3 ways my host parents are exactly like my actual parents.

1) my host mom doesn’t like to see things go to waste any more than my mom does. case in point: in the episode of glee (კლუბი – clubi, in this next of the woods) where puck confesses his love to quinn and promises to help take care of their baby both characters get into a small food fight while making cupcakes for a bake sale. flour is thrown, sugar is tossed and at the sight of this my host mom declared, “what a waste of food!” i can’t even begin to describe the number of times i’ve heard those words come from my mom’s mouth (my dad can attest to this)…95% of the time they pertained to my own wastefulness (or my dad’s), but all the same.

2) some background information: we have cacti. a lot of cacti and most of them are planted in the front yard. two weekends ago, in order to winterize the garden, my host dad was fashioning a way to cover the cacti from the cold. he unfortunately speared parts of the cactus with its own spines. he also did not stick enough long sticks into the ground to create a sort of skeleton to wrap a tarp around. upon seeing this my host mom told my host dad he did it wrong and she immediately set to work trying to fix it. this is not unlike something my mom would do back in the u.s. as a rather festive example, i make note of my dad’s attempt at decorating the christmas tree last year. because no one took any initiative to decorate it, my dad ended up doing it. the result was not satisfactory (all the ugly ornaments were where everyone could see them) and my mom re-did it, with some complaining. after my host dad tried to join in and help my host mom install more branches, she scolded him again and he gave up with a, “fine! you do it.” again, not unlike in the schaefer household.

3) my host parents and i were coming back from “the city” (ozurgeti, about 15 minutes away and not all that exciting) and we detoured to make a stop at an area tea grower’s house. my host dad took a wrong turn and after driving a little ways, my host mom asked if he remembered where to go. my host dad muttered in the positive. as it turned out, we weren’t going in the right direction and my host mom told my host dad to ask someone for directions. he refused. we turned around, drove back to the main road, drove some, turned again and found the house. i told my host mom that even in american men don’t ask for directions. she just shook her head.

i share all of these small vignettes with you because its moments like these i forget my homesickness and feel more at home than ever before. my host parents are fantastic…and maybe i think (and feel) this because they remind me so much of my own parents. i miss my parents on a daily basis…especially my mom’s hugs, but i know that if i ever need one, luda will have her arms wide open for me (and badri will attempt to get me to look down at what he’s pointing to on my shirt and try to flick my nose…i rarely fall for that one anymore). on a less super-sappy note, i get to see my parents in 9 days! provided the weather in and around paris is conducive to travelling, we’ll be together on december 29!

animal update: after a number of false alarms (well, just one…on my part) our pig has had her piglets! a very joyous occasion for me since i have never lived within walking distance of pigs before. her sty smells bad, but i managed to snap a few pictures of the 6 newborns. they are quite the cuties. i have asked a number of times if i can have one live in the house with us…my reason: so bella the cat can have a friend. my idea has been met with mild enthusiasm…that might even be overstating it; the cat has a new nickname: the princess (georgians don’t use articles, so really, just princess). she will move into your sitting spot as soon as you leave and make no effort to move if you return. she’s sassy. oh! shout out to grandma and grandpa schaefer for the collar they sent her. she looks rather dashing in blue (she was NOT a fan of the ones with bells); appy, our calf, is leaving us sometime tomorrow. his eventual fate is unknown, but i’m going to take a wild guess and suggest he will be on a dinner plate in no time. he’s been making himself scarce these past few days. i think he knows.

this will probably be my last post before christmas. georgian christmas isn’t until january 7 because of the orthodox calendar and  i will be sure to post some historical information on the holiday for you all to enjoy. not to spoil the surprise or anything, but the celebrations will mean lots of food, lots of wine and lots of people.

thank you all for your support!

i wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!