Greg spoke to me. 'Want to get a coffee later? I'm off today so I don't have to stay at the hostel.'
I attended the morning meeting. It was about deciding the study group's direction. I asked the things I didn't understand in front of everyone, but I felt really embarrassed showing the media I was making. Also, the language I used there was pretty extreme (actually, I'm extremely hard on myself), so I worried that everyone might be put off. But it's fine. Abroad, that kind of thing is normal anyway.
And that's how the meeting ended. Just as I was about to start working, I was tidying up thinking I'd go to Mapshalia to eat, when Greg invited me out. I accepted and we went to a café together.
An afternoon of conversation at a Christmas café
The café was very stylish, truly Christmas-style. Red and cookie-colored interior. Just so fashionable. A stray dog was lying inside. You might think it's dirty, but it really wasn't. It felt different from stray dogs in Japan. People were kindly giving it things.
We talked there for about three hours. Apparently he's in Georgia now because he's looking for work in Europe. He's studying marketing online, but all his work experience is in music and film-related fields (lol).
So he's like me. I majored in science at university, but now I work in web-related jobs, and during university I only studied languages. We're really similar. Also, he's from the northern part of Kazakhstan, close to Russia. So the temperature back home right now is about -20°C. I thought that's seriously extreme.
He's a musician who plays guitar and sings, and his favorite thing is video editing and video work. How wonderful, I thought. Looking at his Instagram, it has such a dreamy feel — a sensibility that's uniquely his.
Since it was a special occasion I ordered a coffee twice as bitter as espresso. And a chocolate cookie. Greg had a small cake and a cappuccino. We had a really cozy time talking about art together.
He's not a professional at just one thing — he does everything: video editing, shooting, cameras, photography, music production, guitar, vocals — so he calls himself a digital creator. I think that's really fitting.
When someone asks me 'What do you do?', I always answer 'human.' Because if I say 'web designer' it closes off other possibilities. I don't want to be confined to one place. Isn't it better not to, so you can challenge many things?
For example, if you say 'human', anything goes. That's why it's interesting. That's the way humans are meant to live, right? In the past humans didn't have 'jobs.' Now with civilization developing, 'occupation' exists as one strategy to leave descendants. That's all it is. So originally everyone's true occupation is 'human.' Let's broaden our view and take a bigger perspective.
Talks about cameras, and a resolve to do street photography
After all, talking with people is the best way to learn, to make friends, and by listening to others you make them feel good, which also improves communication. It's nothing but good.
Greg knew a lot about cameras. He apparently adjusts the aperture (f-stop), shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity when shooting. His Fujifilm camera was really cool. The flash popped out quickly — what a refined camera, I thought.
Next time I go abroad I want to bring my own camera and use it as an excuse to talk to people on the street and take street photos. From that, communication will arise, I'll learn about cultures, and by the time it's done I'll get used to talking to people, adapt, and that will turn into confidence and show on my face. When I go abroad next, I'll bring a camera and become a street photographer, I thought. I got a lot of inspiration from Greg. His hair is really long so he ties it up, but he's seriously cool.
After that we returned to the hostel and I helped edit Greg's website. It was built with a no-code tool called Tilda; it wasn't even using SSL, and the animations were set to flip and looked lame.
While advising him 'A serif font gives a more luxurious feel than a sans-serif font' and 'Make the animation come up from the bottom instead,' we edited together. Because it's a no-code tool it was incredibly awkward for me, used to coding. Still, I was happy because I understood what it meant instantly.
I never imagined I'd be doing web development in Tbilisi. This time last year I hadn't done even 1mm of it. If I ever lose my job and have free time, I thought I'd properly build his website.
From Chopin to Tango: a night at the piano
Moosica Hostel has a piano. I played Chopin's nocturne, the Turkish March, songs by Queen, ABBA, and Christmas songs. Playing so much got me excited and I started playing louder and louder. Then Greg was filming me with his camera.
Other guests were watching too. Someone from Argentina asked 'Do you know any tango-like music?', so I played some Cuban music; when asked 'How about an Italian song?' I played Felicita, then a famous piece from the opera La traviata, and Tico-Tico. I was a little embarrassed, but I'm completely used to it now. I really enjoy playing the piano.
After finishing playing the piano, tired, I left the hostel. Finally some alone time. I walked around Freedom Square and went to the nostalgic ice cream shop I used to go to with Estere. I ordered blueberry ice cream. It was 2.5 lari — 150 yen. How cheap. And it tasted pretty good.
If someone asked me 'Want to drink it?' when the ice cream had melted into a puddle, of course I wouldn't. It's basically a lump of sugar. But when it's frozen I eat it. How strange.
I bought strawberries at a nearby supermarket and went back to the hostel. Then I proceeded with coding the last project of the year. The gimmicks were detailed and made me want to scream, but patiently. That's right. Anything takes patience. At night I went to Subway and ordered something for the first time in a while and ate while working. A 24-hour fast-food place has all kinds of people and doesn't feel relaxing. Once again I thought it's better to work in a stylish café.
Talking over coffee, editing the website together, connected by the piano. The day with Greg was full of creative energy.
