Pigs Using Chinese Toothpaste (and Joe Cocker)

*EDIT* Due to "questionable" content, this portion of the post has been redacted. *EDIT*


And now, since I apparently have nothing better to do with my time than to idolize Joe Cocker/The Lovin' Spoonful, I wrote a short update about my life coinciding with select lyrics to Summer in the City. I'm sorry.

Hot town, summer in the City

Summer has struck, and it's really warm. The temperature has been pushing 90 for weeks now, and I like it. And, however newsworthy this might not be (it's June...wow, time goes sort of quickly...), the City has undergone a lot of changes. And, by the City I of course mean Batumi. Batumi is gearing up for summer. The topiaries are out, and they are shaped like dolphins. I don't quite understand this, as I have yet to see one of Batumi's vaunted dolphins this year. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. But also, all of the stuff is going up along the beach. Straw huts, endless beer bars, and old women selling hot corn. This is taking place in Gonio as well. I find it nearly amazing that the City and Gonio spend so much money gearing up for a 2 month tourist season. Apparently it's worthwhile though. Call me ignorant (you wouldn't be the first), but in the States I never really noticed the changing of the seasons. Sure, I noticed the temperature changes, and that snow came in the winter, and that I liked summer a whole lot better. But the length of the days always seemed very constant to me. Sunrise and sunset didn't mean anything; there were always streetlights and headlights and everything was always light. But not here. Georgia is amazing in that way. In Gonio it is light from 5am (or maybe earlier) until 10pm (or maybe later). And I know that we are approaching the summer solstice and that Gonio is slightly (just barely slightly) further north than Chicago, but I had no idea that the change would be this drastic. We are experiencing 17 hours (or more) of daylight each day. I haven't slept for more than 7 hours in 3 weeks, and I think this is a result of it being light all the time. I think the white nights in St Petersberg and elsewhere cause seasonal insomnia. But then again, I could be wrong.

Back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty

I don't bathe very frequently. That mysterious and repugnent smell every morning? It's me. It floats over the ocean and invades your home. [On a side note, my blog got over 100 hits last week. You people need to find something more productive to do with your time. I've always wanted to be the leader of a cult, but this wasn't really what I had in mind...] But, I've finally been able to exercise with regularity. Rock climbing, walking up my mountain in the 90 degree heat, and being chased by rabid dogs have gotten me in terrible shape, which is quite an improvement for me. But, exercise makes me much dirtier than usual. Sorry about the smell.

Dressed so fine and lookin' so pretty

Fashion in Georgia makes me laugh. Socks and sandals? Not a problem. Blue and black? Perfect match. Same shirt as yesterday/two days ago/last Monday/last time you went out? It'd be criminal not to. And that's just Peace Corps Volunteers. But Georgian-Georgian fashion is humorous in a very different way. I particularly enjoy footwear. Stilletto heels? All the time, on dirt roads with more potholes than flat parts. My favorite though are the boots that are alive. These boots come up to just below the knee and have what appears to be a live animal inhabiting them. The fur attached is so...much, so fluffy, so FULL OF LIFE that I am fully convinced that the boots ate the feet which inhabited them. As for me, I don't own Georgian footwear. I wear the khakis and a polo to school everyday, rotating my shirt once the smell of it wakes me up. When not at school, I wear as little as is socially acceptable in America, and sometimes less.

But at night it's a different world

Nightlife in Gonio is at present nonexistent. But, that will soon change. In case you've been living under a rock for the past year, Gonio has a seasonal nightclub called "Arrogance." It is only open during the summer, and even then for only about two months. But, the signs are written only in English and I don't think anybody that's been there knows what the name means. I've yet to go to a Georgian nightclub, but I think it would be a highly desirable cultural experience. I will update you about this later. In Batumi, the nightlife is beginning to exist. There are light-up palm tries in one of the parks and along the boulevard. These artificial trees, of course, sit next to real palm tress and street lights, making both features of the artificial light-up palm tree irrelevant. But, then again maybe my taste in city beautification isn't as developed as it should be.

Go out and find a girl

Hmm...I don't think they were thinking about Georgia when they wrote this song...