certainly took me by surprise. A foot and a half of snow, which knocked down many of the power lines along my road, since the trees still hadn’t lost many of their leaves. Winter was here, whether we liked it or not. Altogether, the power was out for about five days. While it was difficult with the sun setting so quickly, I got some good reading done. My host brother, Orxan, visited at the time, because it coincided with the Qurban holiday, otherwise known as Eid al-Ada. This holiday commemorates when Abraham nearly sacrificed his son, Isaac. It’s typical for wealthier families to sacrifice an animal—a turkey, a sheep, a cow, depending on their wealth—and donate the meat to those in need. As far as I could tell, my family did not donate any food, but we did sacrifice a turkey for plov, which was quite tasty. I’ve been watching the turkeys grow (and in some cases, helping to give them food and medicine), from tiny chicks to large ugly birds, practically asking to get eaten—they’re not always the friendliest of birds, though positively welcoming next to geese. Having Orxan here was nice, since I see far too little of him, and also because he had to clear the snow off the roofs instead of me. That’ll change when we get more snow later on.

The time off for Qurban was followed up the next week by fall break, meaning we only had school on Friday, and due to cold, no one showed up to clubs. Instead, a couple friends visited, so they could check out Lahic, the nearby mountain village. Once they learned my birthday was coming, they treated me to dinner one night, and also showed me how to make some homemade chocolate fondue. Who says Peace Corps has to be all suffering?