End of Ramadan

For those of you in the non-Muslim world, today was the celebration of the end of Ramadan. Lots of food is prepared in celebration of the end of fasting, and people visit their friends and enjoy eating in the daylight hours once again. We went to some friends, enjoyed some good food, and then chuckled at the absurdity as a bottle of wine was pulled out. Kyrgyzstan's Muslims are not generally very strict.

Our weather has been bi-polar; it's gone from pouring rain, to sun, and back to thunderstorms the past couple of days. I'm hoping it won't rain tomorrow, as I'm going to help a friend can tomatoes, and I need to bring my huge canning pot to her apartment....on foot, since our car still isn't working. I don't think I can manage an umbrella AND the pot at the same time! Last night was our Beth Moore study, as the same friend's apartment, and the electricity, which normally has been coming on at 6, didn't come on until 7, so we sat in the increasing darkness, filling out the viewing guide (which is supposed to be done while watching the DVD lesson) on our own, and then we watched the DVD when the power finally came on. Then I had a walk home in the pitch dark...we've been so happy that our street lights have actually been working for the past several months, but they sure weren't last night!! I was glad I had a friend to walk with! We hung on to each other's arms and laughed and screamed as we stumbled along the bumpy, puddle-filled sidewalk. I'm bringing a flashlight next week!