Sunday, June 22, 2008

Throwing a Party in the former Soviet Union (VIDEO BELOW)

One day before my first foray into Eurasian party hosting, my Georgian confidante David Chaganova offered some strong concerns about the event's prospects.
"Our culture, it's not like in America," he said. Sitting on my sherbet orange living room couch his countenance suggested an irritated fatigue. "Girls, their parents.  They will be worried about their daughters being out so late.  They stay until 11 at the latest.  And it's not just the time. Parents, if they let their daughters go, will want to come into your apartment and see things. I don't think people will stay for very long."
Shaken by Chaganova's account, I reconsidered all my plans.  But it was too late to stop the party.  When I was inviting people they seemed mostly optimistic.  Was I missing something?   
Regardless of the constraining social norms, I felt that if I could just get my guests to start playing flip cup—loud music and lots of beer would makes things ok. 
Logistically, things fell into place well.  While I couldn't find a bar owner anywhere who could get me a keg, Kezbegi, a local brewery, served beer on the riverside with a big hose.  Customers were invited to bring containers and fill 'er up.  With a carful of 4-liter plastic jugs, I earned the respect and curiosity of many Georgian onlookers as the brewmaster shoved his mighty hose in the numerous receptacles.  
As for constraining social norms—no noticeable impediments.  
Much to my chagrin, I didn't capture any footage of the flip cup playing. Below are some sloppily-taken video clips from the party...
  

Per Capita Drunkenness: High
Frequency of Strange/Peculiar expressions of enjoyment : High 

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Gamarjobat!


Welcome to the suburban projects of Phonichala (my temporary home for the last week)

For awhile I thought this guy was a cobbler, as one might infer from sign above his trailer/store. As far as I can tell, the trailer is just a place to hang out and smoke cigarettes all day. Him and I couldn't communicate but we enjoyed each other's company at the local bar (the local bar is a small picnic table that serves one kind of beer for 40 Tetri or USD 30 cents GAMARJOBAT!)


.  Carved, scratched and spray-painted onto the walls and doors of nearly every 10 story high-rise in Phonichala are the names of 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, DMX, Eminem, et al.  The only local I've come into contact with who spoke English asked only one thing of me:
"Tell me, please tell me of 2Pac. What do you know of him? Anything of 2Pac? You like? You like?" he pleaded.
At this point, I felt an incredible degree of self-irony as I, one of the least qualified Americans to explain the tale of 2Pac, began to give a brief biography:
"Uh well, you see, there was this East-West rivalry... And... uh it was 2Pac versus Notorious BIG and they really didn't like each other...and...uh....Oh! 2Pac died in 1996 the same year Weezer's Pinkerton came out, do you like Weezer?"
"2Pac?"