Author Archives: panoptical

Then They Build Monuments To You

Posted on May 18, 2013

“First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.” – Nicholas Klein, American trade unionist Yesterday was the International Day Against Homophobia, and as … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Politics | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Easter, Religion, and my Georgian Family

Posted on May 4, 2013

So I have this dilemma. Last year after Easter I was faced with the challenge of explaining to my students and coteachers that saying “Christ is risen” is a violation of the uneasy truce that exists in much of America … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

Rape Culture vs. Traditional Culture

Posted on March 23, 2013

The Steubenville rape and the Adria Richards fiasco have given me an idea of what Georgians mean when they say that women are more respected in their culture. I can’t imagine either of those things happening here. I would ask … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Sex and Gender | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Quality of Life, Political Economy, and Ethnocentrism

Posted on March 20, 2013

A CNN article caused an uproar in the Georgiasphere because it listed Tbilisi as an example of one of the world’s worst cities. This list was based on the Mercer “Quality of Living” survey which rates 221 cities based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Culture Shock! | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ban Smoking

Posted on March 19, 2013

Every once in a while I have to remind myself to be compassionate. I am easily annoyed by relatively insignificant things, and if I’m not careful I find myself reacting towards strangers with loathing and disgust, and when this spiral … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Health and Sickness in Georgia | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Vowels

Posted on March 18, 2013

I’ve spent the last two weeks buried in research into vowels. That might sound boring to y’all, but I am a linguist by hobby and an English teacher by trade, and so vowels are right in my wheelhouse. This post … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Linguistics | 7 Comments

The Mundane Mafioso

Posted on March 2, 2013

Did I make it an entire month without posting? Why yes, I did. My excuse is that February is a short month. The water in my apartment building has been corrupted. Rumor is that it’s due to a new motor… … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Health and Sickness in Georgia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commerce and Communication in Kemalpaşa

Posted on January 28, 2013

Two things struck me on my recent trip to Kemalpaşa, and they’re in the title, so no surprises. The first is the fact that, well, you know all those Turkish goods they sell in the bazaars? I never really thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures in Adventures in Georgia, Travel | 4 Comments

The Long Winter

Posted on January 28, 2013

Well, this is now the longest I’ve ever been outside of the US. This is the first year I haven’t spent Christmas with my family – but scratch that, because I have my own family now and I spent Christmas … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Holidays | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Outrage Porn

Posted on January 7, 2013

It has occurred to me that I am a constant consumer of outrage porn. An outside observer might think that I love to be upset about things. In fact, several people (generally Georgians) have told me precisely that, on this … Continue reading →

Posted in Deep Thoughts at 3AM | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments