On Friday the 9th grade invited me out for lunch in Sighnaghi. I don’t teach their class, but a number of them speak English fairly well and come over to talk during the breaks. It was a nice little outing. We ate an enormous quantity of khinkali, the Georgian meat dumplings. But coming back turned out to be interesting. We were seated in the marshutka, one of the converted minivans that serve as public transit here. The rest of the seats filled. And then people kept squeezing on. Seats were shared, laps became seats, some stood. I think there must have been twice as many people as seats by the time we left!
On Saturday I decided to head in Tbilisi as there was not a whole lot to do in the village. Rather than wait for the marshutka I decided to hitch hike. I was picked up quickly by a family from Rustavi coming from their vineyard, headed to Sagarejo. They insisted I take a whole bunch of grapes when the dropped me off.
I decided to take a marshutka from Sagarejo. Walking from where the buses stop in Tbilisi, one has to go through a little market to get to the metro. It’s always fun to walk through the stands. Most of the people are all selling the same produce, but the composition of colors and smells has changed a little since the summertime. The reds of tomatoes were still present, a couple cucumber-greens were still sticking around, the basil and cilantro persisted, but the green-yellow of grapes dominated, the first pumpkins were being sold, and through it all came a nice farm-y smell from the woman selling cheese.
I bargained with a man at the dry-bridge market for the accordion he was selling. He asked for 70 lari, I told him 50. He agreed. Having played some more on it, I realize I may have overpaid a little, but I’m enjoying it so much that it’s well worth the $30!
Coming back I took the marshutka. The driver recognized me from TV and had me sit up front. The sunset was spectacular. Fluffy horizontal clouds were painted in golds, oranges, reds, and violets as the daylight faded. The crescent moon got brighter. Just as I was trying to get a better look out the window, the marshutka broke down- plenty of time for a good look! Half a dozen men poked around under the hood by cell-phone light to no avail. Eventually another van pulled up and we all got on. With the accordion it was an awkward squeeze.
This second marshutka was not going through Nukriani so I was dropped off about 2 kilometers from the house. It was a beautiful night- clear and cold, with a sky chock full of stars. But walking with an accordion box isn’t tons of fun, so I was happy when a man stopped to give me a lift.
On Sunday I headed into Sighnaghi for the hot air balloon festival. Coming down the road into town looking across the valley I could see fresh snow on the tops of the Caucasus Mountains- stunning. It was a perfect fall day, warm, but not hot, clear sky. A couple TLG friends came out for the day, making for a real nice laid-back finish to the weekend.
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