Something to forgive...

Ever since high school (or even earlier) I’ve been taught to think critical, to assess everything critically, and so I did. I guess I even overdid it, so it almost turned into an addiction. I started looking at everything with a critical eye, even people and events. I was discussing things with friends, criticizing actions, minding other people’s business… You name it, I have criticized almost everything in this world. And one of the things I criticized the most is my homeland. I was constantly dissatisfied with government, with people, with everything that was happening here. Since I come from Georgia and this is my home, I felt very sad for all the things I did not like. Deep in my heart, I felt my actions were wrong, I felt I should have stopped this, but it turned into a habit, and we all know how difficult it is to get rid of bad habits. I was so much into criticism that I was even unable to see anything good about Georgia.

Some time ago I met a very interesting person, who showed me entirely different perspective of the world. I told him of my addiction and he taught me how to get rid of it. “The method is very easy” – he said – “Just needs your strong will. Every time you want to criticize someone or something, write down 5 good things about him/her and then go and tell this to someone else. The most important is that you have to share these things with somebody, just writing it for yourself is not enough”. And so I decided to follow his advice.

I started thinking, it’s easy when it gets to single persons, but gets really difficult when talking about the country and people.  So I came to the idea, to write an article with 5 best things about Georgia and Georgian people and share it not only with one person, but with everyone. And so I’m here, writing 5 things I LOVE about my homeland.

(1) Location

Georgia is a very beautiful country. The nature is very diverse. Even though it’s a small country, we are lucky to have the sea, as well as amazing mountains, so you can find touristic attractions at any time of the year (sunbathing, swimming, skiing, etc…).

I personally love Georgian climate. I often say that I would love to live in a country with a permanent summer, but the truth is, all seasons have their beauty and I come to appreciate it. Summer is pretty hot here, but bearable and even nice if you are on the seaside. Autumn is amazing, with all the different colors and beauty of nature. Winter is cold, but it never gets lower than 5-10 degrees (not considering mountains). Sometimes we are fortunate enough to get some snow in Tbilisi (I have to note that Tbilisi is simply amazing in snow). I was lucky to live in far more Northern countries with long and cold winters. I guess that was the time when I especially started appreciating Georgian winters. And finally spring (my favorite season), is just amazing. Nature starts waking up. I especially love blossoming almond-trees and the fresh green leafs; the sight is simply breathtaking. 

(2) Hospitality

Few years ago Tbilisi was given a new slogan – ‘The city that loves you’. Georgian tourism department was working on its rebranding and you could see city’s advertisements with the slogan almost everywhere. A friend of mine told me that he truly agrees with this slogan. “You really feel loved as a foreigner when you travel here” – he said. I couldn’t agree more.

It is true, Georgian people are very hospitable. If you simply Google “Georgian hospitality”, you’ll get dozens of articles describing how welcoming we are to guests and moreover, how we love to have them. There is a Georgian proverb – ‘Every guest is sent from God’ and I guess this says it all.

This is one of the features I love the most about Georgians and the one that makes me proud to say that I am Georgian.

(3) History/Traditions

Georgia has a very long and complicated history, which shaped all our traditions and made us what we are now. I’m not even going to try to give its short overview, but will rather underline few things that I’m mostly proud of.

Georgian language – I love the fact that we can speak the language that NO ONE but us can understand. I was once in Sweden, sitting in a café talking with my husband and a random woman come wondering what language were we speaking. When she heard about our language, suddenly she became very happy – “That is so cool. You have a secret language that no one can understand”. It indeed is cool. Especially when you are traveling abroad (mind Georgians though, especially if you are planning to say something nasty). :) After all, having a secret language is simply awesome.

·     We are orthodox Christians and even though our church has been criticized a lot within past few years (and I have to admit that I was one of the people doing so), I think that our religion has brought us here, has helped us to maintain our country, has kept us as Georgians. Despite all the criticism, I’m proud of our church and thankful for everything it did and is doing for us.

(4) Cuisine/Wine

If you have ever traveled to Georgia, one thing you will definitely remember is Georgian food and wine. It is impossible to forget, since you probably were fed ALL THE TIME (part of the hospitality). I personally love our cuisine. We once had a Canadian friend traveling to Georgia, who simply fell in love with Khinkali (Georgian dish, similar to dumplings). “I could marry this” – he once said – “it’s a pity this is not a woman”.

Our food and wine is another thing that makes me proud to be part of this country.

(5) Tbilisi

I would like to apologize in advance to everyone who lives outside Tbilisi, but I had to put this on my list, since Tbilisi is my city, the city I was born and grew up in. Please, don’t get me wrong, I love all parts of my country, but I believe Tbilisi is one of the best and definitely to visit places in Georgia. Some time ago I was flying back home from Europe and set next to two guys on a plane. One was Georgian living in UK and another American, temporarily working in Georgia. They had a very hot discussion about how terrible Tbilisi is. It was mainly an American guy saying how much he hates being here, but the saddest part to me was the Georgian guy agreeing with him. I gathered all my patience and remained silent throughout whole flight. I thought it was very unfair to say all these things, but also realized that it had no sense to argue with them. You can’t really change a person; only they can change themselves. So I sat there, all silent, and very sad. But on the other hand it made me realize, how much I love this place, how much it means to me…

Tbilisi is a beautiful city and as noted above, is simply astonishing when covered with snow.

So… These are my five things I love about my country. As I am finishing to write, I realize it looks like a travel advert than a personal opinion, but so what? :)

After thinking so much and figuring our all the positive sides of Georgia, I came to the idea that we all awe an apology to our homelands. I barely think of anyone who has never criticized their people, their country, their government... Let’s just do our own work, mind our own business and this will be the best thing we can do for our countries.

I apologise to Georgia, to Georgian people for not being sympathetic, for thinking negative more than positive, and most importantly, for not being the “right part of it”, not being the “useful cell for the entire body”.

We can continue criticizing everything around us, but stop for a second and ask yourself, does it do any good to you? Does it do any good to anyone else? I bet you’d say no. From now on, I choose to live positive, to love people around me and simply enjoy my life. Trust me, if everyone did so, it would make our world a much better place to live.

February 2nd, 2014.
Tbilisi, Georgia.