Ask BVP anything about Georgia

[BigBallinStalin]

Have the locals accepted you as their new master?


How does it feel to be a Canadian in Georgia? How out of place do you feel? How do locals generally receive you?

[Haggis_McMutton]

How's the weather?

[strike wolf]

How's the weather?

mild and sunny right now. Which probably means it will be cold and rainy in two hours.

[Baron Von PWN]

Have the locals accepted you as their new master?


How does it feel to be a Canadian in Georgia? How out of place do you feel? How do locals generally receive you?

No but they've been pretty friendly so far.

Interesting, I've been hanging out with a bunch of people from the anglo-sphere so that's been neat. The strangest thing is their conception of canada. They essentialy seem to think we're all fair haired white guys. So getting them to understand that, yes this asian looking guy is Canadian, is interesting. I've been speaking allot of Russian to communicate since I know next to no georgian.

Me and some friends went walking around some back streets in Tblisi. My one friend had a sortof strange get up, some sortof military looking boots, shorts and a jacket. I commented on it looking a little silly but didin't think much of it. It drew allot of very strange looks from the georgians, at one point a bunch of school children pointed and laughed.

They seem to be able to tell just about instantly that we're foreing, even when we're not wearing silly outfits. Likely because its pretty ethnically homogeneous.

The locals reactions to us range from, reserved to very friendly. The ones wanting to practice their english seem especialy nice. In general Georgians seem to be warmer towards strangers than Russians, especially if you say hello in Georgian, that usually makes them smile.

@Haggis

It's been pretty nice. 10 to 12 degrees Celsius. Sunny, though its a little overcast today.

[rdsrds2120]

Does Coca-Cola taste any better there, being closer to the plant?

-rd

[Baron Von PWN]

Does Coca-Cola taste any better there, being closer to the plant?

-rd

I don't really drink coca-cola so I dunno. I've only seen it in the "classic" glass bottles here though.

[rdsrds2120]

Does Coca-Cola taste any better there, being closer to the plant?

-rd

I don't really drink coca-cola so I dunno. I've only seen it in the "classic" glass bottles here though.

Ha, me either. That's why I was wondering if it tasted any better. All glass bottles, you say? How vintage!





Another question -- is your overall experience positive or negative so far? I was supposed to go to Georgia last summer, but it didn't happen, so I might as well inquire.

-rd

[Baron Von PWN]

Does Coca-Cola taste any better there, being closer to the plant?

-rd

I don't really drink coca-cola so I dunno. I've only seen it in the "classic" glass bottles here though.

Ha, me either. That's why I was wondering if it tasted any better. All glass bottles, you say? How vintage!





I've been having a blast!I'm in a hotel with like 80 other english speakers from all over for training before they set us loose on Georgia's public schools. Since i'm the only one who speaks Russian I get to play translater allot.
Another question -- is your overall experience positive or negative so far? I was supposed to go to Georgia last summer, but it didn't happen, so I might as well inquire.

-rd

[BigBallinStalin]

BVP, according to the CIA Factbook on Georgia:

Orthodox Christian (official) 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)

Have you been to any of these pagan-esque (har har) Orthodox Christian events?

What has been your general impression about Georgians and their attitude toward religion?

And is "Armenian-Gregorian" equivalent to the Armenian Apostolic Church? Are these people terrorists? I don't know much about them, so it's best to play it safe by assuming that they're terrorists.

[Baron Von PWN]

BVP, according to the CIA Factbook on Georgia:

Orthodox Christian (official) 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)

Have you been to any of these pagan-esque (har har) Orthodox Christian events?

What has been your general impression about Georgians and their attitude toward religion?

And is "Armenian-Gregorian" equivalent to the Armenian Apostolic Church? Are these people terrorists? I don't know much about them, so it's best to play it safe by assuming that they're terrorists.

I haven't been to a georgian orthodox service yet no. I assume they are similar to the Russian orthodox variety, though really I have no clue.

Georgia and by extension Georgians seem to be in the middle of a religious revival. You see allo of public displays of piety. Icons in taxis and marshutkas(mini buses), people crossing themselves when in proximity to a church. Even doing so while driving. Religious items are in most of the classrooms at the school I teach at.

Then again there are people who clearly do not follow the religion closely, but religious observance seems to be on the rise.

Armenian-Georgians, are just Armenians of Georgian citizenship. So yes they likely follow the apostolic church.

As far as I know there are no active terrorist organizations in Georgia. so no, not terrorists.

By the way the muslim population is concentrated in the Adjara region near the turkish border. It faced similar separatist tensions as abkazhia and south ossetia, but a negotiated settlement was reached.

[2dimes]

Time for an update. Would I blend in wearing flannel?

How close is Georgian language to Russian? There must be many similar words.

[AndyDufresne]

Is The Gold Rush your favorite Georgia Hale movie?




--Andy

[Baron Von PWN]

Time for an update. Would I blend in wearing flannel?

How close is Georgian language to Russian? There must be many similar words.

Absolutely not.I have not seen a single piece of flannel.

Georgian is it's own unique language and doesn't share any linguistic roots with Russian. However there are allot of borrowed words from Russian.

[Baron Von PWN]

Is The Gold Rush your favorite Georgia Hale movie?




--Andy

no.