Cultural Notes of the Trip:

Religion

On the eastern side of Georgia, people are primarily Christians. Meanwhile, in the western side people are mostly Muslim. Regardless of where you are religion is a very important aspect in day to day life.

Patriotism

Georgian's seemed to be very patriotic. This was mainly shown to me through the Euro occuring this year. This was Georgia's first time competing in the Euro, ( A large soccer event), and we were traveling on the train from Batumi back to Tbilisi for the airport. While we were traveling Georgia was facing Portugal, and everyone on the train was watching the match. Whenever Georgia would score the train would erupt with cheers, with everyone excited for Georgia's team.

Sports

Georgian's partake in the same sports the rest of the world does, though the things they focus on the most are said to be Dance, and Weightlifting. We saw dancers performing for us (more on that in entertainment) and I saw a man on the train I could only assume was a powerlifter given how muscular he was.

Travel

Georgia has been working on increasing its appeal for travel, opening up many historical areas to the public and adding more things to do for a vacation they hope to become a travel country. While many countries do not do tips culturally, Georgia is one that does. Most transportation within the country is done by car, but there are some trains.

Architecture

Much like in Uzbekistan, most homes do have a fence/wall around their house, greatly appreciating privacy. Most homes will contain a balcony on the second floor, which is the main location for people to be during a party as they would rather enjoy the outside than be inside. Homes seemed to be in very good condition and mostly appeared not to be run down.

Hotels put a lot of effort into being unique and appealing. The first hotel we stayed at had a good view from our room, the dining area was on the top floor with an impressive view, and the lobby had a rustic feel to it, having many plants, old fashioned lighting, and a large bookshelf spanning a whole wall, this made the hotel feel very homey.

Traditions

Georgia was rich with tradition. One of the locations we visited allowed us to try on a traditional outfit (as seen in the picture below). They used hollowed horns from goats and rams (also found in image below) to drink their wine from, with a few traditions behind them. One of the most notable traditions with a wine horn is that when Georgians have a drink, it must be a full size, you cannot ask for just half a glass, these horns were quite large so I would imagine that to be difficult. Another tradition is that with major parties (such as weddings) will all contain a toast the toast must be in depth and relate to the event. Also relating to parties, if a man is offered a drink from a horn he must either drink it completely, or leave the function. That tradition is not as common anymore, but it is still frowned upon to deny such offers.