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Maria and I in Georgia. It's gonna be a fun trip |
April 22, 2025... I arrived in Georgia just in time for dinner on the 10th floor of our hotel overlooking Tbilisi. It is a beautiful part of the world. We were fed really well here. Both of those things are wonderful perks, but my main excitement was being here to see friends and to spread love and laughter the best I could. I met up with Maria and friends as we got caught up during dinner. I also met and got acquainted with the other clowns on the trip. We had clowns from Netherlands, Russia, America, Germany, Canada and Japan on the trip. Everyone seemed to get along well from the start, which was nice. You just never know with a bunch of clowns. The first night was chill as we geared up for some crazy fun over the next few days.
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We gathered outside for our first visit. Lashvili Hospital for Children |
April 23rd, 2025... Every morning breakfast was on your own between 8am and 10am. Invariably we would eat together and get to know each other a little more. After breakfast we went to a small park around the corner from the hotel to loosen up and practice some clown "skills". We had seasoned clowns as well as newbie clowns on the trip, so it was good to get acquainted more, teach and learn some stuff. After our clown warm-up we headed over to Lashvili Hospital for Children. We were a small group, with just 12 clowns in all. I like the smaller group actually. As we entered the hospital it was instant chaos and fun! The lobby already had children running around in it and our band of merry clowns played along. Bubbles, kazoos, ukuleles, and puppets abound. I wasn't sure if the kids were siblings or patients, but it truly didn't matter. After the initial excitement, we were led upstairs to rooms. We divided randomly into small groups and entered rooms to play. With all my experience, it always seems to be the same feeling... sick kids still love to play and laugh. More importantly, they NEED to play and laugh. The kids in Georgia were no different!
Maria and I ventured into a young teen's room. His face was swollen from the cancer that attacked his body. Even with the obvious pain in his face, he smiled a few times and did his best to play with bubbles. Maria played the ukulele and I danced with his mother. He seemed to smile at this. Even a child knows... the parents need love and laughter relief as well. Funny enough, the dad called as I was dancing with the mom. We had to quickly act casual, ha. As the mom talked to the dad, Maria continued to play the uke and sing. I showed my usual magic box trick and this elicited a wide eye look and a smile. It almost never fails. We played along a little longer until he started looking tired. We left him to get some much needed rest, hopefully with happy, peaceful dreams to help him heal.
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We definitely add color to the hallways |
We ventured down the hallway to more rooms. The staff here are lovely and really care about the kids. Much like the hospital I work in at home. We played here for a couple of hours and then headed off to lunch.
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The man in the white coat is a young doctor here. He sports a nose well! :0) |
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Before lunch we had to take photos outside. But I think we added a clown? Ha |
Lunch was yummy. The food in Georgia was always fresh and delicious. Then we divided into 2 groups. One group went to Tsitsishvili hospital for clowning and painting. A second group went to a social day care center for seniors. I went to see the seniors. We had fun playing as usual, as the seniors typically love clowns. The other group also had fun and did some incredible artwork on the walls of the hospital. Maria always knows how to add color to a wall, with help from her trusted colleagues.
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I love it how she gets the children involved in the paintings, always! |
After this we went back to the hotel for dinner and rest. The next day would be full of fun adventures also.
April 24th, 2025... In the morning we went to Gardabani Day Care for Seniors. They were a lively group, especially one spry young lady! She laughed and danced the morning away with us. She was so funny too! At one point I offered her a clown nose, which I was sure she would take. She just frowned at me and shooed me away with a wave! Ha Ha. Love it.
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She played with me willfully, but no nose please! Ha |
In the afternoon we went to Rustavi to play with some children with disabilities. It was yet another fun and boisterous group. We spent 2 hours dancing, singing, playing with bubbles, and more. They had a nice little closed in outdoor space to play in and a large empty room. It was a great setting to be active and get some energy out! After this we went to have dinner and then to a book store to have a virtual chat with Patch, his wife, and his assistant. Then back to the hotel for a goodnight's rest!  |
The children at the Bolnisi Care Center were fun and lively! |
April 25th, 2025... Today we headed to a small town called Bolnisi. We visited a care center for kids with special needs in the morning. These children were FULL of energy. Luckily we had a nice fenced in area to play in, complete with astro turf. We were told it was a day care center, but I got the impression the children lived here? As a clown I don't always pay attention to the details, and to be honest... the details don't matter in the end. So I apologize if some of my info is incorrect. It is not on purpose or for any intent. One small child here ran up to me and said "Messi or Ronaldo?!" It felt like some sort of test, and I failed miserably in his eyes. I said "Messi!" with emphasis. He frowned, gave a thumbs down and ran off to play. He came back to me to do this a few times. Maybe he expected a different answer? Maybe he didn't remember me from 5 minutes ago? Who knows, but my response was always the same, and so was his. It felt like our own little clown skit! Little did he know that I know my soccer! Ha Ha. The Red Cross has a big influence in this area, and they get some wonderful teenage volunteers. See photo below. |
Red Cross volunteers. At one point I knew all their names. I should have written them down :0). |
The day center for seniors in Bolnisi was a hoot and a holler. They were seated as an audience waiting for a show. We are not "performance" clowns overall, but luckily a couple in our group could do some things. In the end, the seniors put on part of the show as they did some traditional dance for us. Then a lovely 16 year old lady stood up front and sang to the seniors. She had the voice of an angel. She was another fantastic volunteer of the Red Cross. Our visit ended with her solo, which I felt was appropriate.  |
Who was performing for who? |
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The voice of an angel sings to the seniors. |
After our afternoon visit to the senior center, we went to a beautiful overlook for a photo shoot with Oksana. Oksana is a professional photographer. She is a friend of mine and Maria's. She is also very creative. She had us wrap ourselves with some red tape for a photo. She gave us no explanation for why. Then she told us to break loose from the tape as she took more photos. Later on she told us the tape represented borders and we were breaking through borders. It was an interesting and contemplative exercise. We do break borders for sure, but I would ask why do we need borders? Maybe some day in a really distant future humans will get it right. I am sure it won't happen in my lifetime, but I will keep dreaming for it and doing my best to spread the love and laughter to anyone willing to accept it.  |
Inside the borders |
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Breaking borders. Seemed chaotic to me :0) |
This was a beautiful spot to spend a couple of hours and unwind towards a mid point of our trip. The view of the mountains and farmland below were so relaxing! There are some nice photos of the area in my photo album, so you will have to look through that to get the full views if you wish. We headed back to the hotel after this for free time and dinner on our own. We ended up having dinner all together anyway, ha. We went to an Indian restaurant, which was fun and yummy. Here Pinion put on a performance as a waiter. You have to watch the video of him to get the full effect, but trust me it was hilarious. After a good night's rest we got ready for our last full day in Tbilisi. April 26, 2025... I am an early bird, so sometimes in the mornings I would wander the city streets on my own. This is a great time for me to reflect and contemplate the events of the past few days, while I ponder the days to come. I almost always meet some wonderful people when I do this. I met 2 young teenagers who spoke English well. Better than me if truth be told. We had a nice chat and they vowed to come to America. I sure hope they do. I presented them with noses for a selfie. They gladly accepted, but one of them told me "I don't need a nose to be a clown". I love it! She still kept it as a keepsake.
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Nina and Elena. 2 lovely teenagers on the streets of Tbilisi |
Also on my morning walk I came upon a lovely couple. Amir and Maria are from Iran and were traveling around Georgia for fun. When I came upon them, I saw Maria with her phone out. She had it out for a while, so I assume she was video taping me, which I encourage! This also prompted me to pull out my juggling balls to give her a little "show". Unbeknownst to me, Amir was in my periphery and also pulled out some juggling balls! I had no idea he was a juggler when I reached for mine. I presumed they were just tourist visiting the city. It was a fun and funny moment to turn to the side and see him juggling. I think my "show" was unimpressive, because Amir was way better than I am. Ha Ha. I wished them well and went on my way. A little while later after I had coffee, I bumped into them again randomly. This is when I learned a little more about them. They were in Georgia for a year or so. They were staying in random hostels as they enjoyed the country and looked for random work to pay their way. They took me to their favorite hostel called Fabrica. It was a colorful, friendly place. They said hello to everyone we came across as if they were old friends. Maybe they were? We chatted a little longer and took a couple of selfies before I had to wander off and join my group. I just love interactions like this.
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Amir and Maria |
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Such a great juggler. Notice my ball on the ground in the corner of the photo. |
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Fabrica Hostel in Tbilisi. Beautiful place |
After breakfast we drove to Dzegvi. This is a small town outside of the city. Here we would visit a "mixed" shelter in the morning and an oncology center in the afternoon. The mixed shelter was started by one woman several years ago. She really wanted to help people in need, and so she does. The shelter houses a small group of hospice patients along with a group of people with mental disabilities. The children of the younger group also live here, and they have no disabilities. It was definitely an interesting mix! In the beginning, a small group stayed outside and played with the children. A few of us went to visit the hospice patients. Maria, Kate and I went to a quaint room and hung out with 2 lovely women. One was spry and playful with Kate. The other seemed a little more serious and she just held my hand and told me "stories" in her native language. Oh how I wish I knew what she was telling me. I would smile and nod and she would keep on talking. I have learned that this is an important part of clowning. Just being there as a presence for the person who wants you there. It is not all about the play.
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Kate plays while Maria sings. I am holding the hand of her roommate. |
After our room visit, we joined the other clowns outside on a beautiful day. There was a lot of fun activity outside and some of the hospice patients walked out with us to join in the fun. One gentleman brought his accordion out to play for us while we played with the children. It was such a great atmosphere. The younger children, ages 5 to 9 would run around and chase bubbles, push Pluk in a tricycle, or whatever. The older group, ages 11 to 17, would try to learn how to juggle with Daniel and Pluk, or learn the ukulele from Anya or Guy. We all had our own "talents" to share and there was no shortage of kids wanting to play and learn.

In the afternoon we went to Monk Andrew's Oncology Center for Children. This was a lovely place with an interesting story. Andrew wanted to be a monk from an early age. He started writing a book when he was 13. He was diagnosed with cancer in his teens. He pursued being a monk and was made a monk at the age of 17. He died a few months after becoming a monk. For his legacy he wanted to fund an oncology center for kids. His mom and dad started a foundation and this place now exists because of him. It is a small place that houses up to 12 children at a time. The kids live here, even between treatments. The parents are welcome to live with them also, or they can visit depending on their individual situations. The place is well run and the kids seem to appreciate the place. We enjoyed our visit as we played with the kids for a couple of hours. We got a tour of the place with more info about it. We were then given Monk Andrew's book. It was a lovely way to end our clowning in Georgia. Well, almost the end of our clowning in Georgia :0).
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A large playroom at Monk Andrew's Oncology Center. Great for clown antics. |
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Juggling 4 plates! This is NOT easy. |
April 27, 2025... I say almost the end of our clowning in Georgia... We had no more centers to visit, but the next morning we did clown around in the local market before we headed to Yerevan. Markets are always a fun place to clown around, and the artists typically love it. I received a silver teaspoon as a gift for my clowning around. I am always humbled by such sweet gestures. After walking through the market, we ended up at a local ice cream shop for marozhna! Marozhna is the Russian word for ice cream and might be my favorite Russian word of all time :0). It seemed to be the perfect way to end our time in Georgia. We boarded our bus soon after and headed towards the border. I will write about the border crossing and our antics in Armenia in the next blog. So, stay tuned...! |
My own version of Spumoni in Georgia! Yum! |
Now Go Out and Hug Someone Today!!!