All other countries have inferior Potassium: Protein, Petropavlovsk, preachers, and Polar Bear swims

Friday, January 9, 2009

Protein, Petropavlovsk, preachers, and Polar Bear swims

Vegetarianism has provided many opportunities for conversation here in Kazakhstan. Most have heard of it but most don’t know much about it. Typical things I hear are: Is chicken meat? What about fish? You can’t get protein without meat. I can’t live/ imagine not living without meat everyday! And other such comments…

Some people are generally interested. At the banya last night, the topic came up again – there was a newer guy there and he was interested in why I decided to become a vegetarian (and turned out to be the most open person I’ve talked to yet). My buddies take light jabs at me and its fine, its cool, we all have a laugh. But one of the “buddies,” the least educated of them (how surprising), started talking about how I probably read some “little propaganda book or leaflet” and that was the main reason I’m vegetarian. I started to explain why it’s just as healthy as a diet with meat, that I get all the protein I need (especially since I do eat eggs here, though that will cease when I return), but he doesn’t listen, he just keeps flapping his mouth. They are obsessed with the theme of protein, by the way. They say there are types of protein that can’t be gotten in any other product other than meat. It’s so difficult to explain to them that that isn’t true. I suppose I should forget even trying to get to a level where I could convince them that a no meat diet is even healthier than a diet that includes meat… ;-)

I found some information about how vegetarians can get everything they need to be just as healthy (and healthier) and I’ll translate it soon and carry it with me so people will stop saying uneducated things that they can’t back up with anything other than tradition. I’m not trying to convert people to become a vegetarian – that isn’t my goal; I simply get tired of listening to uneducated people act like they know everything.

Off of the soap box and onto other things in life. I broke up with Olga, things were a bit off between us and I didn’t see a future with her. So we split ways.

I attempted to go skiing last Wednesday, the Russian Orthodox Christmas, but we got there and they didn’t have my size. All of my friends skied and I took pictures and drank tea in the cafeteria. Exciting. I’m going to Petropavlovsk next week for Крещение (Kresheniye – which is the Russian for ‘baptism’). On this day, Russian orthodox believers usually go to the river, if reachable, and a hole is cut in the ice. A preacher blesses the water and you can either dip in or take some water home and wash with it. January 19^th marks the end of the 12-day yuletide and this is how they celebrate the baptism of Christ. Think Polar bear swim + religion and that’s what the Kresheniye is all about.