A Week Full of Skra-dventure!

As the great band Queen once said, “Another ones bites the dust.” This past week has been full of adventures! Aside from learning three words for aunt (mother’s sister, father’s sister, and uncle’s wife), I braved dangerous mountains, visited a dragon slayer, got behind the raw milk movement, learned new dance moves, and ended up wandering in a cold dark cave; are you ready for this update? Like I mentioned last week my regular schedule isn't all that exciting, but the extracurricular activities are fantastic!

View of Skra and surrounding area from the mountain

There I was Tuesday evening, standing on the edge of the jagged rock wondering if I could make it safely to the other side. The wind was howling around me and I was tired from scrambling up the mountain through thorny underbrush. I looked down, calculating the distance and possibility for serious injury if I were to fall- the probability of blood was high. I took one last breath and leapt across the gap with all my might. The sound of the feat was herculean for sure. As my feet found the solid rock on the other side of the three foot gap, my eyes were drawn down to the new vent in the crotch of my pants. Georgia has claimed its first casualty. However, an extra drafty pair of jeans could not slow me down, I am well versed in the art of ripping jeans. I have no shame of letting the world know that I choose to wear underwear along with my pants! On a side note, the hike was fantastic and a great way release some energy after being cooped up in class all day long.

The view of Skra from the highest point on the hike

As Wednesday evening came, I once again found myself en route to adventure. I was scaling yet another mountain (road) to visit the great dragon slayer, St. George. My brother and I (along with just about every Georgian in the region) had come to visit the 7th century church to St George atop the local peak. The views were breathtaking, and it was an amazing experience to find myself in the middle of the local culture. On the surface it was just another visit to a church, just a little bit older this time. However, it was also a great sampling of all that is Georgian culture- the food, the hospitality, the people, the traditions, and the beautiful nature all around. I loved it all.

Gorjivari Church

Dragon slaying St. George

Inside the Church with local pilgrims 

My mother, brother and yet another cousin

My language and culture teacher

  Friday evening found me sitting on a stool getting up close and personal with a cow. My mother was trying to demonstrate proper milking technique but I obviously wasn’t catching on very quickly because the cow whacked me in the face with its tail more times than I can count. She also thought it would be fun to step in the milk bucket and then later relieve herself halfway through the process. In the end I was somewhat proficient at the process yet still too slow for my mother who took over and finished the task 10 times faster than I would have. I can at least say that I have now milked a cow and then drank said milk- it was delicious! If only every Friday night could have such excitement…

It was too much effort to try and teach them to use the camera, so here is a pic of my host mom milking rather than me.

The excitement of my Friday evening propelled me through a cold and rainy Saturday which seemed like it would never end. However, my problems soon disappeared as I found myself surrounded by my newest Georgian friends in a rousing rendition of We are the World, the 80’s classic that united some of the greatest divas and musicians of the time. I was in Gori with some other volunteers at a party to celebrate both America and Georgia and our new friendships. Our American host’s made delicious hamburgers, potato salad, salsa, and apple pie. Our Georgians provided khatchapuri, skewered pork, and an almost bottomless supply of their own house wine. We had a great time. There were toasts to everything under the sun, with all the toasting I was glad I was only drinking their pear soda. Along with our many toasts we had plenty of music and dancing. The songs would go from Justin Timberlake, to traditional Georgian song, back to Frank Sinatra, Queen, or Shakira, and then back to Georgian folk music. No matter what was playing the Georgian men were on the flow showing off some literally fancy footwork as well as their interpretations of American dance moves- think arms in the air, hands open, palms facing down, bobbing to the beat. Just when we didn't think the night could get any better we were instructed to climb upon our chairs to sing our prospective national anthems and toast to our motherlands- including the chant, "U.S.A. and Geor-Gi-A!". Shortly after we found ourselves in the street watching the Georgians light off fireworks. 4/5 made it into the sky, only one blew up right into the neighboring house… This is only my third weekend in Georgia, I can’t imagine what some of the others will bring.

 

New Georgian Friends

To America! To Georgia!

We are the World!

This morning I woke up at a friend’s house and immediately noticed a difference, I wasn’t too cold to get out of bed, and there was no dread of a morning visit to the outhouse. Staying in the city meant that I was sleeping in a warm apartment with a western bathroom. I am pretty sure this was as close to heaven as I would be getting for a while.

After eating a delicious breakfast of spaghetti noodles and unflavored Greek yogurt, Daniel and I set out to catch the Marshutka to Uplistsikhe and the local Georgian cave city. The rain was still falling pretty hard so we sought shelter in a small café where we comforted ourselves with Magnum bars while we waited the rest of our friends. Once the Americans arrived and took the place by storm we were ready to scale the cliffs and explore the ancient caves. The entire place was amazing to see but I couldn’t tell you the smallest fact about what actually went on there. So I am now going to refer you to the Uplistsikhe Wikipedia page for more info. It was a great outing with my new PC friends and one of the last times we will be able to all get together as we move into the practicum section of our training. Rather than describe the place I will let you look at the pictures I took. Also to my surprise I found that I despite wandering over countless rocks, I only say half of the entire place. Glad to know that when I go back there will be more to discover.

Dressed to impress, and to explore

Selfie stick pro!

The Hall of a Single column... my Georgian translation is on point

View of the middle cave section

Now I am back home and getting ready for the week ahead, I have skyped my family for Mothers’ Day, had a delicious Georgian dinner, practiced my Georgian, and am drinking my evening glass of fresh warm cow milk. Another end to a fantastic week in Georgia!

View from the top of the city

Thanks for following along today!

P.S. I hope that no one minds the fact that I am still not proofreading my posts…