გამარჯობა!
Hello!
This week my host family held a Fourth of July celebration for me and the two other American students in my homestay. It was a wonderful evening, for which my host family made us a delicious dinner of Georgian barbecue, Georgian salad, khachapuri, watermelon, and ice cream, lit fireworks, and talked to us about our country.
According to Shota, who is 17 and has visited New York City and West Virginia in the past, America is somewhere many young Georgians dream of going. They have been exposed to American culture through social media, like TikTok, and through American TV shows. My host siblings asked us questions about the representations of American high school they’ve seen in shows on Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, such as, “Are cheerleaders real?” Shota told us that he sees America as a place of excitement and great economic opportunity, and that some of his friends believed it would be easy to become famous if only they lived in America.
Our host parents talked about how important they believe America’s place is in world politics. Our host father gave a toast to our country, saying that “America doesn’t just take care of its citizens, it takes care of the world.”
While Georgians are generally extremely welcoming to visitors and very friendly towards the U.S., not everyone was so positive. For example, one older woman expressed concern about the toxicity of American food, and while some young Russians living in Batumi told us they would love to move to the U.S. if they could, others told us they think the American dream is slightly overrated, and they prefer the European lifestyle to the “busy,” “overworked,” and “materialistic” American one.
Until next week,
Bridget
