The Supra

I don’t know how to respond except to say that I am sorry. Things have been a bit hectic in the field but still I have no excuse for, as Brooke accurately put it, ‘blog neglect’. So to make it up to you I will make 2 entries today.

I am writing from the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, where I have been for the past 4 days to get a Russian visa. Today, I leave for Zugdidi for a few days to work in the field, then back to Sukhum for a couple more days and on the 12th I leave for one week holiday in Istanbul!
Istanbul’s not Constantinople, now it’s Istanbul not Constantinople, been a long time gone, Constantinople, why did Constantinople get the works? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks! Oh, sorry, I become possessed with They Might Be Giants every time. . .Which reminds me, any recommendations on what to do while I am there? Would be great to know interesting unusual recs made outside Lonely Planet.

I can’t believe I have been here nearly 3 months! And only 130 days ‘til the Paris marathon?! Training is thus far going according to schedule; Ran 14 miles for first time in the other day.

Recently I had a most interesting experience. I attended a supra, which is a traditional Georgian celebration involving an abundance of food, wine, and tchatcha (homemade grape vodka aka moonshine). The head of the table, or toastmaster, is known as the tamada. The tamada on this occasion was a surgeon working in a remote area near Telavi, which is on the northeastern border of Georgia near to Chechnya. He is providing surgeries for several hundred Chechens. He himself Chechen, came to Georgia to aid refugees who fled from the conflict with Russia. We were fortunate enough to tour his hospital and surgical theater, which was nothing short of amazing. The dilapidated facility in which he works was built during soviet times and is largely abandoned but he manages to perform extensive surgeries with very limited resources. It was a nice reminder of why I am doing this kind of work and of the possibilities for what more can be done. Truly an inspiring individual.

In the future I will do my best to blog more frequently, if you promise to send the latest updates and gossip in your world.

Kisses!