I've a problem

I stupidly grin a lot.

Like a lot, a lot.

I've found it's most prominent while riding in cars, because there's just something absurd to me about listening to ridiculously bad club music while careening down ill kept roads, passing at the most inopportune times, and dodging some kind of livestock herd that will inevitably be in the middle of a twisty mountain highway. Someone pointed out that Georgia is where the one hit wonders of the world come to die. This is probably one of the truest statements on the planet. I'm fairly certain that the radio waves here are the audible equivalent of the red headed stepchild - the amount of stuck-in-the-90s techno is comparable only to the bad remixed dance music and typical [bad] "American" rock classics. With a dash of local traditional music thrown in, too, just for good measure. It's a safe bet, however, that if you're in a public place, and there is some kind of music playing, you will hear Pink Floyd's "Brick in the Wall" and at least one Radiohead song.

It's funny to me how big rap is here. Tonight, for instance, I'm going to the concert of our prime minister's son, who is an albino, and also a rapper. Because...Georgia? But every other person here loves the shit out of Tupac, so I've heard a lot of N-bombs dropped. I'm sure they have no idea the connotations that word actually has, or the years of racism and hatred tied to it, and if they ever do go to America I sure as hell hope they drop that word from their lexicon. But, and I'm probably a horrible person for this, hearing an 8 year old Georgian boy say "mah n-gga" is one of the funniest things ever.

Also, in sort of the same vein, my host mom has sweat pants that say "GOLDDIGGA" in gold fake jewels. So that's awesome.

 The rest of the ridiculous things that have made me stupidly grin lately will be in picture form. Cause sometimes you really need to just see things.

Street vendor in Tbilisi. She sits outside what I assume to be her house every day with a bunch of adorable kittens. I'm not sure what all she sells, but she has a donation jar out, so I'm guessing she plays panduri (that string instrument next to her) while kittens play and that's entertainment enough to merit you throwing some tetri her way. Seen here, she is positioning the dog that she picked up from the alley next to that pile of newborn kittens. Also, please note the kitten in the box. And no, that bird cage is not, as you would think, for birds. It had a kitten laying inside it.

We were asked numerous times in Tbilisi for cigarettes by kids who were 10 years old or younger. So seeing this was not all that surprising.

Star Wars graffiti?? Tbilisi! I love you!

MORE Star Wars graffiti?? Tbilisi is just toying with my heart now!

Frigid morning walks aren't half so bad when the Caucasus mountains poke their head out of the clouds they've been hiding in for the last week. I'm really, really upset that they look like thirty times less impressive and pretty in pictures than they do standing on the street looking at them. One day I'll get a good majestic shot of them for you, my diligent reader. 

A guy that works at my school (I don't think he's a teacher, but maybe?) asked me today if I had ever had "new wine," which my English teacher explained to me was wine from September or October harvests. I said no, and he told me he would bring me some to try. I figured this would be in a few days or weeks. No. I come back to the teachers room less than an hour later and this 1.5 L of homemade wine was waiting for me.

When I left for school there was no construction on the road. Three hours later, a backhoe was tearing it up. No signs. No warnings. A brave Lada still tried driving on this, bless his soul, until a guy who was literally just moving gravel around with a shovel yelled at him.

And last but not least. Mary, this one is for you.