This was yet another very special trip. The first ever MICS3 workshop.
We had a strong team: TC, TW, EL from HQ, AA from Macro, GS and MS from the Regional Office, KS from Emory. It was the first ever MICS activity of dear friend GS. He was nervous, but so was I: this was the beginning of the MICS3 movie!
I travelled with TW, on British Airways, and we both lost our luggage. As it would happen a few more times in 2005 alone, I had to deliver my first day presentations with jeans on. It was thanks to the disciplined (perhaps serious is a better word) attitude of the CEECIS crowd that the workshop went well - otherwise it was destined to be a disaster: No translated materials, poor simultaneous translation, questionnaires which still begged improvement and the like...
And then there was the alcohol. GS took us practically everywhere in the city, where there was vodka. Almost every night, it was a great restaurant, singing, dancing and lots of booze. Still have the video clips.
From the airport to the hotel, all the buildings were painted, and some more painting was still in progress. Why, one wondered - is it the National "Paint-Your-House" Day? Nope, it was just that Bush was coming to Tbilisi next week. Georgians were getting ready. It did not make sense. No, it made a lot of sense.
We also did a great excursion - churches, old houses, great scenery, the Turkish hamam...
Georgians were very interesting. Huge similarities with our culture, yet so different. Religion seemed to play a part, perhaps as the breeding ground of "now that the Russians are out, let's play our game". It was fascinating to see their alphabet, learn that they are one of the oldest cultures in the region, and so influential in some ways, yet a tiny population, and with a name that most Americans would look for in Atlanta. We finished the workshop, and I stayed on for a couple of more days, for discussions with the Georgians on their MICS.
A country that I would always want to go back.
Day off, feels like we went to all the old churches in Georgia. This was a couple of hours from Tbilisi, and all the memories of Orthodox churches from my childhood came back.
We had a strong team: TC, TW, EL from HQ, AA from Macro, GS and MS from the Regional Office, KS from Emory. It was the first ever MICS activity of dear friend GS. He was nervous, but so was I: this was the beginning of the MICS3 movie!
I travelled with TW, on British Airways, and we both lost our luggage. As it would happen a few more times in 2005 alone, I had to deliver my first day presentations with jeans on. It was thanks to the disciplined (perhaps serious is a better word) attitude of the CEECIS crowd that the workshop went well - otherwise it was destined to be a disaster: No translated materials, poor simultaneous translation, questionnaires which still begged improvement and the like...
And then there was the alcohol. GS took us practically everywhere in the city, where there was vodka. Almost every night, it was a great restaurant, singing, dancing and lots of booze. Still have the video clips.
From the airport to the hotel, all the buildings were painted, and some more painting was still in progress. Why, one wondered - is it the National "Paint-Your-House" Day? Nope, it was just that Bush was coming to Tbilisi next week. Georgians were getting ready. It did not make sense. No, it made a lot of sense.
We also did a great excursion - churches, old houses, great scenery, the Turkish hamam...
Georgians were very interesting. Huge similarities with our culture, yet so different. Religion seemed to play a part, perhaps as the breeding ground of "now that the Russians are out, let's play our game". It was fascinating to see their alphabet, learn that they are one of the oldest cultures in the region, and so influential in some ways, yet a tiny population, and with a name that most Americans would look for in Atlanta. We finished the workshop, and I stayed on for a couple of more days, for discussions with the Georgians on their MICS.
A country that I would always want to go back.
Day off, feels like we went to all the old churches in Georgia. This was a couple of hours from Tbilisi, and all the memories of Orthodox churches from my childhood came back. 
Turtle Lake, just outside Tbilisi.
The Turkish hamam in Tbilisi.