Fitting In (Different or the Same)

Fitting In (Different or the Same)

I have moved in with a family in Turkmenistan and I wanted to let you know what the home is like.

The floors are wooden covered with tapestries.
The toilet is in the farthest building from the main house. It has a cement slab 6'X6' and 8' tall walls with a hole and a basket of paper (not the best stuff). A friendly goat wandered on the trail side (we will come back to the goat).
The wash room (Banya) is 10' X 8' and heated with free natural gas. A pile of clothes is usually piled in one end next to an old fashion tub. There is a drain in the center of the floor and a sink on the wall with a faucet that doesn't work. A bucket of water is on the stove and buckets of cold water are all around. You mix the hot and cold water to get the temperature you want and dump it over yourself while simultanously scrubing. Clothes are washed by hand and hung out wrong side out. this prevent evil spirits from entering your clothes as they dry.
The sleeping area is large with a 2" mattress on the floor and neatness is of high value so everything is lined up along the wall neat and tighty.
Water comes from an underground well. I was issued a water filter but it is missing a piece so I might get sick.
There is a new baby in the family a boy born Oct. 19. He has a 3-year old sister a 5year old brother. This is a reason for a celebration. After a full day of training, I returned home to a car full of grocieries. On the first trip to the storage area I spoted the head and legs of the family goat on the floor. Goat for dinner! I cooked for four hours. The morning came fast and guests arrived. During dinner I was served a big helping of goat and given the high honor of being served some of the goat liver.
All women wear dresses all the time. There are three types of dresses; those for everyday at home, those for everyday when leaving home and party dresses. I bought material to have a dress made by a mom of one of the other volunteers and maybe embrordied by my host sister inlaw that has the new baby.
Our training with 5 volunteers other in same town requires us to run a camp at the school. Language is still a challenge but I am learning all the time.

Thanks for all the letters, thoughts and prayers.
Kelsey