Sunday, August 12, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Lower Part of My Right Eye Keeps Twitching
I'll happily have a conversation about Libertarianism upon arrival in the US in a week with anyone who really wants to know what I was told, but not to take these comments as my own beliefs so they can argue with me... I am only relaying information.
I've been staying in the village the last few nights, trading around beds with different cousins. Today was spent peacefully reading an American book that I found at the American corner in the Batumi Public Library, interrupted by occasional conversations, meals, mosquito bites, and finally a ride into the city for suntanning by the beach. I chose to come home for a quick internet, as I spent yesterday evening by the beach as well, trying desperately not to get tan. Or pink.
I've been staying in the village the last few nights, trading around beds with different cousins. Today was spent peacefully reading an American book that I found at the American corner in the Batumi Public Library, interrupted by occasional conversations, meals, mosquito bites, and finally a ride into the city for suntanning by the beach. I chose to come home for a quick internet, as I spent yesterday evening by the beach as well, trying desperately not to get tan. Or pink.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Back in Batumi
There are too many things to explain about the Lessons of Liberty Camp, and it's too hot in Batumi for me to figure out which main points to share. Sorry.
I met a Peace Corps volunteer. It was good to talk to someone with a similar background having similar experiences.
I need to go back downstairs where there's AC.
I met a Peace Corps volunteer. It was good to talk to someone with a similar background having similar experiences.
I need to go back downstairs where there's AC.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Wedding
This is a picture of me and the bride and groom in the church. It was my first time inside a church, and it was beautiful. The wedding was eventful and also a continual reminder of cultural differences. I am particularly homesick for our cultural norms.
I'm heading off to a week-long seminar called Lessons of Liberty Camp. It will be in English and is mainly for young Georgians, but I'm exceedingly excited to learn about how Libertarianism could be implemented in Georgia.
Below is the schedule for tonight and tomorrow:
Lessons of Liberty Camp
Gonio, Georgia, July 16-23, 2007
SHEDULE:
Monday July 16:
6:00pm Greetings
6:15pm DINNER
6:45pm Announcements, group and class selections
7:00pm Skit on logic and markets by 5 Belarusians
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday July 17:
7:00am Study Hour--read class material
8:00am BREAKFAST
9:00am Whole Group: John Stossel Goes to Washington video-educational series
10:00 am Small classes:
Louis James--music library dealing with political topics
Sunni Maravillosa--pursuing personal freedom
Kevin Bjornson--Business English
Anna Tokar--discussion of 9:00am video topic
Andrea Fuchs--discussion of 9:00am video topic
Belarusian group discussion--bi-lingual Russian/English
11:00am Small Classes:
Louis James--music library dealing with political topics
Sunni Maravillosa--persuing personal freedom
Kevin Bjornson--origin and definition of "state" from Maine's "Ancient Law"
Anna Tokar--rational egoism theme from Rand's "Anthem"
Andrea Fuchs--illustrated version of Hayek's Road to Serfdom
Belarusian group discussion--bi-lingual Russian/English
12:00 NOON LUNCH
1:00pm Whole Group: Louis James lecture: Entrepreneurship and Investments
2:00pm Small Classes:
Louis James--discussion of 1:00pm lecture topic
Sunni Maravillosa--pursuing personal freedom
Kevin Bjornson--origin and definition of "state" from Maine's "Ancient Law"
Anna Tokar--rational egoism theme from Rand's "Anthem"
Andrea Fuchs--illustrated version of Hayek's Road to Serfdom
Belarusian group discussion--bi-lingual Russian/English
3:00pm Small Classes:
Louis James--discussion of 1:00pm lecture topic
Sunni Maravillosa--pursuing personal freedom
Kevin Bjornson--origin and definition of "state" from Maine's "Ancient Law"
Anna Tokar--Jonathan Gullible play rehearsal--"Escalating Crimes"
Andrea Fuchs--illustrated version of Hayek's Road to Serfdom
Belarusian group discussion--bi-lingual Russian/English
4:00pm Free Time
5:00pm Free Time
6:00pm DINNER
7:00pm Jonathan Gullible play--Tragedy of Commons--performed by Belarusians
8:00pm Free Time featuring discussion at campfire
9:00pm Free Time featuring disucssion at campfire
10:00pm Free Time featuring discussion at campfire
11:00pm Recommended Bedtime
Saturday, July 14, 2007
haircut!
I'm going to a wedding today. My hair has gotten a little out of hand because I haven't cut it since May, so I decided to go to the salon along with all the other girls and get a trim and style.
First of all, the dude cutting my hair had a mullet.
He started by cutting a lot of hair off-- a lot that I don't have. It ended up looking like Carol Brady's hair minus the gigantic mulletcurl. Most of the time I couldn't look at myself because I kept laughing.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Two things
There were two things that made yesterday very interesting:
Firstly, I bought a press pot for making my kinda coffee. This resulted in the over consumption of caffeine. Just like old times.
Secondly, we drove to my host mother's village yesterday evening for the birthday of her sister-in-law. On the way, I started to hear some talk of a drawing, but I couldn't quite make out what was being said. Then we drove off the main road and made a few turns, entering this open field with several large structures (kind of like big garages). There were people walking across the field toward one of the buildings, a mini-bus and taxi parked in front, and many people standing around and inside this building.
(My host sister Natia was driving, and when she got out of the car, the taxi driver congratulated/blessed her for being a female driver. Later she laughed about it because the only things taxi drivers usually say to female drivers are negative.)
I followed the other people into the building, where I found a bunch of people crossing themselves, praying and staring up at the wall. Up on what looked like the top of a greenish metal beam sticking out of the cement (or maybe it was a piece of wood?) was the face of Jesus. It was the standard darker shadow outlining his eyes, nose, beard and with long hair. I heard someone ask who'd drawn it. I didn't gather whether it was common knowledge that someone had drawn it or if everyone believe it to be a miracle. There was also supposedly a picture of Mary and Jesus on another wall, but I couldn't see it.
All I know is this: when I was doing a lot of figure drawing, I saw nude bodies all over the place-- in cracks in the pavement, in the bark on trees, in shadows on buildings...
I was surprised that no one said to me: "See Naomi! Now you can believe in our religion!" I guess they've realized I'm hopeless.
Firstly, I bought a press pot for making my kinda coffee. This resulted in the over consumption of caffeine. Just like old times.
Secondly, we drove to my host mother's village yesterday evening for the birthday of her sister-in-law. On the way, I started to hear some talk of a drawing, but I couldn't quite make out what was being said. Then we drove off the main road and made a few turns, entering this open field with several large structures (kind of like big garages). There were people walking across the field toward one of the buildings, a mini-bus and taxi parked in front, and many people standing around and inside this building.
(My host sister Natia was driving, and when she got out of the car, the taxi driver congratulated/blessed her for being a female driver. Later she laughed about it because the only things taxi drivers usually say to female drivers are negative.)
I followed the other people into the building, where I found a bunch of people crossing themselves, praying and staring up at the wall. Up on what looked like the top of a greenish metal beam sticking out of the cement (or maybe it was a piece of wood?) was the face of Jesus. It was the standard darker shadow outlining his eyes, nose, beard and with long hair. I heard someone ask who'd drawn it. I didn't gather whether it was common knowledge that someone had drawn it or if everyone believe it to be a miracle. There was also supposedly a picture of Mary and Jesus on another wall, but I couldn't see it.
All I know is this: when I was doing a lot of figure drawing, I saw nude bodies all over the place-- in cracks in the pavement, in the bark on trees, in shadows on buildings...
I was surprised that no one said to me: "See Naomi! Now you can believe in our religion!" I guess they've realized I'm hopeless.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Tbilisi by train
Hi. It's been a while.
I went to Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia) last Thursday for a few days because my host cousin Esma had to pick up her Dentistry certificate. She just finished school last month. Esma has an apartment there because she (and a other cousins) have studied in the capital for the past eight years. We stayed inside a lot because there was a ridiculous wind storm. I didn't mind because it was nice just as a change of scenery.
Tbilisi is like many large cities. It has a lot of people, lots of taxis, a McDonald's even. I enjoyed the independence of being alone in an apartment with someone my age. No one told me to dry my hair or wear slippers inside. We ate pilmeni (like a potato ravioli) a lot because it's easy to make- boil from frozen- and it's vegan. The religious Georgians are fasting right now for a holiday I don't remember.
The trip was full of really bad luck. We took the train there on Thursday morning. It's supposed to be a six or seven hour trip, but the train broke down twice and we didn't get in until 5:30 pm after leaving at 9:15 am. I just slept a lot and listened to the American/Georgian couple have arguments that they thought no one else could understand.
The next day we returned to the train station to buy our return tickets. There were many lines with about ten people in each, so I didn't think this was going to be a problem. No. That's wrong. It was a problem. Apparently, each person takes about five minutes to buy a ticket because the venders are slow as hell. Esma said it was because they don't know how to use the computers. Finally we got to the front of the line, and straight out of a movie, the woman slams her window shut and says "I'm going on my break." Okay, so there was a notice posted that she got her 20-minute break at 12:10, which it was, but it was so rude and she was so slow! We waited for the 20 minutes because it would have taken longer to get in a new line.
Then we went to pick up Esma's certificate. What a surprise to find that everyone in that office goes on break from 1-2 pm. So we waited in the building for an hour (it was cool inside and very hot outside) and talked to Esma's friends/classmates.
The next day we went out shopping for clothing for a cousin's wedding next week. When we got home, the weather turned from hot to crazy windy. So we were stuck inside and listened to music and ate the few potatoes that were left.
We took the night train back because Esma doesn't like wasting the day on the train. There are cabins with four beds- two bunks, kind of. There were three of us- me, Esma and her friend- so there was a random woman in the room with us. She seemed nice enough, even gave me a very hard peach to eat. It turned out she was a snorer. The air conditioning had been on, but some woman complained that it was too cold. So I lay in a jolting train for hours, not sleeping, sweating and listening to a woman sing, fart, whistle and gurgle through her nose and throat. At that point I had enough and climbed down very very carefully and found my backpack under Esma's bed and got out my iPod. It was the first time I've used it in Georgia and if that was the only time, it was still worth bringing. I slept for two hours.
So that was the bad luck, but none of it except for the snoring seemed so bad at the time, and seems like less of a deal now. I ate good fasting food, climbed on some old church ruins, met some cool people, didn't spend any money, and got to talk to Esma a lot, proving my Georgian language abilities.
I went to Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia) last Thursday for a few days because my host cousin Esma had to pick up her Dentistry certificate. She just finished school last month. Esma has an apartment there because she (and a other cousins) have studied in the capital for the past eight years. We stayed inside a lot because there was a ridiculous wind storm. I didn't mind because it was nice just as a change of scenery.
Tbilisi is like many large cities. It has a lot of people, lots of taxis, a McDonald's even. I enjoyed the independence of being alone in an apartment with someone my age. No one told me to dry my hair or wear slippers inside. We ate pilmeni (like a potato ravioli) a lot because it's easy to make- boil from frozen- and it's vegan. The religious Georgians are fasting right now for a holiday I don't remember.
The trip was full of really bad luck. We took the train there on Thursday morning. It's supposed to be a six or seven hour trip, but the train broke down twice and we didn't get in until 5:30 pm after leaving at 9:15 am. I just slept a lot and listened to the American/Georgian couple have arguments that they thought no one else could understand.
The next day we returned to the train station to buy our return tickets. There were many lines with about ten people in each, so I didn't think this was going to be a problem. No. That's wrong. It was a problem. Apparently, each person takes about five minutes to buy a ticket because the venders are slow as hell. Esma said it was because they don't know how to use the computers. Finally we got to the front of the line, and straight out of a movie, the woman slams her window shut and says "I'm going on my break." Okay, so there was a notice posted that she got her 20-minute break at 12:10, which it was, but it was so rude and she was so slow! We waited for the 20 minutes because it would have taken longer to get in a new line.
Then we went to pick up Esma's certificate. What a surprise to find that everyone in that office goes on break from 1-2 pm. So we waited in the building for an hour (it was cool inside and very hot outside) and talked to Esma's friends/classmates.
The next day we went out shopping for clothing for a cousin's wedding next week. When we got home, the weather turned from hot to crazy windy. So we were stuck inside and listened to music and ate the few potatoes that were left.
We took the night train back because Esma doesn't like wasting the day on the train. There are cabins with four beds- two bunks, kind of. There were three of us- me, Esma and her friend- so there was a random woman in the room with us. She seemed nice enough, even gave me a very hard peach to eat. It turned out she was a snorer. The air conditioning had been on, but some woman complained that it was too cold. So I lay in a jolting train for hours, not sleeping, sweating and listening to a woman sing, fart, whistle and gurgle through her nose and throat. At that point I had enough and climbed down very very carefully and found my backpack under Esma's bed and got out my iPod. It was the first time I've used it in Georgia and if that was the only time, it was still worth bringing. I slept for two hours.
So that was the bad luck, but none of it except for the snoring seemed so bad at the time, and seems like less of a deal now. I ate good fasting food, climbed on some old church ruins, met some cool people, didn't spend any money, and got to talk to Esma a lot, proving my Georgian language abilities.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
the beach and the sunburn
we drove to the beach today-- the beach by the turkey/georgia border, which is much cleaner and calmer than the beach right here in batumi. it was no more than a 15 minute ride (though sometimes i have no idea how long a trip is because we're either going really slowly over potholes or really fast on the newly paved roads).
being driven around batumi is one of my favorite activities because i get to look at the development. i think the unmaintained buildings and roads are even more alarming to me now because i see what they will become or used to be (in soviet times). the funniest thing about fixing up the city is the color choice for buildings. driving to the beach, i saw house after house painted bright pink, salmon, seafoam green, lime green, orange, lavender (!), sky blue and aqua. what color combinations! i suppose that many resort towns feature those colors, but since what i'm used to is grey, dilapidated, and corrugated tin, it's surprising to me.
i also forgot about the driving here. the way to drive is: as fast as you can. and if there's someone driving slower (to save their car or parents some grief), you pass them in almost any circumstance. for instance, if there's a car coming in the opposite direction, you still pass the car in front of you, making the road a three laner instead of two. pedestrians do not have the right of way. i love california. if a pedestrian is crossing and theoretically in your way, you honk to alert them of your imminent arrival. they move out of the way.
back to the beach: the black sea, at least in georgia, has rocks, not sand. this is cool because they're beautiful and you can look at them wet and dry and decide which ones to take home while you don't listen to the young-people slang-filled speak that you don't understand. this is also not cool because the rocks are really hot in the sun and hurt a lot to step on, even when they haven't been baking. i will be investing in waterproof sandals soon.
people don't stare at you at the beach the way they do in the states. they make blunt statements that are not meant to hurt or compliment, really. like: you're really really white. yes, this is true. so maybe i got a little influenced by this common comment and have continued diligent sunscreen usage, but not kept covered up all the time in the sun. thus the sunburn in the title. i may have started a minor tan, though. people laugh a lot at me when i tell them this. on the same note, people don't stare at your body the same way. one doesn't go to the beach to show off how skinny they are because they're ALWAYS showing off how skinny they are! so it's not uncommon to see a big momma watching her children run around in the water, standing with her belly hanging over her bikini. same goes for men's bellies and bikinis... although i guess they're called speedos. i saw one one-piece bathing suit today, not including mine.
being driven around batumi is one of my favorite activities because i get to look at the development. i think the unmaintained buildings and roads are even more alarming to me now because i see what they will become or used to be (in soviet times). the funniest thing about fixing up the city is the color choice for buildings. driving to the beach, i saw house after house painted bright pink, salmon, seafoam green, lime green, orange, lavender (!), sky blue and aqua. what color combinations! i suppose that many resort towns feature those colors, but since what i'm used to is grey, dilapidated, and corrugated tin, it's surprising to me.
i also forgot about the driving here. the way to drive is: as fast as you can. and if there's someone driving slower (to save their car or parents some grief), you pass them in almost any circumstance. for instance, if there's a car coming in the opposite direction, you still pass the car in front of you, making the road a three laner instead of two. pedestrians do not have the right of way. i love california. if a pedestrian is crossing and theoretically in your way, you honk to alert them of your imminent arrival. they move out of the way.
back to the beach: the black sea, at least in georgia, has rocks, not sand. this is cool because they're beautiful and you can look at them wet and dry and decide which ones to take home while you don't listen to the young-people slang-filled speak that you don't understand. this is also not cool because the rocks are really hot in the sun and hurt a lot to step on, even when they haven't been baking. i will be investing in waterproof sandals soon.
people don't stare at you at the beach the way they do in the states. they make blunt statements that are not meant to hurt or compliment, really. like: you're really really white. yes, this is true. so maybe i got a little influenced by this common comment and have continued diligent sunscreen usage, but not kept covered up all the time in the sun. thus the sunburn in the title. i may have started a minor tan, though. people laugh a lot at me when i tell them this. on the same note, people don't stare at your body the same way. one doesn't go to the beach to show off how skinny they are because they're ALWAYS showing off how skinny they are! so it's not uncommon to see a big momma watching her children run around in the water, standing with her belly hanging over her bikini. same goes for men's bellies and bikinis... although i guess they're called speedos. i saw one one-piece bathing suit today, not including mine.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
oberlin meets batumi
sally kintner, my beloved oberlin future housemate and past russian classmate and current crazy georgia/siberian-mate is visiting me in batumi. she arrived three days ago for a week of black sea swimming and gossip. we've been swimming and tanning and shopping, like any good tourist. we speak georgian, english and russian with most people for full communication, so that at any one time, no one understands everything being said. it's like old times for me. we've eaten a lot of khachapuri, a traditional georgian food- cheesey bread. today we went to the western supermarket and bought peanut butter and black currant jelly for a truly american meal to be eaten after this blog post (with milk, of course).
hope you're all doing well.
hope you're all doing well.
Friday, June 15, 2007
skype!
i just talked to my dad on skype and could see his face! i don't have a video connection here, but i can talk for free to anyone in the world. i also got a card to put in my cell phone yesterday. if you'd like to reach me via skype or text message (receiving calls for me is free, but will probably be expensive from the US), email me and i'll pass along my screenname and phone number. i just feel a little strange putting my contact information on the web...
the weather here is beautiful. i'm staying at home today because i'm still adjusting and everyone else is at work. i may venture out for a few minutes to buy some yogurt, but i'm very content with the internet, balconies and views of the city and black sea. yesterday i went to the office where a lot of my host family (including extended family) works. my host father runs a ship crewing company and all day long, seamen were coming through to give their documents and apply for work, i guess. my host brother (who turned 20 yesterday) is also a seaman and is currently in brazil on a ship with his cousin. he won't be back until september, so i won't get to see him this trip.
i also went with my host sister natia to her friend's house where we played with his baby and talked to his wife. i felt very included even though i forgot a lot of georgian, or didn't know it well enough to begin with to understand everything that was said. but i was able to stop them in the middle of conversation and ask what certain words meant. it's a lot easier to be with just a few georgians so i can be part of the conversation. the baby was very cute-- only one year old and talking a lot. we got him to repeat our names, and then he wouldn't stop saying "ra kaia" (how good!) as natia fed him some of her soup. then he started playing with my sunglasses and his mother yelled at him not to. but i didn't care and i don't think babies should be yelled at, so i put them on his face... this turned into a ten minute cell-phone-camera picture taking experience for the mother, natia and baby, while i half slept on the couch.
i have to watch myself when i talk because a lot of my life is unacceptable in this culture. it's getting more modern here, but there are certainly much fewer off-color comments that i could tell than in the states. readjusting to the male/female relationship has also been hard. the best i can do is make it into a joke for myself. i'm careful not to make their culture and traditions into a joke, but when i offer to make tea and wash dishes for my host father, it can't be serious or i'll get upset. being 23 is a lot different than being 18 in a new place. i'm more set in my ways and more developed... less influenced by my surroundings.
i'll leave you with some more differences i've noticed as a 23-year-old:
the most common questions i got when i was here four and five years ago:
what's your favorite music? how do you like georgia? what do you like best about georgia?
the most common questions now:
do you think georgia is very changed? how has georgia changed? are you married? when are you getting married? if you can't get us visas from the ambassador to come to your wedding in america, will you have a second wedding in georgia?
the weather here is beautiful. i'm staying at home today because i'm still adjusting and everyone else is at work. i may venture out for a few minutes to buy some yogurt, but i'm very content with the internet, balconies and views of the city and black sea. yesterday i went to the office where a lot of my host family (including extended family) works. my host father runs a ship crewing company and all day long, seamen were coming through to give their documents and apply for work, i guess. my host brother (who turned 20 yesterday) is also a seaman and is currently in brazil on a ship with his cousin. he won't be back until september, so i won't get to see him this trip.
i also went with my host sister natia to her friend's house where we played with his baby and talked to his wife. i felt very included even though i forgot a lot of georgian, or didn't know it well enough to begin with to understand everything that was said. but i was able to stop them in the middle of conversation and ask what certain words meant. it's a lot easier to be with just a few georgians so i can be part of the conversation. the baby was very cute-- only one year old and talking a lot. we got him to repeat our names, and then he wouldn't stop saying "ra kaia" (how good!) as natia fed him some of her soup. then he started playing with my sunglasses and his mother yelled at him not to. but i didn't care and i don't think babies should be yelled at, so i put them on his face... this turned into a ten minute cell-phone-camera picture taking experience for the mother, natia and baby, while i half slept on the couch.
i have to watch myself when i talk because a lot of my life is unacceptable in this culture. it's getting more modern here, but there are certainly much fewer off-color comments that i could tell than in the states. readjusting to the male/female relationship has also been hard. the best i can do is make it into a joke for myself. i'm careful not to make their culture and traditions into a joke, but when i offer to make tea and wash dishes for my host father, it can't be serious or i'll get upset. being 23 is a lot different than being 18 in a new place. i'm more set in my ways and more developed... less influenced by my surroundings.
i'll leave you with some more differences i've noticed as a 23-year-old:
the most common questions i got when i was here four and five years ago:
what's your favorite music? how do you like georgia? what do you like best about georgia?
the most common questions now:
do you think georgia is very changed? how has georgia changed? are you married? when are you getting married? if you can't get us visas from the ambassador to come to your wedding in america, will you have a second wedding in georgia?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
11 hours to munich, 4 hours to tbilisi
on the way from munich to tbilisi, i sat next to the wife of the american ambassador to georgia. when we weren't talking politics or about our families, she played electronic sudoku and i slept or read my teen fantasy novel. there was a very loud snoring georgian sitting in front of me, and the man sitting in front of the ambassador's wife kept hitting, shaking and yelling at him to stop and stay awake. the not-sleeping man got so angry that (in georgian) he yelled "what's wrong with you? this is shameful! you're stupid." it was pretty funny and disgusting to listen to. it made the top two list of worst snoring sounds i've heard.
the ride back from tbilisi to batumi where my host family lives was gorgeous and a little carsick. it used to be 6 hours, but i think we made it in under four. georgia is being rebuilt. there are new airports, newly paved roads, newly painted buildings all over the place. but most importantly, my host family has a newly remodeled home. they added an extra floor to their top storey apartment and everything is beautiful. i'm so excited to sit on the gigantic balcony of the now six-storey building (used to be five) and draw the yard that keeps finding its way into my artwork anyway.
the ride back from tbilisi to batumi where my host family lives was gorgeous and a little carsick. it used to be 6 hours, but i think we made it in under four. georgia is being rebuilt. there are new airports, newly paved roads, newly painted buildings all over the place. but most importantly, my host family has a newly remodeled home. they added an extra floor to their top storey apartment and everything is beautiful. i'm so excited to sit on the gigantic balcony of the now six-storey building (used to be five) and draw the yard that keeps finding its way into my artwork anyway.
Monday, June 11, 2007
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