It's a lot like camping

Thursday 10th November

Well a lot has happened this week on the domestic front as we have moved host families and it has snowed.  It has been very stressful, firstly making the decision in the first place and then waiting to see if the school could find us another family in the village and then the packing and leaving the old family and settling into the new one.  For those of you who keep track of this riveting narrative, you will have already seen the signs of the dwindling relationship between us and the host mother Maia.  Neli (deda) and Beso were fine but Maia I think has a problem generally and is a bit on the depressive side with delusions of grandeur and a touch of control freak to boot.  We were always in her bad books it seemed and she was sulky, didn’t speak to us and gave us really dirty looks after we had tried to change the times of the lessons with her children.  Neli and Beso have no choice but to live there with that kind of tension but we don’t have to and when TLG asked us if we wanted to request a host family change we said yes. 

The school was anxious to find us another host family as if they couldn’t we would have to leave the village and both Martin’s and my school would be without a volunteer.  I was taken around by the English teachers to inspect a couple of places but they wanted time to think about it.  We were very fortunate in that the current host family  had indoor plumbing and a western toilet.  This meant that we had a hot shower every day and didn’t need to go into the garden for the loo.  We did realise how fortunate we were in this respect as we knew what the situation was for the teachers in other villages.  However we were more than happy to exchange this for the opportunity to be in a more friendly environment and to have a comfortable bed.  The school librarian was press-ganged into having us just until the end of the semester but we had to send an email to TLG to say that we agreed that we did not have indoor plumbing or a heater in our room and was fine with it.  Our fate sealed we moved the next day.  Naturally the previous family still complained that we hadn’t given them enough money. 

We have a big bed.  So big that I don’t even touch Martin at all which makes a change from playing Mr Tangle Man all night to generate maximum body heat.  But it is a bit lonely so we are going to work out a solution once we have got used to sleeping stretched out.  We are warm in bed and it isn’t damp and it is very, very comfortable.  The room is large with a big wardrobe and a table, plus rug on wooden floors. In fact with its high ceilings and chandelier it is rather like a hotel room.  It is internal room which keeps the heat in but even so it is SO, SO cold in there as the weather has changed and it is impossible to work in there.  We could buy a heater but we will see how much we feel we need to escape from the family before we do that.

The family consist of Manana and Soso who are in their 60’s and their youngest son Corba and his wife Eka (26) and their 2 children Nica (5) and Rusadan (7).  I teach both of these at school and they were very excited at us coming to live there.  Of course they think it is going to be an endless round of The Wheels on the Bus and me jumping around like an idiot.  Time to meet grumpy Jennifer Mastavlabeli.

Most of the people live like this in the village but I hadn’t really given a lot of thought to the practicalities of this.  The snow of course has added a whole new pressure to this for us.  The toilet is a little outhouse and we have to walk through the house, pass Manana and Soso’s bedroom where the door is kept open for warmth, unlock the back door and off you go.  Neither of us have mastered the correct position to adopt to use this facility and if I can, I take off my trousers completely so that I don’t have any embarrassment when I come out.  Better to be safe than sorry is my motto but I am seriously considering buying a she-wee when I come back for Christmas.  For those of you who still are not clear about loos like this they consist of an iron square in the floor which is pre-moulded with foot rests.  I have NEVER been successful with using the foot rests so either my anatomy is a little odd or they were designed for someone with a very different posture. There is no water, so you throw paper down the hole as well.  Martin had a go this morning and carefully followed my advice and had the foresight to hang his trousers round his neck but didn’t have enough time to get into position which was unfortunate.  To top it all he fell over in the snow when he came out of the outhouse.  For some reason I found this inordinately funny and haven’t laughed so much in a long time. 

I should say that we have been given a large green plastic bowl for our room in case we have a need during the night.  Manana demonstrated what it was for “Phish” with gestures.  Manana is very good at gestures.  We were kind of told to wash our bits and feet courtesy of these actions.  As always in these situations it is best to do as you are told as resistance is futile.  She gave us a bucket of hot water and took us over to the outdoor washing building.  This turned out to be a tiled bathroom with bath, sink and larger washing sink but with no taps connected.  We had a bucket and a bowl and a small jug for pouring.  It was ok.

The kitchen does not have a sink, in fact there’s no running water in the house at all.  There is a well in the yard which is operated by an electric pump (except during power-cuts when there is a convenient hand solution – a bucket) Water is pumped into a huge stone sink. To wash your hands or clean your teeth you turn on the pump and brush your teeth over the sink.  It’s as simple as that.  All hot water is boiled on the stove and the washing up is done in 2 metal bowls on the table.  Washed in one and put on the other to drain.

The lounge in warm and welcoming with seats arranged down one side and a TV table and wood-burning stove which gives out an incredible amount of heat.

All in all this is a new kind of experience for us and I hope we don’t find it too gruelling.  You just can’t just think “I’m gonna shower or wash my hair now” It involves getting and then boiling up the water, taking to the out house and then washing.  It also isn’t just our decision as it involves Manana and Eka too as they do the work.

By all accounts this is just the beginning of the winter and there is going to be a lot more snow as well.   So I guess it is a lot like camping but much, much colder.