Author Archives: Sean

Here They Come To Snuff The Rooster

24 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Culture, Food, Village

≈ 3 Comments

Evidence.

A week ago we had the privilege of spending the weekend in a small village in far eastern Georgia, not far from the border with Azerbaijan.

I say “privilege,” and I mean it. First, when you live amidst the hustle-and-bustle of a city as we do, even though that city may not be NYC or Chicago or even West Des Moines, the village is a reprieve from congestion, urban noises and day-to-day habits. Things simply move at a different pace in the village. Slowly. Purposefully. Languidly. In a very good way.

Secondly, this marked an opportunity to spend time with one of our best friends in Georgia, Kamran, whom I hadn’t seen since before we went back to the States for Christmas. We went out to his village last fall to make wine and haven’t been able to make it back since. Cross-country travel is long and arduous here, especially in the winter, but the number of weekends we have left for such trips are disappearing rapidly.

Finally, last weekend’s trip was a privilege because we spent a good deal of it in the kitchen, where you know we both love to be. This was extra special, however, because we were under the instruction of Kamran’s host mother who, hands-down, makes some of the best Georgian food we’ve ever had. Buttery and gooey khachapuri (cheese bread). Zesty lobiani (bean bread). Fragrant walnut sauce (bazhe). And last weekend, she taught us her secrets.

And oh yeah: I chopped the head off a rooster.

McKinze mashing the cheese and egg mixture for the khachapuri. We also learned how to make cheese from scratch, using milk straight from the cow in the yard.

Rolling out the khachapuri, under the watchful eye of Kamran's host mom.

The stove.

The finished product. Folks, it reeeeeally doesn't get any better than this.

The rooster. One year old, bred for this very moment. You see, on Saturday night we had a commemorative supra in honor of this woman's husband, who died several years ago. His favorite food? Rooster. By pure coincidence, Saturday was also one year to the day since my dad died. Mixed in with the traditional supra revelry were some somber and thoughtful toasts, celebrating the lives of both men, half a world apart, who never knew each other, but whose spirits were brought together over food and wine and togetherness, the way it should be.

The slaying.

No, I didn't LIKE killing the thing... but I think it's a little rite of passage for many PCVs, to kill their own food. And I believe that if you're gonna eat something, you better be okay with how it got to your plate.

Kamran's host mom did the "dirty work."

Later that day. Truly farm to table.

Grinding beans for the lobiani.

Mixing up fresh grape juice, sugar and flour, that we would dip stringed hazelnuts in... and eat straight off a plate, topped with chopped walnuts.

We are so appreciative of Kamran and his family for opening up their home to us. They were all so very hospitable, warm and helpful. We made a bounty of food, learned a lot, had a few supras (and several glasses of wine, of course), sat around the petchi (wood-burning stove) and talked, and generally had a wonderful time.

And I know that some PCVs probably think all of this is no big deal. The killing of the rooster, the milk straight from the cow, the sitting around the petchi, etc. Which, for those whose everyday lives take place in a village, it probably isn’t. But one thing I’ve learned over here is that every volunteer’s experience is different. And for us, a weekend in the village was a step outside of the ordinary. Almost a step back in time. A step I won’t soon forget.

More photos from the weekend are right here.

In Our Own Backyard, Part Two

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in All Posts, Culture, Landmarks, Tbilisi

≈ 2 Comments

Sunday was colder than Saturday. On our way to Samitkitno (for the second time) we stopped for carry-out coffee (rare) at Luca Polare, the gelato/coffee shop in Old Town.

On our way up the steep path to Narikala Fortress, the snow started falling.

Halfway. Snow. Sameba (the cathedral we went to Saturday) in the background.

At the entrance to the fortress. Snow in my hair... and in my beard, where it still hasn't melted. Right? Anyway. Narikala Fortress has been sacked and rebuilt so many times that historians have a hard time saying with certainty who constructed the current incarnation. Today, it stands how most ancient fortresses stand: bricks on a hill. Impressive, yet benign.

A good day to go climbing about on slippery rocks. Me up high, McKinze down low, right before she climbed up the narrow stairs to join me at the top of the fortress.

An ancient Georgian lookout becomes a present day perch for Georgian lovebirds.

The sun starts to peek through, highlighting the cathedral within Narikala Fortress, leaving eastern Tbilisi still shrouded in clouds far below us.

Moving past the fortress toward "Kartlis Deda" (Mother of Georgia).

The Mother of Georgia -- a bowl of wine in her left hand to welcome friends, and a sword in her right hand to meet foes.

Hello, Tbilisi.

After climbing around in the cold, we warmed up at an Ossetian restaurant for a bit, and then really warmed up at a Turkish-style bath in the Abanotubani District: the place where Tbilisi was founded ("tbili" means warm, like the natural sulpher water that bubbles up from the center of the earth at this spot). The bath wasn't as nice or as polished as those we went to in Istanbul, but it was plenty warm. This was actually the second place we went to, after getting the cold shoulder at the Royal Bath (which, although it was recommended to us, I can't pass that on). At this place, for a reasonable fee, we had our own room for an hour... although we passed on the 20-lari massage, most likely given by the sketchy-looking smoking Georgian man in a sweatsuit, watching TV in the entryway.

The domed tops of the sulpher baths, Abanotubani District, Tbilisi.

After a relaxing hot bath, we hopped back into the cold for only a short time before discovering a perfect Turkish-style tea house near the bath, where we further warmed up over spiced red tea and baklava. The owners even tried to give us our treats, "upaso" (free), but we insisted on leaving them money. Wonderful place, wonderful experience.

 

When we emerged from the tea house at dusk, we were greeted with this stunning view of Narikala Fortress and the TV Tower.

After this, we broke from the tradition of the weekend and hit up the Thai place close to the opera house for dinner, instead of Georgian. Shortly thereafter, we headed back to the guesthouse to rest up before our plan to get up at 3 AM and go back to Old Town to the Hangar Bar — a popular ex-pat hangout — for the Super Bowl.

At 3 AM, the alarm went off and we quite easily talked each other out of getting up, getting dressed, getting a cab, hoping for a seat at the bar, etc., and we ended this football season — our second in Georgia — as we began: with an internet stream on our computer. As we drifted between watching and dozing, we knew we had made the right decision. We’ll save the big screens for next year.

Plus, it turns out that we would need our rest: the next two days would not be nearly as fun as the last.

See all the pictures from the weekend here.

In Our Own Backyard, Part One

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in All Posts, Culture, Food, Landmarks, Tbilisi

≈ 5 Comments

Streaks of sunlight shine on parts of the Old Town district in Tbilisi, viewed from high above the city on top of Narikala Fortress.

Last weekend we decided to go on vacation… to be sight-seers… in Tbilisi.

We’ve been to Tbilisi many times in the last 21 months, of course. Usually, however, our visits have been strictly for business — picking up a package, meeting Hillary Clinton, going to the airport — or were a form of escapism from what Peace Corps volunteers often refer to as “the Georgian reality” — staying at the Holiday Inn, eating at non-Georgian restaurants, going to birthday parties, etc. We wondered: what would it be like if we were, well, tourists?

After a couple of planned trips that fell apart for one reason or another, we finally were able to answer that question last weekend. And it was great.

Freedom Square (or Liberty Square, as the automated voice on the Metro now says): statue of Saint George slaying a dragon in the center, Tbilisi City Hall behind, and the Mother of Georgia statue in the background on the left.

I arrived in Tbilisi Saturday afternoon, meeting McKinze, who was helping put on a Healthy Lifestyles conference in nearby snowy Bazaleti. We were both tired, so our plan that day was to see some sights but also take it easy: grab a quick lunch someplace new, hit up the National Museum, make our way over to the Sameba Cathedral (the largest church in Georgia), and finish up the day with a hearty Georgian meal.

Lunch was sandwiches (yeah! actual sandwiches!), coffee and tea at a lovely and eclectic-looking cafe in the Old Town area.

After lunch we paid the 5 GEL admission fee to the National Museum (that’s about $2.99) and checked out the two exhibits. The first documented the history of the Soviet conquest of Georgia in the early 20s and the subsequent brutality/atrocities committed by the hands of the Russians.

I walked away with three impressions: 1) The exhibit was very well-designed and executed — it looked great; 2) The Georgians don’t care much for the Russians; and 3) The Russians shot a ton of people in Georgia over the years. Thousands and thousands and thousands. I swear every picture in the exhibit ended with the words “and then he was shot.”

The first part of the exhibit, featuring a rail car riddled with bullet holes after a Russian massacre back in the 1920s.

The second exhibit was far less moving and impressive, for us anyway: a collection of ancient gold coins from pre-Christian times in Georgia. It was tucked in the basement of the incredibly large building (most of which was completely empty), and phones were not allowed. This may be the only place in Georgia where phones are not allowed. Needless to say, cameras weren’t allowed, either. So: Just picture a pile of tiny gold dimes… then picture several dozen similar piles… and then a few more gold coins under their own special glass and spotlight… got it? Well, there you have it.

All in all it was a good experience. Certainly worth the low price of admission. The museum needs three times as many exhibits, but this is a start. As more tourists start to include Tbilisi in their travel plans, the National Museum has something to build upon.

Next we took the Metro across the river to the Avlabari exit. It was easy to know which direction to go after exiting the Metro station: we just looked around for the top of Sameba — the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Approaching the cathedral. Whoever signed off on the white tile perhaps didn't know that it was The Slipperiest Tile On The Planet when covered with snow and ice.

The views at sunset were gorgeous.

The church was very… Georgian. Only bigger. In fact, it is the third largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world. Apparently it was built on top of an Armenian cemetery where 90,000 people were/are buried.

Curiously, unlike pretty much every other Georgian church we’ve visited, there were absolutely no frescoes adorning the interior walls whatsoever. However, inside the doors were the traditional vendors peddling an endless variety of crosses, necklaces, candles and other religious paraphernalia. Various large gold shadow-boxes with Orthodox imagery hung everywhere. Hundreds of Georgians rudely pushed and shoved their way past us to light candles, socialize and kiss the shadow-boxes (rude by our standards, but par for the course over here).

Outside it was much less congested, and much more impressive. Several other smaller cathedrals and buildings dotted the enormous campus, including a bell tower. At 6 PM, the bells sounded off very loudly and completely randomly. It was as if the tower was filled with ADD-afflicted children, each one with a rope and instructions to ring their bell as often as possible, as loudly as possible, never stopping to listen to what anyone else is doing. “Do NOT synchronize! More! LOUDER! Faster!” Repeat.

The bell tower.

By this time we were pretty cold, getting tired and ready for some good ol’ fashioned Georgian food. We found exactly what we were looking for at a place called Samikitno in Old Town.

I’ve heard other volunteers mention this place before, using words like “cheap,” “great food” and “chain restaurant.” It was all of those things. The people behind this thing know what they’re doing: fresh and delicious made-to-order Georgian classics, served up in an inviting and comfortable atmosphere, for a reasonable price, with better-than-average service. American readers, I can’t overstate how rare this combination is in Georgia. Plus, they had their own brand of delicious house-brewed draft beer (cheap, too!), in dark and light versions. And tomato-cucumber salad, even though it’s not in season. AND variations on khachapuri (cheese pie) I’ve never seen here before.

We ate there three times over the weekend — it was that good — so I can also say that the quality and service are consistent as well. Truly unheard of. I guess there are four or so locations in Tbilisi (all open 24-hours, or “24/24″ as they like to say here), plus one in Batumi. Well done, Samikitno. Well done indeed. We’ll be back.

Samikitno in Old Town; deep-fried khinkali (meat dumplings... fried was good, but not significantly better than traditional boiled khinkali); buttery & decadent acharuli khachapuri (cheese pie with an egg on top); a pot of lobio (spiced red bean soup); the cozy interior of Samikitno.

After dinner we went back to the guesthouse and watched about 30 seconds of pre-Super Bowl analysis on espn.com before falling asleep. Saturday was a good first day, and there would be much more to come on Sunday.

From the American People

02 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Akhaltsikhe, Work

≈ 2 Comments

Today was a big day in Akhaltsikhe:

The Americans came to town.

More specifically, an entourage from the Tbilisi office of USAID. For those of you who aren’t familiar with USAID, you need look no further than their rather brilliant acronym to discover what they do: they provide aid. The United States Agency for International Development works in over 100 countries around the world, furthering American foreign policy interests while at the same time improving lives in the developing world.

From their Georgian website: “The Georgia mission manages a wide variety of development programs including economic growth, democracy building, health, energy and social development.  It is also responsible for the largest share of programs fulfilling the U.S. Government’s $1 billion pledge of assistance to Georgia after the conflict with Russia.”

Go back and read that last sentence again. Yep, that’s right. One billion dollars. Since 2008. That may be a drop in the bucket in the American federal budget (or it may not, depending on your point of view), but let me tell you: a billion dollars is still worth something over in these parts. Why so much? Maybe this is a strategic geographic area that is vital to America’s long-term interests in the region. Maybe there is a lot of potential for a prosperous Georgian economy with just a little “boost” to get it going. Maybe the Bush administration felt guilty for watching Georgia get its ass kicked by Russia back in ’08. Probably a little of everything.

Where does this enormous amount of money come from? Well, USAID’s slogan is “From the American People,” if that gives you a hint (the Georgian people thank you). So what are your tax dollars buying? Lots of things. Projects. Buildings. Infrastructure. It is impossible to spend time in Georgia, even in more remote areas, without seeing a big USAID sign somewhere. In a nutshell, their priority areas here are: Improving Economic Competitiveness and Welfare; Improving Delivery of Social Services; Strengthening Democracy and Governance; Enhancing Energy Security; and Safeguarding the Environment.

Today their work brought them to Public School #1, where my organization (Akhaltsikhe Youth Center) gathered a couple hundred kids from all over the region to give presentations about a USAID-sponsored project currently underway. In this project, the kids have formed Civics Clubs in their schools and are learning about everything from the principles of democracy to trash pickup at the park. I think it’s a good project, and by all indications my org is doing a great job of implementing it. They’re certainly always buzzing around the office working on it, and there is a steady stream of kids in and out of the computer room working on writing projects and reports.

So the Americans came to town. And when the Americans come to town, all of the organizations with Peace Corps volunteers loooooove to trot out their Americans, too. It’s like Show-and-Tell. “See? We have one!” Today I was the only other American in town (everyone else is at the health conference, but I went last year so couldn’t go again). Represent.

On my way out the door this morning, looking much more put-together than usual for the Parade of Americans.

We’ve often said that we get stared at and sometimes feel like celebrities over here, because of all the attention we get just because we’re American. Today, rolling with the diplomats, that was even more the case.

I got to the school a little early, before the entourage of four-wheel-drive Toyota SUVs pulled up (sidenote: the US government must have gotten a helluva deal on Toyota SUVs, cuz I swear every diplomat, from USAID to the Embassy to the Peace Corps, rides in one). I went up to the third floor where the couple hundred kids were waiting. As I walked through the door, heads turned, voices stopped, eyes grew wide, faces smiled and about half the kids immediately started clapping for me. After a few seconds, to their great disappointment, the kids who knew me, along with my co-workers who were there, quickly explained that in fact I was not the special guest they were waiting for. Back to talking.

A few minutes later, the USAID folks did arrive (to applause) and the program was underway.

The director of my organization kicking things off. Behind her are a hundred or so pictures of kids doing work as part of this project. The captions were all written in perfect English for the Americans to read by yours truly.

The director of USAID Georgia, Steve Haykin (on the right), and his translator.

When Mr. Haykin worked in Kenya, he met then-Senator Barack Obama on a plane and told us he was most impressed by the fact that when they got off the plane, Barack personally introduced everyone on board to Michelle, who was waiting at the airport.

Some of the kids I work with explaining their project to the crowd.

My director nervously checking out Steve Haykin's reaction. She was soooo concerned about the Americans liking the presentations.

Me and Paul, a former Georgia Peace Corps volunteer who now works for USAID. One of my co-workers took this pic.

Afterwards, they invited me to have lunch with them at their hotel, and I happily agreed. Over some really good lobiani, khachapuri and other traditional Georgian foods, we talked about challenges in the region, politics and how much of a pain in the ass it is to get a visa to Ghana. It was also clear that the USAID-ers work and live in places with plenty of heat, as they were cold (so cold that they were considering moving to a different hotel an hour away) but I was quite comfortable. I offered up our extra PC-issued heater but didn’t get any takers.

Next up was the ribbon cutting and grand opening of a new USAID-built community center in town, the Center for Civic Engagement.

Approaching the Center as part of the USAID entourage. I swear that half the town was there. Crazy scene!

It’s a fantastic facility, with conference rooms, audio-visual equipment, a computer lab and a kitchen, in a completely renovated old house near the center of town. And the best part is that it’s absolutely free to use (again, the Georgian people thank you) if you’re an NGO, civic group, student or just a plain ol’ citizen working on a civics-minded project.

Getting ready for the ribbon cutting. Not pictured: the throngs of people packing the street for a block in each direction.

It was standing-room-only inside the building, which was packed with just about every notable Georgian in town. I’ve been to plenty of events in this town and in general, but I was genuinely surprised by the turnout and excitement this one generated.

If this excitement can then be harnessed and used to make change in Akhaltsikhe and around Georgia, well, USAID may be on to something.

A Couple of Breaths

27 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Random, Work

≈ 4 Comments

What yoga looks like.

  1. I’ve done yoga ten out of the last eleven days. Sixteen out of the last nineteen. I quite like it. Physically and mentally demanding. Requires persistence, commitment. Discipline. It’s actually pretty wonderful that I can make time for yoga every day without having to force it or sacrifice other things. As I’ve said before, the free time we have here is truly a gift. Yoga makes me so much more aware of my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I used to not really even know where my “hips” were; now I know my right hip is so much tighter than my left. Fascinating, huh? Breathe into the sensation, don’t fight with it, just recognize it, then let it go. Sounds new-agey, but I can’t tell you how many times lately I’ve taken that sentiment off the mat (or, in this case, the orange-carpeted rug) and into The World.
  2. I’ve also been doing various bodyweight “circuits” in the room. Specifically, the “Cards Workout,” which means a different number and type of exercise depending on which card in a deck of 52 that you turn over. Also what I call “20 to 1,” which is a circuit of three different exercises (like pushups, squats and sit-ups, for example): first 20 reps of each, then 19, then 18, etc. as fast as I can. Total is 210 reps. I’ve dramatically cut my time down since the beginning of the month. This has also forced me to learn how to take a “strapi shkapi,” or fast shower, with a 1.5 liter bottle of warm water, since workout days don’t always fall on our official shower day. Getting pretty good at it.
  3. I’m doing this because the gym isn’t open. When will it be open? Well. Indeed. Last time I checked I got a text: “No Sean. It is cold.”
  4. I’m waiting, fingers-crossed, on a grant I submitted to get six showers, two toilets and running water put in the gym. The grantor is running several weeks behind, so hopefully I will find out something mid-February.
  5. I’m slowly getting into a groove at the youth center. We submitted a grant application to the US Embassy. Activities are in the works, from trainings for co-workers, to technology help, to English lessons, to working with our youth groups. It’s a slow ramp-up, but that’s fine. I like the people and am looking forward to working with them the next few months. We’re also going to cook for each other, so as you might imagine, I’m pretty excited about that.
  6. I’m also working with McKinze and two other volunteers on a series of trainings for leaders of NGOs in Akhaltsikhe. If all goes well, we will launch the trainings in March. I was told yesterday that this kind of event has never happened before in Akhaltsikhe, so I’m pretty excited about getting this started.
  7. I updated my resume this week, adding my Peace Corps experience. Let me tell you, you can make Peace Corps sound pretty damn good.
  8. We’re going to Amsterdam and Ghana in March, and I couldn’t be more excited about that trip. That said, I don’t think the government of Ghana really wants us to come, because it’s so expensive and difficult to get our visas. Ridiculous, really. But I’m sure the trip will be worth it.
  9. We’re also starting to put together our travel plans for post-PC. Believe it or not, our close-of-service conference is in March, and we’ll be on our way out a few months after that. While there is still a lot of planning left to do, we’ve decided to go to fewer places and spend more time there (as opposed to going to as many places as possible for a very short time). Some of those places may be relatively “exotic,” although that’s probably too strong of a word.
  10. When we get back to the States, after spending time with our families in Iowa, and after a roadtrip through the Deep South, we’re moving to Portland, Oregon. There are a lot of reasons for this, which I’m sure we’ll get into at some point on the blog. For now, let me just say that if we were to create a fictional city that had everything we wanted, it would look a lot like Portland.

The What’s Next

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Random

≈ 2 Comments

Outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on our way to Tucson, Arizona -- March 18, 2010

Look, I’m not gonna lie: it’s been tough readjusting to life in Georgia.

Not because the Georgian New Year’s celebration wasn’t a lot of fun (it was). Not because we don’t love our friends and host family here (we do). And not because we don’t value the time and opportunities we have over here (we certainly do).

No, it’s been tough because, frankly, at the end of the day, we’re American. And after spending a couple of wonderful weeks on vacation in the homeland, there are certain American “luxuries” that we just miss.

Like showers every day, a couple of times a day if you want, whenever in the day you want them, for as long as you want. Like an endless variety of food, brought hot to your table by a smiling server if that’s what you desire, or chopped, sauteed and baked to your heart’s content by your own self if that’s more what you feel like. Like clean clothes, every day. Like a heated bedroom and bathroom. Like everyone around you speaking the same language as you, verbal and non-verbal. The list goes on.

It sounds whiny, I know. To some of our friends and family, I know it must sound like a broken record. And truthfully, we have it pretty good and comfortable over here, and don’t have much to complain about.

It’s just that homesickness manifests itself in weird ways, at weird times, I guess. And coming from this utopian version of life in America, during the holidays, seeing so many family and friends, having no responsibilities… coming from that back to the other side of the world, where things are just harder… well, I guess we just got a little homesick this last week, you could say.

We have six months of Peace Corps service left. Wow. So much to do in that time. Even this week, both of us are back in the thick of work, throwing down on a couple of grants that have waaaaaaay-too-much-work-left-to-do-given-the-deadline-but-that-doesn’t-matter-cuz-we-have-to-do-them-anyway. Back at it.

Six months. And sure – we’re looking ahead to The Big What’s Next for us. Not only where we’re going to travel after Peace Corps and all that fun stuff, but also where we’re going to live… what we’re going to do. Next. How could we not?

So the challenge, of course, is staying present. Not wasting this time. Not going through these months with one foot on the plane. Not squandering this opportunity for want of a different one. Some saying about grass.

How are we doing that? Well, mindfully. Purposefully. Yoga helps. So does eating well and exercising. We’re focusing on how we can be most beneficial to the people we’re serving in the time we have left, knowing that some battles can’t be won and aren’t worth fighting. We’re trying to let go of frustration. Be realistic. Be focused. Be patient.

There are also trips, conferences and get-togethers with friends to look forward to in the next six months. Little oases, if you will.

And of course we’re still thinking about and planning The Big What’s Next. It helps to pass the time in a constructive way and to focus on something more in our control when everything else around us seems so out of our control much of the time. To do that without sacrificing The Real What’s Next — i.e. tonight, tomorrow, next week, etc. — that is the trick.

gilocavt akhal tzels (happy new year)

31 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in Holidays, Videos

≈ 1 Comment

Want to see some of the people, places and things that make our life here what it is? Before we went back to the States for Christmas, we compiled a bunch of footage and put together this video of our family and friends over here wishing all of you, our family and friends back home, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

As we begin the multi-day festivities on this side of the world (New Year’s is the “big holiday” here, kind of like our Christmas), our thoughts are with all of you back on the other side of the world. Our sentiments echo what you’ll hear our Georgian friends say again and again: we wish you health, happiness and love.

Enjoy… and be careful of your president. ;)

New Pants for Christmas

25 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in Music

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When McKinze and I celebrated our first Christmas together five years ago (5 years??? wow!), we put together a little mix CD of some of our favorite music from that year and handed it out as a gift to a few of our friends.

We called this collection Holiday Pants, based on the admittedly unusual term of affection we had and still have for each other: pants (or sometimes with a Spanish flair — pantalones; or French — pantalon; or most recently, of course, Georgian — sharvali).

At that time, in 2007, I was helping a friend by taking care of her house while she was in Germany, and she was helping me by providing a nice and affordable place to live. My new kitten, Lola, had only been in the “family” for a month. I was deeply entrenched in my job at The Englert Theatre. McKinze and I had been “seeing each other” for a few months. And mp3s were around, but not nearly as ubiquitous as they are now. CDs were still widely accepted as a ridicule-free method of transferring music.

Fast forward to 2011, and I’m posting this from the spare bedroom of my aunt and uncle’s house in Portland, Oregon. I’m nearing the end of a two-week vacation in America, which is halfway around the world from where I now live, in a little country called Georgia. I’m 3/4 of the way finished with my service in the Peace Corps. McKinze and I have been married for more than two years (and for 23 out of those 27 months we’ve been living in a bedroom in someone else’s house). And in terms of music, what’s a CD?

A lot changes in five years. Hell, a lot can change in one. Or even in a few minutes, which is the case with us while experiencing the songs in this year’s collection of music for our fifth annual Holiday Pants.

These songs may not be the best of 2011, or the hippest, or even all technically from 2011, but they were (and are) all important to me and to us in one way or another (although you can blame the commentary below on me). They were there in a time of change. Or they themselves had the power to change a mood, a thought, a direction…

Download them all below and, if you wish, listen to them in the Recommended Order For Maximum Effect. Enjoy.

1. Morning Thought – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
This whole album is a joy to listen to. This song fills the same role in my music sphere as MGMT’s “Time To Pretend” did a few years ago. Refreshing and endlessly listenable.

2. No Church in the Wild – Kanye West and Jay Z
Sunglasses and Advil… last night was mad real. Just a sick groove. Sneaky. Dark.
Preach.

3. White Limo – Foo Fighters
Maybe the best song on the incredibly over-sold new Foo album, because it doesn’t try to be what all the other songs are trying to be. Reminds me of being home last spring, driving on the gravel road out to the cabin.

4. Fletcher – Blitzen Trapper
Love these gravelly but wonderfully quirky and unexpected roots rock guys from right here in Portland. So many great songs on this album; this is one of at least two others than could easily go on this list.

5. Down In The Valley – The Head and the Heart
I first heard this song in the fall of 2010, and considered putting it on last year’s Holiday Pants but didn’t because, well, I just didn’t know if it was good enough… It didn’t help that I hate the name of the band. But here we are, a year later, and I’m still listening to it. Often. And often on marshutka rides to Tbilisi on sleepy early mornings. I am on my way, I am on my way. I am on my way back to where I started.

6. Godless Brother In Love – Iron & Wine
It was either this or “Tree By The River.” Both are beautiful songs by the guy who seemingly can only write beautiful songs. There are a couple of tunes in this year’s Holiday Pants that instantly take me back to where I was — physically and mentally — last early spring after my dad died. This is one of them.

7. Doors Unlocked and Open — Death Cab For Cutie
I fully expected to hate the new DCFC album and, as I joked before it was released, couldn’t wait to NOT listen to it. I was surprised to discover that it’s their best since Transatlanticism. This song is deliberate. Disciplined. For me, it represents turning the corner, coming back to Georgia in the summer.

8. Tear The Fences Down — Eulogies
This tune is just fun to be around. If you don’t like it after a couple of listens, you probably hate puppies and freedom, too.

9. Taken For A Fool — Strokes
My friends think the new Strokes album kinda sucks. This song proves them wrong (with or without air guitar). ;)

10. The New High – Truckfighters
This band is what the bastard lovechild of Queens of the Stone Age and Tool would sound like. It’s great for running, jumping and throwing in the 90+ degree heat in the middle of the stadium in Akhaltsikhe.

11. Codex — Radiohead
This is the other one.

12. Goshen – Beirut
Love this whole album. One of those cases where the singer truly steals the show.

13. October — Broken Bells
My favorite album of 2011 was from 2010. There are so many beautiful moments in these songs that just do not get old for me. This isn’t my favorite song on the album, but it’s the one that hooked me first and got me to keep coming back to eventually discover the other ones.

14. Ashes & Fire — Ryan Adams
There are maybe 3-4 songs on this album that are as good as anything he’s ever put out, and the rest are ehhhhhh. This is one of the three or four.

15. June Hymn — Decemberists
From another one of my favorite albums of the year. This one straddled the period right before we had to come back to America and right after we came back. I think you either love or hate Colin Meloy… if you don’t love him after this song, you’re not going to (and there may in fact be something wrong with you).

16. One Sunday Morning — Wilco
Why did I pick the longest, most repetitive, least musically interesting and arguably most boring song on the new Wilco album to round out this year’s Holiday Pants? I have no idea. Despite all those things, I just find myself longing to hear it anyway.

Happy Holidays, everyone. We hope you experience them with people important to you, in a way that you will not only enjoy now but will look back upon happily.

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