I realize it has been a while. It’s not that Georgia has not been interesting or
I can’t think of things to write about. I’ve had several themes for this blog
post but none of them seem appropriate when I actually think about
writing. So, here’s a blog post in
search of a theme.
After being so cold that the whole country shut school down
for 2 (or 2 ½, depending on how well your director regarded the “finish today”
directive, which I don’t think mine ever got) days, it has finally gotten
warmer, both in my school and in general.
The entire country did not need to shut down, as a friend in the west
has only had rain, but my village needed it.
Of course, now things are starting to thaw…and refreeze, so I get ice,
my favorite! Not! Still, the hope of positive temperatures is
exciting, reminding me that this too shall pass, and there was a time in Georgia where I
was not always freezing. That day is a
distant memory now but someday I will have it again. Pictures of the cold are on Facebook.
The 2 days off school ruined my great intentions to stay in
the village for the weekend, so I headed off on Friday to a gathering of
volunteers in Kaspi, a small city that required me to go via Tbilisi, but was totally worth the 2
marshrutka rides. I got a wonderful
surprise in seeing one of my group members who lives in the west so I don’t see
very often, as well as seeing a few other friends and making a few new
ones. It was nice to be in an apartment
with other English speakers, a bit of normality. Of course, when one of the hottest conversation
topics was everyone’s water, or lack thereof, you can’t really forget you’re in
Georgia.
Actually, here’s a list of some of the most popular topics
of conversation among my expat friends this winter:
1) The last time you showered
2) How cold it is in a)your school b)your village, and most
importantly, c)your bed
3) The water situation where you live
4) How far your personal hygiene standards have fallen
5) Food you miss, which now includes any form of vegetables
except potatoes
One of the signals that Georgia has made me far more
outgoing is that I went to this apartment, having only met the couple who lived
there the weekend before. I met them
because on our Facebook group they posted they needed a corkscrew and I offered
one of my 2. So, that seemed like enough
of a reason to venture to an unknown city to meet 2 strangers, although I knew
a bit about them from the wife’s posts on our Facebook group. My gamble totally paid off, and I enjoyed
both visits very much.
My other weekend adventures include frequenting Teremok, the
Russian cuisine restaurant that is now my favorite place to eat in Tbilisi,
venturing to Uplitsikhe (pictures on Facebook), an ancient cave village that was the center of the
Kartli kingdom way back in the day, doing my laundry at a hostel in Tbilisi,
watching in amazement as a Georgian man fixes my friend’s Macbook charger,
indulging at the Gori cake house, and being envious of other friends who now
live in their own apartment.
Oh, and a supra. My
host dad’s birthday was last Wednesday, so I was expecting a big feast. On Monday, I was informed he and my host mom
were headed to Tbilisi
for a few days because he was having surgery on his leg (something to do with
veins, maybe?). He was not supposed to
come back until Wednesday. That day kept
getting pushed back, but on Wednesday, he told us to go ahead and kill the
pig. The pig had recently had piglets
and out of 12, only 2 survived the cold.
My host brothers cooked the piglet, and I thought that was that. Then I heard a terrifying sound and went to
investigate. I resisted the urge to take
pictures of the dead pig, so I will not be posting any pictures of blood-soaked
snow anytime soon. We made mtsvade
(shish kebabs) and had a mini-supra in his honor. A few friends who did not know he was gone
came over, as a Georgian does not tell his friends to come celebrate his
birthday, but they all know to come. It
was a fairly low-key affair. On Sunday,
my neighbor turned 16, so I went over for a supra. Unfortunately for my ever-expanding waistline
but great for my taste buds, I enjoyed a supra with the kids and then was
graduated to the adult table, where one garrulous guest offered to be my
godfather when he learned I didn’t have one.
I might have agreed, but I figure no one actually expects me to baptized
in the village church anytime soon, so I think I’m safe.
At the supra, I finally started to appreciate that maybe TLG
had a reason for placing me in Manglisi.
I’m always jealous when my friend on the Black Sea
talks about his placement, since that’s where I wanted to be. I always took for granted that I could get
around speaking Russian in Georgia,
despite having heard from some people that they had problems. I knew that Manglisi used to have a lot of
Russians, but I finally realized that is part of the reason I am able to get
around so easily with my Russian. My
neighbor’s mother speaks atrocious Russian until she’s drunk, and she informed
me that’s because she grew up in a pure Georgian village and so only learned
Russian in school, while the majority of the people I interact with speak
Russian quite comfortably, since the language is common in Manglisi.
I also should take this time to say a few words about the
birthday girl, Mariami.
She lives next
door to us and is good friends with my host sister. She first came into my life as the girl who
ALWAYS had handfuls of sunflower seeds to offer me, whether I wanted them or
not. From what I can tell, they’re her
favorite food, and she’s still frequently bringing them by. She used to annoy me to no end as she always
wanted to know what I was doing. She
also speaks about 3 words of English. We
frequently have conversations that go like this:
Mariami: Hello
Me: Hello. How are
you?
Mariami: Kargad.
Shen? (I’m well. And you?)
Me: Good/Kargard. (I’m well.)
However, she’s starting to grow on me. She got a camera for New Year’s so we’ve been
going on walks in the snow, taking pictures.
She is incredibly persistent about speaking to me and asks me lots of
questions, stretching my Georgian. Half
the time I have no idea, but it’s making me try. And lately, she’s even been asking for
English translations of things.
As far as Georgia
making the news regarding the Israeli/Iran bomb issue, have no fear, I and
everyone else in Georgia
is fine. I’m much safer here than in my
neighborhood in St. Louis,
although I’m sure several of you won’t be terribly comforted by that thought.
In other life news, I got an invitation to interview with Michigan!! I was convinced it was not going to happen
and was all set to go to Indiana,
but it looks like it will be March before I know. At least I feel justified in applying to Michigan now, even if
they do reject me.
A neighbor just brought over some fresh homemade bread and a homemade cake. God bless Georgia.
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