How many pounds of grapes have I eaten since arriving at my host family's house in September? It would be interesting to know. Not only have I eaten them in their natural form, but I've also consumed a large amount of wine in my time here, in addition to churchkhela and tatara (a jelly-like think made from boiling grape juice and flour until it's thick). I'm guessing I've killed quite a few grapes. Good thing grapes are pretty much my favorite snack ever, so I haven't gotten sick of them and doubt I will. And I don't mind them in fermented form, either.
How do they get mail here? The streets don't have names and the houses don't have numbers. I've never seen any mail, or any mailmen. Don't they get letters or bills from something? Phone bills? Electricity bills? How does that work?
Same for the trash. Where does it go? I've never seen dumpsters or garbage trucks in my village. Granted, people don't make a lot of trash since bottles are reused (beer bottle gets used to hold the homemade hot sauce, big Fanta bottles get reused for water or wine, etc.) and all the organic material is given to the pigs. But there's still some trash. I do see little fires on the side of the road quite often. Sometimes it just looks like they're burning leaves, but maybe trash too?
Why are marshmallows scarce or nonexistent in almost every foreign country I've been to? When they are available, they're a weird texture. Globalization would be much cooler if you could find Jet-puffs and graham crackers in every corner of the world instead of McDonald's and Coca-cola. In case you haven't put 2 and 2 together, I've been having a hankering for s'mores lately.
How do you distinguish between skanky and conservative here? I was told dress was conservative, and in some ways it is. No off-the-shoulder tops. Skirts can't be too short. Necklines can't be too deep. I can't show my tattoos. At the same time, high heels are expected - no one wears flats, except me. Clothes can be much too tight. Women can wear way too much makeup (80's style, metallic blue eyeshadow, 3 times too much blush, and shiny pink lipstick). I've been asked by my host mom why I only wear a little bit of makeup, and by a 12th grader why I didn't wear any makeup (while I was wearing makeup). Shirts can be completely see through with just a bra underneath. What??
What does my host dad do for a living? He was always gone for the first few weeks here, and now I never see him leave? I have no idea if he has a job or not.
And most of all I wonder....what are people saying to me all the time??
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