The Journey...

Written December 18, 2008

Kazakhstan doesn't recognize Christmas as a holiday, but it does have Independence Day on December 16 - therefore, I had the 16th and 17th without school. Not wanting to sit around the house for two days, I decided to go into Almaty to meet a couple of PCVs. Getting to and from Almaty on this particular holiday proved to be quite eventful. Here's what I experienced:

- Two dead cows on the road. The first was initially mistaken for a horse, but recognized once we got up close to it (ugh). The second was clearly a cow, and the car that had hit it was smashed up on the side of the road.

- Two dead dogs. RIP.

- A fog so thick that we could barely see the cars in front of us. This makes passing cars really exciting, let me tell you. Headlights just suddenly appear in front of you. I think I almost peed about 4 times.

- Started snowing on the way back to Merke (yes, we now have about 2 inches on the ground). I just kept wanting the darn car to pull over and put chains on, but I don't think those exist here. We only skidded on the snow twice, I think...

- A car accident that rivals any I've ever seen in person. One car was engulfed in flames on the side of the road - actually kind of mesmerizing to watch a car just burn out of control. Except that as we got closer I thought I saw a person standing next to the car, also engulfed in flames and I thought I was going to vomit. I soon realized that it was actually the passenger's door had been left open as the car burned. Phew! We didn't see the second car until we were leaving the scene of the accident, and it pretty much looked as though it had been crushed by one of those compactors. Pieces of that car were strewn all over the road. I didn't understand anything that was being relayed between all of the passersby (because, note to self, when Kazakhs are excited they don't speak slowly - very inconvenient for us Americans). But, I did catch that no people were hurt, so that's good.

- Oh, and did I mention that MC Hammer came on the radio? Yes. That's right. I listened to Can't Touch This in Kazakhstan on the radio. I smiled for the entire length of the song.

A journey that usually takes just under 4 hours, took us 6 on the way back to Merke. I got home and my host mom wasn't expecting me, so she had locked me out. Fortunately, she was sitting in front of the TV as usual, so I was able to knock on the window to get her to let me in.

Woke up this morning to a white Merke. I've been told the snow has begun and winter has arrived, and there is no going back from here. I'm going to the Bazaar today to buy a warmer coat and maybe some other warm gear for this white winter. They keep calling it a snowy New Years, but I still think of it as a white Christmas. :) I'm stubborn like that.