happy new year

Let’s see, where did I leave off?...

Life brought me to the Ukraine, then Egypt, and then back to eastern europe in time for 2007.

Belarussians are blunt people. It is a long standing observation of mine, but I don’t think I have ever commented on it. It makes me think about communication in general, and what can be "standards" of, say, polite, good, or gentle speech, if there can be. At first I thought the bluntness, sometimes which even feels harsh or rude to my american self, was just a result of the language barrier, politeness being lost in translation,... but I have since realized this is just how they are, or just how Russian language itself is built. It has been an adjustment, whether conscious or not, since I’ve arrived. So when I do encounter belarussians who seem very polite or kind, I find myself really struck by it, and really appreciative, when perhaps I would have taken it for granted otherwise, elsewhere...

So the new year… {long babbling play-by-play follows…}
I had an awesome celebration in true Belarussian fashion. Ten of us gathered at my friend’s apartment at around 7:30pm new year’s eve. I had prepared cracker-coated baked chicken and brownies. We enjoyed a huge meal, which meant I tried traditional Belarussian new year’s food, like mushrooms and fish salads, in addition to more American fare, like my chicken and BBQ ribs, with Tony Roma’s sauce even! After stuffing ourselves, we played a few games which resulted in so much laughter that I swear I had to have lost all the weight I had just gained from dinner by the end of the fun. Around 11:30pm, we all turned off the lights, except for their little “yoluchka tree” (new year’s tree), and prayed about the past year with many praises and much thanksgiving together. Then, at about five minutes before midnight, we turned on the TV to hear the president give his “new year” greetings. After midnight passed you could hear fireworks being set off in the streets and parking lots in the middle of the apartment buildings. But we went back to praying, this time for the upcoming year. By now, it was close to 12:45, and we all rushed to throw our coats on and run down outside, while carrying sparklers, to catch the metro out to the completely opposite side of the city by 1:30am to watch the city-wide fireworks display. We got on at the second metro stop of maybe 10, and it was already packed with people. The crowd was so bad and insane that we felt nothing but sheer hilarity about it. Getting gum out of my purse became a real challenge… and soon, even standing up was painful. Of course, you couldn’t move (or fall) anywhere, because everyone was nearly suffocating by everyone else packed around them! The police had to keep people from getting on the metro cars at the following stops. By the 4th stop, everyone inside the metro was shouting to those on the platform to take a taxi, or they would reassure the bystanders that there would be a New Year next year, so they could just wait until then to see the fireworks…. I was squished in between my friends, and halfway falling on or jabbing with my elbow the people sitting down. When we reached our final destination, the mass of people exiting the metro was astounding. I would have grabbed my camera to capture it, but I think I would have been trampled in the effort and/or would not have even been able to GET my camera out of my bag to even take the shot. Maybe next year… Around a quarter of a million people were there to watch the fireworks, which lasted 20 minutes. Then we had to try to catch a bus back to our apartment, which took about an hour given the traffic jams. So by 3:15am, I was back at my friend’s apartment in time for dessert. I successfully converted several Belarussians to loving Reese’s pieces. We had cakes and torts and brownies and chai, and by 4:30am, everyone was simply exhausted, and the conversation was dying down. I headed “home” with my friend Krista, and finally went to sleep at 6am, just one hour before midnight EST. But New Year’s day proved to be just as fun as New Year’s eve. I made muffins at noon, and took them over on my “wake up call” errand at 1pm. I ended up hanging out with my 8 Belarussian friends again until 8pm, having leftovers, playing cards, watching some crazy Russian cartoons on TV, and having some good conversations in English and Russian.

So here I am… it is nearing January 2nd, 2007, and I’m looking forward to more relaxation before going back to class on Wednesday… and still brimming over with joy from the fun in the past 48 hours. 2007 is going to be a great year, I’ve decided…

Hope your new year’s was as merry and wonderful as mine! Any resolutions for the year? Share if you dare. :) (‘Cuz I’ll make sure to ask you about them next year!! ;))