After Dinara's graduation, she invited us to her home for a traditional Kazakh meal of horse meat. Her aunt (whose home we went to) was really excited about demonstrating Kazakh hospitality to a group of American's whom her niece worked with. She had spend hours and lots of money on the meal and was very proud to have us in her home. We were thrilled about this rare chance to be guests in a native's home.
We had been hearing about horse meat and how it is the traditional meat in Kazakhstan, so we figured we'd have to try it at some point, but nothing could compare us for what we got! Once we all sat down, Dinara's aunt brought in a platter 2 ft. in diameter with at least 20 lbs. of food piled on top (see the third picture; the platter goes almost the whole width of the table!). The bottom of the platter was layered with hand-made pasta, which was then covered by four different types of horse meat. There was normal filets of meat (much like a beef roast), followed by an enormous horse sausage, accompanied by a cooked horse stomach and finished off with a huge horse rib including all the cooked fat (the fat was the delicacy). Although Jen and Jesse, and her parents, served themselves (which was probably the smart thing to do), Sarah and I were served by Dinara and her aunt. Each of our plates was piled high with large portions of each type of meat. It was so hard to eat these items for the first time, and be expected to clear your plate, but we didn't want to be rude so we made our best attempt. Unfortunately, every time our plate got somewhat clear, more food would be piled on top for us. In addition to the food, we were served a small portion of cognac for toasting. Considering the fact that neither of us drink alcohol, this was a big stretch. Once again, every time we tried to be polite and finish it, we would receive more whether we wanted it or not (especially before each of the eight toasts during the night). After the first time, we learned to not drink any so that our cups looked full.
Looking back on the evening with its awkward moments and strange foods/drinks, it was still the most amazing experience we've had during our whole time here. We were so grateful to our hosts for their incredible display of hospitality; Dinara's aunt even gave us gifts because it was tradition. Following dinner, we enjoyed visiting with the whole family including her aunt's two daughters and two of Dinara's friends. We were all given turns singing karaoke, which is huge in this country. We also got to look through photo albums and see many of Dinara's other relatives.
Towards the end of the evening, the table was again piled high, this time with an amazing assortment of breads, jams, handmade butter, cookies, fruits, nuts and candies. It was another entire feast, and it all tasted so good! (Luckily we were used to eating this type of food.) We also enjoyed some excellent tea with our desert. What an amazing amount of food it was! After four hours of eating, visiting and eating some more we headed home exhausted but filled with new information about Kazakhstan, it's people and it's traditions.