Tbilisi Botanical Gardens and Tower

Argh, tired again.  Here are some of my favorite photos from our visit to the Tbilisi Botanical Gardens and mideval tower fortress.  Easily the best day I've had in Georgia so far.  Our language teacher, Lika, organized the field trip for us and we had class under a giant pine tree.  Awesome!

James and Johnny

Dani and Julie, with Patrick and our Program Director Tamara in the back

So, what did you do yesterday? :)

Dani and Kathrin

Lika, Dani being awesome, Kiyoshi

The group!  11 intrepid adventurers.

So wish I had been posted here!  I hope Poti is half as beautiful.

This was really high and up some very old and crumbling narrow stone stairs.  Handrails are for ruins in other countries.

Today, after our Intercultural Session, I took two of the group over to that same Georgian cafe accross the street and we had an amazing and tasty dinner outside, with no rain this time even!  And then a bunch of us piled into Lika's car and a taxi, because this fantastic woman had invited us to her house for coffee and tea.

It was really great to be invited into a Georgian home.  Lika's house is unbelievably warm and comforting.  She made chai and mint tea and Turkish coffee, and a ton of snacks came out in true Georgian fashion.  We laughed and chatted and even watched a few youtube videos before piling back into a taxi and heading home, or at least to our hotel.

Kathrin, Mark, Dani, Julie, Suzanne

Patrick and Kyoshi

The cab ride home was a bit of a funny story.  Patrick and I wanted to stop to pick up a few beers on the way home, which Lika had to communicate to the cabbie.  Turns out even Georgian shops are mostly closed at close to midnight, so we had to hit a couple before finding one that was still open.  This shop sold beer, cigarettes, and huge frozen whole fish of various remarkable natures, housed in giant glass-top coolers.

Then we reached our hotel and it dawned on us that the driver was going to drive right on past it.  Someone shouted "What's the word for "Stop!?" and none of us could remember.  Finally I burst out with gamichere! and the dude obligingly screeched to a halt.

Safe to say that so far I'm having fun communicating with Georgians!

Winding down for bed now.  Just talked to my father over skype.  It's always so reassuring to be able to actually see the faces of your family and friends when you're far away.  Sipping on the last of a Natakhtari, a Georgian beer that tastes a little like Yuengling.  Tomorrow is the last day of Orientation, and then on Saturday I will meet my host family and be transported to my new home -- in a small Georgian city on the shores of the Black Sea.  Life is strange.  But I'm still so grateful to be experiencing all this strangeness here.