Goodbye Bishkek-Hello Ankara

1 am, Manas Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. A bit woozy from a bottle of vodka from Turkmenistan (split 4 ways—don’t worry mom) and a bottle of Kyrgyz cognac (split 6 ways—don’t worry mom, actually rather smooth). On the way to the airport, I stopped by Tamara the cook’s place to drop off a CD with pictures for her. Zokhra, her daughter, met me at the door with a plate of Tamara’s homemade manty, fresh from the steamer, wrapped in plastic and ready to eat. I waited until I got through passport control to devour them with a cup of Nescafe. Technically, I didn’t need them but you don’t know how wonderful Tamara’s manty are. The only thing missing was the homemade lazy, a hot red pepper sauce and vinegar to drizzle over them. As I told her on Friday when we said goodbye over manty and shots of vodka, “These are better than sex”. They really are! I was waiting for an X-ray attendant to tell me I couldn’t bring them through but either they understand the wonder that is manty or they just don’t care. Before you know it, I downed all eight in a matter of moments, savoring the yeasty, puffy dough, the fried onions and potatoes and the chewy meat inside these luscious dumplings. The fat gently drizzled out but I made sure it didn’t squirt out over my shirt. I’ve had much practice eating Tamara’s manty.
With every bite, a tinge of emotion played on my heart, realizing that I was leaving Kyrgyzstan, the program was over and the goodbyes I’ve said in the past few days were real. Now I’m all alone after a month of being responsible for so many others. It’s a bittersweet feeling—one of happiness, sadness, numbness and disbelief all wrapped up into one. My babies have made it to the US and are getting settled into their families, my teachers and counselors have all gone home and now I make my journey home, with a week’s layover in Turkey before heading back to reality.
I was showing pictures of my cats to some friends tonight and it trickled into my head that I missed my kitties, that I have a business and a life back in NYC. I’ll get back to it in good time. Until then, I’ll enjoy my time in Ankara and on the Black Sea somewhere. There is no plan, I’ll just ramble, find a place and crash. No thoughts, no destination, no nothing—just relaxation.