The Cold: A warning of what happens to your mind when you experience a Georgian winter

For the past few weeks, it has been getting colder and colder. It's snowed a few times, and it's just cold. With the lack of central heating, my days are consumed with staying warm, and I think it's a good idea to warn others of the effects cold can have.

·      After taking a hot shower and still leaving the bathroom shivering, I’m considering the necessity of taking showers in the winter. I’ve rationalized the idea by thinking I can wash my hair occasionally in hot water and dry it immediately without having to take any layers off and it’s cold, so I’m not sweating.

·      I watch the Spanish soap operas on TV and the first thing I think is, “Why aren’t they wearing a jacket?! How can they be warm enough to not need one?” I can’t fathom a world in which a little sun dress is warm enough.

·      My day is consumed with planning where my next source of warmth is going to come from. In this way, it’s almost like an addiction – an addiction to warmth.

·      If you’re not careful, you will describe your hatred of the cold as an addiction to warmth. I second-guess agreeing to activities that will take me away from being within two feet from the pechi.

·      When I was handed a bowl of sunflower seeds that had just been cooked on the stove, my first thought was to forget eating the sunflower seeds and just hold the warm bowl.

·      I cannot see an end to the winter; I literally feel like it will never end, and I cannot see a way that it will ever be warmer.

·      My idea of the perfect day is one spent reading a book in my long underwear and jeans with a tank top, long-sleeved shirt, sweater, and jacket on top, sitting next to the pechi without the door ever opening to let the cold air in the house.

·      When people attempt to comfort me in my state of cold by saying that snow never comes in November and always waits until January and February, I want to slap them and say, “Then why is it snowing?!”

·      You fixate upon cold so much that you write a blog post exaggerating the effects of weather.

It's been 1 month...

It has now been one month since I’ve been in Georgia. In fact, today marks one month since I arrived in Shashiani. I can hardly believe that it’s been so long already, and I know that I will be saying the same thing as I continue to mark off my 9 months. It will be very difficult to leave the life I have found myself in here.

As one month seems like a significant marker of sorts, I feel that it is appropriate to look back over the past 4 weeks. One of the lists I’ve made in mind over my time here has been the things I am most glad I brought with me and the things I wish I had with me. Today seems like a fitting time to share that with you, whether you’re interested or not…

Things I Consider It A Stroke of Brilliance That I Have Them With Me (whether or not it was my own brilliance is another matter entirely, so if something on this list was your idea…10 points to you):

    1.  Leggings – It’s getting cold here, and I can’t just wear another sweater to make my legs    

        warm.

    2.  Aleve – I’ve had a few headaches in my days here, probably from trying so hard to   

       catch a word or two here in a conversation in a language I don’t understand.  

    3. Kleenex – They are soft; they are my friend, and I’ve had a cold for the majority of my   

       time in Georgia up until yesterday.

    4. Black boots – It rains a lot here, and my flats just won’t cut it as I walk to and from    

       school in the mud.

    5. Granola bars and other sorts of American snacks – I realize I won’t have these forever, 

       but they’re definitely helped as I transition into finding Georgian snacks that I want to  

       have and deal with not controlling my food intake.

    6. Movies – I filled a CD case with movies and TV shows, and it’s been a great way to end 

       the evening when I go to my room for the night.

Things I Consider It a Stroke of Idiocracy That I Don’t Have With Them Me (whether or not I would’ve had room for them is another matter entirely):

    1. Games – I have a few, but they are mostly educational, and sometimes I would like to 

       whip out a game that Ani and I could play together.

    2. Computer paper – Ani and I draw a lot, and it would be nice to have some blank paper.

    3. Big black bag – Seriously, all the teachers here have them to carry their books around   

       in, so it would’ve been nice to have been clued in on that one before coming. I can buy 

       one here that I really like, but it’s fairly expensive, so we’ll see what happens.

    4. Just one more sweater – I have a bunch of sweaters, so that’s not really the problem. I 

       do, however, wish that I had an extra “lounging” sweater that I could wear around the 

       house or as an additional layer when it’s just a bit chilly.

    5. Georgian-English dictionary – I can get one here, but it would’ve been nice to have it 

       with me in the past month as the tiny dictionary in the back of my phrasebook renders 

       itself useless in many cases.

    6. An extra pair of flats – I realize I can just buy some here, but it’s easier to buy things in  

       stores in which the employees speak perfect English and not everyone stares at you 

       when you walk in. I would like a pair of flats that I can wear around the house, and I 

       know exactly the pair that I left at home in favor of tennis shoes…tennis shoes, like I’ll 

       ever need those.

All things considered, though, I’ve done pretty well with the things I’ve brought. There’s nothing that I don’t have that I can’t live without – just things that could make life a little easier. Alas, I will buy them here, and a month from now I will be writing on the things that I didn’t realize I could buy with such ease in Georgia.

7 ½ months to go, one of which spent traveling in Ireland and Scotland for the holidays, and I can say with perfect honesty, as I sit on a random pipe in front of the house to catch the sun after being at church this morning in which I understood the majority of the sermon as it is given in English and then translated into Georgian, that I am completely content with being right where I am.