Off Shopping

After a week-long trip home I suddenly realized how much I have adapted here in Georgia. It took two years, and of course, there are still things that surprise me - but overall, everything seems somewhat "normal", including relaxed lifestyle, occasional power/water breakdowns, and even the August heat (boy it's melting everything!).
I just realize things more consciously now. For example, shopping this weekend taught me a lesson that with patience you can win anything. And that the sellers hold their personal respect higher than possibility to sell and earn (quite a lot of) money. That's how it works in some shops.
If you enter and see a lot of people, prepare yourself. We were pro-active, checked all the goods in the shop ourselves, even took some samples to carry around (till this day I don't know if they were left on the table for this purpose...) and tried to make the choice. During the process we chose one seller and from time to time caught her by the hand to ask some question. In the end, caught the same seller and told that we are ready and to give us some attention. Abra kadabra - it worked! And all those polite customers who would like to get personal service will have to come another time...and maybe to some other place :)

Another point about shopping in Georgia. Often people who have been travelling in Turkey or in Eastern Asia are expecting to bargain hard and get things so cheaply. After all, Georgia is considered a developing country! Oh well, I have only one thing to tell here: it's just completely wrong. Georgia is not that cheap at all; and while bargaining one can get down 20% off the price....max. And if you offer too low price, the seller might get offended and won't want to talk to you anymore.

The best way to get what you want is communication - friendly informal chat will open many doors and give lots of information, unreachable otherwise. Good luck shopping!