Hello Faithful Readers:
Blog: August 26, 2015
16
Months Served - 11 Months to Completion
I wanted to follow-up with a couple of items from my
South East Asia trip. The reason I remembered is because of corn. Now, I love
corn and especially corn-on-the-cob. I remember last year here in Georgia I
thought the corn was “to-die” for; however, I realize now (this summer) that
the corn is OK. It is said here in Georgia that the corn is mostly fed to the
pigs; so, I think that I thought it was so good was because I was so hungry
(and the corn is very filling). In any event, as I was on tour at the Cu Chi
Tunnels (Saigon) they had a grill set up and corn-on-the cob was the main
attraction. Ah, I got in line and bought an ear; however, afterward I realized
that (due to the currency exchange) I didn’t realize it at the time but I paid
$7.00 US for an ear of corn. I still cannot believe it and the corn was not
really that good.
Also, as we were traveling the roads in both Vietnam
and Cambodia I noticed that a plastic contraption was set up to catch crickets.
You can see from the picture below how the system is set up. Many setups also
included a light so that at night the crickets would fly into the light and
then hit the plastic and then fall into the plastic tray at the bottom. A lot of crickets are eaten in Vietnam and
Cambodia, as well as Tranchulas and other creepy bugs.
Ok, back to Georgia. Recently I was sitting on the
porch and noticed that the truck that usually delivers the wood was coming up
the road. When he stopped one of our neighbors came out and looked inside the
truck and was pointing at something, it was a chicken. Wow, it was the first
time I had seen food being delivered and live food at that. As she was pointing
one of the chickens jumped out of the truck and started to run for its life.
The man ran after the chicken and that is the end of the story for that
chicken. A total of three chickens were given to our neighbor. They are handled
over upside down and the man was holding the chickens by their feet.
Listed below is the link for my newest published
article in OpEdNews.com. Hope you Enjoy!
Yerevan,
Armenia was a wonderful trip. The drive from
Tbilisi to Yerevan was eleven hours; however, during that time we visited three
monasteries, crossed the border, had lunch at an outdoor restaurant and also
stopped for Armenia pastries among other stops for pictures and just to stretch
our legs.
Before I go into more detail, I want to say how sad
I was to learn that Mount Ararat is no longer in Armenia. You can see this
historic mountain from Yerevan; but, it now belongs to Turkey (the border was
moved during one of the wars.) I was so
disappointed to learn this. The majesty of this mountain and to think that this
was the place that Noah landed his Ark (or so the legend goes).
I’ve copied below a link that shows Mount
Ararat with its two major cones, Lesser Ararat (left) and Greater Ararat
(right) – see link below. I didn’t realize that Mount Ararat had two peaks. (I
really need to take some geography lessons) - J
The monasteries we visited were Akhtala, Haghpat and
Sanahin (links below if you want to know more). All are centuries old and all
are in Armenia; however, once you see one (my opinion) you have seen them all.
The architecture is basically the same and they are all crumbling down with age
and lack of upkeep. By the 3rd Monastery I had enough and decided to
sit it out and just watch the mountains in the distance. To me that was pure
enjoyment. We had a lunch outside under a tarp that was basically a traditional
Georgian meal even though we were in Armenia. I wondered to myself since I
cannot bring myself to visit the churches and monasteries here in Georgia why I
signed up for a tour to view the same in Armenia; well, maybe I thought it
would be different – but not really.
I did get to see the landscape as we were traveling
the back roads where the churches were. I cannot begin to tell you how awe
struck I was at the terrain. At times I felt that I was on the moon. The areas
were so bleak and often times we didn’t even see a pole with wires on it. No
vegetation was evident. It was just devoid of anything living (or so it
seemed). Another section we went through was sort of like going through a
gorge. The mountains on either side of us reminded me of Moses crossing after
he parted the sea. The walls were so high; it was just breath taking. If for no
other reason than to see all this I am so glad I spent the time driving with
the tour. The road taken to come back to Tbilisi was not the least bit
interesting – so, I felt very fortunate to have seen the moon!
The highlight of the travel was first the crossing
of the border from Georgia to Armenia. This is one of my favorite things. I
love being in “no man’s land” the piece of land that neither county claims. Of
course, it was a frantic mess of people and cars trying to get across. We had
to leave the van and take our luggage with us to go through passport control. I
didn’t need a visa; so, that was good. There didn’t seem to have any
organization at the border so it took about 90 minutes or so to get cleared and
then I got to walk through “no man’s land.”
It was very cool. We also stopped at a traditional Armenia bakery which
was such a treat. The pastries were excellent and we got to watch baking the
bread and pastries as well as enjoy traditional Armenia music and dancers
within the bakery. No one wanted to leave; but, we did. It was just
extra-ordinary. Not all Armenia bakeries are like this (our guide said) and I
was disappointed that this kind of bakery does not exist in Yerevan.
Yerevan itself was a very sophisticated,
cosmopolitan city. It was very sleek and can draw rings around Tbilisi. The
city had lots of great restaurants, shops, outdoor gathering places and just an
overall common space that was filled with people. It did, at a point, feel a
little fabricated – almost Disney-esq; but I would go back and visit once
again. The only drawback was the time it took to travel. Coming back to Tbilisi
it was a little more than five hours. They do have a train but you need to
travel overnight. It is an option for another time.
I met lots of GREAT people at the hostel and we had
lots of conversation as well as company to explore around with. Of course, we
are all connected now on Facebook so I hope we all stay in touch. Yerevan had
two Brandy factories that due to scheduling I was not able to get to; but, we
did have some Armenia Brandy at an outdoor café.
In my travels within the city, I found a bookstore
that had many shelves of English Books. I was in heaven as I have been feeling that
I was in withdrawal since I’ve not been in a library or bookstore for some time
now. I also got to see the Blue Mosque in Yerevan which was a treat and across
the street was the central market of the city. I really enjoyed myself even
though it was so hot (45C).
Of course I always seem to find an anomaly in my behavior and that is; as I
was avoiding visiting churches and monasteries in both Georgia and Armenia I
had much desire to visit any Mosque I discovered in any country I was visiting.
I’ve listed the links for the beautiful Mosques I found in both Yerevan and
Tbilisi (Maybe I should do an article about this J
As I sit here writing my blog it is raining cats and
dogs. For the past three days it has been raining off and on and the weather
(thank goodness) has turned somewhat cooler. I have needed to wear my zip up
sweatshirt and it has felt wonderful. I know that this weather will be short
lived and the heat will come back; however, I am enjoying (along with everyone
else) a break from the intense heat we have experienced here in Georgia.
I am trying to travel as much as I can before school
starts on September 14th; so I took a weekend recently and spent the
entire three days in Tbilisi. Of course I have spent many days in Tbilisi; but
this time it was all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I stayed at the Envoy
Hostel (in the Old City) as it is one of the best. Other than sleeping six or
eight in a room (good grief) it does not feel like a hostel.
I explored many aspects of Tbilisi that I had not
had a chance to see previously. The first stop being the funicular railway that
travels to the top of a mountain in Tbilisi. The 2-minute ride deposits you at
an amusement park at the top. The ferris wheel and tower can be seen from just
about everywhere in the city. I am not much for amusement parks; however, the
view from up on the mountain was spectacular. The link gives you views of old
funicular and what the current setup looks like.
Next on the list was a trip to one of the thirty
Dunkin Donuts that are opened now across Georgia. The donuts are just so-so;
hopefully, with time they will get better but the coffee is OK. The Georgian
people just love it as you can see by the picture in the link that multitudes
are waiting for the store to open.
Next was the arial-tramway. This was very cool to see the city, once
again, from up high. At the top was a very large status of Mother Georgia
(Kartvlis Deda). Of course, lots of vendors to buy ice cream and the like; but,
not much else to do except look at the view. It was a smooth ride back and
forth; but, trams are just not my thing. Glad I did it J
I had a three hour lunch with a friend that I’ve not
seen in months at the Terrace Restaurant. Once again, the view was spectacular.
Walking tours are the way to go for me. I spent lots
of time connecting with folks who were leading tours of various parts of
Tbilisi. I just love this aspect of travel. It is cheap and you get to see so
much and meet great people along the way. I also spent lots of time discovering
many of the bus routes in Tbilisi. I like to ride the marshes and autobuses
just to see where they will go. It is once again a very inexpensive way to see
the city.
I discovered the Dry Bridge (named as it is a bridge
that does not go over water). It is like a flea market area with lots of
vendors to see just about everything. I figured out a bus route to take me from
the Peace Corps Office to the Old City which will come in handy as winter
approaches. No need to walk or take the metro. I just need to hop on the Marsh
#140 and away I go.
I found a Chinese Restaurant in Tbilisi and it does
not rise to the standards of Philadelphia; none-the-less, it was a welcomed
change to Schwarma. All in all I walked my feet off and so totally enjoyed myself.
I even found a waterfall in Tbilisi. Oh, the places I will go
In my upcoming blogs I will be talking about two
great events that I will be participating in. The first is my participation in
a summer camp in Kobaleti (which is very near Batumi on the Black Sea. This
camp is “Young Feminists Camp” for girls 14-17 years of age. I’ve listed the
link below.
I will be teaching English and inter-acting with the
girls for the entire camp. The camp will run from (September 1st-6th).
I am very excited about my participation as well as finally getting to see the
west coast of Georgia. All my expenses will be paid; so, that is also a plus.
Of course I will provide more information about my experience in mid-September
when I return.
http://youngfeministscamp.weebly.com/?fb_action_ids=1016962248313792&fb_action_types=weeblyapp:share
Here are a couple of final happenings here in
Georgia and Sagarejo to share with you. The results were just posted so that
the children know if they passed exams and were accepted into the University of
their choice. My host sister was accepted into her first choice; that is, The
Black Sea University which is here in Tbilisi. Everyone was jumping up and down
and all were gathered around the computer to see the results. It was a very
joyous day. The next is that my grant was approved for the school I teach in.
It was a lot of hard work (almost two months worth) to write the grant as well
as work with the teachers to determine what they wanted to buy for the English
Cabinet. I am very proud to have done that. We will buy projector, books, maps,
DVD/CD’s, security bars for the windows of the English Cabinet, a digital
camera and lots of other stuff to help the room being technology proficient.
More about this also as time goes forward.
The only negative about this is that the money will
go into my personal account. The grant is for over 4,000GEL (almost $2,000US) –
so it will be a lot to manage. I would have wanted the money to go to the
school; but, not to be.
Ok, so many wonderful things are happening (as
always) and I thank you for taking the time to ride along with me on this crazy
rollercoaster…..
All
the Best, Catherine Lawrence, G14
Peace CorpsVolunteer/Georgia – August 26, 2015
The
contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of
the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.
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