December 31, 2009
New Year is a big thing in Azerbaijan. Since two days before the holiday, my host family
’s kitchen was already very busy. BiBi (aunt), my host sisters’ aunt came from Ganja to help. Of course, I was told (not asked) to help. I did not mind helping, as a matter of fact, I do want to learn how to cook and make cookies.
The holiday meals for Azerbaijan are identical for each family and for each holiday as well. There are always lots of salad, chicken salad, carrot salad, cheese salad, vegetable salad, salad in a roll, salad in a bow, salad on a plate etc. On top of that are the “National Meals”: kebab, plov,
dolma, roasted chicken with stuffing (which was the most delicious of all meals!), and finally, the deserts: a huge cake, many cookies and fruits.
New Year Eve d
ay, after finished breakfast, five women were busy cooking in the kitchen. My jobs were to cut, peel, wash and cut more. They did not trust me to do any cooking. By the time I finished cutting, my hands hurt so much. Around 9:00pm, Ata (father) and Nene (grandmother) came home from the farm and Ata had wine and other drinks for the holiday. Usually, Azerbaijan female is not allowed to drink, but my host family is very open. Hekim, the elder sister (I like her a lot) likes to drink, so I had a drinking partner. Hekim can drink! Both of us had fun that night. Every one in the family was surprise to see me getting a little bit crazy, but they allowed Hekim and I have some fun and did not say any thing. You can see how much fun I had that night!
When midnight arrived, we climbed up to th
e roof of the chicken shed and played fireworks. I screamed like I was in America (with the help of the wine, of course) and my host sisters thought that I was very funny. After my host sisters went to bed, I stayed a little bit longer on the roof top to watch the stars. A lot of thoughts came to my mind. 2010 New Year Eve indeed was a very special night for me. I was in a foreign land, with three lovely and wonderful host sisters but there is something else, something else that I frustrated me for so long….I need to work it out.
New Year is a big thing in Azerbaijan. Since two days before the holiday, my host family
’s kitchen was already very busy. BiBi (aunt), my host sisters’ aunt came from Ganja to help. Of course, I was told (not asked) to help. I did not mind helping, as a matter of fact, I do want to learn how to cook and make cookies.The holiday meals for Azerbaijan are identical for each family and for each holiday as well. There are always lots of salad, chicken salad, carrot salad, cheese salad, vegetable salad, salad in a roll, salad in a bow, salad on a plate etc. On top of that are the “National Meals”: kebab, plov,
dolma, roasted chicken with stuffing (which was the most delicious of all meals!), and finally, the deserts: a huge cake, many cookies and fruits.New Year Eve d
ay, after finished breakfast, five women were busy cooking in the kitchen. My jobs were to cut, peel, wash and cut more. They did not trust me to do any cooking. By the time I finished cutting, my hands hurt so much. Around 9:00pm, Ata (father) and Nene (grandmother) came home from the farm and Ata had wine and other drinks for the holiday. Usually, Azerbaijan female is not allowed to drink, but my host family is very open. Hekim, the elder sister (I like her a lot) likes to drink, so I had a drinking partner. Hekim can drink! Both of us had fun that night. Every one in the family was surprise to see me getting a little bit crazy, but they allowed Hekim and I have some fun and did not say any thing. You can see how much fun I had that night!When midnight arrived, we climbed up to th
e roof of the chicken shed and played fireworks. I screamed like I was in America (with the help of the wine, of course) and my host sisters thought that I was very funny. After my host sisters went to bed, I stayed a little bit longer on the roof top to watch the stars. A lot of thoughts came to my mind. 2010 New Year Eve indeed was a very special night for me. I was in a foreign land, with three lovely and wonderful host sisters but there is something else, something else that I frustrated me for so long….I need to work it out.
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