Day 2 at Georgie's House

No one was stirring when I finally woke up about 8:30AM. The weather was cool and I needed to walk outside to the hamam – shower room and toilet. It is brand new, built about 2 months ago. Valentine was concerned that my room was too cold for me, but to me it is so much warmer than Minnesota and I slept well.

There's nothing like waking up to a rooster crowing. The house has a dirt yard that wraps around the front and back with about a dozen chickens scratching. The trees in the front include a magnolia and other fruit trees just starting to bloom.

I spent some time writing while drinking tea and eating sweets. It seems like the Novrus holiday is an excuse for eating lots of treats. It is also a tradition that people come to visit, and a number of relatives came by the house. Once again Georgie's 85 year old grandma come over. She wants to come to America with me and also wanted to know if I had any gold. She seems interested in comparing American vs. Azerbaijani cultures, and I love to tell her – thanks to Georgie interpreting.

Surprisingly the bazars are also closed today. I arrived in time to miss 4 days of school too! I heard from both my younger English teacher Shalala and her father. Late in the day I got a phone call from Ayas the son of my first host mom and dad in Sumgayit. I told them I miss them too and plan to visit them in April. Inshallah!

In the afternoon, I went with Georgie to feed the chickens. I tried to scatter some feed but they would not come near this stranger. We picked up 5 warmish eggs and put them into the refrigerator. I also watched a Disney program with him and his brother Igbol (who I call Edgar). It was a pretty quiet day.

I heard from Sally that she still has some of my things from the house that I rented. Georgie told me that everyone laughed saying, “Peggy's gone. Oh good more furniture for me!” I think it is mostly a fan, modem, and an oven. I'd sure like to know if any pots and pans are at her place. I know many women in Masalli I'd give utensils et al too. Not sure yet where my bicycle is, but everyone asks me about it.

I am drinking lots of tea again including about midnight. It's really hard to refuse when everyone else drinks tea that late in the day. Of course I had to get up about 1AM to go to the hamam. I'm also falling asleep as I did in the past to a podcast. Seems like I've been here before.