Monday, January 4, 2010

Arrival

This morning I am up early as will probably be the case for some time. My inner clock has yet to set itself to the Georgian time scheme. In fact, I was surprised yesterday after my arrival that it didn’t get light until about eight o’clock. My friend and former student Nino met me at the airport. Luggage arrived as it was supposed to. Lufthansa did me well. The Munich airport wait was too long. Flights—8.5 from Chicago to Munich; 3 hours on to Tiblisi.
I spend a good part of the morning unpacking and finding places for things. The apartment is large. You enter it up a dingy set of stairs to a third level. It is not a secure building as we might find in the states with a lock on the street side. But, the door itself seems secure. It took me only an hour or so to short out a circuit and half the apartment was dark. Later I found the circuit breaker panel and was able to turn the lights back on.
It would be easy to find plenty of moody black and white photos in this neighborhood I am in on a soggy, rainy day. The streets are narrow. The sidewalks are there on some blocks and not on others. This part of town is quite hilly. My young Fulbright friends tell me that on icy days it is difficult walking the streets in this area because it is so slippery. Cobblestones are tough to navigate on foot. And these are good sized cobblestones creating plenty of opportunity for twisted ankles. Cars have the right of way and lurch around corners in unpredictable ways. I found a grocery store only a block away called Populi. No English there. But, by reading the labels and guessing somewhat intelligently, one can find what one needs. Or a close approximation.
After traveling for so long, I had hoped for a shower. Not to be had until the water came on at 7. Then it was scalding hot as is the water in the kitchen sink. I will try to find out how to turn it down.
Last night Maia the landlady and her daughter Natia came by and we got the internet working and made plans for today. Cell phone, a place where they sell good veggies, and possibly someone who would like to make some money as a driver for me.
The photo is of a city landmark. Mtatsminda is a mountain that rises above my apartment. On its top is this brilliantly lit tower. It is quite beautiful when the rain clouds stream by it. I suspect I will take more pictures of this as it is a striking feature.

1 comment:

  1. Jesse and I are happy you have arrived safely. Thank you for doing these posts. We'll see Sarah this afternoon.

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