Tbilisi and the end of PST (Part I)

12 August 2005

Well it has been a busy week and next week will be even busier. I was in Tbilisi twice last week for donor visits, but we did not have much free time. We did make it to the Goodwill store, which is sort of the Georgian equivalent of Sam’s club or Costco. It was fantastic, but there are certainly things from America that we simply cannot find here. Cereal is sold here but it is the equivalent of about $8, which on Peace Corps stipend is pretty unrealistic, besides it is still Georgian cereal. If I am going to pay that much it will be for an American cereal. Peanut can be bought here, but again, the cheapest PB I have seen is about $4 for a very small jar.

My NGO group first met with people from the Eurasia Foundation. We met the ranking American, who is the assistant director. There is an auxiliary project, which is run by a former Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) from Kazakhstan. We had a great time with both of them. The next day we went to the British Council and spoke with a very nice gentleman. Overall both visits were interesting and helpful. We did not get any real free time while we were in Tbilisi, which was unfortunate, but we did know that we would be heading there on the tenth.

Our Tbilisi trip, all forty-four volunteers was designed to have us visit the Peace Corps office and meet the staff members. We also were able to check out the PC lounge where we all have mailboxes, internet access, and a great variety of reading material. While I was in the midst of walking around with few other volunteers, my cell phone rang (BTW – calls from the United States which will always be acceptable.) It appeared to be a number from the states, but who knows. I answered the phone and was told by Tiko, who works for PC Georgia, that my friend Teresa Swanson in Azerbaijan had called. Naturally this was weird because I do not have a friend Teresa Swanson. I went to the front desk at the PC office, met Tiko and tried to figure out what was going on. I was then told that Teresa wanted to know where we could meet to give me the package. Again, I had no idea what was going on. Tiko had Teresa’s number and said that we would call her. Once she dialed the number I suddenly started to put two and two together.

At Tech, my friend Kristin had a friend working in Azerbaijan. Naturally this was what was going on. Teresa told me that she would be in Tbilisi this weekend and wanted to meet up to give me a package that my friends from Tech had made me. I, of course, laughed and told her that it would not be possible for me to meet her on Saturday, but if she could drop it off at the PC office that would be fantastic. Andro, our resident PC logistical guru, will bring to our next hub-day which is Monday. Consequently, I want to send out a big thanks to those awesome women (and Jeremy) who put together my care package. I really appreciate it. You rock!

We actually have hub-days from now until next Tuesday, except for Sunday. Things are rather hectic with good-byes to host families, and each other. I’m sorry if I am not writing much, but I will work on that. I am trying to send pics to my parents and few other people from Tech whose email addresses I remember. Please get in touch with these people and have them forward the pics to you. Take care.