Hello, My Faithful Readers
June
25, 2017
Volume 1, Number 8
Happy
Summer Everyone!
June 21st is the start of summer so we
are already a couple of days into the start of hot and humid weather here in
Tbilisi. I was so busy last summer making the transition from Peace Corps to
private citizen I seriously don’t remember how hot it was…but I am told it gets
pretty nasty here with heat. I do have air conditioning and I bought some stand
up fans; so, I will be able to cope…
Once again I was disappointed as a trip that I had
signed up for was cancelled. The tour guides need a certain number of people to
off-set their cost and that didn’t happen. The trip was for a short weekend
(really overnight) to Borjomi and Vardzia.
I was in Borjomi briefly; but, never to Vardzia. Both areas look very
interesting and I’ve listed the links below in the event that you would like to
know more about the locations. I am hoping that at some point over the summer
another trip will happen.
But, the good
news is that I will be traveling during July. I am part of a silent meditation
program that will take place in Dubai, UAE. I’ve already shared this with so
many of my friends as I am very excited about the program as well as the
travel. It is a 10 day program with Vipassana Meditation (link below) as well as a link to the program
location (about 45 minutes to the north of Dubai (Ras – al-Khaimah). A good
friend has been speaking of this program for many years and finally I’ll have
an opportunity to participate.
Of course, I’ll
blog when I return in July; but, for now (and briefly) the program is silent
which includes no computer, FB, email. Also, no reading or writing…OMG. I am
excited but also apprehensive. At times my anxiety is off the charts; but, that
is a good thing as it represents new territory being explored in my life. I am
hoping that this adventure will give me some insights to unblock the log jam of
my “limbo” period. J
I will be flying
with “Fly Dubai”. It is a 3+ hour flight, direct. Here in Georgia you never fly
anywhere direct; so, this will be a treat. Also, their policy is that no
animals will be on board – so, once again good news – no falcons. The policy
that has been annoying is that they allow 7kg take on luggage; but, any other
luggage you pay extra for (in addition to the cost of the ticket). Payment of
$28USD (somewhere around there) gives you 20kg going to Dubai; however, coming
home you DO NOT pay for luggage and the amount allowable is 40kg. I guess they
encourage you to shop Dubai….
I plan to stay
over after the seminar for a couple of days to explore the city. I know it will
be HOT; but, I’ve been in Egypt in the summer so I think short term I can deal
with it. I am looking forward to riding the metro and exploring the malls
(plural) that I’ve heard so much about as well as the architecture.
Found the above link on CNN web
site…..not just hotel rooms; but how and why the city grew as it did.
I found another music venue here in Tbilisi. It is
the Kakhidze Music Center (link below). I was so impressed with this venue and
I think you will be also when you click on the link. My favorite seat is in the
upper left hand corner, on the balcony, which looks down on the orchestra as
well as the conductor. I love this location as it reminds me of the Kimmel
Center in Philadelphia. In that venue I also sat facing the conductor behind
the Orchestra. But, never-the-less, an awesome position to see and hear the
happenings on stage. The stage has a drop down elevator in order to bring up a
baby grand piano.
I don’t know exact when this venue was refurbished;
but, they certainly did a great job. The seats are comfortable and give leg
room. The only negative I can say is that the venue does not give a “program”
so I have no idea of which composers are being previewed. Nothing sounds
familiar and that is OK by me; it is all so wonderful. I am just sorry I didn’t
find this treasure until the end of the season; but, then there is always next
season.
Another new adventure for me is that I have been
tutoring a student privately. This is something that I have been resisting;
seriously did not want to do. So, I quoted an unbelievable cost per hour in the
hope that it would resolve the issue; but, that was not the case. The student
is a lawyer; older man who is so educated and personable. He speaks German,
Georgian, Russian and Passable English. (He was educated in Germany). I just love tutoring him in English. The goal
is for him to be a little better prepared for a trip he will be making to
England later in the summer.
We meet 3 times per week for an hour each session. His
basic English is fair so we are able to cover a lot of ground. I am using
materials that I used this past semester when I was a lecturer at the
University of Georgia Law School. We had an interesting session around the word
“Instance”; “Implied” and many other words. Concepts like “Occam Razor” was
totally foreign to him…but, it makes for really interesting conversation. I’ve always noticed that Georgians seem to
want to make every more difficult and complicated.
I have been pushing him to think more broadly. I am
pushing him to integrate the vocabulary not only as to how it relates to law;
but, how it works in the real world. I am so enjoying my time with the student.
I didn’t ever think I would say that I enjoyed
(could even say love) teaching in this capacity. Maybe more private
students will be on the horizon.
I celebrated my one year anniversary of renting my
apartment and all is good. I have so many positives living here; but there are
a couple of negatives. At some point during the year new neighbors arrived in
the apartment above me. I’ve not met them; but, I hear them. Not their voices
but I hear their feet/shoes. What I mean is that they walk, walk, walk….I can
hear the click and clack of shoes on the hardwood floors. Most Georgian flat don’t
have wall-to-wall carpet; so, I can hear them (I think more than one person)
going from one place to another. This happens all day and sometimes all night.
At first I was really annoyed; but, now I guess I am familiar with it.
Another negative is the tin roof I have outside my
window. When it rains (and especially when it hails) it sounds like machine-gun
fire. But then the rain eventually stops. What does not stop is the water from
the A/C’s above my flat dripping water onto the roof. My landlord did put some
towels down to buffer the sound; but, it hardly works. When my windows are open
the drip, drip dropping on the roof is annoying…but, again – I think I am just
getting used to it.
Here in Georgia one really does not have any
recourse in situations like this. You just put up with it. Mostly I think it is
because many Georgian’s are not considerate of how their actions affect other
people.
Cinema City is a new venue that I found here in
Tbilisi. I have not been yet; but, I am looking forward to maybe having an
event there. You can rent the theater to accommodate a certain number of
people. So, a private party with video is to be had. I don’t know of any venues
like this in the States…maybe there are. But, I think it is cool to have this
available here in Tbilisi.
I was watching recently how some men were pruning
trees. I thought it was very odd what they were doing; as in Philadelphia
people usually use a cherry picker and a chain saw to take down branches that
are either dead or have blocked electric wires or other areas that should be
clear. Well, here in Tbilisi I was watching the men take some type of rope and
throw it up so that it wrapped around the branch. Then the men pulled together
so that the branch snapped and falls to the ground.
Maybe this was an isolated incident; but, since I
have never seem people working on trees other than the explanation I described
above – well, I am left to think this is how they get to prune over-grown
trees. In the scope of things; who cares. It is just that I found this interesting.
Earth shattering stuff (HA).
At the Infant House recently I was able to work with
the infants. Usually I work with the toddlers – children that are able to stand
and crawl on their own. But, working with the babies has been very rewarding.
One little girl has no hands; but, she is such a smiley baby. I kiss her stump
and make fizzy sounds on her arms and she smiles and smiles. The other day it
was so nice that we went outside with the coaches. It has been many years since
I pushed a baby in a coach. It was joyous.
I continue to take their socks off when I can. I
just think babies love having their feet free and have the air breeze over
them. Of course it is warm out so their feet are not cold; but the staff is
still not happy that I do that. However, no one says I cannot. The staff won’t
let me feed any of the children. I don’t know why; as it is like an assembly
line trying to get all the children fed. The crying is hard to take as the
babies are looking for food and I just try to entertain until they get their
turn. Maybe it is a Ministry rule that non-staff cannot provide any services;
but, it sure is frustrating.
I’ve included pictures of the old metro bus and the
NEW metro bus. The bus fare is .40 tetrie, which is about 15 cents (US) (or
thereabout). The new fleet is really nice;
much more modern and they are air conditioned. So, the soot from the bus and
the fumes from all the traffic does not overwhelm when riding on the bus. The
plan is to replace all the buses….good job well done.!
I went to a lecture recently with a group called “The Caucasus Research Resource Centers “.
This program is a network of training, research support and resource centers
established in 2003 in the capital cities of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The lecture was about the Tbilisi Metro and current ridership as well as plans
for future development. Interesting, it was noted that the Tbilisi Metro is
modeled after the Russians and the model is still used here in Georgia even
though it is not used in Russian any longer….curious.
The lectures are
called WIP lectures which stands for Works in Progress.
Article entitled “How Poverty makes people nostalgic
for the Soviet Union”
And finally, I was reading an article (text below)
and was not surprised at the figures that were listed. Most Georgians don’t
have enough money to buy food on a regular basis. Excluding rent; I could live
on what the report indicates; which is $250 USD per month. Of course I am not
living large; or splurging on much of anything. That money just handles my
basic food needs and transportation and telephone money. As the exchange rate
is $2.40 USD for 1 Gel…the USD goes a long way here.
Living here in Georgia is not all peaches and
cream…these folks do have some real problems (as if the USA does not). But
living here I want to share what I can of information that is not usually
placed in the main stream media (if you find this interesting).
According to the World Bank, GDP in Georgia
increased from USD 10.1 billion to USD 13.9 billion between 2009 and 2015. Despite this growth,
according to CRRC’s Caucasus Barometer survey (CB), the share of those who
reported not having enough money to buy food on at least a weekly basis did not
decrease between 2011 and 2015.
According to CB 2015, 61% of the population reported their household
income was less than USD 250 the month.
CB data show that a large share of households
in Georgia have financial difficulties supporting their families’ primary needs
and a majority struggle with not having enough money for food at least some of
the time.
The new class of Peace Corps
Volunteers (G-17) – remember I was a G-14 (which means the 14th or
17th class arriving in Georgia) will graduate on July 7th.
I always plan to go as it is a special day for everyone involved in Peace
Corps; however, I will be in Dubai and will miss it this year.
I am sure there is
lots more to write about; but I will close for now. Thank you for staying with me on my Magical Mystery Tour.
All the best, My Faithful Readers…Catherine Lawrence – 6/25/17
Not a great picture of an apartment building; depressing
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