I tell my friends constantly back home that Georgia is an underrated location on all fronts: for tourists outside of former Soviet states, for business and investment, for food and wine connoisseurs, and for the increasingly popular pool of ‘digital nomads’ around the world.
If I were to become a full-time resident of Georgia, I would be thrilled at the prospect of further exploring a place with thousands of years of history, warm people, and a beautiful language. There are so many things still on my Georgia bucket list that I know I will unfortunately not get to on this trip. So the prospect of being able to see more of this country? Sign me up.
First things first. Where in Georgia would I live and what professional role would I have. I would definitely move to the capital of Tbilisi. Tbilisi is a large and lively urban zone that is fast becoming a regional and global city. There is so much to see, experience, eat, learn, and many friends to be made. Maybe an ankle to be broken too, but I’ll do my best not to wear high heels on the cobblestone streets.
In terms of work, I’d want to work in cross-cultural education with Georgian high school and university students. I’m already working an internship with EducationUSA through the Embassy in Tbilisi that specifically serves Georgian high school students who want to study in the United States. Being abroad has made me love my home country even more, but it has also made me realize the power of cross-cultural and foreign language education. For all I rave about Georgia, there is still unfortunately little educational opportunity for students and little opportunity for economic mobility. I have seen first-hand how driven, intelligent, curious, and multilingual Georgian young people are, and I would like to work in a role that helps kindle a lifelong passion for learning languages and expanding one’s worldview.
Okay, now that the boring logistics are out of the way let’s talk about what more I would like to experience in Georgia. There is a painting I saw in the Adjara Art Museum recently that chronicles the major regions and cultures of Georgia, and I think I would like to plan my excursions through Georgia around this painting. I’d like to travel from the coast of the Black Sea to the coast of the Caspian Sea and everything in between. I would love to return to the Caucuses and hike more, and visit Eastern Georgia, which I did not have the opportunity to see at all.
A full-time life in Georgia, in sum, looks like lots of khachapuri, language and cultural education both by me and for me, mountain climbing, sitting on balconies with my new Georgian friends and family, and sitting on the street in Tbilisi sipping Turkish coffee.