Spring has come at last!

Signs I know it's Spring:

• Today he was playing beekeeper.  Hoping for fresh honey soon.

• I also saw that the vegetable/fruit stand had fresh fruits and veggies for the first time in months.

• The cow has started producing milk again.  Fresh, warm milk (with a bit of sugar added) is delicious!  And full of calcium!

• There are tiny little flowers popping up around the area.

First flowers I saw in my area (from last week)

• Piglets are adorable. I saw several on my walk today.

• I’ve also seen several baby lambs.  They are also adorable.
• Sheep are everywhere.

• There are a lot more men sitting or standing around when I go on walks.
• I’ve gone to my fall coat and frequently don’t need it.  I actually have started to sweat in a sweater and jeans when the sun is out.
• Almost all the snow has melted.
• I can spend time in my room without freezing.
• I slept without my heater last night!  I’ve been using it only to get ready for bed and get ready for school lately, but last night I didn’t use it at all.
• The petchka (wood stove) is on its way out.
• Birds are chirping constantly.
• People are burning trash and dead grass, so sometimes the air is filled with a smoky haze.
• I can walk around the house without socks on without my feet getting cold or getting yelled at.
• The water does not freeze every night and now regularly works everywhere it should.
• All I want to do is be outside, which makes school a chore.
• My self-appointed spring break starts Saturday!

Other news:

I finally went to my first museum in Tbilisi last weekend.  The open-air ethnographic museum has houses and buildings from around Georgia that have been dismantled, brought to Tbilisi, and reconstructed.  My friends and I were shocked to find that at many of these houses there were not only people there to tell us about the houses and direct us where to go next, but they also spoke at least a bit of English.  While the museum was interesting enough, that was the biggest find.

This is the season of my female relatives’ birthdays.  My oldest host sister’s birthday was on Friday.  It was basically a teenage party.  Thankfully, they did not pay enough attention to me to make me drink too many toasts, but that had the unfortunate consequence of me being totally sober around drunken teenagers.  My host mom and grandma went to Tbilisi on Sunday for my host aunt’s birthday.  They got back Tuesday morning, the day of my host mom’s birthday.  However, we did not have a supra, probably because that would only mean more work for her.  We did have some sweets.  Tomorrow is my younger host sister’s birthday.  I think it will be another low-key teenage party.  I’ll find out, regardless.  From my limited experience, boys’ birthdays are a much bigger cause for celebration and encourage a bigger supra.  I’m all for a quiet celebration so I can finish last-minute packing for Turkey.

After several failed attempts to find the caves in the fall, I’ve finally found them!   

About a month into my stay here, I found out I lived in a national park and that there were caves nearby.  I had had trouble finding them, and still did not find them on my own.  I’ve been teaching (or trying to teach) a basic English class for teachers.  Only a few show up.  Several weeks ago, one of the teachers brought a guy to class and said he wanted to learn English and knew Russian.  I then learned he's the doctor's son.  He’s been more faithful than the teachers at showing up and is now basically the only student that comes.  He also knows a bit of English and actually wants to learn, which is refreshing when daily faced with kids who actively ignore my lessons.  He also said that one lesson a week was not enough.  Being lazy and not really wanting to actually have to plan lessons for free, I have not offered to teach more.  However, when he offered to take me to the caves, I took him up on it.  We worked on his English on the way, although my Russian probably got a better work out.  I also got a nice history lesson (although in the invariably ‘I think this is what he meant’ style of history and cultural lessons I get here with the language barriers, even if slight).  Apparently the caves are not just pretty, but were actually used by people for shelter and protection during wars against Muslims.  

close-up of the caves showing the man-made part as well

hole in the man-made part of the rocks...for shooting infidels

 Since the guy who took me is 28 and also took me hiking in the hills above Manglisi yesterday, I’m waiting for/hoping that no one will decide that this is more than a hike + English lesson.  I’ve done my best to remain a “kai gogo” (good girl) and not give the people of my village any reason to talk about me (aside from walking around alone), so I’m hoping this does not ruin that.

On Tuesday, apparently a TV crew and people from Tbilisi came to Manglisi to film something related the church (and I assume Lent) and the alphabet.  I don’t really know what was going on and never saw said people, but I heard some people talk about it and heard my director asking teachers for a lari for food for the supra.  Of course, no one really explained anything to me, asked me for a lari, or invited me, so I went home like normal.  As a result, and since yesterday was one of the teacher’s birthdays, the supra leftovers were spread out in the physics room for the teachers, so I ate and drank on my break.  It was one more reminder of how different life is here as I was encouraged to drink before dealing with small children, since that would surely get me fired in America.  It did make the 3^rd grade class easier, but it’s hard to be mad when half your class decides to shake your hand, give you a hug, kiss your cheek, or a combination.  Even some of the boys wanted to shake my hand yesterday.  It was adorable, but since my co-teacher gets about a tenth of the love I get, I feel a bit guilty.  Just a bit.

My acceptance letter from REEI at Indiana University came in the mail today.  To Georgia.  It’s the first letter I’ve gotten.

Last Saturday, I went to a get-together thrown by a British couple in Kaspi.  I had seen broccoli in the market I frequent in Tbilisi a few weeks before, for the first time ever in Georgia.  I also remembered that my PC friend had gifted me one of hiss Hidden Valley Ranch packets, so I decided to be the hit of the party with fresh broccoli and ranch dip, as I had previously had multiple conversations with various TLGers about how we missed broccoli.  Yeah, I’m serious.  Winter was rough.  While I might not have been the hit of the party, since there were brownies, I will never again go to a party where people are so excited about broccoli.  The Americans also rejoiced at the ranch dip and the Brits were just a bit confused by our love for a condiment we could not describe.  I tried to make an analogy to Protestantism, since I’ve struggled to explain Protestantism to several Georgians who have no background knowledge.  I’d never before had to explain it to someone with no reference point, like ranch dip.  Americans just know what it is.  Of course, the analogy fell flat, when I told one of the Brits to “just try it”, since I doubt Orthodox Georgians would really be game for just “trying” Protestantism.

Today was some holy day, so most (or all) classes got out after 3^rd period and headed to the church.  I only have 3 classes anyway, so it did not affect me, but it was another one of those “this would never happen in America” moments.

I adore my host grandma for lots of reasons.  This conversation is one of them.

Gulo: When do you leave for Turkey?

Me: Saturday.

Gulo: Bring back something good.

She doesn’t mess around.