In Kutaisi

This is the city where I'm going to be living for the next 4+ months.

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 women.  Hilarious.

I live in an awesome dilapidated Soviet-era apartment with a fairly large family: mother and father, grandmother, and three kids ages 17, 15, and 9.  The father works full-time as a welder and the mother works part-time as a nurse.  There’s another son, age 18, but he’s in Tbilisi for college. Only the kids speak English, but

The other host brother showed me around Kutaisi today, and it was pretty interesting.  This probably doesn’t make any sense, but it feels a little bit like something out of an Asterix comic, fast forwarded to the modern era.  In any case, the city is really nice; cleaner and not as crowded as Tbilisi, with cobblestone streets and European-style buildings with a giant park in the middle.

I’ve already figured out how to get from my host-family’s apartment to the city center and back by marshrutka–if this were a video game, that would be an achievement.  Crossing the street would also be an achievement, though it’s much harder in Tbilisi than it is here.

Some more pictures:

The old cathedral that overlooks Kutaisi. Built in 1003, destroyed sometime in the 18th century, it's being rebuilt now.
My host brother Gura and me, overlooking the Rioni river.
Didube bus station in north Tbilisi.
A sleeping dog at the bazaar near the Tbilisi stadium. There are a lot of stray dogs here.
Just one of the many Nutella stands at the Goodwill supermarket in Tbilisi (no relation to the American thrift store). Apparently, Georgians are crazy for chocolaty goodness.
Some books at a booth in the bazaar. Most are in Georgian or Russian.

And the last one, just to show how ubiquitous Stephanie Meyer has become:

A shelf full of Stephanie Meyer's books literally on the other side of the world from her...this, my friends, is what success looks like.

So that’s what’s going on here in the land of the Kartulis.  I haven’t been writing a whole lot, obviously, but once things settle into something of a routine, it shouldn’t be too hard to get back into things.  Georgians have a way of managing time that, as a strongly perceiving ENTP, I actually find quite appealing.  But more on that later; I should probably get to bed.

Kargaaad!

By Joe Vasicek

Joe Vasicek is the author of more than twenty science fiction books, including the Star Wanderers and Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus. He claims Utah as his home.

7 comments

  5. You may have found it already, but there is a large Populi supermarket in Kutaisi. It’s at the end of Rustaveli Ave about 2km west from the city center. The also have Nutella but no peanut butter that i have seen.

    I know two kids who go to high school in Kutaisi. They told me there is a Goodwill supermarket there, but i haven’t found it yet.

    Reply

  6. Yeah, I’ve been to Populi’s. It’s more expensive than the various bazaars and other shops scattered around town, but it’s good when you want to get everything in one place. Haven’t heard about Goodwill, though–I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

    Reply

  7. Hi,
    As I am moving out of Georgia in 1 Month’s time, after completing my Residency program, I would like to sell my personal household items. These include Electrical and Kitchen appliances. I’m posting below a list of all the Items. Interested buyers are requested to call me at +995558602922, or mail me at drthomas.rjn3704 @ yahoo . com. It would be preferable to sell all the items together, to a single buyer. All items are in perfect condition, and can be verified, personally, upon request.
    Items include:
    1. Infra-red Room Heater,
    2. Sanyo Microwave Oven,
    3. Phillips Hand-held Blender/Grinder,
    4. An Iron press,
    5. Kitchen utensils, like good quality China plates
    6. A Pressure cooker
    7. Large Teflon coated Vessels
    8. Steel vessels
    9. Teflon Frying pan
    10. spoons and knives
    11. a couple of drinking glasses
    12. good quality Sandals/Flip flops
    13. Cotton clothes, including shirts, tees, etc.
    14. winter jackets
    15. a plastic Rain Cheater
    16. a Table Lamp
    17. couple of Blankets of 1st class quality
    18. some Bags in good condition
    19. A large Clothes Drying Rack
    20. some Medical Books regarding Radiology.
    21. Buckets and Mug
    22. some miscellaneous stationary items like scissors, pens, etc.

    Price is all inclusive and negotiable, upon further contact with prospective buyers.
    Thank you.

    Reply

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