Medicine in the Great Land of Sakartvelo.

So.  This shall be a small update, as I am feeling sicker than a dzaghls.  So, I think an appropriate topic should be a step-by-step guide on how to take care of yourself in the wonderful land of Georgia.

1)Burns.  Anything from a large burn covering most of your foot because you tried to can something with a used glass jar that has a crack on the bottom--to a small burn on your hand because you spilled scalding water from your teacup (if it's not scalding, it can't make tea. especially since you only stick the teabag in the water for a good three seconds, tops, then share the same chaisperi with the rest of the family.)
Should you receive such a burn, immediately cover your burn in oil, cry in pain while reluctantly applying aloe gel offered to you by your American boarder, and cut open any blisters formed.  Then, cover with mysterious yellow mousse-like substance that resembles spray foam insulation.  Call local doctor.  Let American listen to doctor speaking on telephone, saying, "Yes, they already cut it," (or something like that in Georgian).  Be prepared to be unable to walk for weeks and know that your work friends will ask the American about your health on marshutkas.
Should the burn be small, skip all steps except for the application of yellow spray foam.

2) Nutrition.  There's a lot to be said here.
Basics include: look strangely at your American if he/she doesn't eat bread and potatoes and khatchapuri and other starches when they're all offered.
Drink 5+ cups of coffee a day; instant, Turkish/remain-y, and/or American brewed.
Eat plenty of cheese but never have constipation.  (Riddle me this.)
Snack constantly.

To my family's awesomeness factor, they're totally cool with me limiting myself to one cup a day, though they still ask me every time if I want coffee.  I think this is just the hospitality factor; it'd be rude not to offer.

3) Stomachaches.
Causes: Wearing thin slippers and getting cold.
Not wearing slippers and getting cold.
Not wearing a scarf and getting cold. (though I now realize I've never been yelled at for my lack of hat.)
Not wearing enough layers and getting cold.
Treatment: "tea" made of fruit muraba (syrupy jam).  Mineral water.  Warming up by the petchi.

4) Headaches.
Treatment: not Ibuprofen.  That's only for shots.


I keep thinking I live in a different country than the rest of the volunteers.  My counterpart (one of them) is motivated and wants to work.  I eat fresh fruits and veggies, usually.  Now, of course, it's a bit sparser pickins, but we've got plenty of muraba and compote (which also unnecessarily ups my sugar intake, cause I eat buttloads of chocolate and nom nom squares.)  I get along with my family and spend a lot of time with them chatting and yukking it up over racking up frequent buyer points on pharmacy reward cards by bringing in real daisies (cause the cards have daisy pictures on them).  My students say that girls can't always do what guys do because of physical inability.  I'm inclined to agree with them to a certain extent, but managed to protest enough until they agreed that girls and guys could do "each others'" work if they had to.  My counterpart and I talk about scrapbooking and taxis and xerox machines and good and bad advertising.  Some of the teachers in the teacher's lounge rolled their eyes when I was interrupted from a normal conversation by a demand from a P.E. (read: male) teacher to say "bakaki tskalshi kikinebs" for his amusement.  That same teacher also asks me every day, without fail, how I am and if I'm cold and when I want him to "warm me up" by feeding me wine. (not bad, it's winter, and after lessons).

Then there's the interactions in the store when I ask for the price of a glass pan that looks the right size for lasagna (40 GEL? Ew.) and actually get the "You're a foreigner?  You speak Georgian?  You teach English? Are you married?  Oh, you should find yourself a nice Georgian boy." Ick.

But life in the village continues on rather normally.  We have no heat in the school yet, because we're supposed to get central heating.  By the middle of January.  Normally, I wouldn't believe that date.  Remember when my school was supposed to open a month earlier than it did?  But they're working on the heating.  During my lessons.  I had a chunk of wall fall near my feet when I was trying to lead a failed impromptu game of pictionary/charades in seventh grade (brought into existence because the xerox wasn't working, so we couldn't make copies of the test scheduled for that day).

It's usual in Georgia.