10 minutes in security and I was already on my way to wait for my plane.....
A little fast forwarding:
45 minutes to Houston
two-hour layover
a "15-hour" flight to London (with the time change)
<the only difference I saw as I looked down on the United Kingdom (my first view of a foreign country) was quite humorous in my mind at the time- even though I had seen it many time in movies and shows, it was the first instance that I could see cars driving in the reverse direction of the U.S.>
three-hour layover in LHR
a nine-hour flight to Baku and 1-hour stop there
continued one last hour to Tbilisi arriving at 11:40 PM on July 1st
...I thought I was tired when I was riding the last plane over, but when plane wheels finally met airport runway, I could feel my excitement eliminating all exhaustion. I had no clue what to expect, and I couldn't have been happier about it. After leaving the airplane and retrieving my luggage, I immediately looked for further security. There didn't appear to be any lines or checkpoints anywhere in site- just a few lonely glass kiosks for passport clearance. I walked over to one, at which point the lady took my passport, flipped it over, stamped it, and said something generic like "Have a good trip." I was a little confused at this point- from what I had experienced the past 25 hours, things should not be so simple. I took an escalator downstairs, cautiously approached a female Georgian security guard near me, and asked "Do I need to do anything else?" I felt stupid, but this airport was a little too relaxed from my point of view. She gave me a confused look and gave me bluntly said "no," which I took as my invitation to walk on through the metal detector to freedom of all tourists, flight attendants, and grumpy business men. Suddenly the night was alive as over 100 people awaited those who were arriving from my flight as well as one other. I saw my friend Mariam almost immediately, as well as her fraternal twin sister Tinatin. I ran up to both of them and gave them each a huge hug. Honestly, until that moment nothing felt real, and even then, it was still strange...the most surreal moment of my life.
As Givi, our driver from a U.S. Department of State office, took us through the city of Tbilisi, it was hard to remember what I had to expected up to that point. Everything I could see exemplified Georgia's location- a crossroad of cultures. The area referred to as Old Tbilisi, with its beautiful churches, monuments, and housing, is situated on the side of one of the mountains enclosing the city. As we drove alongside this scene, I looked over into a picture-perfect moment. It looks like an ancient theme park nesting in the slopes of the mountain. The night brought out all of its glory and no picture on earth can ever capture this landscape. We took a few other small detours through the north part of the city, but no matter where we went, the larger business or advertisement signs always appeared in Georgian writing on the top half, and strangely enough, English on the bottom half. Mariam had told me of the influence that the English language has had on Georgian culture recently, but it was another thing all together to see this living proof of it. I would never think of such a unique and homogeneous culture embracing other languages in such a widespread manner. As my Georgian "tour guides" conveyed to me though, until 2008 when Georgia went into a war with Russia, you would have found Russian writing on the bottom half of all those signs. It's only recently that they have transferred their primary international language to English. The need for these outside languages stems from a joke Mariam made- the only people in the world who speak Georgian are the Georgians themselves and U.S. peace corp.
After a wonderful 1 a.m. view of Tbilisi's finest, I arrived at my hotel in the middle part of the city down a very beautiful strip of shops. Called Hotel Istanbul, it didn't seem to have a single Turkish citizen within it. Perhaps it was named for having a Turkish vibe to the room, but that's not anything I would know about; however, it seemed to be a fairly standard Georgian hotel room to the inspection of Mariam and Tina. When they spoke with the man at the front desk, I tried not to be surprised when Mariam acted like an angry customer who have had a week of awful service. I soon found out that this goes with the language. Georgians are very lively people who express their emotions in what U.S. culture would call "outlandish." I found it very intriguing and easy to follow- the main communication was 90% facial expressions, hand movements, and tone of voice. The language barrier appears to be no problem in Georgia.
Luckily, we had no problems with the room and I soon headed up to the second floor with my suitcase and carry-on. The room was a strange mix of modern and traditional. The sheets looked non-existent, there was a blue Adidas blanket on the foot of the bed, normal hotel room furniture (dresser, bed-side table, window, TV, etc.), and a beautiful bathroom with a stand-up shower. The sisters helped me bring my stuff up and Mariam left me with some refreshing Georgian treats and snacks- Nabeghlavi (sparkling water), Tuc Cheese Crackers, a chocolate bar, and delicious Georgian bottled water.
I ended the night taking a shower and spending some time looking out the window, through decorative bars overlaying it. I had a relaxing view at a large, yet quaint street with gorgeous architecture and a steady stream of passer-bys- Georgian and foreign alike. The last thing I contemplated before going to sleep was about a conversation Mariam and I had before she left. She said that as soon as she came back to Georgia, her time in the U.S. didn't feel real. She remembers a lot and keeps in touch with many of her American friends, but it's like a vivid dream to her. I vow to do what I can just as Mariam has done, to make my experience as real and long-lasting as possible- starting with plenty of sleep to eliminate the jet lag.
