Today was a very weird day. It started out normal, though I didn’t want to get out of bed. In spite of a full night’s sleep, I was exhausted. Anyway, I sucked it up and got to school. Luckily, Monday is the day when I don’t have my 2 worst classes, so things in class went smoothly. While my school day had gone smoothly, this was not the case for my friends. I received calls from Boston, Joker and Sailor about their crappy classes, and misbehaving students.
Just after first period, the director came in and handed me a bunch of roses (cut from a garden) and a box of chocolates, for my birthday. Also for my birthday, Co-teach and another teacher, Photo (because of her obsession with taking pictures), decided to take me into Batumi for dinner. It was a very sweet offer, so I agreed to go.
We left right after school and this is where things started going wrong. First, the other teachers had to sign up for an English class in Kobuleti. So Co-teach and I hung out at the marshrutka stop to wait for them. By the time they were done, only one other teacher was coming to Batumi. This didn’t deter us, though, so we caught a marshrutka and were on our way.
We went to Restaurant Sanapiro (that’s Georgian for beach) right on the coast. The view was lovely and the cameras were brought out. The girls love pictures. They wanted pictures of themselves and me and me with each of them and us in front of the water and in front of the scenery. They took more pictures than you’d believe.
Once the waiter came, the cameras were put away (for a while). I wanted pizza, so we ordered one without meat. I also wanted a ‘gliasse’ (which is the Georgian milkshake) but they didn’t have any. Just once, I’d like to go to a restaurant here where everything that’s on the menu is actually in the restaurant. But I’m not holding my breath. In addition to the pizza, the girls ordered an Adjaran Khajapuri (bread boat with egg and cheese) for each of us.
Of course, after the khajapuri, no one had room for pizza, though we all ate one slice. They were joking about asking to take it with us and I said that in Canada we do that. Apparently, doggy-bags are a no-no in Georgia. As we sat digesting, the waiter brought a beautiful fruit tray out to our table. One of Photo’s relatives works at the restaurant and sent it to us. We picked at the fruit for a while longer and then left.
From the restaurant, we had a lovely view of the port. The girls decided that they wanted a picture on the cruise ship that we could see. When we finished eating, they went to where the cruise ship was loading and using the "visiting foreigner" as an excuse, they tried to talk their way on. Of course the guards said no, because the ship was preparing to leave. So we wandered the dock, taking pictures in front of other boats and the water.
Co-teach and Photo each had an errand to run, so that’s where we headed when we were done with pictures. On the way, Co-teach called her cousin to get us a ride back to Kobuleti. He finished work at six and said he would pick us up, after. Co-teach’s errand was getting a teacher’s book to go with our grade 9 text. Every time she’s tried to buy it before, the store didn’t have it. They still didn’t have it.
Photo’s errand involved trying to return a cell phone that she was having problems with. I couldn’t understand most of what happened, but it took a really long time. I was exhausted and bored, so I called Joker while I waited. He was at the café and entertained me with stories about his day and comments from the others.
When Photo finished yelling at the phone guy (with no results that I could see) we went to check another store for Co-teach’s book. They didn’t have it either, but by this point it was 6:05 and I was hopeful of getting home soon. Silly me, not in Georgia.
We ended up walking back along the coast to "find a bench to sit on". When I asked Co-teach why, her response was, "who knows when he will come". There were no public benches, so we ended up back at the restaurant. Photo spoke to someone and told them that we didn’t want to order. That was fine and we sat down.
About half an hour later, the waitress brought out 3 bowls of ice cream and 3 turkish coffees. They asked if she had the wrong table, but it was for us. Photo’s relative had sent it out again, which was very sweet. While we sat in the restaurant, her husband called a bunch of times, wondering when we would leave. She blamed the delay on me, but was getting more aggravated with Co-teach every minute.
I was completely zoned out, but a noise made me perk my head up. Outside the restaurant a man rode past on a horse (it was more like a pony, but still). I wasn’t sure what I had seen (maybe I’d fallen asleep and was dreaming) but he came past again, the other way and I saw him again. At this point, Co-teach’s cousin finally called, so we were leaving the restaurant.
The pony was still outside. We approached the man and he was selling rides on it. We didn’t want a ride, but of course the girls wanted pictures. So I stood next to the pony while the girls took turns standing next to me.
Then we walked back to where we had to meet Co-teach’s cousin. He finally showed up at 7:37pm and we were on our way back to Kobuleti. He drove like a maniac. I’ve gotten pretty used to the Georgian driving, so unless it’s extreme, nothing phases me. I was terrified. And it wasn’t just the driving. It’s the fact that while the driver was passing a semi-truck with a car coming toward him, his sister (in the front passenger seat) was screaming at him in Georgian and smacking his arm (which was holding the steering wheel). If anyone had endagered us, it was her.
When we got back to Kobuleti, I went with Photo (so that she could prove to her husband that I really exist). They got me home safely, with no new terror. At home, I wanted nothing more than to collapse on my bed for the night, but it wasn’t to be.
I stopped in the kitchen to tell HM that I was home and she told me to sit down. I did and she pulled out HB1’s English book. So we had an English lesson. I hate working with him when she’s there. Every time he stumbles, or stops to think, she gives him the answer. But at the same time she’s pressuring him to get it perfect on the first go. I honestly believe he only made so many mistakes because she was pushing him.
When the lesson devolved into how to use the dictionary, I excused myself and went to bed. I was so tired that I didn’t even stay up for Veronica Mars.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sept. 25 - The Birthday Extravaganza
My birthday was spectacular. It started out a little shaky with breakfast, but things quickly picked up. HM made me an Adjaran traditional birthday breakfast of papa, which is flour and water, cooked into a paste, served with butter and sugar. It’s.... well, I ate some. Luckily, they are used to me only eating a small breakfast, so when HM mentioned that there was also cake, I stopped eating the papa "to save room". The cake was delicious. It had a nutty base, and a buttery, creamy topping.
Transportation was, for once, uneventful. I got down the mountain, half walking and half riding with the math teacher from my school. I tried to get the marshrutka to stop and pick up Sailor, but I missed her stop, so she just met me in Batumi.
Since we were so early, we decided just to go to the café and have a drink. I love banana juice. There were some other teachers there, and more showed up while we chatted. Since my birthday party was limited in number (due to the smallish size of the hotel room) most of the people at the café were not invited, so Sailor and I awkwardly excused ourselves to meet Joker (because he cracks me up) at Goodwill.
At Goodwill, we bought mix and we were going to buy snacks, but decided to check out some of the smaller mom and pop shops on our way to the hotel. Also, Joker found a little store near his house that sold alcohol much cheaper than Goodwill, so we headed there with him. Boston met us outside the shop.
Laden down with bags (overnight clothes, plus alcohol and mix) we made our way toward the palace of happiness and wonder that is the Sheraton Batumi. Making one more stop on the way for munchies, we arrived shortly after 3 to check in.
It was all we could do not to squeal with glee when the porter showed us to the room. Somehow we contained ourselves and didn’t start behaving like children until after he had shut the door on his way out. A flurry of picture taking followed and my memory card got full, just as the camera batteries were about to die. So I will be relying on other people's cameras for pics.
After sitting and chatting for a bit, we decided to break out the birthday champagne. We mixed it with peach, banana and pomegranate juices. It was delicious. And, because it was my birthday, Joker kept pouring me stronger drinks than I would usually have. An hour and 3 drinks later, I was feeling very happy. B.C. (she's also Canadian, folks) showed up and had a coulple of drinks while we waited for the others. Hammer (she's from Hamilton) and Pop showed around 6:30. By that point we had devoured the cookies we’d bought and were ready for real food.
Pop had to leave for his host brother’s birthday suphra, but he came with us to the restaurant, first. Just up the street from the Sheraton is a pizza place, with real pizza. They even have real cheese (in addition to Georgian cheese). The seven of us ordered and devoured 2 large and 1 small pizza. It was so good.
After pizza, Pop left, but the six remaining returned to the hotel. I was getting to the sleepy part of being drunk, so Joker and I went straight back to the hotel while everyone else stopped for more snacks and booze.
When the others got back, more drinks were poured and the tv was turned on for background noise. Sailor and Hammer had both brought their computers, so we muted the Russian music videos on tv and listened to a random mix of music, that we chose. Scarlet (as in O'Hara; she's from Atlanta dn it's the best I could do) and Defender (because he said he would fercefully defend any female that he knows) finally showed up around 9ish. About that time, the Turkish satellite channel started showing The Phantom Menace (dubbed, not subtitled), we we talked and drank and listened to music, keeping half an eye on the tv.
It had been a really long time since some of us had seen each other. Between that, the alcohol and the fact that there were 8 of us in one hotel room, things got a little noisy. Security came up and told us that another guest had complained about noise, so we tried to keep it down. About 15 minutes later, the people next to us banged on the wall to quiet us down. Boston and I decided that we needed to get everyone out of the room, so we decided to go to the club in the hotel.
We changed and the girls touched up makeup. As I was shutting the door behind us, security was coming down the hall to our room, but they veered off when they realized that we were leaving. When we got to the club, it was empty. There were literally 20 people in there, max (including us and the staff). The music wasn’t great, but I wanted to dance, so Hammer, Sailor and I hit the floor. We lasted about a song and a half before getting annoyed with the music and heading back to the table. Scarlet was still going strong, but I was done drinking. My tummy wasn’t feeling too hot.
After moving to a corner table with comfier chairs, We all got on the floor, dancing. It was pretty fun, in spite of the crappy music. 3 different times we tried to request something decent, but the dj was apparently a substitute and wouldn’t take requests. Finally, the lame music and being sleepy drove us to leave. We knew we couldn’t go back to the room, so we went to the comfy lobby to hang out for a bit longer. Scarlet and Defender were still ready to party, B.C. was kind of for it. Joker and Hammer were kind of quiet. Boston and I were both really tired and Sailor was also tired, but drunk enough to go out if we had told her to.
After much discussion, B.C. ended up going to the bar with Scarlet and Defender and the rest of us went up to the room to sleep. Boston, Sailor and I shared the bed and Joker and Hammer each slept on the floor. It was a great night.
Transportation was, for once, uneventful. I got down the mountain, half walking and half riding with the math teacher from my school. I tried to get the marshrutka to stop and pick up Sailor, but I missed her stop, so she just met me in Batumi.
Since we were so early, we decided just to go to the café and have a drink. I love banana juice. There were some other teachers there, and more showed up while we chatted. Since my birthday party was limited in number (due to the smallish size of the hotel room) most of the people at the café were not invited, so Sailor and I awkwardly excused ourselves to meet Joker (because he cracks me up) at Goodwill.
At Goodwill, we bought mix and we were going to buy snacks, but decided to check out some of the smaller mom and pop shops on our way to the hotel. Also, Joker found a little store near his house that sold alcohol much cheaper than Goodwill, so we headed there with him. Boston met us outside the shop.
Laden down with bags (overnight clothes, plus alcohol and mix) we made our way toward the palace of happiness and wonder that is the Sheraton Batumi. Making one more stop on the way for munchies, we arrived shortly after 3 to check in.
It was all we could do not to squeal with glee when the porter showed us to the room. Somehow we contained ourselves and didn’t start behaving like children until after he had shut the door on his way out. A flurry of picture taking followed and my memory card got full, just as the camera batteries were about to die. So I will be relying on other people's cameras for pics.
After sitting and chatting for a bit, we decided to break out the birthday champagne. We mixed it with peach, banana and pomegranate juices. It was delicious. And, because it was my birthday, Joker kept pouring me stronger drinks than I would usually have. An hour and 3 drinks later, I was feeling very happy. B.C. (she's also Canadian, folks) showed up and had a coulple of drinks while we waited for the others. Hammer (she's from Hamilton) and Pop showed around 6:30. By that point we had devoured the cookies we’d bought and were ready for real food.
Pop had to leave for his host brother’s birthday suphra, but he came with us to the restaurant, first. Just up the street from the Sheraton is a pizza place, with real pizza. They even have real cheese (in addition to Georgian cheese). The seven of us ordered and devoured 2 large and 1 small pizza. It was so good.
After pizza, Pop left, but the six remaining returned to the hotel. I was getting to the sleepy part of being drunk, so Joker and I went straight back to the hotel while everyone else stopped for more snacks and booze.
When the others got back, more drinks were poured and the tv was turned on for background noise. Sailor and Hammer had both brought their computers, so we muted the Russian music videos on tv and listened to a random mix of music, that we chose. Scarlet (as in O'Hara; she's from Atlanta dn it's the best I could do) and Defender (because he said he would fercefully defend any female that he knows) finally showed up around 9ish. About that time, the Turkish satellite channel started showing The Phantom Menace (dubbed, not subtitled), we we talked and drank and listened to music, keeping half an eye on the tv.
It had been a really long time since some of us had seen each other. Between that, the alcohol and the fact that there were 8 of us in one hotel room, things got a little noisy. Security came up and told us that another guest had complained about noise, so we tried to keep it down. About 15 minutes later, the people next to us banged on the wall to quiet us down. Boston and I decided that we needed to get everyone out of the room, so we decided to go to the club in the hotel.
We changed and the girls touched up makeup. As I was shutting the door behind us, security was coming down the hall to our room, but they veered off when they realized that we were leaving. When we got to the club, it was empty. There were literally 20 people in there, max (including us and the staff). The music wasn’t great, but I wanted to dance, so Hammer, Sailor and I hit the floor. We lasted about a song and a half before getting annoyed with the music and heading back to the table. Scarlet was still going strong, but I was done drinking. My tummy wasn’t feeling too hot.
After moving to a corner table with comfier chairs, We all got on the floor, dancing. It was pretty fun, in spite of the crappy music. 3 different times we tried to request something decent, but the dj was apparently a substitute and wouldn’t take requests. Finally, the lame music and being sleepy drove us to leave. We knew we couldn’t go back to the room, so we went to the comfy lobby to hang out for a bit longer. Scarlet and Defender were still ready to party, B.C. was kind of for it. Joker and Hammer were kind of quiet. Boston and I were both really tired and Sailor was also tired, but drunk enough to go out if we had told her to.
After much discussion, B.C. ended up going to the bar with Scarlet and Defender and the rest of us went up to the room to sleep. Boston, Sailor and I shared the bed and Joker and Hammer each slept on the floor. It was a great night.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sept. 23 - gossiping in georgian
Nothing feels quite as good as reaching the satisfying conclusion of an entertaining and well-written novel/ series. At least for me. I just finished the third book in Maria Snyder’s "Glass" trilogy. The bad guys were defeated and the good guys got married and everything worked out alright in the end. Good thing, too, or I’d be really upset that I stayed up until 2am reading last night.
Thanks to my late night, school was...tiring. Today was a 4 class day and there was only one class in which more than half of the students had completed their homework. Since the beginning of lessons are often related to taking up the homework and ensuring understanding, this put a serious crimp in my plans.
By break time, I needed the caffeine jolt from a turkish coffee. After I finished my coffee, I practiced swirling it around, so that it coats the cup in the right way for fortune telling. I need practice, because every time I’ve had my fortune told, Co-teach has done it for me (though I always turn the cup myself, because that’s the critical part).
I didn’t actually want a reading, today, but one of the teachers was joking around and did one for me anyways. It didn’t bother her at all that she doesn’t actually know how to do it. Of course, she told me that I would marry a nice Georgian boy and stay here forever. I’m told this at least 3 times a week.
At least with Co-teach and this other teacher, I know that they are joking. Another woman came in and told me that she has a 29 year old son that I should marry. I don’t think she was joking. Next thing, a teacher came in and told both me and Co-teach that eating many peanuts will make young girls "want a man", so we should be careful. (Usually, we have peanuts with our coffee). But then, since the goal is to get me married, they decided that they would feed me peanuts all the time.
When I got home, I had lunch with HB1. I wasn’t very hungry (after all those peanuts) but I can never resist t’olma (stuffed peppers). I had one pepper and a piece of bread with fig jam. I was just washing up my dishes when Bebia drew my attention to apple sauce on the stove. I told her I would have some later, but she wouldn’t hear of it and gave me a bowl right then. It was delicious. The apples here may not be much for eating plain, but boiled in sauce with a Georgian amount of sugar, they are heavenly.
Pop was supposed to come play, today but the forces of Georgia conspired to keep him home. First, it’s been raining on and off all day. But he’s also not feeling well, so I told him to rest up for my birthday party on Saturday. I’m a little bummed that he didn’t come out, but at the same time, I had a chance to finish my book. And I’m not exactly feeling in top form, myself.
My allergies have come on like gangbusters in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been going through Benadryl like they’re candy. I figure it’s from living out in a village, in a house with an orchard in the backyard. Everywhere I look, there’s nature. And while I love the aesthetics of nature, my sinuses don’t appreciate the realities of nature.
I’ve been trying to be more social in the evenings, before the English tv comes on. So I was downstairs, reading my Stephen King book, when HB1 walked up to me and presented his notebook with a flourish. He was so proud of himself and when I looked, I saw that it was his English book from school. We sat together for about 15 minutes, with me trying to say the Georgian words (while he corrected my pronounciation) and him trying to say the English ones (while I corrected him). It was really cute.
The impromptu lesson ended when HM called me into the kitchen to have roasted chestnuts with her, Nanny (she literally is the nanny) and our neighbour Cute (she's adorable). They chatted and eventually, HM asked me about my birthday on Saturday. She doesn’t actually know the word birthday on its own, but only as part of "Happy birthday to you" the song. I was glad she brought it up, because it was the perfect opening to tell her about the party and that I’m staying in Batumi Saturday. Then she asked me if I’d be home on Sunday, which leads me to believe she’s planning something.
I took my leave of the ladies and had only been upstairs for a couple of minutes, when the two younger women came up to the other room for the internet. They’ve been on there a lot the last couple of weeks. I wonder what they’re doing, but I don’t have the Georgian to ask, and they don’t have the English to answer. I could probably figure out how to say it, but that would require a lot of effort, and I’m not that curious.
Thanks to my late night, school was...tiring. Today was a 4 class day and there was only one class in which more than half of the students had completed their homework. Since the beginning of lessons are often related to taking up the homework and ensuring understanding, this put a serious crimp in my plans.
By break time, I needed the caffeine jolt from a turkish coffee. After I finished my coffee, I practiced swirling it around, so that it coats the cup in the right way for fortune telling. I need practice, because every time I’ve had my fortune told, Co-teach has done it for me (though I always turn the cup myself, because that’s the critical part).
I didn’t actually want a reading, today, but one of the teachers was joking around and did one for me anyways. It didn’t bother her at all that she doesn’t actually know how to do it. Of course, she told me that I would marry a nice Georgian boy and stay here forever. I’m told this at least 3 times a week.
At least with Co-teach and this other teacher, I know that they are joking. Another woman came in and told me that she has a 29 year old son that I should marry. I don’t think she was joking. Next thing, a teacher came in and told both me and Co-teach that eating many peanuts will make young girls "want a man", so we should be careful. (Usually, we have peanuts with our coffee). But then, since the goal is to get me married, they decided that they would feed me peanuts all the time.
When I got home, I had lunch with HB1. I wasn’t very hungry (after all those peanuts) but I can never resist t’olma (stuffed peppers). I had one pepper and a piece of bread with fig jam. I was just washing up my dishes when Bebia drew my attention to apple sauce on the stove. I told her I would have some later, but she wouldn’t hear of it and gave me a bowl right then. It was delicious. The apples here may not be much for eating plain, but boiled in sauce with a Georgian amount of sugar, they are heavenly.
Pop was supposed to come play, today but the forces of Georgia conspired to keep him home. First, it’s been raining on and off all day. But he’s also not feeling well, so I told him to rest up for my birthday party on Saturday. I’m a little bummed that he didn’t come out, but at the same time, I had a chance to finish my book. And I’m not exactly feeling in top form, myself.
My allergies have come on like gangbusters in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been going through Benadryl like they’re candy. I figure it’s from living out in a village, in a house with an orchard in the backyard. Everywhere I look, there’s nature. And while I love the aesthetics of nature, my sinuses don’t appreciate the realities of nature.
I’ve been trying to be more social in the evenings, before the English tv comes on. So I was downstairs, reading my Stephen King book, when HB1 walked up to me and presented his notebook with a flourish. He was so proud of himself and when I looked, I saw that it was his English book from school. We sat together for about 15 minutes, with me trying to say the Georgian words (while he corrected my pronounciation) and him trying to say the English ones (while I corrected him). It was really cute.
The impromptu lesson ended when HM called me into the kitchen to have roasted chestnuts with her, Nanny (she literally is the nanny) and our neighbour Cute (she's adorable). They chatted and eventually, HM asked me about my birthday on Saturday. She doesn’t actually know the word birthday on its own, but only as part of "Happy birthday to you" the song. I was glad she brought it up, because it was the perfect opening to tell her about the party and that I’m staying in Batumi Saturday. Then she asked me if I’d be home on Sunday, which leads me to believe she’s planning something.
I took my leave of the ladies and had only been upstairs for a couple of minutes, when the two younger women came up to the other room for the internet. They’ve been on there a lot the last couple of weeks. I wonder what they’re doing, but I don’t have the Georgian to ask, and they don’t have the English to answer. I could probably figure out how to say it, but that would require a lot of effort, and I’m not that curious.
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