Monday evening, around 10pm, I was at dinner with some
friends enjoying a late night meal. A wonderful falafel plate at the Lebanese
Restaurant. We’re finishing up and
waiting for the check when I receive a call from an unknown number. Generally I don’t answer those but it
was a “577” number which means that it was from someone in TLG. I answered the phone and I hear, “Hello
Kristine, this is …… from TLG. Do
you …… “ I could hardly hear a thing.
My phone is awful!
Urgh. I could just throw it
at a wall soon. Well, I lost
reception completely and the call dropped. I run outside quickly to try and get to a quiet place and
wait for them to call back. When I
answer I find out that Hilary Clinton is going to be in Batumi tomorrow. First thought: “Cool!” Then I find out that there is an event
in the Piazza in her honor. Second
thought: “Awesome! Maybe she’s making a speech and they’re telling me to go and
watch.” THEN they tell me that
this is a private event for her.
Third thought: “Bummer. Why are you calling then?” Even though it is a
private event, a few TLG volunteers were invited to attend the event because
she wants to meet us. Fourth
thought: “I WAS CHOSEN?!” Sweet, I
get to meet Hilary Clinton! Final thought: “Wait, what do I wear?” When I asked the TLG representative,
her response was “I think casual will work.” Seriously? I should dress casually
when meeting the US Secretary of State?
I’ll figure that out on my own.
I might have been a little over the top when thanking her on the phone for
choosing me, but it’s an amazing opportunity! Who would have thought that I
would be meeting Hilary Clinton as a TLG volunteer in Georgia?! I sure didn’t.
Tuesday.
I receive the details from my TLG rep, Indira. I must meet
her and the other volunteers in the park at 5:30. Don’t be late! Dress
semi-formal as the minimum (So casual is not gonna fly). I leave play practice at 4 and rush
home to get ready. I even took a
Marshutka home so I could have more time.
I hardly ever take Marshutkas in the city. That’s how pressed for time I was. On the Marshutka, I begin making a checklist of what I need
to do when I get home. Turn on the
water heater so I can shower; pull out my fancy, blue dress; find some
accessories; do my hair… You know, all the girlie things.
I get home and I find out that there is no water at
home. Noooooooo!! But then my host sister comes to the
rescue with the back up water and the teakettle. What we end up doing is heating up some water in the
teakettle and she pours the water over my head as I bend over the shower to
least wash my hair. Thanks Mari! :)
I finish getting ready and fly out
the door by 5! Flag down another
Marshutka and head off to the meeting point.
We met at 5:30 in the park and found some benches in the shade. 6 o’clock comes around and no call.
Then it’s 6:30. Then it’s 7
o’clock. At this point, several of
us had resigned with the possibility of the event getting cancelled. I was one of those people. I admit it! You would be one too.
Well, surprise surprise. At 7:45, we finally got the “go ahead” to head
to the Piazza.
As we walked through town, I couldn’t help but notice how
many of the streets were blocked off and how there seemed to be two police
officers at each street corner. A
little extreme? Possibly. In the Piazza, there are two main
restaurants. La Brioche, one of
the more pricey cafes in Batumi, and The Quiet Woman, one of the more pricey
bars in Batumi. Of course! We’ll
take Hilary there! I’m surprised
there wasn’t a red carpet waiting for her.
Anyway, we were given the back row of tables (naturally),
but it was still fabulous because La Brioche is amazing. At each table, there was a plate of
fruit and a plate of desserts waiting for us. As we sat down, a man came around and told us, “Don’t eat
anything until Hilary Clinton arrives. Oh, and no pictures.” Great. No pictures and no food. Good thing we had all those snacks
while waiting in the park. At
least we were given some wine while we waited. Some of the best wine I’ve ever had. Well done, La Brioche. At one point, it began to drizzle. A canopy did not cover Hilary’s table. It was rather amusing watching 15
waiters and the management staff move everything around for 5 minutes of
drizzling. When that stopped, they
moved everything back to its original place. Logic was not on their side. Moving the canopy could have been easier, but I guess their
way was more fun.
At 9:20, Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Georgia,
arrives with his wife and runs around to make sure that everything was perfect.
There was a little tension, but they were speaking Georgian so I couldn’t
really understand the problem. 15
minutes later, Hilary finally arrives! She walked into the Piazza with a news camera giving her a
spotlight and flanked by her group of bodyguards. Mikheil was telling her about the Piazza and then gestured in
our direction and said “Those are the Americans over there.” We all received a
wave and then she went to her table.
So that was what they meant by “meet Hilary Clinton”? Okay, at least we
all got food and wine. :)
Before sitting down a woman sang the US National
Anthem. Of course. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard
that. Honestly, she was much
better than some of the versions that I’ve heard back home. We all sit down and begin eating. It was hard not to attack the food that
we had been staring at for so long.
Sarah went straight for the desserts and I dived into the fruit plate. I had my first watermelon of the summer
and it was great! While we were
devouring our food a bunch of traditional Georgian dancers come running into
the Piazza. That is what I wish I
could have taken a picture/video of.
Oh Hilary. Anyway, the dancers
performed twice, there were singers as well.
After the performances ended, Hilary stood up and I assumed
that she was making her exit.
However, she was introduced to the US Ambassador at the table behind her
and then Mikheil led her over to all the TLGs! :) Happy dance! She met the girls at the first table
and then spoke to Sarah. Before
she came to speak to me, Mikheil stopped her and told the story about how he
thought of the TLG program.
Basically, his wife’s brother has been traveling all over the world for
many years and he’s mainly been speaking English because it’s rare to meet anyone
outside Georgia who knows Georgian.
Anyway, the brother’s English is so fantastic because he’s been talking
with native English speakers. Therefore
Mikheil started the TLG program to bring native English speakers to Georgia so
that all Georgians would know it from the native perspective. Then Hilary came and introduced herself
to me. She asked me three questions, “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?”
and “How long have you been in Georgia?”
Three questions was enough for me.
Anything else and I wouldn’t have known what to say. I’m just glad I didn’t stumble over my
words.
After meeting the rest of the TLGs, she floated through the
rest of the tables, met a few more people, and then called it a night. Once she left the Piazza, then everyone
began wrapping things up. We were
pretty much being pushed out by the La Brioche staff. I lingered enough to finish up my glass of wine and grab the
last pieces of fruit. You have to
snag that while you can! It’s not very often that I get fruit in this country.
That was my big moment with Hilary Clinton. Exciting stuff, right?
Here's a video of the news clip with Hilary!
http://www.myvideo.ge/?act=dvr&chan=rustavi2&seekTime=06-06-2012+12%3A06
Until next time.
Adventure is out there!
