Week 1 in Malishka

As most of my darling readers will have already known, I got sick the night before I was meant to depart for my permanent site. It’s taking my body a little while to fully adjust and acclimate to being here. I am totally exhausted by the end of each day and I’m not doing very much, but…

In short, everything is great here. My new host family is definitely a different flavor of Armenian than the last, but in a good way. I’m almost certain they come from a longer line of edumakated folk. (I don’t know why I wrote it that way but that’s what was in my head, so like, deal with it). They have a piano; on which one of the twin sisters was playing My Heart Will Go On the other day during my daily afternoon yoga session. Armenians f-ing love Celine Dion and in particular, that song. I have yet to meet a young Armenian girl who didn’t know the chorus by heart.

In my last host family, there was no residing Tatik or Papik (Grandma or Grandpa). Typically these folks just putt around the house doing whatever extent of housework they can manage. In this house, they call him Poppy (which is what we were trying to get my niece Soleil to call my father, but she went with Tim instead). Poppy messes around in the garden for an hour or two in the mornings in his Adidas sport pants pulled up to his ears, ripping cigarettes. He really digs watching the T.V. and has an impressive ability to hear. I actually saw him turn the volume down the other day.  I guess Poppy’s room is too stuffy at the moment, because he’s been sleeping on the old bed outside the house. It sort of reminds me of Grigor, who would sleep in the kidnapper van…

Anyway, Poppy fucking hates the cat that hangs around here. He yells at it the moment one of its paws hits the inside of the house. It’s a tiger cat (for my close friends and family, he looks just like Darryl Strawberry) and Poppy calls him the equivalent of ‘ginger’ in Russian, when telling him to scram. A few mornings ago, I was internet-ing while Poppy was screwing around in the garden and my little buddy was twirling around my feet, eating up the attention and the fact that he was in the forbidden zone! After a little while, he was pooped from the excitement of it all and laid down for a nap on the carpet a couple of feet away from where I was sitting.  Poppy came in, kitty doesn’t move, and so Poppy shuffles over to him, winds up and gives kitty a swift ‘ole kick in the ass. It’s really not funny, but it sort of is, in that ‘oh, old people’ way. Come to think of it, most of Poppy’s words per day are directed at the cat.

I also have acquired a new Tatik since moving to Malishka. Unfortunately, she doesn’t live with us, as she is the mother of Siranush (new host mom). Here in Armenia, when a couple marries, the wife moves in with the husband’s family and then they live out the rest of their days. Sometimes though, if you have more than one son, the older son is allowed to move out on his own – I think. Anyway, this lady is really amazing. When I first came for my site visit at the end of June she, above everyone else, made me feel welcome and relaxed. There is something about the way she peers into my eyes that makes me feel at home. It’s difficult to explain, but for example, she was asking me whether or not I call home to talk to my mom. I said that I did, but only once a week because, once we talk I miss her more. As she was getting ready to leave, she gave me a big hug and said, “Don’t miss your mother, I am your mom now”.

Two days ago, I was walking home alone from the post office in the middle of the afternoon and I hear someone call out my name. I turn to look and who is it, but Tatik! She yelled for me to wait for her, as she was a little way down the block. I’m not exactly sure how old she is, but she moves around pretty good for a woman her age. Anyway, we walk and talk, she asks me where I’m coming from and is totally surprised that I can remember the way home. As we near her house she invites me over (well really, commands me). I know that this means coffee, fresh fruit and cakes, so obviously, I agreed.

Once at her house, she shouts for her daughter-in-law to entertain me while she washes up quickly. Soon coffee is ready, and Tatik returns from her garden with fresh grapes, peaches, apples and hazelnuts.  She then tells me to follow her into the back room, where she wants me to try on some of her other daughter-in-law’s clothes. She picked out a navy blue polka-dotted full-length dress. Coincidentally, I left a dress back home with the identical pattern. After trying it on, she took some measurements and started to tailor the dress for me. An hour or so later, we walked back to Siranush’s house together, dress and all. She was very proud of her work, and rightfully so, the dress does look good on me. Of course, I had to give a mini fashion show for the twins and Siranush, while Tatik beamed proudly at me.

That was not the end of my day, but I will save the other part of that afternoon for a different post.

I hope you are all happy, healthy and enjoying the wind-down of the summer season!