At Least We Don't Live in Zagreb, Croatia

We may have Russian tanks within Georgia's borders, but at least we're still planning on celebrating Christmas and New Years. Why would anyone ban Christmas parties, buying and giving gifts and celebrating New Years? Seems crazy to me, but apparently the Croatians are just that.

Don't believe me? Check out the BBC article.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7730813.stm

(Ok, technically it's only public sector workplace parties, etc. But still. You couple that with the public sector salary freezes and you have yourself one inspired, hardworking public sector work force. The extra sarcasm comes free today, folks. Enjoy.)

Georgians and their names

Alright, so I know it's not nice to make fun of someone's name, but seriously... the following are some of the most common female names here:

* Nino
* Nona
* Nina
* Nini
* Nono
* Nana
* Nani
* Nato

Seriously. There are 4 girls that work at the cafeteria. 2 of them are named Nino, 1 is Nato, then there is the random Tanya. While it doesn't flow as nicely, Dodo is also a valid female Georgian name.

Men aren't much better. Here's a few of theirs:

* Niko
* Nika
* Giorgi
* Gia
* Goga
* Giga
* Gega
* Gela
* Zaza

One Georgian who was expecting a baby boy once said they didn't like how Nika and Giorgi were over used. She wanted something creative. So she came up with..... wait for it .... "Nikagiorgi". Yes folks, the Georgian version of Jim Bob.

We met one who's real name is Nani, but she goes by Nacho. Which reminds me of my good friend Melissa's favorite joke -- which probably doesn't translate very well. Q: What do you call cheese that isn't yours? A: Nacho cheese!


(On a much less funny note: Saint Nino and Saint George are very popular figures in Georgian culture. Still, folks. There are a lot of saints out there. Diversify your portfolio.)

Mtskheta Day: Tbilisi "Church" Tour

While most Georgians adore Americans, they do not celebrate Columbus Day. They do, however, celebrate Mtskheta Day (or "Historic capital of Tbilisi Day") on the very next day, which makes for a nice break in the middle of the work week.

We used this freebie to do some sight seeing with friends. We planned a morning of breakfast at a donut shop owned by an American (which means REAL American donuts...mmmmm...sinfully good.) followed by a self guided tour of some of the more prominent churches (and a synagogue) in Tbilisi.

We began with the newest church in Tbilisi. Visible from almost any point in the city (including our front porch) this church is located in the historic (read: old and falling apart) Armenian district of the city. Accessible by steep, narrow cobble-stoned streets packed with pedestrians and veggie stands this church is recognized by its gold dome and 3-tiered facade.


When we walked through the first set of arches onto the church grounds I commented that it felt as though we had stepped out of a time machine into a new world. Expansive green lawns, manicured gardens and close clipped hedges, ponds complete with swans as far as the eye can see (unless you can actually see beyond the walls to the hazy city below.)




Next stop was a synagogue in Old Town Tbilisi. This was much smaller and more intimate compared to the large church we had just left. A grounds keeper took us inside and turned on the lights for us. He invited us to the 2nd floor along an intricately painted stairwell.



Across the street from the synagogue was this Georgian Orthodox church. It was not open for us to go inside so we roamed about the grounds. You can see the crack down the exterior wall of the building, damage from an earthquake.





We ended our tour with the oldest church in Tbilisi. This is a tiny church and we were not allowed to use the flash on our camera so the photos are a bit blurry. There were detailed frescoes on the ceiling and a tomb in the floor. It is a sign of respect for women to cover their heads when entering an Orthodox church, although the parishioners are understanding of ignorant tourists.

Mobile again...

I'm back up and mobile again. Watch out!

After about 36 hours of pain killers, I moved over to straight up Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) and am still taking it about 2-3 times per day to keep the inflammation down. 3 days after surgery I was up on my feet all day for a wedding reception. After 15 hours, I sat down and took a peek at it and was a little alarmed to see that all the bruising had drained to the bottom of my foot. All the purple color that was normally just lightly all over my foot was influenced by gravity and formed a thick dark purple line at the bottom of my foot. I talked to a nurse friend of mine and he said it was nothing to worry about. (This was later confirmed by my doctor.)

Stitches came out on Monday, hit the plane on Friday and back in town on Saturday night. I'm able to ride the bike, hit the gym and do anything else as long as I don't put too much weight on my toes. I need a few more weeks of recovery to get back to running or lunges.

The pain is largely gone, though it's still a little sensitive. I'm easing into things again -- I have no desire to push myself back into a problem by pushing too hard, too fast. Snowboarding/skiing season is still a few months away.. lots of time. :)

Glacier Doesn't Suck

IMG_0719
Originally uploaded by SethTri

For our honeymoon, Meg & I spent 10 days hiking in Glacier National Park. We spent the first few days with our good friends Jen and Eric, then got some time to ourselves.

Unfortunately, as soon as the paddle and saddle was over on Sunday, the weather turned on us. We had just enough time to get over to the Many Glacier side and get in one short hike before the rain started. But in the end the rain probably worked out for the best as we saw a lot more of the park than we would have through multi-day hikes. If you'd rather just look at all the photos, you can find them at: http://flickr.com/photos/86674201@N00/sets/72157607233218815/

On Monday, we saw a Grizzly and her cub about 5 minutes into our hike to Iceberg Lake. The lake had dozens of large blocks of snow from the surrounding snowfield still floating in it. As we got home a few clouds appeared to be coming in. Apparently they where the harbingers of 4 days of rain and cold temperatures. The rain started just as we ducked into the tents.

Unfortunately, during the night I learned that my 10 year old tent's rain fly is not as waterproof as it once was. It appears to be ok during a light drizzle, but during periods of a steady rain the water soaks through the fly, runs along the poles and then drips into the tent. Fortunately that spot was right on the center of my face, and woke me up in the middle of the night. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have noticed until my bag was soaking wet. Stick a rain jacket under the drip, move closer to Meg and I'm good enough for the night.

The next morning I bought a space blanket, some hair bands and a little rope and fashioned a backup rain fly that worked just fine. (Though it may have been a bit loud in the breeze.) Over the next couple days Eric, Jen, Meg and I hiked several waterfalls and many other day hikes along the Going-to-the-Sun road.



After 4 days of hiking and sleeping in the drizzle, we spent Jen & Eric's last night with us in a cabin at the KOA. (Showers, laundry and a nicer bed for a night were well worth it.) After they left, we headed over to Sprague Creek campground and got ready for a break in the weather and a 2 day backpacking trip.

Friday and Saturday were (as forecasted) nice and sunny. We caught the bus to the Jackson Overlook on the Going to the Sun road and started hiking the Gunsight Pass Trail. Day 1 was 11-ish miles, 2,000 ft of elevation gain and a lot of beautiful photos. After a while, I got a little tired of all the beauty around me. How many photos of waterfalls, beautiful ridgelines, mountain goats and trees do I really need? It's pretty ridiculous when you can point a camera randomly and get a fantastic shot.



We camped over night along side a beautiful lake and hiked back to Lake MacDonald lodge the next day. We saw a Pika, a Hoary Marmot and a bunch of horses along the way. We also got in some canoeing and had a good time by the camp fires.



We saw a lot of Glacier National Park, and had a lot of fun. We both highly recommend the area and will probably try to get back in the future.

Surgery day one....

As some of you may or may not know, I was scheduled for foot surgery this afternoon. So far everything seems to be going well.

For the last year or so, after about 20-30 minutes of running my left foot would start burning, getting worse as I continue. Cycling would also cause pain and snowboarding was excruciating after several hours. After I stop pounding my feet, it would eventually stop hurting but sometimes it would take quite a while. Last time I talked to my doctor, we tried modifying my orthodics and that instantly did the trick for a few months. (It allowed me to get back on the track for a while.) But eventually, the pain came back.

After some discussions and a sonogram, we pretty much concluded it was either compartment syndrome in my calf pinching a nerve, or a Morton's Neuroma. I then had to move overseas so further work with my doctor was pretty rough. But, after some research and closer attention to my symptoms, I figured it was probably a neuroma.

This afternoon Meg & I walked into the Dr's office where a marble sized bunch of stuff was pulled out of my left foot between the 3rd & 4th metatarsals. A good chunk of it was my nerve but there was also a lot of scar tissue as well and it was pretty large. From the doc, it appears to confirm the diagnosis.

Recovery? Well, I'm on some pain killers now and stuck in a bed for the next 24 hrs or so to keep the swelling down. But I should be able to get back on my feet in a day or two, back to work on Monday, cycling and other low/medium impact in a week (as long as I can put up with the pain) and running shortly there after. We'll see how it goes, but overall, even it if takes months to get back to running, it's probably better than 2 years of running in pain.

Safe in Yerevan. Safe in Georgia.

Seth and I are both safe. I am in Yerevan, Armenia (Georgia's neighbor to the south) and Seth is working very long (if not all) hours at the embassy in Tbilisi. I have been trying to keep many people up to date with our situation through e-mails and many of you mentioned that you have been checking the blog with "stalker like frequency" to quote one, so I figured I should post an update.

The embassy in Tbilisi went to "modified authorized departure" status on Saturday August 9th. This meant that family members of embassy staff were permitted to depart (and be provided for by the government) but all staff had to remain at the embassy to work. I held off on departing at first, wanting to stay with Seth and continue to volunteer at the embassy. When the Georgians announced a cessation to their military action and Russian forces continued to advance into the country Seth and I made the decision that it was time for me to head out. I drove across the border into Armenia with a convoy of vehicles from the embassy in Tbilisi and since that time I have been well taken care of by the folks at the embassy in Yerevan.

Seth has been working long hours, sleeping at the embassy (when he gets time to sleep) like so many other dedicated people. They don't complain, far from it. they are happy to be doing work that is needed. Help is beginning to arrive in the embassy from all over the world, other embassies that can spare people and the main State Department in the US are sending employees to support our fantastic people in Tbilisi. We are beyond proud of the work they are doing. What others may see as a sacrifice, they are glad to do.

I have been busy here working on rearranging my flights home for the wedding in Montana on August 23rd. I was very lucky to get the last seat on a flight out of Yerevan on August 19th (it pays to travel alone sometimes). I have Seth wait listed on 2 separate flights out of Yerevan in case he can't fly out of Tbilisi. We are hopeful that he will be able to make it to Montana for the wedding. If not, Montana is one of the few states that allow "proxy marriage" so if he can't be there I will have a stand-in groom. We will go ahead with the ceremony and celebrate for Seth. But as of right now we are thinking positively! Please join us in these positive thoughts.

I will update the blog if there is any real news. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any major changes (that I am aware of) in several days. We remain hopeful and send positive thoughts and prayers to our Georgian friends who cannot leave and whose lives have been changed. We are very lucky that most of us do not know what it is like to experience what they are going through.

love,

Meg & Seth