My final month in Adygeya is not going by tame or
uneventful. Apparently, it’s been “Ekstrim”
(Extreme). At the beginning of the month, Mike and Sarah came to visit (a
former Oberlin classmate and a current Fulbright ETA, respectively) and I got
to show them around the Republic. My friend Katya brought us to Guzeripl for
some “Ekstrim” rafting (Extreme it was not; I only fell in the water once by
accident, even after Ruslan, our instructor, told us of rapids that had a 50/50
chance of overturning the raft). The next day I led them around the Rufabgo
waterfalls where we passed an “Extreme Park”… a tree zipline of about 10 feet.
This trip was not complete without some overpriced shashlik and cheese and a
thunderstorm. Although my friends had no time to visit the university, they did
get the chance to meet Nart (His name is NART?!) and Timur.
I am leaving this Wednesday… unfortunate for many reasons,
but yet another reason is because in August there will be an event called “Kavkaz-EXTREME”
(Seriously, WHY is everything supposed to be “EXTREME” here??), a Mountain
Marathon which features 50 kilometers of high-altitude trails around the
highest peaks in Adygeya. I will be long since gone by then, but if I were
here, I would absolutely enter this race. Of course, to most it sounds like
hell, and even though I have been distance running for ten years, I am not
exactly confident I could finish such a challenge in one piece. Even so, I’d do
it anyway.
This week, as my classes have long since ended and exams
have begun, I helped out two of the English teachers at the language camp for
school-aged children. The week was divided into Britain Day, American Day,
Games and French Day, German and Italian Day, Arabic Day, and a final concert
and talent show. Tomorrow, we are scheduled to go to another place in the
mountains that I haven’t been to, unless of course more thunder and hail storms
interrupt our plans. I taught the Spanish Master-Class, and also held a “Press
Conference” where I got to answer some funny questions, like “Do you have a pet
rabbit? Why not?” “Have you been to Grozny? Would you like to?” and ”Are you
good or bad?” Some of the most memorable children include Elina, who seemed to
think that Pushkin was the answer to every question even though this week had
nothing to do with Russian literature; and two young, potbellied Adyghe kids- Azamat,
who walked around always looking just about to break into a Lezginka; and Timur,
who reminded me of my best friend here… same name, same appetite.
To finish this up, I’d like to define some of the words I
have used and that are often heard and overused around here.
Kavkaz: The word “Caucasus” in Russian and other local
languages.
Krasavchik: A handsome young man, or someone who does
something unusually awesome.
Shashlik: Barbecue meat on a skewer, usually lamb but can be
pork or beef or chicken.
Bombita: A girl with smudgy red lipstick, fake designer
accessories, too much make up. Lots of times they wear a hejab or headscarf to
show that they are “Muslim.” Any pictures of them on the internet will be taken
in a mirror with an iPhone 5, always with a duckface.
Priora: A newer LADA model that young Caucasian guys like to
drive, preferable white, sometimes black. Always with low seating and dark
windows.
Bor’ba: Literally, “fighting sport.” Wrestling, judo, boxing…
the favorite sport for men around here.
“Spustilsa s Gor” (‘came off the mountain’): The equivalent
of “FOB/Fresh off the Boat”. A Caucasian guy that came to a city right out of
an aul who has yet to acclimate himself to urban behavioral standards.
Ponty/Pokazhukhi: Show-offs, generally of the hypocritical
variety. This includes the previously mentioned kind of person who will adorn
his car with Islamic medallions and greet his friends with “Salam Alaikum” while
drinking a beer.
Aul: A village in the mountains, or a village where people
mainly of a Caucasian nationality live.
Dzhigit: Formerly, a man who can perform elaborate tricks on
horseback, also means “brave.” Now has the same meaning as “krasavchik” but
used less frequently in speech (more in song lyrics).
Adyghe Pshashe: Literally means “Adyghe Girl,” but often
used in such a way that it doesn’t mean just any girl of Adyghe nationality,
but of a certain local ideal of women: Beautiful, young, modest but at the same
time a bit arrogant (hard to explain), generally with long dark hair and fair
skin, face with a sort of haughty look about it with nose turned up and eyes
turned down with a frown of disapproval. The idea is even if she is interested
in a man, she has to pretend to be not interested and not even give him the time
of day.
FOOD:
Ayran: A milk product that is more sour than yogurt, less
sour than kefir. It is delicious and good for you.
Halva: A sweet sort of powdery-textured… thing… that is made
from sunflower seeds. It is also delicious but many do not like it at first.
Best if also eaten with ayran.
Schips: An Adyghe national dish, a sauce that is made from
chicken broth and various spices. Best when eaten with pasta (pasta is how it
is pronounced in Adyghe, it has nothing to do with the Italian food pasta),
another dish made from porridge.
Adzhika: A mix of spices which I think is originally from
Abkhazia. It can be spicy or not spicy, in a powder or in a paste.
Kardanchiki: Something I invented. It’s like a pizza
dumpling with adzhika powder mixed in the dough, vegetables and Adyghe cheese
in the middle with more adzhika. They are named Kardanchiki because the
majority of them have been eaten by Timur Kardanov.
Red Moccasins: A fashion statement of young men from the
Caucasus. Actually, red moccasins appear to have gone out of style in favor of
regular Adidas shoes. People who wear red moccasins usually drive white
Prioras.
“My Life, My Rules.”: A popular slogan of local young men. I
guess it’s kind of the rationale they have that young men can do as they please
and always be right. See previous blog entries for modern day interpretation of
Adyghe Habze. “My Life, My Rules” is often written on the bumpers of while
Prioras driven by people wearing red moccasins. It is also worth mentioning
that a related slogan happens to be the national anthem of separatist Chechnya:
“Freedom or Death.” Compare with the motto of New Hampshire, “Live Free or Die.”
I think they are on to something…
Kalym: In the past, a sort of male dowry. According to
tradition, a man must pay a woman’s parents a kalym in order to take their daughter’s
hand. If the kalym is not paid, the man does not have official permission to
take his bride and therefore must steal her. This is how bride stealing became
so common among young man in the villages. Nowadays, the idea of kalym is
completely put aside and man just go ahead and steal their brides anyway.
