Dmanisi in the spring

As a part of my birthday weekend I was invited by friends to join them on a road trip to Dmanisi.  We brought along my good local friend Luso, who is trying to start a tour business in Kvemo Kartli and a friend visiting from Greece.  Dmanisi was fascinating but even more so was the ride down.  This is southern Georgia. All the bigger mountains are north. We have a desert to the south east and across the peaks are Armenia. Who would have thought how beautiful the mountains would be just south of me.

The Dmanisi Museum
We found the museum quite a ways from the archeological site.  But fortunately we went there first, so we knew what we could expect from the site.  The museum was closed even though we checked and it was scheduled to be open on Sunday.  Fortunately someone at the building knew someone that had a key, and if we would give him a ride to that person's house,  we could get into the museum.  Gotta love this country!  The museum director was in Canada, so we were toured by an enthusiastic volunteer who gave a wonderful description of the site and history.

The Dmanisi archeological site

This was fascinating. The reason it was such a big find in Dmanisi was that there were 5 skulls all buried together, but previously seen as separate species.   "Traditionally, researchers have used variation among Homo fossils to define different species. But in light of these new findings, Dr Lordkipanidze and his colleagues suggest that early, diverse Homo fossils, with their origins in Africa, actually represent variation among members of a single, evolving lineage – most appropriately, Homo erectus.

“Had the braincase and the face of Skull 5 been found as separate fossils at different sites in Africa, they might have been attributed to different species,” said Dr Christoph Zollikofer from the Anthropological Institute and Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, a co-author of the Science paper.

To read more.  about Dmainis archeological site

Also, I blogged previously about the18 million year old demonstration of love  which I found so interesting.

Here are some great Americans enjoying Georgia!  

Mike and Marcia's favorite picnic spot

After lunch we stumbled onto a beautiful poppy field. Then, on to Bolnisi.

Bolnisi. Sioni Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox basilica in the Bolnisi village, Georgia. The cathedral was built in 478–493. It is the oldest church building in existence  in Georgia. Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral is known for its Georgian inscriptions. These are one of the oldest historical documents of the Georgian alphabet.

I don't know why these scenes still surprises me: a beautiful country - north, south, east and west.

Just One of those Days...

You know what I mean, when nothing seems to go right...

Water Problems
I came home from the office a few weeks ago and realized that when I had unplugged the fridg to plug in the oven. There is one outlet for everything in the kitchen - oven, coffee maker, fridg. ( we are SO spoiled in other countries)  I forgot to plug my fridg back in, so something had melted all over my floor. (Un) Fortunately I couldn't get my Internet to work on my laptop at the office so I came home to work online for a while today, so it was only unplugged about 4 hours.

More Water Problems
I wouldn't have been so bothered, but just last week I had piled up the dirty dishes in my sink so I could wash them when the water came back on at 6:30am.  But I didn't scrape the plates well enough, so when the water did come back on and before I was awake, the food scraps had plugged up the drain and the drippy (heavy euphemism used here) faucet flooded my sink and the floor.  I am wondering when the downstairs neighbors will be pounding on my door.  And some of you know, my place flooded a few weeks later.

How much Water do I need?
I remembered that I had no clean underwear, so I put everything to soak in soapy water while I was gone today. They I worked late and got home right after the water was turned off until 9pm, so I can't rinse them and hang them in my makeshift clothesline in my 'front hall.'  So I will rinse and hang later.  They probably need a little extra soaking anyways. My landlady, Lali, who is fabulous, did a load for me in her new washer over the weekend, but I figured I should do my own underwear.

And the three shirts I hung outside on the clothesline on my balcony are still wet because it rained while I was at work.  Oh well, they probably need to air out some more anyhow. But how do I keep the bird poop off my clean clothes?  There must be an old wive's tip. Any suggestions? Now I just keep them on the line a few hours, then bring them in to finish drying on the beds.

But I'm home now, listening to Nora Jones, and have some left over recently defrosted food on the counter so I'm set :-)  My bina is warm, the balcony inviting and I have lots of sunlight and the neighborhood here is amazing.  It feels like those neighborhoods in NYC in the 60s - everyone around, caring for one another.  The kids are all playing outside, even 3 year olds. No one worries about them getting kidnapped or hurt.  The kids all take turns playing in the soccer/basketball court.  All ages share and I don't hear anyone ever fighting over space.    The women are sitting out on the bench chatting.  The guys are playing backgammon on the picnic tables.  I know it is going to get REALLY hot here this summer,  but I'm taking it a day at a time.  Happy Spring!

View from my balcony. Those are mountains behind the building.

A Croatian, Pole, Aussie, Greek and US PCV walk into this Spa...

I couldn't help myself with that title.  It really was funny.  I belong to a wonderful organization called Servas.  Servas is an international, non-profit, non-governmental federation of national Servas groups, encompassing an international network of hosts and travelers. The purpose of the network is to help build world peace, goodwill and understanding by providing opportunities for personal contacts among people of different cultures, backgrounds and nationalities. Some would call it a vetted couch surfing club for adults, but it is much more. 

Georgia Regional Servas Meeting
Servas Georgia had a regional meeting with visitors from 12 countries, most of which I still need to visit.  I was able to join them on my weekend off from the Center. It was a great weekend of getting to know one another and hearing more about cultures, travelling and issues in this part of the world. A lovely Ukraine family put on a presentation and musical recital. An Israeli member described how lovely and safe it is there. Russians explained how best to get around in their big country. I was fascinated, but had more to experience by our Saturday night adventure.

One of our Georgian hosts, in her lovely home

And a view from her home

Ukranian presentation

Georgian Sulphur Baths
You European/Asians can stop reading now.  You experience this all the time.  But I sure haven't. I have been wanting to go to the Georgian sulfur baths for the past year, but haven't had the opportunity. These ladies all seemed really cool, so I solicited members to come to the Baths in Old Town Tbilisi with me after our dinner Saturday night. And as I mentioned we had a broad delegation of Eastern Europeans, and Aussie and me thrown in for good measure. Fortunately several women knew the ropes and guided us through the steps of stripping, showering, soaking, and getting scrubbed down.  It was really relaxing and we had a great time.  The only BIG surprise was when our 'scrub down' lady came in and stripped too!  I guess she wanted to make us all feel comfortable, and it actually did.  It was just surprising to see your masseuse walk in naked. 

The baths were first documented in the 1st Century while discussing Roman plumbing

The baths were a tradition that quickly caught on, helped by the city’s historic position at the epicenter of the Old Silk Road. By the 13th century, there were 63 of these domes. 

Here's a before picture, no after pictures allowed.  I feel it safe to say all our visitors had a great time in Georgia, and our Georgian hosts were most delightful - spending countless hours planning, hosting, and coordinating.  

Peace Corp goal #3 is to share Georgian culture with Americans.  Well I am doing that this weekend, with Americans and with lots of other cultures as well. 

Check out more about Servas through this Ted Talk. 

My First Anniversary in Georgia Peace Corps

Hi all,  I made it: one year in Georgia with the Peace Corps and I am celebrating.  It has been a tremendous ride of ups and downs, excitement and frustration, missing home and experiencing new worlds and ideas.

The one common denominator has been the people.  They are same everywhere on earth.  I sat down tonight at a neighbor's house and talked about children's behavior and how difficult it can be. We talked about an accident and how to set a broken arm without paying a doctor.  We talked about blood sugar and how pork affects it (well maybe I didn't follow that one too well). We talked about the holy day yesterday and when church services were. We talked about when my house-grown tomato plants and basil would be big enough to put in the garden. And we talked about how the neighbors say her front window is like a big screen TV - seeing everything that goes on in the settlement.  And we conversed only in Georgian.  Not bad! But it doesn't matter.  We all feel the same things in life and can easily empathize.

Here is my Facebook anniversary quick post, since many of you tell me you don't use facebook (good for you!)

One year anniversary in Peace Corps Georgia What have I learned?

I'm not at strong as I thought
God IS her people, here and everywhere
There are two options in life: Love or Fear
Learn to accept people more, and their inadequacies. We all have them. 

Goal for the next 15 months... Courage and Grace

Now, I want to thank you all for your readership and interest, and your supportive emails back to me.  I reviewed some earlier posts:  boy they were rough.  So thanks for sticking with me as I hammered out the technology and hopefully improved my writing style.

As I begin my second year, I would like to share a few quotes that resonated with me about the Peace Corps. The first is from an article that I think truly catches the spirit of the Peace Corps experience better than I could express,  and the second is an inspiring quote from a young PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) colleague of mine here in Georgia.  It's nice to know young people can still be inspirational.

“While different people join the Peace Corps for different reasons, most Volunteers hope for what we might call the Peace Corps experience. That is, they seek a profound encounter with a foreign culture, a series of experiences that changes forever the way they think about the world, their own country, and themselves. They expect-and very much want-to be challenged, to have their patience and their mettle tested, to be pulled, pushed or otherwise forced into new ways of thinking and behaving. They want, in a word, to grow. And the Peace Corps itself wouldn’t have it any other way; this is, in fact, a large part of its mission and raison d’etre.” 

"I increasingly think it is the primary work of human beings to seek to understand one another as best we can and through understanding empower our better humanities."  Hannah Combe 

Next week my blog is entitled, "A Pole, Croatian, Aussie, Greek and PCV walk into a spa..." so stay tuned.  I'm starting to enjoy this writing and really getting to LOVE my time in Georgia!

My Birthday in Koda

A few toasts and songs at my party

Birthdays get pretty boring over time.  Some people don't want to celebrate them, except the big ones, then after a while you don't want to celebrate the big ones either. So they are usually pretty quiet.  Georgia is different!  What a wonderful weekend of events. A party, gifts, congratulations all over the place!  Here are the highlights:


My 'landlady' Lali helped me set up a wonderful supra (feast) for about 16 people on my birthday, in my apartment.  She brought over plates, silverware, cups, juice, a big birthday cake, rice and fennel blintzes, chicken/cabbage salad, eggplant with walnut sauce, and lobiani (bean in bread).  Nunu made khachapuri (cheese bread) Nana made Ossetian khachapuri - with beet greens.

My lasagna turned out pretty well

I made lasagna, well sort of.  We don't have much of a variety in the village, so I couldn't get ground beef or the proper cheese.  But it tasted fine, and everyone loved trying "Kim's pizza".  The only time they use tomato sauce is on their pizza,  so...

My neighbor Nunu's khachapuri for my birthday feast.

Peace Corps colleagues brought wine, fruit and veggies that I was dying for too.  I know I'm forgetting things, but it was a great evening of eating, drinking, and some singing thrown in.

Orthodox Easter in Georgia

I have two things I wish I could bring back to the US. 
 The first are these darn marshutkas. Instead of those big 43 passenger buses driving all over, many times less than half full, why not just use these little 15 passenger vans - people can easily pop on and off with the way they are designed.  It is more economical and easier on the road.

The second thing I would bring home with me (and I probably will personally) is the special attitude toward Easter.  Although we know that Easter is supposed to be the most important holy day for Christians,  we still put so much emphasis on Christmas.  Here it is Easter and New Years.  So let me tell you what we did in Georgia.

Orthodox Easter combines all our holidays
Easter is a combination of Thanksgiving with family, All Souls Day where we honor our dead with trips to the graveyards, a little Christmas with presents for the kids,... and oh yes...  can't forget to throw in Halloween!

Wednesday night was the last work/school day of the week.  So the tradition is... they have these huge bonfires where the kids all jump through them.  Oh my!  Yep.  Supposedly the Church has tried to discourage them, but to no avail.  My settlement had several HUGE bonfires. Since I was in for the night, I didn't venture out to check them any closer than my balcony,  but they were sure all having fun.


Thursday the Patriarch  washed the feet of some parishioners,  just as we do for Holy Thursday service in the evening.  They do it in the morning.  The evening also has a service that many attend.

Friday, of course is the most solemn day, with 2pm service, and a big one in Tbilisi that the Patriarch presides over.

Saturday is a quiet day, traditionally. I travelled over to visit a friend who wanted me to meet her family.  What a lovely visit. Then I had a nice tour of Gori, which is Joseph Stalin’s hometown (of dubious distinction) . 

Natia at Gori castle

Kim in Gori

 Then we had an extra special keipe - that means dinner party. Multi course with wonderful food and real wine glasses.  This is the first time I could enjoy wine in the proper glass. Riedel, the Austrian wine glass maker that has the perfect glass form for each wine,  would be proud.  It was a special time meeting new friends.  And speaking of Germans,  the IDP settlement I visited was built by Germans after the 2008 war with Russia.  And it was built well!  Everyone here says "the Germans built it, that's why."  

Dinner with Natia's family and Russelli

Verbvebis cottages

They warned us of one more event to expect on Saturday.  The children go around with baskets and sing a song outside your door after dinner.  Then you have to give them each a red egg. I was visiting a Peace Corps friend at his Bina, so we weren't expecting kids to come to the apartments but they did... No eggs though, chocolate had to do. And the questions they ask us...

Why are the eggs red - Christ's passion.  
Why eggs -  to show the new birth,  
Why no Easter bunny -  why should there be?  
Why our multi-colored eggs - good question!

Easter Sunday

 Sunday church starts at 11:30pm Saturday evening and goes to the early morning.  After we started out with a visit to the local cemetery to honor my host father's dad and celebrate Easter with him.  It was a beautiful grave site, well cared for of course.  And of course other relatives had plots there as well. We made a cross in the ground with our glass of wine, and then finished drinking our toast and left red eggs on the grave site.  Then we went to the next one.  Yes it can be a long day, but we always have a designated driver in my host family here.  They are very responsible, which I hope would be the rule in Georgia, but , like America, there are always problematic exceptions.

Chemi Bugadze ojaki

It was so cold and rainy, I drank and ate the khachapuri, fish, these great  meat blintzes, tomatoes, boiled chicken served cold,  red hard boiled eggs (of course), bean and fennel salad, cheese from the grandmother's cow, (they prepare it especially for me, with just a little salt in it) cucumbers, padrojani (eggplant specialty) that I helped make, and puri (local bread that is so good) and cake.  Each grave site has a solid metal table and benches for the supra. I ate a lot to keep warm,  what a mistake!  Next we came home and ate some more in the warm house.  You see my mistake now, right?, just wait.

Next we went to the sopeli (village) to a grave of a dear young girl that died of a heart attack, in her early 20s. It hit everyone so hard.  It has been two years now, but the emotions were still running high.  We drove to the village, maybe about five km on this small dirt road - we would call it a 4-wheel drive in the US - and arrived at the grandfathers old home. It is closed now, and they open it for occasions and enjoy the cooler weather and river in the hot summer.  The place has three rooms, six beds, a pesche for heat, no water and an outhouse.  What more do you need?

We hiked up about 150 yards to the graveyard on the side of the mountain.  A tiny place with about maybe 30-40 graves at the most.  I have been there before and blogged about it.  Imagine my surprise when I saw ( I counted) over 250 people there, each with their own table full of food and wine.  People would visit and share stories, just like they do at a wake or wedding.   It is a joyous day, where we celebrate Easter with our departed. I would add that we should celebrate their being with our risen Christ, yes? ...And three hours later,.. everyone re-gathered at the house for more food, to speak, practice their English, visiting.

 On the way home we stopped at another family member who had out of town visitors.  Finally I learned, you can sit and just eat a tiny bit and still be friendly. Then we headed for home and welcomed sleep.

Monday we visited the graves on the other side of the family, at another sopeli. I now know most of the family now. Here is a picture of one side of the family.  This grandmother lives in a nice village house with a nice flower garden, a big vegetable garden, cow, and huge Georgian dog.

 Such a cold day we drank and ate little at the grave site and then back to the house for another supra.  So you can see the problem here - this was akin to three thanksgiving dinners in two days! Plus Saturday which was just Georgian hospitality. 

Early Tuesday I hopped an early am marsh back to Koda for another week of work. Exciting new projects and classes.  But I will not forget this wonderful family experience and nor lose my appreciation for the kindness and love of my 'cartveli family.'

Catholic Easter in the Country of Georgia

H A P P Y  E A S T E R

Best wishes for a wonderful Easter filled  with sweet friends and the joy of spring.

Kimi

It is lucky I was assigned so close to the Georgian capitol of Tbilisi so I can attend one of the three Catholic churches in Georgia - two of which are in Tbilisi. Mass attendees see a melting pot far more than in the States (although our Raleigh churches are pretty diverse as well)  Georgians are  95+% Orthodox since, I think, it is part of their national identity. They are very open and interested in the Roman Catholic church, and they also welcome me to their church which I enjoy very much.

The one comical incidence was when I joined some Georgian friends in their journey to a wonderful little village of their ancestors.  It housed maybe 20 families at the most.  One neighbor came to greet us upon our arrival to the house.  She had I think 6 kids with her.  My friend bent over and carefully whispered in my ear "catolici."  :-)

A little history on the church I attend in Tbilisi....

  Saint Peter and Paul Catholic church was built in 1870 with the order of Konstantine Zubalashvili, the lead of the Roman catholic parish and supporter. Many of the Catholic churches in Georgia were decommissioned - I guess that is the word - under the Soviet times.  After the Soviet times, they were given to the Georgian Church.  But this one survived.  Pope John Paul II visited Georgia in 1999 and performed Mass here.  They want to erect a statue of him and are collecting funds for it.  I am not a fan of spending money like this and prefer they put up a plaque and use the money to exemplify what we believe is one role of the Church - to care for one another. 

 The Orthodox church does not have many initiatives to care for the poor as we do in the states. The current Patriarch was here in '92 when the Soviets fell. I think his main goal was to re-establish their national faith community. And he has done a wonderful job of that.   

Here is the church on Easter Sunday. Felt funny to take a picture, but... Lovely church

Easter was a lovely affair at our church.  We had a pot luck afterward, organized by a lovely couple from Britain that have been here for the better part of 15 years, and always supporting the church.

We had mostly Indian, African and Sri Lankan food. It was great. Coffee, tea and a tasty sweet pudding.  I love that we can meet people from all over the world on Sundays... visitors, medical students, international travelers, Georgians,  It was a blessed Easter.  And the regulars are Irish, British, Austrian, African, and other nationalities as mentioned above.  

Later we celebrated Easter dinner at a local American restaurant in Tbilisi, owned by a US Air Force retiree who moved here.  She found and serves the best bacon in the country.  

A few fellow Catholic ex-pats celebrating Easter

Easter decorations are so interesting.  Everyone grows little wheat gardens before Easter,
 so they are nice and high as you can see here.  Then they put in their traditional RED Easter eggs.

The other Catholic Church in Tbilisi is the Catholic Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, built in 1804. Long is the history before the church was even built.  It started with the XIII century when a mission of Catholics started their activities in Georgia. They have a lovely church, but no English Mass. I have yet to figure out about all the pictures on the sides of the aisles.  As you can see they are not the regular Stations of the Cross.

This coming week is Orthodox Easter. It began on Palm Sunday ( our Easter) and continues.  National holiday starts Thursday through Monday.  And Easter Monday is NOT because it is the start of baseball season!  I feel privileged to be invited to several homes to celebrate over the holiday.  ... to be continued.