Things Better Left Behind

გამარჯობა მეგობარები!

Hello friends!

I hope you are all getting into the holiday spirit wherever you are!  We’re in the single-digits in the “Countdown until Kelsey comes home!”  As the days are winding down I’ve been thinking a lot about my time here and what I’m going to miss the most and what I’m happily leaving behind here in Georgia.  I know a lot of you will have questions for when I get back about these same things, but here’s just a brief smattering of the things associated with Georgia that I’ll happily leave here:

The lack of recycling and the plethora of trash everywhere: Georgians are super proud of how beautiful they think their country is and one guy on the marshrutka ride to Kazbegi even said, “Georgia is a gift from God himself” but why do they think throwing trash and litter wherever they want is adding to the beauty?  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve looked out the window of a marshurtka and seen piles of trash everywhere.  And the thought of recycling something? That doesn’t even exist here yet.  In the coming future I hope that they’ll become more conscious of how they dispose of their trash.

Lack of exercise: again something that just doesn’t really exist in Georgia is exercise.  I know a few other volunteers who have attempted to go running in their villages only to have neighbors yell at them to come inside and sit down, to have cars stop to try and pick them up and to have the stray dogs running along right behind them.  I’ll be glad to get back into some sort of running routine when I get back; I’ve missed it very dearly.

Bathrooms that smell bad:  Plumbing is still being figured out over here so a lot of the time the bathrooms smell horrendous (Most of the time toilet paper has to be placed in a small trashcan nearby instead of being flushed, which is a huge contributor to the smell).  Not to mention the occasional Turkish toilet one might have to use in a desperate situation.  I’ve been (very) lucky to have a lovely fully-functioning Western bathroom here with the family, but elsewhere in Georgia is a different story. 

Being guilted to eat food placed in front of me:  Nothing seems to make Tamila happier than seeing me eating all the food she has so graciously prepared for me, however since I don’t have an endless pit for a stomach I eventually become full.  But a full stomach isn't a good excuse for a Georgian woman (neither is, “I literally ate 10 minutes ago” or “I’ve already had five cookies” or “I’m literally not hungry.”)

Here’s an example of a conversation Tamila and I have had all too often:

Tamila sets a plate in front of me and lays out a huge plate of khachapuri or other various Georgian delicacies. 

Tamila: “Eat please khachapuri Kelsey eat!”

Kelsey: “Ohhhh, I’m not hungry.”

Tamila: “Ratom?! You love khachapuri!” (Why? In Georgian)

Kelsey: “Yeah, but I don’t want it now.”

Tamila (resorting to Georgian): “chame, Kelsey, chame!” (Eat, Kelsey, eat! in Georgian)

Kelsey (resorting to Georgian as well): “ar minda akhla” (I don’t want now)

Tamila:  “It is veryyyyy tasty!” while moving the plate more towards me.

Kelsey: muttering unintelligible words/noises since I have no idea what else to say in Georgian or English that she’ll just understand that I don’t want it now.  I've also tried to gesture and charade with my hands, but to no avail (other than probably looking hysterical).

Tamila (in a last ditch effort and not taking to the charades): “But I make just for you!”

Damn it.  She pulls at the dreaded “I make just for you” which gets me every. single. time.  How can I say no when she's put love and valuable time into making the dish? We spend several seconds staring each other down before I finally give in and grab a piece of khachapuri.  Needless to say, I'll be happy to get back into my own schedule of eating what and when I want to.

Being questioned by every female if I want a Georgian husband:  Like any other celebrity who decides to spend four months in a small rural village, my love life is a huge topic of discussion here.  Every Georgian woman I’ve met is very interested to know if I am married or not.  I’m not kidding, it’s like one of the first questions I get asked by new people.  “Are you married?”  “No?! Do you have a boyfriend?”  Basically an unmarried 22 year old woman is a little atypical in the villages where some people get married when they are 16 (or younger I’ve heard…).  While I tell them that I have a boyfriend (Hi Nick!), they are quick (too quick really) to suggest whether I want a Georgian boyfriend.  “Oh, nice Georgian boy, shen ginda? (you want?)”  Um, didn’t I just tell you have a boyfriend, even his name and even what he does for a living? Sometimes they are pretty persistent and only back off when Tamila/Nino/Margo interject and reinforce that I really don’t want/need another boyfriend.  I know a few married English teachers (where their spouses are back in the U.S.) and they’ve been asked before if they want a Georgian husband/wife in addition to the one they have at home!  Crazy right?!  It’s just been more of an annoying thing to address after about the 3rd time it happened.

Being terrified of dogs: During orientation they kinda freaked us all out when they told us to avoid the stray dogs that roam around this country since there is a huge chance they could have rabies and if they bite you….well, there goes 6 months of not drinking alcohol after a rabies shot.  This has prevented me from attempted to run around the village (scared of dogs following me) and makes the walk to and from school more stressful if there are the usual 5-6 stray dogs on the road.  I haven’t had any troubles with dogs (like having to throw rocks at them to get them to scat), but I’ll be glad to return to the idea that not every dog I see could have rabies.  (And I just want to cuddle with my dog Toby let’s be honest.)

The non-morning person side of Luka:  There are many sides to my 12 year old host brother and the one that I’m happy to get away from is the non-morning person Luka who has the same argument with Tamila each morning about not wanting to eat breakfast, about not wanting to put on pants just yet (he’d rather stand by the fire for just a little bit longer!), still makes Tamila pick out his clothes each day and somehow persuades her to tie his shoes.  Every day I’ve seen this nonsense.  Now maybe it comes down to different cultures ideas of how to raise children or maybe Luka is just a spoiled brat.  Regardless it's been interesting to compare how Luka is being raised and how my sister and I were raised but honestly this stuff I see every day at breakfast drives me crazy.  So while I’m sure it will continue to happen long after I leave, but I’m gladly leaving it behind.

There are probably a slew of other things I’m happy to be leaving, but right now I’m trying to focus on and cherish all that I am going to miss when I leave the village next Friday to begin the long journey home.  I’m hoping to start a little post for you all in the next few days about some of the things I’m going to miss dearly when I leave.  In the meantime, I’m going to go sit by the fire and enjoy the fact that it’s finally snowing here!

kargad,

Kelsey