Adjusting

The first part of this entry is less about our travel experiences in terms of what we have seen and done but more about  adjusting in general.

We have been staying with Nia's sister, Etuna, for a week.  As much as we want to help out it is hard.  There is a bit of a language barrier, but we are dealing with that.  There are other issues, though. Both Etuna and her husband Vasiko are doctors.  Etuna is a neurologist and the head of that department in the hospital where she works.  She leaves for work at 9:00 am and the earliest she gets home is about 8:30 pm!  She works six days a week, only getting Sunday as her day off.  If she is sick, or there is a family emergency, there is no one who can easily cover for her.  Vasiko is a surgeon in a different hospital and his hours are a little kinder, but each week he gets a "24-hour" shift that begins immediately after a normal day shift, thus becoming one very, very long day that starts on in the morning of one day and ends the next afternoon (late in the day).  He is usually home before Etuna and when he comes through the door his daughter, Nita, wants 100% of his attention after spending the day with Tika, the young lady who is her nanny,

Dinner gets cooked or prepared after everyone gets home.  We have tried to help by purchasing meat or precooked chicken and prepared salads.  This does take a little of the pressure off Etuna.  Thursday we have had a major breakthrough; Etuna will let/allow Marty to fix the whole dinner!  This is certainly an adjustment on Etuna's part, because she appeared to feel obligated to be the hostess even after a very long day at the hospital.  We are grateful that she has become comfortable enough with us to allow assistance with the every-day chore of fixing a major meal.

Riding the escalator down to the platform in the Sameditsino Universiteti station

Our major adjustment to travel in the city has been in riding the Metro.  Back in 2000 when we first came to Georgia we rode the Metro a few times, but were warned that it was not a wise thing to do for two reasons. First that the power often failed and left one stranded underground in the dark and secondly, it was an easy place for foreigners to get robbed.  Each these was  a good enough reason to abandon use of the Metro, so we used marshutkas (mini-busses) instead or walked or took a taxi.  And yes, marshutkas were also rumored to be a good place to be robbed, but we never sensed any danger when we used them.

Metro platform in Sameditsino Universiteti

Station stop signage on the wall opposite the platorm

Passengers boarding the train in Station Square

We probably have some old metro tokens lurking on a dresser in Hallowell.  Now, however, we use fancy RFID metro fare cards that we tap on a sensor on the entry turnstile.  The reader can even pick up the card when it is in someone's wallet!  Granted there are really only two lines, but you can get from Saburtalo region to the train station or Rustaveli very quickly.  The fare structure is also interesting.  The first ride in a day is 40 tetri, the next one 30 tetri, and all rest in any given day, 20 tetri each.  Not bad I would say, and there is no penalty for rush hour.  Now how good does that get: eat your heart out folks in Washington, D.C.

Metro fare card

 

 

 

And one last thing about the fare cards for the Tbilisi metro system.  One pays a 2 GEL deposit (about $1.25) and then adds money.  If you keep your receipt for the deposit then at some point you may return the card and get your 2 GEL refunded.  The card is also good on the city buses.

Riding the Tbilisi Metro brings back strong memories of riding Moscow's underground system; after all, the equipment all came from the same Soviet factory about fifty years ago.  The cars are the same, the noises, the super-fast escalators, even the heavy glass doors you go through as you enter the subway system.   The only differences are the Georgian faces and the less-adorned platforms in Tbilisi.  It has not changed since 2000 except the lighting is now better and the fare cards are new.

We spent a few lovely hours with our friend Maia who is the best-ever silk painter and felter in Georgia.  We may be biased, but those of you who know her will agree fully with that statement.  She is coming to the US in February for an exhibition in Florida and several of us want so much to get her to MAINE!  This will be her first time in the US, and would also love to see Washington, DC and New York City.  Her excitement about coming is contagious, she is realizing a dream after months of thinking it wouldn't happen.

So, please, all of you who know her, put on your thinking caps and lets figure out how to get our friend Maia all the places she would like to see.  We think that limiting travel to the East Coast would be best.  Please feel free to contact us either by email or phone once we are back in Maine.  For one, I know I could get the fellowship hall at our church for a workshop if we need a spot.  But how about the Georgian-American Association in DC?  Who might have contacts on NYC, and of course, what about other locations in Maine.  This woman is really a national Georgian treasure, so lets work together to share her talents with the US.