When you hop into a stranger’s car there’s no telling what will happen

Since finishing with the police, rides to Sighnaghi (and the internet) have not been as readily available. I’ve taken to hitchhiking into town. I have generally been able to get rides within ten minutes. On one occasion I was picked up by a Georgian and his wife who has been living in Australia for the last six years, on another occasion I had to push aside a large quantity of egg cartons to squeeze onto the back seek and yesterday I got a ride on a four-wheeler. But the most memorable came on Wednesday. I was picked up by a car and came to understand that the animated gentleman in the front seat was a relatively famous actor. He laughed, he sang, he stuck his head out the window and screamed, and generally played the clown. The three of them told me they were meeting friends, asked if I had plans and then promptly invited me to a supra. Soon I found myself driving in a caravan that included some Iranian business men, a relative of the Georgian president and the famous Georgian singer Eter Kakulie. It was not clear to me where we were headed but soon enough we were at a restaurant in Dedoplistskaro. It was certainly one of the more generous spreads I have been a part of here- the food didn’t stop coming. There was traditional dancing and we were treated to a rendition of a Kakulie classic: Tbiliso, sad aris. I was driven back to Nukriani later that evening with a full stomach and a new CD!