some pics...i hope

We Storm the Gori Castle! Erik is really stoked, I'm into it, and Brian, not so much.
Me and good 'ol "Uncle Joe"
View from the Castle Hike in Gori
Public transport is easy in Georgia, but it Ain't Tri-met!








Hey All,
Just wanted to clue you in on some things distinctly Georgian. In some ways Georgia is the best place ever…want to walk down the middle of the road…go right ahead, if you are driving and see a friend, feel free to stop in the road and talk to them for 5-10 minutes…don’t worry cause folks will drive around you. Smoke if you got ‘em! Anywhere. If you are driving and want to pass, please remember to do so only near the top of a hill or before a blind curve! (good thing I can be very Zen about my travel in a car!) If you can find a Marshutka without a cracked windshield, you probably aren’t in Georgia anymore. Seatbelts are considered bad luck. I’m so accustomed to not having any that I forgot to buckle up in a Peace Corps vehicle and got admonished. Always keep a safe following distance (in Georgia this is 3 to 5 feet). Be sure to grab a beer at every rest stop and when cows are blocking the road, just slow down a bit…they’ll move..OR ELSE! Oh, and by the way..when you run out of gas, and you will run out, you can remedy this situation by putting a couple of liters into the tank that you have been keeping in old plastic pop bottles (they have been sloshing around in your trunk the whole time).
Drop by a neighbor’s house unannounced and get fed and watered until the cows come home (which in Bebnisi is about 6-7 PM). Really! Every night as I sit and talk or study, our cow (whom I have named “Bossy”) strolls into the yard, gives me a perfunctory glance and proceeds to continue munching various greens. Yesterday I had to shoo her out of the mint as I like to have fresh mint tea from time to time.
Much has been said regarding pedestrian safety since I’ve been here. While it can be dangerous to the uninitiated, walking in Georgia is as safe as it is in Italy…you just have to keep your wits about you. Georgians use the whole road, primarily to avoid potholes and manholes without any covers (scrap metal was big business during the corrupt Shevardnadze administration). They are very aware of their surroundings and expect pedestrians to be also. The key to being a safe pedestrian in Georgia is to use ALL your senses: depth perception, timing, hearing (most Georgian cars are noisy), a knowledge of the simple physics of car vs. human, and common sense. You are on their turf…you can say you were in the right when you are lying in the hospital or you can just adapt and live to cross another street. Georgian drivers get a bad rap and I have proof. Last weekend I was in Borjomi with friends and we rode the bumper cars. While we crazy Americans were running into each other ad nauseum, the Georgians were avoiding every collision. One was even texting during the entire ride! That’s talent.
Georgians love to eat, drink, and laugh…not necessarily in that order, but if is possible to do all three at once, you can bet a Georgian has accomplished that Herculean feat. Georgians are probably the only folks in the world who think that Americans don’t eat enough. Now my mom can lay out a helluva spread and cajole you into another helping, but with Georgian women there is no subtlety involved. I believe they stopped it centuries ago. One of the first Georgian words anyone learns is “Tchame!!” (EAT!). Know that this word CAN’T be said only once, although prime numbers do seem to be a favorite (3 times in a row is most frequent). While many of us have been yelled at to eat in our lifetimes, Georgia is the first place that it has happened to me while I had a mouthful of food.
Some of standard dishes are, and this is by no means a complete list: Khachatpuri (bread stuffed with melted cheese), Khinkhali (a spiced, minced meat (usually mutton) dumpling), Lobiani (again bread stuffed but this time with beans), pivrebi da pomidorebi (cucumbers and tomatoes) to name a few.
So there you have it folks, some musings on my young life in Georgia. I know some of you may be shaking your heads right now but I urge you to reconsider your thoughts. It IS different (that’s the point, by the way) but in many important ways Georgians have remembered and kept things I think we have forgotten: to live life, all the time realizing that it is full of both risks and rewards. To accept and balance these risks is to live (emphasis on accept). Is it always right? This remains to be seen. Is it always interesting? Definitely! Georgia knows and embraces this…and it is GLORIOUS