My husband was in a graduate program with Julian from Colombia and Giorgi from Georgia. Before I knew them, Jonah would invite them over to our house to watch Game of Thrones. Eventually that turned into all four of us grabbing dinner first, which turned into “dinner club”. Every week we would all eat together at a different restaurant in Oxford. Since Giorgi didn’t have a car, it was the first time he experienced some “Oxford classics” like Ajax, Volta, or Taylor Grovery. Sadly, Julian moved back to Colombia post graduation (we stay in touch), but Giorgi stayed as he got a job in Oxford.

Giorgi has been a huge part of our lives. He was there when we bought our first house, he’s come home with both Jonah and me for Thanksgiving, and he introduced us to his sweet mother, who cooked and shared a traditional Georgian meal with us.

Giorgi and my dad hit it off right away at Thanksgiving, staying up until all hours chatting about life, and they now text each other pretty regularly. I am from rural Illinois, so when Giorgi came home with us, there was a lot of explaining about what “Georgia the country” was and where it was located. I think it is pretty cool that for a brief moment when he would explain to my parents’ friends or my relatives, Carlyle, Illinois was internationalized, even just for a couple seconds. That may be the first and only time they meet someone from Eastern Europe. Giorgi always made it count.

I have had a Georgian Snickers and delicious Georgian tea (which is now a staple in my house; Giorgi always kindly brings us some back whenever he travels home). I have participated in a supra, which seemed like one of those things only Anthony Bourdain got to do. Tbilisi is high on our travel bucket list, and we can’t wait for the day that we get to see his home, family, and traditions. Now, we have this friend group with my friend Hannah, and we all get together at least once a week. It is like we were this random friend group that the universe brought together. l because we all fit in so perfectly. Giorgi is like a brother to Jonah & me, and we cannot imagine our lives without him in it. So many years of friendship now, and all because my husband decided to chat with the guy from Georgia in his doctoral classes and because Giorgi picked the University of Mississippi. It all seems very random outside looking in, but we were meant to be friends.