Georgia from the Inside: 22 real facts and debunking stereotypes! An honest video story.

There is one good legend, one of the versions of how the Georgians got their land:

"When God distributed the land, the Georgians drank everything and ate everything. It's just that at that time the Georgians had guests, and they could not drive them away, even knowing that now God is distributing land to all nations. And so, when they came to God the very last and asked him for land, he replied: "Well, I've given everything away, everyone has already received their lands, there is not even a lifeless mountain left."

But then God found out why they didn't come on time, and who detained them. He saw this broad soul, and decided to give the hospitable Georgians the piece of land that he had reserved for himself. The land of the Lord was incomparable in its beauty. The Georgians thanked him and promised to always protect this holy land. And it is now called Georgia."

And if you live for some time in this beautiful country, surrounded by wonderful people, you will have new friends, and you will not want to leave here.

And so, let's start with the most important fact, which will be both the first and the last, and in the composition of all other facts ‒ these are people. Because Georgia, first of all, is people, and only then it is mountains and the sea. Because if it weren't for these people, there wouldn't be all this splendor of the country, this hospitality, such cordiality, abundance of everything.

And the next fact is rather a plus and a minus ‒ there is not a service everywhere. People quickly get used to good service, but it is not always possible to get it here. And the plus is that you plunge into authenticity. That is, you get to places where the hand of the service has not yet reached, where there are still such handmade bridges, where there is literally no light, where museums are not locked with locks, and it is not clear whether there is someone inside or not. The museum has no contact phone, no website, no WhatsApp. And all this is not yet being squeezed by the service, but the Georgians are trying.

Another point that will probably be a minus for young people. Local girls consider boys and young men initially immediately as future husbands. That is, you will not see here girls of easy virtue who look like Georgians, they are practically not here. There are Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, girls of different nationalities, but not Georgians. This, in general, is not accepted, and we will not go into details. Therefore, it is literally useless to get acquainted with girls in clubs, on the street.

But these are all such disadvantages that will simply fade when you see the attitude towards you as guests. Because the most important thing here is Georgian people. Here Georgian people generally wonderful. It's just necessary to get to know them, make friends, live next to them, chat, come to visit them, come to their feast, and then you will understand with a sober look that they are very open people. And the following fact follows from this.

Here initially you are a friend, until you proved otherwise. Here, in Minsk or Belarus, in Moscow or Kiev, if you are a beginner and you are not known, if you are a stranger who came from nowhere, then you are initially an enemy. Well, until you prove that you are a friend. But, conditionally, it was also in Europe, as it is now in Georgia. That is, you are initially welcome, as long as you are not rude, rude, insulted by your behavior. If you ask any passerby how to get somewhere, they will tell you, show you, explain and hold your hand.

A living example: a man went to take tests of his child to the Batumi hospital. First, the taxi driver explained to him in detail exactly where the laboratory was located. At the entrance, he was met by smiling security guards and escorted into the building. Then this person is intercepted by a random woman who is not even a doctor and not an employee of this hospital.

She finds out exactly what he needs, then accompanies a complete stranger to the laboratory and explains to the laboratory assistants what he wants. Then he leaves without expecting any gratitude. And the person normally calmly got what he needed. But, let's say, in Minsk you would expect something like the following: Do you have a passport? Is there a registration? You are in the paid window. Do you have money with you or not? Why did you come here, go to the general cash register, and so on.

But here everything is different, here everything is different, here initially you are a friend. And remembering the words from the aforementioned legend, you are convinced that it is true.

The next great fact is that it is very cool here unique climate and amazing nature. Here you can walk, and there will be palm trees, firs, deciduous trees around, everything grows here. Tangerines grow in the garden, apples. Everything is cool here! Everything is so good here. And the climate, without any special differences.

The mountains are amazing, the air is clean, greenery, fresh food without chemicals, this nature, this weather, views from the window: mountains with snow ridges, and next to the sea. And by visiting Kazbegi, looking at this splendor created by nature, people begin to believe in God. Because it couldn't have happened by accident, everything is so great.

The next fact is that it is warm in Georgia. But it's warm here, because there is a warm attitude to everyone. It's somehow warm here by default, here by default you know that you are welcome. Here, by default, they smile at you, and you understand that this is not Germany, where the smile is "stretched".

You understand that this is not Moscow, where the question "how much money do you have in your pocket" looms behind the smile. And here it's just warm and sincere. It's so good to rest here after work, both soul and body, and stomach, and head, and everything. Here the warmth surrounds, as if envelops: the warmth of people, nature, home, the warmth of the piano, the warmth of khinkali, lavash.

What else is impressive here ‒ every place is a story, literally. You can drive away from Tbilisi, from Batumi for at least five kilometers, or just moving from one city to another, and you will definitely meet a historical place or monument of history and culture. And you will never get tired of admiring them and learning.

Moreover, here the guides also narrate with a soul, with warmth, it is directly visible that they live by it, that they love their work, that they are proud of their country, their history. And how they tell and show! It's as if you are immersed in a documentary-art historical film. And almost every house, every family also has its own interesting history.

Another amazing fact is that most people want to help. Local residents everywhere offer their help free of charge. And this is surprising, because after the courage of Moscow or Kiev, when a price tag is usually put up for help, it is unusual to simply receive help without self-interest. Georgians are people who believe and know that the Earth is round, and that all good returns.

This year, at the Batumi airport, all the guests who arrived on the eve of the New Year holidays were handed a bottle of wine. Agree, pleasant showing hospitality. And taxi drivers, for the most part, always offer to help with luggage, without additional payment, but simply out of politeness and a sincere desire to help.

Or, for example, if you approach the front door of a multi-storey building with suitcases, where people completely unfamiliar to you are sitting, then most likely they will definitely help you lift things, even if the elevator does not work. And they won't even want to hear about some kind of reward, explaining this by the fact that there is ordinary help here, without any benefit ‒ this is normal, it is accepted here. And that's what most people do.

The next important fact is that it is safe. Many residents of large cities are used to always locking the front door, and very often even with several locks. But after living in Georgia for some time, you will inevitably stop thinking about locks at all, and it will not be so important for you whether you closed the door after leaving or not. Because here and among the indigenous people so. There is no such thing here that someone can break in, break into someone else's house. And this is not explained by excessive vigilance by the police. The work of the police here is not intrusive.

Police officers do not check documents as in Moscow, do not walk in crowds, do not run as in Minsk. Because Georgians understand that there are many newcomers living in their country. And safety ‒ this is one of the important factors that attract here not only mothers with children, pensioners, temporary tourists, but also real estate investors, in the overall development of infrastructure. Therefore, security is at a very high level. And if anything, one call to the police ‒ and everything will be decided fairly.

Georgians are apolitical. On TV they tell that there are demonstrations in Georgia. Yes, it is in Tbilisi. But only a small group of people participated in this. The rest of the Georgians, of course, can somehow complain there, talk about political events, but for the most part they are still apolitical. They understand, unlike Russians and Belarusians, what is happening between Russia and Georgia now is not the enmity of two peoples, but a war of presidents among themselves, a war of businesses, a war of oligarchs.

And you may notice that when questions about politics are raised in the conversation, they move away from the topic. And it seems that for an ordinary Georgian, politics is something so out of the ordinary, it's somewhere out there, far away, but here everything is uniform, everything is fine. And many will watch enough on this TV "box" and say: "It's better not to go to Georgia, there's what's being done." But in fact, nothing so terrible is being done here.

It's delicious in Georgia! Very tasty, not expensive and sincere. Here you can buy yourself a bun or a pie right on the street, absolutely not worrying about the quality and freshness. You can just forget about the fear of being poisoned by poor-quality food. Because in any shop where these lavash, khinkali are prepared, the Georgians themselves eat, and the owners themselves eat. In any catering establishment, everything is clean, neat, everything is fine there.

And the most important thing is that the prices here are reasonable. The average price in restaurants is much lower than in Moscow, Kiev or Minsk. Here they cook soulfully and this is a real fact. The quality of products and ready meals is simply on top. Therefore, it is delicious, not expensive, sincere ‒ This is Georgia.   

The main feature of the Georgian mentality is respect for the older generation. This is not just attention to the opinion of older people, they are sincerely revered regardless of kinship and proximity. In this regard, young people do not swear and do not use obscene words in the presence of elders, as well as in public places.

It is worth mentioning the reverent attitude of Georgians to children, for them it is the greatest joy in life. There are no “foreign” children for the locals, they are ready to give each child a sweet candy, pat on the head or even take them in their arms. Do not worry about such manifestations of love for your child!

The next fact is that they are willing to bargain here. That is, you can bargain even in the store, not only in the market. And this is not something out of the ordinary. You may well come to a store where, for example, voltage stabilizers are sold, which cost, say, 100 GEL and offer 80, the seller will bargain again, and you will normally agree.

And there is such a life hack: if a Georgian friend is also present with you when buying, he can talk to the seller in his own way and the cost gets even lower. Because for their own, as everywhere, there is one price, but for tourists it is slightly higher.

Another fact is authenticity. It's really atmospheric here. There are no provocative outfits for girls here, at all. Mostly Georgians wear dark clothes in black or gray, but with some bright accessory or element in the outfit.

And women and men of the older generation wear hats and clothes with elements of national attire. Well, it's atmospheric and very authentic everywhere. And very emotional. Go, for example, to one of the bars where Georgians play Georgian music, they drink Georgian beer, Georgian wine, listen to their beautiful toasts, and you will plunge completely into this atmosphere, feel the history of these people.

Now about the Russian language. It is readily spoken here. Russian Russian is not a good language, and if a Georgian does not know Russian, he will smile, say "Russian is not enough", and call someone who is "Russian is good". And almost everyone who is 40 years old and above knows Russian well. And there is no need to hide how many mistakenly believe that you are Russian. They will speak to you sincerely, in Russian.

Georgian feast this is a real holiday. For many, a feast is some kind of "obedalovka", it is banal to come, eat, drink and leave. And here it's a holiday where people sing songs, everyone sings, from young to old. Georgia is generally a country where a man may not be able to fight, but if he does not know how to sing, then, probably, he will be ashamed and ashamed. They always singing, and they sing great. They dance, sing, draw, they are creative and creative people.

In religious terms, Georgia is something like Jerusalem. There are all denominations here: these are Catholics, Christians, Orthodox, Muslims, Jews. And there is no division into certain areas by religion. And Muslims, Christians, Jews and atheists can sit at the same table.

People here believe, and probably they are right, that everyone has their own inside. There is only one God, it's just that everyone inside believes in their own way. If you want, believe in Jesus Christ, believe in Allah, believe in anyone, just don't show it on sight and live in peace. Therefore, here you will not encounter some kind of imposition of a particular religion. And all this diversity of religions somehow harmoniously gets along in one Georgia.

There is an opinion that Georgian men are very loving. Perhaps it is. But the fact that they unceremoniously accost girls in clubs, shops, on the street, as in Turkey, for example, is a myth. And when you live in Georgia for some time, you will see that this is an imposed stereotype.

Georgians highly honor history and religion, with sincere respect for the observance of Orthodox traditions and customs. Many are proud of the fact that Georgia is one of the first countries to adopt Orthodoxy. Therefore, during your arrival, you should definitely visit the ancient churches and temples, which surprise with their splendor.

All of the above is not an advertising campaign of Georgia, or vice versa, not an attempt to show this country from the worst side. Each fact is taken from real life, from the experience of real people. 

There is a cool atmosphere for living, for work, for recreation. And if someone tells you that it is dangerous in Georgia, that Russians are beaten in Georgia, or other fairy tales, then recommend this person to read this article.