The piercing shrieks of my mother's voice can be heard as early as 6:00 a.m. She doesn't waste any time. Her grey hair, hidden by a scarf, makes her look not 44, but late 50s. She's round and achy but finds the strength to feed the chickens and turkeys twice a day, the cow, bake fresh bread, cook 3 meals, clean up, iron her husband's clothes each morning, and watch badly overdubbed films in the evening. Some days she even has time to catch me sneaking off to work without long underwear and 3 pairs of socks and a sweater. She seems to overpower my father in volume and size. He's a skinny guy with a monsterously lazy right eye. He enjoys teaching me vocabulary and leaving the house. Not much more do I know of him.
Most of my time is spent with Gulshirin, their youngest daughter of 9. She speaks horribly in English despite 3 yrs in school but plays great hand clapping games and treats me like her new pet. I love her admiration of me and sometimes loathe her unbounding attention. Even I need a rest. I've now gotten made fun of on a daily basis for my early bedtime (9:00 when I can), though I mostly enjoy the time alone more than the sleep. Gulshirin is always happy to see me, and that's a great gift in a foreign place.
Ayjahan, the elder (20) daughter, would be a potential pal, were she not working in a fabric factory making Tommy Jeans for low wages. She is getting married in about a month, so soon she will be her husband's servant as opposed to her mom's worker bee.
The neighborhood kids constitute the other half of my family. They come in without knocking and ask daily to see pictures and listen to my ipod. They're resiliant to dismissal and give great greetings on the street. I can't remember any of their 4-syllable names except for 2 favorites - Gulbibi and Bahtagul. If I ever need to hear giggling, I turn to the girls. All under 14 and as young as 7, they are my entertainment, and I am most certainly theirs. This place is scary without smiles at home. I love my Turkmen, and I'll be sad to see them go as I move to the Russian world.
