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Oh my, last night I went to visit Rahima and her family - that family is the family that ACCLES most often uses as a host family for their scholars, and they like having lots of americans around and are really really nice. I didn't life with them last summer, but met them and Rahima started studying piano with me because I was living in an apartment with a piano and she really really really really wanted to learn. Now I'm living without a piano but she convinced her parents to buy her one and wants to start lessons again. Now I just have to try and get a copy of Bach's Minuet in G major and in G minor in this the land without sheet music, so that I'll have something tangible to teach her. She's remarkably dedicated and apt and I'm looking forward to teaching piano again.

But last night at Rahima's I did a bad thing. Apparently foot in mouth disease affects me here in Uzbekistan as well. Rahima's family housed my acquaintance Scott last year, who also studied with my Uzbek teacher, Ruslan-aka. I went over last night to meet their current guest, Anna, and plan what we're going to say at the conference thingy that we have to present at on friday. Turns out Scott is back for a week from the villages where he's doing research and opened the door and I was suprised and startled and didn't quite know what to say. Scott is a nice guy, but not very open about himself. He opened the conversation by asking me if I was still with Ruslan and I said yes. He then said, do you like him, or do you think he talks to much in lessons? In that very leading way. I felt like he was attacking my teacher, who I like very much, so without thinking or holding my tounge I said "Well that's a leading question, don't worry - he didn't like you much either." Oooops. Didn't really mean to say that.....I went on to temer it with saying that maybe he is a bit more patient with me blah blah blah. And scott looked hurt and laughed and said well I'll just think you're joking. Still I feel kinda guilty - I really didn't need to say that, I just reacted in an inappropriate way to an uncomfortable situation......ick.

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Ugh - the universe is apparently shitting on alot of us, D.

I just got an email from the Ashe clinic where I did the online prescription refill for my BCPs and asked that my friend S be authorized to pick it up - this is perfectly normal with phone refills. I got an email from the clinic - not only are they not allowed to authorize S to pick up the BCPs over email because of new privacy laws, so I HAVE to call them, but they also informed me that the price of my brith control pills has more than doubled!!!!! CRAP - I really don't think I can afford $28 a month to avoid babies, but I don't know what else to do. I'm going to look into Uzbek birth control pills because they have free family planning here.

In other news my brain is very full - malika at the end of my lesson, where I learned 2/3 of a new piece - Dilrozh - decided that I should be included in the concert on the 30th and asked me what I wanted to play. I said "I dunno" and made an uncomfortable face, so she said that I should play in the ensemble and started teaching me that piece as well. My brain hurts....