Blog, August 10^th, 2014

Hello, My Faithful Readers! (Photographs (2) at the bottom :-)

It has been a little while since I last wrote and here it is almost the middle of August! I’ve not been here in Sagarejo a month and yet I feel very much at home. I do get a little squirrely at times thinking of the amount of time I will spend here, but those feelings pass and I am fine.

My host family is a treasure. I just love the fact that these people don’t scream at each other as was the case in Osiauri. Interesting is the fact that I am now living with teenagers, two of them. My host sister, Lana is 17 and my host brother, Otto, is 14. I have really forgotten how “into” music teenagers are. I did have a host sister (14) in Osiarui; however, I was home so little (as a result of PST) that it didn’t impact me as much (I guess). They have the music TV channel on at times and if we are eating they turn the volume up so loud that they can hear in the kitchen. No one seems to mind, but since I’ve lived alone for so long, it is very different for me. Overall, my host family does like it quiet and I am THRILLED about that.  Very peaceful and that is just fine with me. I just love that we can all sit on the porch and talk or not talk, depending on whatever. We can watch the garden, or the chickens running around looking for food and water. I am just over the moon with this. It reminds me of when my granddaughter and I would go to Boat House row and sit on the benches and watch the ants.  Chickens, as well as ants, are very aligned to meditative practice J.

So, let me tell you what has been happening. I’ve been laying low, so to speak, recovering from my fall. All is well and I am doing fine but the bruises and black and blue (now turning yellow and orange) have appeared. Although it looks bad, I am so THANKFUL that nothing was broken or seriously hurt. Advil is a miracle drug as far as I am concerned, I’ve had a terrific rest and I am thankful for it. I’ve NOT been up or down the mountain in more than a few days. Need to get that going again. I actually miss it! (go figure)! – HA

Every year my host family makes a journey to the family home of my host mother’s family and this year they invited me to go with them. (As an aside, it seems here in Georgia that when the girl marries she goes to live with the family of her husband). I will explore this topic at a later time, but for now I want to talk about the trip.  I needed all kinds of permission from the Peace Corps and was able to obtain it. The reason for the permissions is so that the PC will know where I am and how to reach me in the event that some event would require the “GO” bag and my needing to leave the country.  We drove to “Tarjola Village” which is in the “Imereti” region of Georgia (near Kutaisi). It is about a straight four hour drive from Sagarejo, however, we stopped many times for items to take with us. We traveled about six hours (plus) to get there.

A few interesting items about driving in Georgia. First, there are no toll roads like there are in the states. Also, there are no bridges (to speak of). They have little bridge overpasses (maybe 10 seconds to get across), but not the size and scope that I am used to in America. There are rivers and streams, but they are very narrow and lots of the waterways seem dried up or on the way to be dried up. Maybe once winter and the snow comes the waterways will be more abundant, especially since there are so many mountains all around everywhere in Georgia and all that runoff water needs to go someplace.  There are many footbridges that I’ve seen. Most are made of rope and wood and seem to sway with the breeze. I’ve not walked across one yet, but I bet that is going to be a thrill! I also realized that no boats or ships travel on these rivers (or at least I’ve not seen any). I will need to explore this further also.

Also, when you stop to get gas EVERYONE (including the driver) needs to get out of the car and stand about 30 feet from where they pump the gas. The trunk has to be open in order to take on gas. Cannot figure this out; as, if there was a problem we would all be impacted whether we were in the car of not. Many, many people smoke while all this is going on even though there are BIG signs about not smoking.  I think it makes it way more dangerous with so many people out of the car standing and walking around while the car is being serviced. Georgian drivers are not very patient and courteous people and its more about “me” watching out for them rather than the other way around. Maybe there is no liability here; however, I am always struck at what I call a “risk management” nightmare.

One more interesting item is the police stations that were stationed at various points on the highway. All the police stations are ALMOST made of glass. I’ve been told that this was to make people see the “transparency” of police work in Georgia. I was told that as the older stations are being phased out the new ones need to be made of glass. I didn’t count them as we drive cross country, but there were many. One thing I didn’t see was fire stations. Maybe along the highway the fire stations are not needed and they are placed within the populated areas. That would make sense. I did see many car washing places. Not drive through, like in the states, but a couple of stalls with people manually washing cars.

I’ve only seen one “super highway” and that is located as you are coming into Tbilisi. The remainder of the roads you travel cross country are just two lane highways. All driving in Georgia, my opinion, is like Russian roulette as it usually ends up with four cars (two cars in each direction) on a two lane highway. People are passing each other and it becomes especially exciting when cars are coming right at you and you need to find space to get back into your lane on the highway. I just try not to look. All of this reminds me of traveling in India; but, Georgia does not have as many cars at India…so, I guess that is a good thing.

Ok, back to the trip. I had no idea what I was walking into and soon discovered that we were going to a “REAL” farm. My host mothers’ family are just as warm and welcoming as she is. Although we could not communicate verbally (due to the language), there was absolutely no problem communicating.  Of course, there are chickens and lots of turkeys; cows, dogs, cats and horses on the farm. There are fields and fields of corn and grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and I am sure lots of other stuff.  The trees are filled with apples, pears and other fruit that I have no name for. Unlike Sagarejo, this was more a farm than a garden.  The temperature was awful. They said it was 45 Celsius which is way over 100F. Wow, no AC and no fans (although the family did dig a fan out for me to use overnight). What a luxury, as the windows are so old that they don’t want to open them. 

I wanted to connect with some other PC folks that I heard where in the general area; however, if my life depended on it I could never find my way out of where I was. We did so many twists and turns going into the village – I am sure doable with practice but not immediate for me. We were in a valley so I could see lots of mountains in the distance and not much else. Very few houses in the village however one of the brother’s lives behind that parent’s house and that is where I stayed.

The homes have indoor water; however, the toilets are outside (out houses). One toilet even had a light in it (Ah, luxury). I was praying that I didn’t need to use the facilities during the night as the family has this dog that looked more like a wolf than a dog. I was not allowed to walk the grounds without having someone with me as the dog didn’t know me. I can tell you I was afraid of this dog/wolf. The family has an indoor shower; however, the drain was a hole in the floor that you could see drains water to the outside (under the house). I always wonder what happens in the winter. Lots of hot water; however, the water pressure was minimal at best. It did the job and I was able, due to the heat, to take two showers in the four days I was there.  I am really beginning to see how I MUST focus on what I have and not spent much time (if any) on what I don’t have here in Georgia. I think life will be much better with this mindset.

There was lots of visiting with family (who seemed to come from everywhere). Also lots of neighbors came as there were many parties (supra’s) to celebrate some birthdays and my host mother coming home to visit. At one party there must have been forty people at a table that accommodated that many (and more). I think they had to borrow it or rent it. Food, Food, Food and alcohol, like wine, piva (beer) and cha-cha were flowing. The men make toasts over and over to acknowledge people living and dead. Also, they toast the country of Georgia over and over again. The women mostly work to prepare and serve the food and only when it seems that the table is sufficiently supplied with food and drink do the women sit down and eat. At that point it seemed that the women didn’t really want to eat, they were just happy to sit down. Almost forgot dessert….watermelon, cantaloupe, candy and of course cake (homemade). Just when you thought the meal was over more food was brought to the table. The Georgian people like to continuously give you a clean plate even if the plate does not have any leftover food on it. I am struck with how late the Georgian people eat. Starting dinner at 9:30pm is not unusual. This is a problem for me, as it is hard to sleep after so much food. I will talk more about this as it is cultural across the homes at least I’ve been in so far.

After the food the music started. I was so tired and hot that I made my exit. I was also a bit uneasy about all the drinking. At times I think it must be a race to see how much can be consumed and how fast the glass gets refilled.  Being the outsider, there is always a lot of interest in me and I was concerned about being a dance partner. The music went on until 3am and I was told that the cleanup crew (the women) didn’t get to sleep until 5am. 

I had lots of time during this period to just sit and watch the comings and goings of the farm. I love watching the chickens. I never noticed before that when chickens walk they stick their heads out. However, when they run their heads just stay in one place and don’t move like it does when they walk. Now, this is very interesting to me J.  I wondered why they just don’t run away as nothing is holding them on the farm; however, no chicken was AWOL. The turkeys are much different to watch. They don’t run as much and they stay together with their own kind. There is one turkey being groomed for dinner at some point (not yet ready).

Ah, so much time to just reflect and watch. I am so used to “doing” that at first all this is uncomfortable for me; but, I muddle through and actually enjoy watching the day unfold in some many different ways.

I wondered how people deal with the heat in Tarjola and I found out that there is a river close by. We walked one late afternoon (about 15 minutes) from where I was staying. Many people who live on or near the farm were already there and in the river enjoying the cool water. Its only about 4 feet deep and fresh river water is continuously running into the area everyone was swimming in. Large rocks allowed the kids to jump and dive in and it was great to watch people, young and old, just sitting in the water. Some people had all their cloths on and others had (what looked like to me) just their underwear. No one seemed to be noticing as too much fun was being had. I did put my feet it, and watched as car load after car load of people (with lots of kids in the back seat) came across the HUGH field to get to the river. No one wanted to leave, but the sun was setting and I for one would not want to walk the road home in the dark.  Of course, no overhead lights and most people use their phones as flashlights. However, most are so used to the terrain that it is not an issue for them.

One more item of interest is the blood pressure kit. I’ve been told that every household in Georgia has a BP kit with stethoscope. I did see this set up here in Sagarejo and also while we were in Tarjola. While we were all sitting under the tree in the late afternoon (Tarjola) someone brought out the BP kit. My host mom seemed to be the designated doctor and was taking BP readings. I was impressed and have no idea what the results were; but, this practice was done a few times while I was in Tarjola. I guess this make sense as I am just stunned at the amount of sugar and salt that is consumed in the Georgian diet. They look at me and shake their heads that I don’t use much, if any, sugar and no salt.  There is enough of both included in the cooking to give pause.

The drive home from Tarjola was interesting as we had four LIVE chickens in the back of the car. I initially though they were dead, but they were alive as you and me (smiles). They tie the feet of the chickens and lay them down. The chickens do cluck now and then, but thankfully, they could not stand up. All I thought about watching them go into the car was that I was going to have a chicken on my lap on the ride home. We had to stop a couple of times to check on them, but they arrived safe and sound and placed into the existing chicken coop here in Sagarejo. I guess this will provide more eggs for the family.

My family here in Sagarejo has started to get ready for winter. More about that as time goes forward. So much to share, but I will leave that also for the next go round. I have posted two photographs. The first is the view from my window. You can see “my mountain”.  I really feel that I can reach out and touch it. The second photo is of the garden on the 1^st floor of the house (also includes the porch and my host mother, MtVarisa).  I hope you enjoy. I will post more as I feel that I am getting better at the photographs J

All the best, My Faithful Readers.

Catherine Lawrence, G14 –  8/10/14

Peace Corps Volunteer – Republic of Georgia

The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.