If you know me, you know that I am not one to discuss politics. I think it was Elisabeth that said that this was not good small talk, and I agree. Why would you bring this up in a group that you are not familiar with, and especially when we (by we I mean the US) are currently in a climate that is less than stellar?
However, I have been in an area with some political things happening lately! In Georgia, the country, not the state, you may or may not know that they have been having protests lately. I actually got a notice from the US State Department warning me of this and I did look into it to see if this was something that should keep me from traveling there, but it is not currently a dangerous situation. However, I want to say clearly that the US State Department is in the business of covering their donkeys, and often ramp up the warnings at the slightest provocation. I have been to several countries where they have had some sort of warning against traveling there, and I have been totally fine.
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| Ilia State University, Tbilisi |
Currently Georgia is on the Level 1, "exercise normal precaution" list, which is the top (best) one. However, Türkiye, where I just was, is on the "exercise increased caution" list, as is the UK FYI. And my favorite, Columbia, is on the "reconsider travel with higher security risk areas to avoid" list and several parts of Mexico are on the "do not travel" list. You can find the current travel advisory map here. Obviously Russia is on the "do not travel list."
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| Current map (June 2025) |
So I have some things to say about Russia. Firstly, the other day I was 3.7 km (2.3 miles) away from the border, which is the closest I have ever been to Russia. In addition, there are two parts of Georgia that are still occupied by Russia. I have been around a lot of Russians lately, as the countries that they can travel to at the moment are few, and also the proximity to Russia to where I have been is close. So that brings me to these questions. Do you know the details of the situation between Russia and Georgia? Or any of the other former USSR countries?
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| There is a large mountain in between |
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| FYI, creepy shirtless guy took this photo for me. :) |
Or what about the history of Yugoslavia? Do you remember hearing about Serbia and Bosnia and Kosovo on the news? Did you know that it was only in the aughts that some of them broke free from the regime (Serbia and Montenegro did not dissolve until 2006!)? That area has had a lot of conflict. I was in Albania in 2010 and the host at my lodging in Saranda was talking about the recent civil wars. Did you know that they were warring as recently as the late 90s, basically just over 10 years before the time that I was there (PS it was probably on the "do not travel" list at that point!)?
All of these things make me realize how small my world really is, all of the things I have not learned, things I do not know, and people whose stories I have not heard. And the more I travel, the more I realize this. When I was in Türkiye, I went to a ruined town called Ani, which sits right on the current border with Armenia. I could look across the river and wave at the Armenian side. However, this land was at one point part of western Armenia, and they had their own dialect, and the town of Ani was a strategic trading hub for them. Currently, you cannot cross the border from Türkiye to Armenia by land, as the relations between the two countries are not great.
I later went to Armenia and learned a lot more about the history there, but also, while I was there I had a conversation with a woman from Iran about the current situation and how she had to travel over land for 24 hours to get a flight from Yerevan (the capital city of Armenia) because all flights from Iran (in and out) have been canceled. There were many Iranians seeking refuge in Armenia when I was there (you can read more about it here), and once again, this made my world, and all of my "problems" seem small.
I will not talk about being on one side or the other, or believing in one political thing or another. What I believe in is the importance keeping our minds open to learning new things, and listening to the people who are living through or have lived through things that I cannot even imagine. As I have mentioned once or twice, I also believe that people are inherently good, and I refuse to believe that all of one group is bad just because there is a bad apple in the bunch. Lastly, I will once again say how grateful I am that I am happy and healthy, have clean drinking water and a toilet, and that I am able to travel and learn more and more every day.
Are you well versed in world history? Have you spoken to anyone who has been through any of these conflicts? Would you travel to a country bordering Russia right now? What was the last thing you learned that you thought, "wow, why didn't I know more about this already?"
I am not well versed in history, to my shame, but my father is a walking treasure trove. He has a boggling amount of factual information, but he also understands the strategy. I wish I could transplant all of his knowledge into my own head.
ReplyDeleteThe world is huge and yet also so, so small. I think that's one of the beautiful things about travel is it brings into sharper focus how small the world really is. How interconnected we all are. And how deeply and permanently conflict can alter relationships and even physical geography.
My husband travels to Finland regularly and can see Russia out of his office window!!
Well, at least you got something positive out of your interaction with creepy shirtless guy. That's a cool picture!
So you are basically saying that John can see Russia from his backyard. I mean, that it what it sounds like. Literally. :) I did get some photos from creepy shirtless dude, but I did have to crop his thumb out of all of them, so there is that. My mother is like your father, and can remember the darndest things. My mind is like a sieve, so likely I have learned a lot and already forgotten it, so it seems new (yay!) again!
DeleteI fully agree with you that people are generally kind and not evil, I choose to believe that. I am not following the news but sofia has a friend currently in israel for holidays and had to hide in camp. she's keeping sofia informed, quite scary for a 12 years old.
ReplyDeleteThat is scary for a 12 year old! Wow. I read a book called Ground Zero which is a YA book about 9/11 and it was about a young boy who is in the twin towers when they are hit. It is very graphic, but real, and scary and I thought it was maybe a lot for a 12 year old, but it happened and kids had to go through it so I think it is very eye opening!
DeleteI’m not overall well versed in geopolitics but I do think traveling abroad has made me more aware than I would otherwise be. For example,
ReplyDeleteI traveled in Bosnia & Herzegovina about a decade ago and although I vaguely remembered hearing about their conflict in the 90s, visiting gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more and hear about it from people who experienced it (I remember having two different tour guides around my age — so who who were also in their early teens during the height of the conflict). I’ve also been to Colombia a couple times and again went from just knowing that it had been an area with significant violence when I was a kid/teen to hearing about it firsthand. Also, I too take travel warnings with a grain of salt. Other countries warn their citizens about visiting places in the US that I feel fine in so I try to keep that in mind (though TBH at this particular moment in time I would rethink visiting the US if I were an international tourist!).
Oh, I would be interested to hear where other countries tell people not to visit in the US (besides the entire country at the moment) and to see if I have been there and if I thought it felt dangerous. I mean, I lived in Oakland and that was supposedly the murder capital of the world for a while. I survived! :)
DeleteI agree with you about Bosnia & Herzegovina; it is so interesting to hear it from someone who went through it, especially if they are your own age, as that makes it seem more impactful to us, as we can (try to) imagine what it would be like if that was us. I worked with a guy from Albania in NY who is about my age and when we first met he said where he was from and I told him I had been there and he said, "WHY?" because they tried so hard to get out, and get to the US. Same with my cousin's wife, who is from Bulgaria. When I asked her where I should go, she was amazed that I would WANT to go there! Interesting, right?
I have both a BA and a MA in History and would not say that I am particularly well versed in a lot of history. I'm just OK at 19th century US and British social history. I remember when I first went to Ireland and they talked about Catholics and Protestants killing each other and I figured it probably fit into the English civil war (1600's) and then I was SHOCKED to learn it was in the 1980 not the 1640s!
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to China in 2009 I remember talking to some chinese people who told me "yes, I think hitler may be bad, but Japanese people are the most bad from world war II" and it made me realize how proximity and culture totally define how we see the world. Also, I did not know much about the China-Japan part of WWII. Maybe I am just bad at history... but this is why traveling is good for me.
Totally agree! When I lived in San Francisco, my roommate was Japanese and we used to go into a store owned by a Korean guy and he told us (her) that his people hated the Japanese! I was astounded, because the Japanese are so mild mannered and sweet! Ha! Then I read books about the way they treated the Koreans and Chinese and I realized that I KNEW NOTHING! Traveling is good, and reading is good. We should all do more of both!
DeleteI took ZERO history classes in college and I kind of regret that but I would have had to take Western Civilizations which I heard was incredibly boring and required a lot of paper writing, but I took sociology classes to fulfill my humanities requirement (I loathe writing papers so so much).
ReplyDeleteWhen I did a 2 week program in France during grad school, the professor that traveled with us was from what was formerly Yugoslavia. When we chatted with her outside of class in more informal settings, she talked about the odd feeling of your country no longer existing and all the ramifications that has. We also have a neighbor on our block that we are getting to be very good friends with how is from what was formerly Bosnia. His family were political refugees. He did not speak English when he moved here and said he learned quite a bit of English from watching tv. It all makes me realize that I have not experienced true hardship compare to many others!
The son of my former colleague, Paul, was studying in Ecuador 2 springs ago. There were a lot of terrible headlines about the state of things in that country and I asked if Paul was nervous about his son's safety. He said his son said everything was totally fine. Paul reminded me that the headlines about Minneapolis during the summer of 2020 probably make it look incredibly dangerous and yet we never felt unsafe where we lived (we did have friends that lived closer to the area where things were quite bad and they did spend a few nights in a hotel since they have young kids and wanted to be extra careful.).
I can't say I would visit anywhere close to Russia right now but I have barely traveled compared to you so I have a long list of places to go to first, like Italy, Spain, France, etc!
I bet it would be strange to be from a place that is no longer existing. I wonder what age you would need to be for it to not affect you as much. I had a tour guide born in 91 in Tbilisi and he knew of the history of course, but he also said that they had no power a lot when he was growing up, so even if you were post dissolution, you would not necessarily be unscathed. I did find it interesting though that most people under 40 are more likely to speak English whereas if you are over 40 you may be more likely to speak Russian. In Armenia, they still have Russian as their second language in school, then German/French....and THEN English (as the fourth!)
DeleteCreepy shirtless guy did a great job!
ReplyDeleteI do think I'm pretty well versed in world history, and particularly with Yugoslavia as that is such recent memory. I used to work with a woman from Armenia, she was an older lady and this was the 90s, so I knew quite a bit through her. I find history very interesting. I don't think I'd get too near Russia these days, personally. One place I've always wanted to visit and don't know if I will is Israel, for a myriad reasons.
Hah! Creepy guy had his thumb in the photo and I had to crop it out. But yes, he was useful to some extent! He was bossy though and was trying to tell me where and how to stand! I worked with a woman from Yugoslavia in the mid 90s and her family had escaped to the US. I wish I could remember more of what she told me, or that I had asked her more questions, but I was young and what I recall the most about her was that she ate a hamburger with a knife and fork. She NEVER touched her food; I found that fascinating.
DeleteI'm well versed in some areas of world history, but completely ignorant in others. Your travels are giving you a first-hand education and I love that you feel like people are inherently good. Even Creepy Shirtless Guy had his merits!
ReplyDelete....even creepy shirtless guys do have some merits! Haha! I do love the first hand education and believe that seeing and doing things and talking to people sticks in my brain a lot better than some crazy old lady (my world history teacher, who was probably actually 40 years old!! haha! ) trying to give it all to me at once when I am in a class with all of my friends (i.e. did not pay attention!)
DeleteI am NOT great at world history. The only way I've really learned about history are through historical fiction novels! I find that to be such a great way to learn more about a time period I'm so unfamiliar with. I also really love history podcasts - I should look into some world history podcasts to gain some greater knowledge about historical conflicts.
ReplyDeleteBeing in the U.S. (and on the bottom!), it's always wild to me that you can be in another country so quickly in Europe! Or even take a picture and have two countries in it!
That is true! When I rode my bike to Mexico last year, I was in NM and got a ride to El Paso and you NOTICE the two countries because there is a wall the entire way. Being in FL has its merits! The wall is....something.
DeleteI know some world history, but not heaps of details. I do like to read about history. We have a lot of immigrants in Melbourne, with many being refugees, so I have spoken to people who fled Sudan and also Iran. The Sudanese woman's story was particularly heartbreaking. We also know someone sent to a farm during China's Cultural Revolution.
ReplyDeleteLOL that was me again. I keep forgetting to put my name in when I comment on your blog.
DeleteI bet the Sudanese lady's story was hard to hear! I am not great at history, but I have read a lot about a lot of the refuges from various countries and all of their stories are sad to hear but are also hopeful at the same time! I worked with a guy who had two birthdays because when he came over he was one of those "paper sons" and so he had to assume the birthday that was on his documents.
DeleteNo, I don't know a lot of world history. I've read some about WWI and WWII, but don't know a lot about the more recent conflicts. Living in the US, I think most of us are so wrapped up in our own issues(tariffs, immigration, etc) and think of everything else that's happening as "far away." It must be interesting to get away for a while and get a different perspective!
ReplyDeleteAnd- I agree with you. Most people are good, and I think deep down most people want the same things. Somehow things get twisted around and we start viewing other people as enemies when it really doesn't have to be the case.
I agree, that we often lump people together and they can be our "enemy" even though they themselves have done nothing. But I think it is human nature to be wary of a group when you have seen someone in the group do something bad. I am glad to meet the people with the boots on the ground rather than just see them on TV where you don't get a real feel for who they (as a group) really are.
DeleteMy area of history is American 19th century. I minored in AmHistory in college, and I read Civil War history now, especially the Lincoln presidency and books about him and Mary Lincoln. My knowledge of world history is spotty, which I think is common among many Americans, sadly.
ReplyDeleteI've learned a great deal from my friend Mikey, however, who has completed his quest of travelling to all the countries of the world. He's video-called me from many of them, and emailed me his journal entries. His Instagram account helps round it all out, too.
Most people are inherently good, I think. But, as Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Nance, they have done studies where if you are asked a question while alone you will answer one way, and it may be a contrary way, but if you are asked in a group, many people will go with the answer of the group. I think this can be a bad thing when there are stronger more powerful members of a group swaying the others in a negative direction. I try to do my best to make my own opinions of people and not just go with what I see on TV or what my Uncle Bob says about a group.
DeleteI think you need to give me Mikey's info! He sounds like a fascinating guy!
Mikey's insta is memypassportandi . He's in Japan currently for this part of his summer break.
DeleteThanks! I tried to check it out but it is private!
DeleteYou are so well informed and so well travel. This is all fascinating. I tend to attend to things in my immediate world, but I do like to learn about things impacting the rest of the world. My son, Tank, is really tuned in and he knows stuff. I wish I was better informed, but I admit that I'm not really up to speed with all the events happening around the world. Our kids were involved in a group that Ed started with a friend at their high school, called Global Humanitarian Club. They raised funds for underprivileged countries and then also worked to raise awareness to the issues at hand. It's been a great thing and I learned a lot by attending the slideshows/presentations and speakers that they hosted.
ReplyDeleteThat club sounds wonderful! I think that getting involved with something like that is something every teenager or twentysomething should do. I always wanted to join the Peace Corps or something similar when I was younger, and hey, you never know, maybe I will do it now! I think living with a family in a rural area in a different country would really give you some insight on how other people live. It sounds like your kids are a step ahead of us, that is for sure!
DeleteThis was a beautiful post, Kyria. I agree wholeheartedly with the belief that people are inherently good, and a few bad actors aren't representative of a whole people or culture. I love your adventurous spirit and open mind and heart.
ReplyDeleteAwwww shucks Suzanne! Thanks! I think that when you are just looking at things on TV or the internet, it is hard to differentiate sometimes! I like to experience it firsthand so I can make my own judgements/opinions.
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