i originally forgot a title.

let’s see. there haven’t really been any new developments in my peace corps experience. hm. school is in session (only 2 more months to winter break!) and i’m still teaching. after a rather stressing and upsetting 10th grade class 2 weeks ago, i asked the director to have a talk with them about their attitudes and lack of respect. it was decided that since they didn’t deserve to have an american teacher,  my other counterpart would teach their class until the end of the semester. so now i’m teaching whatever classes gulico had during my 10th grade lessons. fine by me.

we also got a visit from my host brother irakli, my host cousin michigo and his dad. michigo is kind of famous in georgia because he is a comedian on a famous comedy sketch show, a lot like saturday night live in the u.s. needless to say, we drank a lot of cha cha and had some great food that night!

irakli // michigo // badri

love.

speaking of food: something i have yet to do (and that fulfills the 3rd goal of peace corps: “helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of americans”) is write about the varieties of food available here. let me preface this by saying that even though the food my host mom cooks is fantastic, it’s usually the same thing quite often. thank god i love khachipuri.

so, khachipuri: basically, cheese bread. there a number of varieties, but my host mom’s is the best. a close second is the street variety that often comes with this flaky, pastry crust. yum.

lobiani: the same thing as khachipuri, but with some sort of re-fried bean concoction. my host mom doesn’t really like it so we don’t eat it. i’m not a big fan either.

tomato and cucumber salad: self-explanatory. eaten.at.every.meal.except.breakfast.

satsivi: chicken or fish in a homemade walnut sauce. the sauce is fantastic with bread.

romi: so, i originally didn’t like this rice and corn thing served with a chunk of cheese in the middle  (it’s really hard to describe), but it’s really great if you cover it in satsivi (see above).

khinkali: meat or cheese-filled dumplings with pepper sprinkled on top. i’m not really a fan because of the broth that leaks out when you eat them. khinkali’s close sister, pilmani, are my favorite. smaller and with no broth. best served with sour cream. yum.

mtchadi: kind of like corn bread, but not. i like it best when hot and with cheese squeezed between two pieces. apparently this is not the correct way to eat it, but oh well. i also like to dip it in satsivi or any other sauce that might be available. yum.

badrijani nigvzit: eggplants seasoned with ground walnuts and vinegar. not a big fan.

soups: they love their soups. my host mom makes killer chicken noodle and vegetable soup. yes mom, i ate soup with veggies.

matzoni: LOVE.THIS.STUFF. homemade yogurt. tastes like greek yogurt (therefore, tastes like nothing), but is the consistency of normal yogurt. i eat it with jam or honey mixed in with it. my host parents eat it with sugar and bread. to each his own. side note: pomegranates are coming into season and this afternoon i had some matsoni with pomegranate seeds. my host mom thought i was crazy.

jonjoli: caper salad. smells funny. not a fan.

most of these foods are served during supras (big feasts) and are served with heaps and heaps of homemade wine and cha cha. you’ve got love this country.  mtchadi, matsoni and khachipuri are often served at my house on a daily/weekly basis. as a matter of fact, my host mom tends to bake a loaf of bread and khachipuri every morning. yum. PLUS, my host mom makes apple sauce for me that rivals my grandmother’s. again, yum.

for peace corps’ second goal (“helping promote a better understanding of americans on the part of the peoples served”) i have introduced my host family to eating yogurt with jam (my host mom likes it, my host dad not so much) and peanut butter…my host mom LOVES the stuff. i have also brought milk (i had to buy some that wasn’t straight from the cow) and cereal into the house and explained that i used to eat this every day back in the u.s. my host parents were appalled. i also made them kraft mac & cheese. that did not go over so well. my host mom came up to me afterwards and offered me some khachipuri and said she preferred the cheese bread. sad panda. i have made scrambled eggs with ketchup for my family and eat my potatoes with mayonnaise.  i’m pretty sure they think i’m from another planet.

bakhvi animal update: it’s been a slow couple of weeks, but the neighbor’s dog has been coming over to our house to play with simba. at first he was incredibly timid, but thanks to a little coercion, we’re besties now. our cow is preggers. i was also informed that our calf will be leaving us to go somewhere once winter roles around. i have a feeling he will be eaten, eventually. sad panda.

besties.

alright. time for some lesson planning [sarcastic 'yay' here]. tuesday i will be going to batumi with a group of students so that they can take the first round of the flex test and so i can help proctor it. flex is an exchange program for georgian students in the 9, 10 and 11th grades. if accepted, they go to america for a year all thanks to the american government [non-sarcastic 'yay' here]. there have been a number of flex students from bakhvi in the past so keep your fingers crossed for this bunch of kids.

hope everyone’s weekend was fun-filled and less rainy than mine. take care and thanks for all of your support :]