This is not America.

Up in the mountains.

I thought I'd schedule one more post for you. I wanted to share this picture that we took the other day while walking along a new path. This street is at the same height, pretty much, as the street that we live on. As you can see, we live quite up in the mountains. It doesn't really feel like we live that high, but this walk put it into great perspective.

Leaving, on a jet plane.

Tonight I depart on my little adventure. Okay, well maybe that adventurous it is not, but even so, it is exciting. My first stop is Wales to visit one of my good friends. Her and I shared a room together during our first year of University and then went on to live together for the next 3 years, making it 4 years in total, without going insane. We became as close to family as people not related can. After University she went on to Law School in Cardiff, and since, I’ve only seen her once. This was more than a year ago now, so it’ll be nice to not only see her, but to see her new housemates and her new life. People can change greatly in one year, and I hope she has stayed the same. Even if she has changed however, seeing her and spending a few days together will with no doubt feel like the old days. Together we will also go to London and we will go to the David Gray concert on December 9th – another extremely exciting event. As you all know, I am a huge David Gray fan. I take a lot of inspiration from his music. And as good as he sounds on his records, he sounds even better live.

After that I will be going to Portugal, Paris and then Michael and I will be meeting in Romania and from there we will also visit Ukraine. This trip should be rather interesting however, because I have a lot of flights, a lot of connections and a lot of different things booked. My binder is already too full of receipts and directions, so it’ll be a challenge to stay organized during the trip. I am not bringing my laptop with me, and getting to an internet cafe on a daily basis will not be possible. However, I do plan on updating once in a while, perhaps with some photos to go along with the posts. For the next two weeks, perhaps Michael will keep you entertained - at least once in a while.

So long, for a little while.

Lights, Lights.

 

A few days ago we walked over Rustaveli Avenue to see the new christmas decoration. It wasn’t all ready yet – the christmas tree before the parliament is still in the making for example – but lights there were. Lights over the street, lights on the trees, light sculptures between the trees and lights on the buildings. And as usual the TV tower was illuminated too.  

It seems that electricity is in abundance in Georgia. But then, there are regular power cuts in our apartment. Maybe it is rather the lack of electricity in the past that makes Georgians enjoy an abundant christmas decoration on Rustaveli? So let’s look at the history of electricity in Georgia. Obviously, as with so many other things, electricity and utilities work differently in Georgia compared to Canada or Western Europe.  

Apart from consolidating Soviet power electrification was the number one priority of the young Soviet Union. In the words of Lenin, „Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country.“ Consequently even the smallest and most remote village was connected to the grid. In the Soviet Union electricity (and other utilities) were virtually free and metering was unknown.  

In Georgia this changed with the break-up of the Soviet Union as suddenly Georgia had to pay close to world market prices for Russian oil and gas. The civil war didn’t help things either as infrastructure was destroyed and investment was neglected. So in the 1990s Georgians had to endure lengthy power cuts on a daily basis and were freezing in their apartments during the winter months.  

In the late 1990s things began to change. Telasi, the electricity provider of Tbilisi, was bought by the American company AES. The documentary „Power Trip“ (highly recommended) documents how AES tried to make profits in a country were few people could and wanted to pay their electricity bills. AES also tried to fight corruption as large industrial companies bribed politicians who then diverted electricity supplies for free to these companies. I remember one scene from this film were the (now former) energy minister of Georgia kept a straight face while he was claiming that he makes just 60 Dollar a month.  

AES also introduced metering and insisted on people paying their bills. Obviously that was very unpopular with most people as they were used to free, if unreliable electricity. Obviously people still tried to get their electricity for free, and some were quite inventive when it came to circumventing the electricity meter.  

A professor from my school told me the story of an apartment her family used to live in. In the apartment building gas was essentially free during the nights. Tenants had constructed a second gas pipe system that circumvented the gas meter. They could only run it during the night as gas people could have randomly checked it during the day.  

But this is mostly a thing of the past as electricity and gas companies have clamped down on attempts to circumvent the meter. That of course means that people have to pay their bills which are quite substantial given the low salaries. Our electricity bill for example comes to 50 US-Dollar a month. That is certainly way more than the average electricity bill as we have a large and old fridge, and even worse an electricity-hungry water boiler. But at least we can afford that kind of bill, but with an average monthly salary of 300 US-Dollar (even with a university degree 500 US-Dollar would be a good salary) most Georgians couldn’t and have thus to be very careful when it comes to using electricity.

- Michael

Our Apartment Building is famous!

After quite some persuasion, Michael finally wrote something for the blog. I hope he'll write more in the future. Today, he writes a bit about Apartment Buildings in Georgia and why ours is so great:

The building we live in is quite interesting. It is one of Tbilisi’s quieter streets named after Iakob Gogebashvili, a Georgian educator and writer. If we leave our building to the left it usually means that we are on our way to ISET. If we leave our building to the right we are probably on our way to Populi or Entrée. Populi is our neighborhood grocery store, a one minute walk from our apartment. Right across from Populi there are usually one or two taxis waiting for customers, with the taxi drivers sitting on a low wall and chatting with neighbors. One taxi driver knows us already and I guess he would also chat with us if only our Georgian or Russian would be better. But given that it is not we just greet each other.  

Behind the building is a parking lot, and behind that there are stairs leading down to a small park. Unfortunately the parking lot and the park attracts some neighbors who spend their evenings there and make quite a bit of noise. Now with the trees loosing their leaves one can even see beyond the park from our apartment, and it is even possible to see some parts of Tbilisi on the other side of the river.  

The building itself is rather large, one long building with five stories and three different entrances. The building is an example of Stalinist architecture and was probably build in 1956. One needs to know a bit about the history of Soviet architecture and the politics of Soviet housing to appreciate our building.  

Stalinist architecture is usually of a much higher quality than buildings build in the decades after Stalin's death. Most Stalinist apartment buildings are brick masonry, with thick walls and relatively few windows. Outside they usually have ornaments and decorations. There was also a clear differentiation in the building quality according to the rank of the tenants. Apparently not everyone is equal in communism.  

After Stalin's death Soviet architecture became much less fanciful than. Buildings were of a lower quality and more standardized. Instead of brick masonry one used prefab concrete panels. That allowed to build far more apartments at a much lower cost. The first apartment buildings of this type are called Khrushchyovka, after Nikita Khrushchev. They are usually of a very low quality with bad isolation, a low ceiling height and small apartments.  

Our building was apparently build for those relatively high in the Soviet hierarchy. Outside our entrance door there are three memorial plaques of somewhat famous people who lived in our building. Maybe even in our apartment. They were all writers and artists, which in the Soviet Union were among the privileged. The plaque reads:

- Alexander Kutateladze (from 1956 until his death in 1982), a writer and translator. He translated Goethe‘s Faust into Georgian.  
- Polikarp Kakabadze (from 1956 until his death in 1972), a dramatist working at the Rustavi State theater.  
- Aleko Petrovitsh Shengelia (from 1956 until his death in 1975), a writer

And, for some eye candy, a few pictures below.

                               

                               
                                                 
                                                 
                  

A new addition.

Today we added a new addition to our bookshelf. Isn't she cute?

                 

Those things I'll miss.

Up until a few days ago, I always wondered when I would feel homesick. I mean, there are certain aspects of Canada that I miss and have missed pretty much a couple of weeks into leaving. My parents and my friends are obvious reasons to miss home. One other thing about Canada that I miss is driving. I loved my car and I now have a new profound love for rules on the road. I'm not too sure I would drive in Georgia, even if I was given the chance. Perhaps in a year or so I will change my mind, but right now I would opt not to - I'd rather pay someone to drive me, especially since it is rather cheap.

However, up until a few days ago, I never realized that I have already come to the point where, if I had to leave Georgia tomorrow, there would be things I would miss about being here. This comes as a surprise to me, especially since it's only been 3 months since we've been gone. It does however feel much longer than that. Our home is still not anywhere close to being done, but it feels like it has been the way it is for such a long time. Perhaps that's just my impatience talking, because normally I would not be able to wait so long to get something done. This time around however, I have no choice - my material possessions are still to come. With those around, I'll be able to finish my desk, add a few nice lamps here and there and put up some pictures. In January we will buy the rest of the furniture needed and then the apartment should be well on its way. Even so, we seem to have settled in rather nicely. Leaving the apartment no longer feels weird - it feels rather normal. The scenery outside is so familiar I don't even pay it much attention anymore. The boys who play basketball outside our window and crank up the music in one of their cars at midnight are just a repetition of the nights before. It's normal, and in fact, I've grown to love it.The workers at Populi and Entree already know us. Walking to ISET I encounter the same people each day (that I walk there), and somehow that is comforting. The same old ladies on the corner selling their vegetables and fruits. The same taxi drivers. The same kids running around. In a way, I think Tbilisi is finally starting to feel like home. 

As I said, there are things that I would miss if I had to leave tomorrow, and I'm sure my list will only grow. Off the top of my head, here are a few thing:

- the tree outside of our bedroom window, waking up in the morning with the leaves casting a play on our walls is always pleasant

- the crazy lighted up TV Tower. We don't see it anymore from where we live now, but every time we see if from somewhere else, it makes me smile because I think of our first few days in Tbilisi. At first, we thought it was the ugliest thing, those light, but after a while, we thought it wasn't so bad.

- speaking of crazy, as much as I wouldn't want to drive here, I think I will miss the crazy driving and all the honking that takes place on a daily basis. Going back to Canada I'll probably wonder why it's so quiet on the roads.- as much as I don't like going to Populi or somewhere else and not always finding what I want, somehow this is refreshing. It's refreshing because it's not mass produced and you soon learn to adapt your cooking ideas for the day towards what you can find in terms of vegetables and the like.

- Entree. It's rather nice having a fine French style cafe 5 minutes down from your apartment. Fresh breads every day, fine croissants and beautiful looking little cakes.

- Vake Park. Granted we've only been there once, but I fell in love with the park even before we stepped through the gates leading into the park. It's so grand, and on that rainy day that we were there, it was pretty much deserted. A few people here and there, but it was quiet. I know that we will definitely go back there, and I know that this park will become one of those treasured places for me.

- Ah yes, the Kachapuri. Although we haven't had it in a long time now, pretty much since Anke, Roy and Lotta left, if I were to leave tomorrow I would miss it. Now, I don't because I know I can always get it if I want to.

- hearing the language. Hearing Georgian has become something normal, even though I don't understand 99% of it. Going back to an English speaking country will be rather interesting. I can just imagine myself thinking "What are all these foreigners doing here?!"

- the apartment. I love it, even though it still feels so empty. The furniture has grown on me, even though it is not my style. And even though some days the apartment is freezing, there is something comforting about it, even on those days.

- the wide range of Restaurants (Toronto has a wide range, but Guelph did not, so to me this is great)

- the fact that there are no real malls here. I like that, I've never been a fan of malls. Instead of malls, you have streets lined with shops - kind of like Queen St, but much nicer.

- the fact that we don't always have water and electricity. It's annoying when it happens, especially if you wanted to do something that requires either one of the two, but after it comes back on, you enjoy it that much more. I've definitely learned to appreciate the fact that the majority of Canadians (and the Western World for that matter) won't ever experience power cuts on a normal basis. They will always have water supply, even if the hot water might not work for a day (like the time in Guelph last summer). Here, sometimes the water supply will be completely cut off, you can't even flush the toilet. I guess it is weird to say that I will miss this, but it is this that reminds me of things that I take for granted.

- seeing people of the same sex walk hand in hand. Men walk hand in hand with men, women hold hands, and none of them are gay. I rather love this difference between North America and Georgia (and some other parts of Europe), it's much more relaxed. I really dislike seeing men so uptight about hugging each other - it's a form of showing appreciating for the other person, and it's human.

I think I could even go on at this point, although that would require more thought. But already I have quite a list, I wonder how long my list will be after a couple of years?

Just a short note.

I haven't been posting much lately, mainly because nothing much has happened outside of the usual stuff. It was easy to keep posting at the beginning, because everything was so new. However, things should pick up in the next few weeks, so I'll have more posts up then. For now, I just wanted to do two things.

First, I wanted to say a huge thank you to Monika & Paul and Anke & Roy for dealing with our (mostly mine actually) shipment from Toronto. I really appreciate the help and the time you all put into getting the shipment to the shipping company. Thank you! 

And second, I want to share some fabulous makeup work that my amazingly talented friend, Andrada, did the other day.

             

You have to click to enlarge to see the detail. Caroline's eyes are closed, Andrada used makeup to paint eyes on Caronline's eyelids. And it looks so real, it's delightful!

Worldless Wednesdays

        

Photo by: kaldur

The Rustavi Ensemble.

You know what I love? Seeing someone who is doing something they really enjoy. That can be as simple as someone sitting outside on a lovely sunny day reading a book, or someone snapping pictures - capturing the world through their camera. It can be a mom or a dad playing with their children, letting loose and enjoying themselves. Or, it can be someone dancing with a huge smile on their face, like everyone part of the Rustavi Ensemble. As soon as the show started, everyone was giving it their best - you could see it in their movements and in their facial expressions. Sometimes, it was so powerful that it gave me shivers. To me, this was truly amazing. To add to the wonderful performance, the audience was completely into it, yelling things such as “Bravo”, standing up to clap even though the show was not over. The whole event was like a big happy family. It honestly felt like the audience was that proud, excited mother seeing her child do it’s first Christmas play at school. Even if the child would mess up, it would still be the star in it’s mothers eye.

I haven’t seen that many dance performances, but I have seen a few, and this one was by far the most wonderful one. The Ensemble is comprised of a band - the guys who play the instruments, a set of vocalists, and a lot of dancers. This, I didn’t really know before going, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the vocalists and the band in the background, instead of hearing some recorded music. The Ensemble performed pretty much every single dance that I talked about in my Dance, Dance post - which was also a very pleasant surprise, because I thought the Ensemble was specialized in just one type of dance, not all of them. All dances were beautifully performed, but the ones that took my breath away were the Khevsuruli dance and the last dance they performed, but I’m not sure of the name. Khevsuruli is a dance where men use daggers and fight while dancing. Michael and I at first thought the daggers were fake, but when we saw the sparks flying upon contact, we quickly realized that these were real daggers. The speed and the difficulty of their movements made me hang on to my seat. My most favorite dance however, was the one whose name I do not know, but it was their last dance (perhaps Mtiuruli?) and it just blew me away. The men were twirling around on their knees, jumping in the air (like in the picture above), landing on their knees, jumping up again, twirling around… yeah, it was absolutely crazy - but they did it with such skill and precision. Although the men did most of the tricks and movements that welcomed the ooo’s and aaa’s, the women were wonderful as well. The movements of the men were much more free and energetic, the movements of the women however were incredibly graceful and slow. Whatever the dance, the women always seemed to be gliding across the floor as if they were on rollers and someone was pulling them. Except, they weren’t on rollers, which made the whole situation rather interesting.

In between the performances (to allow for costume change), the Rustavi Choir sang one or two songs. The music is a mixture of the traditional music of all Georgian regions, and although it is not something I will listen to on my iPod every day, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed it because the Choir is amazing. The choir consists of men only (traditionally, women and men didn’t really mix their voices together) and the talent is high. Some of the men were old and most likely have been with the Choir for a long time. However, there were also a few young ones, the youngest being 21 years old. Interestingly, his voice was the deepest, manliest voice out of the group. The group sings a cappella but sometimes they incorporate a single instrument into their songs. Some songs are song in a low tone and these are probably about some sort of romance and hurt, and some others are faster paced songs where I’m afraid they’ll run out of breath because they keep a note for so long. These are most likely songs about some heroic war or some Georgian victorious event. 

So, basically, the whole show was nothing short of wonderful. I would go see them again in a second. So it’s no doubt that I will tell you to see them, if you have the opportunity. They travel quite often, performing in many European countries and also North America. You will not be disappointed. And, if you can, get the best seats you can. I never thought that top 5 row seats were really that big of a difference, but they really are. I was always under the impression that even if you’re far away, you can still see everything and hear everything. But, although you can see faces from far away, the detail is not so visible. And the detail, at least for the Ensemble is incredibly important. Their genuine smile and seeming excitement to be on stage performing is worth the big bucks. Or, in the case of Georgia, the not so big bucks. The best seats were only 40 Lari (30 or so US).

** I looked at a few YouTube videos because I wanted to add one here for you to watch, but the best that I found is on the actual Rustavi Ensemble website, so please click HERE and watch the first video at the top. Of course, seeing it live is 100 times better, but this gives you a good idea of what you can expect.

Wednesday night is party time!

Life has been going on as usual here in Tbilisi. The weather is getting colder and we're getting older. Well, that was my lousy attempt at being a poet, but I will stop now. Upstairs, right above us, a party is going on. The music must be at its loudest capacity and the people must be intoxicated. Must, because they're jumping around and singing like tomorrow will never come. Having lived with housemates for 4 and a half years and spending one year living in the basement of a brand new townhouse (brand new = built of straws, almost) that housed a brand new baby and a 5 year old, I have learned to drown out noise. In fact, noise is almost comforting to me. I don't like it when it's completely quiet - it feels eerie. But our ceiling is shaking! This is a bit frightening. I know the ceiling won't fall on me because this building is rock solid, but it still feels a little weird sitting at your dinning table enjoying the post you're writing while your ceiling is shaking. If it weren't for the noise, I would think that Tbilisi is experiencing yet another earthquake (more on this later). Perhaps it's just the Georgian way of partying, which I would like to experience first hand one day by the way, but it's Wednesday. Wednesday! Who parties on Wednesday? Well, Georgians of course. Canadians over the age of 25 would be completely shocked. 

Now on to those earthquakes. Apparently since we arrived in Tbilisi, there have been 3 earthquakes already. The first one, only a few days after arrival was a rather bad one that destroyed quite a few peoples homes. It was a bit out of Tbilisi, and Michael and I slept right through it, not feeling a thing. The second one, Michael and I slept right through it as well, but that one was only a level 4 on the Richter scale. The first I believe was something close to 6. The last one which happened just two days ago, was a 3.1. It was felt more so in the Gldani and Didube areas, so here in Vake/Vera most people went about their day without noticing a difference. If you want to know more about what the numbers on the Richter scale actually mean, I will put it simply for you. Basically...

Less than 3.5 generally means that it's not felt, but is recorded.
3.5-5.4 are often felt, but rarely cause damage.
Under 6.0 can cause slight damage to well-designed buildings and can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. 
6.1-6.9 can be destructive in areas up to about 100 km across from where people live. 
7.0-7.9 is considered a major earthquake and can cause serious damage over large areas. 
8 or greater (goes up to 10) is a great earthquake and most likely seriously damages areas a hundred km across. 

Other than the earthquakes and the crazy Wednesday night parties, Michael and I will be going to see something rather exciting on Friday. Mari got us tickets to see the Rustavi Ensemble! If that isn't exciting, I don't know what is! We got middle priced seats, so I'm hoping they will be good - perhaps Balcony? How nice that would be. So that's this Friday, expect a detailed update. 

*Photograph is of a typical building found in Didube/Gldani areas of Tbilisi.