This cafe in Batumi is where I come to attempt to feel cool... It’s pretty upscale, and pretty clear that I don’t belong! There’s no way the waitress can’t notice our greasy hair and tendency to order the cheapest thing on the menu every time we come in. But we keep coming…for the relatively good music (they just played The Little Mermaid soundtrack!), non-Georgian food, peace and quiet and most importantly WIRELESS INTERNET. The café is called “Literature Café” (there is also a bookstore attached) but we call it Barnes and Noble.

Last week we met a volunteer here who had served in Georgia in 2002-2003 and was back visiting for a little bit. My friend and I were doing our usual venting and this guy pointed out that if we are sitting here in this café using wireless internet, we’re doing pretty well. Good point :/ He was like our grandparent, telling us how he had it so much worse in his day… on a good night he would get enough electricity to turn on the light and one more appliance.

I do sometimes forget how far Georgia has come in only a few years. A little more than a decade ago the country was devastated from civil war and now I’m sitting here in this trendy café sipping on my cappuccino!