October 12, 2012

How did I ever get to be so lucky? I can wake up most morning and enjoy my coffee without having to run out of door the minute I do so. I don’t have to report to the same place every day or do the same thing in the same order either. Although I got up early today when the sun was still hiding behind the mountains, I got to drink my coffee, get dress at leisure and walk to the bus stop for my ride to the American Pilot School to do more observations of the trainers for this program.

I went to Tatjana’s class for the first hour and Zeinep’s class for the second after which I shared my notes on what I had seen and my recommendations for future training sessions. Tatjana came back in the process and produced a beautiful cake, cups (Christmas design on them) and plates for us to enjoy it along with coffee. Inna, the teacher I had observed last week, also came and then Gulnara from the Forum association. The cake was delicious as it had a not-too sweet cottage cheese filling in the center and creamy frosting outside. I expressed my appreciation for the cake and told them I needed to hurry up to get to Lingua next.

It was another long wait for a minibus that would have any room to accommodate one more passenger. I finally got on one only to have the driver allow more and more passengers to get on to the point when one feels suffocation will take place next. When it came time for me to exit, I had to ask another passenger for help to extricate myself from the bus. I can’t imagine what it might be like during the winter months with people stuffed into coats and jackets in a place without ventilation of any kind.

I didn’t get to Lingua until quarter past one and everyone had had lunch already. They had been so thoughtful as to place a nice note on the door congratulating me on my birthday and had also brought cake for the occasion. Since most of the teachers had classes scheduled for two o’clock, they wanted to cut the cake before I went for lunch, and we did so. Adina presented me with a bag containing a pair of yellow and orange earrings that were a perfect match for the bright yellow blouse I was wearing. There was also a card for me along withtwo cakes. We took the obligatory photos, sang happy birthday and cut the cake.

I went downstairs to the Muslim Kitchen restaurant and ordered fried lagman and a vinaigrette salad, but they were out of the salad. I had the noodles to go and ate in the teachers’ lounge with Nargiza and Zarina who then presented me with another bag in which she placed a set of Tupperware containers nesting inside each other. No wonder I love her so much already!

I took my pieces of cake home as I was already stuffed. After doing some computer work and printing the materials I’ll need for the presentation on Monday, I said goodbye to everyone and went home to crash from the sugar high. It was a short nap as the neighbors upstairs kept a racket going and it was impossible to sleep through it.

Many of my friends from around the world sent their birthday wishes through Facebook and email. It was very gratifying to see so many former students sending their greetings and good wishes. I had had one fantastic day all around.