Visiting

We went to do school registrations on Tuesday in the late afternoon. The first home we went to was that of a little person who wants to go to kindergarten next year. We sat with his parents and talked about school, what to expect and filled out all of the paperwork. We enjoyed the family that was made of a mixture of Somalian Bantu and Ethiopian. That was a mixture we had not seen before so it was interesting to talk with them about where they met and about camp life.
After we were finished there we went across the courtyard and up the stairs to another apartment. We were struggling to communicate our need for a translator when someone knocked on the door and there on the threshold stood one of my favorite Turkish girls (who also speaks Russian) I hugged her and we talked for awhile and then she graciously agreed to translate paperwork for us. We were each given apple juice to drink in between talking. When our glasses got to 1/3 of the way full another full glass was poured. When I was done drinking I made certain to sip and not let my drink get too low or I would have been drinking way too much. We went through all of the papers for their two children, explained the schools to them and answered questions. As we were filling out paperwork the father sat with us while the mother moved from between us and the kitchen. Close to the end of the paperwork, Robert let them know that we were almost done. Whew!!! The father smiled and excused himself then spoke to his wife. She told him something and he began to move around furniture. As the last signatures were going down on paper a coffee table had been pushed in front of us. A table cloth was quickly produced and spread across the table, three kinds of pop, and juice was served. A big dish full of Russian candy, Uzbek pistachios, raisins and nuts was served next and the last thing was two large round 1" thick bread was served and we began to munch.
A few minutes later a young lady came up the stairs carrying a large soup pan. She smiled at us and curtsied slightly moving into the kitchen to join the mother of the house we were visiting. Lastly a young man of 22 came in and sat down.
At this point the apartment was full and it was getting to be dinner time. We saw our translator glance at her watch with a touch of concern. After we had finished the paperwork we had tried to dismiss her and let her go home but the father of the house pleaded with her to stay. She had stayed until we saw this newest young man enter. We started talking with him, found that his English was good enough to communicate and we helped our translator get home to her mother and their own dinner.
We spent time that evening, relaxing. The women trying to communicate and practice their English with me and the men sat around the dining room table playing chess. Two hours later, seven thirty by this time, Plav was served with salad and more pop. We continued to talk and eat.
At one point in the evening the man of the home asked his nephew (the 22yr old man) to translate for him. I found this particularly funny because when we had dismissed the first translator and said we could use this young man his family had giggled. But now they had learned a very important lesson in communication and he was asked to translate. The father talked about life in Uzbekistan and how when they lived there before the trouble every night they had eaten dinner with their family and friends. He talked about the laughter and the fun and how much he missed it. Then he said "This is good. Tonight felt like home."
That was a large compliment for us. It was a fun night.
They showed us a lapidary backgammon set that was very beautiful. We wanted to share it with you. Hope you enjoy!