Georgia is incredible.
Of course, I say that now, in what may very well likely be a honeymoon phase of culture shock, but nonetheless, I think Georgia is worth that very simple description (if for many not-so-simple reasons).
I have been here only two days and already there is much to tell. This blog, I am hoping, will serve many purposes. I want to reflect, to comment, to compare, to discuss, and to simply put words to what I am experiencing. Sometimes it will be just a travel blog, and sometimes, I am hoping, it will be much more than that. Fulbright is offering me such a fantastic opportunity by sending me abroad for an extended period of time, something I have wanted ever since leaving Russia last year.
To start off, the flight over here was uneventful (which is exactly how I like a travel day to go). I will not go into it much, because I do not believe it is really that interesting. I watched a movie, I read, I did not sleep, and I was ripped off by a currency exchange at the Munich airport. That pretty much covers it all. Jet lag, so far, does not seem to be too much of a problem for me (it did not when I first arrived in Russia, either).
My first day here was pleasant. After getting a scant amount of sleep, I went out in search for an ATM. I knew there was a metro stop not too far from the hotel where I am staying and thought there must surely be an ATM there (based off my experience in Saint Petersburg). After that endeavor, I went and bought water from the same little supermarket I stopped at when I was here last year, and then proceeded to wander. Wandering would have to be one of my favorite activities. I just love getting to know a place, feeling it, experiencing it. I do not want to see just what the tourist sees. In Missoula, I did not just want to be a student who went to college, I wanted it to be a home. Perhaps this love of wandering fuels my interest in traveling and seeing new places. So, that is what I did on my first afternoon in Georgia, I wandered. I also happened to take pictures, and because I am a shutterbug, I took a lot of them.
Later in the day, I met up with a fellow Fulbrighter, and we had dinner at his Georgian friend's home. The elder hostess, Juli, immediately served me food upon entering her home. Any time I would stop and chat with K, she would say, "Kushi, kushi (eat, eat)" and then proceed to tell me that I am too skinny. While there, I met a man (whose relationship with Juli I do not remember) who vehemently told me that I needed his number so I could contact him in case I had a problem and so I could visit the bar at which he works. He also told me he has connections; he told me that one of his good friends is a policemen. Eventually, K suggested we leave before Juli served us more food.
After stopping at the hostel K was staying at, we decided to walk over to my hotel, but took the long way and ended up trailing through the more bustling/commercial section of Old Tbilisi. We ended up sampling Georgian wine for free and bought ice cream. I had black current ice cream and it had to be some of the most delicious ice cream I have ever had. I don't know what it was - the flavor or how it was made - but it just was so good (a boring word, I know). After crossing the Mtkvari River and walking along a busy thoroughfare, we found a tunnel that would take us to the other side without risking our lives...or so we thought. This tunnel was not lit. It was pitch black. Tonight I went through it alone...note to self: bring a flashlight.
Wednesday was another busy day, but busy in a good way. Before I get into it, I just wanted to stop and reflect on what it feels like to be abroad on 9/11. So much has changed since that day, for better and for worse; personally, nationally, and internationally. Twelve years ago, I was in fifth grade, sitting under an easel listening to the principal tell us over the PA system what was happening. Now, I am in Tbilisi, Georgia, on a Fulbright grant, at the beginning of what will likely be a life-changing journey. What is interesting, is that just as I clearly remember what I was doing on 9/11 because of the sheer horror that was unfolding in America; I remember, just as clearly, the moment I found out I received this grant, for the sheer joy it brought to me and to those who know me. There are defining moments in life, and twelve years after one moment, I am experiencing another.
The other two Fulbrighters arrived in early this morning and after lunch, all four of us met up. The first thing we did was visit an amusement park of sorts on the top of a mountain called Mtatsminda. To get up there, we took a funicular which, to much relief, was built fairly recently. I read an article not long before I left about a mining town in Georgia that still uses aerial trams from the Stalinist era (built in the 1940s and 1950s). I don't think any of us are planning on going on those any time soon. We rode on a ferris wheel, also recently built, that soured high above Tbilisi.
Afterwards, we headed into Old Tbilisi and had dinner by the Peace Bridge (which is definitely not old, but some of the structures around there are not just old, they are ancient). While eating, a socket blew somewhere nearby me, sending a plume of sparks and smoke pouring onto our table.
As the sun began to set, we took a ride on the very newly completed aerial tram across the Mtkvari River and Old Town (I say newly completed because it was still under construction when I visited last year). One of the things that is good is that many attractions are free or pretty inexpensive. Even the food is pretty inexpensive, both in supermarkets and restaurants.
I have also been pleasantly surprised with how well I have been able to use my Russian here. I say surprised because when I first arrived in Russia, I often found myself stumbling and sometimes floundering with spoken Russian, or perhaps more accurately, in my effort to communicate. As time progressed, I got better, but the processing of information always took longer, if not sometimes too long, and I would be left in frustration. However, in Georgia, so far, I have spoken Russian with relative ease and my ability to process being spoken to has also vastly improved. Overall, these things take time, especially for me when I may not be the quickest language learner. My Georgian, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired, but that is to be expected and I should fear not. I hope to use both while here, because to do so would be integral to my interests in so many different ways.
So, there you have it, only two days have lapsed and I am already giving you heaps of information. However, as much as this blog is for my friends and family back home, it is also for me. I want to remember the details of things because over time, unfortunately, some of it will fade from active memory. I want to have a source to which I can look back and say, at the very least, "Oh, yeah!"
 |
| Tbilisi from the Mtatsminda Ferris Wheel (on top of a mountain) |
Of course, I say that now, in what may very well likely be a honeymoon phase of culture shock, but nonetheless, I think Georgia is worth that very simple description (if for many not-so-simple reasons).
 |
| View of Old Tbilisi and the Tsminda Sameba Cathedral (Holy Trinity) |
I have been here only two days and already there is much to tell. This blog, I am hoping, will serve many purposes. I want to reflect, to comment, to compare, to discuss, and to simply put words to what I am experiencing. Sometimes it will be just a travel blog, and sometimes, I am hoping, it will be much more than that. Fulbright is offering me such a fantastic opportunity by sending me abroad for an extended period of time, something I have wanted ever since leaving Russia last year.
To start off, the flight over here was uneventful (which is exactly how I like a travel day to go). I will not go into it much, because I do not believe it is really that interesting. I watched a movie, I read, I did not sleep, and I was ripped off by a currency exchange at the Munich airport. That pretty much covers it all. Jet lag, so far, does not seem to be too much of a problem for me (it did not when I first arrived in Russia, either).
My first day here was pleasant. After getting a scant amount of sleep, I went out in search for an ATM. I knew there was a metro stop not too far from the hotel where I am staying and thought there must surely be an ATM there (based off my experience in Saint Petersburg). After that endeavor, I went and bought water from the same little supermarket I stopped at when I was here last year, and then proceeded to wander. Wandering would have to be one of my favorite activities. I just love getting to know a place, feeling it, experiencing it. I do not want to see just what the tourist sees. In Missoula, I did not just want to be a student who went to college, I wanted it to be a home. Perhaps this love of wandering fuels my interest in traveling and seeing new places. So, that is what I did on my first afternoon in Georgia, I wandered. I also happened to take pictures, and because I am a shutterbug, I took a lot of them.
 |
| Grape vines grow everywhere. There are some vines, I have been told, that are over 100 years old. Grape harvests occur in early autumn. |
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| Wandering around Old Tbilisi (in the Avlabari District) |
After stopping at the hostel K was staying at, we decided to walk over to my hotel, but took the long way and ended up trailing through the more bustling/commercial section of Old Tbilisi. We ended up sampling Georgian wine for free and bought ice cream. I had black current ice cream and it had to be some of the most delicious ice cream I have ever had. I don't know what it was - the flavor or how it was made - but it just was so good (a boring word, I know). After crossing the Mtkvari River and walking along a busy thoroughfare, we found a tunnel that would take us to the other side without risking our lives...or so we thought. This tunnel was not lit. It was pitch black. Tonight I went through it alone...note to self: bring a flashlight.
Wednesday was another busy day, but busy in a good way. Before I get into it, I just wanted to stop and reflect on what it feels like to be abroad on 9/11. So much has changed since that day, for better and for worse; personally, nationally, and internationally. Twelve years ago, I was in fifth grade, sitting under an easel listening to the principal tell us over the PA system what was happening. Now, I am in Tbilisi, Georgia, on a Fulbright grant, at the beginning of what will likely be a life-changing journey. What is interesting, is that just as I clearly remember what I was doing on 9/11 because of the sheer horror that was unfolding in America; I remember, just as clearly, the moment I found out I received this grant, for the sheer joy it brought to me and to those who know me. There are defining moments in life, and twelve years after one moment, I am experiencing another.
The other two Fulbrighters arrived in early this morning and after lunch, all four of us met up. The first thing we did was visit an amusement park of sorts on the top of a mountain called Mtatsminda. To get up there, we took a funicular which, to much relief, was built fairly recently. I read an article not long before I left about a mining town in Georgia that still uses aerial trams from the Stalinist era (built in the 1940s and 1950s). I don't think any of us are planning on going on those any time soon. We rode on a ferris wheel, also recently built, that soured high above Tbilisi.
 |
| The Funicular up to Mtatsminda Amusement Park |
 |
| The Ferris Wheel at Mtatsminda Amusement Park |
Afterwards, we headed into Old Tbilisi and had dinner by the Peace Bridge (which is definitely not old, but some of the structures around there are not just old, they are ancient). While eating, a socket blew somewhere nearby me, sending a plume of sparks and smoke pouring onto our table.
As the sun began to set, we took a ride on the very newly completed aerial tram across the Mtkvari River and Old Town (I say newly completed because it was still under construction when I visited last year). One of the things that is good is that many attractions are free or pretty inexpensive. Even the food is pretty inexpensive, both in supermarkets and restaurants.
I have also been pleasantly surprised with how well I have been able to use my Russian here. I say surprised because when I first arrived in Russia, I often found myself stumbling and sometimes floundering with spoken Russian, or perhaps more accurately, in my effort to communicate. As time progressed, I got better, but the processing of information always took longer, if not sometimes too long, and I would be left in frustration. However, in Georgia, so far, I have spoken Russian with relative ease and my ability to process being spoken to has also vastly improved. Overall, these things take time, especially for me when I may not be the quickest language learner. My Georgian, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired, but that is to be expected and I should fear not. I hope to use both while here, because to do so would be integral to my interests in so many different ways.
So, there you have it, only two days have lapsed and I am already giving you heaps of information. However, as much as this blog is for my friends and family back home, it is also for me. I want to remember the details of things because over time, unfortunately, some of it will fade from active memory. I want to have a source to which I can look back and say, at the very least, "Oh, yeah!"
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