This past weekend Nick and I were invited to Pavlodar for the the 2nd Annual Winter Olympics among PCVs in the Karaganda/Pavlodar Oblasts (regions). Nick had A LOT of lessons on Friday (which turned into a crappy seminar) so he wasn’t able to go. :(
Nevertheless, it was a crap ton of fun and here are the highlights by competition.
1. Beshbarmak-Off: which Oblast could clean off their plate of Beshbarmak (the National dish of Kazakhstan). Since the Beshbarmak was homemade we decided for it not be a race… you just had to clean the plate.
Karaganda -1 Pavlodar -1
2. Sauna-Off: who could stay in the sauna the longest.
Strategy baby. 
Karaganda-2 Pavlodar-1
3. Vodka-Off: who could down 1 liter of vodka the fastest as a team
Not our favorite competition….
This look explains it all.
Karaganda-3 Pavlodar-1
…needless to say, Karaganda WHOOPED UP the first night…
4. Kazakh Squat-Off: who could stay in the Kazakh Squat position the longest
Our secret weapon, Losha.
Karaganda-5 Pavlodar- 1
5. Indian Leg Wrestling Contest: who could flip over the most number of people with his/her legs
We should have known she was going to destroy us… this was Shannon consoling her OWN teammate after flipping her in a flash!
First, you lay side by side in opposite directions.
Second, you throw your legs in the air counting to 4… and then LOCK them as quick and possible and try to make the other person flip into a somersault.
If you are anything like Denise, you try and punch the person that flipped you so fast…
I was in shock.
Karaganda-5 Pavlodar-3
(Shannon was a freakin’ BEAST at this… we didn’t even have a chance)
6. Flexibility Contest: Shannon made us all do ridiculous moves including putting legs behind our heads, touching toes to head, craziness… SHANNON COULD DO THEM ALL.
Karaganda-5 Pavlodar-5
7. Plov-Off: who could make the tastiest Plov (officially an Uzbek dish; however, there are Uzbeks that are Kazakhstani, so I still consider this a Kazakh dish, even though… technically… EVERY Kazakh person will tell you it is in fact not Kazakh… duh).
Karaganda-8 Pavlodar-5
*for the record, Susan’s (& Tina’s) plov in the middle was AMAZING. The kids just didn’t know what “flavor” tasted like (apricots & raisins & cashews)… I’m absolutely making her recipe next time for Nick and I.
8. Frozen Clothes Competition: we headed down to the lake and Shannon “hid” the clothes in the snow and we had to work as a team to put them “on.”
Karaganda-10 Pavlodar -5
9. Beer Pon-gu: Beer pong at their favorite cafe. Karaganda held our own with Losha and Elena but in the end Pavlodar edged us out for a tie (beer pong was worth 5 points).
Karaganda won the first round!
Denise and I did not do as well…. meh.
Pavlodar won the second and third rounds.
Karaganda -10 Pavlodar- 10
10. SUDDEN DEATH FLIP CUP: who can flip the plastic cup from one side onto the other
KARAGANDA WINNING = AMAZINGLY AWESOME.
The weekend was jammed pack with so many events and activities it felt like we were there for a whole week. We even did work on Friday at Shannon’s organization before the festivities began. Thank you SO much to the Pavlodar Oblast.. especially Shannon, Chris, Paul and Susan for organizing, hosting, feeding us SO well, and of course taking a butt kicking in style.
KARAGANDA FTW!
