This little light of mine

I am constantly being informed how much better Georgian people are than American people, because they treat each other with respect even if they aren’t related. It is the Georgian way...

We have power.

Our neighbors do not.

We have now put paper over the bathroom windows so that we can turn the lights on the bathrooms without our neighbors knowing.

I asked why we have power and they don’t (when they also paid). Apparently what we have is on a “non-governmental line” or what I will dub an NGL.

Where DOES the NGL come from?

-a neighbor

So will the neighbor be paying more now?

-no they don’t pay anything

I know I am pressing my luck here, but I can’t help it, I ask why.

-because they have a NGL.

What exactly does that mean?

First I was told that I couldn’t understand because I am not Georgian. I didn’t accept this. I asked again. It was explained that a NGL means that someone walks over to the power company complex (I have no idea what this really means either- for all I know its just some guy standing around a bunch of generators.) and illegally plugs into the power. I don’t know how they do it, or how the company doesn’t notice. My sister said she think the company DOES know, but they don’t care since we paid. Which really baffles me because if they don’t care, why can’t they just give us power????

I asked if the people who didn’t pay are ever going to pay.

I was told that it was highly unlikely since they have power themselves.

What?

Why do they have power?

-Because they have an NGL.

So why are we hiding our power if they have power? Because some of our neighbors who paid still don’t have power, and if they see that we do, they will go complain to the company. So then I asked— why can’t all our neighbors get NGLs?

Answer: because it costs to buy a long cable.

I don’t get how the neighbors who can’t afford to pay the power bill can afford that, but I guess in the long run its cheaper.

So HERE is the big question: Why can’t we go complain about the neighbors who didn’t pay but are taking power illegally.

The answer:

-Because Georgian people aren’t like that, we must treat our neighbors with respect.

All I could do was stare and blink at this point. Then I laughed and everyone got annoyed with me.

It appears that I can’t understand because I am not Georgian.

On a side note: although we finally have power, our water has turned to a greenish brown color. I hope its just dirt, but it may be more disgusting than that. My host mother made a point of telling me I probably shouldn’t drink it.

………..You think?

Happy Halloween Everyone! I elected not to attend the Halloween party that the volunteers are having due to the sickness and my lack of costume.