We last left off on the way to the train station, however, that was not the only thing that was left on the way to the train station, but rather our matzos were also left! Thank G-d, we got to the station early, bribed the customs guard to get our 30 kilos of frozen chicken on the train, and the shliach was able to run the matzos over just before the train left. After finding our cabin (sleepers with two sets of bunks) we decided to take the next empty one over because it looked like our cabin mates would be two Kazakhis drinking beer. Unfortunately, we were now occupying the cabin of a general in the army, and when he arrived on the scene we were forced into our ticketed accommodations. Nachman and myself, hassidim and shluchim of the Rebbe, of course did not let this deter us, and we proceed to befriend our new cabin mates. Shim-Chan (like Genghis-Chan) spoke about the One G-d that every body shares, and Dmitri said that before he met us he supported the Palestinians, but now he supports Israel. We even told them about the Rebbe, and the great love he has for all of G-d's Creation. Eventually, they decided they were hungry, and brought out a roast chicken, which they proceeded to devour directly on the cabin table. After persistent efforts to share their food with us, Nachman and I decided to bring out our own chicken, so we would at least share in the eating experience. At this point, Shim-Chan decided he wanted some of our chicken, and began trying to grab at it. To placate him, I tossed him a piece of white-meat, but my lack of accustomization to Kazakhi custom foiled me again and this ended up upsetting him very much. He started to complain, "Why do you treat me like a dog? You Americans always think you are better than everybody else!" Nachman took the next two hours until we went to bed calming them down and rationing them the mashka (vodka) that we had with us to say l'chaim for the Rebbe's birthday that happened to be that night. Boruch Hashem, Nachman took control of the situation and impressed me very much. The rest of the night, the cabin smelled like drunken Kazakhi, and in the morning we arrived in Teraz.
At the station two locals were waiting for our arrival, Vlad and Victor, who the local Chesed (Jewish Community) Center had sent for us. Victor drove us into town, while Nachman chatted with Vlad and I checked out the scenery. Vlad, it turns out has a Jewish grandfather and feels very connected to the tradition, as we could see from his involvement with Chesed. Once we arrived at the Chesed center we davened Shacharit (morning prayers) and Nachman acquainted himself with the staff. I checked out the kitchen: two stoves, and fridge, a counter, typical stuff; a few pots and pans and a load of silver ware. We began to evaluate the situation, and it became clear that Chesed did not know what to expect (we were the first bochurim ever sent there), and all they had for us was a roll of tinfoil and blow torch. When we explained what might be involved to casher the kitchen (another roll or two of tinfoil, and maybe some sheets of plastic), the treasurer began to cry. Eventually we calmed them down and Vlad and Victor took us to our flat nearby. Later in the day we returned to the Chesed center and began to take care of some small details in the casherut: covering tables and counters, lining the fridge so we could put the 30 kilos of frozen chicken away, setting aside that which we could casher and that which should be put away for the holiday, etc. and then we went to the market to by some new pots, etc. so that we could make food for ourselves. We took these to the local river, the river Telas, about 1/2 strength of the Northern Connecticut River, to toivel (ritually immerse) them, and conveniently found a set of stairs leading down to the river, which Nachman commented, "were created just for this mitzvah!" Then we went past the restaurant where the seder's would be held in town. Hashem gave us a very big blessing, because the room where we made the saders was new, with new furniture, and they were putting on new tablecloths and opening up new chairs, all of this made concerns about kashrus (particularly hametz, or leavening, on Pesach) very minimal. I commented that "the Rebbe was opening doors for us". At that point we were finished for the day and were very tired from our trip, so we went back to the flat and reviewed the halochos of cashering in preperation for the next day, the 13th of Nissan, when we would casher the whole kitchen. To be continued...
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