Sapara Monastery

My Georgian host brothers, Sergei and Ruben.

Akhaltsikhe nestled in a valley bellow Sapara Monastery.

A typical rural farm

Sapara next to a watchtower

Sapara Monastery is a typical 9th century Georgian Orthodox monastery, notable because it is a 10km (6 mile) hike from civilization. Visitors rationalize climbing up a mountain to see it by choosing to believe it is a better specimen than other more easily reachable Georgian Orthodox monasteries.

I live in the Samtskhe-Javakheti of Georgia, also known as the Shire.

If living in an isolated monastery with monks isn't far enough from civilization for you, a cave house in the middle of nowhere may be a good option for you.

Jam making, Georgian style

This dog has been chained to the house next door since it was a puppy. I would let it free, but it tries to murder anything that gets near it.

I also helped my host father chop some wood. He is a policeman and works for the local DMV (DMVs are run by the police in Georgia). In Georgia you can buy a customized license plate for increasing sums depending on how much you differentiate from the three letter three number norm. You can put whatever you want on your license plate for 10000 lari (~6,000 dollars).

Honey festival at the castle. I did you proud Nicholas Cage.

My house