Ali & Nino part 2

I continued reading and the book is really picking up. It is not going as fast down the path I think it is headed. This time I learned a lot about culture differences  and general cultural rules which I anticipate will play a big role in this book. One big cultural difference that Ali noted was the way ethnic people from Baku (capital of Azerbeidshan) eat versus how the Russians eat. The ethnic people like Ali and his family eat with their hands while sitting on the floor. But the Russians and christians like Nino and her family eat at a table with forks and knives. Ali also noted that both groups view the other as strange and he quoted Nino as saying the way Ali and his family eats was "barbaric". 

Another culture difference mainly between the Russians and the ethnic people of Baku is the theme of Blood Price. Ali illustrated that blood price is something the ethnic people really care about. It is so important that it plays a role in teacher-student relations. The russian teachers knew it was practically not an option to fail an ethnic student because they knew that the native children could easily obtain daggers. Apparently also it was not rare that a teacher would get beaten up in a dark alley. So in that way the Russians had to respect the natives due to fear of being hurt or killed. This goes along with the Muslim idea of "an eye for an eye" where killing is justified by another killing.

Apart from culture and more to the plot- Ali passed school which I believe means he graduated from school and according to his father, his life now begins and it is even more important that he follows Muslim customs and duties. That plays into culture- coming of age upon graduation and the responsibilities to be undertaken now that Ali's life begins. Another part of plot is where my prediction of where the plot is headed remains fairly true. As soon as Ali passed school he told his dad who gave him 3 wishes as a gift but then Ali called Nino and they are apparently going to meet at the lake in the Governor's Garden at 5pm that day. During the call Ali could feel his family members behind him and he could feel Nino's "aristocratic mother" on the other line behind Nino. This gave me the idea that their relationship seems to be rather secretive and this might be the problem they have to face as they grow.