Today is the Greatest Day I’ve Every Known

February as a month (one week into it) is the most awesome month ever. It is totally rocking my socks off. I mean that figuratively because I’m in Turkmenistan. If my socks were literally rocked off bad things—disease and possible infertility—would come of it. Wearing socks is a big deal here.
So the brilliance of this month began on the first when I got PAID! I am 2.5 MILLION manat richer. That amounts to roughly $100, but 2.5 million sounds way better, right? Money is always a good thing, very liberating. I also went to Mary City to collect my salary from the bank and ran into some other volunteers so there was English being spoken. English again is an awesome thing. It is fabulous for the world to be understood without being translated.
On Saturday (Feb. 2) I went to a wedding of one of my host family’s myriad of relations. I think my host father has 7 siblings. There was dancing, eating, hanging out with relatives, and showing off my new koynek. Yeah, its yakaly! I love my host fathers sisters. They are a combination of council, tribe, rivals, and gossips. They are warm, irreverent, welcoming, and just so much fun to be around. I am super excited for the days when I can ditch Lenin for overnights so I can go guest with them. I’ve been invited.
On Sunday, I hung out with my neighbors who have suddenly began to accept that my Turkmen is nominally functional Its exciting. The kids are bright, curious, and smart. I also watched High School Musical dubbed into Turkish. Oh, the drama of being a pre-teen in the world as created by Disney. It was still pleasant to see something that I had a connection to back home. High School Musical used to be my cousin’s favorite film. Although for all I know, it still is.
On Monday afternoon and this afternoon I chatted with a collegue in English. He speaks a little bit and wants to practice more because he is going to Canada in December. I just feel like I’m making a few friends. He invited me to eat Uzbek palow with his family on Saturday. I have to tell him that I can’t stay overnight for the next month. Silly rules.
This is a stupendous thank you for the people whose letters, postcards, and thoughtful inclusions of crosswords and Sudoku made it easy to remain positive when things were tough. Every scrap of paper is saved, reread, and cherished.