travel – Page 3 – One Thousand And One Parsecs

Life in Georgia is like a game of backgammon

Everywhere I go, I see people playing ნარდი (“nardi”), known in English as backgammon. Men and women, children and the elderly–everyone knows how to play, and just about every family owns a backgammon set. It’s popular everywhere in Georgia, but it’s especially popular here in Kutaisi, where it’s not uncommon to see clusters of old… Continue reading Life in Georgia is like a game of backgammon

Managing time and mental space in a foreign country

Some of you asked for a writing update, so I figure I might as well do a quick post on my current projects and where they are. I’ve also been experimenting with my daily schedule a bit, so it would probably be good to blog about that as well. Right now, the main project taking… Continue reading Managing time and mental space in a foreign country

Easter in Trabzon

Orthodox Easter is April 15th, and in Georgia, most places take off four or five days for vacation. In typical Georgian fashion, we didn’t know for sure how many days we had off until a couple of weeks before the break came up, but fortunately that was time enough to find out where some of… Continue reading Easter in Trabzon

მოტაცება, or how to bag a wife–literally

მოტაცება (pronounced mot’atseba) is the Georgian word for bride kidnapping, as opposed to regular kidnapping, which takes a different word. It’s an ancient practice in the Caucasus region that doesn’t happen as much as it used to, but still happens, especially in the rural areas. Today, most Georgians condemn it, but there’s still a whole… Continue reading მოტაცება, or how to bag a wife–literally

Winter in Kutaisi

From what I hear from my friends, it’s been a pretty mild winter back in the States. Here in Georgia, though, it’s been a much different story. I think we’ve had only three sunny days since I arrived here in Kutaisi almost four weeks ago. The natives tell me that this is highly unusual. The… Continue reading Winter in Kutaisi

For the love of traveling

I had a realization as I was visiting Tbilisi this weekend: I love traveling. I love standing beneath a tattered, windswept tarp surrounded by market stalls and people bartering in a language I barely understand. I love walking down the dusty pavement of a chaotic bus station in the developing world, and the confidence that… Continue reading For the love of traveling

In Kutaisi

So the training period for TLG is finally over, and I’ve received my assignment: I’m in Kutaisi, the second largest city in Georgia! It’s about a four hour haul from Tbilisi; I spent it cramped on a bus with my host-mom and brother watching Georgian sketch comedy, with rampant cross-dressing and men getting bride-napped by… Continue reading In Kutaisi

Dila Mshvidobisa Sakartvelos

That’s Georgian for “good morning, Georgia.” It’s 7:20 am in Tbilisi right now, and I figure it’s time for an update before starting another day of TLG orientation. So Georgia is a pretty interesting place so far. We haven’t seen too much of it, because we’ve been in the hotel most of the time doing… Continue reading Dila Mshvidobisa Sakartvelos

In Tbilisi!

So, I’m in Georgia now, writing this blog post from the hotel in Tbilisi where we’re having our orientation! The flight from New York went well, all my stuff made it alright, and I’m having a blast making new friends and playing the role of clueless foreigner! There’s about twenty to twenty five of us… Continue reading In Tbilisi!

Journey to Jordan is now up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!