On the Road with Julie

Time to Read:

If you read my last post, you know that my time in Tbilisi, Georgia was good.

That’s the short version.

That’s also the understated version.

I got a mildly concerned text from my dear friend, Polina, yesterday, on her birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY POLINA!!!) a native Russian speaking Canadian that had particularly been looking forward to my reports on Riga and Georgia. She reached out to me (in Russian – yay!) to say that, while she enjoyed reading the post displaying my personal growth and my ability to be content only saying very little and moving on, she had really wanted details! People who know me well have come to expect details. None of this “It was good.” hogwash.

Let’s be clear folks. I experienced what it is like to not have much to say. ONCE.

I’m still me.

There will be details. Oh, yes. there will be details.

So much so, that you are getting multiple posts about my time in Georgia.

And this whole, calm, cool, collected, understated way of relating to and expressing life that I really appreciate about my husband and about much of the common daily Russian language and culture that I’ve encountered, it’s great. I mean, it’s good. I have tremendous respect for and great appreciation for it. I mean, I have a rational amount of respect and appreciation for it. I’m very excited that I now know what that feels like and have the ability to relate and empathize in a deep and personal way. I mean, I am content to know what it feels like.

Whew, this non-effusive way of being is still a stretch for me.

So, fret not – those that hunger for details. I am still me.

I am happy to know that, in some moments, it can come naturally to me. I am learning. I am growing as a person. I am expanding and understanding different ways of being.

But, my native language is still 100% Julie.

That means –

words,

details,

and lots of exclamation points, baby.

So, now – in my own native language, I will report –

My time in Tbilisi, Georgia wasn’t good.

It was fantastic!

As I’ve said before, generally speaking, the American enthusiasm spectrum sits higher on the overall possible range (with my natural tendencies pushing the top edge of what amount of “yay” that even Americans can typically stomach) than my experience of most slavic cultures. In my short week in Georgia, I must say, my impression of Georgian culture covers a higher part of the gamut than what I found to be the norm in Latvia. I love the whole spectrum, from stone-faced stoic, to mind-numbingly bubbly. I enjoy it all and I find it really fascinating to observe the range.

The picture that I attached to this post is of Sergei Parajanov, a free-spirited Soviet film-maker that was born in Tbilisi. It is the most enthusiastic monument I’ve seen anywhere. And, Tbilisi had more than one monument that had a bit of jolliness to it.

One of their must see sights is a clock tower that could have been pulled straight out of Alice in Wonderland. While Europe is covered with buildings and cathedrals that command dropped jaws from their ornateness and their formidable stature, and Tbilisi had plenty of buildings to match such a sentiment, this clocktower demanded whimsy.

As so did these jolly, but still imposing, statues outside a hotel just behind it.

Then, there is the mother of all statues, the Mother of Georgia.

I regret to say, in my short time in Tbilisi, I never made it all the way to the foot of the statue. But, I am very happy to say, because of the nature of this tremendous monument, if you are in Tbilisi, you will get a chance to see it from a million different angles as you traverse the city. She is always there, near the top of the ridge, looking out over it all. And the Mother of Georgia kind of says it all. In one hand, she holds a bowl of wine up in the air. For those that come with friendly intentions, Georgia is ready to welcome you and have a good ole time. At her waist, she holds a sword. She is not holding it in an aggressive position, but a ready one if you come to her with malignant intent. Georgia’s millenia-long history is one of constant defense against aggressors and attackers. That sword is there if needed, but the spirit is one of welcome, care and good times ready to be had.

As to my Georgian encounters, our AirBnb host was probably the most effusive, loving, enthusiastic host I’ve ever had. She signed all of her messages with heart emojis. She arranged a local driver to be our airport transfer. She offered life aphorisms and encouragement. I found her to be absolutely delightful. On the pickup upon our first early morning arrival to Georgia, our driver fit the original expectation. Not much smiling, all business, and pretty quiet. No problem at all. But, after that, a switch got flipped somewhere. In future WhatsApp messages to arrange our return trip, he was all emojis and exclamation points! Ryan called me after his ride back to the airport to report, “Remember how quiet Zura was on our first ride – well he was mister enthusiasm on the ride back.”

And my two Russian teachers in Tbilisi were two of the most smiley, enthusiastic, bubbly, gregarious people I’ve ever met! I enjoyed every second of their effusive personalities.

Of course, every culture is different and every person in that culture is different too, but, at least in my experience, I definitely got a sense that the Georgian way is a bit more open and chipper than what I found to be the norm in Latvia. Like I said in my Riga post, regardless of the norms in those interactions between acquaintances, strangers and those just passing through, the smiles and the sincerity and the heart is lovely and beautiful wherever I go. It just gets delivered in different ways.

And, the Russian language itself reflects and serves a more understated manner. As I mentioned in my Riga post, smiling between strangers, at least in Latvia, is not the norm. I watched a great youtube video from one of my favorite Russian language learning channels all about how it is not normal for strangers to say “How are you?” to each other in Russian-speaking cultures. And, my dear friend, Polina made sure to remind me before my trip, that, in Russian, the more common answer to “how are you?” is not the word for “good”. That comes off as a bit too excited. It’s нормально. That means “normal”. The question “how are you” is better translated to “How are things?” and the answer is “normal” – meaning, not much to report here. You can also answer, “Все в порядке.” This literally means, everything is in order.

But, I took my cues from my teachers in Georgia. Some of them responded to “How are you?” with “Good.” It was a relief to me that I could respond the same way. Even though I am trying my best to adjust and be in tune with other cultures, for me, it is almost physically painful to respond to the question “How are things?” with the word, “Normal”. I did it. I forced myself to do it. There were a few times when I accidentally slipped out an “Отлично!” This literally translates to “Great!”, but it also comes off sounding, I don’t know, how would you say it…insane.

I’m trying.

Even within languages, though, we all have our own language. If Ryan is giving his review of something and says that it’s “not bad” – you better go watch or read or see whatever that thing is – because it is probably the most amazing thing ever created. For me, if someone that knows me well asks me how I am doing and I say, “Good.”, they typically get worried and the follow up is, “Are you okay?” Why didn’t I say, “Great!” or “Fantastic!”? Something must be up.

We all bring different colors of the spectrum to life. That’s a good thing in my book.

Life is language. Language is more than verbs and nouns and prepositions. I am doing my best to learn and appreciate each culture and each person’s for what it is. The more languages I learn and appreciate and learn from, the more deeply I appreciate my own. No matter how many languages one learns, a native language always feels like home – at least to me.

So, being a native English speaker and a native “Julie” speaker, stay tuned, plenty more details about Tbilisi to come!