29/08/2009

“Te quiero puta” (ramstein) or 2 days trekking in Abastumani... by Marta



So after sleeping 4 hours I met Tango. Who happened to be with two friends, one of them called Omart, his girlfriend lives in Madrid, cause she plays the violin and works for the church. Another called Nikos, but I’m not sure after 2 days about his name. It started as always with the Marschrutka driver, after assisting to a punching action in Tblisi, here the man started to shout every second because of the trank door. In Abastumani, a really nice place, cosy with Rusian style houses, old sanatoriums and a hollywood style name at the top of the hill, we met Gio the ranger, who will be our helper for the GPS action. I was alone there with four georgian boys, the nightmare of every mother for its daughter?. Indeed it was great, we spend the whole way up stopping for little rest, which make it not so difficult and I learn a couple of new mushroms that are eatable and I found even the spanish ones (by that I mean the only ones I'm able to find myself, hear they are called fox-mushrooms). And after a big bag of mushroms we found the place to sleep, the hut, from where you could see the Abastumani observatory and where I was tried to be invited constantly to a "chota, chota" chacha, which I regreted one after another. Then one only know the words of "te quiero puta" from rammstein of Spanish, so we constantly said that and even called people so that I could tell them bad boys in georgian (Ajurebo). Anyway, as 3 of them were "drunked young guys without girlfriends" it was inevitable that they wanted to give a "try-o" to see if they could get something from me, by trying to blink their eyes at every possible eye-contact. But this time no church proposal arouse. By the way, the so called toillets here (vamos lo que el comun de los mortales denomina letrinas) are a hole in the ground and that want didn't had door, which is the best view you can have at some signaled events that take place inside them hehehe.

28/08/2009

A short Visit to the cementery by Marta

After resting a little from coming from Tblisi, my neighbourg Zura called me for a walk. We met a pair of friends of him, with a Lada and they asked if we wanted to go to the local church and afterwards to the Park. First in the church, we almost parked inside, although it was a really tiny place. And they introduced me to a couple local ways of behaving, like that woman should enter after man or that they cross different and what means the fingers by crossing. We came to visit the grave of the father of the guy. It was almost dark, so it is impresive to see how beautiful the moonshadow in cementery was. Then we came to the big wheel, all with the auto and afterwards to the rollercoaster and the pirate ship. Yeah, I bet hear people could take the auto to the toilet too. The attractions are though really primitive and sound as if they where about to broke. I watched a film from Guillermo del Toro when I came back home:Devil's backbone.

25/08/2009

Linda: country of marriage-craze

Yesterday Marta sat down with her notebook to write the annals of our Georgian stay history- this time on the topic "How many times we have received marriage (or other less decent) proposals up to now". After an hour or so of intense recalling we ended up with a list of 26 (!) cases. All that in just two months. A lot of choice, ain't it!

All that despite our age that shocks most of Georgians (so much! can't be! and not married!), despite the fact that I am vegetarian , and we're not drinking wine (so what do you do in restaurant then?), have starnge religous views (flying spaghetti monster church mixed with buddhist)don't want any children yet (most women have children very early here), like to travel around alone (and not stay at home to serve the husband) and will never perceive all my husbands wishes as coming from God!

22/08/2009

Linda: Top of the pops with Sikvaruli modis!

This is the one that makes Marta and me break out in a dance in the middle of a street, in park, on bridge- anywhere we happen to be walking- singing out loudly "sikvaruli modis, sikvaruli shndeba, sikvaruli arahotesh tamtarteba daaaaaa" !!!!

This is the one that we spent hours on trying to learn and even understand lyrics.

This is the one that hightens our mood and therefore is being exploited at our home.

This is the one that we hear in marshrurtkas on different routes.

This is the one- Sikvaruli modis by Nino Chkheidze! :)

Linda: Surprisingly cheesy Georgia

A dirt-road village, of which I even do not know the name, somewhere near the border of Armenia hosts a metal container in some magical way brought here from France. And that container contains fully equipped French cheese factory, with Camambert and Roquefort ripening on shelves in neat rows.

This is in Georgia, where during these two months I have found no other cheese as simple salty and sour home-made cheese and a bit tastier sulguni or smoked variety of sulguni.

I asked the cheese master- is there any demand for these cheeses in Georgia? Yes, some people, who live in Tbilisi and Batumi.

The cheese masters some time ago had decided that to make their own business in Georgia, they need to learn the skills, so they borrowed money from all friends and neighbours who had at least some and invested it in going to France and working for a cheese factory there. In the factory they kept their eyes and ears open and in a year had mastered the trade and made contacts with equipment suppliers. Bought the container with good credit terms and brought it to Georgia. The first cheeses are getting ripe on shelves, but debt is still larger than any income generated. Their hope- the change of cheese prefferences of affluent Tbilisians.

I was generously given a present of this rotten cheese, and must say- truly enjoyed it!

20/08/2009

By the way, I have a song of your age by Marta

Yes, the tipical order of questioning here:
1.How old are you?
2. Are you married?
3. So my (son, nephew, cousin's son, neighbourg, backer...) is your age.
Hehehe, I was inside the Post office and an armenian worker wanted that I meet tomorrow his son. So many "painful" years (except for the last 2)of not being loved and the solution was as easy as coming to Georgia. Better than in other places where they would like to buyme for camels or goats. I preffer being given "gifts" hehehe. Poor guy, his father don't mind his opinion, he wants to liiert him with the first stranger that comes his way hehehe. Anyway, I just thank it and tried to say that probly he has a nice son, but I'm I didn't come here for any deal, but for write a report (yuuhuuu!)

15/08/2009

In Ushguli, UNESCO heritage's highest inhabited european town by Marta


I rent a Jeep with a girl from eslovaquia, who currently works at Brussels european commision, her boyfriend from czesch rep. and some hungarian guy. This jeep was a Lada Niva, so it was quite strech inside. And because of the road quality, you needed 3h for 65 km, up in one of the most remote parts of the caucasus. This towers in the town are amazing, and we went till the very base of the glacier, with a couple of imponent white mountains upon us. It was a tiring day but delightful. It seemed that there would be no free plane on Monday, but insted some cheap 25 Laris on Tuesday. It is too late so I decide to departure tomorrow at 5am. Ihad to say goodbye to my 2 nights, no english speakers but great understandings family. Irina, the mother and teacher of the town, invited me to some Matsoni(yogurt) and the father, who is also teacher and ingeneer, was amussed trying to find a Spanish channel on the satellite. Again the question of that the Basque Region people are Iberians rised up. I still don't know where I missed my history lessons, wheren the iberians not suposed to live near the mediterranean see? well it was really beautiful to see all those towers iluminated at the evening against the dark shape of tall mountains.

06/08/2009

bathing in the river by Marta

I was yesterday in the river. I meet dito there. he has saw me now a great place to go and have a bath, so I will use it the rest of the stay here.

02/08/2009

I saw a death snake by Marta

Yesterday Linda left to Tblisi and me and the two swiss friends went to see a lake, it was a great lake with nebel, it was like been in Sweden. We saw a death snake, black one, and I still trying to find out which sneak is this.