snow, cake and a field trip

 

the first snowfall!

 

just like the last post there haven’t been many goings-on to warrant a new post. however, i did get a new set of sheets for my bed. and it’s finally cold enough to sleep with two blankets. finally. also, i have taken to doing my laundry over a number of days because there’s a lot of it and our washer is slightly old…soviet days old. i’m trying to plant the seed with my host mom to get a new one since i know it’s a hassle for her to use too. so, i’m spreading my american ideals…a nice, new washing machine will get the job done swiftly. plus, we have to fill up buckets of water from the shower to put in the washing machine. hassle. i guess it beats hand washing.

 

the washing machine.

 

i started writing this post a while back…before it rained for 12 days straight. that was crappy. capital c. plus, that laundry i mentioned doing above, sat outside for 5 days before it got slightly dry enough to bring inside. i even ended up putting some things close to the wood burning stove (pechi) because there was no chance of it drying outside.

the weather has finally gotten better. it’s still a little chilly, but definitely more fall-like than the previous week and a half. classes are still going on and it’s been great! all of my kids are doing their homework and learning english well, albeit slowly. but i am enjoying myself. and, if i have a bad day at school (or one that just wears me out) i can come home to a great host family that makes it all better…plus, good food!

speaking of food: today is my birthday! my first birthday in georgia…and it’s been one of the best! last night i helped my host mom bake a cake…and got to lick the bowl (even from thousands of miles away, it’s still like being at home!). i even got my host mom to lick the icing bowl, but she wouldn’t let me take a picture of her. sad panda.

 

i love dee cake!

 

this morning it was all finished and beautiful. plus, unlike my american mother, luda let me have cake for breakfast (actually 2 pieces and i’ll probably have more for dinner)! YUM! then, at school, i was serenaded with “happy birthday” by a number of different students; my 6th grade class gifted me with packs of sunflower seeds (love them!), lollipops and a cell phone holder; a 6th grader’s mother who mans the cafeteria gave me a free can of Coke; a teacher gave me chocolate and my tutor gave me a photo album (plus, luda and badri gave me some perfume)! AND, to top it all off, there was another cake at school (with the compulsory wine). love it! there were a number of toasts to my health, my future and my future georgian husband. even though there was no red velvet cake or my family and friends from america here with me, it was still one of the best birthdays ever. it’s great to be a guest in a community and feel the love and compassion, especially when i’ve only been here for 3 months. i also adopted a stray kitten today that was found outside the teacher’s lounge hungry and crying. we gave it some icing and i brought it home in a cookie box. i gave it a bath and now it’s sleeping and purring loudly on my bed (simba is not happy with the new addition and the neighbor’s dog tried to eat her/him). who knows what kind of bugs and diseases she/he has, but she/he is a cutie.

 

luda's cake

 

 

the cake at school made by a fellow teacher

 

 

october eating some icing

 

this past saturday was my first excursion (field trip) with a class from school. i was asked by my tutor to accompany her and two other teachers on a bus trip to zugdidi with the 9th graders. it was a nice time and i certainly learned a lot of georgia. zugdidi is in the region of samegrelo (my host mom is originally from this region) and has a wonderful monastery (and very peaceful). we also we to the former home of emperor dadiani. it turns out that his daughter was married to napoleon’s (yes, the short one from france) grandson. interesting. his house was a lot like versaille, but on a much smaller scale. lots of beautifully carved bookcases and french-made tableware. lamazi (beautiful in georgian).

 

martvili monastery

 

 

house of dadiani (it sounds like a fashion house)

 

 

grade 9 + 1 from grade 7

 

those are the updates of the last couple of weeks. sorry it took so long, but i wanted to wait for something good! stay tuned for the animal update and pictures from the wine-making…because it’s wine season in georgia! no wonder fall is my favorite season.

love to you all and, as always, thanks for your support :]