Happy Bayram

Tomorrow is a holiday, a religious day celebrating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God (bayram in Turkish and bajram in Albanian). Lucky for Abraham, God didn't take his son and demanded a sheep instead. On my way to the university today there were sheep everywhere alongside the road. I wish I had grabbed my camera before I left this morning, but I didn't know there'd be impromptu sheep corrals set up everywhere.

Things feel festive, like Christmas. Everyone is preparing food, cleaning the house and the streets, getting ready for tomorrow. Of course, I'm not doing any of that although I do need to get to the grocery store today because I think everything is closed tomorrow. During bayram relatives go around visiting other relatives. Because Kosovo is not a mobile population, generations and extended family often live in the same town (if not the same house). Many buses aren't running tomorrow, so today is a pretty big travel day for those who are going out to villages.

Yesterday during my conversation group, one of my students said that baklava is a common food to have tomorrow. And what did I get today as I was leaving one of my university classes? A tupperware full of baklava that she, her sister, and her mom had made. Mmm-mmm....sugar, pastry, and nuts.