tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013907449881395185.post451237694711404933..comments2023-07-16T09:02:45.137-07:00Comments on New Adventures on the Horizon: Blank Stares and RandomnessSteffi Park Egerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00551287334493637254noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013907449881395185.post-14503923012923504342011-03-10T13:00:29.414-08:002011-03-10T13:00:29.414-08:00Steff,
You are welcome. Yes, I'm Georgian by ...Steff,<br /><br />You are welcome. Yes, I'm Georgian by birth however in most places I go I feel myself being a Klingon... <br /><br />I have being living in States for last 13 years and now I can quite well understand mentality both Westerners and Georgians. <br /><br />In terms of blending - even if you live there for years you will still remain 'თეთრი ყვავი' - a 'write raven' (literal translation), which is not necessarily a bad thing. (Well, unless you get marring on a local, convert to Orthodoxy and have bunch of kids. ;-))<br /><br />Locals treat a foreigner (especially someone who's physical appearance screams "I'm a foreigner" - like a blond athlete girl running in a village) with a positive discrimination: same way they treat a child. Changing this attitude is quite hard.<br /><br />It is up to one if he/she is OK with such kind of treatment from locals, but if you want to streamline communication and quickly explain your reasoning to Georgians do the following: get the local person who you trust most and understands you most (like your hostess) on speed dial on your phone and if you figure out that there is a communication problem with someone else, call her and ask her to explain to other party WHAT you want to do and WHY you want to do it. She would do it with pleasure.<br /><br />And yes, you can call anyone in Georgia any time for any reason. Again, privacy matters are non-existent, especially when they (your hostess) considers you part of the family.<br /><br />--IrakliInvisiblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10708078479685652775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013907449881395185.post-85881500210966476002011-03-10T04:10:05.538-08:002011-03-10T04:10:05.538-08:00Invisible,
You must be Georgian to understand so w...Invisible,<br />You must be Georgian to understand so well what is happening here! I appreciate your insights and advice on how best to get along and blend myself into this culture. I do my best to do the things you have suggested, but knowing very little Georgian hinders my being able to explain my Western reasoning to many people when our cultures clash. I know that they have the best intentions in mind and want to respect me, so whenever I can, I compromise what I may want to allow them to welcome me as they want to. <br /><br />And, yes, many sitcom situations have occurred -- thankfully not so many any more! I'm getting used to things here!Steffi Park Egerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551287334493637254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013907449881395185.post-6764130666707859142011-03-09T15:30:27.291-08:002011-03-09T15:30:27.291-08:00> They both looked at me with blank stares
>...> They both looked at me with blank stares <br />> (I got a lot of those today). <br /><br />Steff,<br /><br />I think you've already figured it out (I have not red all your blog entries yet) that concept of personal space and privacy in Georgia is nonexistent. <br /><br />Also, Georgians do not value time because for them time is not associated with commitment, money or missed opportunities: so what, if you did not finish your run today, you can do it some time in 'future', socializing with other people, getting know them better and have good time (read - drinking) is more important then you own personal goals. (I'm obviously explain things from their point of view).<br /><br />As a result, when locals are asking or offering you something (like come home and have a cognac in the middle of running) they do act from their best intentions, but their best intentions are according to their core values which does not necessarily takes into consideration of values and opinion of other side. <br /><br />This works quote well of two sides in this exchange have the same Georgian core values, but when other side is a Westerner then it almost always creates mostly sitcom situations but sometimes it might go bad because of assuming things from either side and being lost in translation/explanation.<br /><br />The best way to avoid getting into trouble/misunderstanding is to minimize assumptions/'I thought that...' as much as possible. When communicating with locals it is necessary to inform them WHY you are doing this/that and WHAT you want to archive by doing it and make sure that you use concepts/terminology which other side understands (like you did explaining why you can't stay in the middle of the run: running for them did not work, but reasoning with cold worked fine). After that everything will be fine.<br /><br />Thanks for all your blog posts.Invisiblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10708078479685652775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013907449881395185.post-42936373102054451082010-12-16T10:26:23.892-08:002010-12-16T10:26:23.892-08:00Julie,
Another name for the "hairy eyeball&qu...Julie,<br />Another name for the "hairy eyeball" is the "teacher death-stare." I've developed a pretty effective one over the years of teaching!Steffi Park Egerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551287334493637254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013907449881395185.post-14886343985503170842010-12-16T09:47:11.983-08:002010-12-16T09:47:11.983-08:00What is the hairy eyeball?What is the hairy eyeball?Julienoreply@blogger.com