The Road Home: From Georgia to Instanbul

Note: I started writing an account of my travels from Georgia back to the United States and it got too long so I decided to chop it up into segments. Here's some background information you might find useful. I officially finished my service with the Peace Corps on August 17 but stuck around for a couple weeks with my Georgian host family. My brother and sister (Paul and Meredith respectively) met me in Georgia at the end of August and hung out for a few days absorbing Georgian culture, seeing the countryside, and generally getting a feel for what my experience was like. We had rough plans for traveling through eastern Europe. The only firm part of my schedule was being in Prague by  the morning of September 24th to catch my flight back to America.   

Village Mukhaestate, Georgia
September 3rd

Aaron groggily sits up in his bed. His head is still a little fuzzy from last night's libations. Pause. His last night in Georgia. Last as in final. He lets the idea bump around in the dark, abused recesses of his skull a bit. If that was his last night then... then that means this is his last day in Georgia. Aaron wallows in that realization for a moment. No more bucket baths, no more khachapuri, no more supras, no more tcha-tcha... Whoa! He clutches his side in surprise. His liver just turned a happy little somersault. Sunlight filters in through the sheer draperies. He looks over at the massive backpack propped against the desk. All of his collected possessions from his two years in Georgia. And half of the pack is filled with gifts for friends and family back home. How's that for being a minimalist?

He rouses his brother and sister and they set to packing the last of their things. Aaron crams in yet another drinking horn, bowl and Pepsi bottle of wine (late gifts at the supra the night before) into his pack and puts it on. Heavy. Going to have to dispose of that wine and tcha-tcha as soon as possible. Possibly on the bus to Istanbul. He shoulders the pack downstairs. There's a quietness about the house. Everyone's a little tired and/or hungover. What people wanted to say in farewell they said at the supra last night.

A little after eight, they head out of the front gate en masse. A group of some fifteen host family members and neighbors has gathered on the roadside to see them off. Everyone shuffles around comfortably. Aaron confirms time and time again that he has contact numbers. A marshrutka appears and Aaron's host father flags him down. The driver agrees to take them all the way to the Turkish border. Paul hops in the back. Aaron gives hugs, handshakes, and back thumps all around. Climbing into the suicide seat [Peace Corps Volunteer slang for shotgun. Seat belts aren't real common in Georgia] he gives a final wave and they're off.

With wind whipping through his hair Aaron watches the scenery go by in silent thought. His head is still pounding but it's not just a stupor. He's thoughtful too. As the Black Sea coast careens by and his home for the past two years falls steadily away he can't help but think that if his life were a book this would be the end of a chapter (a real chapter, not a Dan Brown three pager. Or maybe it would be the end of a part or section. Eh, that's kind of cheesy too. Forget the whole book metaphor. It gets much better after this. Promise).

Hopa, Turkey (just across the border from Georgia)

"There are no Istanbul buses? None?" Aaron asks in Georgian (This is this last time on the trip Georgian would serve any useful purpose)
"No, they're all full. You have to go to Trabzon and get something from there," the bus terminal attendant says.

They take his advice and luckily a Trabzon bus is leaving in the next five minutes. Looks like they could make good time. They arrive in Trabzon just after 11 am. Unfortunately, it seems like all the buses here bound for Istanbul are full as well. They pile up their baggage near a row of  open seats in the bus terminal. Meredith and Paul take bag watch duty and Aaron goes off in search of transport to Istanbul. The terminal is lined with service counters for the various bus companies. Aaron hits one after the other. Everything seems to be full until...

Aaron encounters a somewhat sketchy looking character in a Hawaiian shirt at the far end of the terminal.

"Istanbul." The man says followed by an unintelligible string of Turkish.

"Istanbul..." Aaron says, repeating the only bit that he understood.

Realizing he doesn't speak Turkish, Hawaiian shirt shifts to English.

"Today?"

"Today." Aaron confirms.

Hawaiian shirt directs him toward a counter. The middle-aged clerk behind the counter is wiry thin and smooth shaven. He address Aaron in a string of unintelligible Turkish.

"Istanbul," Aaron responds.

The man rattles off something else in Turkish. Aaron's heart sinks as he realizes that his Georgian is now completely useless. He shrugs his shoulders hoping to display his non-comprehension. "Today. Three tickets." He holds up three fingers in an indication of his wishes.

The clerk seems to understand. Tickets are bought for a bus leaving at 8 o'clock that night. Meredith, Aaron and Paul spend the next 8 hours lounging around the Trabzon bus terminal. Aaron reads an E! magazine cover to cover. He feels suddenly caught up on all the American media he's been missing whilst living in Mukhaestate. It rolls on to 7:15  and Aaron, Meredith and Paul hoist their packs over their shoulders and go looking for their bus. The tickets are rather cryptic regarding the bus' departure gate so they head over to the counter from which the tickets were purchased. Pedestrian traffic through the terminal had slackened considerably over the past few hours. Now it was almost completely devoid of people except for a small crowd around the aforementioned counter.

They put their bags down nearby. Aaron manages to push through to the front. The same little clerk is sitting behind the counter. Aaron hands him their tickets and adds an "Istanbul" for emphasis. The man glances at the proffered slips and gestures for Aaron to hold on. Aaron walks dejectedly back to where Meredith and Paul are standing. Before he says anything the man in the Hawaiian shirt appears. The crowd gravitates to him. Aaron follows suit. He repeats the routine of showing him the tickets and saying "Istanbul." Hawaiian shirt also gives him a hold on signal. The clerk comes out from behind the counter and he and Hawaiian shirt exchange some angry words. Aaron trades a bemused shrug with a young Turkish man also going to Istanbul. After the interchange, Hawaiian shirt waves at the crowd to follow him. Aaron, Paul and Meredith put on their packs and follow them out the back door of the bus terminal.

Hawaiian shirt leads them to a large, white, nice-looking Mercedes passenger van purring contentedly in the parking lot. A cursory glance reveals the problem that, except for perhaps a seat or two, it is already completely full. The driver looks at the dozen or so bedraggled travelers with obvious confusion. Aaron looks around. Hawaiian shirt has mysteriously disappeared.

They spend a few minutes outside. The night is hot and sticky. Heat radiates up from the pavement. Aaron gives the inside of the van a more in-depth look. Yep, it's full all right. Members of the original crowd begin to drift off. Aaron, Paul and Meredith follow suit. Back in the the bus terminal they put their packs down again. Aaron heads back up to the counter. He makes his way through a much smaller crowd this time.

"Istanbul," he says, wishing he'd studied at least some Turkish.

The clerks gives him a quizzical look and then gestures for Aaron to look behind him. Hawaiian shirt is back and it looks like he wants the crowd to follow him again. Aaron, Meredith and Paul put their packs back on and take up pursuit of fast-walking Hawaiian shirt man. They head back out into the parking lot to another white Mercedes passenger van that is thankfully empty. Paul stows their packs in the back and they secure seats on the van. A handful of young Turkish men also get on board.

"This should be a lot faster than the bus," Meredith comments.

They wait around for 15 minutes. Then Hawaiian shirt and another man appear. The other man is short and has a close- cropped beard. He gestures for all of them to follow. Sigh. The would-be passengers grab their bags and head back out into the parking lot. Hawaiian shirt splits off and the short man leads them to a bus parked on the street next to the terminal. Bluish exhaust billows from the rear of the blue, green and tan creature. They're led on to the street side. Traffic whizzes by as they hug the side of the bus waiting to load their baggage under the bus. The wind shifts and a thick cloud of leaden exhaust envelops them.

Backpacks loaded, they get on board and find seats toward the back. The tray tables are really dusty and the condensation dripping from the air conditioning system gives the bus' interior something of a rain forest atmosphere. At least the seats are comfortable. Aaron, Paul, and Meredith settle in for what they hope is the last time until they reach Istanbul. The bus is empty except for them and the three young Turkish men. The short guy with the beard comes over and checks their tickets. Turns out he's one of the drivers too. Over the next 30 minutes a smattering of travelers make their way on. Meredith dozes. Paul reads. Still thinking about how annoying it was not being able to communicate with the ticket guys Aaron decides it's time for some cross-cultural integration. He takes his notebook from his day pack and flips to a blank page. After writing the numerals 1 to 10 down one side he gets the attention of one of the young Turks sitting across the aisle from him. Through a few pantomimes Aaron gets it across that he wants to know what the numbers are in Turkish.  That done, they move on to some other topics including the "to be" verb, greetings, thank you, and "I need a doctor" (One of his buddies suggested that one)

By the time the bus lurches to a start, Aaron feels like they're making real progress. Unfortunately, with the strain of forward momentum the lights dim. The Turk, his name is Yucel [pronounced YOU-GEL], invites Aaron to sit in the seat next to him. Aaron accepts. Yucel starts throwing out some crazy stuff that even with extensive drawing and pantomiming doesn't compute. Aaron does get "to go" out of him. Both present simple and present continuous forms. Tch-Tching.

Then the Turkish lesson starts to get a little personal. Yucel is very interested in Paul and Meredith. Especially the latter. He jabbers on in Turkish and uses a gesture that Aaron knows from his time in Georgia. A gesture that he always found a little creepy (even for him). Here's how it goes. Put your hands together, palm down. Extend just your pointer fingers on each hand and rub them together. In one sense this gesture is used to show that two people are dzmakatsebi [literally brother men or a more apt translation: buddies, pals, friends since childhood etc]. On the other side of the coin it can also be used to imply that two people are getting it on. Now, which one is Aaron's new pal Yucel getting at?

Aaron decides to take the route of ignorance and tries to go back to conjugating the "to go" verb. Yucel is insistent though and commandeers the notebook. He sketches a bed occupied by a man and woman stick figure. He points to drawing and then points to Aaron and then Meredith. Aaron shakes his head. He repeats the query this time pointing to Paul and Meredith. Aaron again shakes his head. Yucel draws another sketch. This time a guy and a guy in bed. He points to Paul and Aaron.

"No," Aaron says.

Yucel draws a bed with a single stick figure in it and points to each of them. Aaron nods. Yucel's face takes on a confused air. Aaron takes the notebook back and draws a nuclear stick family. A big stick man and stick woman for the parents and three smaller stick kids.

Aaron points to biggest of the stick kids and points to himself. "This is me."

He gestures to the next small stick figure. "Paul is my brother. Brother. This girl, her over there, is my sister. Sister." This guy has to understand now, Aaron thinks. Even the most retarded Georgian school kids had family member vocabulary down pat by the 2nd year of English.

Yucel doesn't get it. Aaron draws a family tree and explains again, this time bringing parents into it. Yucel takes the notebook and draws the outline of a house with three stick figures in it (two male, one female). Aaron nods. He's got it. Then Yucel goes back to the bed drawings. You and her, same bed? Suddenly exhausted, Aaron shakes his head. Him and her, same bed? Nooooooo.

Yucel pauses for a contemplative moment. Then he points to himself and then to Meredith. Me and her, same bed? Aaron shakes his head vigorously. He suddenly feels very awkward. The broken conversation moves on. Aaron believes that Yucel goes on to explain that he and Meredith being an item is an impossibility since she's older then he is. Aaron nods in feigned thoughtfulness. That's not all you have going against you, pal. Anxious to end the conversation Aaron pantomimes that he's sleepy and heads back for his seat. As a parting shot, Yucel tells him that he should tell Meredith to cover her knees. That would be the last time on the trip that Aaron attempted any cultural integration.

Aaron adjusts the AC vent above him. Coolish, stale air. Oh well, at least they're on their way to Istanbul. He promptly passes out and doesn't wake up until after 6 in the morning.

Central Turkey
September 4

The sun creeps lazily over the distant mountains. Sometime during the night they'd left the Black Sea coast and are now cruising through the rolling countryside. Sparse, squat trees dot the yellow hills. Catching a mileage sign out the window, Aaron sees that despite the antiquated status of the bus, they're still making good time. He estimates that they should be in Istanbul no later than one. Sweet, sweet wishful thinking.

They stop at eight for a breakfast of tea and tost [essentially a grilled cheese sandwich]. Soon after leaving the station problems set in. It begins as they are going up a hill. The blue cloud behind the bus seems larger than usual and the creature itself appears to be struggling more than usual. After barely cresting the summit the driver pulls over to the side of the road. Both drivers get out and look under the hood. As they are examining the belabored beast several men take the opportunity to sneak off into the nearby trees and relieve themselves, saving themselves a restroom toll.

Five minutes later the bus is off again. It's hot and quickly getting hotter. Heat emanates through the floor of the bus. The AC system rattles and shakes, delivering a trickle of warm air to the occupants of the bus. Occasionally the door blows open giving them a welcome gust of fresh air. Aaron wipes away a trickle of sweat from his forehead. His back is already soaked. He can't imagine how the women in berkas are doing it. Lead-tinged exhaust tickles his nose. As signs indicating the mileage to Istanbul roll by it seems like they're not going as fast as they were before. It soon becomes evident that momentum is indeed waning. Occasionally the off duty driver comes by offering lukewarm fanta or coke. It does little to stave off the heat. The off duty driver also consistently sprays air freshener along the aisle. How considerate. The bus goes slower and slower until it's not going to Istanbul anymore. Exiting the highway the driver gets on a loop that turns them back toward the way they came.

A few minutes later, the driver pulls off into a gravel parking lot lined by lots of little automotive workshops. The bus staggers to a stop. Passengers deboard and the six little mechanics who had been previously reclining in lawn chairs hop to work. More chairs are brought to accommodate the women and some of the men. Aaron birja squats in the dust to see what mechanical feat they come up with to solve this problem. The driver backs the bus over the work pit and the mechanics crawl under to check it out. Post investigation they hem and haw for a few minutes before coming up with a solution.... Weld a square piece of sheet metal to the undercarriage of the bus. Brilliant. All problems solved with piece of sheet metal. Hallelujah. If only everything in life were that easy.

Thirty minutes later the driver climbs in and starts her up. She roars to life buffetting the mechanics with a black cloud of smoke. The exhaust soon returns to its normal blue color. The drivers seem satisfied with her road worthiness. Handshakes are exchanged and passengers reboard.

Turning around to go back toward Istanbul the air conditioner goes off for good and the door is opened permanently. Probably for the best. Even with the addition of a piece of sheet metal they don't want to push the beast too much. The conditioned air wasn't any cooler than the non-conditioned air from the open door anyway. Aaron goes back to reading a rather large book that his sister loaned him with her recommendation. Within the first eighty pages he decides that it's fit for little more than lining a hamster cage. Unfortunately, the book is not his sister's but her boyfriend's so he cannot just dispose of it. Since he also can't pawn it off on either one of his siblings (he did after all willingly accept it), he's saddled with lugging around this 800 page tome for the entirety of the trip [insert tiny little violins here].

(~45 miles) from Istanbul

The bus shimmies.

"Dammit!" Meredith groans looking up from her book.

"What?" Aaron says.

The bus shakes.

"They've blown a piston."

"Really?"

"Yeah, this is what it feels like."

"Great."

The ride has gotten considerably rougher suddenly. Oh and Istanbul is so close too. The last road sign said 80 kilometers. Aaron sighs. This is definitely going to really push back his estimated time of arrival. Since this morning it had fallen back to four pm. The bus soon lurches into a highway rest area. Passengers deboard. Women take shelter from the sun under scattered runty trees. Meanwhile, most of the men form a semi-circle around the rear of the bus watching the two drivers at work. They're up to their armpits in gear and machinery. The mainstay of the work consists of taking out large, important-looking pieces of the motor and piling them on the ground. The engine components grow into an impressive heap. About an hour later the drivers begin putting the large important looking pieces back in the engine cavity. Other than a few ball bearings, it doesn't appear as if anything is replaced.

Aaron crosses his fingers as the bus starts up. More black smoke followed by blue erupts from the beast's bowels. It's alive. It's alive. It actually doesn't really seem all that different. Aaron and Paul dispatch Yucel to alert Meredith, who's found a seat at a nearby cafe, of the bus' vitality.

Passengers reboard (again) and the bus lumbers back onto the highway. 80 kilometers. You can do it, girl.

There's still no AC and the floor is still hot. They've shut the door again so there's no breeze and it's really stifling. At least Aaron's niagara falls perspiration action has ceased due to extreme dehydration. Half an hour later the wide, blue Bosphorous comes into view. Instanbul city limits are coming up. Jubilee! The highway turns into a long gradual climb. The bus slogs up the winding road. The eastern fringes of Instanbul unfold underneath the bluff. Aaron feels the bus shudder. Meredith does too.

"They've blown a piston again," Meredith says nonchalantly, not moving her eyes from her book.

"Great."

Aaron grips the arm of the seat. Its only a slight tremor. C'mon. You can make it, bus. It's been over twenty hours now. Aaron really wants to get off. She does make it to the top. Relief ensues. Aaron exhales. Twenty minutes later the bus wheezes to a stop in front of the Istanbul International Bus Terminal.

Aaron, Paul, and Meredith gladly leave the bus. They and their clothes might reek from prolonged stays in bus terminals, extensive and repetitive sweating, diesel exhaust fumes, and liberally-applied new car scent but they've made it to Istanbul. First leg of their journey home down. Only six more or so to go.

Note: Sorry for the lack of pictures. We didn't actually take all that many in Turkey.