The Parents Come to Georgia!

I finally had my first visitors during my service...my parents! I picked them up early at the Tbilisi airport at 4am Oct 9^th. Though they were pretty tired from their previous two flights and their 11 hour layover in Munich, they managed to chat with me a bit as we made our way back to the hotel. The next few days were really packed as I tried to show them as much of Georgia as I could. They spent the first two days exploring Tbilisi and meeting my volunteer friends during happy hour on Friday at our hotel.  We took them to all the volunteer hangouts and bars that we often go to. I was quite impressed with how well they were holding up given that they were super jet lagged and had hit the ground running the day before. After Tbilisi, we began our next adventure:  learning how to navigate the rental car out of the city.

Mom and dad meeting some of my friends in Tbilisi

 I must warn you that even though I've traveled a lot around Georgia, I've always traveled as a passenger (usually in the back of marshutka), so helping my dad navigate the streets was very stressful for both of us. Georgians have a special way of driving. You go fast, you pull out quickly in front of and behind cars and you honk all the time. One must also watch out for the occasionally lamb jam or cow jam on the road as well. Anyway, we managed to get out of the city and onto the highway headed towards my town of Sagarejo.

We were greeted by my eager host family who had prepared a small supra for us. I watched as my parents tried the various supra dishes: khinkali, khatchapuri, badrijani, mureba (a soft whole walnut, hull and all, soaked in sweet water), palamushi, etc. My dad’s favorite was khinkhali (meat dumplings) and my mother’s favorite was badrijani (eggplant with garlic and walnut paste). We spent the rest of the night hanging out with my host family and watching football on the computer.  The next day was my host mother Zaira’s birthday so we had another supra but this time with 14 guests! For five hours there was dancing, drinking, singing, toasting, poetry reading, and accordion playing.  The family would make toasts and my host sister Mari and I would translate them to my parents. My parents had shots of chacha (Georgian moonshine) and homemade wine during our supra as well.

Mom learning how to milk our cow Pretty 

Dad making churchkhela

Mom attempting to make churchkhela

Transporting the churchkhela

My host mom Zaira's Birthday Supra!

Love the dancing and peace signs

The next day, Monday, we made our way up to my school before beginning back on our tour through Georgia. My director and counterparts greeted us and took my parents around the school and into various classrooms. Some of my students practiced their English by asking my parents a few questions about themselves.  After the umpteenth goodbye we piled into our blue little rental car and made our way to Kazbegi.

My 4th grade class with my director, counterparts, and coteachers. 

Explaining different icons to Dad

We managed to arrive at Kazbegi that day without any problems (unless you count the lamb jam on the highway) and checked into our hotel before embarking on a small hike to the top of the mountain.  The rest of our time there was a little bit more relaxing than the previous day.

Mt, Kazbegi in the background (view from our hotel)

View of Kazbegi from the mountain. Our hotel is the long one in the back middle. 

Dad at the base of the church with Mt. Kazbegi in the back 

Church at the top of the mountain

Tuesday morning we left Kazbegi and drove to Borjomi, stopping at Osiauri along the way to have lunch with my PST host family (another supra).  A few hours late and full from our big lunch in Osiauri, we arrived in Borjomi and settled in at Anthony’s host family’s house. His host family surprised us with a supra complete with chacha shots and mtsvadi (roasted meat). Once again my parents and I found ourselves in the middle of a multi hour supra.  The feast raged on with toasts from various chalices, magic tricks and panduri (small stringed instrument) playing by Anthony’s host mom Ia.

Anthony's host family: My mom, me, Anthony, In (host mom),Gia (host dad), Saba (host brother) and Robert (host grandfather) standing in the back

Anthony watching in the background as Dad and Gia down wine in a cradle shaped glass in honor of their offspring. 

Lamb Jam! Bunch of sheep on the road as we traveled 

Our faithful steed Blueberry 

In the morning Gia, Anthony’s host dad, drove us three hours to the ancient cave city Vardzia. We explored the caves taking many jumping photos along the way. After about two hours we loaded back in Gia’s car and drove back to Borjomi to pick up our rental car. We only stayed at the house for another 20 mins before loading into our car bound for Kutaisi that night.  

Exploring Vardzia 

In Kutaisi we mainly relaxed, walked around the city and met up with PCVs for drinks at night. I think after all the traveling and supras we just wanted a rest. We hung out with my friends Ann and Joe during our two day stay there.

On Friday we began our journey back east by traveling  to Chiatura to see Katskhi pillar and to defy death on Stalin’s Cable Cars.

Creepy Stalin era cable car that we rode up to the top of the mountain in Chiatura 

After Chiatura we headed to Tbilisi again before my parents had to board their flight.

My parents got to see a lot of Georgia in their 10 days here as well a meet some interesting people (and animals) along the way.

My parents and me

A Soviet Easter Holiday

Well I'm back from my Easter Weekend travels. Anthony and I decided to travel to Chiatura and Kutaisi for the break. We met in Tbilisi on Wednesday night for dinner and then prepared ourselves for the long trip ahead of us the next day. We started our journey early Thursday morning on a marshutka headed out to Chiatura. The driver and the passengers inside the marshutka thought we were German tourists, calling us guests of Georgia and even allowing us to sit up at the very front of the marshutka where the driver sits (a real treat because you have more space and you can see the countryside through the front window). I'm sure my huge camera slung around my neck also had something to do with our Germany tourist appearance. Our trip to Chiatura took about 2 1/2 hours. The ride itself was beautiful because Georgia had just had its first week of real spring weather. The trees were in bloom, the sky as blue as the ocean and all the colors of Georgian life just seem to thrive in the new spring air.

Once our marshutka made it to Chiatura I, in good ole Anneke fashion, dashed in and out of stores asking the shop keepers where the nearest bathroom was located (darn those two cups of coffee and a liter of mineral water!). Finally I found one in what I think what might have been the mayor's office...not sure but there was a security check, two security guards posted at the door and a place to scan a card. I quickly ran up to them, backpack and all, and did my best pee dance impression while asking if I could use their facilities. I must have been a sight for those security guards....they were stifling their laughter.

 After the crises was averted, Anthony and I explored around the main square for a few minutes. Anthony is a pretty big history buff and quickly took over my camera taking pictures of everything known to man around the town. Pictures of soviet buses, trains, buildings, signs,...you get the idea. Our friends Danae and Eric met us about twenty minutes later to show us around the town. Danae is a second year Peace Corps volunteer who lives in Chiatura while Eric is a G13 like myself who lives in a neighboring town of Chiatura.

With Danae acting as our tour guide and Anthony adding pieces of historical information about  Stalin, the soviet era and practices, we got a pretty good snapshot about what the town had gone through. The town was the only Bolsheviks stronghold during the Russian Revolution. The town worked day and night with over 3,7000 miners working 18 hour shifts and later sleeping in the mines. The river and the water around the town are toxic, full of manganese from the mines. We saw a lot of old Soviet era cars, apartment buildings, propaganda, and tributes to Stalin. In order to honor this we decided to ride one of the town's infamous Stalin's Cable Cars. These cars were and still are used today to transport people and miners above the town and to the mines. With the help of an ancient weight system, the cable cars travel up the steep mountainside 24 hours a day. We managed to survive although our trip coming back town the cable car was hindered by a spur of the moment thunderstorm...that was intense.

Stalin and Lenin mosaic tribute made out of river stones

Scary Stalin Cable Car

Guess this is the end folks. Danae, Eric and I are scared. 

Flashback Soviet bus

We also decided to explore Katskhi Piller, a 40 meter pillar outside of Chiatura that houses a monk who lives there year round in isolation. All of us, that is to say me, Eric, Anthony, Danae, and Danae's fiance Gela, all squished into Gela's car and traveled about 10 mins to the base of the pillar. Unfortunately we couldn't go to the top of the pillar because it is just reserved for Georgian orthodox men, and even then for the most devout. Still the pillar was extraordinary to see and even more extraordinary to imagine people trying to haul materials and such up its steep cliffs in order to build the chapel and small cottage that reside at the top.

Beautiful Katskhi's Pillar

From the base of the pillar

Not a bad pic actually...just wish I had my Tennessee Flag to out do the University of Kentucky representation....hmm..

....Wait! Here it is!

 After our day travels in Chiatura Anthony and I headed to Kutaisi to meet up with our friend Ann and her crew. We mainly walked around the city and took pictures of urban life. We somehow got coaxed into accompanying our friend Chase to look at baby piggies at the animal bazaar. I was not happy to find that they were not in fact baby piggies but rather large pigs that were screaming as they were being pulled out of their pins by their back legs and given a once over. That was not my idea of fun...animals such as sheep, pigs, goats, chickens and turkeys crying out because they knew they were being sold for the big Easter feast coming up two days later. We had to head to happy hour in order to console ourselves from the ordeal. Our trip ended with a few friends coming over to our hostel and playing card games while enjoying the cool evening breeze on the veranda. I wasn't looking forward to the next day because I knew it would be an all day travel day....and it was. It only took me five hours of marshutka riding, two traffic jams by two different car accidents, and one metro ride to get me back to Sagarejo.

My sister Mari awaiting the fire 

Upon my arrival at home, around 6 pm, I unpacked, told my family of my travels, and showed them pictures of my adventures. I was tired from the trip but I wanted to stay up and ring in the Easter holiday with my family. So at 11:30 pm my family and I walked in the dark to their church and lit candles while listening to the Georgian scriptures (none of which I could understand but I thought they sounded nice). The bells tolled at 12 am and then the crowd waited for the fire to come from Tbilisi (kind of like the Olympics...the fire is lit in Tbilisi and then it is passed village to village lighting the churches...not sure how that pans out for people 6 hours away on the west coast...I didn't get much of an answer about that). Anyway we didn't get home until late that night/super early that morning (try 5am).

Women wearing head scarfs and waiting outside the church. 

Hope you all who are reading this had a happy Easter as well and that the weather it treating you well wherever you are. Happy Easter!

Cheers,
Anneke