Being Georgian, Part I: What It Means to Be Georgian

When I tell people that I’m Georgian, most people don’t even know that Georgia is a country. They usually assume I mean the state and say something like, “Oh, you’re from the state Georgia?” I’ve gotten so used to explaining that I mean the country that it sometimes feels strange to think about how little people know about it. Georgia has thousands of years of history and culture, but for many people, it is a place they have never heard much about. Because of that, being Georgian has always felt like an important and unique part of who I am.

My culture is something I experience in my everyday life, especially through my family. At home, we speak Georgian, and our traditions are part of the way we celebrate holidays and spend time together. When we have guests, we make foods like khachapuri and satsivi, and Georgian music is often part of our gatherings. Speaking Georgian is especially important to me because so few people know the language, and I want to help keep it alive. These small parts of my everyday life are what keep me connected to Georgia, even when I am far away from it.

One of the strongest connections I have to my culture is Georgian dance. I started dancing when I was around thirteen and danced for two to three years in New York City. I learned dances like Ilouri, Juta, and Kartuli, and dancing became something I genuinely looked forward to. It was one of the places where I could feel completely Georgian without having to explain what that meant. My final concert in New York was especially meaningful because I got to perform Ilouri, which had always been my dream dance to perform.