Ok so Lucy is probably on the couch (If Mom isn’t looking) or under Dad’s desk, and not here in Russia. But I am. I am home! I live on Petrogradskaya Storona (affectionately known as P-town but us CIEE kids) with my host family – a typical family by American standards, with a Georgian background. So not your typical Russian family.
I live with my host mom Инга (Inga), host great aunt Мария Дмитриевна (Maria Dimitrievna) or Masha, 16 year old host brother Джон (Johnny), 13 year old host sister Лена (Lena), and their skittish little chinchilla. Mr. Ioroshvili (my host dad), is a truck driver and spends the majority of his time on the road.
Inga is super-host-mom. She runs around after two rather angst-y teenagers every day and takes very good care of both Masha and myself. When my host dad is home, she does all of this while adding ‘doting wife’ to the mix! In her spare time Inga has been redoing the kitchen. She repainted the edges of the kitchen table and the TV stand a few days ago to match her new Italian cabinets and door handles. It’s quite the project but it is coming along nicely! There are only two things missing at this point - the granite counter top (which has not yet been delivered) and the sink. That’s right, for the second time in my life (who knew there would be a first?!) I must do my dishes in the bathtub.
Inga and I bond over little cups of coffee after I eat dinner. It’s probably the only time I see her just sitting and not buzzing around the apartment, so it’s a nice break for both of us! I have been getting to know her little by little and have begun to understand more and more each day (she speaks very quickly). I feel that in a few months’ time we will move on from Lena’s summer vacation plans and kitchen remodeling to something a bit more substantial but for now I am excited that we can sit and chat and have a cup of coffee over whatever topic pops into Inga’s mind.
Masha is my homeslice! As a pensioner, she has had the time to show me how to use public transportation (the many different forms of it!) and has shown me a few land marks and how to get home from them by physically taking me to these places when I am not in class. On our little excursions she asks me questions about my life back in the states and offers her own commentary that hopefully soon I will understand. She was very excited to open my gift and find a bottle of California wine. Her eyes got wide and she asked, “Is it red?!” We get along very well ;).
Masha and I speak for a few minutes every morning at breakfast. She always informs me that it is going to be very cold outside and that I should carry my umbrella as it is forecasted to rain. Even if it isn’t. When I walk around the house she always praises me for wearing my тапочки/tapochki (house slippers) and makes me run and put them on heaven forbid I only wear socks around the house! According to Masha that is how one catches a cold. I once tried to leave the house with damp hair in a braid – damp, mind you, not wet. She looked at me as if I was already dead and had given her a nasty cold as a gift. She marched right into the ванная/vanaya (the shower/bathtub/laundry room that is doubling as our kitchen for the time being – the toilet is in a different room called the ‘toilet’), grabbed the hair dryer, and made me dry my hair until she was satisfied with it; which of course was long after all water was actually gone. As for the coffee date with friends I was late for? Well they have babushkas (Russian grandmas) too and very much understand that sometimes you are going to be late because babushka (or in my case, Masha) says so. To argue would be most unwise and to think one could win said argument would make you mad as a hatter.
My host siblings are angsty. They are both good natured kids but it is a bit hard to connect with a 13 year old girl and a 16 year old boy. Especially with a language barrier. Lena speaks English pretty well but I try to speak Russian with her as much as possible. She is very artsy and is always doodling or painting something in front of the TV (watching Russian MTV of course) in her spare time. As for John well, the telephone is surgically attached to his ear. I have never seen him without at least his cell phone in his hand (that’s when his best friend is over) and I have never had a conversation with him without him simultaneously talking to a friend over the phone.
Last but not least, there is Mr. Ioroshvili. He is a big dude. He is at least six feet tall and his grizzly booming voice is intimidating. But he is a bigger teddy bear than he is grizzly bear. When he is home it is all kisses and hugs as he sweeps both Inga and Lena off their feet randomly just for fun! He and Lena watch movies together on the couch when they have the time. It’s really sweet.
Ну вот - моя русская семья (There you have it – my Russian family).
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