Back to Culture Clash - Chapter 10

Chapter 11: The Family Visits
 

Twelve days later Marcia was standing on the tarmac of the airport apron watching her brothers and mother deplane. As they exited toward customs, Marcia noted to Mykel Drakov, who had accompanied her, that her brothers seemed a bit taller and more athletic and her mother absolutely radiant.

"Mom, Tyler, Timothy, OVER HERE!" Marcia shouted and jumped up and down more like a schoolgirl than a uniformed military officer. Hugs, kisses and introductions were made, with Mykel first saluting then shaking the hand of each of Marcia's brothers and politely bowing to then kissing the back of the hand of Vida Shevat. Mykel hustled the boys off to gather up the family's baggage and Marcia and her mother chatted in person for the first time in over seven months.

"He is quite handsome, Marcia," Vida Shevat began, "are you sure he is the one? Or is he just the first to show interest in you in a strange land. Oh, MY!" Vida gasped.

A totally nude, save for a collar, young man of about twenty-two trotted past mother and daughter carrying a large pile of bags while being trailed by a couple in their late fifties.

"That is the way in this country, Momma, a criminal must hold a public job and must remain nude at all times except for his or her collar. The collar is radio controlled and has a chip that sets limits for each criminal as to when they may work, how long they must remain in the public eye and how far they may travel. Oh, and see that girl over there?" Marcia nodded in the direction of a tall red headed teenager also nude and wearing a collar. "She is a Temple penitent; you can tell because the collar style is different. She is trying to amend her life path and get right with the Creator by serving time in prayer and penitential nudity under the instruction of a priest."

"Well, I have never seen anything more disgusting in my life, why did you not come straight home when you found out about this insane way of life?" Vida muttered in a flustered voice.

"Well, almost as soon as I arrived here, I found out my host family, the Simonov, you have spoken to them, and you have told me you like them, Momma, were doing public penance as a family in support of their daughter Ivanka. As I was to be a member of that family for the duration of my Danubian stay I decided to join them in penance. I spent my first four months in Danubia naked and collared, Momma." Marcia watched the disbelief wash over her mother's face, then continued, "And even now most of my work is done nude, Momma, as Danubian society disallows swimsuits or athletic clothing for sports and swimming. That is all sport and swimming, Momma, so families on the beaches, at the lakes, and on the river are always nude. Families sunbathe nude in their yards when the weather is warm and it is not unusual to see groups of nude children playing in the streets or on the front lawns of the residential neighborhoods."

Vida Shevat looked as if she wished to get on the next airplane out of Danubia and go back to the States where sound heads were screwed onto clothed bodies.

"Hey, Mom, Hey, Marcia, did you see that red headed girl over there?" Timothy and Tyler were babbling with excitement over their first glimpse of a nude woman in public.

"Guys, you have seen me and my teammates plenty of times at home, why the oh my gosh moment now?" Marcia asked.

"Yeah, but that was you and your girlfriends, heck that's like family, and those girls saw us plenty, as well. This was a stranger in public for gosh sakes." Timothy blurted.

Tyler added, "Oh, and did you see she is a natural redhead? Not like your friend Heidi whose curtains and carpet don't match."

Mykel jumped in with, "While I admire your powers of observation, boys, as your sister might say, ‘too much information'. Now, in polite Danubian society we do not stare at a criminal or penitent going about their daily duties; however, should you need the assistance of one of them, say to carry a bag for you or if you needed directions, they are bound by their status to provide you with that service." Mykel thought for a second, saw the expressions crossing the faces of the two boys and quickly added, "Not those kinds of services. Asking her for those services would wind up with you both dressed up like him," Mykel pointed to the young man carrying the couple's bags.

The ride on the express trolley to the Military Inn did not take long and luggage was quickly stored in the two rooms that had been provided for Vida Shevat and the boys. Mykel and Marcia escorted her mother and brothers to the Siminov family home for a Danubian welcome dinner.

Proper introductions were made. Ursula and Ivan warmly greeted the mother of their guest daughter and richly heaped praises on Vida for raising such a beautiful, talented and adaptable daughter. Ivanka welcomed the parents of her ‘sister' into her home and also thanked Vida for allowing Marcia to become so much a part of Ivanka's life path. Kivar, Timothy and Tyler were friends before they exchanged the few words of each other's language each knew. Asking to be excused, the three boys wandered off to play a game of something or other in the Siminov backyard.

Kaleen and Martina were nowhere to be seen and Marcia asked Ursula Siminov as to where the younger girls had gone. "They are out on the sunning platform, with three girlfriends," Ursula smiled, "not even May yet and the warm weather has begun. It will be hard to keep a stitch on them if it is as hot as last summer."

"Oh, yes," Ivanka agreed," I was happy to be collared and nude last summer, it was way too hot to wear clothing."

"I have to agree, it felt wonderful to have the little breeze that blew do so on bare skin and not sweaty clothing," Marcia agreed with her hosts, "Momma, come on out and meet the girls."

Ivanka and Marcia pulled Vida out of the kitchen and out into the yard. Vida was shocked to see five young teens naked on the sundeck gossiping and giggling as girls have the tendency to do. Until Kaleen and Martina were called by Ivanka to come meet their guest and they quickly rose to come to Ivanka's side, Vida said nothing, then it was, to Marcia, "They aren't even trying to cover themselves."

"Why should they Momma? They are not embarrassed by their nudity, to them it is perfectly normal." Marcia whispered back to her mother.

Trying to remain as calm as possible, Vida Shevat exchanged greetings with Kaleen and Martina and then was surprised to hear them say, "Oh your boys are just delightful, we so enjoyed meeting them before Kivar took them to play football with his friends," Martina acted as translator for the girls and had spoken loudly enough that the other three girls still on the platform nodded and one muttered a very coy, "Oh yes, dreamy."

Ivanka whispered in Marcia's ear, "You know if they are playing soccer in the park, they are probably playing naked. How is your mom going to react to her sons running around chasing a ball naked?"

"I'm waiting to see if the steam in the kettle makes it whistle or blows its top off, Ivanka, Momma is in sensory overload right now and I do not think she is processing Danubia all that well." Marcia noted.

Just then Vida blew the whistle and let the steam out of the kettle, "Well if you can't beat them join them," Looking over at Marcia she said, "if this is Rome, I guess I should do as the Romans, think these girls would make room for an old lady to join them?"

Ivanka and Marcia exchanged glances that barely hid the laughter they wanted to let out. Ivanka spoke, "Momma Vida, you feel free to get comfortable and join the girls and if you wish Martina is excellent at braiding hair, I am sure yours would look beautiful in a Danubian style."

Marcia turned to go into the house, with Ivanka following, "Momma and Poppa Siminov, it seems my Momma has converted to Danubian. She is now sunbathing with your daughters and their friends. MY MOMMA! The prude ... is out in your yard getting naked to sunbathe with your daughters."

Ursula slipped the caftan she was wearing over her head. Under it she was nude. "I should join your mother so she has the company of an adult. Those girls are a joy but they can wear you out quickly."

Ivan looked at Ivanka and Marcia, "Well, it looks as if the meal will be delayed, unless you two take over momma's kitchen. An act I would not recommend if you value your lives. Therefore, why do you not join the rest of the girls while I go see how Mykel and Kivar are getting along with Marcia's brothers."

The older girls were soon outside and mingling with the youngsters, largely fielding questions about the strange layers of garments Vida had removed. Pantyhose, girdles and corsets were unheard of in ‘tween and teen girl wardrobes in Danubia.

Marcia found herself having to explain to a culture accepting to the human body as natural and ever different as blessed by the Creator, and why older American women found it necessary to force their bodies into shapes of conformity using elastic, bones and restrictive garments. Sadly, she found she did not have much interest in defending such a practice.

One of the girls, not the twins, broke the ice with Vida by telling Marcia she wished to compliment her mother on her beautiful full breasts and she hoped the Creator blessed her with just such richness of body.

"Richness my sweet," Vida began, "Hardly richness. This body was left to me by three pregnancies and three nursing babies." Marcia translated to the girl.

"Yes, Mother, that is exactly what I meant," the girl responded and Marcia acted as translator, "After three children, the Creator has blessed you with a mother's body. It is what all Danubian women wish to have as their blessing in their thirties and forties, a mother's body."

"It is true," Ursula added, "Vida, in our culture a woman's body is revered as a thing of beauty during pregnancy and afterward as a mother. You might be padded about the rear or your breasts might sag a bit after being suckled by babes but that is all beauty in a culture where a nurturing mother is the center of the family life."

Dinner was, indeed, delayed that evening. The males had found in the soccer field the one common language between them all. Mykel returned from the park with three very dusty teenage boys in tow, all of them nude and needing the Siminov shower. Ivan Siminov walked between Kivar and Timothy using hand gestures and single words to demonstrate a technique of a left footed pass between players. The smiles and nods were all Marcia needed to see to know that Ivan Siminov had just adopted two more children into his family.

The women, during that same time frame, had sat around the sundeck until other moms opened kitchen windows and began calling the three girlfriends' home to their own houses for their meals. Leaving only Ursula, Vida, Ivanka, Marcia and the young twins Martina and Kaleen to continue the rather deep philosophical topic of what is true beauty in the Siminov soak tub.

"Momma Shevat," Kaleen entered the conversation, "When Marcia first arrived in our home, she told us how Americans look upon pubic hair and body hair as a bother to be removed. Martina and I could not understand this. After all, what woman wants to go through life looking like an immature little girl? In Danubian culture the development of a girl into a woman is celebrated both in family and Temple rituals."

Ivanka entered the conversation, "Yes, they are called the First Budding, First Blooming, and Blossoming celebrations. After the Blossoming, girls are allowed to wear the adult prayer robe to Temple services and may enter the Temple service corps as acolytes."

As Vida looked confused, Ursula offered the explanations, "First Budding is the showing of breasts and beginning of curves in a girl's body. First Blooming is the beginning of Pubic Hair. Blossoming is the first menstrual cycle. Girls in Temple service assist the Priests and Priestesses in the ceremonies and services at the Temple and within the local chapels. This work is deemed part of the public giving back to the Creator which all Danubians seek to fulfill."

Vida was beginning to realize that not only externally, but also philosophically and culturally, Danubia was an entirely new world to the American mind set.

"Are your girls in Temple Service?" Vida asked Ursula.

"Not yet, they are late in the passing of Blossoming," Ursula said, "but all women know the Creator has the right time for them to Blossom," nodding to the girls.

"True," Kaleen said," one of the girls you met this afternoon, Andre, has passed Blossoming and is now studying to be a Maiden of the Four Positions at the Temple."

The look on Vida's face indicated her mind had gone to a place the young Kaleen had not intended.

"Momma," Marcia interjected," the Four Positions are Fetal, Kneeling, Standing, and Prone. Each High Holiday ceremony has a maiden posed in each position facing in each of the primary compass points. Sixteen girls, nude, and who must remain absolutely stationary. This is the hardest job a Maiden can have and it requires long hours of discipline and training."

"Oh my," Vida nodded, then had a thought, "Getting sixteen teenage girls to stay still that long must be a real job for the Priestess in charge."

All the females in the soak tub were laughing at that when the males walked in to shower. Marcia watched her mother for a reaction and there was none. Vida was becoming more adapted to the fact that nudity was exactly what it was in Danubia, another form of clothing when done with the right attitude and proper hairstyle.

Room was found for the Shevat family under the Siminov roof that night and early the next morning the entire combined group took the trolley to the Military Inn where Vida and the boys had their rooms. Marcia had to report in to the Academy and begin her morning classes, so it was Mykel who escorted Vida and Timothy and Tyler to the Academy.

The first stop was not the pool area, but the offices above where Vice Commandant Drakov waited to meet the mother of her son's American girlfriend.

Cadet Kara was enlisted by Lt. Drakov to take Tyler and Timothy on a long informative tour of the post and academy facilities. "End at the pool area, Cadet, so the brothers might see their sister fulfilling her life path as our Aquatics Instructor," the Lieutenant ordered.

"Yes Sir," Kara responded and led the boys out at a brisk pace.

Mykel excused himself to return to his own duties and left the mothers to converse about their life experiences. Like most senior officers, Vice Commandant Drakov was fluent in English, so there were no problems with language. The two women found they had much more in common than one would have initially thought. Raising children on military posts, moving from place to place every few years, watching children grow up with few long-lasting friendships because of rank and military occupation differences of the parents, all these things down to each having borne three children to military husbands they had in common.

"Mykel seems like a fine young man," Vida said to Magda, the women having dropped formality and gone to first names within five minutes of starting to talk with each other.

"Your Marcia is a remarkable young woman as well, I find Mykel well met with her, though I worry about his becoming attached to her," Magda responded.

"Why so?" Vida asked.

"For the same reasons we have discussed. Marriage within the military and raising children under difficult circumstances," Magda replied.

"You see marriage in their future, not a passing fling or infatuation?" Vida sounded more concerned.

"The signs are there and if the Creator and the Ancestors have set them on the same life path, who are we to argue? We can be concerned, and love them and advise them, but their life path is their own to follow." Magda stated.

Vida nodded, after all her parents had objected to her marrying a soldier. They had asked what kind of happiness could she find in a life like that. Yet, she and Jacob Shevat had spent the best fifteen years together a man and woman could have and she would change nothing in her life, given the chance.

"Let's go downstairs and see your daughter at work," Magda offered, "Only ten months ago we as an institution knew nothing about Aquatics training. Your daughter has developed a program that not only teaches lifesaving skills and water safety, but has also included aquatic strength training, kinesiology and endurance training. Add to this her taking classes here to fulfill her university requirements and being at the top of her class while using only a language for which two short college courses were her only preparation. I would say you have raised an amazing child, Vida" Magda finished as the pair entered the locker room. "To enter the pool requires you be nude and have taken a shower."

Vida started to unpin her hair and Magda quickly stopped her. A dignified Danubian woman always had her hair in braids in public. Magda quickly shed her uniform and waited while Vida took off the added burden of girdle and pantyhose and was finally ready to shower and go to the pool. Timothy and Tyler were already on the side of the pool, quietly watching their sister conduct a swimming class and unabashedly admiring their cadet escort Norlina Kara.

"Cadet, did your tour go well and did your charges enjoy your informative talk?" Vice Commandant Drakov asked her subordinate.

Standing to attention but not saluting, (one does not salute while nude), Kara responded, "Ma'am we went on the tour as directed. I explained about our uniforms, the Griffin and its role in Danubian life, and I showed the boys the weapons museum. They then asked me to bring them here, which you see I have done. Ma'am I admit my time with them in the locker room was a bit awkward. They clearly were not used to co-ed locker rooms, nor with watching a woman their age disrobes in front of them."

"Yet, you handled the situation professionally and overcame the awkwardness, Cadet?" The Vice-commandant asked.

"Yes, Ma'am, as you can see, they have acclimated nicely, Ma'am," the Cadet concluded.

"Would you consider it an undue burden to have them accompany you to classes and cadet activities for the next two days, Cadet?" Colonel Drakov asked in a tone that suggested even if Norlina Kara had considered it a burden, she was to do so. A request made by a superior was an order in civilian clothing.

"Ma'am, if so, ordered I would allow the boys to reside in my barracks room with me to give them a complete daily circuit of cadet routine," Cadet Kara answered, and silently prayed she would not be taken up on her statement.

"Is yours a co-ed room, Cadet?"

"No, Ma'am, it is presently all female, just my roommate and I, that is Cadet Enova and I, Ma'am," Kara responded.

"Well and good, when you are finished here, take the young men to the quartermaster, have them issued first day gear and bedding and take them to your barrack. They are your charges for the next forty-eight hours. Do not lose or break them." The Vice Commandant was not known for humor, yet, Kara caught an undertone that said, "Ride them hard, but don't put them away wet."

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am," Kara replied.

Seeing Cadet Enova in Instructor Shevat's class, the Vice Commandant called, "Enova, to me."

The Cadet, as tall and blond as Kara was petite and dark haired, responded immediately.

"Ma'am, how may I be of service, Ma'am?" Enova offered as she quickly walked up to the Colonel and stood at attention.

"Do you see those two young men, seated by the pool?" the Colonel asked.

"Instructor Shevat's brothers? Yes, Ma'am we were introduced in passing as the class began." Enova replied.

"I have given Cadet Kara full charge over them for the next forty-eight hours. They shall be bunking in with you and her for the next two nights if you have no objection." The Colonel was using her ‘you will have no objections' tone and Enova responded with, "No objection, Ma'am."

"Then the same orders I have given Kara apply to you, Enova, do not lose or break these young men." The Colonel finished and dismissed Enova back to her class.

Magda and Vida, military wives and military mothers, together watched as Marcia Shevat drilled her cadets in proper stroke technique and breathing for the freestyle and then walked the edge of the pool as each cadet swam a length correcting mistakes as they occurred.

"She is good at what she does, isn't she?" Vida was forced to acknowledge.

"We have been blessed by the Creator and the ancients to have her life path cross ours. She has added much to the richness of our training program and we now have a potential officer corps with more skills than ever before." Magda agreed, hoping to persuade Vida that Marcia Shevat's place in life was in Danubia for the moment at least.

The women left the pool area showered again and dressed. Vida, at Magda's suggestion, left off the girdle and pantyhose and as an act of liberation tossed them into a trash bin.

Ivanka Siminov met Vida at the outer gate of the Academy. The arrangement had been made that Ivanka would escort Vida on a tour of the outlying parks and lake region while the boys spent time at the Academy.

Cadets Kara and Enova escorted Tyler and Timothy Shevat to the Academy Quartermaster. There the Shevat boys were given one pair of socks, one pair of athletic footwear, one coarse woolen blanket, a bucket, and a bar of soap. Told to remove their civilian clothing and leave it in a bin in the Quartermaster storage area, the boys were now officially first day cadets of the National Military Academy of Danubia.

"As you might gather, cadets, the first seventy-two hours of the Academy are spent nude for all incoming prospects." Cadet Enova lectured as she and Cadet Kara quick-timed the pair of nude young men across the academy quadrangle.

"This is because the first seventy-two hours of your cadet life are spent in pure physical testing to assess if you are worthy to wear the uniform of the Danubian Republic." Cadet Kara yelled as the two women quickened the pace.

"For the time you are with us, you will do as you are told, when you are told to do it." Cadet Enova yelled as the pace quickened yet again.

"You will rest when we are tired, you will eat when we are hungry and you will sleep, perhaps not at all." Cadet Kara called as the pace picked up to a full run.

The boys, both fit athletes in their own right, kept up with the two female cadets for the first half-mile. Tyler, a gymnast, began to lag at that point. Cadet Enova dropped back and motivated Tyler with a sharp slap across his buttocks. "You will keep up the pace or you will pay the price," she hissed in his ear, "and don't drop your bucket."

With that he found the reserve to pick up his pace and keep up with his brother, who as a soccer player was more used to long distance running. When the run ended, the brothers found themselves at an obstacle course. They ran through truck tires set on the ground and then climbed a cargo net over a six-meter wall dropping into a pool of muddy water. A crawl under a net stretched over a sand pit followed by a rope climb up and over a shorter brick wall left the Shevat brothers fifty meters from the back doors of the cadet barracks.

The two female cadets handed the boys back their buckets and stopped them by a set of water pumps. "Fill your buckets, wash yourselves thoroughly, and then remove your shoes, wash your socks and carry your buckets to the rear entrance of the barracks." Cadet Kara ordered.

"Rinse your feet in your bucket, then turn it over to empty it and leave it by the back door," Cadet Enova finished.

A climb up the stairs to the female cadet's room and the Shevat teenagers were shown the bunk beds in which they would sleep for the next two nights. By noon of the next day another visit to the quartermaster had the boys outfitted in regulation sleeveless undershirts the color of mud, matching boxer-brief type underpants and an anorak-type top paired with loose legged trousers. The athletic shoes and socks completed their attire.

Timothy attended activities and classes with Cadet Enova while his brother Tyler teamed up with Cadet Kara. Following classes and a meal in the cadet mess hall, the four teen-ages attended a night lecture. Night lecture could be on any topic and all cadets of a particular level attend a general session. This one happened to be on the topic of field hygiene. Ninety minutes later the lecture ended and study time began. Followed by next day preparations of uniform and gear then floor vespers with a cadet chaplain, who is a man or woman studying to become a Priest or Priestess in military service. Then it was lights out and the boys found themselves silently thanking the end of the day.

The morning found the four awake before dawn and dressed for the daily routine. The difference was that today Timothy was paired with Norlina Kara and Isabella Enova had charge over Tyler.

Vida and Marcia were waiting at the gates at the end of the day to receive sons and brothers back from their taste of Danubian military life. The boys, still in Danubian issue clothing and carrying soft cloth satchels with the Danubian griffin emblem embossed upon them, were escorted off the post by Colonel Magda Drakov.

Instructor Shevat saluted her superior officer and then mother embraced mother.

"Vida Shevat, I formally relinquish custody of your sons Timothy and Tyler to you," Magda completed the formality of Danubian custom.

"Colonel Drakov, I accept custody of my sons, Timothy and Tyler," Vida responded as Marcia had couched her.

The boys, usually not expressive with their mother, oozed with the urge to tell her everything that had happened over the last few days. Marcia left the three family members at the military lodging and went back on post. She had a meeting of her own with the Military Priestess, and then one with Colonel Magda Drakov. She had made a decision and she wanted to be assured it was a good one.

Culture Clash  - Chapter 12