6th to 28th of May, 2022.
Zugdidi! What to say? So many things happened while I was here. And there is so much to tell about Georgia too. Let’s get started!
I first meet Edo at the bar. It surprises me is how many kids are hanging around here. Well, they are actually teens but I cannot help to call them kids. This is a place where they supposed to gather together for socializing, holding events and meetings, workshops, everything regarding the Youth Community. I am just not entirely sure if a place with a great purpose like this, it should be also a bar.
I have to say that, I think I am not meant to work in a bar. Even though sometimes I have this cool thoughts of me working in a bar and interacting with the costumers, dancing, singing and having fun, like in the films, I think it is just like The Templations said: “but it is just my imagination… running around with me…”
I remain in the bar with Edo, and there I meet for the first time Lasha and Levan, Edo’s best friends. They would play a big part on my time in Zugdidi. In fact, I think they made everything easier and better. They both are so kind and sweet, and strike me as great friends to have by your side. Every time we would meet, they would always make me laugh and we had a great time. After only a few days, I started to consider them as my friends too!
I try Khachapuri for the first time and I love it! It is similar to a pizza but the dough is all involved in lots of cheese, and they spread a egg yolk on top. I know it doesn’t sound much, but I promise you, it is delicious! I also try the “Mexican potatoes”, which are not Mexican but are also very good!
At Edo’s home I meet his wife, Nana, and the children. Nino is their first daughter, she is like 4 years old or something, and they have a baby, Nodo, who is around one year old.
Basically what they want for me to do is interacting with the youth, kind of promoting a more social atmosphere, introducing them to a new culture, to a foreigner person and to the outside world. I try to do some things here and there. I help in the kitchen with some of the cooking for the groups who came. And that part is actually nice. I meet the other cook, a young girl called Milana, who is very sweet, and even though she doesn’t speak English, we have a good time cooking together.
I also do preparations for the Brazilian week to come. On my last week, we would have something Brazilian going on the whole week, and then a presentation on the last day, where I would show to the crowd so facts and curiosities about Brazil.
About that, I also went to two other places, regarding the youth community of Zugdidi. This community is actually very active and I think that is great! There are different groups, working in different areas, but still connected in somehow. And they are trying to do something about their future, to be prepared and more aware of the world and the people they want to become. It is something like, they are not just sitting and waiting for life to pass, sitting and waiting to become adults and then start to do something. They are all learning more about politics, different cultures, different opportunities in the outside world, and of course what is happening out there.
I had very different experiences in the two places I have been to. At the first one, it was a smaller group of teens, and they are in a “more elevate position”, let’s say in that way. They are a sector of an administrative group of Zugdidi, so they are more like interns and have a lady responsible for helping then out. With them, even though it was still good, I felt that they were more momentary excited about my presence, and much more worried about the Georgian food and the “Brazilian” drink (not really) I prepared, then the exchange of culture. We spend much more time doing that then actually talking. And their questions were more in an automatic way, like something they have to ask, then actually personal questions. Plus, I think they were way more interested on showing me about Georgian culture then actually learning about Brazil.
The second group, by the opposite, was super cute, present, interactive and interested. They are a reading group and their meetings happen in the library. After making a quick introduction of myself, I talked a bit about Brazilian literature and cinema, also making many suggestions about both for them. Then, they started bombarding me with questions. Lovely questions and all kind of questions, which I could see it was coming from their hearts. I could see they were truly excited about me being there, and kept their big eyes, almost popping out of their faces, all the time on me and for the whole duration of the meeting. I could see that some of them were really emotional about my presence. How sweet! So I had a blast with them. We could have kept talking for much longer but unfortunately they had to leave and I had to go to the bar. By them I was given three books about Georgia. The books are about Batumi and how the city has grown incredibly; the 5 days war between Georgia and Russia, in 2008; and a book named something like everything the free world should know about Russia.
Going back to the “traditional food” subject, Samagrelo region is famous for its food. All over Georgia, and outside of here too, people talk about how this region had a wonderful cuisine. The National dish of Georgia is Khinkali, wheat dumplings, boiled in water, and filled with seasoned minced meat. Georgians are very proud of it but I myself didn’t like it very much. I also try Ghomi (a porridge made of cornmeal with a big slice of cheese on top, which you can have with some also traditional sauces); some of Georgian traditional sauces are Thekmali (mostly plums, garlic and herbs), Satsebeli (mostly tomatoes, cayenne pepper and herbs) and Bazhe (mostly walnuts, garlic, hot peppers and herbs); Elarji (also a cornmeal with cheese, but in this case, the cheese in added and cooked together, which gives a very elastic consistency to the dish, it is common to stretch the dough really high up out of the pot while preparing); Puri (a bread in the shape of ship, which I adore!); Mchadi (it can also be called Chvishtari, if you replace one or two ingredients, and it is from the mountains in Svaneti, a delicious fried cornbread with cheese, together with Kachapuri, one of my favourite Georgian dishes); Pkhali (minced vegetables and herbs, forming a thick paste which you can spread on Mchadi); Nigvziani Badrijani (eggplants and bell peppers rolls with a walnut filling) Lobio (a stew or spread made of beans and lots of cilantro). One of the things I loved about Georgia is how they use two ingredients in a very huge quantity: cilantro and sour cream. Yummy!
The Brazilian week was very calm and much less interactive then I imagined. We just played some songs; I drew some flags and hanged them around; we had this “Brazilian drink” again, which consisted on some fruits chopped into Sprite; and I prepared two Brazilian dishes: coxinha (“little tight”, literally in English, which consists in a flour sticky dough, in the shape of a drop, or a chicken tight, filled with chicken and tomato sauce, breaded and fried) and espuma de tomate (“foam of tomato”, which is basically a pie but made of a very smooth, liquid dough, with onions, tomatoes and cheese).
I made the Brazilian presentation three times in total after all. The one to end the Brazilian week was, by far, the last succeeded one, in my opinion, but still OK. There were enough people but some of them didn’t seem very interested on knowing more about Brazil. We did some dancing classes after, with me teaching them a bit of samba and forró. The other two times there were also some Georgian presentation, from the part of the youth group, and an Ukrainian presentation regarding the war, from a Ukrainian girl.
About that, Georgian people are very into their state and the conflicts regarding Russia. They also support Ukraine a lot. I understand and totally agree with that. But when it comes to their struggle with Russia then I have my doubts. During the whole time I was there I always heard they complaining about two of their regions which are under Russia dominion right now, and how they should save their people from Russia. But when I left, I start to read the book about the war and even though the man who wrote it is pro Georgia, I could see a lot of floss on the Georgian military and government side when it comes to the war. They have made a lot of mistakes, not only regarding and starting the war, but also in the past, towards one of those invaded regions, Aphrazia. Lots of people might not know, but Georgia actually invaded Aphrazia, killing a lot of them and destroying, almost entirely, their history, way before Russia stepping in.
I also was present for two events happening in Zugdidi, in favor of the community and the country. They were Georgia National / Independence Day, on May 26th, and another more local celebration. Very mixed feelings about both. The first one, even though I though I could finally see some of their traditional dances and music, I actually couldn’t because I was working my in the bus. Edo and Nana have this green bus, where they make some food. We had some cold drinks, Brazilian drink, hot dogs, toasts and chips. But it was so crowded and we were so busy, that I could barely step outside. So by the time we were done, the whole event was also done and I couldn’t much. But at least I felt like doing something and being useful. While in the small community event I felt quite useless because there wasn’t actually space for me to work inside the bus because they got this Alex’s friends to help.
When I was coming back from the Independence Day, I saw something which shocked me! I literally dropped my chin while starring to a scene which shocked me! Part of the event was about military, so there were tanks and some other shit being showed to the people. Including guns and rifles. And what I saw was children holding the rifles while their parents were taking photographs. Children! Now, I have talked with some people from Georgia and Armenia, and most of them came up with something like “when you are in war or at the edge of one, you have to prepare your children to fight”. In my opinion, nothing, I repeat, nothing justify putting a rifle in the hands of a child. You have to encourage peace, not war. Love, not hate. How to hug and not how to fight. What if this war you are expecting never come? You are taking away a bright and beautiful future of your children, by handling them a rifle, instead of a ball or a book. Children must to learn how to be kind to others and to each other, that’s extremely important doing the developing process, that’s the time for it, otherwise it is too late, and they will become a different type of person, someone that not even their parents will recognize.
Anyway, I think that the highlight of my time in Zugididi was actually thanks to Lasha, one of Edo’s best friends. He has a small distillery in his home, where he makes Georgian vodka in hundreds different flavours, and he invited me to come over one night for some vodka tasting. I have being trying some of them eventually, when he would bring a bottle to the bar or to Edo’s house. But this day was special! Like a “Georgian vodka tasting night”! Levan was also there and two other friends, plus Edo who came with me. Lasha totally over done himself, preparing a lovely food table for us, full of Georgian traditional dishes and snacks, and also some beer and sodas. Everything looked so gorgeous! It was so sweet of him to go through so much trouble to do all of that for us. I felt very special and honoured for being part of it. The distillery is super cute! Perfect size and beautiful! The way that the bottles and everything is placed is gorgeous! Everything was perfect and I simply loved to be there. I think we tried about 16 different flavours! But of course I was having small shots. I am not sure if I can remember all the flavours, but followed are the all the ones I have tried in Zugdidi, in total, not only from the special night: Mango, apple, rum with cloves, one with Anis, banana, coffee, lemon, pina-colada, honey, latte, plants which bizons eat, cherry, apple cognac, chillies, plum, purple flower (Butterfly Pea), rose, absinthe, and an “orangy” one which taste citrus.
Which called my attention about Georgia, in the cities, is how many cars have pieces of the outside missing. It seems that, once you lose that piece, either by an accident or anything, you simply don’t replace with a new one, you just leave like that. Also, the way in which they built their houses, at least in Zugdidi, is still very traditional, even for new buildings. So in one street, for example, you will see most of the houses in the same style: two floors, with the entrance staircase quite elevated from the floor, and without anything behind it, like a whole structure, no, it is just the staircase, as you were inside a house, just going upstairs. But there are also some gorgeous old buildings in Zugdidi, still traditional, but in a different style. Even though they look very old and quiet abandoned, I loved it!
I walk around this central park where a palace is located, and took a walk outside the botanical gardens, because you have to pay. They are both nice places but I wouldn’t pay for the botanical gardens even if I could.
On my last day, Edo and Nana invite me to a very nice restaurant, which serves traditional Georgian food. Everything was delicious and the owner of the restaurant even treated us with a very nice white Georgian Wine. How nice of him! And I felt so “special”! The restaurant itself is gorgeous too, with really nice decoration made of old Georgian traditional tools and equipment.
In the morning I am leaving, Edo offers to drive me to a hitchhiking spot.
