1) Having people visit your site for the first time is such a good reminder of how awesome it is. Not that I forgot that Zaqatala is great, but its something about being a pseudo-tour guide that makes you re-assess all the things that have become normal and part of your routine. I truly am lucky to be living in such a great town.
2) Being a host can sometimes leave you feeling stressed out and exhausted. This is not the case when you have great guests. Qualities that make a guest great include: offering and always helping with housework such as but not limited to dish washing; giving you random gifts just for being a host (Biscolata cookies, theraflu = wonderful presents); having a sunny disposition...ain't nobody tryin' to have Debbie Downer being all depressed up in their house!; buying/contributing money for food; cooking a delicious meal for the host, complete with dessert (s'mores = YUM!).
3) I am so happy with the relationships I have developed here with my community members. I say hello to people on the street, and they seem genuinely happy to be greeting me! Even something as simple as observing some of the girls I work with have conversations with the trainees and asking them tons of questions is such a WIN in my book. Not only is it clear to see that their English has greatly improved since I first met them, but these women also used to be a lot more timid and shy before. Makes me so proud!
4) If you're going to hike 1500 meters up a mountain in October, you should probably start before 1:00pm since it starts getting dark around 7:00pm.
5) I'm so glad I got the chance to spend some quality time with Crystal and Gio. They're awesome and I'm sure wherever they end up for their permanent site they will be wonderful volunteers. Inshallah they'll come back up to Zaqatala for a visit once in a while!
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