Accidentally invited dinner guest!

At the grocery store, I took my book out and surveyed with no problems. No one bothered me. It was great! In one of the shops one of the girls noticed I spoke English and immediately lit up. She could speak, though in very broken English. She invited me to coffee and I obliged. We sat and spoke English for a good half hour. She had a lot of difficulty, but it was nice to help her practice. She told me about her mother who had died, and about how she was going to the university in Russia in March. She wanted so much for me to spend more time talking with her but I tried to explain I was only here for a few days. I’m not sure she understood me. I said if I had free time I would certainly let her know. Most of the girls wear their traditional dress; very conservative and long. They are really quite beautiful, actually. Though, I decided that I should probably keep my chest covered since no one wears anything low-cut here, it seems. I had a low-cut dress on; good thing I brought a cardigan with me that can easily cover me up.

Miram had invited me to dinner at their house, and of course I obliged. I arrived a few minutes before 7; unfortunately she had sent a car to get me and I was not aware! Poor Toni, he was having terrible luck with me. Late in arrival to the airport, late going to the Chevron office, and didn’t even show up for dinner at Maris’!
Anyways, everyone started talking business so Maris invited me to help out in the kitchen. The meal already looked simply amazing. Everything homemade of course, sliced sautéed veggies, homemade spring rolls, Teriyaki skewered chicken, even homemade tofu! She literally must have been cooking all day. I was in heaven and couldn’t wait to eat. They had someone helping with the cooking. She was a young girl who apparently knew no English before they came and hired her. She spoke really well! They have a son they adopted from Russia who is disabled. He has no ability to use his legs and his hands are disformed as well. But, he’s a bright, pleasant person to talk to. He told me he is 13 and went through all the family photos with me before dinner. It was cute.

After dinner, Miram explained to me that because they were planning on talking business during dinner, she technically should not have invited me over. That made me a bit sad and obviously I felt a little self-conscious, but I told her just to let me know when I should go. Though, I ended up staying just as long as everyone else. I really liked Maris. We talked most of the time, maybe to avoid listening to business but that’s ok. I enjoyed talking with her very much. She is very down-to-earth, we vibed really well. They are from California, all their kids are there. She doesn’t seem or act old enough to be a mom, nevermind a grandma (which she is). I’m not sure how I would do living in a place like this.