We're under attack! Hit the deck!

No. Actually it's just New Year's in Kazakhstan. The people here go all out celebrating; it is one of the biggest holidays here.

Ever since I arrived here, people have been telling me about the New Year's celebration and how loud and colorful it is. Some said it sounded like a war zone. I thought they were exaggerating. They weren't.

I have never experienced anything like the noisy display that I witnessed this New Year's Eve night. People were shooting big fireworks off of their balconies, out of their windows, and on the sidewalks (most of the buildings here are apartment buildings)! (there are no laws about fireworks here!) The entire city was one big massive explosion of fireworks and car alarms (set off by all of the fireworks...lol!) I have never seen or heard anything like it in my entire life! We (me, my roommates, and Jesse) kept running from one end of our apartment to the other to look out the windows. We finally got up the courage to do what most of the people not shooting off fireworks were do: hang out your window waving sparklers and yelling "CHOBOM rODOM!" (pronounced "snovum godum" which means, "happy new year!" in Russian.)

It was freezing cold! and I was frightened as more than once, one of the fireworks from the apartment building across the courtyard or beside us, and once from a window directly below (we're on the 8th floor), came zooming past the window and the one from below shot right past Jesse's head! After that, we were somewhat more timid about how far out the window we stuck our heads. It was great fun to wave our sparklers and yell out the window in Russian with everyone else, though!

And it was so hilarious, because just when the car alarms would stop, more fireworks would go off and the whole lot of them (a parking lot full) would go off again with their horns, lights, and alarms! It was so funny!

After all the excitement, we were finally able to calm down and watch the President's annual New Year's speech (it's the tradition here for everyone to watch it.) I say "watch" because we probably only understood about 5 words that he said. We did get a picture of us watching it though, so that we would have photographic evidence.

CHOBOM rODOM!