Hello, My Faithful
Readers
December 11th, 2017
Volume 1, Number 16
Day 161,
Daily Meditation
Each day that I
practice my meditation I was amazed that I still continue with this, as I come
to call it, my daily ritual. This may change as time goes forward; but
“I think not” – as they say in novels. We do things that we get benefit out of
(good or bad); and I am thankful (in this month of Thanksgiving and advent)
that I have good common sense and continue this habit (as it has become a
habit). Ok, enough of
this; but, My Faithful Readers, you must get how proud I am and wanted to share
it here in the blog.
Here
in Tbilisi they are getting ready for Christmas; however, the Orthodox
Christmas is on January 7th. Christmas Day here is just like any
other day; which is weird. When in Rome as they say. Since I’ve never really
been in Georgia over Christmas (I’ve traveled abroad) I am getting to see the
happenings for the very first time. The major streets are decorated with
overhead string lights which span the entire width and length of the street.
Another part of the city has the trees that line the sidewalks covered in white
lights. They were lit for a little while as they were installing them; but,
officially I am told they won’t go on until December 15th. I’ve not fully investigated yet; but I will
blog before the end of the year and give a full report.
I’ve
listed a link below that talks about how bad the air pollution is here in
Tbilisi. I’ve known it was bad; especially in the summer – but, really didn’t
fully understand until I read the article. I thought the pictures of China were
bad; as people used gas masks; but, Georgia (Tbilisi) looks like it is heading
in the same direction. One of the reasons discussed is the pollution from the
cars. There is so much traffic and you could spend hours in the cars inching
your way to your destination…all the while car exhaust is just part of the
ride.
What Tbilisi breathes
Weather is measured in
Celsius(C) rather than Fahrenheit(F) here in Georgia and this is still
confusing to me. 32F is freezing; as we all know; however, 0C is also freezing,
32….so, where I am used to see a “0” temperature as a dire situation; here in
Georgia it is not that dire. Of course, the reason is that it is 32 (freezing).
To add to that; when the temperature goes down to below freezing (-10C) is
really 14F. Now that is cold; however, 13 still looks better on my phone (-10).
I am just not used to this conversion. In the summer I am better able to handle
it because there are no negative numbers associated with the weather…oh well
Another aspect of
weather is the wind here in Georgia. When I lived in the village the wind was
so fierce it sounded like a freight train plowing through. I would sit in my
room and wonder if the roof was going to fly off. I’ve seen the wind pull up
the roots on a tree in the village. So, I was surprised (here in my new
apartment) where I am hearing the same kinds of sounds outside my window. I am not surrounded by houses as I face an
open park (unlike my last apartment). The trees in front of my window bend and
sway so frantically. I watch and hope that one does not end up on my terrace
(or worse) in my apartment. I am so reminded of the village as the sound is the
same – like a freight train plowing through. I hear things clanging somewhere
outside and hear things banging.
But, I must tell you
that I just love it. I can sit during the day and watch the trees bounce all over
the place. I see the leaves falling and as they do I can see more of the park
in front of me. It is a show that never ends. I wonder what the dead of winter
will bring; I am sure it will be exciting. We had a little snow today; so I
finally brought in the plant table and plants. I think the plants are happy
that they are not now subjected to the wind and cold…..I just love looking at
the plants.
I took a tour of the
Armenia section (Avlabari) of Tbilisi recently. A group of us spent many hours
walking around observing the architecture and (like much of Tbilisi) all the
little nooks and crannies. If not for the tour I would never have known this
puppet theater existed. If you click on the link and then right click to
translate page you can see information in English. I was so delighted with the
space of the theater. The women who now run the theater gave us a show; which
still gives me a smile when I think about it (like now) J. There are some
puppets; but, mostly the theater consists of Marionette’s.
All were created by
the man who established the theater and it was in response to the hard/harsh
years of occupation. There was no a lot to smile about back then; but puppets
always seem to bring out the child in us. So that is what he concentrated on.
He is gone now; but, his wife and family keep the tradition alive. After the
show we were treated to cake and brandy/cognac/coffee…and Turkish candy that
was delicious. We didn’t want to leave; but, we had more areas to discover in
Armenia.
The tour continued on
and we found our way to Stalin's Underground Printing House in Tbilisi (Georgia),
from 1903 to 1906 the Bolsheviks printed thousands of trilingual brochures
(Georgian, Russian, Armenian) on this old German press. .
The men who ran this
operation lived on the grounds where the printing press was located. You will
see if you access the link that the press was located below ground. Exactly in
measured distance I am not sure; but, you can see by the drawings it was fairly
deep. Between 1903-1906 they printed communist pamphlets (more in the link
below)
The place is now terribly run down. As a
museum it leaves much to be desired; but it is part of history and that is my
interest. Honestly, I was happy to see the deterioration of the photographs
hanging on the wall. The newspaper clippings are so brittle that a little wind
would demolish them. The floors creek and there is water damage everywhere in
the building. I kept walking away from
the tour guide as I didn’t want to hear the propaganda that he was speaking.
However, whenever I walked away the guide came to find me and bring me back to
the fold.
It was an experience
standing in the space of history; but, also felt sickened to be part of the
tour. These are “one and done” experiences for me.
It is written that
Stalin killed between 34-49 million of his own people and yet, here in Georgia,
there are at least two museums to honor his contribution.
I just
thought I’d throw this article into the blog…as it is a topic that is talked
about there in Georgia often. The article states:
U.S. Says No Talks with Russia as NATO Demands Moscow Remove
Troops From Georgia
Two regions in the
Northern Georgia are still occupied by Russia. I am sure I have written about this
in previous blogs but these occupied areas continue to grow in size. There is a
saying about this territory that goes “You go to sleep in Georgia and wake up
in Russia.” It seems magically that the borders get moved at night. I don’t
know much about the history; other than
- As the
Soviet Union began to collapse in 1991, Georgia declared its independence, but
pro-Moscow Abkhazia and South Ossetia seceded by force.
I hope this does not come off as political that I
included this as part of the blog; that is not my intention – only that this is
what is happening here and wanted to include it.
troop in Georgia
On a lighter note;
Thanksgiving Dinner at Betsy’s Hotel was wonderful. The hotel was so
beautifully decorated with Thanksgiving decoration I could really have
forgotten I was in Georgia. A group of us gathered for dinner that was a
buffet; and, what a buffet it was. The food was so overwhelming. Real turkey
and stuffing; mash potatoes, vegetables that were vibrant in color it was a
shame to eat them…I could go on. Of course, in the Thanksgiving tradition we
ate for hours. Pitchers or wine (both white and red) appeared as well as soft
drinks, coffee/tea and honestly, anything that you wanted.
A special treat was
dessert…that included pumpkin pie and apple pie and when I asked for ice cream
(which was not part of the buffet) the ice cream appeared like magic. Ah, I was
a happy camper and was everyone else.
We rationalized that
we were burning calories every time we made a trip back to the buffet table
(HA)….but, it was a wonderful occasion. I would absolutely go next year if the
circumstances indicate. There was a negative; in that, the taxi driver
overcharged me and then didn’t have change (or so he said) so that I paid a lot
for a taxi ride. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth….I don’t mind paying but
I hate to be taken advantage of.
Classes are coming to
a close here in Georgia. The Law School ended on December 4th with a
full day of presentations by the students. I was so pleasantly surprised that
so many of the students actually did organize a presentation. It was not
mandatory; but, I think many of the students wanted the extra points.
I didn’t have any
input as to the legal content of the presentation; however, my role was to
grade on verbal/non-verbal aspects of their presentation. The students did listen to me as I spoke
about what I observed during their presentations. It is not an easy undertaking
to make presentations. Public speaking is one of the most difficult things to
do; so I was impressed that each student did make an effort to put their best
foot forward. I don’t think the students have been honestly given feedback
during the presentations over the years. The Director and I talked about for
the next go-around of presentations in the Spring that we may possibly video
tape them. Let them see first-hand how they can improve.
After such a difficult
semester with these students for me; it was somewhat encouraging for me to
participate and end the semester on an up-beat level.
My private student
will leave Georgia to go back to Germany; so that will come to an end very soon…and
now I look to what I can create for 2018.
I felt sorry for my
plants being out on my balcony; especially after we had our first snow fall here
in Tbilisi. So, I brought the table and plants into my apartment and have included a picture. I organized it
as a Christmas table…some Santa decorations with the plants. A friend gave me a
little Christmas tree and now I think I want to go buy a couple of surprises
for myself to place under the tree.
I had a very interesting meeting recently which left me very conflicted. It concerns a new school that has come into existence here In Tbilisi. The article listed below came to my attention very much by accident (but then they say there are no accidents). The core focus of the school is around the topic of something that I have been trying to implement here in Georgia for some time now; that is, Non-Traditional Education.
Letterato to Improve Youth's Critical Thinking Abilities - CBW.ge
This is a supplementary school which has been
established by one woman who used her own money to move things out the
intangible into the tangible. I was so impressed with what I read that I wrote
how I was interested in this topic also. After much thought I tried to put this
woman off…as I was busy but honestly I really didn’t think I wanted to get
involved. I’ve been so discouraged with teaching here in Georgia and my
thinking has been to scale back and yet here I was opening up new
possibilities.
During our meeting I felt like I was talking to
myself. We were speaking the same language and this was unusual as I’ve not
found many folks here in Georgia align to my thinking. We spoke for hours…and
now I have a dilemma. As much as I enjoy
the subject matter I know this is going to be a LOT of work. My question is: “Do
I want to spend my time in this manner?” Honestly, I don’t know. My first thought
it to just walk away; however, something keeps me going back to this
possibility.
I know that this kind of education (N-TE:
Non-Traditional Education) is so needed here in Georgia (and other places in
the world ) – but, at least here in Georgia my gut tells me that these folks
here in Georgia don’t realize it. They really think the sub-par (not measuring
up to standard education) education available here in Georgia is at the top of
the chart.
So, what to do? I did some reconnaissance work; that is I made
some bus trips to see how long it will take me to get to the school. I was
surprised that it will very easy for me to travel to the school; which was not
my original thought. The Director and Creator of the school wants to meet again
to discuss expanding learning modules and organizing a program to begin in
January. What to do, what to do….the saga will continue…….
Congratulate me…I took my first TAXIFY ride
recently. After many months I finally was able to place the app on my phone and
now to figure out how to use it. As I was playing around with it I ordered a
taxi and thought I cancelled it; however, I didn’t. So, the company did charge
me. I wrote and asked if they would refund me as due to my ignorance I didn’t
know how to use the app…and they agreed. I am so technically challenged….but,
the second time I attempted the order everything seemed ok and the car arrived…..what
a new world for me. J
I am sure there are other items to write about; but
they escape me at the moment. I am thinking about what I am going to do here in
Tbilisi over the holidays. This is the first time in four years that I have not
traveled….feeling a little blue about that. I am hoping that new ideas will
present themselves to me as I won’t be pre-occupied. So, we shall see.
I know I will write to end the 2017 year; but, if I
don’t write until close to the New Year I now want to wish all My Faithful
Readers the very best “Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” – whatever is politically
correct. I have so many blessings here in my life. One of my goals is to really
concentrate and appreciate all that I have.
Merry
Christmas, Happy New Year My Faithful Readers!
Best, Catherine Lawrence – 12/11/17
Thanksgiving from the Sagarejo Village, 2014 - Scared stiff (HA)
