Jevijoe in Tbilisi, Day 27
It is my last day in Tbilisi, and I miss the city already.
I was packing up my things for New York, and I could not believe that I accumulated so much stuff that it wouldn’t fit in my luggage.
I have to buy an additional luggage bag and also some souvenirs and gifts for New York friends, colleagues, and coworkers. But before I did my itinerary, I prepared a brunch for my last stay in this beautiful and historic apartment, just a noodle soup left over and wine while viewing the window, my last stare at the street of Tbilisi from this perfect balcony spot.
I’m filled with gratitude to the people whom I have met here, especially Mariam, who is a wonderful fellowship coordinator here and also an accomplished artist who represented Georgia in the Venice Biennale in 2022!
I thought of a last-minute farewell dinner later this evening, so I messaged most of the people I met through Whatsapp, hoping they could come over.
I rushed outside to buy the cheapest luggage bag. Then I went to the flea market to buy souvenir gifts and ended up being obsessed with coin and money paper bill collections. I found an old $2 US dollar bill that is so rare in the US, as well as commemorative Olympic coins and silver spoons. I was beginning to wonder why I was buying stuff for myself and not for my friends in New York.
During my flea market buying spree, I was impressed by a woman artist’s humility and kindness in selling her small paintings of Tbilisi scenes for 5 lari (that is 1.85 US dollars!). Made of watercolor on linen canvas cloth, I bought several paintings signed by her. I dropped by the local grocery store for souvenir goods and bought variety of Churchkelas, a traditional Georgian candy that looks like candles.
In the evening, I had an incredible dinner night with the Georgian folks, and we talked about a lot of crazy stuff about Georgian history, etc. I recall Nika asking me, “So tell us about your experience in Georgia; we already knew the good ones, but tell us the bad ones.” Honestly, I could not think of “bad ones” or a bad experience at all. It’s one of the cities I visited where I felt safe even in the “after-party” early morning hours. I was searched by police twice, but it was a random routine and respectful.
My Qvevri that I made during the pottery class was delivered that night by Anna, our pottery teacher. It took a while to process the firing, the glazing, etc. because I told her days ago that I really wanted to bring the earthenware to New York.
5 a.m. is my flight the next day, so I have to return the key to the apartment to the Airbnb owner. I met Vahtang, the Airbnb owner’s father, and handed him the key, and I told him, If I’m going back to Tbilisi in the near future, I really want to stay in the same place!
My one-month stay here in Tbilisi has taught me a valuable lesson: Just be present.