Day .1.
- Caitlin was proposed to about a dozen times by a strange drunk man on the marshutka ride from Tbilisi to Orzageti. I liked him though for two reasons: he bought me a beer and opened it with his teeth.
- The family's house that I'm staying with isn't bad, although it kind of looks like a run-down hunting lodge. The "toilet" is a hole in the ground that you need to walk through the garden to get to, but my room is quite nice. I saw a photo of a bear climbing the outside stairs to my room and immediately wondered how I would ever sleep in such a place. I needn't have worried - while I was looking at the photo my host father charged into the room with a giant bear skin. It seems the bear came off second best in that encounter. The skin now rests on the floor of my room, dwarfing the bed, with a shotgun in the corner just in case a brother bear decides to pay a visit.
Day .2.
- With the aid of a Georgian-English dictionary I was informed we were going to a "health resort" in the mountains. I think the definition should be ammended to "refugee camp". The scenery, however, is beautiful and I look forward to exploring the countryside there as we will be spending quite a bit of time there.
- I needn't have worried about cold showers in Georgia. It has quickly become apparent that showers full stop will be few and far between.
- Watched a horse race in the mountains. It wasn't exactly the Melbourne Cup but it was interesting nonetheless.I'd assess the track a Slow 7 with a quarry of rocks spread throughout.
Day .3.
- Sat down for a huge breakfast, something I am realising is typical of Georgia. The women scurry around like house elves cooking and refilling plates while the men eat and take shots of cognac - just what I feel like at 9 in the morning.
- Had chacha with lunch which I am pretty sure is Georgian for "turpentine". I think I'll stick to the wine and cognac.
- Saw a snake. As an Australian my natural instinct was to be wary of it and move away; my host brothers charged at it with a stick trying to kill it.
Day .4.
- Helped unpack the plates and glasses for the big feast at my host Dad's farm celebrating the opening of duck season in Guria. Various insects had claimed spots amongst the plates but that did not seem to deter my Georgian hosts. Things are definitely a little rough here on the kitchen front. On the hygeine scale I think it comes in about a point above "Bear Grylls".
- Went for a bit of duck hunting before the feast. Those of you who have spent more than five minutes with me know I'm about as comfortable with a gun as Scott Lucas is giving a handball, but I was happy to give it a go. Unfortunately I can't comment on just how bad a shot I am as we didn't even get close to any ducks. Obviously my orange-pink t-shirt camoflauge wasn't quite having the desired effect.
- With the President of what I presume is the Duck Hunting Association of Guria in attendence, as well as a TV reporter armed with a camera, it was time to select 6-7 men out of the hundred or so assembled to each fire two rounds in the air to formally kick-off the season. I was asked to participate and gladly oblidged. I concentrated very hard on not shooting anybody as I aimed my double-barrel into the air and shot more or less in unison with the other more-appropriately dressed men. It was the start of a very fun afternoon!
- The next 3-4 hours consisted of a giant feast, known here in Georgia as a "supra". Toast after toast was made, with folk singing by half a dozen old men occurring in between each one. By about the 15th toast, after God, Georgia and family had all got a mention, somehow I became the subject for a toast. A hundred Georgian men stood with me, waiting to catch my eye so so they could raise their glasses to me before downing their wine. A folk song was then dedicated to me by the old blokes down the table, none of which I understood but after fifteen or so glasses of fine Georgian wine it wasn't something I was too concerned with.
- All in all quite a fun day. I made some friends, experienced my first true Georgian supra and apparently appeared on Gurian television after only four days in the region.
Day .5.
- Caught a bus down to Batumi to stay with some other volunteers for a few days. We managed to get a nice house in the city, only 5 minutes from the beach. The landlord gave us a shotgun tour of the city, and when I say shotgun I mean it in the sense that it was as if someone was following and shooting at us with a shotgun. He swerved, dodged and sped like James Bond through the steets of Batumi, stopping only to buy everyone - himself included - a longneck of beer. Just what you want your already crazy driver to be drinking!
- Nice little surprise in the streets that night. Martin (A Pommy, but a good one) and I were singing Waltzing Matilda when a lady came up beside us and joined in. Random things like that make you smile and remember home.
Day .6.
- My first shower since leaving Tbilisi!!! A hot one at that. I thought to myself how lucky I was to be in Batumi as I poured a bucket of water down the toilet to flush away any remains.
Currently craving: Footy, Cherry ripes, clean drinking water, the Australian ocean, a solid bowell movement.
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