Hello, My Faithful Readers

June 27, 2018

Volume 2, Number 07

I am writing this on the day before I travel back to Tbilisi and also an accounting of my travel back to Tbilisi (as an after thought at the end of the blog). I will fly on June 25^th and arrive in Tbilisi in the early morning hours of June 27^th. The time difference (as I am fly East) makes it seem that I will be traveling for 3 days; but, not really. I fly Qatar Airlines (which I love). The Doha Airport is just awesome. It is so big; and yet easy to get around. They have very large “Quiet Rooms” which contain lounge chairs. They are sort of like a beach chair with material that is solid; so no sagging. I would bet there are 50+ chairs in the room; but so important that it is QUIET. You can still hear the outside noises (somewhat) of the airport but it is sure better than being out in the general population of the airport.

June 6^th was the anniversary of my graduating Highschool…yee gads. The school had an anniversary mass to celebrate at the Catherdral of Saints Peter and Paul here in Philadelphia. I had planned to go; but, at the last minute I was accepted into the Vipassana Meditation Program in Claymont Delaware (more about that in a minute). Hard to believe 50 years have passed; and yet they have. I understand in October there will be a party at a local restaurant ($75.00) a head to meet folks that I went to school with (back in the day). All this reminiscing; do I really want to be involved in that? I was not really popular in HighSchool. The folks I see now are the people I want to remain in contact with. Seriously, I cannot really remember most of the people I went to school with. I will give it some thought.

Had a pedicure; thank goodness.  I sure needed that. I had my photo ID taken to update my driver’s license. Doctor and Dentists appointments are behind me (and that is good). Thank heavens; all is good.

Still meeting and catching up with friends. So great that so many people want to take the time to listen to my adventures; however, sometimes I feel a little one-sided as I am not getting to hear what they are up to. Most say that they are not doing much and that my life is more exciting; but, so appreciate their willingness to be generous with me (both in time and my friends always want to treat me (Free Food) - J

I am aging and can feel it a little. My 68 birthday is quickly approaching. I am told by many people that I am still so young (and yes, I do feel young). However, I can also feel the years upon my body. I don’t really have any complaints. But, I do find it harder now to get up and down from the floor. This is somewhat new; but, what the heck. I know that I need more exercise in my life; but I need to do more about that than just talk – talk- talk. To be continued….

I attended my second Vipassana Meditation Program from June 6^th  - 17^th. If you will remember, my first program was held in Dubai, UAE – last year at this time. I think I may make this an annual event to celebrate my birthday. It is an experience attending a 10 day silent meditation program. In addition; we adhere to what is called “Nobel Silence” which involves, in addition to silence, no body language or eye contact during the 10 day period. Of course we know that there are people around us; however, we are as alone as possible. We cannot write or read.  It is a feat that requires many intangible attributes; fortitude, patience, persistence – I think you get the picture. Inner strength is greatly enhanced. It is said (tongue and cheek) that it is not for sissies J. It does take something to sustain.

Although the programs are the same; the surroundings were vastly different. Last year in Dubai I was in the desert with heat in the neighborhood of 120degrees (F) and this current time the location was in Delaware, USA. The weather was so lovely; in the 70 degree range so we could sit outside with enjoyment.  Last year we had maid service with (2) women in the hotel room and this year we were 5 women in the same dorm room. Lots of differences; but the program is the same.

I learn so much about myself and why I often make the same mistakes over and over again. The mind body connection of this type of meditation allows one to get to the root of why that is and with recognition allows one to make changes. The premise of the program is impermanence. All of this is hard to describe; but lots of information is available on their web site to gain further knowledge if you are interested.

I made many decisions or maybe choices during the program. One of which is that I am going to leave Georgia and return to the United States to live (for the moment). I’ve been in Georgia for four years and I do love living abroad and hope to do so in the future; however, I don’t want to live in Georgia any longer. I have been discouraged on many fronts living in Georgia. I realize it is a developing country and did really try to keep that in mind; but, I feel that collectively Georgians like the dysfunction of the country. I have written before about how Georgians believe and live by the mantra that “The only rule here is that there are no rules.” That may not be an exact quote; but something to that effect. I like “order” and living in what I think of as the “wild west” just goes against who I believe I am. I have been trying to put aside or push aside my feelings about this country for some time now; but, the bottom line is that it is not for me.

Over the course of my blogs (both Peace Corps and as an Ex-pat) I have spoken many times about conditions and situations that are just not to my liking. One of the main attractions (and especially since I am on a fixed income as a retiree) is that Georgia is very inexpensive to live in. Of course, you get what you pay for and more and more I realize that I don’t want to spend my life force to save a little money.

I need to work things out with my landlord. But, the plan is to leave Georgia on or before my August 19^th when my rent payment is due. When I return to Philadelphia I will need to have work done in my apartment and then decide whether to rent it or to live in it. A lot depends on finding another country to live in. So many countries now only allow you to live for 90 days without a visa. So, that is the goal.

I have a trip coming up to begin in Estonia, Latvia, Luthania, Slovakia, Poland and then Prague. It was my hope while traveling to gain a sense of these countries as a possible area to relocate. All of this remains to be seen; I will probably surprise myself.

So, my Faithful Readers another decision is to continue the blog after I return to the United States in August. That also remains to be seen…..I will blog in July/August to chronicle my trip as well as my disassembling my Tbilisi apartment”. There are Exciting times ahead.

The blog is short this month as I didn’t do a whole lot of stuff to share with you. I spent much of the time thinking about recent difficult family issues and the “what is next” question for me.

I had happy hour with some friends recently who say the “I am their friend of a different color.” Ha, that makes me laugh and feel so Wizard of Oz. Yes, their description of me makes me feel really special.

Ok, signing off for now. I thank you for taking the time to follow my blog.

Hello….I thought I was going to post this before I left the States; but, never was able to get to it; so, I’ll share some of my travel back stories.

First being; it ONLY cost me $1.00 to travel to the airport on the SEPTA airport train, Wow, and that is because I am Senior Citizen with ID to prove it (HA). It would have cost be $30.00 for a taxi..so, when I got to the airport I treated myself to dinner. It was a nice way to start my travels.

I used Qatar Airlines and I really like this company; but, it seems that every time I get on a plane there are more and more seats and less and less personal space as well as aisle space on the plane. The flights were flawless. I’ve said this before; but, it is hard to believe sometimes that I am being catapulted through space and time. As I got as comfortable as I could I started to think about what I was walking into when I got back to Georgia. Last year at this time, when I returned from Morocco, I found that my PREVIOUS landlord had been living in my apartment while I was gone. Seriously, I had hopes that my current landlord was better than that; but, I really didn’t know for sure. If that was going to be the case (as I didn’t tell them the exact date I would return) I would just deal with it when I put my key in the door in the next 24 hours. I did know that my landlord was going to be in the apartment when I was going as he was going to fix the heater…

When I arrived in Tbilisi the police stopped me when I pulled my luggage off the conveyor belt. There was a big red band on my luggage that I had no idea what it meant. I was questioned as to if I was bringing medicine into the country. A little dicey for a couple of minutes; but, I explained that I had bought vitamins in the USA and offered to open my luggage so they could see. They asked for a list of what vitamins and then said, OK. Once the big red tag was pulled off my luggage I was free to go. Whew…..

During my travels I realized that I didn’t know if I really wanted to spend so much money in my Philadelphia apartment. If I really only wanted to use the apartment as an anchor and live abroad as much as I could; maybe I should re-think as to what else the money could be used for? The apartment as it is is very livable. Needs to be cleaned up and maybe a few new pieces of furniture; but way less spending than I originally thought. Hum, we shall see.

During the flight the movie listed included a whole section on TED talks. I watched as many as I could; and wondered why I don’t take more time to watch these short videos. They are just filled with ideas….one of which I am going to employ.

Stefan Sagmerster and his TED video “The Power of Time off” has given me the idea of living the next year of my life as a “Sabbatical.”  He speaks of life being broken down into (3) periods – Learning – Work – Retirement.  What he has done is every (7) years of his work years he take a full year off as a Sabbatical. He closes his company down and spends that year living in another paradigm. However, during this period new ideas, concepts and realities come into focus; so although sabbatical can be said to be a rest from work, in his case (or at least as I understand it) he allows room for an expansion into exploring the unknown or expanding on the known.

In recent times, "sabbatical" has come to mean any extended absence in the career of an individual in order to achieve something. In the modern sense, one takes sabbatical typically to fulfill some goal, e.g., writing a book or travelling extensively for research.

Sabbatical or a sabbatical is a rest from work, or a break

I love this idea and would never given this the light of day w/o this introduction. I have spent the last (2) years – after Peace Corps – looking to see what is next for me. In my life, as I am sure with other life forms on this planet (HA) I have worked all my life and I am still looking for work. As a result, I’ve been dipping into the same well as I have throughout my life and attaining the same result. FYI – that is the definition on “Insanity.”

So, I am officially on a Sabbatical. I really have no idea what that means but it will sure be different NOT to keep looking for work that is not fulfilling and satisfying to me. I just don’t know how to do this; but, I am going to find out.

Ok, Now I am ready to close. After travel of such distance I still feel like I am still moving. Fatigue is present and I want to just sit and stare. The thought of getting up off the sofa is “do I have to” – HA.

Best, Catherine Lawrence 6/27/18