Postcard 2

Postcard 2 -- Washing the Car

My host brother has just returned from a 5-month stint working in Russia and, to celebrate his success, has purchased a new car for the family. It's a brand-new Nissan with lovely things like air-conditioning, automatic gear-shift, automatic locks and windows, and a little sensor which tells you if you're about to back into something. In a land full of ancient Russian hunks of metal passed off as cars, this car is really something.
When Kyrgyz people get something new like a car or house or even a television, they invite their friends, family, and neighbors over to 'wash' the new item. This involves making enough food to feed a small army -- Kyrgyz specialities like ash (rice pilaf-esque dish with carrots and meat), boorsok (doughnut-like bits of fried bread), shorpo (can't say I'm a fan of this one -- a broth in which the newly-slaughtered sheep was boiled), and, since it's summer, a plethora of fruits and vegetables. And, of course, the requisite vodka to wash everything down. My host dad, who never drinks, got a little loopy and cornered me, insisting that I join him in a rather large shot. When I hesitated, he told me that I didn't need to worry about being shameful and drunk -- I could just sneak away and have a nice long nap. So he gave a toast to the car and we took our shots -- and, in typical Kyrgyz fashion, chased them with cucumbers. God bless new cars.