Canadian Moma, Kyrgyz Moma!

Our first night away from Bishkek we were both very tired and really ready to find somewhere to camp for the night. We decided to look around the houses in Kemin and hopefully find a safe spot to set up out tent.

The first two attempts to ask about our tent failed miserably - maybe they didn't understand, maybe they just thought that there was no where for us to camp, we weren't really sure... so we headed back towards the highway. A man on the side of the road said 'Hello' - we immediately jumped on this opprotuntity, asking and half signing to find out where we could camp. "No No. Come to my family house, my mother, my father, my grandmother, my grandfather all there!"

Once we were introduced, we were given soap and water to wash our hands and were shooed into the kitchen where his mother began madly preparing food. Emil got his sisters notes out from an English course she had taken and we flipped through the pages having great conversations! Emil's family didn't speak english, but between him and his friend and a lot of sign language we were able to communicate and have fun.

The family seems quite well off. The mother is a doctor and is running for 'parliment' in the area. The grandparents used to be teachers and his sister is working in Moscow in business (she speaks 5 languages!). Emil works for the government in Bishkek and is just home for the weekends.

I thought my mom was bad for making way too much food and for making people eat much more than their fill - she's got nothin on these guys!!! Tomato salad, soup, bread, jam, cookies, tea, chocolate, MORE, MORE MORE! You would barely take a break and they would be filling your cup or placing more food in front of you! It was all very good and much of it was homegrown. The father actually made the soup and seems to be the one at home looking after the animals and all of the gardening. It was very cute sitting around the dinner table having the parents trying to speak english; pointing at different things around the table and repeating after us, always laughing...

We were not allowed to help clean up but were sent outside for a tour of the place with Emil and his friend. They live on a small property and it is simple but provides a lot. They have a small herd of sheep, chickens, apple trees, apricot trees, strawberries, potatoes, onions, tomatos, and pears. They have just an outhouse, and then a bathhouse/sauna that is seperate from the house. The kitchen and eating area is also seperate from the house. Our bikes were tucked away for the night and locked in a another little shed. Oh, and mom, there are beautiful flowers planted everywhere!

They have a big stove / fireplace that they use to hear water and to cure their sheep in. They were so kind as to start the fire and give us plenty of hot water for a 'shower.' It felt SO good - it was the first warm wash since Canada! It was quite the bonding experience, Christine and I washing in this little room with dippers and pots of hot water. She couldn't even stand up in there!

Tired and ready for bed, we went into the house and set up our beds in the guest room. Emil and his grandmother came in for some more visiting. She is so cute - ooing about where we are going and what we are doing. Wanting to chat, she kept inviting us back again (translated through Emil), and then giggled as she taught us how to count in Kyrgyz.

We also met the grandfather earlier. He is not as mobile as the grandmother so he stays in a room and they tend to him. It is great to see how well both of them are looked after by the family instead of just being stuffed in a home and forgotten.

Emil is very smart and so keen to improve his english that he got out his notebook and got us to translate as he wrote down words that he wanted to remember. He also brought out his photoalbum to show us pictures of his friends and family.

Ok, now it must be time for bed - NO, back to the kitchen!! The mom (our Kyrgyz moma as she called herself laughing) had cleaned up from dinner and started preparing Kyrgyzstans' national food 'Mante' for a snack. Mante are dumplings with a spicy meat filling and are of course served with more tea! We ate what was on our plates and when we declined more, it was ONE MORE! We were so full! These normally do not sit well with me and tonight was no exception. So it was two Pepto Bismo pills, a few trips to the outhouse :) , more visiting and at last sleep.

What a wonderful cultural experiance! Exhausting, but wow, they were such incredible hosts! It is hard to describe how it feels to be taken into a warm home when you are so far away from anything familiar and be treated like family....

-Jodie