A little bit of culture...

The culture here is quite strong and very interesting. Since Georgia has spent most of it’s life as a country being conquered/fought over by various empires, the people here are very proud to be Georgian. They love their language and are proud to have maintained it. Georgian language doesn’t stem from or isn’t tied to any other language in the world. Apparently there is some small people group in Spain (basque I think?) that have some similarities in the language, but other than that it’s totally unique. And I think that is in part why it’s realllly hard to learn. I struggling with all these new sounds that you have to make from your throat. Basically, it sounds like you’re trying to gargle water, without the water…needless to say,my host family spends a lot of time laughing at my attempts to pronounce certain words. Ohh I forgot to mention that there is another reason why this language is so difficult to learn. Turns out after 7 days of intensive Georgian language classes, I ended up living in specific region of Georgia called Magrelia. In this area people speak an entirely separate language (only spoken) called Magrelian. Neat. They mostly speak it in their homes and with friends, and then they speak in Georgian when they’re in town, etc. And on top of all that most people here (and especially my family) speak frequently Russian, and they are also trying to learn English. So in my house we have taken the term “spanglish” to a whole other level. There is hodge-podge of Georgian, Russian, Magrellian, and English being thrown around in the same conversation at any given time. It’s a big fat language mess and I am only 1 for 4. Eekk!

What else about Georgian people, hmmm , they all look very greek/Mediterranean-ish. Dark features, piercing eyes, LOADS of hair. This is a hairy culture that is for sure. It is not uncommon to see a woman with a stout beard going on, or at least some severe whiskers. Eek!