Happy Halloween!

For about a week now Peace Corps volunteers have been bringing Halloween to Osh!

Last Thursday Sarah and I made Jack O’ Lanterns at my NGO. We let the kids scoop out the seeds and membranes of the pumpkins. See the action shot to the left? I think they thought it was fun. They named the pumpkins “Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Lopez.” The certainly enjoyed the pumpkin (tikvah in Russian) they were eating it raw! The pumpkin here is sweeter and softer so it probably wasn’t too bad for them…. On Saturday Theo’s NGO sponsored a pumpkin carving contest. Volunteers brought their coworkers and family members. Together we carved over 10 pumpkins then voted on a winner. The pumpkins were very impressive and as soon as I get copies of the photos I’ll post them. Meg and I toasted the pumpkin seeds (the best part of making Jack O’ Lanterns) and check it out - in Kyrgyzstan people only eat the INSIDE of pumpkin seeds, not the outside too! To them, it’s like eating sunflower seeds.... Later that evening 30 volunteers between here and Jalal Abad dressed up and danced the night away at a local club’s annual Halloween party. The club is owned by a woman who spent time in America and it is one of THE events in the south. The staff was dressed up as well as some locals. Becky, Erika and I were the “3 Blind Mice.” Still waiting on those pictures too! At the club they served blood red beer and pumpkin pizza! Both were weird. I partook very little..... Yesterday I went to the center to make masks with the children and finally today we going to “Trick or Treat” around the center. I’ve recruited 5 other volunteers to help so it should be fun....... Tonight I’ll pick up one more pumpkin and carve it with my host family.

I’ve never celebrated so much Halloween! But this part of being a Peace Corps volunteer, right? Sharing American culture.