Have You Ever...

This will be a short little blog.  I was thinking about a month ago that I had experienced quite a few new, interesting (or humorous) things here that likely many of you have not experienced (as many of these are noted, of course, precisely because I had never before experienced them in all my life in America).  This is the culmination of all those little jots here and there over the past month:



Have you ever...


...had to walk through a flock of turkeys to get to the bathroom at school.  (This one is a fairly common occurence for me.)

...had a flock of geese hiss at you as you walked to school or Church?  (I didn't even know they could hiss.)

...had to eat bread every time you ever sat down to eat, period?

...seen two monasteries, an ancient king's castle, a seminary, and a metropolitan in one day?

...been repeatedly, if mildly, irritated (though you do get adjusted to it, to some extent) at extreme over-hospitality (forgive me, host family and other Georgians, but you worry too much)?

...used an appliance where the plug is two bare wires?

...drank a liter or two of (strong) wine all at once out of an ox or goat horn?  (It hasn't happened to me yet, but I've seen it, and will bet it happens to me before I go on break in December.)  [I can now note in irony that on the same day I wrote this one, I was offered a goat horn.]

...seen a real live shepherd tending his flock (and had to avoid hitting said flock while driving to town)?

...been in a country where it's rude not to say hello when you see someone, but also rude (or "not beautiful," as my host sister explained it) to say hello to someone more than once in a day?

...had tarragon-flavored soda?  (It's quite good.)

...had to bundle up the most before getting into to bed (i.e., so that you could convince yourself to get up in the morning)?

...seen seven chickens sitting on top of each other in a tree (for warmth)?

...had a cake with onion as the flavoring?  (Surprisingly, very delicious.)

...had pigs feet? or lamb vertebrae (you eat them like ribs)? or chicken butt?  (The last two were quite good--pig's feet, pig skin, et cetera, however, is a bit too chewy, gelationus, and tasteless for me.)

...had candy with only two ingredients:  grape juice and flour?

...seen a banana tree with snow on it?  (And remember, this is November--a few weeks ago, it was still growing fruit!)



Anyway, those are just a few things that caught my eye as a bit odd or strange--you may or may not find them humorous, but some of them certainly made me step back and chuckle.  Of course, the really hilarious things are culture differences, trying to communicate when you each only know a tiny bit of the other's language, and so forth--but most of those, you just have to experience for yourselves.

In Christ,

Teopile/Theophilos Porter

Things are Slowing Down...

I'm noticing that lately I've had a lot less going on that I felt was noteworthy, as things have been slowing down and settling into a normal rhythm.  Probably the blogs will begin to shorten, too.  This weekend was the first really quiet, stay-at-home weekend I've had--it was nice to just relax and read and so forth.  On Saturday, a couple of the more fluent English speakers (and readers in the Church) and I spent some long hours over my horologion and theirs to translate the liturgy and note the small differences in liturgical traditions, so I can now begin working on a side-by-side horologion (we'll translate the rest of the services on subsequent weekends).  I noticed a few small differences the next day between what we translated and what was actually done in this particular Church, but as I have a copy of the text and format we use in Church, I can note them later.  Otherwise, Sunday was pretty normal:  Church, then Mama Davit's--where, for the first time, we watched a little TV (starting with what appeared to be an "Orthodox Channel," or at the least a channel on Georgian culture with an emphasis on the Church) before eating.

Yesterday was the annual commemoration of St. Ilia (Elias/Elijah) the writer and martyr under the communists.  He helped the poor and wrote about their condition, and about life in general, under the communists, and was not afraid to speak out against them.  I'm not sure if it's his day of commemoration in the Church (he's not in my St. Herman's Press Calendar for that day, but whether that's because he's on a different day or because his canonization (assuming he has been officially canonized by now, as I understand is the case) isn't well known outside Georgia, I don't know), but they celebrate it on Nov. 16 every year in Q'vareli, where he lived.  As this is very near to my village, a lot of teachers and students went.  It was the grand opening (though it's not 100% finished yet) of the man-made Ilia's Lake.  We got to listen to some great Georgian folk music and see awesome traditional dances in the afternoon before a concert in an outdoor ampitheatre at night, capped off by a visit and speech by the president of Georgia, Mikheil (commonly shortened to Misha) Saak'ashvili.  I probably could have met with and talked to him shortly (he speaks very good English), but I didn't feel like fighting through the crowds, and wasn't too particularly worried about it.  There were a few different camera crews there, and it was on the news when I got back home.

Well, that's the update--everything else has been pretty much the same as usual.  Like I mentioned, this will probably be more of the norm until my break in December, so expect less blogging, for the most part.

In Christ,

Teopile/Theophilos Porter

A Note to Future TLGers on the TLG Phones

Warning:  this will be entirely useless for anyone not coming to Georgia as a TLG participant.

Hello, future TLGers.  I just wanted to let you know a little about TLG's phones, as I am just now learning a bit more about the setup.  You will get your phones near the end of the orientation week in Tbilisi--they're fairly basic, but work well, and hold a charge for ever.

However, during orientation you will not receive a thorough rundown on the costs of things with your phones.  My (mis)understanding was that it was about 5 lari per month for all your (non-international) calls and texts, and thus that if there actually was a set price to individual calls and texts, it must be so miniscule so as not to be noticeable.  While it is free, as the TLG staff will explain, to call and text TLG staff and other volunteers, it can be quite expensive for anyone else.  For any message you send to any non-TLGer in Georgia, it costs 6 tetri, whether they're Geocell (the company TLG uses), Magti, Bali, Beeline, Bani, or Lailai (all the other phone companies in Georgia).  For a phone call to a Geocell phone, it's 6 tetri for the first minute and 1 tetri for every minute after that.  To a non-Geocell phone, however, it's 15 tetri for the first minute and 10 tetri for each minute after that.  You can also but packages of 50 text messages for 1.5 lari--these last for 30 days.  It is furthermore possible to get cards (I believe here, they meant SIM cards) to make calling with the other companies cheaper, but this involves getting another number and more complexities, and I decided to just call people less.  You can also call 928 at any time to get the Tbilisi Geocell office, where you can get whatever other information you need, free of charge, in English (or pseudo-English, at least).

This seems to be expensive by Georgian phone standards as well, as my host family's policy (Bali) is a good bit cheaper, especially with texts.  But, it is what it is.  You're certainly being paid enough that, as long as you don't eat out a lot or splurge on things a lot, you can afford it--you have very few expenses, really.  In the villages, there's not much to buy, anyway--food, I suppose, but you're certainly fed enough not to need to buy any more for yourself.  Just letting you know in advance, though, so you don't waste too much money without realizing the cost--and subsequently get a text saying they're going to turn off your phone in 3 days if you don't pay more.  (By the way, it's free, of course, to receive texts and calls, even from international numbers.)  So, have fun here in Georgia--it's awesome!

In Christ,

Teopile/Theophilos Porter

A Photojournal of My Time in Georgia

Well, as I have taken quite a few photos while I've been here (though not nearly as many as I thought I would), I thought I would share them with you.  I will tell you what each of them is, and note whenever the date changes.  Enjoy!

October 1:

This is in a monument in Freedom Square (or Tavisuplebis Moedani; write this down, if you are ever going to Tbilisi; it's a good place to be able to get to) to St. George slaying the dragon.  Not only is this the most common event seen in icons of St. George, it is also a very common national symbol of Georgia.

This is a building in Freedom Square.  It's important, and I think it has to do with the government, but to be honest, I don't really remember what is it.

I also forget what this building is, but it has to do with the government.  It's in Tbilisi somewhere.

Note the pretty fountains.

A regular parish church in Tbilisi.

Here you see the common steeple that adorns every Orthodox church I've seen in Georgia so far.  Inside, they are domes, and are very often adorned with icons of the Pantocrator or the like.

This is not the dome on the inside, but merely the dome on the overhang above the entrance to the church--it's outside the church building itself, but is attached to it.  See the first picture of this church.

A confections shop in Tbilisi.  Looks good, right?

Check out the prices!  And that's in Lari.  (By the way, the few things we got were delicious.)

A McDonalds in Tbilisi.  I thought it looked pretty cool.  Though I am in general not a fan of McDonalds, I will say that there have been days (namely when I was sick, and especially when I was sick in Tbilisi) when I was really longing some American food, and really wanted to go see if the Southern Chicken Sandwich had hit Georgia yet.

A closer view.

Another random building in Tbilisi.  I have no idea whatsoever what this one is.  Helpful, aren't I?

A closer view.

Going down...  I was trying to capture how steep the escalators down to the metro station in Tbilisi are; I don't think it really does it justice.  Sorry about the graniness--it was kind of dark.

And going up...

These next few pictures are all of the view of Tbilisi from across the river (i.e., from the East bank of the river running through Tbilisi, and still in the city itself).

A statue in Tbilisi of the Georgian King Parnavazi, as I am being told as I type this by my co-teachers.  He lived in the fourth century and he printed the first book in Georgia.  Apparently, he was a good king.  There are a lot of statues of random people in Tbilisi.  It's really quite a beautiful city, for the most part.

Ts'minda Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral from afar.  We noticed that we were fairly close to it, and began walking towards it.  By the way, in the foreground, that's a good example of a marshutka.  Note the sign in the window with the route number.

And we finally made it.  It was GORGEOUS!!!!!

And there's me, on a windy day in Tbilisi.  I was a very happy man.

A view back on the entrance and grounds of the church from near the church.  If you go on an online sattelite map, you can see that that bush is shaped as a cross.

I was trying to get a good view up of the complexity and imposing size of the building.  Really, though, nothing does it justice but actually standing there.

A view up at the dome from the inside.  I hope they're planning on frescoing icons on the inside of the church at some point--it would really make it a gem above all others.

A view from the front-right of the church.

The iconostasis.

A view from the back of the church.  Note that another wedding is goind on near the front.

October 3:

Carvings of Georgian (I assume) warriors on a random wall in Tbilisi.

One night when we were walking around Tbilisi, we went down a couple paths less-traveled by, and came upon an out-of-the-way church.  We stopped near it to talk a little, and I noticed an old woman in front of the church doing prostrations in the quiet secret of night (thus the bad lighting).  I put these forth for your edification, as it was for mine.

October 9:

The iconostasis of the church of Svet'itskhoveli, or "Living Pillar," in Mtskheta.  This was taken when I was out with Mama Davit and company.  Forgive the bad quality of this and the next few pictures.  The lighting was not great, and I think my camera might have been trying to adjust with long exposures.

The apse.  The frescoes are very old, for the most part.  They were covered in several layers of lime when the Russians annexed Georgia--in preparation for the arrival of the Tzar of Russia, I believe.  The Russians considered Georgian icons "primitive," and as a part of the beginning of nationalistic aspirations as above Orthodox aspirations (i.e., the beginning of the inspirations which eventually manifested themselves as atheistic, Orthodox-persecuting Communism), began to "Russify" many Georgian churches, generally including whitewashing.  Luckily, extensive efforts have been taken to remove the lime and restore them.  I believe that this particular fresco was also touched up in the late 1800s, but I could be remembering my facts incorrectly.

An icon near the front of the church of the 13 Assyrian Fathers who came to Georgia by the request of the king early in its Christian history to help educate the people more fully in Orthodoxy.  Forgive the man on the phone--that's not at all a norm here, to allow talking on the phone in church (although people do often forget (or just not bother--I'm not sure) to turn their phones off before going in a church).  It weren't any services going on at the time, of course.  I didn't notice it when I was taking the picture.  I would rather simply look to the positive; he's lighting a candle to the Fathers.

A Last Judgement fresco on the side of the church.

A closer view.

An ornamented reliquary at the back of the church.  It holds a piece of the True Cross.

The outside of Svet'itskhoveli.  It's undergoing some minor restorations at the moment.

Notice the scrollwork.

A view from outside the fortress protecting Svet'itskhoveli.  As Georgia has had many, many, battles and occupations by Persians, Turks, and others who loved to ransack especially the Christian churches of the land, they tried to protect the cathedral.  In at least one time of siege, it also housed the people of Mtskheta for a short time.

  

The small monastery dedicated to St. Nino in Mtskheta.  This is where St. Nino received her first vision from God.

October 12:

This is at my house in Ch'ik'aani, after the grape harvest.  We had a lot of these drums full of grapes, in the long run.  Now, they're in the basement, fermenting.

A chicken and some of the little chicks my host family owns.  They have around 25 grown up chickens at present.

The banana trees in our yard.

A persimmon tree in our yard.

A very small vineyard.  The family's main vineyard is in some little field somewhere that they own (which I have not yet been to), that apparently also has a bunch of strawberries and stuff.  (Did that make you think of "Strawberry Fields" by the Beatles, too?)

The pig and chicken food.

The grapevine on the porch.

The peppers in the garden, as seen from the porch.

More pig and chicken food.

My room, early in a state of unpacking.  Forgive the mess; I was trying to show how large it is; I was expecting something much smaller, and am quite pleased with my room.

My icon corner.

October 23:

Me doing the vakht'ang with Mama Davit at his supra.  Notice the color of the wine.  I have had very little wine that was any other color.  I've had a little really good black Georgian wine, a tiny bit of a really light Georgian wine specifically meant for selling abroad to more sensitive palates (the wine shown here, which is by far the most common type, is stronger than the wine you're used to).  Otherwise, it's been some small variation of this.

A picture of the group remaining at the very end of Mama Davit's supra.

November 4:

A view of the mountains from the second floor of the school here in Ch'ik'aani on a cloudy day.

November 5:

A view of the mountains (and the herds of cattle which the owners drive through town early in the morning) before heading off on the field trip to Bodbe.

One of my co-teachers (Lela B.) and the fourth grade class, with a scenic view of K'akheti behind.  This was taken in Bodbe.

The view from Bodbe by itself.

The grounds of the monastery.

The monastery and grounds as viewed from the entrance to the grounds.

A valley next to Sighnaghi.

Part of Sighnaghi and the view of K'akheti behind.

A closer view of one of its churches.

The view from Sighnaghi.

November 8:

Ch'ik'aani.  Note the beautiful mountains on the left and right.  The pipes are for carrying water.

A better view of the mountains.

November 10:

My icon corner now.  I got the St. Seraphim and Holy Trinity icons in Bodbe.  St. Thomas is our church's patron, and that icon was given to me by Mama Davit.

The water in the upper-right is healing holy water from the miraculous spring of St. Nino.

November 11:

A view of the mountains early one morning from the porch of the house.

Well, that's it so far.  I realize that it's really lacking in certain respects, namely in showing the people around me (my host family, for example!).  This is mostly due to the fact that I am more inclined to take pictures of beautiful things that I think I may forget than the people in my life--I'm not really worried about forgetting the people close to me here, but once I'm gone, though I may remember the effects of the beauty of something on me, I'm less likely to remember exactly what it looked like.  Unfortunately, these pictures don't do Georgia (or even these mountains near Ch'ik'aani) justice.  You'll just have to come and see them for yourselves!

In Christ,

Teopile/Theophilos Porter