Initial thoughts

So, I’ve been incountry all of 36 hours now, about half of which were spent catching up on sleep and trying to overcome jet lag.  But I’m back to “normal” now and have had my first look around Tbilisi.  Woke up this morning to 31⁰F and snowing, but we still managed to get out and look around.   Here are some initial thoughts, in no particular order:

The cops drive around with their flashing lights on all the time.  I’m told it’s so they can be more easily seen.  If they want to pull you over, they hit their siren and wave their arm out the window.  People drive very fast here, lane markings and speed limits are merely suggestions, and the right of way follows the rules of physics:  faster and bigger vehicles go first.  Honking the horn every block seems to be required, and turn signals are optional.  Parking is first-come, first-serve in any (and I mean ANY) available space.  Why waste a perfectly good sidewalk when you can park on it?

The entire city of Tbilisi is under construction.  The national bird seems to be the crane.  But, really, that term “under construction” is a bit of a misnomer.  There is a lot of construction that has been started, and, for varying reasons, sits unfinished.  In some cases, the builder ran out of money; in others, construction began before acquiring the necessary permits, and was halted by the authorities until said paperwork is obtained.  For whatever reason, there are a lot of half-finished buildings all over the city.  Even unfinished, though, they’re more attractive than the Soviet-era buildings put up in the 1980s.  Those are uniformly cinder block rectangles, each uglier than its neighbor.  Painting, when done, is an afterthought, and lots of buildings are only painted on the side facing the street.  Sides and backs are bare concrete.  Tbilisi in the daytime is not an attractive city.  They do have a way around that, however.  Lots of buildings currently under construction or renovation hang a huge, painted canvas in front of the building, showing you how the building should or will look.  They’re very realistic.  I didn’t realize the bank across the street from our hotel (we’re staying at the Marriott on Freedom Square) had a “faux front” until the wind moved the canvas. 

Oh, and while I’m on architecture:  The drain pipes don’t go all the way to the ground.  They stop halfway down the buildings and drain from there, making a shower about head high you have to walk around.  You can see what I'm talking about in the picture below. 

Women, regardless of age, worship the high heel.  Even in snow, stiletto, 5” heels are the fashion of the day.  They’re worn with jeans, too.  Now, I’m certainly not a fashion maven, (just ask anyone who’s seen me dressed to go out) but even I shake my head at this fashion statement.  Even women begging in front of the international hotels (and there are a lot of those) are wearing high heels. 

We drove to the National Training Center for the Georgian Army to turn in some paperwork and pick up mail this afternoon, and once out of the city, Georgia is a rural society.  Cattle graze wherever the grass grows, even right up to the edge of the road.  Goats and sheep are a fixture of the landscape, and you can’t swing a cat by the tail without hitting a stray dog.  The terrain is very hilly and often quite steep.  It’s a pretty country and I can’t wait to see it in the spring.  Or at least not covered by snow. 

We went to the Goodwill store today.  Not what you’re thinking.  The Goodwill store is a Super Walmart on steroids.  They have EVERYTHING there – a cigar shop, a kiosk that sells beer by the liter in plastic bottles, a gun shop, a bakery, a grocery store, a hardware store, an electronics section that rivals Best Buy, a coffee shop, and just about everything else one could want.  The prices are a bit higher than you can find elsewhere, but, my God, the convenience!  A picture of the store's front is down below.

Also had a bite in a small café that makes the best beef and cheese bread in Tbilisi.  These are the national foods of Georgia:  bread baked with cheese and bread baked with beef.  They make it the old fashioned way:  women dump flower and water (I don’t think they use yeast) and whatever else they need into this huge tub and mix the dough with their hands.  Their arms, actually, since the tub goes past their elbows.  Then the dough is dropped onto a stone oven and baked.  It comes out flat and shaped like a trapezoid.  Cheese and/or beef is then spooned into the middle and the whole things goes back on the stones until melted.  It is delicious. See the pictures at the end of this blog. 

Well, that’s about it for my first 36 hours in country.  We’re heading to Gori, where our offices are located, tomorrow, so I’ll have another opportunity to see the sights. 

Thanks for reading.