ყოველთვის, ჯერ კიდევ ღრმა ბავშვობიდან მოყოლებული და ოდნავ შემდეგაც, როდესაც ჩემთვის და ჩემი რამდენიმე მეგობრისთვის ახლადაღმოჩენილი ინტერნეტის ძირითად დანიშნულებას მირკში და სხვადასხვა ჩატებში უცხოელების “კერვა” წარმოადგენდა, ვცდილობდი გამეგო რა იცოდნენ / რას ფიქრობდნენ ზემოთხსენებული უცხოელები საქართველოზე. უმეტესობამ იცოდა, რომ საქართველო რუსეთშია, რამდენიმეს სტალინის ქართველობის შესახებ სმენოდა, უფრო ცოტას – შევარდნაძის გვარიც გაეგო..და აქ მთავრდებოდა ყველაფერი. აზრის გამოთქმისგან კი უმეტესობა თავს იკავებდა და გასაგებიცაა, რომელი თქვენგანი მეტყვის საკუთარ აზრს ბჰუტანზე?
რამდენიმე საათის წინ ერთ ფორუმზე ერთი ამერიკელი ჭაბუსის გახსნილ თემას გადავაწყდი, რომელიც გვატყობინებდა საქართველოში ვცხოვრობ და რაც გინდათ – მკითხეთო. ყველა კითხვა-პასუხს, რაც ირიბად მაინც ეხებოდა საქართველოს, უცვლელად გთავაზობთ:
(***-ით ქალაქების სახელებია შეცვლილი)
Ask an American living in Eastern Europe anything. Pic is related – I’m in Georgia.
It’s from a picture I took at ****** ****** in ******, Georgia. Georgia desperately wants to be part of Europe.
>Do you really think Georgia is part of Europe? Based on geography it isn’t.
Eh true, the mountains between Georgia and Russia are the cut off point of Europe and Asia in this part of the world. In that regard, Georgia is actually in Asia, but the culture certainly isn’t Asian in the sense that the culture of Arabic Asiatic countries is Asian. Georgia is 100% European in terms of its culture, but the country is technically located in Asia.
>anyway – what is your relation with russia, i mean regular people, do you hate them, or feel friendly
I don’t know any. I’m 6 hours away from the capital city and there are almost no Russians here. I would say that most Georgians dislike Russians because of relations between the countries at the moment.
>why do you say georgia is eastern-europe?
>If georgia is eastern-europe, then armenia, azerbaidjan and whole turkey is eastern-europe?
Armenia certainly could be considered part of Eastern Europe, as their language and culture is Indo-European, which makes it closer to European than the Georgian language. Azerbaijan is 100% Asia and you would agree if you saw their culture and country. It’s Asian in the same sense that Kazakhstan and Turkey (two other Turkish cultures) are Asian.
>I would say georgia is part of the Caucasus.
>It’s really between central-asia and Eastern-Europe.
Geographically this is 100% correct. I say Georgia is in Eastern Europe because of its history and culture, which is very European.
>So how is it ? I really want to visit Georgia one day. Love the culture
If you’re comfortable traveling to developing nations, I highly recommend it. The way things operate is somewhere between Mexico and Europe, if that helps you any. Crime and corruption are actually very low, but things are also inefficient and dirty. Let me know if you have specific questions about the culture.
>My question: Why Georgia?
Believe it or not, Poland is quite a lot more developed than Georgia. I came here to see the world and haven’t been disappointed.
>Not one of those teachers, are we, OP?
>Also, ******-ში ცხოვრობ?
Haha that depends if you mean a negative connotation or not. I am a professional teacher and do work for the MES. I’m not one of the bad ones, if that is what you’re asking. me vtskhovrob saqartveloshi.
>So how do you like the cuisine?
>Have you seen some folk dances? Lezginka? Kazbeguri?
>I have to say, I envy you.
The food is great and I highly recommend it, but we don’t eat the traditional foods at home everyday. The bulk of our diet is homemade bread, potatoes, and cabbage. But yea, I do love some khinkali and katchapuri! Yes, I’ve seen the local dances – I’m actually in ****** and am going to two weddings soon, so there will be even more dancing.
>I could never understand why would someone want to live in this shithole of a country.
I’ve been here for a year and will do 1 more year, but understand where you’re coming from. I certainly wouldn’t call it a shithole, but agree that Georgia faces many economic problems. I’m here because I lived all of my life in the US and wanted to see the world while helping others, which your government graciously provided me the opportunity to do. Georgians are GREAT people and hopefully our work here does your future generations well.
>Protip: Try to keep up and drink as much as you can, that will get you some bonus points with locals.
Haha I had it down before coming here. At first, they were shocked that I could drink 10 shots of chacha and still stand.
>Cab drivers charge 10 times more than they should, always try to get them to lower the price, THEN get in the car
Our orientation trainer taught us well! 80 tetri per km unless the cab is making a return trip to town, in which case it should be the 50 tetri marshutka ride cost.
>oh man you get to go to weddings and everything.
>Tomorow I’m invited to a Chechen wedding.
You’re lucky! I’ve yet to be to a non-Georgian event.
>Do you meet a lot of people? I bet they are friendly towards Americans, seen the situation between Georgia and Russia.
I wouldn’t say a lot, but that is due to the language barrier. About once per week someone will grab me and give me a hug and kiss on the cheek and express their gratitude for me being here. At first, I felt assaulted, but soon learned they were simply being friendly. Several people have invited me to their houses simply for being an American working here. These are the few people here who speak a little English and it’s quite flattering.
>isn’t Georgia trying to join the NATO?
Yes, and I hope they succeed.
>Did you choose the place you were going to live in? If yes, why ******
I didn’t choose, but ****** was my #2 choice before arriving. My #1 choice was Tbilisi, but that changed after seeing how busy and polluted the city was. I live about 4km from ******* and couldn’t be more happy with the climate, people, and my placement in general.
>Yes they are very friendly people!
>It’s a big differnce between our typical cold European approach. >What is your job exacly?
I work for the teachers’ improvement program within the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science. My job here involves improving the quality of English language instruction in Georgia. Some of the English teachers here speak very poor English, so my job is to help improve that while also introducing western teaching methods to their classrooms.
>Locals can be nosy as fuck
I’m not aware of the specific circumstances involved with this person, but you are told up front that homosexuality is a taboo in Georgia.
>He posted a few “revealing” photos of himself on his Facebook account, local media accused him of being gay, which is a big deal in Georgia, especially if you’re a teacher. Some dumb politicians got involved, claiming that our government was trying make our children gay or some shit like that
This sounds accurate and it looks like a Georgian posted it. Georgia has a very different view towards sex than western nations and being gay here can cause you big, big problems. This is especially true if an anti-west politician decides to make an example out of you.
>Enjoy your stay here and remember that not all of us are dumb-homophobic-prude-sandniggers. But most of us are.
To be fair, I never thought most Georgians were. I deeply respect your country’s customs and views on marriage, though some westerners see them as antiquated. Georgian women are great and I deeply admire them for many reasons. Also, in the last year I’ve noticed that the average Georgian is much more satisfied with their life than the average American, which I’ll never forget.
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