Gori Halloween
Happy halloween!
I went to a halloween party in Gori this weekend. We had it at the supper creepy old Intourist hotel there, which was appropriate. And Gori is the birthplace of Stalin, so his presence and a gigantic statue of him loom over the town, also kinda creepy. We went to the Stalin museum and got to see amazing Stalin artifacts like the house where he was born, his personal traincar, and his accordion. The highlight, though, was the deathmask room, complete with a portrait of dead Stalin and a dramatically lit bronze cast of his face from day after he died. (shudder)
Now I'm in Tbilisi (aka The Blissy) trying to get some things done but mostly just avoiding too much time in the rain. The Peace Corps lounge is so nice and warm..
By the way, 280cm of rain per year= way too much. And I've only been here for a couple of months! It still amazes me when it pours for four or five days straight or when it's pouring and then a thunderstorm rolls in and it pours x 3. I really didn't know that there could be so much water in the sky. Its amazing. But, as I like to say, in Adjara all the rain just washes our troubles away... When it's clear it is glorious. And now the mountains have snow on them.
One of the directors of the PC education program came to my site on Thursday to check up on me and talk to the director of the school and my Georgian counterparts. She brought me lots of donated books for the school and brownies, and my counterparts told her how perfect I am at everything. (I think that they thought it was an evaluation or something and that I might get fired.)
Otherwise I've just been hanging out, trying to teach, getting wet, and sitting by the fire to warm up. Last week I could hear the jackals? howling in the mountains (they sound like coyotes), and a bat flew into the bathroom with me. I took it as a sign of good luck, of course.
In one of my posts I talked about food, but I didn't really give an accurate description of the diversity of tasty produce that I get to consume. The fruit from the orchard at my house includes apples, peaches, cherries, pears, oranges, lemons, tangerines, figs, persimmons, and, of course grapes, plus hazelnuts and walnuts. Now the persimmons are coming in and the citrus will be ready soon. Also the fresh dairy products are amazing even though I get a lot of them. Turkish coffee with fresh milk makes my day.
I went to a halloween party in Gori this weekend. We had it at the supper creepy old Intourist hotel there, which was appropriate. And Gori is the birthplace of Stalin, so his presence and a gigantic statue of him loom over the town, also kinda creepy. We went to the Stalin museum and got to see amazing Stalin artifacts like the house where he was born, his personal traincar, and his accordion. The highlight, though, was the deathmask room, complete with a portrait of dead Stalin and a dramatically lit bronze cast of his face from day after he died. (shudder)
Now I'm in Tbilisi (aka The Blissy) trying to get some things done but mostly just avoiding too much time in the rain. The Peace Corps lounge is so nice and warm..
By the way, 280cm of rain per year= way too much. And I've only been here for a couple of months! It still amazes me when it pours for four or five days straight or when it's pouring and then a thunderstorm rolls in and it pours x 3. I really didn't know that there could be so much water in the sky. Its amazing. But, as I like to say, in Adjara all the rain just washes our troubles away... When it's clear it is glorious. And now the mountains have snow on them.
One of the directors of the PC education program came to my site on Thursday to check up on me and talk to the director of the school and my Georgian counterparts. She brought me lots of donated books for the school and brownies, and my counterparts told her how perfect I am at everything. (I think that they thought it was an evaluation or something and that I might get fired.)
Otherwise I've just been hanging out, trying to teach, getting wet, and sitting by the fire to warm up. Last week I could hear the jackals? howling in the mountains (they sound like coyotes), and a bat flew into the bathroom with me. I took it as a sign of good luck, of course.
In one of my posts I talked about food, but I didn't really give an accurate description of the diversity of tasty produce that I get to consume. The fruit from the orchard at my house includes apples, peaches, cherries, pears, oranges, lemons, tangerines, figs, persimmons, and, of course grapes, plus hazelnuts and walnuts. Now the persimmons are coming in and the citrus will be ready soon. Also the fresh dairy products are amazing even though I get a lot of them. Turkish coffee with fresh milk makes my day.
posted by Paul Stephens at 8:18 AM
2 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hi Pol:
Thanks for the interesting post. You mention persimmons and figs-- it reminds me of the open air markets in K-dar. I never ate persimmons before I went to your region but they are native to Indiana. Did you know that? They grow around C-tucky, specifically near Rockville!
I am glad to hear that the fruit supply is decent. I recommend that you dry some fruit now so that you have some for the spring.
Regarding the Stalin museum, it was interesting to read your comments. I read about the museum in Robert Kaplan's book "Eastward to Tartary." Sounds pretty grim.
Hallowe'en here in NJ was fun an uneventful. Our ladybug gave away treats and enjoyed visiting the neighbors. Babyboy has a cold and hence did not want to leave his momma. Life at V-land is good-- 2 record bookings months in a row!
P.S. I can never figure out this blogger software. I keep forgetting my password!
Post a Comment
<< Home