Blogs from Tbilisi District, Georgia, Asia - page 6

Hopefully this works. It did. I am now internet cool. Enjoy the pics, far too many for witty comments. March 9th. Spent the day reading up on British Petroleum. Trent was up at 4 am and couldn't find the z's again. Got to the university by 1030 am and spent the morning consulting with Lali and the rest of her staff on how the day would be spent. Ran to Dea's for lunch and managed to get some work done for the university. After lunch we headed over to the... read more

Disclaimer remains "I don't believe in Jet lag" Blake- " I don't know if thats a topic up for philosophical debate" Lawyered. Unfortunately or I guess fortunately nothing exciting happened on the 17 hours I spent aboard a plane to arrive in Georgia. Mike, who is a teacher from Selkirk, had a girl pass out from watchign 127 hours and whilst in her seduced state of mind relieve herself in her seat. I guess that's exciting. More sad. I did manage to pull of a few 'that's what she said' joke at 33000 feet which sent the stof into a fit of laugher and may have awoke some passengers near us. The picture will be on here soon. Moral victory. We arrived at 1 in the morning and after being laughed at by the customs officer ... read more

Day 2..3...Lost track from all the flying? Location: London/Baku/Tsibilisi Wow! We made it! What a trip that was...after stopping in London for 1 hour we managed to down a pint of Guiness, hassle security with maple syrup, and eat delicious Fish&chips! We got to Gate 21 at London Heathrow to board our final plane to Georgia...the plane was as big as a tin can and for the next 7+ hours I would be pressed up against the window seat sitting beside this + size individual who sweated profusely and listening to opera on his ipad at mega loud decibels!! Baku was roughly 5 hours away and while being scrunched up like an accordian I decided to get some rest and try and relax. Sadly we where only in Baku for 45 minutes to refuel, but the ... read more

The focus for Wednesday and Thursday this week is to spend time at the United Nations Association of Georgia office tol train the case managers who will staff the Chemi Uprosi Megobari adult volunteer program. Tina and I are excited about this opportunity as we both believe that case managers are key to the success of any mentoring program. This evening we will have a Georgian Dinner with Mary Beth Buescher's cousin, Georgie MdGurn, who is a Management expert who does a lot of work in this part of the world. It is hard to believe that our trip is almost over. I am so happy that Tina McGuinness, the Director of the Gunnison Partners Program, was able to devote 2 weeks to this effort. She is particularly knowledgeable about case management, has excellent computer skills ... read more

Sunday Jan. 23rd, 2011 was really the first day that we got to be tourists and spent most of the day outside. First we went to the Tbilisi Railway Station, most just to see the trains and since it is a central place for the local population. A Surprise for us but 2 of the huge pictures over the stairway into the Rail Station are of the Colorado National Monument and Arches National Park. We visited Sameba Cathedral, the 3rd largest Orthodox Church in the world. Many people attending Mass. We wandered down Elijah Mountain from the Cathedral thru Tbilisi old neighborhoods. Some beggars on the roads and by the Church. On our approximately 1 mile walk from the Cathedral to the Metekhi Church (built in 1200's), we found the beautiful, unassuming and almost hidden delight ... read more

January 19 in Georgia is a Holy Day-Epiphany--the Day the 3 Kings visited the Holy Child, but is also a work day for many people. Our Goal today is to start the clarification process of finalizing the many questions related to the Mentoring Program. We have learned that the word Mentor actually has some negative connetations related to the former soviet regime. Therfore, the focus is now on the word "friend". Also elder has a positive meaning. Elder Friend and Younger Friend are the terms we are now using to describe the mentor relationship. We have had the opportunity to enjoy the Georgian food--they use nuts in many dishes. Best wishes to all and more later. Joe... read more

Tina McGuinness, Joe Higgins and Fran Higgins spent over 24 hours flying from Grand Junction, Co. to Tbilisi, Georgia over the weekend of Jan. 15-16. We were Met by Andro Gigauri, Georgian Ministry of Justice, at the ariport at 1am Monday Jan. 17th and given a brief but beautiful tour of the City as we drove to our Hotel. Beautiful white and gold Christmas lights. Had a brief opportunity to discuss with Andro the Georgian Governtment's interest in reforming its juvenile justice system and they feel that Mentoring and Restorative Justice concepts are appropriate versus the past focus on incarceration. Andro tlak us about the Rose Revolution in 2004 of which he was part to do away with corruption in the Government. We will meet with Nini Phanjikdze, MOJ, this afternoon to better prepare for the ... read more