Editor's Note: David Nelson, a junior building construction major in the College of Architecture, was one of 250 Americans who participated in the Georgia, USA, to Georgia, USSR, Friendship Force exchange from April 18 through May 1. While the Americans were guests of families in the Soviet Georgia capital, Tbilisi, an equivalent number of Soviet Georgians were hosted in Atlanta.
Soviet Georgia--Sakartvelo--is situated between the Caspian and Black seas, and has a Mediterranean climate not unlike Atlanta's. Its people have dark hair and dark complexions, and are proud of their independent heritage. They are not Russians, and quickly correct anyone making that common generalization...
The hospitality of our hosts astounded every member of our delegation. For two weeks, we were the central focus in their lives. They took me to see 16 cathedrals, the opera, museums, and on elaborate tours of Tbilisi and the surrounding area. If I admired anything in their home, they would offer it to me. If I picked up an item in a shop, they would buy it for me. They showered me with gifts on a daily basis, some of them belonging to their families for generations. My host family consisted of Mareb, an architect; Nina, a medical instructor; Sandro, an 18-year-old architectural student; and Irene, a four-year-old girl.
Full Text: http://gtalumni.org/Publications/magazine/sum90/sovietga.html
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