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?