Essay #22 Guncha

My daughter has no teeth and it’s my fault. We brush them as much as anyone but I was sick when I was pregnant with her. It was harder then that it is now, contrary to traditional belief. I think I’m one of the only single mothers in this country. I live close to my family now, so I can work while they take care of Y_____. I had the traditional marriage but my husband had problems. Maybe he had them before we were married, but I couldn’t do anything about it. He was a heroin addict. I got pregnant with Y_____ when we had little money already. I didn’t have enough for food and most times my husband took his salary for drugs. I had anemia during the pregnancy and I think that’s why Y_____ has problems. She is normal in most ways – it’s just her teeth. I left him, which is difficult here. I am not supposed to marry again but I think if someone comes along, you never know. I work with kindergarteners and teach Turkmen language to Peace Corps volunteers in the fall. Sometime I hope I can learn enough English to get a job teaching Turkmen or Russian in America. Don’t you think 6 years with Peace Corps is a pretty good credential? I guess we’ll see. My American students tell me of all the luxury they have, yet they seem like children still. They have no sense of work ethic and sometimes it just makes me cry nights to way they refuse to try. Some even tell me they don’t want to learn my native language because it’s ugly! The nerve! I try so hard to be a good teacher for them. Turkmen language is not a bad language. Sometimes I sit and thank Allah that I live in Turkmenistan. After hearing about the wars in Afghanistan and the problems in Iraq. Things are so stable here and so the people are happy. All we want is peace so we can live our lives. Of course, there are always problems. I hope to have some changes so we can move forward more. I mean, when we vote here, there’s not one person I really want, so I just cross them off! I don’t want you, or you or you! But I’d never make a problem as long as I can live here with my daughter. I’ve already had enough drama for a lifetime. Maybe I’ll get English lessons for Y_____. She already talks so well for being so little. If I never make it to the US maybe she’ll be able to. My students tell me you can make $5 an hour at any job and that their apartments all have running water and bathrooms indoors. Even the cheapest. Sounds good to me! We have to walk over to my parents house to use her toilet since our apartment doesn’t have one. Maybe Y_____ could work for a firm as a translator and move then. Or maybe she could get that scholarship to study there in high school. Well, we’ll keep it in mind. It would just be nice to be able to give her something real in life. Something far from her broken family and broken teeth. Somewhere as safe and quiet as she deserves.