"Put on a sweater or you'll catch cold."

That title was communicated to me this morning, via hand-gestures, from Grandma Maguala. It's nice to be welcomed into a family when living somewhere new.

Friday I woke up early enough to finally walk around Old Town Tbilisi in the daylight. I went with a friend and we explored until he decided it was time to go back and make ourselves pretty for our host-parents. We were to be meeting them around 1 pm, and I’d be lying if I said we weren’t nervous. To fast forward through the packing, waiting and hugging, I’ll skip to the part where Tamara called my name and my host mother stepped out to meet me. We’ve since decided that she’s too young to be my host-mother so my school principal is assuming that role, leaving Eka to be my host-sister.

Eka is the only member of her household who speaks any English. While her English is very basic, she speaks Russian (which doesn’t help me much) and also German! We tend to use German to communicate, although we consciously speak in English/Georgian first so that we can help each other learn. During the drive, she explained “Georgian Snickers” fruit preserves, pointed out IDP camps, and taught me river names. We laughed at the number of cows strolling in the road. We rocked out to Ozzy, Sting, and Enrique Iglesias…with me periodically explaining lyrics as best I could.

That night she introduced me to her parents (who live with her) and her cousin (who semi-lives with her). They run a guest house, and it couldn’t be more cozy. There was an earthquake a few years ago that damaged some of the ceilings and walls, but the house is colorful and warm and welcoming. The yard is filled with grapevines and apple trees, and Maguala (my host-grandmother) had been busily preserving fruits and vegetables for the winter. We all had dinner together, and then I unpacked. At one point, a young boy appeared at my bedroom door. Eka introduced him as a neighbor child and one of my new students. She explained to him in Georgian that I’m the new English teacher from America (a phrase I can recognize well by now) and he said “hello!” before getting shy and running away. It was so cute!

I am living in Sheubani Village. It’s tucked between the mountains of the Imereti region. The walk to the village church (and to my school) is about 20 minutes: through town, across a river, and up a mountain. At least I know I’ll be getting some exercise to combat all of this delicious but rich Georgian food (which deserves its own post sometime). Yesterday, Eka walked me around town. This gave me a chance to figure out what is where, and it also gave her a chance to introduce me to many friends, colleagues, and neighbors. She also took me to a mineral spring just outside of town. The water tasted almost spiced…it was rather nice.

Today, Eka left on a business trip. Maguala and I had the house to ourselves; she cleaned and while I studied. Now she’s gone out to visit a friend, so I’m drinking tea, putting stove in the wood fire (it’s cold and rainy today) and reading over verb conjugations. In short, I feel very much at home.

I’m borrowing an internet stick so that I can get online for the day. Later I’m hoping to catch my poor parents on skype (I haven’t been able to call them). Eventually I’ll get into town to buy an internet stick of my own… Nakvamdis until then!