Two weeks ago, we had training in Tbilisi with our counter-parts. Actually, Gill went without any of her counter-parts. Her main counter-part, Marina, could not go because her uncle had died a few days before and consequently she was involved with the funeral. Marina has now lost an uncle and a brother in the space of a few weeks. Another counter-part did not want to go and the third was unable to go because of family commitments.

Bob too has three counter-parts. His main counter-part had a wedding to attend and number two counter-part didn’t want to go. So he went with Lea, his number three counter-part. (She is number three because he has fewer lessons with her than with either of the other two.) The training was interesting and Bob thinks Lea enjoyed it.

Also two weeks ago we had another snow storm. Laundry can be a trial under such conditions! But there were hints that spring was coming. During the daytime, the sun would come out in a cloudless sky and turn much of the snow and ice to slush and water. Admittedly, at night, it would get really cold again and the slush and water would refreeze into a bumpy skating rink and Gill says that she has fallen down four times going to school. However, she was so well bundled up against the early morning cold, and therefore well-padded, that she has not suffered any serious consequences from these falls.

Recently, we have had no fresh snow and even the nights have been warmer. Consequently, all the snow has now gone in Borjomi itself and the snow is melting quickly in the surrounding terrain. We are told that, because of the snow melt, the water supply is full of mud and sand, so the water has been turned off! I suppose that no water must be better than muddy water for someone, but I am skeptical. Laundry can be a trial under such conditions!

If winter is over now, as seems possible, it has been a rather short one and, although there was a period of intense cold, the winter was not as bad as we had been led to expect. Certainly, New York could provide stiff competition.

Last week we went to watch a football (soccer) match between Akhalsikhe (Georgian for Newcastle - a town further up-river) and a Tbilisi team. (It was held in Borjomi because Borjomi has a usable pitch.) Watching professional sports is not something we like doing, but we needed to get out for a walk anyway so Giga, our host-brother, persuaded us to go. He told us that some Nigerian player was on one of the teams. Giga has hopes of being a professional football player himself and would seem to be a pretty good goal-keeper. He might have a chance to play for a Norwegian team if things pan out as he hopes. Bob kidded him that he did not understand why the teams were named after towns and cities when the players seem to come from every part of the globe except the town or city for which they play. Why not name the teams after flowers or film stars? As it turned out, the Nigerian didn’t turn up anyway. It was a nil-all draw.

Last week I, Gill, went to three concerts while Bob was in Tbilisi being checked out by our medical team. It turns out that he is ridiculously healthy except for a little arthritis in his hip. It took them three days to discover that so I have no idea what else he was up to. Anyway, as last week included both Georgian Mothers’ Day and International Women’s Day, the school took time out to celebrate. The third and first grades had concerts, neither of which I knew about until the actual event (typical Georgian fashion). The kids were dressed up in miniature versions of the national costumes and looked absolutely adorable. As I did not know that these concerts were going to happen, I did not have a camera. Now I am taking one every day. The children gave speeches and recited Georgian and Russian poetry. They danced national dances and sang songs. They are natural performers, not in the least shy and seem to have a talent for recitation. After the concert, all the teachers were presented with bunches of violets, which has been picked in the woods in and around Borjomi. Intermixed with the violets were a few snowdrops. I was honored with a bunch of tulips also.

Last Thursday evening I (Gill again) went to a concert in the Borjomi cultural center. I think this was given in honor of some Ukrainians who had come to Borjomi to arrange tourist trips. The singing and dancing was exceptional and quite unlike anything I have seen or heard before. There were two nine-part male choruses that sang acapella. One of my students was in the chorus. He was very good. However, what I enjoyed the most was the dancing. In the dances from South Ossetia the men dance on point in soft leather boots with no soles. I must do horrible things to their feet, but it looks great. You can see why they make such good ballet dancers. The dances from Raja were particularly fun because many of the steps were with the feet turned in and incredibly fast. My host mother joked that it was strange that the people from Raja (a mountain region) are thought to be slow-witted when their dances are so fast.

Yesterday we went to a supra of the teachers from Bob’s school. It was held to celebrate the director’s birthday (yesterday) and the assistant director’s birthday (today). Bob was one of only three men present, so, with over thirty women there, it was essentially a "women’s supra". Women’s supras are a lot of fun. The women sing and dance and thoroughly enjoy themselves.