Lake Bazeleti

Weekend of November 29th

This past weekend we had a conference at Lake Bazeleti about an hour north of Tbilisi. The hotel was great as it had just been remodeled. There were several great things about this hotel 1) HEAT 2) TERRYCLOTH BATH ROBES 3) LOTS OF HOT WATER. One doesn’t realize how much they might miss taking a hot shower and being able to put on a bath rob after they get done and not freezing to death. The showers were definitely a great indulgence to this conference. In America I never used the term “bathing” here I use it all the time. There is a difference between bathing and showering. Showering your whole body gets wet and bathing uses only a wash cloth of sorts (wet wipes) and dunking your head under the faucet to wash your hair. You do what you have to do sometimes. Needless to say I really do miss being able to take hot showers and continuing to be warm when I step out of the shower. I did say that I would probably miss my hot showers before I left. Now they are a luxury.

Really the purpose of this conference was to talk about safety and security and discuss the different committees that PC has. Friday we spent the entire day discussing safety and security and getting briefed about the current political situation in Georgia. Saturday we discussed the different committees that PC has and other helpful tidbits. But the other main highlight of Saturday was having Turkey dinner with everybody. We spent the afternoon making all the traditional dishes and Saturday night feasting. It was a great time. Not quiet the same as my mom’s but it will do the trick for now.

Oh, I also learned how to knit this weekend. I needed something else to do in the winter instead of reading all the time. Now I can add knitting to my list of things to do next to my heater! Have no fear I have started sewing clothes on the sewing machine and I really don’t see that happening anytime. The only sewing machine I saw was a hand crank sewing machine and well that won’t work for me since I couldn’t even sew a straight line when I took home economics in high school.

My first weekend in Tbilisi

November 24, 2007

I spent my first weekend in Tbilisi which happened to be Thanksgiving weekend and had a great time. I stayed at an apartment that was well heated and had running hot water! We even had turkey leftovers Friday evening for dinner since I wasn’t there for the actually day! Throughout the course of the weekend I went to several cafes and restaurants. I had a fabulous piece of lasagna at an Italian restaurant along with a nice glass of red wine. I tried to get a little shopping done but didn’t find anything that I needed like warm sweaters. One would think that you could find thick wool sweaters but I could only find light trendy sweaters and I don’t really care about being trendy at this point I just want to be nice and warm! Hopefully the package with my sweaters will get here soon. What I was thinking when I was packing I am not sure but anyways I am just layering everything and that works pretty well.

Sighnaghi's Grand Opening

October 27, 2007

Today was the big grand opening of Sighnaghi. Unfortunately, the weather was cold, rainy and foggy so anybody visiting the city didn’t get to enjoy its true beauty. One of my friends, who wants to remain nameless, came into town for the festivities. We hadn’t even made it down the main street without having a nice refreshing shot of tchatcha (homemade vodka). That stuff had a nice little kick for it only being 11:30 in the morning. It sure does warm you up. (I still don’t like the taste vodka and rarely drink it for those who said I would drink it more often living in Georgia.) The main street was lined with booths of crafts, traditional Georgian outfits and weapons. The colors that lined the walls and streets were brilliant. There tons of people and VIPS all over the town. There we little cafés set up along the street where you could buy and enjoy a bottle of wine. There were several concert stages set up in various areas of the town. Later in the evening the President came to town to officiate the unveiling of the town. There were even fireworks at the end of the festival. So I saw my fireworks for the 4th of July a little late.

Sunday we checked out several of the new cafés in town. I am just excited to have some place to go every now and then without having to leave town. The café we had lunch at served traditional Georgian food and had a great atmosphere. Later in the afternoon we met some Americans that I have become friends with who are trying to get into the agriculture business in Georgia. We met them at the “French” café. We enjoyed a decent bottle of wine and cheese. It was the perfect rainy Sunday afternoon as it was still cold, rainy and foggy. For what’s worth this little café reminds me of some of the places from home. But it won’t be somewhere I go all the time since the prices there are a little steep for my living allowance.

When I first arrived in Sighnaghi I really wondered what was going to become of this town as everything was in shambles. It has come a long way since the end of August and it definitely has the potential to cater to tourists when it’s all said and done. When you walk down the streets it is hard to believe you are in Georgia.

How to make wine...

October 25, 2007

So I know I am supposed to be learning how to make wine. I haven’t got the whole process down yet. I seem to be away from the house when they are making the wine. But I will share with you what I have figured out so far. First you harvest the grapes from the vineyard, duh. Second the grapes go through a press which is this hand-crank conveyer belt that sits over a large metal drum that is line with plastic. The grape juice and grape guts then stew in their juice for a period of time. Next you use a strainer and pitcher to pour the juice into another container. This is the only part that I have actually helped with. Then at a later date you have wine. What else do we really need to learn about this process?

October 20, 2007

I took a little trip to Rustavi today. I attended a meeting first thing and then afterwards my friends and I went to a pizza place and did a little shopping in the second hand shops. I found a few good bargains, things to keep me warm since I didn’t pack a few things that I should have packed! Once we made it home we started making dinner. We made fajitas with homemade flour tortillas and salsa, salad with romaine lettuce and spinach accompanied with a bottle of red wine. I must say it was a fabulous meal and fun to make! I really do miss cooking. Not that I cooked all that often before I left. But still it would be nice to cook again. The only thing I manage to cook now living with my host family is my breakfast in the morning which consists of oatmeal or eggs! And you can’t really call that cooking either. So maybe I’ll get up the nerve to try and cook my own dinner sometime otherwise I am just going to have to wait until I visit friends around the country that have their own place!

October 17, 2007

Today I traveled to Erisimedi, Georgia, which is apparently very close to Azerbijan. This is a village in the Sighnaghi district even though it is 60km away. The ride there was about a 1 ½ hrs in this old Russian style military jeep. First you should know it rained all last night and needless to say ever pothole on the road was filled with water. There was just a few potholes….It was kind of like going off-roadn’ at home. Sarah and Mason would’ve really enjoyed the ride. (Sarah I’m listening “Beer Run” right now) The ride there was definitely adventurous and full of thrills as there could have been a little more cushion in the seats. We went to Esmereti to visit the school and identify what problems they are facing. We passed out surveys and spoke with the staff and students about their difficulties in the school and in the village. So maybe, I didn’t speak; I did a lot of listening as my Georgian language is not that advanced yet! I must say it was very interesting to listen to everybody speak their minds about what they need in the school and the problems they are facing in the village.
After we left the school we had lunch at the school director’s house. At home people liked to try and marry me off, well it doesn’t compare to the people here trying to marry me off. There was one particular gentleman at this luncheon who thought we should get married, however, that just isn’t possible since he is double my age. Definitely not my type and thank goodness one of the girls I was with was trying to save me from all the crazy talk. I may not understand everything but I can get enough of a conversation to piece things together. Plus it would never work because I don’t know the language and I am sure that would cause a great strain on any relationship!
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous all the way there and on the way back. The clouds from the storm front that had been lingering added a lot of personality to the sky. We even saw a rainbow through the clouds and behind it were snow capped mountains! The view was something I had never seen before and no, Sarah I didn’t have my camera. Not to mention the trees that lined the road were full of bright autumn colors with mountains as the backdrop.
The beauty of this country is really something else. There are no words to describe the beauty and no picture could capture the true beauty of Georgia. I’m neither a writer nor a photographer so you’ll just have to do with what you get. Maybe one day I’ll put pictures on this site?

The President

October 10, 2007

So I have seen the President of Georgia up close and personal. That was pretty cool. And I have seen the First Lady all in the same week at different events. I haven’t even been that close to the any of the Presidents of the United States.

Last Thursday, October 4, the President of Georgia, came to Sighnaghi for the “grand opening” of all the rehabilitation of this city. All the work has come a long way since I first arrived; however, there is still a lot to be done. I am just excited that I discovered a little café that I can go to every now and then and get a bite to eat. And in the next couple of weeks or so Sighnaghi is getting a “western” mini mart!

Last weekend I went to Kutasi for the Breast Cancer Walk, same one we have in the states. I even participated in the “5k” by running. The First Lady did the kick of the race. The whole weekend was a great time as got to help support a great cause and I got to spend time with many of my friends. I even got to eat a chicken Caesar salad with dark green lettuce! The traditional salad in Georgia is just tomato, onion and cucumber, so needless to say have lettuce was a big treat for me.

Kargad