State Fair East

We’ve been reminded of the phrase “til the cows come home” several times this week. Before elaborating on the incidents that have brought this saying to the forefront of our minds, it is important to first explain the cow situation in Kyrgyzstan in some detail. There are cows everywhere. There are probably more cows than people. Every family seems to have a few cows that live with them. We have three that reside in our backyard near the sun shower and “toilet.” The cows in Kyrgyzstan are quite independent. Every morning they exit through their owners’ front gates and walk to an open field where all the cows “hang out.” For some cows the walk to the open field involves making various turns onto different streets in the neighborhood (not a single street sign in sight to guide them) and crossing the major road that runs through our village and all the way into Bishkek. There are no crossing guards or stoplights to help them dodge the cars on this major thoroughfare. At the end of the day, one that we imagine is filled with fun, relaxation and food, the cows reverse their route and return home. It’s really amazing to watch the cows parade home because they know just where to go. The other day we witnessed two of them waiting patiently outside of their gate until someone realized that they were home and let them in. It’s all a seemingly smooth process, that is, until the day that the cows do not come home. For two of our cows that day was Saturday. We have a few theories as to their whereabouts on the night in question. Originally I (Lauren) thought that they might have been out with a bunch of floozies, but then Martin reminded me that, if anything, they were the floozies (the whole dairy cows being a female thing). Anyway, our host sister was in quite a tizzy upon realizing that the cows had skipped curfew. She was the only one at home with us at the time. When our host parents did get home our ata (host dad) went looking for the cows. Finally the cows returned home sometime around 4am—we have this highly classified information because Martin was very ill that evening and was up for most of it. The next day our cows learned that there are consequences for their actions…they were grounded and couldn’t go out to play with the other cows. If these type of late night shenanigans on the part of our cows continue we might have to contact the dairy farmers of California and inform them that happy cows, in fact, come from Kyrgyzstan.