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Life fast and busy...

Everything is in a period of change. Martha Jonua (linguist-social researcher) has left for Moscow-getting married tomorrow.

From GoodbyPartyforMarthaJonua

Dijin Churey (linguist and ethno-musicolog) came to Abkhazia and got married today...With traditional clothes on her, the groom, the tatsayuza (brides' friend who is an unmarried girl from the family of the boy). I wanted to have something traditional too. But time and economic limits resulted in this creative piece. Of course it is a result of 4 day delicate embroidery work by Trapsh Ece from Shelly.

From Achara/Jeug/Wedding/Düğün

I have also prepared an advertisement for the training that will start on Tuesday but I couldnt catch the advertisement on TV tonight because i did not realized the time after I came from the wedding and missed the first 15 minutes of Abkhaz State TV So I can not makes sure if they published it :(

And posters to be hanged tomorrow.

And though it is after midnight and I am dying since in total i slept 15 hours in the last week I feel like sitting here and writing all about these...

New Visa information for International Visitors of Abkhazia

I frequently hear and read complaints about the problematic entrance to Abkhazia. I had visitors from Hospitality Club before and I fought for them in four languages with all levels of the bureaucracy. I promised them if they arrange the visit of my friend I will never ever again come to their door for an international visitors visa issues. Though, I failed to keep my promise since I value the outside view and the importance of non-Russian speaking/Western visitors' word in the recognition or even increasing the knowledge of Abkhazia's independence.
Ofcourse, the international visitors do not realize that the citizens of Abkhazia can not go anywhere outside of Russia, only a selected few can take visa for Europe or USA with the international Russian passports since they are officially registered, working, studying in Abkhazia- which is an unrecognized country. For repatriants the situation is really much worse since they do not have Russian passports but Turkish or other-which receives Russian visa for really expensive and hardly. Besides most repatriants passports have very likely expired since they are here for over a year (the 2-5 year Turkish passport costs really a lot) and the Russian visas are not given to expired passports. And there is no direct transport from Abkhazia- so nearly all the population has been limited to the small country all their life. Because of many impossibilities, - economic, social, political, security- many did not have the chance to see even the most touristic attractions in their own country like Ritza Lake or Bedia Church till recently.

So please do not complain about the visa and entrance procedures of Abkhazia but make suggestions, tell the responsible personnel how it can be better, easier for them and for you. Give examples from similar situations. But do not compare to Europe where citizens of Europe, USA or Canada can go around however they want, whenever they want. Compare with realistic examples... Consider that that responsible person who is responding to your request my have never been to a country other than Russia which is a land of bureaucracy!

Here new information in English is available for the interested:
Press here or copy one of the links:
http://www.mfaabkhazia.org/en/mfa_chart/visa_to_abkhazia/
http://therepublicofabkhazia.org/pages/contact-us/visitor-info.shtml

Going native!

That is the term used for social scientists (anthropologists) when they start to behave like the people they study. "Why, after about three years I feel like this? Did I felt like an outsider before? What made the change?" can be some of the questions that come up to your mind. But the reason I used this wording is that I have find out myself talking just like on a recent conversation with some strangers in the Botanical Institute. I went there to find out if I can have an appointment or a phone number to make an appointment. I entered the room greeting in Abkhaz. There was a young girl who greeted back in Abkhaz and an old lady who was the secretary who responded back in Russian. I started my sentence in Abkhaz, continued in Russian got different responses from them in both languages, than started in Russian again, continued in Abkhaz and ... I have gone native in terms of language!!!
It really disturbed me when they talked in mixed languages. Maybe it was because I could hardly understand a single one in a long conversation and the combination of the two was very tiring since they were both foreign languages. Thinking a little back I realized I have been doing this for a while.
I remember, back in Turkey as I thought SPSS lectures to the sophomores as a senior, one of the students had critisized my lectures for being discomforting becuase of constantly talking in two languages- Turkish and English. I hated that too but if I talked only in English about statistics and computers, more than half of the class could not follow the lectures. And I had asked which language they would like me to talk at the lectures at the beginning of the year, and people had voted for multilingual lecturing.
Still, I don't like this mumbling and bumbling in many languages at the same time. Since I came to Abkhazia, constantly I talk in 4 languages- Turkish, English, Abkhaz and Russian. Sometimes, I feel like I am going to have a brain emboli. Or as some repatirants will start to create my own language- of mendacious words, ungrammatical mixed language sentences, full rubbish.
This language issue is really interesting. In my life I have met so many bilingual and multilingual people. I think if you are multilingual since early ages it is easier to add new languages to your knowledge. And it becomes less disturbing to talk in many languages in a day. I myself, am not a multilingual child. I learned English with the encouragement of my mother. She was importing English language text books and reading books to Turkey.
My French is a disaster though I finished 4th level of study in high school as electives.
My grandfather was not so succesfull in teaching Adyghe neither to his children nor to grandchildren, though he started to tell the Nart stories he knew from his childhood in Adyghe just before he died... I studied for 3 months in Adygeya but it seems to be lost as I started learning Abkhaz since these languages are really close to each other.
My Russian has tolerated 5 different teachers of Russian language, and seems to survive and even develop in the recent month so I can say the best teacher has been the field work in Abkhazia!
We are doing a research at the Center for Strategic Studies on the topic of Multinguality and Culture. I printed 1000 copies of questionnaires in 6 months from an ordinary printer. (I hated myself in most days that I had to sit infront of the computer for hours just printing!)
For the last month they have been distributing the questionnaires around but the total sample has reached to 37 only!!! So within a year they will finish than I can tell you about the situation about this multilinguality in Abkhazia.

Knock knock knocking on heavens door

Yesterday in the middle of the night I found out that our senseless satellite is capable of reading music and photos from a usb- unfortunately no films. But you can record scenes directly from the satellite tv to the usb. Really interesting. I even tried playing it back at my computer and it was ok. So I can now record important news or programs about the diaspora and ask to show them on local channels.
Today on the other hand I realised our satellite is also capable of playing Turkish radio channels. I catched a good one. Bob Dylan is playing. Knock knock knocking on heaven's door...
Yesterday, I remembered what I wanted to tell before. There was a hotel (for real it was a low quality guest house) called Jasmine (Yasemin) in Sukhum, built by a repatriant about 7-8 years back. The owner used to say it was always a tough job to do-being the first and for a while only hotel in town. That's why it took about 70$ per night, per person. Many repatriant families spend hundreds of dolars on their first arrival because here there was Turkish speaking personnel and Turkish breakfast. And that was the only place they were directed when they come with the touristic groups from Turkey. I even hosted 22 academicians for a conference a few years back- since it was the only place in town with enough single beds. Luckyly this year another one opened called Inter-Sukhum which was even a little more cheap than this one and of better quality- or maybe it is better to say "new and clean".
Still the Yasemin hotel was full in the season- esp. Victory day by old timer visitors from the diaspora. However, the words had already been going around that the hotel was rented to the Russian Consulate which has already started working about a month ago in another office. They are making some repairs and I guess by the end of this year the consulate will be fully working in its new place. Since this building is just next to where I rent a flat I dont really have a picture of it as it is not so beautiful building.
I also learned that the consulate provides transit Russian visas now. Which decreased the costs for repatriants who have valid passports but no Russian visas from 6000 rubles (2 months ago!) to about a 1000 rubles. I don't know if anyone can take that visa or only repatriants. But I guess things are getting in their place now.
By the way we finished the fieldwork of the first research project. Still a lot more things to do.
And the presidential elections are coming- 3rd of December. And my friend has a wedding on the 5th of December. And I have to do the second fieldwork but I can not start before the elections- people are afraid though my topic is not political. I can not do it after the second week of december- it will be drunk people all around because of Christmas and New Year. Oh so many things to consider. I think I should go back to writing my report...
I will try to write more since now I am in the city and infront of the computer till I finish the report...
And more photos are available from the field....

From Researchers in the Field

Accident

Yesterday was an interesting day. My field work was canceled in the last minute because our contact person "forgot". We decided to drop by to a friend's shop- Shelly, a shop for trendy designs.

They had brought winter collection and I -not very likely of me decided to try a few things. There were really nice coats and cardigans. I was trying the last one and than we would step up the stairs to the design section where there were seats. Than I heard a big sound of crashing and I turned to the door of the shop only to see a car with a woman driver coming towards the shop. I did not photographed the car crashed into the door of the shop but believe me it is as alive in my eyes. Lucky for us it did not break down the door, just the concrete step and side of the door.
Still we were in shock for the rest of the evening. And to this was added a long theater in Abkhaz-Russian. I will write about that later when I finish the short movie from pieces of the act.
Anyway, I don't remember if I wrote about Shelly before. But I help Abkhaz dubbing of the advertisement that was prepared in Russian. It was fun and it gave me a lot of ideas. For example, I really wish to make movies from off-the road historical places and unknown corners in Abkhazia. I plan to do it in Abkhaz with English subtitles or vice-a-versa. I will see into it.
I thought I had a lot more to write but nothing comes to my mind at the moment.
So I shall better get back to work.

Joy of doing research again

I realized how much I had missed being in the field. Seeing different lives and places. Sharing moments unlivable ever again... It is much more exciting for me to do this in Abkhazia. An ex-soviet, post-conflict, trans-traditional context where what you can live is very much variable and very little expectable.
It is not as simple as finding a sea shell at the top of a mountain. It is as complicated as finding a sea shell in your pocket. You have so many questions to ask- when did i put this shell here, where did i find it, with whom i was there, how did it ended up half broken there, what makes it unique compared to thousands of shells i have collected from around the world, why are these shells so important (turkish speakers can find it out here- in the short story i had written a few years back).
When I am in the field, i do not ask the questions any more. I have a great team to do that for me. Though they are still learning how to question, i think it is important they discover those shells that exist in their own pockets, in eachother's pockets, in the pockets of people they are meeting for the first time, in the unseen corners of the half broken down, half restored church at the end of bad roads, in the traditionally structured houses at the end of never ending roads that meets us with the unexpectably beautiful scenery we had scene till that time...
Well, some of you may think this kind of philisophical writing is not my type. And I will ask you if you know how many more shells do I have in my pockets. Everytime I loose my phone i myself find out another one....
See more photos from the field and Bedia Church