This isn't exactly anything bad, in fact it's very good, but I have to write this down before I forget. I was sitting in my neighbors house eating and practicing my Georgian when an older gentleman from Batumi comes in. He is going to be doing some work on my neighbors house in their village, and he came by. I spent some time talking with him and he started to say I really liked me and wanted to buy my a gift. I never met this man before, but I said "No, no, you don't need to do that." Well he did anyway, he bought me some bananas and chocolate.
Later that evening I found out that this man was homeless. He sold his house to pay for his daughters medical bills, his wife left him, and he has three children to care for. This man went out of his way to buy ME gifts. I was so embarrassed, but my neighbors assured me that it's fine, and the man did it because he liked me very much when I spoke to him in Georgian. Sure, sometimes you get ripped off on the taxi or marshutka, but this is Georgia, and this is Georgian hospitality.
This is a pretty common thing in Georgia. Most people will go way out of their way, and do it with a smile on their face just because they like you, or want you to be happy. Sometimes I forget this, and it comes off as annoying, but after this I just remember that most people would spend their entire life savings to give you what you what you need. It's something I'm not used to, and is incredibly awkward to deal with.
Sometimes receiving is harder than giving is definitely true.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Tom vs. His Personality
There's something awfully strange going on. Well, I wouldn't say strange... just more of a change. Everyone you talk to tells you that you're never the same after two years in the Peace Corps. That the people you once considered friends don't understand you, and you don't understand them. Your perception of normal change as well and therefore you don't take for granted all the nice little things you have... Like peanut butter and nachos. I always figured that this change would be more of a gradual thing, that I won't even notice how my thoughts and opinions on things change. Alas, it is not so, here are lists of some things I've find that have taken a complete 180.
My need for personal space has skyrocketed. For a long time I was always an extrovert, I liked people, being around them, it energized me. This isn't true for me anymore. Sure, you could say it's because my language skills don't give me the opportunities to socialize like I usually do. Well, this even goes for other PCVs. I went to Kobuleti the other day, the first time I spent time with other volunteers in two weeks. I just need more time to myself now, to think things through, quietly panic, read, study Georgian (usually for several hours a day), or just relax and stare up at my ceiling to be swiftly taken into my own thoughts. After spending the day in Kobuleti, or at the river with my friend Nato, nothing make me more excited than the thought of coming back and being completely and utterly alone.
I decided to retake the Myers-Briggs test that many of you know I enjoy. Since I’ve taken it (2002), I’ve usually been in the ENFJ, or the ENFP, depending on whether I was in a relationship or not. Here is what they say about ENFP’s:
ENFPs are friendly folks. Most are really enjoyable people. Some of the most soft-hearted people are ENFPs.
ENFPs have what some call a "silly switch." They can be intellectual, serious, all business for a while, but whenever they get the chance, they flip that switch and become CAPTAIN WILDCHILD, the scourge of the swimming pool, ticklers par excellence. Som etimes they may even appear intoxicated when the "switch" is flipped.
One study has shown that ENFPs are significantly overrepresented in psychodrama. Most have a natural propensity for role-playing and acting.
ENFPs like to tell funny stories, especially about their friends. This penchant may be why many are attracted to journalism. I kid one of my ENFP friends that if I want the sixth fleet to know something, I'll just tell him.
ENFPs are global learners. Close enough is satisfactory to the ENFP, which may unnerve more precise thinking types, especially with such things as piano practice ("three quarter notes or four ... what's the difference?") Amazingly, some ENFPs are adept at exacting disciplines such as mathematics.
Friends are what life is about to ENFPs, moreso even than the other NFs. They hold up their end of the relationship, sometimes being victimized by less caring individuals. ENFPs are energized by being around people. Some have real difficulty being alone , especially on a regular basis.
One ENFP colleague, a social worker, had such tremendous interpersonal skills that she put her interviewers at ease during her own job interview. She had the ability to make strangers feel like old friends.
ENFPs sometimes can be blindsided by their secondary Feeling function. Hasty decisions based on deeply felt values may boil over with unpredictable results. More than one ENFP has abruptly quit a job in such a moment.
Here is the ENFJ profile:
ENFJs are the benevolent 'pedagogues' of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's usually not meant as manipulation -- ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are.
ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial ability.
ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and decisiveness. But they don't resemble the SJs or even the NTJs in organization of the environment nor occasional recalcitrance. ENFJs are organized in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.
ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk for being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.
Now, I’m not sure if this is totally accurate, but I’m scored as an INTJ, they make up less than 1% of the population and are known as the Rational Masterminds:
To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations.
This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.
Anybody want to guess who I thought of when I read this one? My Father Steve Lyon exhibits many of the attributes of an INTJ. Now It says most are in engineering, interesting that I am not an engineer, though when I was younger I often switched between wanting to do computer programming and astrophysics (I loved black holes), but I found a nice niche in history and teaching. I can’t say that this is really me, because like I said, I’m changing in many different ways and this may not hold true forever. We’ll see what happens I guess.
That was a lot for you all to read, so I’m going to save the rest of my spiel for later. Until then, good luck you crazy people! Oh, and take and extra shower for me.
My need for personal space has skyrocketed. For a long time I was always an extrovert, I liked people, being around them, it energized me. This isn't true for me anymore. Sure, you could say it's because my language skills don't give me the opportunities to socialize like I usually do. Well, this even goes for other PCVs. I went to Kobuleti the other day, the first time I spent time with other volunteers in two weeks. I just need more time to myself now, to think things through, quietly panic, read, study Georgian (usually for several hours a day), or just relax and stare up at my ceiling to be swiftly taken into my own thoughts. After spending the day in Kobuleti, or at the river with my friend Nato, nothing make me more excited than the thought of coming back and being completely and utterly alone.
I decided to retake the Myers-Briggs test that many of you know I enjoy. Since I’ve taken it (2002), I’ve usually been in the ENFJ, or the ENFP, depending on whether I was in a relationship or not. Here is what they say about ENFP’s:
ENFPs are friendly folks. Most are really enjoyable people. Some of the most soft-hearted people are ENFPs.
ENFPs have what some call a "silly switch." They can be intellectual, serious, all business for a while, but whenever they get the chance, they flip that switch and become CAPTAIN WILDCHILD, the scourge of the swimming pool, ticklers par excellence. Som etimes they may even appear intoxicated when the "switch" is flipped.
One study has shown that ENFPs are significantly overrepresented in psychodrama. Most have a natural propensity for role-playing and acting.
ENFPs like to tell funny stories, especially about their friends. This penchant may be why many are attracted to journalism. I kid one of my ENFP friends that if I want the sixth fleet to know something, I'll just tell him.
ENFPs are global learners. Close enough is satisfactory to the ENFP, which may unnerve more precise thinking types, especially with such things as piano practice ("three quarter notes or four ... what's the difference?") Amazingly, some ENFPs are adept at exacting disciplines such as mathematics.
Friends are what life is about to ENFPs, moreso even than the other NFs. They hold up their end of the relationship, sometimes being victimized by less caring individuals. ENFPs are energized by being around people. Some have real difficulty being alone , especially on a regular basis.
One ENFP colleague, a social worker, had such tremendous interpersonal skills that she put her interviewers at ease during her own job interview. She had the ability to make strangers feel like old friends.
ENFPs sometimes can be blindsided by their secondary Feeling function. Hasty decisions based on deeply felt values may boil over with unpredictable results. More than one ENFP has abruptly quit a job in such a moment.
Here is the ENFJ profile:
ENFJs are the benevolent 'pedagogues' of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's usually not meant as manipulation -- ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are.
ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial ability.
ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and decisiveness. But they don't resemble the SJs or even the NTJs in organization of the environment nor occasional recalcitrance. ENFJs are organized in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.
ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk for being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.
Now, I’m not sure if this is totally accurate, but I’m scored as an INTJ, they make up less than 1% of the population and are known as the Rational Masterminds:
To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations.
This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.
Anybody want to guess who I thought of when I read this one? My Father Steve Lyon exhibits many of the attributes of an INTJ. Now It says most are in engineering, interesting that I am not an engineer, though when I was younger I often switched between wanting to do computer programming and astrophysics (I loved black holes), but I found a nice niche in history and teaching. I can’t say that this is really me, because like I said, I’m changing in many different ways and this may not hold true forever. We’ll see what happens I guess.
That was a lot for you all to read, so I’m going to save the rest of my spiel for later. Until then, good luck you crazy people! Oh, and take and extra shower for me.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tom vs. The Cactus; Tom vs. Karma; Tom vs. The Locked Door; Tom vs. The Mountain
Well I broke down and got the internet again, but only because so many interesting things have happened that I felt the overwhelming urge to let the 10 people that read my blog have a chance to know what’s going on. As some of you know, I am a big fan of the show Chuck. For those of you who do not know this show, it is about some regular guy who works at a Best Buy equivalent in California suddenly gets all the military secrets poured into his head and is forced to become a spy. He works with an unbelievably hot blonde that he falls in love with. This is not the point, though. Each episode is titled Chuck vs. *Insert interesting thing*, so I had the unoriginal idea of taking that concept for my blog.
Tom vs. Karma is well deserved for the past weeks adventures. It began last weekend when I was in Kvishkheti. I was visiting for what I thought was my friends’ wedding, but in fact only turned out to be his birthday, goes to show how much Georgian I understand. Well I’m at my former host mother sister’s house eating sunflower seeds and playing cards. I had a pile of sunflower seeds I was playfully throwing at everyone. Well I turned to throw the used seeds off the balcony, but the cactus next to me thought I was trying to pick a fight. So it decided to send about a dozen prickly things into my hand while I tossed the sunflower seeds off the roof. One managed to dig itself underneath my finger nail. I still don’t know if it’s out. So Cactus 1 Tom 0.
Then later we were playing Mgeli (wolf) and after getting my host sister really well, I was running away from her and managed to twist my ankle nicely. I limped home, but once again, Karma wants to fight me.
Then last Monday I was at the river with my neighbor (we’ll call her, Jules). I just got out of the water from an unsuccessful attempt at swimming against the current and sat down on a rock next to her. We were practicing some of my Georgian, learning words like “rock”, “tree”, “river”, etc. I see a wasp floating in the water and thought “poor guy”, but then he hopped out on the rock next to me. Despite my previous thought I didn’t want a wasp next to me, so I flicked him back into the water. Well sure enough, he comes out and walks up to me, so I flick him back, but this time into the current. I figured I had proven my triumph over nature, and bee. My mind floated back to learning words like “klde” and “khe” when I suddenly felt pain go across my leg and sure enough, there’s the wasp with his stinger shaking its venomous goodness into my calf. Before I could kill the thing it flew away. Wasp 1 Tom 0.
This has nothing to do with Karma, but the very next day I finished taking my shower and was relaxing in my room and slowly getting dressed. It’s unbelievably hot here, so if I can get away without clothes on I will certainly do it. I should have locked my door though, because sure enough my host mother walks in with a plate of over-cooked corn while I’m barely dressed. That was a fun conversation to have.
So on to the good stuff. On Sunday I went with my counterpart Duri, and his former volunteer Brian who was visiting, up to the top of the mountain near the Turkish border to see this mountain festival. Three months out of the year, villagers take their cows up this mountain so they can graze and what not, but they basically go drink copious amounts of alcohol and lay out in the sun. So that’s what we did for the day, oh and we climbed this mountain that Brian thought would be easy, but turned out to be rather vertical. I have some great pictures and videos. I should also mention that the road we took to get up this mountain was more or less a trail, and I spent a good portion of the ride convinced I was going to die, so I took a lot of video and pictures so the police would know what happened. But we lived, so now the videos will be good to show you people! Sweet!
What else have I done? Had a barbeque with some Georgian friends and members of the Batumi soccer club (they spend a month on vacation in Keda every year). Georgians can light some nice fires, better than most Eagle Scouts I would think.
Well, I’m tired and it’s time to be productive. Check out the new pictures on my Facebook.
Tom vs. Karma is well deserved for the past weeks adventures. It began last weekend when I was in Kvishkheti. I was visiting for what I thought was my friends’ wedding, but in fact only turned out to be his birthday, goes to show how much Georgian I understand. Well I’m at my former host mother sister’s house eating sunflower seeds and playing cards. I had a pile of sunflower seeds I was playfully throwing at everyone. Well I turned to throw the used seeds off the balcony, but the cactus next to me thought I was trying to pick a fight. So it decided to send about a dozen prickly things into my hand while I tossed the sunflower seeds off the roof. One managed to dig itself underneath my finger nail. I still don’t know if it’s out. So Cactus 1 Tom 0.
Then later we were playing Mgeli (wolf) and after getting my host sister really well, I was running away from her and managed to twist my ankle nicely. I limped home, but once again, Karma wants to fight me.
Then last Monday I was at the river with my neighbor (we’ll call her, Jules). I just got out of the water from an unsuccessful attempt at swimming against the current and sat down on a rock next to her. We were practicing some of my Georgian, learning words like “rock”, “tree”, “river”, etc. I see a wasp floating in the water and thought “poor guy”, but then he hopped out on the rock next to me. Despite my previous thought I didn’t want a wasp next to me, so I flicked him back into the water. Well sure enough, he comes out and walks up to me, so I flick him back, but this time into the current. I figured I had proven my triumph over nature, and bee. My mind floated back to learning words like “klde” and “khe” when I suddenly felt pain go across my leg and sure enough, there’s the wasp with his stinger shaking its venomous goodness into my calf. Before I could kill the thing it flew away. Wasp 1 Tom 0.
This has nothing to do with Karma, but the very next day I finished taking my shower and was relaxing in my room and slowly getting dressed. It’s unbelievably hot here, so if I can get away without clothes on I will certainly do it. I should have locked my door though, because sure enough my host mother walks in with a plate of over-cooked corn while I’m barely dressed. That was a fun conversation to have.
So on to the good stuff. On Sunday I went with my counterpart Duri, and his former volunteer Brian who was visiting, up to the top of the mountain near the Turkish border to see this mountain festival. Three months out of the year, villagers take their cows up this mountain so they can graze and what not, but they basically go drink copious amounts of alcohol and lay out in the sun. So that’s what we did for the day, oh and we climbed this mountain that Brian thought would be easy, but turned out to be rather vertical. I have some great pictures and videos. I should also mention that the road we took to get up this mountain was more or less a trail, and I spent a good portion of the ride convinced I was going to die, so I took a lot of video and pictures so the police would know what happened. But we lived, so now the videos will be good to show you people! Sweet!
What else have I done? Had a barbeque with some Georgian friends and members of the Batumi soccer club (they spend a month on vacation in Keda every year). Georgians can light some nice fires, better than most Eagle Scouts I would think.
Well, I’m tired and it’s time to be productive. Check out the new pictures on my Facebook.
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