Week 8: Standfast, McDonalds, and the Beginning of the End

As some of you have seen, something was dropped from an airplane heading from the Russian territory in Shida-Kartli, the region we live in now. To the north of us is the contested/breakaway region of South Ossetia, but this dud bomb/fuel tank (when we last saw the news, about 24 hours ago, the story had only been out to the media for about 5 hours, and no one was sure what it was yet) actually landed in Georgia proper, which caused all the uproar (well, at least here; it was a front-page story on both bbc.com and cnn.com also, although cnn.com labeled Georgia as simply “Ex-Soviet Country” in the headline, so it was easy to miss unless you were looking for it as we were, and then those of you Garretts, I'm sure saw Isaac's link). So, anyway, if anyone was/is worried—we're fine. Despite the Georgian government's speculation it was the Russians and they were headed to Gori (the town where we live), whoever it was never got here, and the Georgian government is not going to have more than a rheotorical response. There was also an explosion in Gori last night (those who were closer than we were reported their houses shook, and apparently it was also audible in one or two of the villages around Gori, in addition to Gori proper); Gori has a military base here, and it apparently came from there. Today, we heard that that blast was destroying some of the remains found yesterday. Anyway, as a result, we were put on standfast alert immediately, meaning that we were only allowed to go from school and then back home, no evening activities last night. It also meant that our Tbilisi trip for today (the 8th) was changed; instead of using public transportation to get ourselves to Tbilisi and back, we were taken in Peace Corps marshutkas to the PC office.

The Tbilisi trip is the one day all trainees are allowed and required to go to Tbilisi. Although the PC aim is one thing (we are required to take a PC office tour and find our way around Tbilisi, using all forms of transportation), most of us had one primary aim: to consume as much non-Georgian food in the approximately 6 hours we were in Tbilisi. This is not to say that we dislike Georgian food, but one thing food in America is known for is its variety--i.e., "American" food is burgers and such, but in America, we're just as likely to go to a Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Thai, or other nationality-style restaurant as we are to go to an American burger joint, so the food is much more varied. Here in Georgia, I miss food from home in a way I didn't think I would, and food is so much more an ever-present topic of conversation and obsession than it was for me (and for others) back in the U.S. At any rate, first we had to do the office tour. The office is actually pretty cool--there is a lounge with three computers, all of which have fast Internet, AND two rooms full of books that constitute the PCV library, which is pretty cool. There is also a garden and hot shower for the PCVs to use, so it's pretty awesome. :) This is also where all the PC staff works, so we got the full tour of all their offices, and many of them had treats for us. Kathleen (our Country Director) gave us packs of Oreos and peanut butter (apparently impossible to find in-country; she had it shipped in), then Mary (Kathleen's second-in-command) had a plate of brownies and peanut butter brownies for us. Finally, in Tengo's office (Tengo is our PST, or pre-service training, coordinator), he had plates of these thick, sweet pastries. I'm not sure what they were called (it was similar to baklava, but much heavier), but those were pretty amazing. But as soon as we were done with our tour, several of us knew the first stop on our list: McDonalds. We took the metro in Tbilisi, which is just like all the other former Soviet countries' metros, and also happens to be clean, efficient, fast, and cheap (40 tetris a ride). The Chicken McNuggets I got at McDonalds were good, but the fries were positively amazing. Even though I never ate at McDonalds back in the U.S., it was pretty great here. After McDonalds, Brenden and I split from the group to do some shopping on the main thoroughfare, and we walked perhaps 2 miles in the heat. It was really, really hot--I heard rumors of 42 degrees (around 107 Fahrenheit), which I don't think it was quite THAT hot, but probably close to 100. To get back to our group, we took a taxi back, and that was the best 5 lari I think I have ever spent. We were meeting our group in the Old Town area of Tbilisi, and were given directions by a G6 who suggested we simply say Sioni Cathedral. That was a great idea, however, we failed to realize that we couldn't actually see the restaurants from in front of the cathedral, so we called our friends and they had no idea where they were in relation to the cathedral (as it turns out, they were DIRECTLY behind the cathedral); there are many churches in this area, so it's no wonder. So, we backtracked, and walked perhaps 30 minutes back up the hill we had just come down in the taxi and then down another street. It was a long 30 minutes because it was so hot. We finally reached the restaurant about 20 minutes before they decided to leave, which gave us just enough time to polish off a small bottle of water (me) and a small Coke light (Brenden), before we headed out in search of an Irish pub. By this point I was starving, and the burger promised at the Irish pub sounded magical, so we left again, and once again (because we didn't know the area) took the long way around to the pub. On the way, we discovered another group of PCTs at a Latin American restaurant; they said the salsa wasn't really salsa, but they did have tortilla chips, and the food was decent, so we will definitely go back there. Finally, we did arrive at the Irish pub and I got my burger, which was definitely small and not that good for 10 lari (that is VERY expensive in Georgia, but seems about the going-rate for meals in Tbilisi), but was the first real burger I've had since the U.S., so I was just glad to have it. Now we know the most efficient way to get around that area, and so life will be much easier when we come back to this area again. :) Finally, on our way back to Gori, our marshutka stopped at the Goodwill, which is basically their version of Target, except with imported items and not cheap. If you can't find an imported item at Goodwill, it probably can't be found at Georgia. Since we are moving in 2 weeks, we didn't buy any food or ingredients, but I did buy cotton balls and some other small toiletries.

I can't believe we only have 2 weeks left. Ever since site announcement, time has just FLOWN by. I hope you are all doing well--we love and miss you!

- Carissa

P.S. By the way, I haven't been able to figure out how to change the time our posts are listed as being posted; I believe the posting time is actually Pacific time (I have changed the time, I believe successfully, for my Gmail account that is associated with this Blogger account, so if anyone else has any suggestions, feel free to post them).