5 months ago the Khacmaz PCVs threw a 4th of July party as a gift to our community of friends, work relations, family members, and counterparts. It was pretty freakin' big and adding together the community the three of us had amassed and the 20 or so Americans there we were able to show Azerbaijan a classic 4th of July barbecue. It was a huge success and we enjoyed a tinge of pride when we would hear staff members or other PCVs talk about how awesome they heard our event was.
Yesterday, we upped our game and threw an even larger Chrismatukkah (Christmas + Hanukkah) party for our community of friends, work relations, family members, and counterparts. Only now, we have been in country for 5 more months, which meant this community was 5 months largers. And by that, I mean we had a guest list of over 90 people that we 'had' to invite. Staring down this list a few weeks ago it was easy to feel intimidated about what we were planning. It seemed that every idea we threw out would create three more ideas to also include. It was easy to see that this party was not only going to be big, it was also going to be a lot of work.
What type of work? Well, for starters we can probably boast of having performed the only play describing the origin of Hanukkah in Azerbaijani. Thats right, we wrote and acted out the Hanukkah story in Azerbaijani. And, whether it was the visual gags or our atrocious pronunciation, the audience loved it. Or making holiday props such as Santa's beard, Rudolph's antlers, or a holiday wreath for the photo booth we set up. Count at end of party topped 200 photos which had been taken using this photo booth. We made dreidels and wrote out rules for people to win some candy and set up a crafts table for people to make holiday cards and ornaments. We sang carols and taught Jewish folk dances. Moreso than the 4th of July party, this party was about activities.
Which doesn't mean to say we didn't have any food. Throughout the week Glendene got down and dirty making 300 potato latkes. And Lannea and I baked, frosted, and decorated about 300 Christmas cookies. Americans brought homemade applesauce, potato gratin, macaroni and cheese, cakes and brownies, eggnog and cider. It wasn't necessarily the healthiest holiday fare, but eating healthy isn't what the holidays are about.
The party was a massive amount of preparation but it was incredibly worth it. Over 60 people, including our program and training managers from Baku, came to help us celebrate the holidays. They learned Christmas carols and the story of Hanukkah and ate a lot of cookies. We even had two former PCVs from Sengeal who just finished their service and are now traveling through Central Asia join us. These parties that Glendene, Lannea, and I throw are a massive amount of work and guarantee a stressful week preceding but they have paid off to a huge degree and are amongst the best gifts we have ever given anyone in our community.
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