Stop This World from Spinning

First, a song. I'll explain the dedication a bit later:

I am officially in Georgia!! The trip was mostly just long and aside from one mishap with my “travel backpack” ripping at the seams and plopping all my goods on the floor behind me like golden eggs, everything went smoothly. I had to replace the bag, of course, but it was a small price to pay for a necessary solution.

The flights were peaceful; I had good seat mates on each flight and even my 7 hour layover in Istanbul was fascinating. I have never experiences so many cultures at once. Simply sitting quietly in the food court was like listening to a potpourri of a thousand melodies.

I arrived in Georgia at 5 AM local time, 4 PM PST; that puts us 11 hours ahead of California, for those of you counting. The people have been wonderful, both locals and other teachers. My peers come from Australia, England, South Africa, and all over the US. Currently, there's 12 of us, with 3 more joining soon.

Jet-lag is really kicking my butt; last night I slept 40 minutes. I've practically gone more than 24 hours without sleep... without a test to study for! Never thought I'd see the day. But on the plus side, I had plenty of time to go into town and explore. Tbilisi is absolutely stunning! Seeing a place as rich in history as this makes me lament the brief history of destruction that America has had. We have such a short history and what little history there was before was all but decimated. Tbilisi truly a city of contradictions and contrasts. I have plenty of stories to tell already, but for now I'll let the pictures do the talking. It's too bad these simply can't do the truth justice. Also, I'll have more pictures on FB. Our training officially begins on Monday, and we'll finally learn our placements no later than Friday.

A Lovely Clock :)

Italian style homes and business below a lit up fortress, originally built in the 13th Century!

Another view at night.

There are many churches in this small city. This is a daytime image from atop the fortress pictured above.

Lady Georgia, built in the the 1960s, holds a bowl of wine in one hand, to warmly welcome visitors, while armed with a sword in the other, ready should an enemy strike.

And finally, the most important news of all: I'm an aunty!!! My first baby nephew was born June 29^th, I believe (accounting for the time difference). He's a big boy, a whole 20” long! And he's pink and beautiful. If you happen to see my new baby nephew, please give him the biggest smooch you can muster, on his aunt's behalf. That kid is gonna know how much I love him even from way the hell out here.

And that brings us to the song at the top of this post. It's for him because that's how much I already love him. I'm sad that I'm so far and I can't smell his new baby smell and hug my brother and sister-in-law, but the love that I already feel for the ity bity makes me feel on the verge of imploding and (though I'm getting too far ahead of myself, considering I just got here), when I finally get home to see him, six months apart will feel like only a blip in time.

“It’s dark now and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.” 
― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

Packing List

I've done most of my packing already. I'm sure I've missed some things, but I owe thanks to Tina Tran for helping me with the international travel essentials, and my old coworkers for the amazon gift card that bought me my language translation dictionaries and travel guides!

A break down of what I have:

Clothes: modest, mostly blacks and neutrals.

2 jeans, 3 or 4 dress pants, 2 pairs of shorts.

A few casual and a few dressy tops.

Many dresses because as you may know, I love me some dresses.

9 pairs of shoes. 2 flats, 2 flip flops, 2 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of toms and my running shoes. I probably went overboard here, but shoes are my thing, next to dresses. Didn't pack much for going out, so I hope what I have will do.

1 very heavy coat, 1 medium coat, and 2 sweaters.

Bathing suite, towel, pajamas, yoga pants.

Books, laptop, ipad, and 2 converter sets, just in case.

The rest are personal toiletries and school supplies that I hope will prove versatile and effective.

I also bought some See's Candy, Mexican Candy, and postcards to bring as gifts. I tried to keep it simple. Still, I'm sure I will still be paying for extra weight when I board my flight.

If you have any recommendations/suggestions, please don't be shy to comment below!

Down the Rabbit-Hole

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice ‘without pictures or conversation?’

“So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.”

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Lewis Carrol

I leave Mexico tomorrow after 10 really great days; fatter and happier. I also recently received my itinerary, which is good news since it answers a lot of questions; it also makes it all much more real:

Depart LAX on Wednesday, June 26 at noon.

Arrive in Chicago 4 hours later; then 4 hour layover. Anyone know if I can/should leave the airport for a while? Maybe find myself a good Chicago style pizzeria?

Depart again at 10:30PM, CST to Istanbul!! 11 Hour flight. And then, a THRILLING SEVEN HOUR LAYOVER! Eek! Maybe I should bring a sleeping bag... 

And finally, the last leg of my flight, 2.25 toTibilisi. Nearly 28 hours in transit!!! I'm kind of scared of doing it alone, I might get left somewhere (knock on wood)!

Thankfully, there will be someone at the airport in Georgia to help me get to where I need to be. I've also got credit on my skype, in case I need to call someone; let's just hope I can find Internet should I need it. Better yet, let's hope I don't need it. 

I'm most scared of the language barriers. I remember being miserable when I needed help in the Thai airport when I was there in 2008.

Wish me luck!

Mishaps

Some of you may not know, but I'm actually in Mexico right now. Visiting the motherland, and the original mother of my history, my gammy. And everyone else too, of course. 

Family is a wonderful, dysfunctional, messy, beautiful thing and I'm happy to be here after a MUCH MUCH MUCH too complicated and frustrating travel experience, of which the details are irrelevant since we're here now, together and safe. 

Plus, we were met with coco-cocktails and really, how could I stay grumpy after this:

I'll be here 9 more days, during which time, I pray to Jebuz that my baby nephew is born safely, so that I can go home for 1 day and kiss him before I board the flight to Georgia. 

The details and logistics of packing were insane. I had to pack for 10 days here in this rotten miserable heat, while leaving things mostly ready for Georgia. I think I did ok. My packing list was relatively short for 6 months; I'll share it at a later time in case anyone is planning to travel internationally soon and might need some help with it.

Anyway, I'm reading up on my Georgian history and foodology. Expect a post regarding this soon. Finally, something useful beyond my self indulging ramblings. 

<3

The way we were...

I said my goodbyes this weekend. I kept them short and sweet because no contrived farewell could do justice to the love and gratitude that fill my heart towards so many people in San Diego.

Who knows if I'll return; for now, I think not, but I'm grateful for the experiences that at one point, made San Diego feel like home. But like many things in life, we grew out of each other, and I leave San Diego with an easy heart. 

I feel like I'm ending an epic romance, in the style of good old Babs herself. I fell in love with San Diego, and though our love affair was often rocky - he, too carefree and superficial, and I, too convicted and insatiable for anyone's good -  it was also intensely passionate and exhilarating. But alas, all good things come to an end, and I take with me only the good memories, because after all, things are always better in our memories...the way we were.  

The Last Hurrah!

My room is hollow; it echoes when I put my empty bag down. And my bag sits in the center of the room, and I think I see it pulsing with the anticipation of the next adventure.

… did that sound like I was trying too hard? Baha!

No, but really. My pops came last weekend and helped me move pretty much ALL of my things. This little place that last week felt like home, feels more like an icy hole in the wall, like the little shit hole it always aspired to be! And I do mean that.

But there's no sadness in it, at least not yet. Which is a wonderful thing, because it means that the timing is right. And let me assure you, the timing could not be more right. Transition is exactly what I need.

With my trip less than 2 weeks away, I'm stressed and overwhelmed, and of course, I left everything to the last minute, because I don't know how not to procrastinate. But that's okay, because when you are tried, you thrive and that's the instinct that I'm hoping will kick in when I realize all the things I failed to prepare for.

Anyway, enough rambling.

Last weekend I spent a completely AWESOME weekend with family, dancing the night away, al estilo Sinaloa. If I never wear those heels again, they can be put to rest having lived a fulfilled life, practically danced the soles right off of those pretty puppies.

And So this week is my last hurrah, hence the title of this post. All week, I will work hard and party hard as well. I'll spend my last weekend in the states with my beautiful friends and family in Riverside, and then fly to Mexico.

Yes, that's right. Mexico. I'm gonna spend some time with my grandparents and I'm so grateful that I get to do that. Then I'll come back, and 2 days later, I'm jet-setting again, and that time it will be forreal ;)

Also, I've changed my blog's name and url because I'm admittedly self conscious and I just think this new blog name is more me.

Awkward, nonsensical post, I'm just so exhausted and excited. So, check ya' later, kitty katz!