Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Twas The Night Before 1st Grade...

The night before my first day at Bullard High School, I threw up and
was sick the whole next day. Chalk it up to 9th grade jitters or bad
Chinese food. The night before my first day of 10th grade THE SAME
THING HAPPENED! What are the likelihoods of that? So I missed the
1st day of school two times as a teenager possibly from food but most
likely from nerves. The night before I was to start my matriculation
at Kyoogh Tduhbrotz No. 1 I was FINE. I was so excited to go.
FINALLY I, JONELLE, had a REAL class all to my self, for me to learn
the Armenian language PROPERLY with a teacher, books, homework and
all. I told EVERYONE. I had my clothes all laid out, my pencils
sharpened and a brand new notebook crisp and ready...but like a three-
peat of my high school career, I awoke Monday, 1 September with the
sourest stomach I have ever had in Armenia. I have not had a problem
with my bowels in my homeland and so I have told, nay, boasted to
all. "Kalem just has a weak stomach." I would say. But that morning,
even if I tried to swallow those words they wouldn't have stayed in
me! I know I was excited but could I possibly be scared of THE FIRST
GRADE? Maybe so but I contest it was the WATERMELON!!!! Kalem can
confirm this as we have done personal and costly (to our innards)
experiments with said fruit. Locals say that if the melons are left
in the hot sun all day, day after day they turn to "POISON". Of
course I did not believe this at first and had quite a few delicious
sumerook since I have been in Hyeastan, which I took to mean that I
had a cast iron stomach or that I was truly a deghatzee (Local)! It
actually begs the question, "How would one know if a melon had sat in
the sun all day, day after day?" This melon in question was purchased
from a traveling market (these are guys in vans or better yet cars
with boxes of produce stacked to the gills. Sometimes the whole of
the car is filled, back windows and all to the headliner of the moving
Khanoot.) and our neighbor even asked, "Are these things poison?" Now
I know I am not the best business person, but what produce peddler
(especially an Armenian one....) is going to say, "Yes, actually all
of my melons are terrible and you would do yourself and your whole
family a great disservice by purchasing one of my black-seeded TIME
BOMBS!" Whatever the culprit, the nerves or the melons one thing is
for sure, I AM NOT EATING ANOTHER SUMEROOK UNTIL I GET BACK TO THE
USA!!! And Lord willing tomorrow I will see if I can stomach the 1st
grade! Weakly yours, Jonelle ; {

1 comment:

Keidi said...

Soooo sad! Ouchie! I hope you feel better soon and make it to all the rest of your classes! That is such a bummer, especially from so sweet a fruit. I always thought that fruit were water purifiers, even in bad-water places, the growing of the fruit filters the water? I guess not, though, my mother in law (35 yrs in Indonesia) washed (still does) her watermelons but didn't eat just any in Indo. Interesting!