i'm finally not sick. i mean, i still hack from time to time, but that's fine. if i had not had a migraine today, this would have been a day i felt completely healthy, and i haven't had one of those in a while. speaking of migraines, knocking on wood, throwing salt, and all that jazz, they seem to be getting better. shorter. less intense. i think i am brow beating my brain into stopping this silliness and letting me be a real human being.
that being said, i did miss becca's house warming tonight, which was sad. oh! new places abound. i'm still at my old host family's. i've pretty securely decided to not move in with another family, even if they are beyond amazing. i'm in serious negotiations with a local friend to get an apartment together. and now we've potentially added a third mystery member. mysterious to you only i suppose. let me explain:
we've got some new americans in town. two fullbright ETAs (English Teaching Assistants) have just landed in shymkent. so fullbright scholars are these super elite research scholars that travel abroad studying and researching and writing with the support of a HUGE stipend. jealous right... well, these two guys are part of their new program. they are surprising like PCVs who teach. they work with local teachers and teach english. but they do rake in the cash. so still jealous. anyway, Aaron and Amanda are now here for the next 10 months. they are hilarious and i'm really glad that they ended up here. with the 3-4 new people coming in about 2 months, shymkent will be simply bursting at the seems. anyway, aaron wants a roommate and we'll see how that works out.
school has been interesting. i've been teaching a whole lot of geography of kazakhstan. that's not so interesting on its own. fo sho. but my students always turn it into something else. i have some really amazing groups, and some which are less so. c'est la vie. i've been invited to all sorts of things lately: LAN parties, gym workout sessions, sambo lessons. all sorts of things.
oh i also got back a lot of my clothes. while i have been gouged on the prices, it's still better than buying new clothes. mom, i'll finally wear those sweaters you sent! yay!
speaking of sweaters, i have simply frozen to death. the other day it was 65 C and i couldn't stop chattering. i don't quite know what i'm going to do when the real winter comes. i need to start up my mantras, but in the reverse direction. i spent all summer telling myself how it would always be hotter tomorrow so today is fine. well, that worked great. but now if it dips below 70, i turn to ice. let's hope i can get over this asap. autumn is a switch that flips violently here. one day it was 100+, the next it rained, and the next day was the upper 70s. and for shymkent, that's cold. :P apparently it's snowed in kazakhstan, and that makes me a bit horrified. not gonna lie.
i went to my first wedding on friday. it was kind of amazing. one of my former students got married to her man of 6 years. they were 20 and 25, met when she was 14 and he was 19. i'm still in shock about that, but they are so cute together. so anyway, there are so many traditions and games and getting to be present at them was really cool. and special. we realized, sipra and i, that the things we got to see were all for family, but we had been graciously invited. first the man comes to his bride's home to find her. well, she's hidden inside. he's gotta call out to her and tell her how much he loves her. the female family members all keep the man away and run him through a series of tests to get to her. first is throwing darts at balloons. there is writing in each, one says love, the rest says a monetary amount. if he gets love, he moves on, if not he pays a ransom. the groom knows to bring a lot of cash. so next is standing on these huge hearts. each has a different task. first he danced, then he sang, then he recited a poem. moving along, he had to pick out her new family's childhood photos from a huge collage. he was really good at this. then he had to spell his loves name in money. though apparently in the villages this is done in some kind of grain. so my student's name is anne. or anya. or apparently anyuta. this last is a kind of pet name or cutesy version. this money is collected and added to the ransom. next he did something i was confused about. something about climbing stairs and choosing what acronyms meant. not sure... then he had to answer trivia about his future wife. the funniest by far was watching him wrap a baby doll up how russians keep their children. this results in the child wearing no less than three layers and being wrapped tighter than a hot burrito. anyway, he kept hitting its head on the table and turning it over on its face. it was horrifying and hilarious. then he gets to see his lady, but first he had to satisfy her brother. one glass with candy, one with soda, and one with money. oh i forgot. early he had to choose from three glasses and drink from them. one was salty, one bitter, and one sweet. he has to drink until he finds the sweet glass of love. anyway, then the first toasts of the day happen. crying parents and lots of herding into cars.
then we headed to the church for the wedding. it was super informal, or at least seemed that way. there is no special set up in an orthodox church for the wedding like there is in america. there was a third altar set up where the service starts. lots of russian. BEAUTIFUL singing. oh man, i'm still in shock about that. rings are put on and taken off and exchanged between the newlyweds in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit at least three times, then finally settled on their correct finger. then lots of walking in circles and on to altar number two. this is the one with the crowns. now one of my other students, tanya, was essentially the maid of honor. there's one boy and one girl who help in the wedding and that's all. anyway, the best man and maid of honor have to hold a huge crown over the bride and groom's head for this 10-15 minute portion of the wedding. more singing. lots of arm sagging. oh, they can't touch the crown. they have to hold it with a cloth because its holy. more circles. this time with candy and coins thrown at the couple as they walk by. oh, i forgot. copious, massive amounts of bowing. and crossing. from everyone. i knew that orthodox people cross themselves alot, but... i had no idea really. anyway, third altar is the bride and groom kneeling and lots of really fast russian. pictures of jesus and mary with child jesus are prominently featured. more singing. more crossing. then just like that this part is done. the priest walks off to get his incense and bless the candles old ladies have been putting all around.
pictures start. and go on. and on. and on. for about the next 4 hours. as i'm fatigued now. i'll continue my wedding post tomorrow or the next day. i need to sleep. my head just isn't right. sorry for the split blog. lame.. :D
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