Gamarjobat,
That time of year is upon us once again: Travel time. I will be leaving next week for the second summer in a row, back to Georgia for a month. My time there is about half of what it was last year, but we should get a lot more done since our work will be more directed without all of the mess that we had to deal with at the museum last year with the new cabinets and organizing. Apparently the museum will finally be open this year too, since it has been in a remodeling stage for quite a few years. That should be cool to get to see the exhibits.
My travel plans are a bit different this year, as I will not be meeting up with Katie in France. I will, however, be traveling around Europe with my brother, Ryan, for 10 days before I go to Georgia. We are meeting in Munich (that's our flight destination but I think we actually share the same flight from Amsterdam to Munich) and we will stay the first night there. We haven't figured out the exact itinerary yet, but we rented a car and are planning on driving straight to Budapest, Hungary the second day and staying for a few nights. From there, we will drive to Vienna, Austria and look around the city for a day or two. We then plan on going to Salzburg, Hallstatt, and Innsbruck in Austria before heading back to Munich, making a stop at the Neuschwanstein castle on the way. I am excited for the driving again, as it is a great way to see the countryside. We debated just taking trains, but it will probably be cheaper for this short of time to get a car and not have to lose so much time waiting for trains. Plus it is super fun to drive in Europe, and hopefully Ryan's GPS will guide us successfully.
I am currently writing my Master's thesis and am hoping to get a good portion of the initial background and methods done before I get to Georgia, as those are the main sections that I will need all of these books that I got from the library, and I don't intend on bringing those with me. The analysis of our data will mainly take place after I come back, since we will be adding a lot more to the database, and that is where the bulk of the work comes from. It is going well so far and, barring any unforeseen catastrophe, I should be right on schedule to finish in September or October. My defense will be a little tricky since my adviser will still be in Georgia, and my other committee member will be in the United Kingdom, but people have done it like that before. Keep your fingers crossed.
I'm not sure how much sightseeing I'll actually get to do in Georgia this year, since we have a lot of work to do, but I should have one or two days a week where I can explore, since the museum is not open everyday. I would love to be able to see the Northern Caucasus this year, but we may not have enough time. With that in mind, the elusive Persian Leopard may go unseen once again, but I will keep a diligent eye out for them. Perhaps a jackal will just have to suffice.
I will try to write a little more this year, but I won't make any promises since our schedule is usually unpredictable.
Nakhvamdis,
Reed
