I used to write about "a day in Taiwan...", and now I want to give you a glimpse into our life here in Georgia, Europe. We had an exciting day on Sunday, spending the day with the church on a picnic. Here are the highlights!
Sunday morning at 9:30, we leave the house for church. The church is meeting at the building first, at 10:00, and then plans to leave together at 11:00 for the park. It is (what an American culture would call) "Sunday school picnic" day.
Arriving at the church only a minute after 10:00am, we find we are the second family to arrive. People trickled in between 10-11:30. About then, I'm asking Michael if we missed something, but he replies that it is just the Georgian way. -And so it is! At 11:30, the pastor's wife and son come in and direct everyone to carpool to the park.
This particular place was a national park, where we were told sometimes there are cows or bears. We did see a cow, but thankfully, no bears! Though there was a large group that arrived at the park about noon, the main food had not yet arrived. Pastor had left at 10:00 to go shopping and was still out. There was a creek that ran through the park, and Jude looked forward to playing in the water. Still, we kept the boys occupied with games, sticks, rocks, and balls, not knowing the plan. As it turned out, that was a good thing.
After staying at this lovely national park for an hour and a half, the group decided it was too hot at this location and moved to the cars to go up the mountain to another location. The boys got a few minutes nap in the car, which was great.
We arrive at the new location about 2:00pm. The group walks a ways into the woods to decide the best place to picnic. Here also, we are told that giant wolves frequent these woods, but only in winter; and I am very grateful there are no snakes! Everyone hangs out chatting, resting, listening to music, and snacking on bread, iced tea, and other side dishes. One of the men starts the grill. Pastor arrives with the meat at 3:00pm to a big cheer.
It takes about an hour to roast the pork and chicken, and then we gather to eat. Though a few plates were available, most ate Georgian style with their fingers or with a stick to hold the meat. The food was very good. (I very much enjoyed a kind-of potato salad that one of the ladies had brought.) It didn't take long to eat the food! Then, we had the Lord's table under the canopy of trees- truly the Lord's house, and a short service with singing.
About quarter to 5:00pm, a desert of watermelons are cut into and served. Michael, my husband, is put in charge of American style picnic games. The kids and young adults played the games while the adults looked on and laughed and cheered. For sure, the egg toss was a new idea to everyone, but they loved the bean bag toss and trivia questions.
At 5:30, we let the church know that, regretfully, we would have to leave, as the boys were exhausted. With looks of surprise that we were leaving so soon, folks got up to have another cup of my iced tea or grab the last of the cookies before we left. It was a quiet ride home, as the boys slept.
By the time we were loaded up, drove down the mountain, dropped off our car guests, and arrived at home once more, it was 7:00pm. The boys were exhausted and protested waking up to get out of the car. I decided it was an ideal time for a kids' Bible show (as I didn't want them going to bed for a nap now), and set the boys down so we could unload the car without the crying. Poor guys!
It was a full but satisfying day. We had a great time, and the food, as always was good. Now we can say we experienced a true Georgian picnic vacation. It was an enjoyable glimpse into the way that Georgians think and plan.
Sunday morning at 9:30, we leave the house for church. The church is meeting at the building first, at 10:00, and then plans to leave together at 11:00 for the park. It is (what an American culture would call) "Sunday school picnic" day.
Arriving at the church only a minute after 10:00am, we find we are the second family to arrive. People trickled in between 10-11:30. About then, I'm asking Michael if we missed something, but he replies that it is just the Georgian way. -And so it is! At 11:30, the pastor's wife and son come in and direct everyone to carpool to the park.
This particular place was a national park, where we were told sometimes there are cows or bears. We did see a cow, but thankfully, no bears! Though there was a large group that arrived at the park about noon, the main food had not yet arrived. Pastor had left at 10:00 to go shopping and was still out. There was a creek that ran through the park, and Jude looked forward to playing in the water. Still, we kept the boys occupied with games, sticks, rocks, and balls, not knowing the plan. As it turned out, that was a good thing.
After staying at this lovely national park for an hour and a half, the group decided it was too hot at this location and moved to the cars to go up the mountain to another location. The boys got a few minutes nap in the car, which was great.
We arrive at the new location about 2:00pm. The group walks a ways into the woods to decide the best place to picnic. Here also, we are told that giant wolves frequent these woods, but only in winter; and I am very grateful there are no snakes! Everyone hangs out chatting, resting, listening to music, and snacking on bread, iced tea, and other side dishes. One of the men starts the grill. Pastor arrives with the meat at 3:00pm to a big cheer.
It takes about an hour to roast the pork and chicken, and then we gather to eat. Though a few plates were available, most ate Georgian style with their fingers or with a stick to hold the meat. The food was very good. (I very much enjoyed a kind-of potato salad that one of the ladies had brought.) It didn't take long to eat the food! Then, we had the Lord's table under the canopy of trees- truly the Lord's house, and a short service with singing.
About quarter to 5:00pm, a desert of watermelons are cut into and served. Michael, my husband, is put in charge of American style picnic games. The kids and young adults played the games while the adults looked on and laughed and cheered. For sure, the egg toss was a new idea to everyone, but they loved the bean bag toss and trivia questions.
At 5:30, we let the church know that, regretfully, we would have to leave, as the boys were exhausted. With looks of surprise that we were leaving so soon, folks got up to have another cup of my iced tea or grab the last of the cookies before we left. It was a quiet ride home, as the boys slept.
By the time we were loaded up, drove down the mountain, dropped off our car guests, and arrived at home once more, it was 7:00pm. The boys were exhausted and protested waking up to get out of the car. I decided it was an ideal time for a kids' Bible show (as I didn't want them going to bed for a nap now), and set the boys down so we could unload the car without the crying. Poor guys!
It was a full but satisfying day. We had a great time, and the food, as always was good. Now we can say we experienced a true Georgian picnic vacation. It was an enjoyable glimpse into the way that Georgians think and plan.
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