November's news

11/3

We ran along a really nice, very pretty dirt road. They have so many cool places to run here it is like they have a ton of the perfect roads. I remember how hard it was back home to find a quite road to run on. Here we have all these places where the roads just wind along beautiful rivers and stuff and we won't see a car the whole time. We do have to be careful about dogs but so far most places have been fine. There was one road last week where we had like 3 dogs come out and bark at us but none where very big and all went back to their yards when I yelled at them. Lucy is very afraid of dogs and is glad that I am here to protect her she is also afraid of rats and now that we have to go out more after dark since it is getting dark pretty early here she says it is my job to protect her. So far we haven't seen any rats but it gets dark by 5 and most of our lessons don't end until 8 most of the roads are pretty well lit up though.
We went and visited the little girl we teach English to today and ended up staying for quite awhile because we had a lesson near by. So from 5-7 we stayed and taught her English and played with her. We don't have to do much to entertain her and she loves to talk and sing and tell us all about her day and school. Lucy did tell her a story from the fathers book and she really liked it. We weren't sure what her mom would think but she was in the room and didn't have problem with it. Lucy told her the story of Jonah since they had been reading a book about whales. The little girl had all kinds of questions like were we there when it happened, what was the other peoples names who were on the boat, and what was their eye colors. She is so cute and full of questions and stories.

11/5

One thing I did today was learn how to write most of the local alphabet. They have all the same letters that we do and then a couple of extras but they don't write them the same way we do. They make it more difficult and they think handwriting is very important but that is probably mostly because they rarely use computers. So the kids have to spend a lot of time getting really nice hand writing. We wanted to try and teach the little girl at least part of the alphabet since she really isn't learning anything in school. But Lucy doesn't have good handwriting and isn't any good at writing the local alphabet so she asked me to try. She is aware that my handwriting is not great in fact I think it is worse than hers, but I was able to figure out how they did it and practiced enough so I could at least look like I know how to write and be able to teach the girl. We tried to teach her at the lesson but she wasn't very interested in learning and was not as well behaved as usual so we gave up. We might try and teach it to her again some time but either way I got some practice.
Here everything molds and I mean everything. It doesn't seem that humid but the the roof, walls, furniture, and everything molds. Clothes that don't dry and it can take days to dry clothes will mold, food molds fast we have to keep the bread in the fridge to keep it from molding, the towels we use to dry dished start to mold after just a day or 2 even though we keep them hung up to dry between meals. Last week Lucy was smelling mold really strong in her room and couldn't figure out where it was coming from until she realized her pillow was molding! It is amazing what will mold and Lucy doesn't know what to do about it this is something new that they are still learning how to deal with since they didn't have this problem in other places they lived. But the are slowly learning things that help like they keep all their closet doors open so there clothes don't mold and spraying towels with vinegar before washing seems to help.

11/6

I went shopping for yeast, milk, and cream because I wanted to make bagels and try another kind of homemade ice cream. Lucy made caramel sauce last night since she loves caramel and likes trying to make caramel candy now that she learned how to make caramel for the cake we made. However she isn't so big on following recipes but that is ok we just have sauce instead of candy and she can always try again. So I wanted to make some ice cream to go with the caramel but the kind we make in the bag we can't freeze and melts really fast. We aren't sure if it melts fast because that is just how it is or because we don't use whole milk or if it is because we don't shake it long enough. But I found some other recipes for making ice cream that are harder but sounded interesting. But I needed cream for them and wanted to use whole milk. When I got to the store though I couldn't tell if they had any cream I could see different kinds or milk but not cream so either they don't sell it or I don't know what it looks like here. I did see a package that had ice cream written on it and on the back in pictures it showed some one mixing the package with milk and freezing it so I did that and am waiting to see what happens. If it works it is cheaper then buying ice cream and ice cream is really hard to find now any way. The people here believe that if you eat ice cream in winter you will get sick even if you eat it in a heated house and it is nice and sunny out. So we pretty much can't buy ice cream any more because it is winter.
I did find yeast and made bagels they turned out pretty good. I guess the big difference between bagels and bread is that you boil them before baking. They kinda take awhile to make but the recipe was easy it just takes time because you have to wait for them to rise and then boil them.

We had a good time at the house we went to last night. We were talking about traveling and stuff and they wanted to know what it would be like to visit and American home. They were surprised by how different it would be. They do a lot of little things that we don't do. Like every person greats any one who comes to visit by kissing them on both cheeks or if it is a guy and a girl they shake hands ( guys greet guys by kissing cheeks ) So there have been times when me and Lucy go to a home and there have been people lined up from the door to the sitting room and we have to great each one. They will each say welcome and we respond I don't actually know what the actually translation of what we say is. They have several things they say and different sayings that mean thank you but are said at different times. They also always serve tea and snack, or sometimes coffee, but this is complicated too since depending on the time of day they are expected to serve different things and if they give you something you have to eat at least some but sometimes not all that they give you. Plus as hostess they have to offer you things and more thnn once. And as guests we have to except some things but not others. I mostly just try and do what Lucy does and guess. I know what to do a lot of the time but other times I am not sure. I have learned most of the things that they say but others just Lucy says and that is good enough. Another thing that I just learned is that if you compliment something more then once especially if you make a big deal about how nice something is it means that you want it. Then they will feel they have to give it to you. They also don't complement each others kids because then the evil eye/spirit will strike the kid so often if they think a baby is unusually cute they will tell the mother it is ugly to confuse the evil spirit. Lucy's mom was not prepared for this so she was highly offended when she had Lucy’s brother and people on the streets would tell her she had an ugly baby.

11/7

They do not really have convenience foods here and I don't think they have them any where in the country. They have instant drink mixes and some snack foods but they don't have all the instant foods that America has. They do have a instant soup that comes in a package but it isn't very good and that is about it. We recently saw a frozen bread dough and Lucy was very surprised and said that it would be nice to have that at times but that she doesn't see any good house wife buying it. The people here are very big on making all their own stuff and it is important to be good at cooking. Lots of the girls will ask if I can cook and what I can cook. Microwaves are almost unheard of here.

Lots of homes have a computer, only the younger generations would know anything about using one. No one knows how to type and kids are not taught how to use them but they figure it out and most can at least go on facebook. They never look things up though and don't understand how much they could do with them.
11/8

There are a lot of surprises in the town and always interesting stuff to see when we walk around. The buildings are fascinating and so different they have super poor apartments next to ancient mansions and then so many new weird buildings that look like something from an animated Doctor Seuss movie. The fashion there is also very interesting and varying. I have tried to get pictures and will send you some new photos. I also watched some kids having a skating lesson and the teacher is not a very good teacher at all. She doesn't really teach anything and this time she was just having the kids play capture the flag which was a bad idea but she had them play it for a long time. There where about 20, 10 - 12 year old girls all super skinny. They would get mad at each other and cheat and get in each others faces and yell. Someone was always fighting and then girls would hit each other and fall down and get hurt. One girl didn't get up for awhile so the teacher actually had to come over and help her up and let her sit on the side for awhile until she was better. The teacher really doesn't do anything and if a student doesn't do what they are supposed to she just ignores them.

11/10

One of Lucy’s friends had a baby last week and so we are now going to congratulate her. New moms have to stay at home for 40 days after giving birth something to do with their beliefs but I didn't get a longer explanation. We had a good time the one time I went to visit her and she seems to have married a nice guy which is doesn't happen a lot. They still do a lot of arranged type marriages where the girl has little say and the guys here aren't great guys.

11/11

Honey is super expensive here the cheapest you can get it is like 30 dollars for a jar a little smaller then a normal quart jar and if the honey if from the bee hives in the mountains it can be over a 100 for a jar.

Most days it is still t-shirt weather and Lucy says this is normal. I guess they usually get only a couple of weeks of cold and the rest is like this. So for me winter might already be mostly over with the coldest weather already here and gone.

We are now big fans of ice cream and make it the fast way in a bag way and are still experimenting with making it in the freezer I have just stirred up a batch and am waiting to see how it turns out.

We got diner and more chestnuts at the house we gave the lesson at. I liked roasted chest nuts and the family we were with is a really nice family. Their boy is the smartest kid in his class and is definitely the best English student Lucy has. Plus he is just a funny cool kid and a great older brother, his younger brother who is only 2 adores him. The lady we visited is the one with the 10 month old baby so I ended up playing with the baby again so Lucy could talk. The baby is probably the easiest baby to watch ever he rarely cries and is happy just sitting or trying to walk. He let me hold him the very first time we went over and doesn't cry or fuss when I pick him up or his mom leaves which is rare here and for most babies I have seen.

The holiday here starts on Monday and we are not completely sure what we will do. The first day every one will be killing an animal for the sacrifice since it the sacrifice holiday. So we will go across the boarder all day to avoid being given the meat and since there wouldn't be anything to do here with everyone busy. Then after that we would like to travel and might end up going to stay in another town from Tuesday-Friday. We really would like to go but no one from America goes to where we want to go so it might raise suspicion and Lucy’s boss wants to know everything she does, so that is a problem. We want to go because no one else goes and we want to know what it is like and if other people who know the father could go.

11/12

I liked today’s lesson, the kids are so fun and great students I will have to get a picture of them before I go. I would love to take pictures while Lucy teaches but there is no way the kids would pay attention. They are so excited to learn it is still unbelievable. Just last night the mom of the kids we where teaching told us about how her 9 year old son was crying because he thought he couldn't have English lessons with lucky during the summer! And the kids at the school have asked Lucy to give them a test. They want to have a test and not just a normal study time.

They have a really good fruit here that I tried last night. It looks like a really orange tomato but it is solid and you eat it like an apple. If it isn't ripe it makes your mouth feel funny, kinda like it went numb, but then after a minute the feeling goes away. When it is ripe it is really sweet and good. They dry a ton of it here and eat it all winter I have not tried it dried but lots of people are drying it on their balcony.

11/13

People here don't keep pets and definitely not cats as pets so whenever Lucy wants to amaze the students she tells them how many cats we have. One of the first sentences I learned to say is “I have 8 cats”. People always think I got the number wrong and ask me if I really mean 8.

11/14

It gets dark around 4 and is usually really nice and warm until 5 and even then we just need a light jacket. The people here act like it is freezing though and everyone wears coats even in the middle of sunny warm days. It is completely mental and almost funny after November 1st everyone wears a coat all the time and some even have hats or boots on. While I walk around in Capri's, a t-shirt and sandals. I don't blend in at all so will have to at least where pants and a long sleeve shirt when I go out from now on.

Yesterday we ended up having the kids from the family we where going to visit come here instead. We had a lot of fun. They arrived around 7pm and stayed until 10:30. We played games most of the night. It was the same family that came over last time except this time the mom stayed home which was actually nice since she didn't really get the games we where playing and would frustrate her boy's. So it was the three kids, two teen age boys and their little sister who is around 6 or 7 I think. First we did some puzzle game things Lucy found, where you make a puzzle or arrange tiles and one where you jump peaces over each other trying to get as many as you can. The kids here don't have any games like this so Lucy likes to have them try them she thinks it is good to get them thinking and show them new things. People are so set in their ways here and often don't use their brains at all after high school. There are some really brain dead adults and actually most of the older people didn't even make it to high school so most can't read. The grandma of the little girl we teach hasn't seemed to of caught on that Lucy is teaching another language and has no idea of the world. She doesn't understand where America is or how far it would be to travel and Lucy thinks she has probably never seen a map maybe not even a map of this country. Some of the older people won't allow tv's to be turned on because they don't understand how they work and think the people can see and hear them. Lots of the older people who watch tv talk to the people and think they can hear them. It is so funny- it is really hard not to laugh especially when they start telling the actors how bad or dumb they are. Me and Lucy just try not to make eye contact and keep a straight face.
After the thinking games we played Chinese checkers and the boys where super competitive and into the game. It was the most competitive game of Chinese checkers I have ever played.
Then we drank tea and ate cake. It suddenly struck me how odd it was when I realized I was sitting at a table drinking tea from nice little cups and eating small cakes with two teenage guys who were using very nice table manners and sipping tea. I tried to picture American boys doing this and couldn't see it happening. But we asked they guys and they said of course they wanted tea and to them eating nicely and drinking tea was something they do every day. The guys here are so interesting. They may fight and yell and be typical rowdy guys but then serve them tea and they become polite gentlemen carefully using napkins, sipping tea, passing things, and being respectful of the girls and older people in the room.