What Is Hip?

We're coming to the end of our four weeks in Georgia, so I guess it's time for a few random observations on this country and its inhabitants:

Men and women wear a lot of black (it's June, remember), and seem surprised when you point it out to them, as if they've never thought about it.

People eat a lot of bread and cheese, often ordering bread and cheese along with khachapuri, which is made from bread and cheese. It's all delicious, BTW.

People smoke a lot and when they're not smoking, they're chewing sunflower seeds. Adult males also seem to eat a lot of ice cream products in public.

Unlike everywhere else I've been in Eastern Europe, women here do not dye their hair red/purple or blonde very often. Natural coloring seems to be in, and when they do go for a dye-job, they opt for black. Women also wear stockings with jeans an awful lot.

Men don't wear neckties.

"Supermodelitis", that prevalent affliction in Ukraine, doesn't seem to exist here.

It seems as if all Georgian children learn traditional Georgian dancing. Having observed young Georgian dancers, boys and girls, I can only say "Bravo!"

A very common sight is grandpas out in the streets shepherding babies and toddlers. I've never seen this phenomenon anywhere else. It's damn cute.

Georgian men and boys kiss each other on the cheek in greeting. You also see boys walking arm in arm quite frequently.

There seems to be a distinct lack of trendiness, or "hipness" factor among Georgians. Very few trendy clothes, wacky haircuts, tattoos, face piercings, hip-hop regalia, heavy metal teenagers, punks...all the fashions so common in just about every country I've ever been to, seem to be absent here.

I read on the internet that Georgian drivers are the world's worst. Although I don't have enough data to back up that claim, Georgian drivers are the worst I've ever seen - just uniformly awful, reckless driving. As a foreign visitor walking around Tbilisi, heed my warning: You will meet your maker in a crosswalk - with a green light!

Georgian pedestrians are thrillseekers too. From ages eight to eighty, they walk straight into speeding traffic, casually winding their way across 4 or 5 lanes of hurtling cars, counting on God, I assume, to protect them. Yikes! It's really scary.

Georgians are really great hosts. They are very human, very hospitable, and a pleasure to be with. They laugh a lot (especially the women) and treat foreigners really well. We have had uniformly great experiences with the Georgian people, who seem to enjoy life, regardless of tough times, and have a deep cultural commitment to treating guests really well.

The food here is really fresh and good. The aforementioned bread and cheeses, khachapuri, tomato and cucumber salad, eggplant and mushrooms in various styles, lobio (bean stew) w/ fresh greens, skewered grilled meat - these are the staples that we have eaten everywhere, and everywhere they have been delicious. Georgian wine is good and plentiful (I'm recovering from my first hangover in several years - courtesy of several pitchers of young Georgian wine consumed at a bacchanalian feast) and Georgian beer is cheap and tasty...

I wish we would have had more time to see some more of the regions of Georgia. There is a lot of beauty and diversity packed into this one small country. We have really enjoyed ourselves in Georgia!