Lost in the Caucasus
Salut, Before leaving for spring break, I celebrated Baktygul’s birthday. Last year, I celebrated at her house, and this year we did it again, but this time with her husband. Her husband and my host brother share the same name and are quite close in age. We had pizza, Lagman, and candy and broke our Ramadan fast together. Her husband nearly chopped his finger off while cutting wood, injuring it, which was his excuse when I asked why he didn’t cook her dinner for her birthday. Her mother-in-law joined us as did her children. Overall, the vibes were good. At school, we had minimal celebrations for Women’s Day, and we’ve yet to celebrate Nowruz. One of our Kyrgyz language teachers, Turrabek, put on a short competition with the younger students. This year has been sparser regarding big celebrations, and I’ve been told student behavior has something to do with it. Last year, I went to only one or two student disciplinary meetings, which are usually held during 6th period o...