Overheard at a Supra

Instead of relating anecdotes, let's use direct dialogue from a recent supra to paint a picture of cultural exchange. This supra happens to be the Ormotsi ("Forty") of our next-door neighbor, which marks the end of the official mourning time for his family-- forty days past his death.

Dialogues

Neighbor: Do they have khachapuri [cheesebread] in America?
Me: No, we don't have khachapuri.
Different elderly neighbor: They don't have khachapuri. They don't have khinkali [meat dumplings]. What do they eat?

Familiar neighbor: Where do you want to sit?
Me: Where there's people that I know.
Familiar neighbor: Okay, sit over there next to Mediko.
(sits down)
Me: Hello, Mediko.
Mediko: I invited you to my house last week, and you didn't come.
Me: Um...

Toastmaster: And now a toast to our guest from another continent!
Me: Thank you.
Toastmaster: I know that you'll have a great family because you know not only American culture, but Georgian culture.
Me: Thank you.
Toastmaster: America is over 200 years old. It is a province. Georgia is thousands of years old. Compared to Georgia, America has no culture.
Me: Thank you.

Familiar neighbor: Jeni, you must drink that toast to the bottom!
Me: Fine. (drinks to the bottom)
Familiar neighbor: Good girl. (turns to other neighbors). Do you know what she said the other day? She was at home with her host family, and they made a joke about how the word 'cheese' sounds like the word $%^@# [Georgian swear word]. They said it was okay because Jeni doesn't know the bad word, but then she said, 'No, I know: cheese is good and $@#%#$ is bad.'
All neighbors: (general boisterous laughter)
Me: (blushes)

Me: Something smells good! What is it?
Host sister: [in English] Hen bowels.
Me: Oh... wait, why do you know that word?

Host mother: (sleeping in chair)
Host sister: (takes picture)
Host mother: (wakes up) Oh, I can't sleep yet-- it's not dark.
Me: You need sleep!
Host mother: I know. I baked cakes last night for this supra until 3:00 AM. Then at 3:30, I woke up to start baking khachapuri. I spent six hours yesterday making three atchmas [cheese & butter lasagna], and it was in vain because they didn't even finish eating two of them. But what can I do? We're Georgians, and we always make a ridiculous amount of food.
Me: It was delicious.