Recap of May 17, 2014 in Tbilisi

May 19, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

Short story: May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia This day last year in Tbilisi, demonstrations turned into a mob rampage, when over 20,000 men (some estimates were as high as 40,000) attacked a small group of LGBT supporters This year, the Georgian Orthodox Church declared May 17 to be the Day of Family Strength, celebrating traditional values.  They marched through the city and demonstrated against a recently passed anti-discrimination bill. LGBT groups could not rally or demonstrate, due […]

Categories: Conflict, Gender, Georgia, LGBT, Tbilisi • Tags: Discrimination, Eurasia, Georgia, Homophobia, Human Rights, IDAHO, IDAHOT, Invisibility, LGBT, May 17, May17, Orthodox Church, Tbilisi, Violence

Remembering May 17

May 15, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia.  It was on this day last year that I realized I could not live long-term in Georgia. I don’t want to start any debates around homosexuality or any sexuality.  This blog isn’t a platform to preach my personal beliefs.  I can respect opinions that differ from mine, but I have no respect for what happened in the video above. What happened on May 17, 2013 was an example of the power of the church superseding the power of […]

Categories: Conflict, Eurasia, Europe, Georgia, Tbilisi, Travel • Tags: Feminism, Georgia, Homophobia, Human Rights, IDAHO, LGBT, LGBTQ, May 17, microfinance, Tbilisi, Travel

Abkhazian Khachapuri, and baking away my feelings.

March 23, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

Word on the street is that my recent blog post about why I moved home was offensive to a lot of people in my previous home, which surprises and saddens me because I didn’t say anything incriminating about Georgia.  Anyone who has followed my blog for the past year knows that I have said a lot more positive things about Georgia than negative.  So, I’m feeling a little stressed and sad these days… again.  What better way is there to […]

Categories: 2014, Food, Georgia, Travel • Tags: Baking, Georgia, Khachapuri

Harvest in Satemo

December 2, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

All photos taken by Lasha Merabishvili. In late September, I joined a friend and his family for a weekend in their village outside of Gori.  We took a marshrutka (a small bus or large van, usually bright yellow, which is the most common form of public transportation in Georgia) from Tbilisi to Gori, and then something that looked like a Soviet-era school bus from Gori to Satemo.  I’d estimate the top speed of this second bus to have been about […]

Categories: Eurasia, Georgia, History, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Eurasia, Georgia, Photography, Travel, Wine, winemaking

Autumn in a Flash

November 4, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

These days, it takes being stuck in bed with a fever to get me to sit still and write something that isn’t for work.  The positive side of getting sick in different countries is that it reveals local beliefs about remedies and convalescence (usually some combination of tea, lemon, and honey), and some castigation for whatever I did to cause the illness in the first place (in Russia, it was running outdoors).  Here in Georgia, the advice has been to […]

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Friendship, Georgia, Tbilisi • Tags: autumn, Eurasia, fall, Friendship, Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, Tbilisi

Carpet shopping

August 20, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

Some things I saw on a casual Saturday in Tbilisi, accompanying two Swedish visitors as they shopped for Georgian carpets in the Old City.

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, Friendship, Georgia, Graffiti, Tbilisi, Travel • Tags: Eurasia, Georgia, Photography, Tbilisi, Travel

My Georgian 4th of July

July 6, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

Happy 4th of July to all of my American friends and family! Sadly, I never realized how special this day was to me until I spent my first Independence Day outside of the States.  It’s a day I associate with hotdogs, volleyball, Sandlot, sparklers, fireflies, laughter, swimming, beeritas, red, white, blue, and family.  I missed out on the majority of those delights, but Georgia served as a pretty good substitute. My first pleasant surprise was being greeted at the office […]

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, Georgia, Playtime, Tbilisi, Travel • Tags: 4th of July, Festive, Georgia, Holiday, Independence, Tbilisi

Shashlik for four, please

June 29, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

All photos by Amy Yu Mao The last leg of the journey with Amy took us south and west.  We set out early on a Friday morning with Khvicha and his young assistant (whose name I do not know, because he was introduced to us as the “master of shashlik”), who was recruited to help with preparation of the meal that awaited us. We made two logistical stops along the way.  The first was in Khashuri, where Khvicha and his […]

Categories: 2013, Driving, Eurasia, Europe, Food, Friendship, Georgia, History, Playtime, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Driving, Georgia, History, Photography, Roadtrip, Travel

Megi in Kazbegi

June 19, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

All photos by Amy Yu Mao, or Khvicha. “MEGI!” So begins every conversation with Khvicha, the taxi driver with whom I’d trust my life.  “Meghan” seems to be tough for many Georgians to grasp, so I usually introduce myself as “Meg,” which turns into the Georgian name “Megi.”  Thus, I am now Megi. While Amy was visiting last week, Khvicha designed and implemented the perfect three-day tour of Georgia.  We covered most of the country, with the exception of the […]

Categories: 2013, Driving, Eurasia, Europe, Friendship, Georgia, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Friendship, Georgia, Hiking, Kazbegi, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Roadtrip, Stepantsminda, Travel