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.