Come have a seat at the Georgian café where laughter is always on the menu!
Picture a café with a chicken on the bathroom wall, a table that says “If you like to talk, sit here,” and a Wi-Fi password that is HaHaHaHaHa. That’s the fabulous Runa Cafe in Kutaisi, Georgia and its owner, Mako Tkabladze, is my guest.
She is quick, dramatic, and just cheeky enough to tease me on air. We talk about Georgian humour, building connections beyond coffee, and how laughter helps reset hard times and bad days. By the end of our conversation, both our cheeks were hurting from laughing so much!
In This Episode
- Mako explains why she built a café to get strangers talking, from the table sign that says “If you like to talk, sit here”, to the box of stickers by the door.
- A bathroom chicken asks, “I poop breakfast. What’s your superpower?” and you’ll hear why Mako tucks humour into her café.
- Kutaisi humour gets a full breakdown: quick, dramatic, and full of teasing that means “I love you.”
- You’ll hear how Kutaisi poets once answered each other in rhyme, and why Mako thinks it made the city’s humour sharper.
- Mako takes us back to the ’90s, when neighbours shared eggs and onions around the supra table and laughed more than they do now.
- I share my rainy, no-cash travel day and how hunting for things to laugh at turned it around.
- Plus, my Georgian “thank you” that earned me an “I love you,” Mako’s dentist story, and a live giggle from her internal giggle generator (IGG).
Episode Timestamps
- [00:11] – Welcome, and my very honest attempt at saying Tkabladze
- [04:01] – The bathroom chicken sign: “I poop breakfast. What’s your superpower?”
- [05:02] – Why Mako built her café as a place for people to talk
- [08:23] – Mako’s sense of humour: quick, dramatic, and full of loving teasing
- [12:22] – Laughter is a reset, and my rainy day with no cash
- [21:01] – Mako says her country laughed even more in the hard years
- [25:01] – My “thank you” mix-up that turned into “I love you”
- [31:36] – The dentist story: who forgot how to clean teeth?
- [34:15] – Laughter Revolution lightning round
- [37:29] – Mako activates her internal giggle generator on command in the IGG challenge
Links and Resources Mentioned
- Runa Cafe, in Kutaisi, Georgia – owned by Mako Tkabladze
- Laughter Revolution Digest (the chicken sign photo is in a recent issue): marlasimlett.com
If this made you smile, hit subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen. Then pop over to marlasimlett.com and join the Laughter Revolution Digest. It’s fun. It’s informative, and it’s cheaper than coffee.
Full Transcript
Marla: Welcome to Laughter Revolution. I’m your host, Marla Simlett, and I built this podcast based on the premise that even though life can sometimes be rough, getting through it doesn’t always have to be, because laughter.
Now, as you know, I’m traveling the world, and today I am in Borjomi, a little, lovely little town in south central Georgia, and their claim to fame is that they have mineral-rich healing spring water, which I’ve tried. It’s an acquired taste. but it’s supposed to be very good for you, and they bottle it, and they export it around the world, so you may even have had some.
But nice little town. But I’ve recently spent some time in the also lovely city of Kutaisi, which is the fourth-largest city in Georgia, and that is where I met my lovely guest today, Mako Tkabladze. And you are gonna pronounce it properly.
Mako: Tkabladze
Marla: Tkabladze
Mako: Tkabladze
Marla: Close enough.
Marla: You say it, you say it really well. Say it again with your accent.
Mako: Mako Tkabladze
Marla: Yeah, that sounds so much prettier. There are… You and I were just discussing, there are some combinations of letters in Georgian that just, I think if I didn’t, if you didn’t learn them when you were young, your tongue just can’t wrap it, its way around it, so.
Mako: Yeah, that’s true.
Marla: Anyway, I’m very excited that you’re here today, and, was glad that we met, and glad that you agreed to be on the show.
Marla: I’m gonna ask you to start with, can you just tell our audience a little bit about yourself? Like, if you had two minutes to say, “Here’s who I am,” what would you say?
Mako: Okay. So as you already know, I’m Mako Tkabladze.
Marla: Yes, you are.
Mako: I’m from Kutaisi. I’m just a girl living in the small city of Georgia. I have my small business here, there where we met, each other, and I have a son and a lot of friends, local and foreigners. Because, of my small business, I always host the tourists and the expats people living in Kutaisi. I’m trying to enjoy my life. Mm-hmm. I guess is two minutes or …
Marla: That’s great. and yes, we met. Your small business is your, cafe, the Runa Cafe, and anyone who goes to Kutaisi, you should go there. I found it because I was on the search for the mythical decaffeinated coffee in Georgia.
Mako: Yes.
Marla: Because it’s not very popular. And, somebody said, “Oh, you can get it at the Runa Cafe.” And as soon as I walked in, what struck me was just the energy and the vibe of the place. Now, my work is all around Laughter Intelligence, trademarked, which is the science and art of using laughter intentionally to improve your life, your relationships, your health, and it’s really about, using that positive energy to get yourself unstuck and reset from negative experiences, so you can have more positivity, joy, fun, health.
Marla: And when I walked into your cafe, I thought, “This is what that’s all about.” Because I walked in, and the energy you’ve created, and I’m not sure if you, if you know this, but the energy you’ve created in your cafe is friendly. I felt welcomed as soon as I walked in. You have inspirational posters and pictures and great colors.
Marla: You’ve got humour in there. I told you that I’d, I’d posted one of your bathroom pictures in my Laughter Revolution Digest- … about the chicken poop.
Mako: We have a humour at the toilet.
Marla: Yes. Bathroom humour. So for those of you who haven’t seen that, it was a picture of a chicken, and it said, “I poop breakfast. What’s your superpower?” Which I thought was so great.
Marla: And then when you leave, when you’re leaving and you pay, you’ve got this box of stickers that you let-
Mako: Yeah
Marla: … people pick through, which is so cool. And I should tell you, I actually met a woman on my way here, Julia from Germany, and I’d mentioned your cafe, and she said, “Oh, I was there, and I, and I loved- the stickers at the end.” And she said, “And I looked through for, like, five minutes trying to find the best one.” And I was like, “Oh, I just in- … you know, intuitively grabbed one.” But it just-
Mako: Oh, that’s-
Marla: It creates such a great space. And so my first question for you is, what was your motivation for creating that space?
Mako: First of all, thank you so much. It’s, like, so lovely feedback about it, and I really put a lot of my energy and time and whole my life, it’s like my second… It’s my daughter. The Runa is my daughter.
Mako: I love people. and, I really do love. I was always working, in a customer service before, like, more than 15 years. And I guess I could not make it without loving people. Yeah. And I love socializing and integration and new ideas, and new informations. And because Kutaisi is really small town, you know people, but you can’t really, hear a lot of new stories, right? Like, because it’s, like, same conversation over and over again.
Mako: And that lead me to, like, I even have a table, with… It’s my… One of my table there is labeled, like, “If you like to talk-”
Marla: I saw that.
Marla: You sit.” Yeah, so that was, to, have a common, like, to meet my guests to each other so they know each other, so they talk to each other, I talk to them, they are available. So, that’s why I guess it’s happened, and I put a lot of nice things. It is a communication opening-
Mako: Yes
Mako: … for me. Like, you see, the kitchen, you come outside, you say something, then I say something. So that’s what I want my waiters to do and the other peoples there. So it’s- Just, like I don’t think, people cannot find a coffee or a food somewhere else. It’s- not, not about that. I just want to make people a bit more happier. Then it makes me happier.
Marla: I love that. You’re creating this communal space where people can come together-
Mako: Yes …
Marla: And not just sit on their phones, right, and drink their coffee, but actually-
Mako: Exactly …
Marla: connect with each other and connect with people that maybe they wouldn’t have, have met.
Mako: Yes …
Marla: It’s such a great thing.
Mako: But it’s also teach me what’s, what to do. Like, for my… It’s, I did not start it like that, but the customers I had, they needed, more friends because they just arrived in Kutaisi or they wanted to meet somebody else. So that’s just step by step, I built what I have right now, and I have, more plans for the future.
Mako: But, like, it’s for introverts too. We have a lot of books there, so it’s not, it’s not like must talk place.
Marla: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Let’s not give that impression. You can go there and- … look at your phone and drink your coffee.
Mako: Yeah.
Marla: You can do that too, and it’s very good coffee. Decaf and non-decaf, so, um-
Mako: Thank you so much.
Marla: Yeah. So that was one of the things that prompted me to ask you to be, because I, on the show, because I know you have that same, that same bent towards positivity-
Mako: Yeah …
Marla: which is what laughter brings into your life. And I know you and I have had a couple conversations, and laughter- Yes … has been a big part of that.
Marla: So how would you describe your sense of humour?
Mako: Oh. Worse. Okay, well, people tell me that I have a good sense of humour.
Marla: Okay.
Mako: I think I do sometimes. Now it’s a podcast. You cannot expect me to make a good jokes.
Marla: No.
Mako: Maybe in Georgian I could. as I told you, in Kutaisi is known of, good sense of humour. People are very fast here. Very. We also like to exaggerate the situations. Like, if I’m telling you a story, I would never say, like, “The guy was crossing the road,” or something. I would say, like, things about the guy and about the cars around, people around, whatever. We probably want to- People, to pay attention at what we are talking about, I think.
Marla: Ah.
Mako: And we make it like we spend a lot of words to, for you to visualize the effect-
Marla: Right
Mako: … happened, and then we-
Marla: So there’s some drama to it.
Mako: It’s drama.
Marla: Like making it quite dramatic.
Mako: Of course. It’s so dramatic you laugh.
Mako: Also, we like to bully each other in Kutaisi
Marla: Did you say bully?
Mako: Yeah, bullying.
Marla: Okay.
Marla: And what does that look like?
Mako: That means we love each other if we bully each other. It means there’s no more border in between us. So it’s like, it’s not of course like, about the weight or the, about my nose or whatever, but the things we say or we, the way we act can be funny sometimes, so we like to bully each other because of our actions or because of our words or whatever Now if I, tell my people, my friends about our podcast and they watch me, they will bully me for sure, but-
Marla: That will be so funny.
Marla: So it’s kind of like, when you say bull or bully, it’s kinda like teasing, right?
Mako: Teasing, yes.
Marla: Yeah. I remember my mom saying one time, “If somebody teases you, it means they really like you.”
Mako: Yeah. I cannot tease the stranger. I cannot bully the stranger, right? They will hit me or something. It’s problematic.
Marla: And so when you said, people say you, your friends say you or people say you have a good sense of humour, what do you think you do that makes them think that?
Mako: I’m quick
Marla: Okay So quick-witted …
Mako: sharp, yeah. Yeah. I can say. I also like to connect things. like, or remember one year ago what he did and throw now to him or I don’t know.
Mako: I love to make, jokes about myself too, so that’s also funny for them.
Marla: Yeah. So you bully yourself a little bit?
Mako: I… Of course, a lot. But it’s nice. I mean, I always say if there was no laugh… That’s why when you say the things that you do was so interesting for me because I guess for all my life I was trying to, manage myself with laugh.
Mako: Like, if there is some- a problem or whatever I cannot solve right now, I’m making jokes. I call my friends. Maybe I start some, like, with drama, but it’s always comes with the jokes. So that’s so interesting and then I wanted to learn more about that. It’s so… It’s hilarious.
Marla: Yeah.
Marla: I’ve never ever heard it before. And I’m so grateful to hear that.
Marla: Yeah. I really appreciate your interest in that, and I… And that’s kind of my purpose as I’m trying to introduce people to this concept, is that laughter is something that we just do. It’s just in our life.
Mako: Yeah.
Marla: But, you know, we don’t have things by accident, right?
Mako: Yeah.
Marla: Like, laughter is a core piece of every person. and, and like yawning, it’s the only automatic response that is contagious. So why do we have it? Right? There’s a reason for it.
Mako: Reset. To reset ourselves.
Marla: Yes. No, that’s right. Reset and get all the benefits- from the health and everything. But when I started thinking about this, I’m like, “You know, we do it accidentally all the time, or we do it without thinking. Imagine how much our lives could improve if we started doing it intentionally.”
Mako: Exactly, yes.
Marla: You know? And I have a good example of that. Yesterday I had a… It was one of those travel days where I just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry because it was raining, I couldn’t get money out of the bank. I needed money. I was just tired. I wasn’t feeling good. And I started thinking like, “What do I need to do to shift out of this?”
Marla: And so I started just laughing. And then I started looking for things to make me laugh. And then I started to interact a little more with people. I’m using a lot of Google Translate here, which is producing some hilarious interactions.
Mako: Yes. I know.
Marla: And just generating that positive energy. I can even feel it as I’m talking about it. And by the end of the day, I was in a great mood, even though all-
Mako: Mm-hmm …
Marla: of those things had happened, you know? So it’s, it’s, it’s really interesting. So I love that I’ve introduced-
Mako: It is …
Marla: that to you and it’s something that you are thinking about-
Mako: Yeah …
Marla: a little bit differently.
Mako: Sure. I told my friend. I have a few psychologist friend, like close friends, and we have never ever talked about that before.
Mako: We were always, like, talking about the inner child, how to make the inner child happy and et cetera. It’s kind of like, im- con- but this is, like, the name. You named it.
Marla: Yeah. So I named it and I trademarked it.
Mako: And you, yes.
Marla: I wasn’t messing around.
Marla: So, you had talked about, Kutaisi humour and can Kutaisi-
Mako: Yes … do you call them Kutaisians?
Mako: Yes.
Marla: Kutaisians.
Mako: Kutaisseli in Georgian.
Marla: Kutaisian.
Mako: Yes.
Marla: Say it again.
Mako: Kutaisian in English, but Kutaisseli in Georgian.
Marla: Kutaisseli, she said quietly- Okay. … in the hope that nobody would notice she’d pronounced it wrong.
Marla: how is… Is that humour different than other parts of Georgia?
Mako: I think yes. I would say yes. It is, more… Well, I don’t know will Tbilisian and other fr- the people from other region will see this podcast or not.
Marla: Or they might not.
Mako: Kutaisi was the center of intelligent people years ago. Like, all of the famous writers, like most of them are actually from Kutaisi, then they were moving to Tbilisi slowly because- Yeah … their career could be more successful over there. Yeah. But like it was-
Marla: They call it the cultural center, right? It’s the cultural center … of Georgia.
Mako: Yeah. It was a cultural center, and those people would gather together. They would have some evenings, nights, exchange their opinions, whatever, and they were so smart and, hu- like, they had a such a great sense of humour. They would write the poems about it, and they would quickly, with a poem, answer to each other. So that’s… I think that made Kutaisian humour a little bit more better, I would say, like faster also.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: we have another region, which is Guria. They also have a very nice sense of humour, but it’s a little bit different, and I don’t know exactly how to talk about their sense of humour because, few times only I went there.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: But they are known.
Marla: Where, where is that?
Mako: Guria. when you go from Kutaisi to Batumi, in the middle you need to pass Guria.
Marla: Oh, okay, so it’s to- towards the Black Sea-
Mako: The mountains … Bakhmaro maybe. Yes. Okay. Maybe you have heard Bakhmaro.
Marla: Yes.
Mako: It’s really nice. They have a nice resort and, nature over there. So they’re also quick and smart, maybe a little bit more black than Kutaisi.
Marla: Oh, so darker humour?
Mako: Darker humour, yeah.
Marla: Do, do Kutaisial… Kutaisians- … or, Georgians, do they use dark humour or we call it gallows humour sometimes. Do they use that?
Mako: Yes. They do. We do.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: No excuses. I mean- Also dirty.
Marla: Oh.
Mako: Kutaisians like to, yeah, like to use a lot of dirty words.
Marla: Okay.
Mako: Which somehow becomes funny.
Marla: Yes. do you have comedians? Like stand-up comedians? We…
Mako: yes.
Marla: And does their humour tend to be more of that kind of dirty, swearing humour or, or a little more clean?
Mako: More clean because they are, the comedians mostly I know are on the TV, so they have a ban.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: Mostly they have fun with mother-in-laws in Georgia.
Marla: Are mother-in-laws a thing? A bad thing?
Mako: Yes.
Marla: How so?
Mako: How men, husbands are happy without mother-in-laws and et cetera, and like same, wives of course. what, about else? about husband’s friends who are always like like a lot of husbands do they have in Georgia, because, in Georgia, women used to cook for everybody. Like maybe 10, guys are coming and they did not even, inform you in, in advance, but then you need to do some magic. Enjoy. So- And stay positive …
Marla: oh, just whip that up.
Mako: Yes.
Marla: That’s funny. It’s funny how similar humour is across cultures because a lot of comedians, you know-
Mako: Is it? …
Marla: do that kind of- mother-in-law jokes and- you know, you try to find something common in a culture that other people recognize and then will laugh at. But I am… A lot of, especially, I shouldn’t, but I think American comedians and and other comedians, but I find the ones that use the real, dirty humour or, or humour that uses a lot of swear words, I find it lazy-
Mako: Mm-hmm
Marla: because it’s, it’s kind of a quick laugh, right? And it- Yeah … and some of it can border on being isms, right? Like, you get into sexism- Yeah … and you get into racism-
Mako: Exactly.
Marla: Yeah …
Marla: and you get into… I’ve done a little bit of standup and I remember somebody saying to me, “What I really like about your humour is it never, it’s at nobody’s, it’s at no harm to anybody else.”
Mako: Mm-hmm.
Marla: Like, I don’t make fun of other people. I don’t… I make m- Yeah … make fun of myself, but I don’t call anybody out. I don’t make anybody feel bad. I don’t try to make- … shame and stuff like that. And I find those are the comedians I like, ’cause it, it’s harder work. You know?
Mako: It is.
Marla: Can go for the cheap laugh-
Mako: I agree
Marla: but- Yeah. … you know, why would you?
Mako: Exactly.
Marla: Do you think that… Oh, I’m gonna skip that. That’s kind of a deep question, unless you wanna answer it. No. One of the questions I have is just I’ve been very fascinated by the history of your country and just- Mm-hmm … you know, this small little country, smaller than New Brunswick, Canada, which is just one of our provinces. And, you know, there’s been so much, you know, people have been taking it over and coming in and taking things and leaving and, you know, invading and families being split up. You and I talked about that as people are working- Yeah … in other countries. and I’m just wondering how you think that maybe shapes the culture around humour or the way that people use laughter in, in Georgia.
Mako: according to my observation, we were laughing more, years ago. Now things are changed, maybe bec- I was thinking about it when we had a conversation. Like, I remember my childhood, that was the poorest time of the country, I guess. At, at least in my memory, right?
Marla: Yeah. And that would’ve been in the… when?
Mako: ’90s.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: Yeah. And we did not even have a name, and, you know, electricity, no water. It’s, like, messed up everything. Yeah. But we, had a very m- close relationships with, neighbors, relatives. We were, like, lived like a commu- community. Somebody had, eggs, somebody had onions. So this is how we would make the supra.
Mako: This is what we call, to the table.
Marla: Right.
Mako: You probably only know. So we would, eat together, whatever we had, drink together. And then, yeah, we were poor, but we would laugh a lot. We would… They would say stories, toast, toasts and such. we were talking more at that time. Now, Georgians became like, maybe like Europeans. We li- we don’t live with the families anymore. Mm-hmm. Like most of the new generation. everybody’s, working and, has a lot of plans, or some people, a lot of peoples are abroad. So these connections are already lost. Mm-hmm. And this, like, this is my observation, my personal observation, that we still, in according to other countries, we still keep trying to keep these relationships, the close relationships, and meet people frequently. Because if I don’t see my friend, like for a year, the connection, yeah, I love her, but- Yeah … what to talk about, right? Yeah. So we, in Kutaisi especially, it’s a small city, so we try to see each other frequently, at least three times a week for coffee or, just a walk. And it is- Kind of similar, but not like before.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: But we are laughing more before- Yeah … this is what I can say.
Marla: That’s, uh- … it’s a little bit- Sad … a little bit sad, right? ‘Cause our, our- Yes … society is so, individualistic and separate and- Yeah … it sounds like it was so much closer. You were going through a lot of hardship, but it- Yeah … brought everyone together, and laughter builds those bonds, right? And builds those- Yeah … connections and that trust, and you have to have that to keep the culture alive. Like, that’s one of the things I’m very- Yeah … impressed with with Georgia, like, to have your own language with its own alphabet and traditions that have been kept alive despite- Yeah … all this, um-
Mako: Language also helps our sense of humour ’cause it can create a lot of kind of strange words with the language. It allows you to be creative.
Marla: Can you give me an example that- Oh … that would translate?
Mako: I don’t know. maybe we can skip this.
Marla: Okay. Well, I can tell you that me trying to speak Georgian has, has left with a lot of laugh- has caused a lot of laughter in different situations- … ’cause I will say something and it’s not at all what I’m trying to say. One of my favorite stories though, I was in a little cafe in, Kazbegi up north. Mm-hmm. And I was asking for decaf coffee. Oh my God, the search for decaf coffee in Georgia, and the woman, you know, she, she couldn’t really speak English, but she let me know, no, we… I- she understood what I wanted and she didn’t have it. And I wanted to say thank you, ’cause she had been so nice and so kind trying to offer me other things, but the word for thank you think that would come in my head?
Marla: So I actually held my finger up. I’m like, “Wait.” And so this poor woman is standing there waiting- … like something, you know, amazing is gonna happen, and finally I- … მადლობა. And then I said, “დიდი მადლობა” And she’s like, “Oh.” She’s like, “I love you.” Which is probably not what she meant to say. But she was very happy that, I had at least tried, so- Yeah, maybe that
Marla: sometimes that language thing is it’s, it’s a connection point, right? Yeah. And we both laughed, so.
Mako: Of course.
Marla: Do you know my Wi-Fi password in Rona?
Mako: I must… Yes. It’s one, one
Marla: I changed it.
Marla: Oh, did you?
Mako: After meeting you.
Marla: I love that.
Mako: Now… Okay, now it is ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Marla: Oh, I love that.
Mako: Can imagine our conversations like every day they ask.
Marla: So now when people say, “What’s the Wi-Fi password?” Say, “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.”
Mako: Exactly. And we are not allowed to say five times H-A. No.
Marla: Why?
Mako: We are not allowed. We are not allowed to tell customers our password is five times H-A. Like, we need- Okay … to say ha, ha, ha, ha.
Marla: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marla: Yeah. Yeah, you have to…
Marla: So I thought you were meaning there was a rule about, uh- No, it’s in- … putting H and A together- … in our- … in the language.
Marla: one… Let me see what other question I have about, what is something that people in Georgia joke about that we might be surprised about if we’re not a Georgian? Like, we think, “Whoa, really? You joke about that?”
Marla: Oh, interesting. Yeah. Now, now, now I need to think on behalf of you from your, um- we… Hmm. Interesting. You should give me the questions in advance.
Marla: That’s right. We can come back to that one. That was a little off the cuff.
Marla: Oh … do you think the Georgian people, speaking of laughter intelligence, do you think they have good laughter intelligence? Do they use humour and laughter when things are difficult and stressful?
Mako: Mm, yes.
Marla: Okay. And what, what, where do you see that the most?
Mako: in every family. They are always able to laugh. They- we are not depressive nation, I would say.
Marla: No.
Marla: of course we have a problems. We have a lot of problems like everywhere, right?
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: But… And some people has more and, but, like, we are not tend to suicidal thoughts or, even psychologists.
Marla: So if we had the, mm, last question, previous question should be like we joke about psychologists.
Marla: As a psychologist, fair enough-
Mako: I am my psychologist. Nobody can teach me or- Even to go to a psychologist is very new thing in Georgia. Like people-
Marla: Oh, is it? …
Mako: are just starting to, like, see who is the w- what is going on. They- people don’t even know what to do when they go to psychologist.
Marla: Wow.
Mako: Because we are each other’s psychologist. That what I mean when we are able to see each other so frequently, we… If you have a really good friends- Mm-hmm … at least you talk about what you need to say. Yeah. And even, even they are not a psychologist, you still hear the things you are talking about, so it’s already better than overthinking, uh- Yes alone, right?
Marla: . So- Therapeutic, right? Having those-
Mako: Yeah, it’s thera- …
Marla: those friendships and-
Mako: Yeah, sure. And plus, we, if we love each other, if we care about each other, we help to solve or find the solution. So- Yeah … that’s why I think we are not so depressed, as a nation. And also, yeah, fun is, like, everywhere in Kutaisi.
Mako: like s- sometimes I ha- I, it hurts, my face hurts of laughing when I go home, like
Marla: I love that. It, just kinda going back to talking to your friends, are, are Georgians, I know you can’t stereotype, but are they pretty open about talking about things, like talking about-
Mako: Yes …
Marla: their feelings and talking about the th- the things that are going on- Um in their life or?
Mako: I would say men can… I think it’s not about Georgian only, but-
Marla: Yeah …
Mako: they are more, like, they cannot understand their feelings by themselves, so then talking is of course harder. But about women, yeah, they are quite open.
Marla: Yeah.
Mako: And also in, our, this is also cultural, we love to know everything about everybody, right? So I can ask every g- any question. So then it’s like, okay, I need to answer some, at least something, right? So we are quite open. We know everything about each other I can say. Mm-hmm. And it’s hard to hide. Like, imag- it’s very small city. They know my car. Like, wherever I park, they know, “Oh, Mako should be over there,” or, right. Then I-
Marla: She was over at the Spar getting… What did you get at the grocery store?
Mako: Two times already I saw her at the spar. And then they saw me with somebody drinking coffee, so now everybody knows, “Oh, Mako was… Who is that guy?” Or, “Who is that girl?”
Marla: the joys of a small place.
Mako: Yes. Is it a joy? It’s no privacy. I can’t even drink coffee. I opened my own coffee shop to have a privacy.
Marla: To have some privacy. I love that.
Mako: See, now my face is, my face is getting sore from laughing.
Mako: Also, yeah.
Marla: I was gonna ask you a question about something you said, but it’s gone off in the wormhole- Oh … of my brain, so if it comes back I’ll, I’ll get to it.
Marla: But here’s a good one. When was the last time that you laughed so hard that you either s- you know, spit out your coffee, or you peed your pants- … or you couldn’t breathe, or?
Mako: Oh. Hmm. That is very hard to make me laugh like that.
Marla: Is it?
Mako: well, oh, okay. I, took my friend to the dentist. He doesn’t speak in Georgian, but the dentist speak in Georgian, and this dentist is my frequent customer. I know her well. So I knew that she was, in a, on a holiday, on a vacation, so she was not working for two weeks or something, and now she’s back, so we made the appointment and I accompanied him. Like, we went together to the dentist. And the girl is, like, doing some stuff, the dentist, and she said like, “Can you please come inside?”
Mako: And sh- i- but she was talking with me in Georgian, and the things she s- told me that, I mean, the way I understood was, like, she forgot how to clean the teeth and she wants me to help.
Marla: To help clean his teeth?
Mako: And she can, and she can do a little bit of it, but, like, then we realized that she was talking about her English, so.
Mako: And I was like, “So you will clean just the five teeth or, I…” Little? And that made, like, huge, like everybody was really
Mako: laughing.
Mako: ‘Cause even in Georgia I couldn’t understand she forgot, because I went like, “Oh, she was in a holiday, so maybe she forgot how to clean the teeth.” It’s so weird. And then she started joking about me, like, “Come and tell me how to clean this.”
Mako: And then- “This one I don’t remember.”
Marla: That’s hilarious. Yeah … so did he finally get his teeth cleaned?
Mako: Yes.
Marla: Yeah. Good.
Mako: Finally. Together, we all did.
Marla: A joint effort. Yes. That’s funny. I think- I’m gonna ask you one more question before we go into the Laughter Revolution lightning round. Okay?
Mako: Okay.
Marla: tell me about how you use laughter and humour intentionally in your life. And you’ve told me a little bit, but where do you think you use it the most?
Mako: Intentionally? Mm-hmm. Intentionally I’m… I guess I’m using for other people to make them feel better.
Marla: Okay. So if somebody’s having a bad day or somebody’s-
Mako: Yeah
Marla: … you use laughter to make them feel better.
Mako: Yeah. It makes me very comfortable if everybody’s comfortable.
Marla: That’s a mom- And- … and a woman, right?
Mako: Maybe.
Marla: We’re happy-
Mako: Mothering …
Marla: if you’re happy. Yeah. Here, let me, let me make you a dinner for 10 of your friends.
Mako: No. Okay. I will go to my psychologist about this issue.
Mako: I need to work more.
Marla: There you go. Make a note of that. Make that appointment today.
Mako: From now on I will, make my… laugh myself.
Marla: Laugh, laugh yourself.
Mako: Yes.
Marla: Yeah. So that I can- Did I tell you… Did I… Actually, I’m gonna get to that in the lightning round.
Marla: okay, so we’re gonna do the Laughter Revolution lightning round.
Marla: So this is just top of your head, first thing that comes up. No right answers, no wrong answers. No pressure. Okay. Are you ready?
Mako: I have a Okay. I’m ready.
Marla: Question number one: Laughter is cheaper than-
Mako: Coffee.
Marla: True fact. It is cheaper than coffee. Awesome. It’s funny ’cause everyone I’ve asked that question to tells me… It tells me something about them, right?
Mako: Their profession.
Marla: Their profession or the… One of my guests said, “Cheaper than wine,” and she was definitely somebody who liked to drink a lot of wine.
Marla: okay. Cheaper than coffee. And so my favorite way, and this is about you, my favorite way to make someone laugh is
Mako: To tickle them?
Marla: Yeah. I love that.
Marla: Interesting. I hate to be tickled. Ugh.
Mako: Yeah, everybody hates.
Marla: So there’s, there’s a little mean streak in there then.
Mako: Uh-huh.
Marla: number three. The person who makes me laugh the most when I need it is?
Mako: Oh, no, don- Okay, just one? Mm. My sister.
Marla: Your sister. Is she younger or older?
Mako: Older. Older.
Marla: Nice.
Mako: we just have a lot of stories, and she doesn’t even need to say something. We see something, and we know what she thinks or I think, so it’s- Yeah … kind of- She’s…
Marla: you’ve got that sister ESP.
Mako: Yes. Yeah. Now she lives in the US, and even I see something she would laugh about, I’m like, “Oh, I need to tell it to her.”
Marla: Oh, that’s great. Take a picture, send it to her with no comments-
Mako: Yes. … and we know.
Marla: I love those inside sibling things that-
Mako: Yeah …
Marla: nobody else gets.
Marla: a day without la- No, wait. My go-to thing or place when I need, when you need a laugh, what do you do?
Mako: Remember something funny
Marla: Okay. Perfect. That’s good. well, not good or bad. There’s no right or wrong answers, so. Yeah, just- Right on. Yeah.
Marla: A day without laughter is like…
Mako: oh, death. That’s all. No. I can-
Marla: Your face said it all there, for those of you- … not watching the video. It was just like this, “What?” So you said death, right?
Mako: Doesn’t exist? Does not even exist. Death.
Marla: Doesn’t even exist, yeah. Okay. Now, this is where it comes in where I’m bouncing back to what you were just saying about, about having a laugh or making yourself laugh.
Marla: So one of the things I talk about is the IGG. Do you know what IGG is? Mm-mm. An internal giggle generator.
Marla: Okay.
Marla: So you don’t need necessarily something outside, an EGG. You don’t need an external giggle generator if you can use your extern- internal giggle generator to make you laugh.
Mako: Mm-hmm.
Marla: So having said that, I wanna hear your giggle in three, two, one.
Mako: Oh, it comes again to the tickles. It’s not a word.
Marla: So there it goes.
Mako: Oh, no, no. I feel like, three people are tickling each other.
Marla: Ah. Oh, that’s great. So I encourage people- … to keep activating their internal giggle generator because it-
Mako: It’s activated.
Marla: Yeah. And then it just starts, right? And it takes off. It’s awesome.
Mako: Yeah.
Marla: That’s so great. Oh, this has been so much fun that my cheeks hurt.
Mako: Mine as well.
Marla: And that’s a good thing. So I’m gonna call it there.
Marla: thank you so much for being here and being my guest, and I’m so… I feel so lucky that I met you, that I walked into-
Mako: Thank you …
Marla: your coffee shop. so-
Mako: I feel lucky.
Marla: Yeah. That’s great. Okay.
Marla: Thank you so much. So- And thank you for doing this. You’re welcome. And inspiring us to laugh more and to teach other people to laugh more. Life is beautiful, right?
Mako: Life is beautiful.
Marla: It is.
Marla: Too short not to be spreading the joy. That’s what I say. Yeah. So you and I are gonna keep in touch, so, that’s for sure. And I’m now gonna sign off for our listening audience and say thanks so much for being here. I hope you loved our conversation. We had so much fun, as you can probably tell.
Marla: and just a couple things. So if you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, I, ask you to subscribe wherever you’re listening to your podcasts. and feel free to pass the link on to anybody you think would like some giggly growth in their life as well.
Marla: You can also subscribe to my Laughter Revolution Digest, which, you can subscribe to at marlasimlett.com. That’s my website. And right now I’m following along with the theme of, my trip, which is learning… where learning, laughter, and luggage collide. And the newsletter’s sharing some of the learning and laughing that I’m doing and also pictures of my trip. In the last one you can see the the picture of the chicken poop sign. So you might want to check that out. and again, that’s marlasimlett.com.
Marla: And I’d love to hear from you. connect with me. Tell me what you think of the episode, where are you using laughter to get unstuck, what insights you have, what made you giggle. you can connect with me on Instagram or Facebook or at my website, [email protected].
Marla: So again, thank you so much for being here and sharing the giggles. I’m Marla Simlett. This was my guest, oh, my God, Mako? I’m not even gonna try to pronounce the last name.
Mako: My surname?
Marla: Do you want to say it again?
Mako: My surname? Tkabladze I wanted you to say my surname.
Marla: Tkabladze.
Marla: Okay. Perfect.
Mako: Not even close.
Marla: A little bit close.
Marla: And this was Laughter Revolution. Until next time, remember, laugh more, be well, become your greatest you.
