There's a pearl in my oyster

Last evening the host of this little place invited me to tea, mushroom caviar, and google translate conversation- that's how we've been communicating since I arrived here, sweaty, lost, ruble-less and seeking a room. She was quite proud of the mushroom/vegetable spread she made, and served it to me with some homemade bread- delicious! It was not quite 9 pm and I was sooo tired, but we sat and looked at photos and talked using her phone for a while.

People are the most amazing gift of travel.

Postscript- this morning she is cleaning my room around me, I assume because she leaves at 9 am. But I am told nothing is open yet-too early for coffee at 8:30 am. Lucky for me I accidentally slept in this morning.

Post-postscript (I always wanted to do one of those)- now the woman who brought me here, and is here with her son, tells me she is from Kazakhstan, and asks me to carry a letter to the UN for her. More and more interesting! Meanwhile the relief worker has come in and she and Marina (the host who served me tea) are conferring quietly, and I want to say goodbye and thank you to her before I go for coffee, but don't want to interrupt. The only way out is past them, and they have closed the door. Ah, the things I don't know...