Our Small World

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. 

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." 

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? 

There is a large mountain in between

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?"

What is Happening in France? And Other Randoms Around the World.

I have been watching the French news lately. In the place where I am, there are only a few channels; usually one with kids cartoons, one with some sort of CSI type show on it, and the news. I obviously only understand about three percent of everything that is being discussed, but I can tell you this. Firstly, French news anchors do not worry as much about what their teeth look like as those from the U.S. do. Second, they all talk over each other all the time, so if I could only understand three percent normally, at that point I understand about 0.02%. 

I also know that they are talking about Trump and Putin, but when they say the latter, it sounds like poutine, and so every time they start talking about Russia, I get hungry. Also there is another French word that sounds very similar that is a bad word, putain, which translates to whore but kind of means "shit" or "damn." Putin, poutine, putain! 

The other thing that was big news yesterday is that Macron went to an AI summit and so made a deepfake video about himself where he has his face on a bunch of 80s band members. You can see it here if you want to. I also did not realize, or maybe forgot, that he was so young. He is only 47! It feels like he has been around forever, but I just checked and he became president in 2017. So he was 39 when he got elected the first time! 

Also speaking of Trump, when they do the voiceover for him on the French news, they have a young guy doing it and I don't think it has the same effect when you have this youthful young French voice saying bad things about Canada. Speaking of Canada, a friend I met in France is from Halifax and she mentioned that Trudeau announced his resignation, which I did not realize. I knew that this year was an election year, and after talking to people last year while I was riding through, it appeared that Trudeau was starting to lose favor. 

I also watched a game show called N'oubliez pas les paroles! which is basically "don't forget the lyrics" where they have to sing along with a song and then the music cuts out and they have to keep singing. This was very fun for me, as I found some probably obvious French songs to add to my new playlist, the Euro version! This one is very catchy, and I have pasted a few other examples below. 

The other thing I have noticed here is that all of the younger ladies have wide leg pants again. Dang it; I should have kept those when I got rid of all of my stuff! Just kidding; I am not sure I will be able to pull it off anymore. I did wear some wide legged pants in my days though! Remember the 90s and the grunge era? I used to wear some big pants back then! 

The good thing is that, although people still smoke more than I am used to, it is not nearly as bad as it was the last time I was here. Maybe more people are just using vape pens, but the streets are definitely less smoky! Also there are so many bike lanes and bikes and people biking to work etc. I really wish that the US would get more on board with that in more places. For example, when I lived in Oakland, although San Francisco was not that far away, there was a bridge between us and half of that bridge did not have a bike lane, so there was no possible way I could bike to work. Even the mail carrier bikes in France! 

Mail carrier

The other thing I love is that the eggs come in packs of four, six, ten or twelve. If you are just here for one day but still want eggs, you got it! Also, of course, they don't refrigerate them. Do you know why that this is different than the US? Well, I will tell you! The US eggs are washed, which removes the protective layer on the egg, causing the need for refrigeration, whereas the French eggs are not washed and so they still have the protective layer. Plus their "normal" eggs are basically what we would call free range (and would charge up the wazoo for). Average egg price in France currently is about $2.75 - $4.00 per dozen. 

Four pack! Isn't it cute?

Also if you are at a restaurant by yourself and you want a glass of wine, you can instead get a carafe and feel like you are really treating yourself. My tip for that is that you should always order the carafe of house wine; don't get the bottle! You can get just as good of wine in the carafe and it is cheaper and you have various size options. Usually it is 25 cl, 46 cl or a liter. What does this mean to those not on the metric? This is basically a glass and a half, three glasses, or about six glasses, depending on how big you pour them! 

25 cl

And last but not least, I will leave you with this picture, which I believe needs no words. 

CHEESE!!! <3

Your turn! Do you have any European music that you suggest I add to my playlist? What is your favorite kind of cheese? What kind of pants are the teenagers wearing in your neck of the woods? 

Be Yourself

I don't really talk a lot about politics, because I know everyone has their own opinions and often talking about them will only lead into arguments and disappointment. However, something happened recently that I think is worth mentioning. California's Prop 8 was overturned. What many people don't understand is how it took Californians, who are supposedly liberal, so long to make this happen.

I live in an area where it is okay to be yourself. Whether you are black or white or any shade in between, whether you are gay or straight (or anything in between), whether you wear a fur coat or nothing at all, you are usually celebrated for your differences, not shunned.

However, there are many rural areas in California. They are generally Republican and/or more conservative. There is Orange County, who is fairly wealthy and a little more elitist. I grew up in a red county. There were some race issues and being gay was not okay to many people in the area. So this is why this decision took so long. There are still a lot of people who feel uncomfortable with the idea of same sex marriage.

2012 voting by county

All I can say is: congratulations to all the people who can now get married, for whatever reason they want to do it. Whatever color you are, whatever your sexual preference, and whatever you are wearing, you should have the same rights as everyone else.

Do you live in a state where same sex marriage is legal? What do you think about the issue?