Just another Saturday

Wie Me! Today was Lasha’s last day here, so I got up early to say good-bye…and then I went back to bed for a few hours. It being Saturday—our house-cleaning day—I spent the morning cleaning my room and sorting out my laundry. Then I walked to Keti’s house. We baked apples and made blinis while talking about food; made puppet parts while hardly talking; ate her mother’s famous fried potatoes while talking about autobiographies and personal narratives; and then painted puppet parts while hardly talking. She translated part of her script to me the other day, and I’m really excited for her. Hopefully everything turns out in a way that makes her happy.

Seven hours later, Eka called to ask when I was coming home. As I walked home, I remembered times when I was younger when my mom would be upset that I was always out of the house. Meanwhile, I was upset because inside the house my sisters were in their rooms/watching TV/playing on the computer and my mom was watching TV/talking on the phone. For my mom (as for my family here), my physical presence is the important part. For me, interaction is more important (at home or elsewhere). I understand the other perspective better now.

When I did come home, everyone was worried about whether I was bored without Lasha to talk to. Jumberi was particularly worried. He kept coming over and trying to entertain me. First he showed me the medals of honor he’d been awarded by the USSR. Then he told me that in the summer he would take me swimming in the river if I know how to swim.

This was funny. He didn’t really believe that I can swim when I said I could. This was the third time today that a conversation ended with “Well, she is an American.” The first conversation started because I pulled my pocket-knife out of my bag to use while making puppets. The second started because I put butter on my bread (Georgian Orthadox ladies are fasting from meat and dairy at the moment). So the things that make me American are carrying a knife, eating butter, and knowing how to swim. Color me amused.

In other news…yikes the Russian and South Ossetian protests. I’m not nervous here…but I’m worried a bit for some of my friends who do things like move to Moscow and Saint Petersburg sometimes. Ohhh…