Hello, My Faithful Readers
June
4, 2017
Volume 1, Number 7
Hello My Faithful Readers:
Well, here we are in June which represents my 1 year
Anniversary living as an Ex-pat here in Georgia. It was on June 15th
that I rented my apartment and on June 30th completed my Peace Corps
27 months of service and moved from the Village in Sagarejo to the Capital City
of Tbilisi.
All throughout my Peace Corps Service “time” seemed
to go slow. I thought that was because life was so hard living in a village
without all the conveniences that I had when I lived in the US. However, here I
am living a really good life in the Capital City and I have so many
conveniences and “time” is still moving at a snail pace. I was always told that when you get older
time seems to go much faster than when you were young; however, that has not
been my experience here.
So, to continue my saga of LIMBO I want to provide
an update to my retirement.
As I wrote previously; I never really felt retired
due to the rigor or the Peace Corps and then to establish myself in Georgia as
a private citizen…but, now that all of that is behind me I am feeling for the
first time what it feels like to be retired. That feeling is LIMBO. I’ve never
had a time in my life when I didn’t have something “to do.” I could work here 24/7; but, I am not really
sure I want to teach. I have to sit on my hands some days so that I won’t fill
my calendar with “something” just to have “something” on the calendar. It is
wonderful and un-nerving all at the same time.
Last night I finished teaching my adult English
Class at the Sulkhan Saba University (link below). I was teaching a 2-hour class to adults on
Friday evenings and last night was the final class. As I was traveling home I
realized that every one of my obligations was complete. And I had nothing on
the horizon. I have many possibilities out in the world; but, nothing that has
been confirmed….so, I am adrift. I don’t know what to do. I keep asking
questions and hope that some answers will arise….My Faithful Readers, my LIMBO
period is a gift and I want to take advantage of this period in my life. So, I
will keep you posted as to what is next.
We had a couple of holidays here. On May 12th was the celebration
of Apostle Andrew the “first called” found of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The
second holiday was May 26th,
Independence Day. On this date in 1918 the Council of Georgia declared national
independence of the Georgian people and the creation of Democratic Republic of
Georgia. The Statehood was restored after 117 years (from 1801).
The Independence Day celebration was very much like
the 4th of July in the States. Of course, a parade with marching
bands; music for all ages; food; fireworks…a great time was had by all. Link
below with more information.
Also, here in Georgia we celebrate the end of the
Second World War on May 8th. Maybe they do this in the States; but,
I have no memory of it.
There is a shameful trend here in Georgia. I don’t
know how long it has been going on; I only know that I am now aware of real
people being subjected to this (what seems to me) blackmail. The gist of the
trend is that employers require people to work as a volunteer (sometimes for
months) with the promise of a possible job at the end. Often, if the job does
not materialize then money is never paid. This is just shameful.
Another variation of this volunteer practice for the
promise of work is to provide a salary so low it is unthinkable to fathom. For
example; a friend of a friend was offered a full time job of 48 hours a week
for 300 Gel (total per month). You do the math…as it is just horrible what
people are expected to earn.
Most people here live with their families as they
cannot afford to be on their own. It is a shameful policy and seems to be
spreading. As employers see that this policy works and they can get free labor
more and more of it is happening.
I was recently offered a position at a summer camp.
The pay was 500 GEL for 20 days. It was clearly explained to me that there
would be no time off and also I would be expected to be available 24/7 to
function as teacher; guide; handle problems during the night, etc. etc…..ok,
maybe overstated a little bit, but say 20 days X 24 hours = Less than 1 GEL. (1
GEL = $2.42 USD). I declined the position and I realize that summer camp is not
about the money; but, honestly, these children pay lots of money to attend camp
and it is surely not going to the teachers….enough said.
On a domestic note….I was told that cleaning of the
floors was only to be done with plain water. Really, no soap is used? Yes, that
is correct. Everyone has this stick that looks like an inverted “T” that you
wrap a rag around and you wash the floors with this device. I’ve been
scratching my head about this for a year now. My apartment does not get very
dirty as I am the only person living here; but still…
Since I arrived here in Georgia I have wanted to
have a cigarette. At times the feeling was overwhelming; to the point where I
put myself in the space of smokers so that I could partake in some way. So, you
say…..go have a cigarette and I say, yes, that is a response but I was so
concerned with starting an age old practice. I gave up smoking in 1990 and
really didn’t want to – but, compulsive habits often need to continually need
to be beaten down with a stick.
However, and this is the big HOWEVER, recently I was
having wine in a beautiful location (Turtle Lake – I will write about that in a
minute). In any event, the friend I was with had a couple of cigarettes that
were donated by one of the patrons at the café – so, being a little tipsy with
the wine decided to indulge. Basically, it was horrible. I inhaled once and
almost coughed my lung up. It felt terrible holding this cancer stick in my
hand. I puffed but it made me realize that I never wanted to do this again. The
good news is that I have no desire any longer to smoke.
So, why didn’t I do this sooner…I wish I would have.
But, maybe I felt I was not strong enough to combat the addiction – but, I
proved myself wrong. I’ve included a
photo of me with the “smoke”….
What about Cigars….they are big here in Georgia! Ha,
we shall see.
Turtle Lake was beyond anything I could have
pictured. I’ve included some pictures and a web site. Turtle Lake is high on
one of the hills that surround Tbilisi; so, to get there you can drive; but,
you can also take the recently opened cable car.
Now, the cable car – in my opinion – leaves a lot to
be desired. I was Very apprehensive once I saw it. The construction seems very
shabby. An attendant travels the 6 minutes up to the top of the hill to Turtle
Lake with the patrons. It cost 1-Gel each way – so affordable. But the cable
car (or tramway) door does not fully close with a seal. The attendant stands by
the door and then places a metal bar across the door. I would imagine so if the
door could accidentally swing open no one would fall out. The floor is metal
and pieced together with rivets that do not fit together fully flushed. You
cannot see daylight through them; but, the metal seems to pop when you step or
stand on it.
When you arrive at the top of the hill the cable car
does not anchor; so, that when you step off the car has a little bit of a swing
to it. The attendant is there to hold your hand stepping off; but, really – it is
a lot scarey.
Years ago there was a cable car accident in another
location in Tbilisi; but this was in my mind. I was surprised and disappointed
that in light of that accident that more steps were not taken to insure that
the Turtle Lake cable car was solid. It sure did not feel solid to me. I think
they spent more money on the building that houses the start of the trip than
they did on the cable car.
When I read in the
article that instead of buying new state-of-the-art gondolas they completely
rehabilitating” two old gondolas – it did not surprise me.
Once you get off the cable car and walk to the lake;
well, it is more wonderful than words can describe. Idyllic comes to mind. The
day was beautiful; the water was sparking and because it was a week day there
were very few people there. The location provides many restaurants and coffee
shops to sit and enjoy the surroundings. Also, provided is a jogging/walking
path around the lake; paddle boats to rent if you want to go on the lake and a
small space if you want to swim (really more like just dipping in). There is
also an exercise area that provides heavy duty exercise bikes and other types
of equipment. This is a joyful place. My problem now is how to get there
without using the cable car. I will research to see if the city will provide
marsh or metro bus transportation – I hope so. I have attached some pictures of
the area as this is one of the treasures of Tbilisi.
I don’t know if I wrote about this before; but, I
have found Cognac here in Georgia. It is called a Wine Brandy; but, the folks
who know say it is Cognac (not that I could tell the different) – but never-the-less;
I like it. I’ve listed the web site to Sarajishvili company which is the brand
that I like. And keeping with alcohol; my favorite is Jameson Irish Whiskey….and
my friends now call Mr. Jameson my boyfriend….maybe that is a sad fact.
I am told that Armenia makes a terrific cognac or
brandy; so I need to try some. When I was in Armenia I didn’t get to tour the factory
that makes the Brandy; I was disappointed. But, the brandy/cognac is readily
available here in Tbilisi. I will go on a field mission and report in
subsequent blogs.
I’ve listed the web site below; but, be warned you
need to be of legal drinking age to enter. That is so funny as how would the
web site know you were telling the truth.
And finally, one of the HIGHLIGHTS of May was
finding the Music Conservatoire here in Tbilisi. I have heard tell of this school/music
venue; but, I never took the time to investigate. I attended a concert
performance for 8 GEL which is $3.31. My seat was on the ceiling; but, it didn’t
matter. I was seated at the rail looking down at the stage. The theater was
refurbished recently and it was magnificent. The main concert hall was beautifully
tailored from top to bottom. I could have just sat in the space and breathed in
the magnificence of my surroundings.
The music was outstanding. A full orchestra
presented classical composers for the first half of the performance. I get
goose bumps just thinking about all this. I felt like I was back in the US as
that was the caliber of the professionalism exhibited. The second half
presented (3) pianos lined up side-by-side. (6) students came out; (2) to a
piano bench. One played and the other turned pages. Again, I was just blown
away. I didn’t recognize the music but it didn’t matter. The expertise and
talent really took over. The students changed roles of player or page turner
and the pianos were accompanied by the orchestra members that were surrounding
the pianos. Overwhelming is the word to describe all of this.
The only disappointments were the fact that no
printed programs were given out; as I would have liked to know the composers of
the pieces played and also that I found all this so late in the season. But,
come September!!!!
After the performance I went on to search their web
site and found that there were many recitals scheduled for the upcoming week….and
they were FREE. I found the recital hall which was just as magnificent at the
concert hall. The performance involved students playing the violin. They were
accompanied by a pianist so that each performance involved just the two
performers. Again, I didn’t know the composers but it didn’t matter. The talent
was awesome. Most of the performers were women who came to the stage with poise
and confidence. Most didn’t even bring sheet music with them. To have such
command of the complex music and do so with such self assurance gave me chills.
A program was distributed; but it was all in Georgian….so I was clueless J
Although I am here in Tbilisi for a year; I still
find these fabulous treasures here. I know I have a great deal more to explore
and I love every minute of it.
I will close for now and thank you for sharing this
amazing journey with me.
Best, Catherine Lawrence – 6/4/17
Typical Class room at Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani Teaching University
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