new years

After getting a card from my Aunt (thanks Sue!)  I looked back at my blogs and don't think I ever told what I did over New Years!  If I did and I overlooked it you can stop reading right now.  Since I had just returned from my trip to Italy over Christmas I hadn't planned on leaving my town and was content to unpack and watch the festivities around the world on tv from my apt.  However I got invited to some friends house here.   Not quite sure what to think about the time or a gosti gift I called my counterpart to ask advice.  (I've begun to realize even though I think I'm more of a "if it happens, it happens" and a person not as dependant on time as other Americans are, when it comes to doing things with others I would like to have a "ballpark."  Are they going to pick me up at 8 or 4?  Is he coming to study at 2 or 6?  I'm flexible but kinda need a timeframe of 1-2 hrs.)  So she called them and I was ready at around 6 (that I'm totally fine with!).  I got to their house and of course we had a big meal.  First we had soup called Tarator.  The typical American description is yogurt mixed with water as a base with cucumbers in it.  Of course there was salad and rakeya.  As I think I've said before in a blog soup can be a meal for me....but it's not here, just a start!  The main meal was next and that consisted of diced potatoes, 2 "qufte" or bigger meatballs, a small chicken leg, and some cabbage.  Of course after the rakeya was finished it had to be replaced with something and that something was beer.  I had been trying to pace myself through dinner when all of a sudden a big piece of cake is put in front of me.  During dinner I tried to get a sense of what was going to happen and if I was in fact going to be there at 12.  I picked up on the fact there would be fireworks.  Meanwhile we're still eating and I just had this sense that I should hurry, that something was going to happen.  So I finished my cake and then promptly went with the woman to the other house (?) where we laid down and had a "pochievka" for a couple hours.  Being new years it wasn't much of a pochievka at least for me, I was getting text's from friends and, being that my phone was new, had to figure out who they were from b/c I hadn't put lots of numbers in yet!  (That story was a different blog in Dec!)   I had been asleep maybe 30 minutes when it was time to put my coat on and go outside to watch the fireworks.  After about 10-15 minutes outside we went in and as quick as that it was over and time for me to go home.  The fireworks were being set off right across from my apt so I wasn't quite sure if I was going to be able to get back to sleep or not.  I must have b/c I don't remember not being able to.  That was my New Years!  All this sounds familiar like I've told this story before so I apologize if I've blogged about this already.  Love and hugs!  and the waiting continues.........