Thursday 14 August 2008

Tales from the far side

I may be one miserable son of a gun, ever poised to leap upon the potential negative in any given situation, but I am also very good at stepping back and seeing the bizarre humour in them too. Well, I think so, in fact, I make myself laugh myself silly. And that's good, right?!

So....yes, it has been a horrendously tense week for us. DH has been watching the news in utter disbelief as the situation grows ever more worrying. DH is seeing streets he's walked down, buildings he recognised and what's heartbreaking, he looks out for faces of the dead/injured he might know. We've been talking to his parents daily and have put in some very fragile contingency plans should things really get horrific (or more so)

But....before you close this and tihnk 'nooooo, seen enough of this on TV, thanks, don't want depressing in my blog-time' - well, we have had a couple of moments...

On Monday I came home from work early, having read about the Russians knocking out a telecoms tower, panicking that our link with DH's parents was broken, and that maybe the russians were heading into Tbilisi.

We decided me needed to try to do something concrete, and look into how we could try to get DHs parents over here. So, thus starts the round of phone calls. Ironically, Georgia is just so far off anyone's radar that no emergency numbers have been supplied and so you trawl through various call waiting options, gaily pressing '1 if you wish to track your application', '2 if you wish to start a new application', '3 if you wish to appeal a refusal', '5,6,7.....' '23 if you just like listening to automated messages'. No joy at any turn.

I finally decide to call the British Embassy in Georgia. To get a 'we're closed' answerphone message (with the implied 'there is a WAR on, old chap' However they do give a couple of numbers for 'distressed UK citizens' Yep, thats me.

The phone system in Georgia isn't the best. Actually, none of the infrastructure is the best. Everything is very unpredictable and sporadic. I eventually get through to a voice. Speaking Georgian - which is so vastly different from russian (they're not getting the capital 'r').

Me (in russian) Do you speak English?

Her (in russian) No

Me: (in russian) Do you speak russian?

Her (in russian, by now thinking she has got Dullard United on the phone) Yes, a little

At this point I realised what an utterly pointless question I had asked as my spoken russian is so rusty as to be virtually useless. I did manage to limp out enough to establish that I needed to try another number, but was mentally berating myself for even trying. Poor woman.

Later on DH tries the Georgian Embassy here. They answer the phone in Georgian. And what do I hear....

Him (in English) Do you speak English?

Other (obviously a yes)

Him: Sorry, my Georgian is a little rusty

We're not doing well. Later on when he was speaking to his Mum and Dad I had to remind him of words in russian several times as he had forgotten!

Oh, the joys of a multi-ethnic family!

8 comments:

Just Me. said...

Oh dear!!! I saw that in the news!! It looks really pretty scary to me! Please keep us updated!!!

No apologies needed. You take care, dearie! Will be coming back to check on you.

((((hugs))))

Ronda's Rants said...

I am so very glad to hear from you! The news in the States here is scary...you may even be more scared now that you know The Americans are sending aid!!...Tee Hee...I am trying to make you smile although that might not be very funny!! Please know we are praying for all and we hope for his parents safety! Thanks for posting! :)

Heather said...

Wow. I can't believe you're living what we're seeing in the media over here. I hope everyone stays safe (and circumvents the language obstacles!). Many hugs!

Thanks for stopping by my place, too! :)

Your kiddos are cuties!

Anonymous said...

It is very scary and your family is still in my thoughts and prayers!

BUT wow you speak Russian - that is way cool :)

Anonymous said...

Being an immigrant, I can empathize with your telecommunications trouble when trying to connect to my home country.

I hope you find ways to get your in laws to visit you soon.

Dee.. said...

oh no, knowing someone I know who is affected by this war make it even worst for me. Please keep us updated.

Anonymous said...

I will keep your in-laws in my prayers. Please keep us updated.

ADVERSE! said...

any news bunny?