- Never help yourself. Always wait for them to offer that way it appears that you're giving in to the request.
- Eat slowly. Apparently Georgians are known for eating fast so the sooner they're done, the sooner you are too...at half the amount.
- Absolutely never have an empty plate! If you empty your plate they will fill it up and continue to do so. Once you see dishes are being cleared you've come to the final stretch and can finish what's on your plate. But never be too eager to finish...there's always tea and cake to follow.
Needless to say, it was nice to get away and escape strategic eating for a solid 48 hours. I arrived in Telavi on Friday afternoon and had some much needed catch up time with Megan and Lani (my roommates during training) in our swanky guesthouse (thanks to my host fam's connections), over a bottle of wine (compliments of the President of Georgia:). After a few hours of lounging, we headed down the street and met up with more friends at a local pizza joint. We all ordered pizza and when I asked for mine sans cheese (in Georgian :) the man look slightly perplexed as if I had my Georgian backwards, so Brigid assisted me by busting out some top notch charades - she pointed to me, said the word "cheese", and then threw her hands around her neck as if she were choking...Hilarious! And it worked! The man happily obliged and I had a perfect, no cheese pizza! Our dinner continued with lots of laughs, the occasional visit by an admirer in the next booth, and one of the cheapest dinner bills I've ever seen.
Saturday morning we got an early start and had to bear the first real snowfall we've had since arriving almost 4 weeks ago. It was nothing but white, and still snowing, so we layered up the clothing and headed out to visit King Erekle's Castle, an 18th century Kakheti King. We trudged through inches of snow as I cursed my jacket's detachable hood that was sitting on my couch back home in Akhmeta. We were the first guests of the day and after paying a whopping 1 Lari admittance fee had a private tour of the King's throne room, his office, and the room he was born in and died in. The woman escorting us from room to room didn't speak any English so Lani's Russian came in very handy...as it does on most occassions.
After quickly touring the castle, they motioned for us to go upstairs to the museum. We saw a lot of artifact-like stuff and I have no clue as to what most of it was, but it was really old, therefore pretty cool...my, how my standards are shifting :). Actually, Georgia is one of the first countries to adopt Christianity back in the 4th century, so there was quite the abundance of religious history there as well. We moved through the museum fairly quickly as there wasn't much lighting and absolutely no heat. My toes were partially numb at this point. We headed back downstairs and then outside where they motioned for us to go to the next building to see the art museum. So we hustled through the snow and came to a building with more light but just as little heat.
We were greeted by a Georgian woman, who to our suprise and delight, spoke English! Not only did she speak English but she had recently returned from visiting her son in Texas. We chatted with her for a few minutes and after she briefly talked about the art collection, she left us to tour the rooms. The art was lovely (I think) but at this point my feet and hands were completely frozen and although I tried to act interested, my mind could only focus on getting out of there with proper circulation. I believe the woman escorting us could see the look of hypothermia building on our faces because as we hurried down the stairs she called out to someone. When we reached the bottom, our English speaking friend appeared from a small room underneath the stairs and invited us in to warm up before we headed back into the snow. Without hesitation we followed her into a quaint little room where there were four other women and a wood burning stove! They put three chairs as close to the fire as possible and began to prepare tea for us. I am absolutely in love with Georgian hospitality. We visited with our new friends for about 30 minutes before braving the cold again. Now, it's one thing to be out and about in 0 degree, and below, weather (especially as a native Californian), but it is something else when you can't escape the unbearableness of it by stepping into a warm building or cafe. Gratefulness is an understatement of what we felt for these ladies. We owed them our toes :).
After the castle, we strolled the streets to see what Telavi had to offer, all the while realizing that our boots were not made for walking...in snow. It wasn't long before the snow was seeping through my soles and my feet were completely wet. What are ya gonna do? We really had no solution to that, so we just headed to the marshutka station to bid farewell to Megan who had to head back to Gurjaani to attend a wedding with her family. Lani and I then made our way around the bazaar to see what it was all about. There were all kinds of fish, raw meat (some of it still attached to the head), fresh fruit, homemade wine, and a plethora of other Georgian goods and foods. We stuck out just enough to get asked "Amerikeli?" but not enough to have our picture taken, phew!
We joined a handful of other teachers for dinner at the swanky hotel restaurant where they were staying.. And by "swanky" I mean it had heat so we were able to take off our coats and dry our socks. The eight of us shared traditional Georgian cuisine and left rather quickly when the male 4-top nearby proceeded to fight and make up over and over again. We weren't sure what was going on and although we found it entertaining, we decided it safer to retreat to our room when the pushing and falling over chairs began. Somehow this didn't bother the other patrons...typical Saturday night maybe???
Sunday morning we woke to snow, snow, and still snowing. But this time everything disappeared under the lovely white blanket...note to self: check weather report before traveling. Lani and I walked about 1 mile to the marshutka station and waited for a solid 30-45 minutes before our vans arrived. Thanks to one of the gentlemen waiting under the awning, I was able to find the one to Akhmeta. And by "find" I mean I had told almost everyone that I need to go to Akhmeta and when the bus arrived the man tapped me on the shoulder, pointed, and said "Akhmeta." So I quickly joined the herd to get a seat up front next to a woman and her son.
It took about 50 minutes to get home with all the stopping for roadside pedestrians and accumulating up to 25 people in our 15 passenger van. Basically, the van stops anywhere if a person needs to get off or on. So when the van stopped a few streets short of the Akhmeta station to let some passengers off , I decided to hop out as well since it was closer to my house. When I handed the driver my money and thanked him for the ride, he looked at me like I was crazy. I completely stick out with my blonde hair and English speaking tongue, so they probably assume I'm an out-of-place traveler and must have someone meeting me at the station. So when I got out on the side of the road like I knew where I was going, I definitely threw him a curve ball. I knew where I was, however, I navigate off landmarks as I've yet to see a street sign, and things look muuuuuch different in the snow. Needless to say, it took me about 10-15 minutes in ankle deep snow to make it home by myself, yay!
I couldn't wait to get out of my snow soaked clothes and boots, but when I arrived...the power was out...and it stayed out for almost 48 hours. This meant that all of us convened in the kitchen/dining room where the burners on the stove were our only source of heat. Nana (my host sister-in-law) took Lizi to her parents' house for the night because they have a wood stove and our house was just too cold for a baby. With not much to do and no light to do it in, I went to bed early wearing 3 layers of clothing, mittens, a scarf, and my blankets over my head. You know it's cold when you can see your own breath it your bedroom. I was able to sleep comfortably, all things considered, but getting ready for work the next morning was just ridiculous. I can honestly say I have never been so cold in my life.
This adventure took place just over 3 weeks ago and the weather hasn't changed much since (part of the reason it's taken me so long to write this). It's continued to snow and we've lost power a few times, but that initial storm was definitely the worst. It's starting to lighten up and even rain a little bit...I think Winter is turning into Spring! At least this is the guess of a SoCal native whose never really seen a season "change." But after enduring this, I think I can officially call myself a Caucasian. I mean...I do live in the Caucasus which is home to the highest mountain in Europe...not sure if I mentioned that :)
 |
| pure awesomeness. |
Saturday morning we got an early start and had to bear the first real snowfall we've had since arriving almost 4 weeks ago. It was nothing but white, and still snowing, so we layered up the clothing and headed out to visit King Erekle's Castle, an 18th century Kakheti King. We trudged through inches of snow as I cursed my jacket's detachable hood that was sitting on my couch back home in Akhmeta. We were the first guests of the day and after paying a whopping 1 Lari admittance fee had a private tour of the King's throne room, his office, and the room he was born in and died in. The woman escorting us from room to room didn't speak any English so Lani's Russian came in very handy...as it does on most occassions.
After quickly touring the castle, they motioned for us to go upstairs to the museum. We saw a lot of artifact-like stuff and I have no clue as to what most of it was, but it was really old, therefore pretty cool...my, how my standards are shifting :). Actually, Georgia is one of the first countries to adopt Christianity back in the 4th century, so there was quite the abundance of religious history there as well. We moved through the museum fairly quickly as there wasn't much lighting and absolutely no heat. My toes were partially numb at this point. We headed back downstairs and then outside where they motioned for us to go to the next building to see the art museum. So we hustled through the snow and came to a building with more light but just as little heat.
We were greeted by a Georgian woman, who to our suprise and delight, spoke English! Not only did she speak English but she had recently returned from visiting her son in Texas. We chatted with her for a few minutes and after she briefly talked about the art collection, she left us to tour the rooms. The art was lovely (I think) but at this point my feet and hands were completely frozen and although I tried to act interested, my mind could only focus on getting out of there with proper circulation. I believe the woman escorting us could see the look of hypothermia building on our faces because as we hurried down the stairs she called out to someone. When we reached the bottom, our English speaking friend appeared from a small room underneath the stairs and invited us in to warm up before we headed back into the snow. Without hesitation we followed her into a quaint little room where there were four other women and a wood burning stove! They put three chairs as close to the fire as possible and began to prepare tea for us. I am absolutely in love with Georgian hospitality. We visited with our new friends for about 30 minutes before braving the cold again. Now, it's one thing to be out and about in 0 degree, and below, weather (especially as a native Californian), but it is something else when you can't escape the unbearableness of it by stepping into a warm building or cafe. Gratefulness is an understatement of what we felt for these ladies. We owed them our toes :).
 |
| kind docent. megan. lani. me. |
After the castle, we strolled the streets to see what Telavi had to offer, all the while realizing that our boots were not made for walking...in snow. It wasn't long before the snow was seeping through my soles and my feet were completely wet. What are ya gonna do? We really had no solution to that, so we just headed to the marshutka station to bid farewell to Megan who had to head back to Gurjaani to attend a wedding with her family. Lani and I then made our way around the bazaar to see what it was all about. There were all kinds of fish, raw meat (some of it still attached to the head), fresh fruit, homemade wine, and a plethora of other Georgian goods and foods. We stuck out just enough to get asked "Amerikeli?" but not enough to have our picture taken, phew!
 |
| bazaar. colorful in more ways than one! |
We joined a handful of other teachers for dinner at the swanky hotel restaurant where they were staying.. And by "swanky" I mean it had heat so we were able to take off our coats and dry our socks. The eight of us shared traditional Georgian cuisine and left rather quickly when the male 4-top nearby proceeded to fight and make up over and over again. We weren't sure what was going on and although we found it entertaining, we decided it safer to retreat to our room when the pushing and falling over chairs began. Somehow this didn't bother the other patrons...typical Saturday night maybe???
Sunday morning we woke to snow, snow, and still snowing. But this time everything disappeared under the lovely white blanket...note to self: check weather report before traveling. Lani and I walked about 1 mile to the marshutka station and waited for a solid 30-45 minutes before our vans arrived. Thanks to one of the gentlemen waiting under the awning, I was able to find the one to Akhmeta. And by "find" I mean I had told almost everyone that I need to go to Akhmeta and when the bus arrived the man tapped me on the shoulder, pointed, and said "Akhmeta." So I quickly joined the herd to get a seat up front next to a woman and her son.
 |
| no joke. |
It took about 50 minutes to get home with all the stopping for roadside pedestrians and accumulating up to 25 people in our 15 passenger van. Basically, the van stops anywhere if a person needs to get off or on. So when the van stopped a few streets short of the Akhmeta station to let some passengers off , I decided to hop out as well since it was closer to my house. When I handed the driver my money and thanked him for the ride, he looked at me like I was crazy. I completely stick out with my blonde hair and English speaking tongue, so they probably assume I'm an out-of-place traveler and must have someone meeting me at the station. So when I got out on the side of the road like I knew where I was going, I definitely threw him a curve ball. I knew where I was, however, I navigate off landmarks as I've yet to see a street sign, and things look muuuuuch different in the snow. Needless to say, it took me about 10-15 minutes in ankle deep snow to make it home by myself, yay!
 |
| my footprints on my street :) |
I couldn't wait to get out of my snow soaked clothes and boots, but when I arrived...the power was out...and it stayed out for almost 48 hours. This meant that all of us convened in the kitchen/dining room where the burners on the stove were our only source of heat. Nana (my host sister-in-law) took Lizi to her parents' house for the night because they have a wood stove and our house was just too cold for a baby. With not much to do and no light to do it in, I went to bed early wearing 3 layers of clothing, mittens, a scarf, and my blankets over my head. You know it's cold when you can see your own breath it your bedroom. I was able to sleep comfortably, all things considered, but getting ready for work the next morning was just ridiculous. I can honestly say I have never been so cold in my life.
This adventure took place just over 3 weeks ago and the weather hasn't changed much since (part of the reason it's taken me so long to write this). It's continued to snow and we've lost power a few times, but that initial storm was definitely the worst. It's starting to lighten up and even rain a little bit...I think Winter is turning into Spring! At least this is the guess of a SoCal native whose never really seen a season "change." But after enduring this, I think I can officially call myself a Caucasian. I mean...I do live in the Caucasus which is home to the highest mountain in Europe...not sure if I mentioned that :)
It looks beautiful there....love your adventures. Cindy //*_*\\
ReplyDeleteok i must officially stop complaining that our 100+ year old craftsman home drops to 55-60 in the wee hours of the morning. i think i sympathetically lost a toe reading about how cold Georgia and my favorite sister are.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel:
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading your detailed description of your weekend away and the extreme cold and snow. I bet it feels as if you will never be warm again - I remember those days growing up and living in Chicago - but never to the extent you're experiencing. Keep up the great work - I know the Georgians have to love your American style.